How many of the people who authored those statements actually visited the Black Lives Matter website before posting is unknown. What is known, however, is that the stirrings of support statements coming from the American theatre community was too late and certainly not enough. – Howlround
Tag: 06.12.20
The Intellectual Underpinnings Of Populist Strongmen
Populism is not just a bull-in-a-china-shop way of doing politics. There is a theoretical tradition that seeks to justify strongman rule, an ideological school of demagoguery, one might call it, that is now more relevant than ever. – Aeon
BBC Pulls Classic Episode Of Fawlty Towers Over “Racial Slurs”
The episode in question — originally broadcast in 1975 and called The Germans — is renowned for featuring John Cleese’s deeply awkward and rude hotel owner demanding that his staff “don’t mention the war” around German guests, culminating in him doing a goose-stepping impersonation of Adolf Hitler. However, it also features a character, the elderly Major Gowen, using highly-offensive and racist language about the West Indies cricket team. – The Holywood Reporter
What Do Famous Artists Owe Their Fans?
As the famously passionate fans of the Harry Potter franchise rise up to express raging disappointment at the bigotry espoused by its creator, and the surprisingly passionate fans of Live P.D.—who launched vicious attack campaigns on journalists and critics calling for its cancellation—just rage, there’s another question beyond the right and wrong of all this. It’s the question of what, exactly, fans are owed from the culture they support—and what are they willing to accept in order to keep enjoying it? – The Daily Beast
Oscars To Have 10 Best Picture Nominations, Set Inclusions Standards
Starting with the 94th Oscars ceremony, the Academy will return to a guaranteed 10 best picture nominees, as was the case for the 82nd and 83rd ceremonies, before it shifted to a system that could yield anywhere from five to 10 nominees. This aims to maximize the diversity of the films that are nominated for the Academy’s highest honor. – The Hollywood Reporter
LA Says Museums Can Reopen. Museums Say Not So Fast
Southern California museums are navigating complicated health and safety protocols while also seeing to the regular work of preparing new exhibitions, caring for art, managing employees and communicating with the public. – Los Angeles Times
This Nonprofit Website Could Be The Future Model For Thriving Online Journalism
The Conversation, founded in Melbourne in 2011 with university and state government funding, now has ten editions in various countries and 150 employees as well as dozens of freelance contributors; its traffic has more than doubled in the last year alone to 38.1 million monthly site visits. Its specialty is interpreting scholarly research for a general audience, and its articles can be reprinted elsewhere for free. And its outside funding protects it from worry about plummeting ad revenue. Anya Schiffrin looks into how the site’s owners and editors pull it off. – Columbia Journalism Review
National Book Critics Circle Board Members Resign After Discussion Of Black Lives Matter Statement Goes Bad
When the NBCC statement was posted, a foreword was appended which said, in part, “In the course of our committee’s discussion with the rest of the board, a board member responded to the statement with an email that many of us saw as racist. Before a planned vote on the statement today, details from the board’s internal discussion were released on social media, and some board members have announced their resignation.” – The Guardian
Kimmel Center In Philadelphia Furloughs 80% Of Staff, Cuts Pay For Rest
“By December, the city’s largest performing arts presenter will have missed out on revenue from about 800 shows, events, and rentals since mid-March, when it closed the doors to its halls because of the coronavirus pandemic. These events would have been attended by about 700,000 visitors.” – The Philadelphia Inquirer