“Sure, Jack Thompson–like figures are on the wane – it’s increasingly uncommon for broad, radical arguments linking video games to real-world violent behavior to be taken seriously. But there’s still a lot of scaremongering, and it’s not just occurring on hyperventilating cable news. … Its clearly time for more complex theories about how this multi-billion-dollar industry affects those who partake in its wares.” Here are a few ideas.
Category: media
Indie Comics Want In On The TV Show And Movie Action
“‘We are not really a comics company,’ Mr. Richardson said. ‘We are a content company, and we have a great content engine.'”
Movies That Hit The Perfect Historical Note (At A Time Of Crisis And Upheaval)
“‘We were surprised it wasn’t being talked about in the national media,’ Mr. Barber said. ‘And then, right when we thought we were done, the events in Ferguson unfolded. And it became talked about at a much higher level.'”
It’s OK – Even Vital – To Be A Film Snob
“I look up in admiration at models of artistic perfection, sound judgment and noble achievement, and I look down on what I take to be the stupid, cheap and cynical aspects of public discourse. … If the words nerd and geek can be rehabilitated — if legions of misunderstood enthusiasts can march from the margins of respectability to the heart of the mainstream — then why not snob as well?”
So Hollywood Is Politically Liberal? Not So Fast
The film and television industry is far from an Edenic paradise of equality where diversity reigns supreme, Ruby Rose plays the harpsichord, and Shonda Rhimes lectures biracial hunks on the perils of toxic masculinity. In fact—and someone should probably give Breitbart a heads up on this one—Hollywood is as amorally capitalistic and irritatingly anachronistic as America itself.
Laura Poitras Creates A Magnum For Online Documentaries
The project, called Field of Vision, “sees independent documentarians around the world investigating concerns close to Poitras’s own practice: surveillance as well as political boundaries, hidden social conflicts, and the layers of urban space. … Field of Vision will produce about 50 short-form or episodic nonfiction films a year. Its first season debuted online September 29.”
‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’ Has Become A Text For Academics
“Hundreds of scholarly books and articles have been written about Buffy‘s deeper themes, and an entire academic journal and conference series – appropriately called Slayage – is devoted to using the show and other [Joss] Whedon works to discuss subjects such as philosophy and cultural theory.”
Study: Watching Quality TV Can Improve Emotional Intelligence
Two years ago, groundbreaking research revealed that reading literary fiction can help us understand the inner lives of others. Now, a newly published paper finds watching quality television drama can do the same thing.
Movie Economics Have Killed Mid-Budget Movies (Can Anything Be Done?)
“In recent years, the recession and the concurrent rise of VOD streaming services have already torpedoed the midbudget movie. Suddenly, in order to be financially viable, a project has to cost less than $2 million or more than $200 million. Anything in between is dead in the water. Many of the country’s most vital filmmakers, unwilling to accept that their next movie would have to be either shot on an iPhone or connected to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, have begun to abandon ship.”
American Military Turns To Hollywood For Propaganda Help In Waging War In Middle East
Sunnylands was in charge of pulling together the roster of talent, and invited the State Department to participate. One of the goals was to connect Middle Eastern filmmakers with influential Hollywood figures to start plotting “how to engage and empower storytellers [to] create alternative and positive narratives, and how to talk about youth empowerment,” according to the official, who works on these initiatives.