With social contractures comes a redefinition of what is ‘safe,’ and that hits creative people hard.
On social contracture and ‘safe’ art
Tag: creators
On Donald Trump and the pop politics of suffering
The myth that suffering induces creativity endures, and it’s back with a vengeance for 2017.
We need diverse film and television crews too
With the January announcements of the Oscar nominations, there was a glaring problem: The demographic makeup of the nominees. People called out race in particular, but disability and gender were also huge issues, along with pretty much all axes of the diverse human experience. The Academy, which includes mostly older white men, nominated people who […]
Bad people can make good things
Chinatown (1974) is, unarguably, one of the greatest movies in 20th century US film, and it’s routinely listed as one of the finest examples of 20th century filmmaking worldwide. It’s a brilliantly executed, wonderfully realised, fantastic, complex, elegant film revealing a director, and a cast, at their pinnacle. Unsurprisingly, the film was nominated for, and won, a […]
Tumblr’s Creditless Culture
Tumblr is one of the most fascinating, frustrating, confusing media platforms I’ve ever used — and it regularly seems to defy any kind of known logic and understanding for others, too. Ostensibly, Tumblr is a microblogging platform, intended for brief posts, and really ideally situated for sharing art although you can also distribute videos, text, […]
Why Do Male Creators Get Such A Pass?
I’ve been following the works of Joss Whedon — and writing about them — for over a decade. An avid Buffy, Angel, and Firefly fan, I’ve watched his creations multiple times, picked them apart, put them back together, and tried to digest complex thoughts about him. I’ll be among the first to note that he’s had a profound impact […]
Journalism is Still Important
I was shocked in May of this year when the Chicago Sun-Times laid off its entire photojournalism department at one stroke, effectively putting an end to a long and storied department with a rich and complex culture. Obviously, many of the photographers in the department were more shocked than I was, and the move sparked […]
Creators, Fans, and Social Media Relationships
Earlier this year, Rob Thomas broke all kinds of records with a Kickstarter campaign to make a Veronica Mars movie. When I first saw the campaign and the ambitious goals, I wasn’t sure if he could do it. He ended up meeting his goal within the first day, blowing far past the amount of money […]
Separating Creators From Their Work
What a person creates can tell you a lot about that person; how that person thinks and believes, for example, how that person thinks about art and expression, how well that person works with others. It can provide you with glimpses into who that person is, even, as long as you operate in the awareness […]
Where Are All the Disabled Creators?
Three years ago, I asked readers: ‘Where are all the people with disabilities?‘ in television and pop culture. It’s something I’ve been exploring, poking at, pondering, and writing about ever since, because it’s a question that still hasn’t been satisfactorily answered. We may make up 20% of the population, but we are very rarely seen […]