Samuel Huntington argues that “if peoples and countries with similar cultures (that is, values, traditions, religions) are coming together, then countries made up of different cultures are in danger of coming apart. He argues in ‘Who Are We?’ that multiculturalism, diversity and bilingualism in the United States are strengthening racial, ethnic and other ‘subnational identities’ at the expense of an overarching national identity, while global business ties, global communications and global concerns (about matters like the environment and women’s rights) are increasingly promoting ‘transnational’ identities among American elites. As a result, Mr. Huntington suggests, the United States is not only undergoing a profound identity crisis, but it may eventually find its very existence threatened.”
Tag: 05.28.04
A New Broadway Tune
The show tunes making the most noise during Broadway awards season are of a different variety than those your mama loved to hum. And these new songs are changing the theatre around them. “The desire for familiarity, for hit songs or pseudo-hit songs, can override narrative coherence without anyone’s caring very much.
Online Movie Critics In The Fast Lane
A growing number of online movie critics is having more influence on young movie fans than traditional critics. “Simply, broadband is beating out the newstand when it comes to finding a quick recommendation on a new release – especially because some websites post critiques earlier than print reviewers, often sidestepping embargoes set by the studios. But the freedom of the Web to print anything – no formal credentials or editor required – has set off a debate over whether the proliferation of online reviewers has strengthened the overall state of film criticism or weakened it.”
How Mass MOCA Changed A Town
Mass MOCA has been open five years. And the contemporary art center far away from the cities has changed its host town. “Once a sleepy, economically depressed mill town, with the state’s highest unemployment rate and lowest downtown occupancy rate, North Adams has changed. According to state government figures, unemployment has declined to less than 6 percent from more than 18 percent in the late 1980’s. A study conducted by the museum shows that the storefront occupancy rate, which was below 30 percent in the mid-1990’s, now stands at 75 percent. In the last five years eight restaurants have opened in North Adams. About 120,000 people a year visit Mass MOCA, the center says.”
Bacon Painting Too Expensive – Likely To Leave UK
“A major work by Francis Bacon seems fated to leave the UK after the Tate reluctantly decided yesterday that it could not afford even to contemplate the £9.5m price tag.”
Is Painting Back In Good Graces?
“In the past two decades, cutting-edge galleries and museums have focused on everything but painting. The halls were chockablock with installations, photo-based work, conceptual art, new media, and digital and video art. But a fundamental shift has taken place. Suddenly painting is allowed to exist again.”