A new study of reality television suggests that much-derided genre falls on the negative side of the scale. It finds that, to a surprising degree, it relies on the stereotypes of the aggressively angry African American.
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Music Piracy Falls – It’s Now Easier To Stream It
One in 10 people in the UK use illegal downloads, down from 18% in 2013, according to YouGov’s Music Report. The trend looks set to continue – with 22% of those who get their music illegitimately saying they do not expect to be doing so in five years.
Will The Success Of “Waitress” Lead To More Women-Led Theatre On Broadway?
“My takeaway was that there was great excitement, and almost a sense of relief, to see women being offered these roles,” Sara Bareilles says of “Waitress.” “And the most exciting thing is looking at the next generation of composers, book writers, directors and choreographers now that there’s this wonderful network of women in the industry.”
Arts Organizations Increasingly Acknowledge First Peoples Before Beginning
Routine at public gatherings in Australia, New Zealand and Canada, the custom of Indigenous land acknowledgment, or acknowledgment of country, has only recently started to gain traction in the United States outside of tribal nations. In New York City the practice is sporadic but growing, occasionally heard at high-profile cultural and educational institutions like the Whitney Museum of American Art and New York University.
Unintended Consequences? New UK Knife Law Could Impact Theatre
The Offensive Weapons Bill, which is currently going through parliament, includes a section that would make it an offence for a seller to deliver a bladed product to a residential address. Knives required by fight directors or stage managers as props for sets would no longer be able to delivered to these addresses, which he said would create difficulties for the industry.
In The Age Of The Internet, Trolling Of Controversial Artists Can Be Dangerous
Once the internet has something, it can republished and rediscovered by new trolls. Thus, the cost of damages trolls can inflict on individuals and businesses can be substantial—and ongoing. Setting aside the malicious Wikipedia rewrites and Yelp and Google review attacks, victims can find their computers hacked and destroyed and their homes vandalized. Once a private investigator gets into the mix the price climbs.
Hollywood’s Age Of Anxiety: People In The Industry Are Stressing Themselves Out More Than Ever
“Speak to writers, producers, actors and executives — speak, in fact, to the whole chain of employees toiling across the film, television and music industries, as THR did — and you’ll have trouble finding people who won’t admit to heightened feelings of stress, anxiety and depression, three interlinked mental-health issues that have escalated over the past decade in the entertainment sector. … The current industry turbulence has set alarm bells ringing louder than at any time since the Great Recession.”
Grousing about Klaus: Is Biesenbach Right for MOCA?
Much as I try, I can’t muster great enthusiasm for the appointment of Klaus Biesenbach to the directorship of MOCA, Los Angeles … While ambivalent, I didn’t have any strong objections to his appointment (as I did with MOCA’s last two picks), until I read Robin Pogrebin’s report in the NY Times.
Should Museums Be Trying To Get Visitors To Slow Down?
That a lot of visitors make a beeline through art museum galleries has long been a bugaboo for curators and directors—“studies of museum visitors have shown that people look at artworks very quickly, spending maybe five seconds or less per painting,” Brent Benjamin, director of the Saint Louis Art Museum told Observer. But despite this desire on the part of arts professionals, slowing visitors down in front of individual objects has not been the primary goal at most institutions of late—though they certainly want to get people in, and get them to stay.
The Ethics Problem With True-Crime Entertainment, Especially The Highbrow Kind
“Serial and Dirty John and The Jinx and Wild, Wild Country are all conspicuously well made, with lovely visuals and strong reporting. … But for these so-called prestige true-crime offerings, the question of ethics — of the potential to interfere in real criminal cases and real people’s lives — is even more important, precisely because they are taken seriously.”
