How did we get here, with most U.S. audiences only seeing subtitles on non-English-language films and many other countries using excellent voice actors and technology for dubbing, and where are we going? (In other words, are the one-inch subtitle barricades about to fall?) – BBC
Category: media
Can A Sitcom About Gentrification Actually Be Funny?
“At its core, gentrification is about what it means to belong. And few places in Los Angeles are more hotly contested in those terms than Boyle Heights,” the Los Angeles neighborhood where the bilingual Netflix series Gentefied is set. – The New York Times
Another Job In The Arts You Hadn’t Thought Of: Narrating Porn For The Blind
Pornhub launched this particular initiative in increasing access for the disabled to the arts four years ago, hiring professional freelance writers to produce text and professional voice actors to read it. Here’s a Q&A with Kathryn Simpson, an art history Ph.D. who has written the narration for 35 Pornhub videos. – Slate
Indian Cinema Is Finally Starting To Get Comfortable With Same-Sex Romance
Until just a few years ago, the very few times queer characters were shown at all in Bollywood movies were as figures of mockery. Now, very occasionally, a film with a sympathetic portrayal of same-sex couples or trans characters does come out of the big Mumbai studios. And more progress can be seen in India’s “regional” (non-Hindi-language) cinema. – BBC
Revealed: YouTube’s Most-Watched Gaming Channels Are Infested With Bots
In January, all seven of the most-watched YouTube Gaming channels weren’t run by happy gamers livestreaming the game du jour. They were instead recorded, autoplaying videos advertising videogame cheats and hacks, sometimes attached to sketchy, credential-vacuuming websites, according to one analytics firm. – Wired
Tory MPs Warn Boris Johnson Not To Attack The BBC
“This is not a fight the BBC is picking nor a contest my party promised if we got elected. If the BBC ends up in decline, it will be the government which will be accused by the very people we will rely on for support at the next election.” – BBC
Has Netflix Reached Its Max Audience?
“Our research shows that most pay TV households already have Netflix so even if cord-cutting accelerates, Netflix won’t get a whole slew of new customers. In [other] words, people are cutting the cord because they have Netflix. They don’t cut the cord and discover Netflix for the first time.” – Fast Company
Following Netflix Series, Case Of Malcolm X’s Murder May Be Reopened
“Following the release of the six-part documentary Who Killed Malcolm X? – which launched on the streaming platform on 7 February – the Manhattan district attorney will look into the case of the civil rights activist, with the possibility that the case may be reopened.” – The Guardian
“Save The BBC” Petition Gets 100,000 Signers In First 24 Hours
The 38 Degrees petition is a response to a report on the front page of Rupert Murdoch-owned newspaper The Sunday Times, in which sources close to prime minister Boris Johnson set out a blueprint for how the BBC should be dismantled when its current charter expires in 2027. – Deadline
Independent Cinemas In Canada Say They’re Being Shut Out By Cineplex
How’s this for a near monopoly? Cineplex owns 75 percent of movie screens across Canada – and indie theatres say the behemoth is shutting them out of Oscar winners and nominees like Parasite and Little Women. “Industry insiders say the practice of exclusive runs at certain cinemas isn’t new. But independent theatres say that exclusivity has become excessive and keeps them from showing award-winning movies for longer than ever.” One wrote a petition saying this practice is “crushing indie theatres across Canada.” – CBC