Category: media

“The video shows Americans from various backgrounds and hailing from different parts of the country holding empty golden picture frames to the tune of “America the Beautiful.” The video is a reference to O’Grady’s iconic 1983 performance “Art Is…” in Harlem, New York. In the performance, 15 performers, dressed all in white, carried empty gold picture frames during the annual African American Day Parade, inviting members of the community to pose as the subject of the artwork.” – Hyperallergic

China has now overtaken the U.S. as the world’s largest movie market. South Koreans watch more films per capita than any other nation (and they made Parasite). Vietnam has more than 100 million people, a growing industry, and (with COVID-19 largely contained) open theaters. Japan, of course, has had a vibrant cinema for decades and is a world leader in animation. Says one well-placed observer, “I don’t think [these] countries … even need to think about America now. They’re like the Bollywood film industry in India, in that they want to reach their own first. Any other success elsewhere is just gravy to them.” – BBC

Throughout much of the 20th Century, American pop culture warned us that something like the last four years could make the leap from cautionary fiction to all-consuming reality. In the early 1930s, the Great Depression led to a peculiar, pre-Roosevelt cycle of what became known as “the dictator craze” in American movies. – Chicago Tribune

In an essay for The Telegraph, Oliver Dowden asks, “Is [the BBC] keeping the British public’s confidence when it comes to its impartiality, and does it truly represent the nation?” and writes that a panel he is convening will be “asking really profound questions about the role these broadcasters have to play in the digital age – and indeed whether we need them at all.” – The Telegraph (UK)

Some of the dozens of tweets Netflix issued DMCA claims against used clips from the actual movie, TorrentFreak reports, in which case Netflix’s claims are understandable. However, many of the tweets in question shared the film’s trailer, which is widely and publicly available on YouTube for anyone to view or share. – Ars Technica

Hathway’s character had three fingers on one hand – and the film made that a stand-in for her character’s evil. “The disability community reacted to the now-streaming film with disappointment, sadness, and outrage.” – Los Angeles Times

Writer, director, and actor Marielle Heller, who’s starring in the new Netflix serial The Queen’s Gambit, thinks not. The director of Can You Ever Forgive Me? also says, “Writing, directing – it’s just torture every time and it doesn’t seem to get any easier. And yet I love them and I’m not going to stop doing them.” – The Guardian (UK)

Sometimes, in Hollywood, or Canadian media even, dreams do come true. Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, who plays the father on the excellent Canadian show Kim’s Convenience, has a life outside of theatre and screen. “Lee is an avid cosplayer, known for the intricate costumes and props he creates for characters from Star Wars and Ghostbusters films.” – CBC

Mahnola Dargis: “I looked to Hong Kong (the great Michelle Yeoh), French nonsense (“La Femme Nikita”) and American exploitation flicks (the indelible Pam Grier), where the punches were in service to braless jiggling. Only recently did I grasp that the behind-the-scenes videos I was looking at were showing women kicking and punching their way to different kinds of female representation.” – The New York Times