Category: media

“The idea that CBC television and radio is a frivolity, sucking up vast amounts of money to make bad TV and irrelevant radio, is the position of a small number of well-off cranks in Toronto and Montreal, aided by a number of other cranks who, one imagines, stave off personal wretchedness by ceaselessly pointing out that the CBC gets funding to make TV and radio, while they don’t.”

“As an artist, you want to stay true to the narrative, and sometimes that goes against your activist agenda, which is to promote this positive image of Muslims. At the same time, to balance that with a truth that exists, in terms of my own experience with Islam, which may not always be necessarily positive.”

“We spend so much time debating the dubious proposition that video games cause violence that we rarely get around to considering how else our lives and selves might be shaped by a $91 billion industry catering to 155 million Americans. As a result, gaming’s defenders, fearful of censorship, rarely get nudged in the direction of self-reflection.”

“Paradoxically, the painted image often looks more realistic than the photographic image. Scenic artists can manipulate backings by adjusting light, color, and texture, helping to support the movie camera’s constructed image. Some information and details can be selectively accentuated, while others can be deemphasized. A photograph, on the other hand, is static and has a tendency to contradict the artifice of the rest of the setting.”

“When the early ceremonies give out their awards, often the only people who’ve seen the films are critics, festivalgoers, and (sometimes) their own voting bodies. Are these awards about recognition, or are they about advocacy, or are they about attempting to steer a conversation? Or they, at this point, just about being first?”

The Board is one of the quirkier awards-giving bodies in the American film world, but their top prizes this year went to two Oscar frontrunners. Even so, there were the usual surprises …

The surprise hit about a young gay black man took four awards, including best feature film and a special jury prize for best ensemble cast. Don’t draw too many Oscar conclusions from this, though.

Shows like Jersey Shore can, indeed, increase narcissism, but only for viewers who strongly identify with the self-involved characters.

“Public officials have argued that taxation rules need to be revised to account for changing technologies. It is unfair, some say, that people who get video through cable television are taxed while those who have shifted over to internet streaming services are not. One question officials would need to resolve is where to stop, analysts say. If streaming video is taxable, then what about music, podcasts or video games?”