A new class action lawsuit, filed Friday in California Superior Court and announced in a press advisory Monday, argues that the Walt Disney Company, worth approximately $130 billion as of this year, failed to pay hundreds of those workers a living wage. The complaint was filed by five Disney employees on behalf of more than 400 hospitality workers. – The Daily Beast
Tag: 12.10.19
Audience and Actors Sharing ‘The Thin Place’
Emily Cass McDonnell, who stars as Hilda in the New York premiere of Lucas Hnath’s The Thin Place, knows that it works because of magic. An important part of the experience happens near the beginning of the play when Hilda engages an audience member. But not in any usual way. – Margy Waller
How NPR Changed The Voice Of Authority
NPR has kept speaking with many voices that would sound out of place on the air anywhere else. Many, if not most, have been female. As hosts and anchors, correspondents and reporters, women have played a key role in giving NPR its distinctive sound. – The Conversation
For Gender Parity Among Filmmakers, The Middle East Is Way Ahead Of Hollywood
“A recent study by Northwestern University … found that 26% of independent Arab filmmakers are women … In Morocco, Tunisia and Lebanon, 25% of all new directors are women. In Egypt, this year’s Cairo International Film Festival became the first Arab festival, and second African festival, to pledge 50-50 gender parity by 2020.” – BBC
A Protest Song-And-Dance About Violence Against Women, Launched In Chile, Is Spreading All Over The World
“This stirring performance, titled ‘Un violador en tu camino‘ (“A Rapist in Your Path), was first brought to life by the feminist art collective called Lastesis at a protest in the port city of Valparaíso, Chile, late last month, as a way of drawing attention to violence against women. Since then, this viral action has materialized in Colombia, Mexico, France, India, the U.S. and Turkey (where an attempt to stage it on Sunday was broken up by police).” – Los Angeles Times
Turns Out Lord Elgin Actually Did A Bit Of Good With The Parthenon’s Marble Friezes
Yes, he looted much of the statuary at the ancient Greek monument (his booty now sits in the British Museum), but he also had Athenian craftsmen take plaster casts of much of what he left in Athens. Now those casts reveal a lot of detail that has since been worn away by the corrosive effects of air pollution. – The Guardian
Merriam-Webster’s 2019 Word Of The Year: ‘They’
“The US dictionary … said that look-ups for ‘they’ increased by 313% in 2019 compared with the previous year, as the public investigated the word’s shifting use [as a singular pronoun for gender non-binary individuals] and its increasing prominence in the news.” – The Guardian
May Stevens, Protest Artist Known For ‘Big Daddy Series, Dead At 95
“Stevens was known for her monumental paintings that dealt with social and political issues, as well as her activism, teaching, and writing. The artist used personal experiences and her responses to racism and oppression to inform her works, which span painting, collage, drawing, and prints.” – ARTnews
Protests As Peter Handke Collects Nobel Lit Prize
The Austrian writer’s win in October has proved highly controversial, with politicians and writers lining up to condemn his denial of Serb atrocities during the war in the former Yugoslavia, as well as his presence at the funeral of war criminal Slobodan Miloševic. The Kosovan ambassador to the US, Vlora Çitaku, has called the choice of Handke “scandalous … a preposterous and shameful decision”. – The Guardian
That Art Basel $120K Banana – This Is Where We Are Now
Sebastien Smee: “What happened to “Comedian” after it became a media sensation sums up our collective disorder — a kind of media-based bulimia — exquisitely. First, at lunchtime on Saturday, David Datuna, a little-known and well-fed-looking performance artist wanting to become better known, showed up at the gallery, took the banana off the wall and, claiming to be a “hungry artist,” ate it.” – Washington Post