Monday, April 01, 2013

Worth a Look

Here are a few articles from last week's Greenpage that might be worth your time:

The Creative Class Is Still On The Rise

Big Think TV | Big Think: In 2002, Richard Florida published his celebrated book The Rise of the Creative Class about the growth of the creative workforce and its implications for the rest of the culture and the economy. When the book was re-issued with updates ten years later, some of Florida's critics wondered whether the book should be given a new title: The Rise and Fall of the Creative Class.

A Connecticut Theater Club? Say, That's The Ticket

Courant.com: Are Connecticut theaters missing out on a new audience? New engagement? New revenue? The thought occurred to me when a colleague asked me a simple question: How can she buy a gift certificate for someone who can then choose whatever show they want at any major theater in the state? With so many terrific theaters around the state -- and not sure of the giftee’s tastes -- she didn’t want to be tied down to selecting just one theater, one show, one time.
 

Why Are There So Few Female Magicians?

Ashley Fetters - The Atlantic: In the new Steve Carell comedy The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, there's a moment when Jane (Olivia Wilde), Burt's reluctant onstage assistant, transforms Burt's dollar bill into a butterfly. It's a charming scene, showing one more adorable step toward Burt and Jane's inevitable rom-com happy ending. Plus turning money into a tiny fluttering monarch is just generally pretty cool. Yet it also got me thinking: Why is this the first time I have ever seen a woman do a magic trick?
 

The new propaganda is liberal. The new slavery is digital

www.newstatesman.com: What is modern propaganda? For many, it is the lies of a totalitarian state. In the 1970s, I met Leni Riefenstahl and asked her about her epic films that glorified the Nazis. Using revolutionary camera and lighting techniques, she produced a documentary form that mesmerised Germans; her Triumph of the Will cast Hitler’s spell. She told me that the “messages” of her films were dependent not on “orders from above”, but on the “submissive void” of the German public. Did that include the liberal, educated bourgeoisie? “Everyone,” she said.
 

Television Still Written by White Men: Report

www.backstage.com: Minority writers remain underrepresented in American television, which may contribute to the dearth of roles for minority performers.
“[W]riters play a foundational role in the fashioning of the stories a society circulates about itself. But in the Hollywood entertainment industry, unfortunately, there has all too often existed a disconnect between the writers hired to tell our stories and an America that’s becoming increasingly diverse with each passing day,” the report from the Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) states.

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