Michelle Dockery says she loves playing complex, not always likeable characters – “like with ‘The Sopranos’ or ‘Nurse Jackie’ — or even Lady Mary, particularly in the last [season] — they’re characters that you go through phases with. You’re rooting for them but you don’t always approve of their behavior.”
Tag: 11.11.16
LitHub Doubles Down On Its Commitments To Equity And Diversity Because ‘The Literary Is Political’
LitHub’s editor writes, “Literary Hub will use its platform (as we have tried to thus far) as a space for bearing witness and calling to action, for testimony and prosecution, for lamentation and, when possible, celebration. A space for the many and wonderful literary voices that make up our real America.”
What Kind Of Music Do Birds Like To Listen To?
There’s a science experiment, using a vaguely Pandora-like device, to find out. “Demaray is attempting to build a database of the songs preferred by our wild, feathered friends and eventually present a music-discovery service for birds.”
When Movies Are ‘Too Big To Fail’ – And Then They Do
When movies push the boundaries of the craft – you know, like when color and sound came around – they can fail hard, and then change everything. “But for every Mustang there’s an Edsel, and after two very costly, public humiliations, I think we can safely say that high frame rate is not the future of cinema.”
Podcasts Evolve To A Higher Level And Sophistication
“We’re starting to get away from the idea of the old-school radio drama with a capital R and a capital D,” said Julie Shapiro, the executive producer of the podcast network Radiotopia. In its place, she said, “a more contemporary sense is developing of what audio fiction can be.”
The World’s Greatest Jazz City? You Might Be Surprised…
“Newark’s place in jazz history includes Sarah Vaughan, Wayne Shorter, James Moody, Woody Shaw and Larry Young, among others. That coupled with its modern-day vibrancy makes Newark one of the greatest jazz cities in the world.”
Study: Why We’re Becoming More Ideologically Segregated
“Increasingly, our cultural divide is also a geographical divide, as mobile Americans choose to live among people with similar ideological beliefs. But why? A research study published this summer provides a clear answer: It’s far more emotionally comfortable.”
How Reality TV Has Changed The Nature Of Our Delusions…
Delusions have been around since people have been around, “but that delusions often bear a complicated relationship to the cultural context in which they occur. During the Cold War, for instance, there was an uptick in people believing they were under surveillance by the C.I.A. or F.B.I.” The rise of the “Truman Show” delusion has coincided with the advent of reality television and other media in which people actually are recorded and broadcast all the time. “We’re raising our children with the notion that you, too, can be famous tomorrow.”
Japanese Noh Plays Seem To Be Everywhere Right Now. But They’re Obscure, So Why?
“Why Noh? Why now? No (Noh) why. Noh is indirect drama, better suited for posing questions than, like Ibsen or Arthur Miller, positing answers. If we did know why, we wouldn’t need Noh, and clearly, we do.”