“The black-and-white photographs, taken in the 1940s and ’50s by different photographers, are being exhibited by Cahiers d’Art, the gallery of the eponymous art magazine.”
Happy Poor People: What Kids Learn About Class From Hollywood
A team of sociologists “took the 32 G-rated films that, as of January 1, 2014, had grossed more than $100 million, and that included a character who had a social class (Bambi, for example, did not), … and watched the films carefully to get a sense of which messages about class they communicated.”
What The World’s Most Epic Sleep-Talker Said As He Dreamed
“Do you know Edwina didn’t even cry when that crocodile popped off her leg? She didn’t even cry, Edwina. She was fascinated, just fascinated. Her mother fainted dead away, and her father fainted dead away. … And Edwina just stood there and watched him chew up her leg. You know what? She said she always wanted to be Long John Silver!”
The Winner Of The First Best Actor Oscar Was Robbed By Louis B. Mayer! (And Other Academy Lore)
This particular story was confirmed by Susan Orlean while she was researching a book. It seems Mr. Mayer was convinced that awarding the real winner of the first round of voting would set a bad precedent. (Grrrr.)
Coping With Culture Shock Through Pictograms
“When graphic designer Yang Liu moved from Beijing to Berlin at age 13, she found herself in culture shock. ‘I discovered – almost on a daily basis – that things were quite the contrary of what I was used to, starting with social customs and extending all the way to fundamental ways of thinking.” (pictured: “Sunshine” and “Leisure Time”)
‘Nollywood’ – Nigeria Has Become Africa’s Moviemaking Powerhouse
“Nollywood generates about 2,500 movies a year, making it the second-biggest producer after Bollywood in India, and its films have displaced American, Indian and Chinese ones on the televisions that are ubiquitous in bars, hair salons, airport lounges and homes across Africa.”
The Secret Lives Of Tumblr Teens, Making Millions With Nary A Ducklips Selfie In Sight
“Teens are free to express their low self-esteem on Tumblr, but they have confidence in one thing: Everyone will steal their jokes. A study by Priceonomics found that Tumblr is the top source for BuzzFeed’s viral content. The site’s biggest story in 2015—a photo of a dress that looked blue-and-black or white-and-gold—was found on Tumblr.”
The Making-Up Oscar And Why It Matters
“A win for DiCaprio would continue a long Oscar tradition: Right Person, Wrong Year. The Academy has a consistent pattern of giving the award — or at least a nomination — to someone who totally deserved it for a different film. Often this happens because voters who should know better favor conspicuous acting over subtlety. Sometimes Academy members are out of sync with the times because they’re making up for previous slights.”
The Light Sculpture That Uses Space Data To Entertain French Drivers Stuck In Traffic
“Grasso used data collected by the French Space Observatory to create an algorithm that translates real-time solar activity into a dynamic, constantly fluctuating color and light show.”
The International Filmmakers Flipping Hollywood’s Scripts
“Increasingly films such as ‘Sivas’ and other foreign-language movies, including those nominated for this year’s Academy Awards, are chipping at the edges of American dominance. Talented directors and advances in digital filmmaking are helping countries rarely associated with movie production to gain acclaim for turning out intriguing counter-narratives to familiar themes.”
We Use Digital Technology To Store Our History, But That’s A Problem
“Centuries ago, people also felt overwhelmed by too much information. They thought it was terrible to print in books, and even people like Thomas Jefferson thought the downfall of the world would be all these people reading novels and entertaining themselves.”
Some Forms Of Dementia Can Elicit – And Explain – A Creative Flowering
“What if the failure of language itself were the cause of the enhanced creativity, one form of expression compensating for the loss of another?”
We Might Have Just Witnessed The End Of The ‘Album’
“The Life of Pablo is starting to feel like a full-scale attack on the very ontology of the album itself: its primacy in the music industry’s sales model, its status as the foremost object of music criticism, its presumed value as the supreme container for artistic expression, its existential legitimacy as anything other than a nostalgia-driven anachronism. “
The (Deeply) Serious Injuries Elite Performers Just Dance Through
“The screw that kept her foot together caused Ciapponi to limp, so she had it removed. The pain and uncertainty that came with that surgery made Ciapponi wonder if she had to start rethinking her career. She had no idea if her body could recover and become strong enough to do what she had spent 16 years training to do. Since she is Canadian, even her ability to stay and dance in the United States was in question.”
Reclaim Your Musical Life From The Algorithms!
“Listening is creative and personal, and with Discover Weekly I am aware of being profiled by forces I do not know and cannot see. I am being given an ongoing accessory for someone of my type. Often I hate the results, even if I like half the songs: I feel intensely frustrated by what it has reduced me to.”
Has Steven Spielberg ‘Saved’ This British Actor From A Life In Theatre?
Mark Rylance: “Whenever I mention the other films I’ve made to Steven Spielberg, his eyes go a bit glazed. Because in his mind he’s rescued me — rescued me from the slums of the theater! You know, discovered me, bless him.”
Harper Lee Dead At 89
“With her near-total retreat into private life in the mid-1960s, Ms. Lee had become, along with J.D. Salinger and Thomas Pynchon, one of the great literary enigmas of the 20th century. Often she was called a recluse, a description that was intriguing but inaccurate. Ms. Lee – Nelle Harper or just Nelle to friends – simply rejected celebrity.”
What The Times Did The *First* Time The Met Produced An Opera By A Woman
“The Metropolitan Opera has just scheduled a work by a woman for the second time ever. Let’s hope she receives a warmer welcome than her predecessor.”