“Because I’m Black, because I’m a woman, and because I’m the daughter of immigrants, I can look to my own experiences and write about marginalized groups with a sensitivity that has yet to become the standard. That said, as a freelancer, the “Black” beat is unofficially assigned to me at every publication I’ve worked under. When I was a freelancer at the East Bay Express and wanted to write about something not directly related to Blackness (whatever that even means), my pitches were given away to other writers so that I could focus on the black stuff. As is the case for other Black women writers I know, a number of publications are looking to exploit my internalized racial trauma for emotion-bait and can’t fathom a use for me outside of that role. Publications need to do better.”
Tag: 09.17.18
What Those Words And Phrases You Keep Seeing In Theatre Reviews Really Mean
“Critics often fall back on neat phrases to gesture at flaws they’re reluctant to spell out, or to wave impotently at a whole mass of ideas that would take a PhD thesis to explore. For your entertainment, three Exeunt writers are here to crack the code, and reveal the true meanings behind some of the shorthands that critics fall back on when deadlines, word counts and writers’ block bite.”
Is Opera At A Dead End?
Is American opera as a whole in a terminal condition? Or are the collapse of the New York City Opera and the Met’s ongoing struggle to survive purely local matters of no relevance elsewhere?
How One Theatre Is Mobilizing Theatre To Protect Public Lands
In addition to mobilizing civic engagement at a grassroots level, the plays also act as an indelible record of the largest loss to public lands our country has ever seen. They document a community’s unique history and culture at a particularly urgent moment in that community’s journey. Because they are based on true stories, the plays are marked by an authenticity of character and voice, and a sometimes-disarming honesty. They are very real and very accessible, and have the rare power to touch people on a deeply personal level, galvanizing communities to take action.
Grappling With Balanchine’s Treatment Of Women
“The fact is, Balanchine had much more than a “roving eye” and his behavior can no longer be ignored or rationalized. His toxic relationships with women are one of many reasons that NYCB finds itself in the position it is today, struggling to understand how bad behavior was allowed to flourish for so long, both at the highest levels of leadership and in the lower ranks as well. At this moment, coming to terms with this unflattering side of the Balanchine legacy is arguably more important than preserving his choreography for future generations. Without an honest reckoning about its past, NYCB will never truly be able to move forward.”
Academia’s Missing Republican Faculty
Democrats dominate most fields. In religion, Mitchell Langbert’s survey found that the ratio of Democrats to Republicans is 70 to 1. In music, it is 33 to 1. In biology, it is 21 to 1. In philosophy, history and psychology, it is 17 to 1. In political science, it is 8 to 1. The gap is narrower in science and engineering. In physics, economics and mathematics, the ratio is about 6 to 1. In chemistry, it is 5 to 1, and in engineering, it is just 1.6 to 1. Still, Lambert found no field in which Republicans are more numerous than Democrats.
Journalist/Guinea Pig Tries Auditioning For Alvin Ailey Dance Company (Uh-Oh)
Madison Mills: “What does it take to make it as a dancer in New York? I have no idea. I’ve never done ballet, I prefer jazz hands to leaps, and I’m more uncoordinated than most. Regardless, I decided to find out. So I auditioned for Alvin Ailey, one of the most prestigious dance companies in New York. It wasn’t pretty.” (video)
What’s Behind The Subgenre Of ‘Rock Star Romance’ Novels?
To figure it out, Rebecca Onion read a bunch of them: “Romance novels, as a genre, do a lot of thinking about the way power (wealth, intelligence, competence) drives attraction — for the women swooning over the male heroes, but also for the men themselves, who (in romance novels written recently, at least) often fall in love with heroines who can match their qualities of personal strength. Given that thematic interest, romance between civilians and stars is a natural fit. These rock stars are ‘alphas’ in the ‘best at their jobs’ sense; they need the women they meet to help them develop their private selves.”
Annette Michelson, 95, Pioneering Film And Art Critic
“It is difficult to overstate the many ways in which Michelson contributed to both the film and the art worlds. She was among the first to teach at New York University’s Cinema Studies department, which was among the first of its kind in the United States. And, with Rosalind Krauss, in 1976, she cofounded the journal October, which spurred on a widespread interest in critical theory — in particular the writings of French post-structuralists like Michel Foucault and Jacques Derrida — within the New York art world of the 1970s and ’80s.”
Investigation: How TicketMaster Manipulates Ticket Prices
A CBC News and Toronto Star investigation reveals how box-office behemoth Ticketmaster uses its own bag of tricks — which includes partnering with scalpers — to boost its profits at the expense of music fans. Data journalists monitored Ticketmaster’s website for seven months leading up to this weekend’s show at Scotiabank Arena, closely tracking seats and prices to find out exactly how the box-office system works.