“In the realm of literature and the arts, honors have been pullulating like kudzu. Worldwide, the number of movie prizes handed out each year – about 9,000 – is more than double the number of full-length movies produced, and literary prizes are being hatched at a faster rate than new books. The rise of prizes over the last century, and especially their feverish proliferation in recent decades, is one of the more glaring symptoms of a consumer society run rampant, a society that can conceive of artistic achievement only in terms of stardom and success.”
Tag: 01.12.06
Everything (And More) Tango
Robert Farris Thompson’s gargantuan new critical study, “Tango: The Art History of Love,” argues that African rhythms are at the root of Argentina’s most alluring export.
Marin Theatre Director Moves On
Lee Sankowich is quitting as director of the Marin Theatre Company after 16 years. “His tenure at Marin has been marked by improvements in general production quality as the budget has grown from about $800,000 to $2 million. He also attracted some national recognition with a commitment to developing new works.”
Canadian Actors To Pols: What About Culture?
Where do Canada’s leaders stand on culture? The country’s artists want to know: “With less than two weeks left in the election campaign, we know very little about the parties’ plans on cultural issues. Canadians deserve to see the parties’ cultural planks before we let them lead us down a path of no return. We’re asking Canadians to vote for the candidates most committed to taking action to give our country a strong, vibrant and independent culture.”
Wanted: Gadgets That Can Talk To One Another
Last week’s Consumer Electronics Show offered lots of whiz-bang ways to get electronic entertainment. A utopia? Or a maze of tech problems? Tech heavyweights such as Intel, Panasonic, Samsung and Sharp all showed off networking systems, but none of those systems are designed to work together. The resulting problems are similar to miscommunication between people who speak the same language but different dialects — sometimes they might understand each other perfectly well, but at other times they might not.
Wanted: Better Canadian Cultural Support
Canadian actors are lobbying for a more aggressive support of culture from federal politicians who are about to face the electorate. “We are facing cultural integration with the U.S. and our next government needs to take immediate action. Our own broadcasters are more interested in simulcasting U.S. programming than they are showing Canadian programs.”
Christmas Tops LA Radio Ratings
The top radio station in LA in December? KOST-FM. Why? For the holidays it played wall-to-wall Christmas music. “It was the fifth consecutive year that the Clear Channel station had switched to an all Christmas music format in the weeks preceding the holiday, but this was the first time the station had so dominated the ratings.”
Why The Oscars Need A Facelift
It’s taken as a given that the big movie awards shows are a big deal. But will they stay a big deal? “With the supply of awards shows now outpacing the demand, viewership for the really big ones — the Golden Globes, the Emmys, the Grammys — has been declining for some years, and let’s not forget that fewer and fewer people feel strongly enough about movies to pay to see them in theatres.”
Chicago Lyric Freezes Ticket Prices (Sort Of)
Chicago Lyrica Opera used to sell out most performances. Now it sells 90 percent of its seats. Still good. But. “To help stop any further erosion and, at the same time, reward its longtime subscribers, the Lyric is coupling its announcement of repertory and casts for its 2006-07 season with the news that it also is freezing subscription prices next season. That’s the good news. The bad news, for single-ticket buyers, is that the company (which has an operating budget of $58.2 million) is raising single ticket prices by about 3 percent.”
Oprah Backs Frey, Random House Denies Refund Story
Oprah Winfrey says she still supports James’ Frey’s “A Million Little Pieces”, even if not all he events depicted are true. “I am disappointed by the controversy surrounding ‘A Million Little Pieces,’ because I rely on the publishers to define the category that a book falls within.” In other news of the Frey, publisher Random House denies it is offering refunds on the book.