“Very Special Episodes — i.e., the ones in which a TV series would take a break from its regularly scheduled programming to deal with a difficult or controversial subject (like The Next Generation‘s two-part school shooting arc) — are as old as television itself. Case in point: Leave It to Beaver grappled with divorce, and The Andy Griffith Show tackled alcoholism. But they really took off in the 1970s when TV legend Norman Lear wove the social issues of the era into his numerous prime-time hits.” And, as schlocky as some of them could be, people actually learned from them — a lot. – Mel
Tag: 11.21.20
As Philadelphia’s Arts Sector Closes Up For Second Time, Fears About What Might Not Survive
“After initial COVID-19 shutdowns in March, many organizations made significant investments in reopening this summer or moving activities online, … ‘and now it appears they won’t be able to reap any impact from that investment, at least for quite a while.’ … For groups that showed resourcefulness in moving operations online and making attendance safe for visitors, the new restrictions feel like a step backward. More critically, the new constraints threaten an already fragile sector.” – The Philadelphia Inquirer
Snapchat Offers $1M/Day For Content Creators To Compete With TikTok
Snap is launching Snapchat Spotlight, which will show users a stream of publicly submitted posts surfaced based on personalized content algorithms. Snapchatters who contribute to Spotlight are eligible to get a cut of more than $1 million daily, doled out based on popularity. It’s a bid by Snap to keep top creative talent on its platform — as it faces growing competition from short-form video rivals TikTok and Instagram. – Variety
Remember Disruptive Technologies? There Are Way Fewer Of Them These Days
Since about the year 2000, disruption, or what the economist Joseph Schumpeter called “creative destruction,” has become less and less common in the US economy, according to a recent working paper by researchers at the Boston University School of Law. – Quartz
Charli D’Amelio Is The First To Get To 100 Million Followers On TikTok (And Here’s What You Can Learn From It)
While this year has been rough for most, D’Amelio has had an extraordinary 2020 by anyone’s standards — never mind a teenage schoolgirl who little over a year ago was just filming dance videos in her bedroom. Not only has her profile on the app grown exponentially from just 1 million followers a year ago, but her career outside of TikTok has also exploded. – CNET
Many Arts Groups Are Getting More Donations Than Usual During Lockdown
In Seattle, arts organizations report that their fundraising is up — sometimes dramatically — over what they typically raise. – Seattle Times
Pure Visuals
No need for stories in or about her art, says painter Suzan Frecon. “The more I looked at the paintings, the more I understood how they were painted. That is what mattered. I went with that understanding and direction forever.” – Hyperallergic
China Increasingly Targets Muslim Writers And Readers
One publisher, who has fled and has seen 40 family members and friends associated with him detained or jailed, says, “The state only wants its garden to have one type of flower … the red ones. Green, blue or white flowers: if they are not red, they will be cut down.” – NPR
Why Did President Obama’s First Memoir Take So Long To Write?
The 44th president’s memoir was indeed much longer than he originally planned, and this is only volume one. “He writes in a very classic way. … He sits down with a pen and pad.” And that’s another way he differs from many former presidents: Obama writes his own books. – The New York Times
Queensland Ballet Is Practicing For 2021, And One Of Its Principals Answers Questions
Lucy Green is deeply aware of her privilege right now in the world of ballet – to be employed, to be practicing, to be planning for performance, none of it can be taken for granted during a pandemic. When the interviewer asks her which famous people she’d invite for dinner, she keeps it absolutely real: “I’d much rather have dinner with my family and friends who live interstate/overseas and who I haven’t seen all year due to border closures.” – Ballet News