In the Heights might have opened to disappointing box office numbers this weekend, but those who did see it had the chance to learn about second-generation immigrants' dreams - and, through an elderly character, reality. "The classic peril of assimilation in America is that a perceived greater belonging demands a partial loss of self," but Abuela Claudia's character offers...
Books can be intensely powerful for some people, especially when the books do the work of repairing past pain. "'So many queer people 'have been through immense pain growing up in our adolescence,' Dr. Matos told me. Attempts by the broader culture to 'limit who we loved, what we desire, what we do with our bodies' abound. In these...
Coming to those who are interested in Spanish-language media, to be a little more precise. Disney, Netflix, and Warner Media, and Univision all have a piece of the pie - and are tugging, hard. "It’s easy to see why streamers and studios see a gold mine. Latinos consistently accounted for a disproportionate amount of moviegoing before the pandemic, yet...
Take Netflix's new High on the Hog as an example: "The narrative about Black food is often one of resilience—a history of dishes and cooking passed down from one generation to the next as Black people survived subpar and inhumane conditions. While part of that is true, High on the Hog is not afraid to complicate that narrative by reconsidering Black...
And that's fine. "Published authors, more often than not famous ones, have had few scruples when it comes to committing literary larceny. 'Authors are like privateers,' claimed Samuel Johnson, 'always fair game for one another.'" - The Smart Set
First, meme well (and second, make She Memes Well the title of your memoir). In her new book, comedian and meme power user Quinta Brunson "breaks down her journey from struggling stand-up comedian to being recognized by strangers all over the world. The book includes hilarious anecdotes about growing up in West Philadelphia, being a Black woman, dating and...
Beatty's roles "captured the full spectrum of humanity — from sincerity to villainy, buffoonery to tragedy — and made him one of the most versatile performers of his generation." Beatty: "My great joy is throwing curveballs. Being a star cuts down your effectiveness as an actor, because you become an identifiable part of a product and somewhat predictable. ......
In college, Beatrice Waterhouse started wondering where she could find information about Jews in the ballet world. So she created a Tumblr site, "'People of the Barre' (which, yes, is a play on 'people of the book') and started using the blog to store tidbits she came across about Jews in ballet, mainly for her own reference." - Forward
It's been an expensive and draining series of legal battles. "After three years of courtroom hostilities, the estate of the artist Robert Indiana and the artist’s former business partner said Friday that they had agreed to settle the legal disputes that cost the estate millions of dollars and clouded the market for a man known for such works as...
Living authors like Kate Mosse and Philip Pullman are worried because as Britain exits the EU, protections have changed. "Authors and publishers fear that changing the rules could mean that cheap international editions of a book would pour into the UK, eroding the money authors could make from a domestic sale." - The Guardian (UK)
Komunyakaa: Writing poetry "feels like one has been chosen as a caretaker of observation. There's a certain reality, but also there's a certain kind of dreaming, and that place takes us someplace that we never dreamt of." - NPR
The story of Selena Quintanilla is quintessentially American - so why did Netflix order it as a Latin American original with a tiny budget that meant filming in Mexico and paying writers (and other staff members) much, much less than they would have gotten in the U.S.? "Their love for Selena, the writers said, drove them to take the job...
After a planned protest in one of the school's buildings, the students "were barred from the Diamond building, and the school told them that it was investigating an incident that included reported violations 'pertaining to community safety.' On Thursday, about 20 students continued their tuition protest on the sidewalk outside, waving placards and accusing the school of using heavy-handed...
