Sure, Peter Handke spoke at the funeral of Serbian war criminal Slobodan Milošević in 2006, and sure, before that he had compared the fate of Serbia to that of Jewish people during the Holocaust, but Nobel committee members “predicted that in the future, Handke would be considered ‘among the most obvious choices’ for the prize. Writing in the newspaper Svenska Dagbladet, [one member] described Handke as an advocate for peace and said he was ‘anti-nationalistic.'” – BBC
Author: ArtsJournal2
Netflix’s U.S. Subscriber Growth Is Slowing As Competitors Ramp Up
This is a bit of a problem for the massive company: “The big question now is whether some of Netflix’s existing subscribers will decide to cancel its service and defect to cheaper alternatives that Apple and Disney will launch within the next month.” Or will the other two just be add-ons for people who get most of what they want through Netflix? The company is counting on it. – The New York Times (AP)
Backup Dancers Are Leaping To The Forefront With The Power Of Smart Social Media
Backup dancers aren’t very “backup” anymore; instead, like the 16-year-old who began touring with Janet Jackson at age 12 and is now a major social media influencer, they’re at the center of the conversation. That’s thanks to Instagram. “Internet popularity can be a dancer’s entree to choreographing and starring in her own viral videos, traveling the world as a guest artist and teacher, and inking lucrative brand deals and endorsements.” – The Washington Post
Julie Andrews’ Biggest Regret Is Losing Her Singing Voice
We regret it an awful lot as well, Dame Julie. But oh, the stories she’s accumulated, this one quite early: “I had forgotten to pack my dress shoes, so my mother painted white ballet slippers over my socks with what they used to call ‘wet white.’ But my socks were still wet and I left little white footprints all over the stage”. – The Guardian (UK)
A Crash Course In Hitler Satire
Taika Waititi’s new movie Jojo Rabbit is far from the first movie to satirize the genocidal leader. But many people object to the movie on pure concept. “Is it right to make comedy of a man who did such transcendently horrible things?” – Slate
What Does It Mean To Be An Audience, And How Does An Arts Institution ‘Develop’ It?
The idea of audience development as a solution has taken over everything in arts organizations, but there’s more to it, at least from the audience side. “Being an audience member means being a citizen, customer, community member, and worker. It is a sort of control interface for ruling.” – HowlRound
Robert Forster, Oscar Nominee For ‘Jackie Brown,’ Has Died At 78
Forster started strong but faded and had a hard time finding work for decades. But “the drought ended with a chance encounter with Tarantino at a West Hollywood coffee shop where Forster regularly had breakfast. Tarantino told him he was writing an adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s Rum Punch, which would become Jackie Brown, and asked Forster to read the book.” – Los Angeles Times
An Artist Figures Out Why Mathematicians Just Can’t Quit Their Blackboards
Photographer Jessica Wynne: “When I was talking to [mathematicians] about their work, I realised that their thought process and what they do is extremely creative – and I never really thought about mathematics in that way.” – The Observer (UK)
How A Group Of Artists Created A ‘Breakout Fall’ For Themselves In Detroit
The Vanguard Artists Collective is “a tight-knit group of like-minded members of the creative class looking to push each other in their artistic practice while nurturing the next generation of great Detroit artists.” And their success hasn’t come overnight. – Detroit Free Press
Another Book Award Changes Its Name (This One Due To A Murder-Suicide)
Originally the James Tiptree Jr. Literary Award was meant to give encouragement to writers with new or creative thinking about gender, but the award’s focus has changed – and now the award name is changing too. “We entered into this discussion as a conversation about how to interpret what happened at the end of Alice and Huntington Sheldon’s lives. … But the responses to our post made us realize that this was in fact a conversation about whose lives and voices we value. And that’s a matter about which there should be no ambiguity.” – Tiptree Award