One force we must confront is the attention economy, an incentive structure designed to reward the most uncompromising, polarized, clickable minority. (Ironically, this minority is very often part of the white majority; see breathless, disproportionate coverage of white nationalists and supremacists following the 2016 election.) The resulting tyranny of the loudest presents an algorithmically-warped view of what’s happening in the rest of the United States. – Wired
Tag: 07.20.20
Needed: A New Deal For The Arts
This debilitating, isolating historical moment should make us rethink our attitudes, priorities and national policies with regard to our criminal justice system, health and education infrastructure and physical environment. Similarly, the American arts sphere shouldn’t merely hope to restore the “old normal” when it could instead be re-envisioned and rejuvenated. – Crosscut
There Are Four Kinds Of Streaming Video Viewers, Says Hulu Report
A new study, titled “Unpacking the Streaming Experience” and released by Hulu to launch its “Generation Stream” audience research platform, found that consumers watch in four different ways, which Hulu calls therapeutic streaming, classic streaming, indulgent streaming, and curated streaming. – The Hollywood Reporter
Black Theatermakers In Europe Talk About The Change They’re Working Toward
Excerpts from a recent Zoom conversation among three artistic directors — Kwame Kwei-Armah of London’s Young Vic, Julia Wissert of Schauspiel Dortmund in the Ruhr Valley, and Eva Doumbia of Compagnie La Part du Pauvre near Rouen — about their challenges as well as “white universality, decolonizing theater institutions and their issues with the word ‘diversity.'” – The New York Times
Two National Ballet Of Canada Dancers Retire With 114 Years Service Between Them
Laszlo Surmeyan danced lead male roles before becoming, in 1986, one of the company’s first principal character artists. This season has marked his farewell to the company after a remarkable 54 years, a record almost as remarkable as that of his wife, Lorna Geddes, who is also leaving this season, after 60 years. – Toronto Star
What Netflix’s List Of Ten Most-Watched Shows Tells Us
Netflix’s once heavily guarded vault of secret statistics has slowly opened up over the last couple of years, a gradual juicy reveal of viewer habits with some major caveats. – Irish Times
How Arts Schools Are Adapting
“It’s not an uninteresting moment to be part of CalArts,” said dance dean Dimitri Chamblas. “The school is ready to re-question, reinvent … innovating in this particular moment of time — it’s not a bad moment for study.” – Los Angeles Times
The Berkshires Cultural Crawl Without Crowds
“They parked all too easily; slung their fold-up camp chairs over their shoulders; and waited obediently in a socially distanced line to enter the grounds, cracking jokes behind their masks. The lawn — a special mix of Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass and a variety called fine fescue, designed to withstand the footsteps of up to 18,000 music fans a night — was as supernaturally green as ever. The vista, still magnificent. The sound? No tuning. Mostly birds chirping. Save for a robin dashing from the shadow of one red maple to another, it was very still.” – The New York Times
Seven Ideas For The Chicago Symphony To Perform Again
Howard Reich: “Should the organization succeed in presenting live events, it will deliver us from the current deluge of online performances by every musician who happens to own a smart phone. These musical snippets are better than nothing, of course, but bear scant relation to what happens when listeners hear music in a concert hall in real time.” – Chicago Tribune
The End Of Tourism?
It took a pandemic to stop the gluttonous consumption of other places, trips that relied centrally on the have-nots—armies of hotel workers, cleaners, food preparers, bartenders, pool attendants—to provide the lavish experience sought. The argument in favor of this juxtaposition was that tourists, however noxious, were propping up the GDP of places like Macau (51 percent), Maldives (32.5 percent), Spain (14.6 percent), and Italy (13.2 percent). It was, as neoliberal economics go, a top-down model, mere cents going to the worst-off at the bottom. – The Baffler