Media

During Cuba’s Special Period, a time of deprivation following the collapse of the Soviet Union, many cinemas closed due to lack of funding, so the state opened small “video rooms” to screen movies on VHS. For mere pennies, Cubans across the island can enjoy a day at the movies. It’s so cheap that some locals pay the admission simply to enjoy the air conditioning, which seems to be more modern than some of the cinemas’ technical equipment. – The Daily Beast

“In a strange turn more than three decades after the meltdown, the exclusion area around Chernobyl is gaining a following as a tourism destination, apparently propelled by the popularity of a TV mini-series about the blast that was broadcast in the United States and Britain last month.” – The New York Times

David Thomson: “The shrewdest thing to say about Pauline Kael – beyond recognising that she was essential – is that she was kind of crazy. Yet determined to seem rational or in control.”
Kate Muir: “Her language is spankingly crisp and her reactions that of a ticket-buying human, not someone sweating ink as they try to impress.” – The Guardian

According to a Wednesday memo sent to the group and obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, a few members were found to have engaged in or advocated for block voting. That is to say, they discussed voting with other members of the group with the intention of all voting for one or more specific projects. – The Hollywood Reporter

“The happy ending of our most-watched childhood stories is no longer a kiss. Today, Disney films end with two siblings reconciled despite their differences, as in Frozen (2013); or a mother and a daughter making amends, as in Brave (2012) and Inside Out (2015); or a child reunited with long-lost parents, as in Tangled (2010), Finding Dory (2016) and Coco (2011). Love remains the all-important linchpin of these stories … but over the past 10 years, we have been told to love a new kind of love.” – Aeon

After all, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ Doomsday Clock is still set at two minutes to midnight, most of the Cold War-era nukes (or their replacements) are still here, and the world isn’t exactly seeming stable these days. Stephen Phelan looks at Hollywood’s portrayals of nuclear apocalypse, both older and more recent. – Boston Review

“Dipsea is just one of a growing set of companies that are developing audio porn, targeting both people who don’t get off on the extraordinarily explicit visuals provided on standard porn sites and those who want to take porn outside the bedroom without discomfiting others.” – OZY

“The banning of Rocketman, a biographic film about the life of musician Elton John, in Samoa has prompted criticism by human rights activists of ‘selective morality’ in a country where transgender women are widely accepted.” – The Guardian

On pretending to be a bogus Israeli anti-terrorism expert for his film Who Is America?: “The character creation is a reverse character creation. You have to think, Okay, we got Dick Cheney, he’s agreed to do this. How am I going to convince one of the most cynical, suspicious, brilliant minds that I’m real? How am I going to get him to say things he’s ultimately going to regret? That becomes the process of fully learning your character and making sure there are no holes in your character.” – Vulture

Oh, you thought it was cool, or even OK, that [SPOILER ALERT HIDDEN] is ruling Westeros? Let’s think of alllllll of the reasons why that person is a mass murderer who may rule for hundreds of years, and see if you still think it’s cool. – HuffPost

One of the writers of Jane the Virgin says, “What is Game of Thrones if not the story of Jon Snow, who saves a bunch of refugees, gets killed by his people for doing so, gets brought back from the dead, and survived the politics of his nation, then goes beyond the Wall to start his own chapter of Amnesty International?” – Variety

Just take a look at Shrill or Fleabag versus, oh, Game of Thrones, or Chernobyl. “Over time, length came to be correlated with quality, and with TV auteurs who declined to have their genius constrained by such arbitrary forces as ‘formats’ or ‘editors.'” Now the backlash has begun. – The Atlantic

Natasha Lyonne and Maya Rudolph are two of the funniest stars out there, but on Russian Doll and Forever, they’re forced to put that humor to use in the middle of some pretty intense situations. Lyonne has a serious theory about Rudolph’s ability to move back and forth: “Because of SNL and, first, The Groundlings, that there’s a deep training ground in there that’s very real. You give them what’s really a very formal education: Under all conditions, the highest of stakes, at the most pressure in the world, deliver.” – Variety

Nancy Meyers and Mindy Kaling agree that this is clearly related to gender. Look at Wes Anderson’s kitchens and dining rooms – or have you noticed articles about them? – Variety

“Small-town radio is fizzling nationwide, as stations struggle to attract advertisement dollars. And as station owners are forced to sell, media conglomerates snap up rural frequencies for rock-bottom prices, for the sole purpose of relocating them to urban areas. … With limited frequencies available, larger broadcasters purchase as many as possible – especially those higher on the dial – in a race not dissimilar to a real estate grab.’ A reporter looks in on one of the victims of this phenomenon, KHIL in Willcox, Arizona. – The Guardian

“Although entertainment-industry protests have previously helped derail socially conservative legislation in Georgia, studios didn’t voice significant opposition to the new abortion law while it was being considered by the state legislature. Now, according to the University of Georgia political scientist Charles Bullock, it’s unlikely they can meaningfully impact the law’s future, which is up to the courts.” – The Atlantic

As the legendary Humpty Dumpty cracked, never to be repaired, Internet 1.0 is shattering, too. Now we are hammering the internet into a splinternet of different forms. Regional digital “nations” are forming, and it’s likely that this fracturing will continue as sovereign entities apply their own rules about content, commerce, privacy, and politics. – Quartz

During the month of daytime fasting, families and friends often gather around the TV during and after the evening meal, and Egyptian networks prepare their biggest programming events for the season. This year, the regime of Gen. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi came down hard on the soaps, restricting and sometimes dictating content and even banning one of Egypt’s most popular actors from screens. – The Baffler

“YouTube is taking additional steps to restrict the possibility that children will be targeted by predators on the video platform — including banning young kids from live-streaming with[out] adult supervision. The Google-owned video platform, in a blog post Monday, also said it is limiting recommendations of videos that depict ‘minors in risky situations.’” – Variety

“YouTube never set out to serve users with sexual interests in children — but in the end, … its automated system managed to keep them watching with recommendations that [are] ‘disturbingly on point.’ Users do not need to look for videos of children to end up watching them. The platform can lead them there through a progression of recommendations.” – The New York Times

“Oktay İnce, a longtime video activist fighting to retrieve an archive worth 20 years of his work, was held in police custody and accused of terrorist propaganda after he chained himself to a pole outside the culture ministry in Ankara.” – Hyperallergic

As a Change.org petition (with about 3,000 signatures so far) puts it, “We [pro-choice people in Georgia] now share the burden of condemnation for actions we fought from the beginning — with our time, energy, talents, and contributions. In spite of being part of the resistance, we’ll suffer the actions of our elected officials twice over.” – Pacific Standard

Lynch, Studi, and Wertmüller will receive honorary Academy Awards for lifetime achievement, while Davis will receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in recognition of her work toward gender equity in the media industries. – Variety