“Exodus to Shanghai is a film that claims to tell the story of Ho Feng-Shan, Chinese consul for Vienna, a rescuer of Jews in prewar Austria. While indeed based on true events, it may be the first Holocaust film that heavily features martial-arts-action scenes. The cast includes German actors, as well as Romanians, some Asians, and two young blond models. It was completed in Israel and sponsored by the Fashion TV channel. Sounds delusional? Not in the eyes of the filmmakers.”
Tag: 07.11.17
Why Do Languages Have Contractions?
As Slate puts it, “John McWhorter explains why we love shrinkage.” (podcast)
Bolshoi Canceled ‘Nureyev’ Ballet, On Culture Minister’s Orders, Because Of Gay ‘Propaganda’ Law: Report
“Just days after the Bolshoi called off the premiere, Russia’s state-run TASS news agency quoted an unidentified ‘source’ as saying that Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky ordered the show postponed because it may constitute gay ‘propaganda’ [under a notorious] 2013 law.”
Someone Is Flooding The FCC With Fake Comments Asking To End Net Neutrality
The fraudulent letter-writing campaign wasn’t a small-time operation. Thousands of form letters had been filed online, fraudulently signed under the names of real people, from Utah to Maine. “Whoever set this up got a large cloud service to a rate-limited public FCC API that doesn’t allow many submissions. They had to spin up a huge number of servers to make it work.”
Conspiracy Theorists “Love” The Public Art In Denver’s Airport
Conspiratorial “experts” like Jay Weidner assert that the airport’s murals and capstone prove the existence of a secret government plan for a “New World Order.” Others implicate the airport in the murder of JonBenét Ramsey. One local Evangelical Christian group, Cephas Ministries, claimed that the DIA was built as part of a plot to murder the “people that Lucifer hates.”
Ten Years Ago It Became Illegal To Smoke In Public Buildings In The UK. It Had An Effect On The Role Of Smoking In Movies
“Smoking used to be significant, especially on film and TV. It is now even more so. At first, it was a prop; famously, or so it was said, a way of giving actors something to do with their hands. I prefer to think that it is a way of expressing, or evading, some deep inner turbulence. It signifies nonchalance and its opposite, while providing for the camera and our gaze a curling backdrop of smoke with which the cinematographer can make play.”
Polly Carl Writes About What Democratization Of Our Arts Really Means
“The demand for democratization isn’t rebellious, but rather, our responsibility as citizens—to push our field to be more representative of the America we live in. The “gatekeeper types” have represented a small and exclusive part of our democracy and we must be challenged, and we don’t have to react defensively. Rather, we might have to feel the precariousness that women and trans people and people of color know so very well.”
Majority Of Republicans Now Distrust Colleges. Is This Why?
Megan McArdle: “Republicans apparently kept right on loving their colleges until 2015. After all, many Republicans can thank college for getting them a good job. A team to root for on frosty autumn days. Some lovely, hazy memories of beer pong tournaments. Heck, maybe they even learned something. So why, just in the last couple of years, would conservatives turn against colleges with a vengeance?”
The High Cost Of Rape Scenes In Today’s Movies And TV
“Media attention to rape in film is targeted mostly at how audiences perceive the scenes and lamenting the studios’ sheer mass of sexual violence on screen. Many articles ask the question: Are these scenes gratuitous? But rarely do we think about the filmmakers, actors and crew who make on-screen rapes happen, like MacNair. How do they feel? Are they tired of rape scenes? Or what if portraying rape could actually be a positive thing?”
Founder Of Death Cafe Movement Dies Suddenly At Age 44
“From the basement of his house in Hackney, an artsy borough in London’s East End, [Jon] Underwood perpetuated a movement that spread to more than a dozen countries with more than 1,000 gatherings. … These were not grief support groups or end-of-life planning sessions, but rather casual forums for people who wanted to bat around” – over tea and cake, a key element of the project – “philosophical thoughts. What is death like? Why do we fear it? How do our views of death inform the way we live?