Well, that’s a fraught subject. Phoebe Waller-Bridges, who wrote the show and plays the character, says, “Actually, she wishes she were more perfect, and that feels like it was an attack on feminism itself.” (The writer says she does, sometimes, share her character’s views.) – BBC
Tag: 02.21.20
Holocaust Educators Want Amazon To Stop Selling Nazi Propaganda
Yes, in recent months, Amazon has removed sellers who are peddling Nazi imagery on ornaments and a beer opener. But these are books, and “Amazon takes a different approach with books than it does with home goods. ‘Amazon’s Offensive Products policies apply to all products except books, music, video and DVD,’ the retailer’s guidelines state.” – The New York Times
Turns Out To Reach Our Goals, We Shouldn’t Keep Our Eyes On The Actual Prize
The problem is that thinking about the prize bypasses the hard work – the mountains, in some cases, of hard work – that it takes to reach those goals. So: “The key to bypassing this mental glitch is to simply think about the efforts required. Imagine yourself typing away late at night on your book after a long work day, or studying for the GRE on a sunny Saturday, or waking up at 5 a.m. on a cold morning to train for that marathon.” – Fast Company
As ‘Fresh Off The Boat’ Ends, What Did It All Mean?
Asian Americans remember how excited – and worried – they were when the show was announced five years ago, after a two-decade drought for Asian American representation on network TV. Did the series live up to its hype? One writer says, “It felt like a dream.” (And it changed the media landscape demonstrably as well.) – Shondaland
Dance Critic Tobi Tobias, A Finalist For The Pulitzer Prize, Has Died At 81
“As a critic Ms. Tobias did not pull punches. In the early 1980s, for instance, when other critics were tiptoeing around the decline in the dance skills of Rudolf Nureyev, who was then in his 40s, she declared, ‘His groupies refuse to believe it, but Nureyev really can’t dance anymore.'” (You can see two pieces about Tobias, who wrote for ArtsJournal, on ArtsJournal.com here and here as well.) – The New York Times
Does Banning Critics Accomplish Anything?
Yolanda Bonnell isn’t the first artist to say that white critics get away with not knowing the cultural reference points of work outside of their own interests – but doesn’t cutting reviewers from different backgrounds off limit opportunities for learning? “You’re just perpetuating prejudice if you are not going to let people experience other cultures. If she wants more critics of color to review her, fine, invite them. But you shouldn’t stop other people from coming.” – The Guardian
50 Brand-New Scores In Three Years: Sydney Symphony Announces Major Commissioning Project
The project, called “50 Fanfares”, will encompass chamber works as well as short fanfares and full orchestral scores commissioned from 50 Australian composers and premiered through the 2020, ’21 and ’22 seasons. – Limelight (Australia)