As nearly every reviewer has noted, the movie is bad – and the movie is bad because the book was bad. “The film and book need Appalachia to be poor, broken, and dirty, because they depend on us believing that the mountains are somewhere we want Vance to escape. They need to frame poverty as a moral failing of individuals—as opposed to systems—because they have to imply that something about Vance’s character allowed him to get away from his hillbilly roots. Hillbilly Elegy has to simplify the people and problems of Appalachia, because it has decided to tell the same old pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps narrative that so many of us reject.” – The Atlantic
Author: ArtsJournal2
After Nearly 13,000 Authors Protest, Amazon Adjusts Royalty-Snagging Audible Policy
Readers could return an audiobook if they’d bought it less than 365 days earlier, and the royalties from the audiobook would come out of the author’s next paycheck. What the heck? Some authors say it’s more like a library – but without any library royalty payments. Audible has changed the time limit to seven days. – The Guardian (UK)
Theatres Are Saving A Christmas Carol
Did … did it need saving? Well, perhaps the theatres do; it’s been such a large money maker for theatres in the U.S. for, well, many years. Now, as the holiday season kicks into high gear, theatres “are using every contagion-reduction strategy they have honed during the coronavirus pandemic: outdoor stagings, drive-in productions, street theater, streaming video, radio plays and even a do-it-yourself kit sent by mail.” – The New York Times
The Pandemic Is Fueling Gaming, Sure, But Also A Game Category Called Just Chatting
Only connect, perhaps? Yes, Animal Crossing and Among Us are still popular, but “Just Chatting, which features people talking on camera about food, technology and other topics.” (And then there’s All Bad Cards, like an online version of Cards Against Humanity.) – Los Angeles Times
Cuban Government Agrees To Dialogue And Tolerance For Artists
It’s unprecedented in modern times, as Cuba has been quick to quash artistic dissent – but many of the protestors, who were demonstrating following a Thursday night raid of another protest, were actors, musicians, and others who long held governmental approval. – Seattle Times (AP)
The Worst Kind Of Book Thief
Easily the worst is the kind that steals from a shared heritage in libraries for private sale or just adoration. “It denies everyone the opportunity of having access to that book. Even a rare book bought (or stolen) from a bookshop will end up having just one owner, whereas in a public library that same book is available for anyone who wishes to read it.” – The Guardian (UK)
Documentaries Are Hot Right Now, Threatening HBO’s Dominance
But the two women who run the documentary division at the behemoth aren’t worried. “Audiences’ appetite for nonfiction has grown as new funding sources like Kickstarter have emerged, and new formats, like podcasts. At the same time new and affordable technology has helped democratize the medium, and competition has exploded among deep-pocketed platforms hungry for documentary content.” And then there’s Netflix. – The New York Times
What’s Up With Romance Novel Architecture?
The men in romance novels – whether straight or gay – seem obsessed with open plans. Open plans, big TVs, big sofas. Blame Canada. (Seriously: Blame Canada for HGTV, which led directly to … this.) – Slate
Ask A Teen: Ballet’s A Visually Perfect Sport Art Form
Fair enough. The teen, and other dancers, keep their routines going during the pandemic, as well as they can. The high school senior: “I want to inspire people. I wish for people to be moved and left with a sense of pride and joy when they watch me. … That’s all I’ve ever dreamed of really, on the stage or in the street. I want people to look at me and feel inspired.” – Greenville (South Carolina) News
More Details Emerge About Why Mosaic Theatre Company Kicked Out Its Founding Artistic Director
Ari Roth was fired from Theatre J after 18 years as an AD, and so he quickly founded his own company – Mosaic. Recently, he resigned under pressure from Mosaic. Why? A liaison with Equity says he is living with an older definition of an AD as someone who can treat staff and others badly, as long as his vision is great: “His defense is that the role of the artistic director has changed. … But everything changes. Everything evolves. We just happen to be living in a time where this imaginary rule that an artistic director’s actions will be tolerated by the people below — that rule no longer exists.” – The New York Times