Blog

Classical Music’s Real Diversity Problem? Class

Today, the genre is grappling with what, on the surface, might seem like an entirely different aspect of its legacy: the historical lack of diversity in its orchestras and ensembles. The truth is that these legacies could hardly be more intertwined: Economic discrimination has produced diversity dramas of all sorts. Yet you’d never know this from recent attempts by critics to wrestle with the genre’s representation problems without so much as a passing reference to class. – The New Republic

A Plea For Books For Christmas

“Books remain the ultimate gift: easy to wrap, available in such a multifarious array that there’s truly something for everyone and, best of all, a desperately needed break from screens in the age of TikTok and Zoom. A book does not beep at you, spy on you, sell you out to marketers, interrupt with breaking news, suck you into a doomscrolling vortex, cease to function in a nor’easter, flood your eyes with melatonin-suppressing blue light or otherwise interrupt your already troubled sleep.” – The New York Times

Ben Bova, Science Fiction Writer And Editor Of Prominent SF Magazines, 88

Bova was a “hard” science fiction writer – that is, no fantasy, but a lot of space travel and the science that might ensue. He edited Analog magazine and published new generations of writers there and at Omni, where he was the first editor. He won many Hugos and a lifetime achievement award from the Arthur C. Clarke Foundation “for fueling mankind’s imagination regarding the wonders of outer space.” – The New York Times

TV’s Landscape Had Several New Nonbinary Characters This Year

From Star Trek: Discovery to Good Trouble, TV shows added nonbinary characters this year. The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation – GLAAD – even has a checklist for writers’ rooms. All this isn’t an untrammeled joy for nonbinary people, however: Often, “nonbinary characters don’t appear to be informed by a real nonbinary person’s experience and perspective.” – Los Angeles Times

The Head Of WarnerMedia Is Suddenly An Industry-Wide Supervillain

Jason Kilar made what he thought was a pretty decent decision, given the coronavirus – to launch Warner Bros’ entire 2021 slate both in movie theatres (well, the ones that are open) and HBO Max. Filmmakers, agents, actors, movie theatre chains, and many others are bemused or furious. To put it mildly, many in and out of Warner Media “chafe at what they see is a lack of respect for Hollywood tradition.” – The New York Times

Carol Sutton Of Steel Magnolias, Queen Sugar, And Hundreds Of Other Projects, 76

Sutton died of complications from Covid-19. The New Orleans native – who never relocated from her home city – acted in her first movie with The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman in 1974, but she had “honed her acting abilities beginning in 1968, when she joined one of the rare African-American theatrical troupes in the Deep South. The Dashiki Project Theatre, founded by students at Dillard University and other historically black colleges and universities in Louisiana, was based in New Orleans and mounted plays that reflected the complexities of African-American life.” – NPR

Calling 2020 ‘The Year The Music Died’ Is Far More Truth Than Cliche

Where should musicians go, and what should they do? “Everyone in the live music business has asked that question since the pandemic decimated the industry. The damage was relentless and comprehensive, and it’s nowhere near over: tours grounded, beloved venues shuttered, layoffs made permanent and lifelong dreams vaporized. An industry at the crest of a hugely profitable decade has plummeted off a cliff.” – Los Angeles Times