Allowing the destruction of Iraq’s art shows the contempt the United States has for other cultures. “The notion that Iraq even has history – let alone that 7,000 years ago this land was the cradle of civilization – is not likely to occur to the neocolonialists running a brawny young nation barely more than 200 years old. The United States’ earnest innocence is the charm that our entertainment industry markets so successfully around the world, but it is also the perennial seed of disaster as we blithely rearrange corners of the planet we only pretend to understand.”
Tag: 04.16.03
Is An “R” Rating Death To A Movie?
None of the top 20 films at the box office last year in America were rated “R”. “According to Daily Variety, two-thirds of all films released in 2001 earned an R, and they grabbed only 28 percent of the dollars spent at U.S. box offices. Last year, 58 percent of new movies were R-rated, and those accounted for 24 percent of ticket sales. Now, try to predict the future of bold, adult-themed cinema deserving R ratings. That is anyone’s guess. But in an industry where imitation breeds success, things aren’t looking good for moviegoers who enjoy edgier, sexier or more violent film entertainment.”
Performers Strike Against Clear Channel?
Hollywood unions are considering a strike against four New York Clear Channel radio stations. “A major issue is protecting DJs from the recent Clear Channel practice of ‘voice tracking’ – piping in lower-paid, out-of-state announcers to replace higher-paid local DJs. Clear Channel is an 800-pound gorilla and the solidarity of all performers is needed in our fight against them.”
Royal Winnipeg Ballet Cancels Asian Tour
“The Canadian ballet company had planned to take Mark Godden’s critically acclaimed production of “Dracula” to Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou on an 18-day tour, beginning May 25, but heeding a travel advisory issued by Health Canada, a department of the Canadian government, the company has canceled the trip” because of concerns about SARS.
Choosing Against The Internet
Being connected to the internet isn’t just a matter of being able to afford it, says a new study. “A total of 80 million American adults – 42 percent of the adult population – say they don’t use the Internet, the study found. But 20 percent of them have Internet access in the next room and choose not to go online. Or, some of them get family members to go online for them. ‘Many of the people whom we talked to define themselves as people who don’t use technology. They view themselves as high-touch versus high-tech.”
Monica Lewinsky On Broadway?
If Jerry Springer can be an opera, why can’t Monica Lewinsky be a Broadway musical? Now she will be: “Monica! The Musical” will get its first reading at the Manhattan Theatre Club on May 7. “Its creators, hope that the reading will lead to a stage berth here in New York, where it would join unlikely post-post-ironic musicals such as Debbie Does Dallas, Urinetown and the new Zanna, Don’t!” Some sample lyrics? “I feel I’ve lost my head,” sings young Bill. “Don’t look too hard for you will find it / Beneath my dress of red,” responds the siren.”
Debunking The Guernica-At-The-UN Story
A big story before the war on Iraq began this spring had the United Nations covering up a copy of Picasso’s “Guernica” that hangs outside the Security Council. Were US officials skittish about being shown on TV talking about war in front of a powerful anti-war work? No, writes Claudia Winkler. Here’s what really happened: As the Iraq drama was playing out at the United Nations, the press corps covering the Security Council swelled. The usual press stakeout, where ambassadors routinely take reporters’ questions outside the Security Council, simply couldn’t hold the numbers – expected to reach 800 for Powell’s address on February 5. So the Secretariat moved the stakeout down the hallway. As over 200 cameramen were setting up, they complained that the background at the new location didn’t work for them.” They asked for a plain background…
Partisan Review Folds
The 68-year-old Partisan Review once America’s “pre-eminent journal of culture and politics,” is shutting down. “The future of the quarterly journal, which is published at Boston University, was up in the air after the death of its cofounder and editor, William Phillips, in September 2002. Its heyday had clearly passed, and some critics described it as moribund.”
Edinburgh Museums Get Money To Tell People What They’ve Got
Edinburgh museums have been given £117,000 by the government to “train community education workers in how to access the full range of cultural resources available to them through museums, libraries and archives.”
Cleveland Ensemble May Fold
Even as Red thrives, another Cleveland-based ensemble specializing in new music is in danger of closing up shop. “The Cleveland Chamber Symphony, the admired professional ensemble in residence at Cleveland State University since 1980, is in turmoil and in danger of closing at the end of the 2003-04 concert season. Members of the Chamber Symphony are scheduled to meet today with Cleveland State President Michael Schwartz to discuss the ensemble’s future. But its fate might be sealed. By May 2004, when founding music director Edwin London retires, the group could be out of money.”