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"content": "\u003cp>In an interview about his movie, Gary Oldman once said: “It is a glorious part. A dream of a role. But it wasn’t an immediate ‘yes’. I just wondered how I would meet the physical challenge of it. I happen to think it’s an incredible … bench mark in the field of make-up.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oldman was, of course, talking about his Academy Award-winning transformation into Winston Churchill in \u003cem>Darkest Hour. \u003c/em>But various corners of the internet have since \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4w6-XXXv90\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">taken his words\u003c/a> and applied them instead to his role in 2004’s \u003cem>Tiptoes\u003c/em>—a relentless hellride of a movie in which he plays a little person. (Try not to think on that title too hard—it gets worse the longer you do.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3qGGk5ymQ4\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He was basically on his knees,” co-star \u003ca href=\"https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/the-incredible-story-behind-tiptoes-the-movie-in-121940150.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kate Beckinsale later explained\u003c/a> to MTV, “with a prosthetic part of his head and face and a hump and different kinds of harnesses to strap his arms back to make them short, and special clothes. They had various different effects, like if he was sitting in a chair, his legs would actually be inside the chair and he’d have these little fake legs sticking out on top.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She’s not joking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Tiptoes\u003c/em>, at first glance, appears to be a fairly typical romantic comedy: Matthew McConaughey plays Steven, a regular-guy firefighter who’s in a relationship with a tattooed painter named Carol (played by Beckinsale). Steven is secretive about his background until Carol gets a surprise visitor one day who tells her that Steven is the only one in his family who wasn’t born with dwarfism. The news is an especially big shock since she’s just found out she is pregnant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13874946\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 300px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13874946\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/v1.jpg\" alt=\"Patricia Arquette and Peter Dinklage in 'Tiptoes.'\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/v1.jpg 300w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/v1-160x160.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Patricia Arquette and Peter Dinklage in ‘Tiptoes.’\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Oldman plays Steven’s twin brother Rolfe (with an American accent that is not great), and Peter Dinklage appears as his pal Maurice, a French Marxist (with an accent that’s not… \u003cem>bien\u003c/em>). Maurice is dating Lucy, a hitchhiker with white-lady cornrows played by Patricia Arquette. (It’s worth noting that Arquette and Dinklage play the only vaguely likable characters in this entire thing.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It remains a mystery how this movie got a cast of this stature, but one gets the sense that, once upon a time, \u003cem>Tiptoes\u003c/em> was trying to be important. The ghosts of those good intentions emerge occasionally in scenes that aim to prove that little people are just like everyone else—opinionated, sexually active, well-rounded—except for when they’re forced to deal with casual abuse from strangers and physical ailments related to their size. Unfortunately, because the movie ultimately can’t figure out what it wants to be—a romance, slapstick comedy or searing drama—salient points tend to get lost.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It doesn’t help that the script is self-conscious, PSA-level clunky and grossly \u003ca href=\"https://dwarfparents.com/chance-having-dwarf-child\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">over-estimates the likelihood\u003c/a> of two average sized people producing a child with dwarfism. It doesn’t help that the ending is completely out of left field and patronizing but, worst of all, the film is prone to presenting little people as caricatures—the slutty blond, the angry communist and the wholesome family man are all here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If there’s one consistent element in\u003cem> Tiptoes,\u003c/em> it’s in just how offensive Oldman’s physical appearance is. He’s given a walking stick as a ploy to explain the awkward movements caused by him “walking” on his knees. His prosthetic hump moves and changes size. And every time an actual little person is used as his body double, it shines a spotlight on just how different Oldman’s proportions are. Worst of all, those fake legs Beckinsale mentioned look like limp foam appendages ripped off a cheap Halloween costume.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a 2012 \u003cem>New York Times\u003c/em> interview, Dinklage expressed mixed feelings about the film. “It was sort of an amazing idea for a movie, but the result [of the final cut] was what we were fighting against—the cutesiness of little people,” he said. “There was some flak. ‘Why would you put Gary Oldman on his knees? That’s almost like blackface.’ And I have my own opinions about political correctness, but I was just like, ‘It’s Gary Oldman. He can do whatever he wants.'”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13874900\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13874900\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/image-800x400.jpg\" alt=\"Gary Oldman and Kate Beckinsale in 'Tiptoes.'\" width=\"800\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/image-800x400.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/image-160x80.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/image-768x384.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/image-1020x510.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/image.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gary Oldman and Kate Beckinsale in ‘Tiptoes.’\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Tiptoes\u003c/em> is just one in an extremely long line of movies that have inflicted indignities on little people. Exploitation was rife in the early days of Hollywood—the actors who played Munchkins in 1939’s \u003cem>Wizard of Oz\u003c/em>, for example, were paid \u003ca href=\"https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/little-people-actors-actresses-low-pay-degrading-jobs-tragedy-922261\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">less than half\u003c/a> of what the dog that played Toto made per week. Plus, roles are—and have always been—very limited. Even after becoming a household name as Mini-Me in \u003cem>Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, \u003c/em>Verne Troyer was recently reduced to starring in \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ywANMZs4hY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Gnome Alone\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, a low budget horror movie. To make matters worse, available parts for little people are often limited to that of evil creatures or magical beings. (See: Griphook in \u003cem>Harry Potter, \u003c/em>or the Oompa Loompas in \u003cem>Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.\u003c/em>)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ali Chapman, an actress, entertainer and cast member of \u003ca href=\"https://www.hulu.com/series/little-women-la-545f850c-28e6-4aae-a114-0b971aa3b715?&cmp=7958&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=BM%20Search%20TV%20Shows&utm_term=&ds_rl=1263136&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-Jzy7s_P5wIVbxitBh1qeAHFEAAYASAAEgK5QfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Little Women LA\u003c/em>\u003c/a> told \u003cem>The Hollywood Reporter\u003c/em> in 2016: “I mean, I can just be a nurse in a show, or a mom, or a lady walking her dog down the street! Like, do I need to be an elf? Do I need to be a leprechaun?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While \u003cem>Tiptoes\u003c/em> did give little actors roles outside of the fantasy realm, it ultimately failed to treat dwarfism with much respect either. Its failure to give the role of Rolfe to someone born with the appropriate stature (\u003cem>Peter Dinklage was right there\u003c/em>!) wasn’t just a major stumbling block, it ultimately turned \u003cem>Tiptoes\u003c/em> into a sideshow—which was the exact opposite of what everyone involved clearly originally wanted. Today, it remains mostly buried, a cult classic and, for obvious reasons, a fairly major embarrassment for everyone involved.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>In an interview about his movie, Gary Oldman once said: “It is a glorious part. A dream of a role. But it wasn’t an immediate ‘yes’. I just wondered how I would meet the physical challenge of it. I happen to think it’s an incredible … bench mark in the field of make-up.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oldman was, of course, talking about his Academy Award-winning transformation into Winston Churchill in \u003cem>Darkest Hour. \u003c/em>But various corners of the internet have since \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4w6-XXXv90\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">taken his words\u003c/a> and applied them instead to his role in 2004’s \u003cem>Tiptoes\u003c/em>—a relentless hellride of a movie in which he plays a little person. (Try not to think on that title too hard—it gets worse the longer you do.)\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/O3qGGk5ymQ4'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/O3qGGk5ymQ4'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>“He was basically on his knees,” co-star \u003ca href=\"https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/the-incredible-story-behind-tiptoes-the-movie-in-121940150.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kate Beckinsale later explained\u003c/a> to MTV, “with a prosthetic part of his head and face and a hump and different kinds of harnesses to strap his arms back to make them short, and special clothes. They had various different effects, like if he was sitting in a chair, his legs would actually be inside the chair and he’d have these little fake legs sticking out on top.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She’s not joking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Tiptoes\u003c/em>, at first glance, appears to be a fairly typical romantic comedy: Matthew McConaughey plays Steven, a regular-guy firefighter who’s in a relationship with a tattooed painter named Carol (played by Beckinsale). Steven is secretive about his background until Carol gets a surprise visitor one day who tells her that Steven is the only one in his family who wasn’t born with dwarfism. The news is an especially big shock since she’s just found out she is pregnant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13874946\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 300px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13874946\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/v1.jpg\" alt=\"Patricia Arquette and Peter Dinklage in 'Tiptoes.'\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/v1.jpg 300w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/v1-160x160.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Patricia Arquette and Peter Dinklage in ‘Tiptoes.’\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Oldman plays Steven’s twin brother Rolfe (with an American accent that is not great), and Peter Dinklage appears as his pal Maurice, a French Marxist (with an accent that’s not… \u003cem>bien\u003c/em>). Maurice is dating Lucy, a hitchhiker with white-lady cornrows played by Patricia Arquette. (It’s worth noting that Arquette and Dinklage play the only vaguely likable characters in this entire thing.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It remains a mystery how this movie got a cast of this stature, but one gets the sense that, once upon a time, \u003cem>Tiptoes\u003c/em> was trying to be important. The ghosts of those good intentions emerge occasionally in scenes that aim to prove that little people are just like everyone else—opinionated, sexually active, well-rounded—except for when they’re forced to deal with casual abuse from strangers and physical ailments related to their size. Unfortunately, because the movie ultimately can’t figure out what it wants to be—a romance, slapstick comedy or searing drama—salient points tend to get lost.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It doesn’t help that the script is self-conscious, PSA-level clunky and grossly \u003ca href=\"https://dwarfparents.com/chance-having-dwarf-child\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">over-estimates the likelihood\u003c/a> of two average sized people producing a child with dwarfism. It doesn’t help that the ending is completely out of left field and patronizing but, worst of all, the film is prone to presenting little people as caricatures—the slutty blond, the angry communist and the wholesome family man are all here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If there’s one consistent element in\u003cem> Tiptoes,\u003c/em> it’s in just how offensive Oldman’s physical appearance is. He’s given a walking stick as a ploy to explain the awkward movements caused by him “walking” on his knees. His prosthetic hump moves and changes size. And every time an actual little person is used as his body double, it shines a spotlight on just how different Oldman’s proportions are. Worst of all, those fake legs Beckinsale mentioned look like limp foam appendages ripped off a cheap Halloween costume.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a 2012 \u003cem>New York Times\u003c/em> interview, Dinklage expressed mixed feelings about the film. “It was sort of an amazing idea for a movie, but the result [of the final cut] was what we were fighting against—the cutesiness of little people,” he said. “There was some flak. ‘Why would you put Gary Oldman on his knees? That’s almost like blackface.’ And I have my own opinions about political correctness, but I was just like, ‘It’s Gary Oldman. He can do whatever he wants.'”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13874900\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13874900\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/image-800x400.jpg\" alt=\"Gary Oldman and Kate Beckinsale in 'Tiptoes.'\" width=\"800\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/image-800x400.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/image-160x80.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/image-768x384.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/image-1020x510.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/image.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gary Oldman and Kate Beckinsale in ‘Tiptoes.’\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Tiptoes\u003c/em> is just one in an extremely long line of movies that have inflicted indignities on little people. Exploitation was rife in the early days of Hollywood—the actors who played Munchkins in 1939’s \u003cem>Wizard of Oz\u003c/em>, for example, were paid \u003ca href=\"https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/little-people-actors-actresses-low-pay-degrading-jobs-tragedy-922261\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">less than half\u003c/a> of what the dog that played Toto made per week. Plus, roles are—and have always been—very limited. Even after becoming a household name as Mini-Me in \u003cem>Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, \u003c/em>Verne Troyer was recently reduced to starring in \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ywANMZs4hY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Gnome Alone\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, a low budget horror movie. To make matters worse, available parts for little people are often limited to that of evil creatures or magical beings. (See: Griphook in \u003cem>Harry Potter, \u003c/em>or the Oompa Loompas in \u003cem>Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.\u003c/em>)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ali Chapman, an actress, entertainer and cast member of \u003ca href=\"https://www.hulu.com/series/little-women-la-545f850c-28e6-4aae-a114-0b971aa3b715?&cmp=7958&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=BM%20Search%20TV%20Shows&utm_term=&ds_rl=1263136&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-Jzy7s_P5wIVbxitBh1qeAHFEAAYASAAEgK5QfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Little Women LA\u003c/em>\u003c/a> told \u003cem>The Hollywood Reporter\u003c/em> in 2016: “I mean, I can just be a nurse in a show, or a mom, or a lady walking her dog down the street! Like, do I need to be an elf? Do I need to be a leprechaun?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While \u003cem>Tiptoes\u003c/em> did give little actors roles outside of the fantasy realm, it ultimately failed to treat dwarfism with much respect either. Its failure to give the role of Rolfe to someone born with the appropriate stature (\u003cem>Peter Dinklage was right there\u003c/em>!) wasn’t just a major stumbling block, it ultimately turned \u003cem>Tiptoes\u003c/em> into a sideshow—which was the exact opposite of what everyone involved clearly originally wanted. Today, it remains mostly buried, a cult classic and, for obvious reasons, a fairly major embarrassment for everyone involved.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>When the movie of the year is about class struggle, what are the most effective ways to communicate a socially conscious message in Hollywood? At this year’s Academy Awards, Natalie Portman showed up in a Dior cape with the names of female directors snubbed by the Academy embroidered in the lining as a “subtle” way of honoring her cause. While she was trying to add to an existing conversation about gender inequality in Hollywood, the statement itself didn’t quite land.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/AmyKinLA/status/1226661824994480131\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Initially lauded as a tasteful nod to all the women whose work was passed over for best picture, the conversation quickly changed once people turned the spotlight on Portman’s own working history in the film industry. Critics were quick to point out that in her own career, Portman has only worked with a handful of female directors. To those commentators, the embroidered gown was an attention-seeking virtue-signal rather than a sign of solidarity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In this vein, actress Rose McGowan called the dress “\u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/feb/12/rose-mcgowan-natalie-portman-oscars-dress-protest-female-directors\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">deeply offensive\u003c/a>.” Portman responded in a statement, saying that her attempts to work with more women throughout her career never came to fruition, which she described as an invisible “ghost history.” McGowan \u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/feb/18/rose-mcgowan-natalie-portman-oscars-dress-protest\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">later apologized\u003c/a> for her initial criticism, saying she “lost sight of the bigger picture.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Buried in the past week-and-a-half of breathless coverage about two disagreeing celebrities is the real story: subtle gestures are no match for unsubtle problems. Best picture winner \u003cem>Parasite\u003c/em>, a thriller that was as politically charged as it was entertaining, proved that audiences and critics alike want to see social issues addressed in pop culture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13875186\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/parasite-The-Kim-Family-Woo-sik-Choi-Kang-ho-Song-Hye-jin-Jang-So-dam-Park-in-Parasite_1200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13875186\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/parasite-The-Kim-Family-Woo-sik-Choi-Kang-ho-Song-Hye-jin-Jang-So-dam-Park-in-Parasite_1200.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/parasite-The-Kim-Family-Woo-sik-Choi-Kang-ho-Song-Hye-jin-Jang-So-dam-Park-in-Parasite_1200-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/parasite-The-Kim-Family-Woo-sik-Choi-Kang-ho-Song-Hye-jin-Jang-So-dam-Park-in-Parasite_1200-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/parasite-The-Kim-Family-Woo-sik-Choi-Kang-ho-Song-Hye-jin-Jang-So-dam-Park-in-Parasite_1200-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/parasite-The-Kim-Family-Woo-sik-Choi-Kang-ho-Song-Hye-jin-Jang-So-dam-Park-in-Parasite_1200-1020x680.jpg 1020w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Kim Family (Woo-sik Choi, Kang-ho Song, Hye-jin Jang, So-dam Park) in a still from ‘Parasite.’ \u003ccite>(Courtesy of NEON CJ Entertainment)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>And yet, how effective are political statements at awards ceremonies themselves? The Academy Awards are an anachronistic celebration of wealth, privilege and institutional tradition at a time when income inequality in the United States is the \u003ca href=\"https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/income-inequality-reached-highest-level-ever-recorded-in-2018-2019-9-1028559996\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">highest it’s been in over 50 years\u003c/a>. A \u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/feb/25/oscars-2017-how-much-does-hollywood-biggest-party-cost-earn\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">financial report\u003c/a> reveals that $44 million was spent on the 2017 Oscars “and related activities.” That’s not to mention other expenses, like the infamous “goodie bags” \u003ca href=\"https://www.forbes.com/sites/hayleycuccinello/2020/02/01/215000-oscars-2020-gift-bag/#5f8a4163be7d\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">estimated\u003c/a> to cost about $255,000 each this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But stars can’t help themselves. In part as a way to direct a portion of those vast resources to something other than self-celebration, actors have occasionally used the visibility of the Oscars as a platform to champion personal causes or make political statements, to varying degrees of success. Joaquin Phoenix talked about climate change and veganism in his best actor \u003ca href=\"https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/transcript-joaquin-phoenixs-speech-at-2020-oscars-1278278\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">acceptance speech\u003c/a>; Brad Pitt \u003ca href=\"https://oscar.go.com/news/2020/brad-pitt-is-the-2020-oscar-winner-for-actor-in-a-supporting-role\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">criticized\u003c/a> the Senate Republicans for not letting John Bolton testify.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Politics aren’t only confined to award winners. On the red carpet, stars take stands on myriad issues, where fashion can turn paparazzi shots into powerful images. In solidarity with sexual assault victims at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2018/01/golden-globes-2018-red-carpet-times-up\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">2018 Golden Globes\u003c/a>, female celebrities rejected the tradition of red-carpet fashion by wearing exclusively black gowns. They turned an event typically centered around scrutinizing women’s bodies and clothing choices into a political statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13875181\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/GoldenGlobes2018_1200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13875181\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/GoldenGlobes2018_1200.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/GoldenGlobes2018_1200-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/GoldenGlobes2018_1200-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/GoldenGlobes2018_1200-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/GoldenGlobes2018_1200-1020x680.jpg 1020w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Actor Meryl Streep, activist Ai-jen Poo, actor Natalie Portman, activist Tarana Burke, actor Michelle Williams, actor America Ferrera, actor Jessica Chastain, actor Amy Poehler, and activist Saru Jayaraman attend 19th Annual Post-Golden Globes Party at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 7, 2018. \u003ccite>(Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Director Bong Joon Ho’s \u003cem>Parasite\u003c/em> brought extra scrutiny to the optics of class and celebrity at this year’s Oscars. The film, about the wealth inequality between two South Korean families, took four categories, including the first best picture awarded to a non-English language film. About the uncomfortable lengths a poor family will go to for a chance at a better life, \u003cem>Parasite\u003c/em> highlights the way money protects people from making morally questionable decisions (by rendering them oblivious to others’ needs). \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just as a well-made film doesn’t necessarily undermine its socially conscious message, a flashy designer garment can still speak volumes. Communicating through clothing takes advantage of the scrutiny red carpet outfits typically attract. But the most effective arguments are attention-grabbing, loud and impossible to misunderstand. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Lena Waithe wore a trailing rainbow cape to the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion at and the Catholic Imagination” Met Gala in 2018, it was a bold statement that resonated with people all over the world. A custom \u003ca href=\"https://www.vogue.com/article/lena-waithe-pride-cape-met-gala-story-behind\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Carolina Herrera\u003c/a> suit isn’t a form of protest accessible to everyone (or anyone, really). But that doesn’t make the photos of a woman defiantly representing her identity in the midst of its complicated relationship with the Catholic church any less powerful. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Waithe’s outfit wasn’t merely improved by its message; it was the message. The cohesion of her argument and its visual execution made the outfit a resounding statement. In contrast, Natalie Portman relegated her feminist argument to the edge of a cape. The women directors’ names appeared as a stitched-on afterthought, as though the cause wasn’t worth the dedication of an entire outfit. To many, it seemed like the feminist message was secondary to Portman’s desire to wear a nice dress.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Parasite\u003c/em>’s win is not only big because it’s the first non-English language picture, but because it proves great movies can be darkly funny, satirical, dramatic and heartfelt while also dealing in pressing issues of the day. It shows that social critique has a place in Hollywood, and that even if there are occasional missteps, the spotlight is a worthwhile place for continuing important conversations. \u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>Initially lauded as a tasteful nod to all the women whose work was passed over for best picture, the conversation quickly changed once people turned the spotlight on Portman’s own working history in the film industry. Critics were quick to point out that in her own career, Portman has only worked with a handful of female directors. To those commentators, the embroidered gown was an attention-seeking virtue-signal rather than a sign of solidarity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In this vein, actress Rose McGowan called the dress “\u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/feb/12/rose-mcgowan-natalie-portman-oscars-dress-protest-female-directors\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">deeply offensive\u003c/a>.” Portman responded in a statement, saying that her attempts to work with more women throughout her career never came to fruition, which she described as an invisible “ghost history.” McGowan \u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/feb/18/rose-mcgowan-natalie-portman-oscars-dress-protest\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">later apologized\u003c/a> for her initial criticism, saying she “lost sight of the bigger picture.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Buried in the past week-and-a-half of breathless coverage about two disagreeing celebrities is the real story: subtle gestures are no match for unsubtle problems. Best picture winner \u003cem>Parasite\u003c/em>, a thriller that was as politically charged as it was entertaining, proved that audiences and critics alike want to see social issues addressed in pop culture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13875186\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/parasite-The-Kim-Family-Woo-sik-Choi-Kang-ho-Song-Hye-jin-Jang-So-dam-Park-in-Parasite_1200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13875186\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/parasite-The-Kim-Family-Woo-sik-Choi-Kang-ho-Song-Hye-jin-Jang-So-dam-Park-in-Parasite_1200.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/parasite-The-Kim-Family-Woo-sik-Choi-Kang-ho-Song-Hye-jin-Jang-So-dam-Park-in-Parasite_1200-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/parasite-The-Kim-Family-Woo-sik-Choi-Kang-ho-Song-Hye-jin-Jang-So-dam-Park-in-Parasite_1200-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/parasite-The-Kim-Family-Woo-sik-Choi-Kang-ho-Song-Hye-jin-Jang-So-dam-Park-in-Parasite_1200-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/parasite-The-Kim-Family-Woo-sik-Choi-Kang-ho-Song-Hye-jin-Jang-So-dam-Park-in-Parasite_1200-1020x680.jpg 1020w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Kim Family (Woo-sik Choi, Kang-ho Song, Hye-jin Jang, So-dam Park) in a still from ‘Parasite.’ \u003ccite>(Courtesy of NEON CJ Entertainment)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>And yet, how effective are political statements at awards ceremonies themselves? The Academy Awards are an anachronistic celebration of wealth, privilege and institutional tradition at a time when income inequality in the United States is the \u003ca href=\"https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/income-inequality-reached-highest-level-ever-recorded-in-2018-2019-9-1028559996\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">highest it’s been in over 50 years\u003c/a>. A \u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/feb/25/oscars-2017-how-much-does-hollywood-biggest-party-cost-earn\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">financial report\u003c/a> reveals that $44 million was spent on the 2017 Oscars “and related activities.” That’s not to mention other expenses, like the infamous “goodie bags” \u003ca href=\"https://www.forbes.com/sites/hayleycuccinello/2020/02/01/215000-oscars-2020-gift-bag/#5f8a4163be7d\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">estimated\u003c/a> to cost about $255,000 each this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But stars can’t help themselves. In part as a way to direct a portion of those vast resources to something other than self-celebration, actors have occasionally used the visibility of the Oscars as a platform to champion personal causes or make political statements, to varying degrees of success. Joaquin Phoenix talked about climate change and veganism in his best actor \u003ca href=\"https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/transcript-joaquin-phoenixs-speech-at-2020-oscars-1278278\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">acceptance speech\u003c/a>; Brad Pitt \u003ca href=\"https://oscar.go.com/news/2020/brad-pitt-is-the-2020-oscar-winner-for-actor-in-a-supporting-role\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">criticized\u003c/a> the Senate Republicans for not letting John Bolton testify.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Politics aren’t only confined to award winners. On the red carpet, stars take stands on myriad issues, where fashion can turn paparazzi shots into powerful images. In solidarity with sexual assault victims at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2018/01/golden-globes-2018-red-carpet-times-up\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">2018 Golden Globes\u003c/a>, female celebrities rejected the tradition of red-carpet fashion by wearing exclusively black gowns. They turned an event typically centered around scrutinizing women’s bodies and clothing choices into a political statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13875181\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/GoldenGlobes2018_1200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13875181\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/GoldenGlobes2018_1200.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/GoldenGlobes2018_1200-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/GoldenGlobes2018_1200-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/GoldenGlobes2018_1200-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/GoldenGlobes2018_1200-1020x680.jpg 1020w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Actor Meryl Streep, activist Ai-jen Poo, actor Natalie Portman, activist Tarana Burke, actor Michelle Williams, actor America Ferrera, actor Jessica Chastain, actor Amy Poehler, and activist Saru Jayaraman attend 19th Annual Post-Golden Globes Party at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 7, 2018. \u003ccite>(Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Director Bong Joon Ho’s \u003cem>Parasite\u003c/em> brought extra scrutiny to the optics of class and celebrity at this year’s Oscars. The film, about the wealth inequality between two South Korean families, took four categories, including the first best picture awarded to a non-English language film. About the uncomfortable lengths a poor family will go to for a chance at a better life, \u003cem>Parasite\u003c/em> highlights the way money protects people from making morally questionable decisions (by rendering them oblivious to others’ needs). \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just as a well-made film doesn’t necessarily undermine its socially conscious message, a flashy designer garment can still speak volumes. Communicating through clothing takes advantage of the scrutiny red carpet outfits typically attract. But the most effective arguments are attention-grabbing, loud and impossible to misunderstand. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Lena Waithe wore a trailing rainbow cape to the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion at and the Catholic Imagination” Met Gala in 2018, it was a bold statement that resonated with people all over the world. A custom \u003ca href=\"https://www.vogue.com/article/lena-waithe-pride-cape-met-gala-story-behind\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Carolina Herrera\u003c/a> suit isn’t a form of protest accessible to everyone (or anyone, really). But that doesn’t make the photos of a woman defiantly representing her identity in the midst of its complicated relationship with the Catholic church any less powerful. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Waithe’s outfit wasn’t merely improved by its message; it was the message. The cohesion of her argument and its visual execution made the outfit a resounding statement. In contrast, Natalie Portman relegated her feminist argument to the edge of a cape. The women directors’ names appeared as a stitched-on afterthought, as though the cause wasn’t worth the dedication of an entire outfit. To many, it seemed like the feminist message was secondary to Portman’s desire to wear a nice dress.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Parasite\u003c/em>’s win is not only big because it’s the first non-English language picture, but because it proves great movies can be darkly funny, satirical, dramatic and heartfelt while also dealing in pressing issues of the day. It shows that social critique has a place in Hollywood, and that even if there are occasional missteps, the spotlight is a worthwhile place for continuing important conversations. \u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "The Suicide of Caroline Flack, Tabloid Gossip and the Power of UK Newspapers",
"headTitle": "The Suicide of Caroline Flack, Tabloid Gossip and the Power of UK Newspapers | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>The outpouring on social media arrived swiftly after the news of Caroline Flack’s death. The 40-year-old \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/pop/106271/dear-american-television-please-dont-ruin-love-island\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Love Island\u003c/em>\u003c/a> host and one of the U.K.’s most popular TV stars was found in her London apartment, dead from an apparent suicide, on Feb. 15. Her death came less than three weeks before she was due in court over the alleged assault of her boyfriend (she had pleaded not guilty), and years after unrelenting press coverage about her personal life had begun.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fans and fellow celebrities quickly took to Twitter and called out the press for overburdening Flack in the months before her death.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/matthaig1/status/1228749821881847808\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/mrdanwalker/status/1228749830350045185\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/LukeGoss/status/1228815633648762881\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The publication under the most immediate scrutiny was \u003cem>The Sun\u003c/em>, a daily tabloid that has long been \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sun_(United_Kingdom)#Circulation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the biggest-selling newspaper\u003c/a> in the U.K., despite a number of national scandals in which the outlet has been accused of \u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/jul/28/katie-hopkins-migrants-ipso-sun-cockroaches\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">xenophobia\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/sep/14/sun-page-3-visible-tip-misogynys-iceberg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">misogyny\u003c/a> and, most famously, \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillsborough_disaster\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">victim blaming\u003c/a>. When news of Flack’s death broke, \u003cem>The Sun\u003c/em> was quick to remove a recent\u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/feb/15/the-sun-takes-down-article-about-caroline-flack-from-website\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> negative story\u003c/a> it had published about her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The truth though, is that all of the U.K.’s daily tabloids had paid keen attention to Flack’s personal life throughout her career—in December, \u003cem>The Daily Mail\u003c/em> wrote a story about her “\u003ca href=\"https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-7789585/Inside-Caroline-Flacks-car-crash-love-life.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">car crash love life\u003c/a>.” That kind of scrutiny first started with her controversial relationship with Harry Styles when he was 17 and she was 31, continued after a brief dalliance with Prince Harry (before he’d met Meghan Markle), and was ongoing at the time of her death thanks to the alleged assault of her boyfriend, Lewis Burton, who she was said to have struck with a lamp.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s worth noting that despite consistent negative coverage about her relationships, it’s hard to find anyone in Flack’s life with anything bad to say about her. Harry Styles arrived at Tuesday’s BRIT Awards wearing a black ribbon, and moved many with his \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkgBUvgNeoM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">emotional performance\u003c/a> of “Falling.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFSFpHjsLY0\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not only was Lewis Burton still in a relationship with Flack at the time of her death, he had withdrawn his complaint about the alleged assault (the charges were instead brought by Britain’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.lbc.co.uk/radio/presenters/andrew-castle/caroline-flack-charges-cps-prosecution/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Crown Prosecution Service\u003c/a>) and publicly defended her in the midst of the controversy and imminent trial. After \u003cem>The Sun\u003c/em> published photos of a blood-soaked sheet purported to be from injuries Flack inflicted on Burton, he \u003ca href=\"https://www.the-sun.com/news/206179/gruesome-pic-of-scene-after-caroline-flacks-boyfriend-was-assaulted-shows-mostly-her-blood/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">wrote on Instagram\u003c/a>, “This isn’t my blood and I didn’t get hit over the head with a lamp. Can everyone stop now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.instagram.com/p/B8nqjfWBwjA/\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>BBC Radio DJ and friend to Flack, Laura Whitmore, said on the air the day after her death: “I’m not going to pretend that she was perfect. But is anyone? She lived every mistake publicly under the scrutiny of the media … To the press, the newspapers who created clickbait, who demonize and tear down success, we’ve had enough.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the wake of Flack’s death, an online petition was quickly set up demanding the \u003ca href=\"https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/flacks-law?bucket=email-blast-17_2_2020_carolines_law&source=twitter-share-button&utm_campaign=blast2020-02-17&utm_source=twitter&share=8890be77-fce2-4300-a78e-3394269360c9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">creation of a law\u003c/a> (specifically “Caroline’s Law”), “that would make it a criminal offense, not dissimilar to Corporate Manslaughter, for the British Media to knowingly and relentlessly bully a person, whether they be in the public eye or not, up to the point that they take their own life.” It had received over 737,000 signatures at the time of writing. (A further 218,000 people signed a petition asking for \u003ca href=\"https://www.change.org/p/secretary-of-state-for-digital-culture-media-and-sport-launch-government-inquiry-into-the-british-tabloids-following-death-of-caroline-flack?recruiter=1043035832&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=share_petition&utm_term=petition_dashboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a government inquiry\u003c/a> into Flack’s death.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Such suggestions may seem like an overreaction in America, but the U.K. has been struggling with \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13866072/the-bullying-of-meghan-markle-continues-a-long-tradition-for-royal-wives\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">questions around press conduct\u003c/a> and intrusion since the death of Princess Diana in 1997. At that time there was speculation that not only did the press hound her literally to death, but that the British public’s outpouring of grief afterwards was somehow related to guilt over its own enthusiastic consumption of stories that violated her privacy. [aside postid='arts_13866072,arts_13863206']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the years since, however, little has changed. Between 2005 and 2011, investigations by both the Press Complaints Commission and \u003cem>The Guardian\u003c/em> revealed that British newspapers, including \u003cem>News of the World\u003c/em>, \u003cem>The Daily Mirror\u003c/em> and \u003cem>The Sun—\u003c/em>all owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News International corporation—had indulged in police bribery and phone hacking. Victims of the latter included celebrities, royals, politicians and, worst of all, the families of high-profile murder and terrorism victims.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These revelations resulted in the closure of \u003cem>News of the World\u003c/em>, multiple arrests and hundreds of thousands of pounds in compensation payments. But the smallness of the U.K. (geographically, it’s almost half the size of California) in combination with the sheer power of its handful of daily newspapers (\u003ca href=\"https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0024/116529/news-consumption-2018.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">40% of people\u003c/a> in the U.K. regularly read newspapers, versus \u003ca href=\"https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/12/10/social-media-outpaces-print-newspapers-in-the-u-s-as-a-news-source/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">16% of Americans\u003c/a>) leaves the British people concerned about tabloid bullying and violations in an ongoing manner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There can be no doubt that Caroline Flack was shown little kindness by the U.K. press in the run-up to her death, and it’s clear that she read what was written about her. In late 2019, she posted both of these headlines (with her own comments) to her Instagram stories:\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13875084\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 683px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13875084\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/Screen-Shot-2020-02-18-at-3.39.33-PM-1.png\" alt=\"Instagram/ @carolineflack\" width=\"683\" height=\"636\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/Screen-Shot-2020-02-18-at-3.39.33-PM-1.png 683w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/Screen-Shot-2020-02-18-at-3.39.33-PM-1-160x149.png 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Instagram/ @carolineflack\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>We cannot know how much influence press scrutiny had on Flack’s decision to end her own life. There can be no doubt that her upcoming trial, as well as her uncertain future as the host of \u003cem>Love Island\u003c/em> were also factors in her demise. But it’s fair to assume that too much tabloid scrutiny can wreak havoc on people’s mental health, both famous and otherwise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his book \u003cem>So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed\u003c/em>, Jon Ronson writes: “I suppose that when shamings are delivered like remotely administered drone strikes nobody needs to think about how ferocious our collective power might be.” Later, he concludes: “And so … when you see an unfair or an ambiguous shaming unfold, speak up on behalf of the shamed person. A babble of opposing voices—that’s democracy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the wake of Flack’s death, the British public is doing just that, repeating a mantra that she herself posted to Instagram back in December: Be kind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.instagram.com/p/B5tO1tRFbEI/\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The outpouring on social media arrived swiftly after the news of Caroline Flack’s death. The 40-year-old \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/pop/106271/dear-american-television-please-dont-ruin-love-island\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Love Island\u003c/em>\u003c/a> host and one of the U.K.’s most popular TV stars was found in her London apartment, dead from an apparent suicide, on Feb. 15. Her death came less than three weeks before she was due in court over the alleged assault of her boyfriend (she had pleaded not guilty), and years after unrelenting press coverage about her personal life had begun.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fans and fellow celebrities quickly took to Twitter and called out the press for overburdening Flack in the months before her death.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The publication under the most immediate scrutiny was \u003cem>The Sun\u003c/em>, a daily tabloid that has long been \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sun_(United_Kingdom)#Circulation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the biggest-selling newspaper\u003c/a> in the U.K., despite a number of national scandals in which the outlet has been accused of \u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/jul/28/katie-hopkins-migrants-ipso-sun-cockroaches\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">xenophobia\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/sep/14/sun-page-3-visible-tip-misogynys-iceberg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">misogyny\u003c/a> and, most famously, \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillsborough_disaster\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">victim blaming\u003c/a>. When news of Flack’s death broke, \u003cem>The Sun\u003c/em> was quick to remove a recent\u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/feb/15/the-sun-takes-down-article-about-caroline-flack-from-website\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> negative story\u003c/a> it had published about her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The truth though, is that all of the U.K.’s daily tabloids had paid keen attention to Flack’s personal life throughout her career—in December, \u003cem>The Daily Mail\u003c/em> wrote a story about her “\u003ca href=\"https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-7789585/Inside-Caroline-Flacks-car-crash-love-life.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">car crash love life\u003c/a>.” That kind of scrutiny first started with her controversial relationship with Harry Styles when he was 17 and she was 31, continued after a brief dalliance with Prince Harry (before he’d met Meghan Markle), and was ongoing at the time of her death thanks to the alleged assault of her boyfriend, Lewis Burton, who she was said to have struck with a lamp.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s worth noting that despite consistent negative coverage about her relationships, it’s hard to find anyone in Flack’s life with anything bad to say about her. Harry Styles arrived at Tuesday’s BRIT Awards wearing a black ribbon, and moved many with his \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkgBUvgNeoM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">emotional performance\u003c/a> of “Falling.”\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/bFSFpHjsLY0'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/bFSFpHjsLY0'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Not only was Lewis Burton still in a relationship with Flack at the time of her death, he had withdrawn his complaint about the alleged assault (the charges were instead brought by Britain’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.lbc.co.uk/radio/presenters/andrew-castle/caroline-flack-charges-cps-prosecution/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Crown Prosecution Service\u003c/a>) and publicly defended her in the midst of the controversy and imminent trial. After \u003cem>The Sun\u003c/em> published photos of a blood-soaked sheet purported to be from injuries Flack inflicted on Burton, he \u003ca href=\"https://www.the-sun.com/news/206179/gruesome-pic-of-scene-after-caroline-flacks-boyfriend-was-assaulted-shows-mostly-her-blood/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">wrote on Instagram\u003c/a>, “This isn’t my blood and I didn’t get hit over the head with a lamp. Can everyone stop now.”\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>BBC Radio DJ and friend to Flack, Laura Whitmore, said on the air the day after her death: “I’m not going to pretend that she was perfect. But is anyone? She lived every mistake publicly under the scrutiny of the media … To the press, the newspapers who created clickbait, who demonize and tear down success, we’ve had enough.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the wake of Flack’s death, an online petition was quickly set up demanding the \u003ca href=\"https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/flacks-law?bucket=email-blast-17_2_2020_carolines_law&source=twitter-share-button&utm_campaign=blast2020-02-17&utm_source=twitter&share=8890be77-fce2-4300-a78e-3394269360c9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">creation of a law\u003c/a> (specifically “Caroline’s Law”), “that would make it a criminal offense, not dissimilar to Corporate Manslaughter, for the British Media to knowingly and relentlessly bully a person, whether they be in the public eye or not, up to the point that they take their own life.” It had received over 737,000 signatures at the time of writing. (A further 218,000 people signed a petition asking for \u003ca href=\"https://www.change.org/p/secretary-of-state-for-digital-culture-media-and-sport-launch-government-inquiry-into-the-british-tabloids-following-death-of-caroline-flack?recruiter=1043035832&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=share_petition&utm_term=petition_dashboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a government inquiry\u003c/a> into Flack’s death.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Such suggestions may seem like an overreaction in America, but the U.K. has been struggling with \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13866072/the-bullying-of-meghan-markle-continues-a-long-tradition-for-royal-wives\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">questions around press conduct\u003c/a> and intrusion since the death of Princess Diana in 1997. At that time there was speculation that not only did the press hound her literally to death, but that the British public’s outpouring of grief afterwards was somehow related to guilt over its own enthusiastic consumption of stories that violated her privacy. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the years since, however, little has changed. Between 2005 and 2011, investigations by both the Press Complaints Commission and \u003cem>The Guardian\u003c/em> revealed that British newspapers, including \u003cem>News of the World\u003c/em>, \u003cem>The Daily Mirror\u003c/em> and \u003cem>The Sun—\u003c/em>all owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News International corporation—had indulged in police bribery and phone hacking. Victims of the latter included celebrities, royals, politicians and, worst of all, the families of high-profile murder and terrorism victims.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These revelations resulted in the closure of \u003cem>News of the World\u003c/em>, multiple arrests and hundreds of thousands of pounds in compensation payments. But the smallness of the U.K. (geographically, it’s almost half the size of California) in combination with the sheer power of its handful of daily newspapers (\u003ca href=\"https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0024/116529/news-consumption-2018.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">40% of people\u003c/a> in the U.K. regularly read newspapers, versus \u003ca href=\"https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/12/10/social-media-outpaces-print-newspapers-in-the-u-s-as-a-news-source/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">16% of Americans\u003c/a>) leaves the British people concerned about tabloid bullying and violations in an ongoing manner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There can be no doubt that Caroline Flack was shown little kindness by the U.K. press in the run-up to her death, and it’s clear that she read what was written about her. In late 2019, she posted both of these headlines (with her own comments) to her Instagram stories:\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13875084\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 683px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13875084\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/Screen-Shot-2020-02-18-at-3.39.33-PM-1.png\" alt=\"Instagram/ @carolineflack\" width=\"683\" height=\"636\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/Screen-Shot-2020-02-18-at-3.39.33-PM-1.png 683w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/Screen-Shot-2020-02-18-at-3.39.33-PM-1-160x149.png 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Instagram/ @carolineflack\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>We cannot know how much influence press scrutiny had on Flack’s decision to end her own life. There can be no doubt that her upcoming trial, as well as her uncertain future as the host of \u003cem>Love Island\u003c/em> were also factors in her demise. But it’s fair to assume that too much tabloid scrutiny can wreak havoc on people’s mental health, both famous and otherwise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his book \u003cem>So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed\u003c/em>, Jon Ronson writes: “I suppose that when shamings are delivered like remotely administered drone strikes nobody needs to think about how ferocious our collective power might be.” Later, he concludes: “And so … when you see an unfair or an ambiguous shaming unfold, speak up on behalf of the shamed person. A babble of opposing voices—that’s democracy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the wake of Flack’s death, the British public is doing just that, repeating a mantra that she herself posted to Instagram back in December: Be kind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>About 10 years ago, traveling through San Antonio, I visited the Alamo. And one of the first questions I asked the tour guide was, “So how many people ask to see the basement?” He rolled his eyes. “At least one a day,” he told me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There is no basement at the Alamo, but in the 1985 movie \u003cem>Pee Wee’s Big Adventure\u003c/em>, it’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYfjq3ZYZbA\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">a key plot point\u003c/a>. Of course, there are about 28 different plot points in the movie—it’s a jam-packed, madcap trip through a strange, campy America. The journey includes scary truck drivers, giant roadside dinosaurs, a quirky dance to the 1950s instrumental “Tequila,” and one man in search of his stolen bicycle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Pee Wee’s Big Adventure\u003c/em> comes to town this month with Pee Wee Herman himself (Paul Reubens) discussing the making of the film afterward. If you want a reminder of just how surreal American culture can be, I wholly recommend it. That’s on Friday, Feb. 28, at the Masonic in San Francisco. \u003ca href=\"https://sfmasonic.com/event/pee-wee-herman-big-adventure-35th-anniversary/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Details here\u003c/a>.\u003cem>—Gabe Meline\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>About 10 years ago, traveling through San Antonio, I visited the Alamo. And one of the first questions I asked the tour guide was, “So how many people ask to see the basement?” He rolled his eyes. “At least one a day,” he told me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There is no basement at the Alamo, but in the 1985 movie \u003cem>Pee Wee’s Big Adventure\u003c/em>, it’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYfjq3ZYZbA\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">a key plot point\u003c/a>. Of course, there are about 28 different plot points in the movie—it’s a jam-packed, madcap trip through a strange, campy America. The journey includes scary truck drivers, giant roadside dinosaurs, a quirky dance to the 1950s instrumental “Tequila,” and one man in search of his stolen bicycle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Pee Wee’s Big Adventure\u003c/em> comes to town this month with Pee Wee Herman himself (Paul Reubens) discussing the making of the film afterward. If you want a reminder of just how surreal American culture can be, I wholly recommend it. That’s on Friday, Feb. 28, at the Masonic in San Francisco. \u003ca href=\"https://sfmasonic.com/event/pee-wee-herman-big-adventure-35th-anniversary/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Details here\u003c/a>.\u003cem>—Gabe Meline\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "What Fictional Pandemics Can Teach Us About Real-World Survival",
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"content": "\u003cp>We’ve been telling stories about pandemics for a very long time. From an eighth century BCE poem about a \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erra_(god)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Babylonian plague god\u003c/a> to the Old Testament’s ten plagues of Egypt to, well, the AMC megahit zombie show \u003cem>The Walking Dead\u003c/em>, now in its tenth season.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79io403T1EM\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Long ago, we understood mass outbreaks as divine punishment for human transgressions—but our stories about disease have changed over time. Although still fantastic, modern stories about disease tend to be rooted in political and social realities. Last year, the 800-page novel \u003cem>Wanderers\u003c/em> combined science fiction and horror with a techno-thriller focus on the rise of artificial intelligence and white nationalism in the aftermath of a pandemic. Author Chuck Wendig explains the appeal of writing a story where entire populations get sick and die: “Bringing these things into a book is like, you know, an ancient summoning. Summoning a demon into a summoning circle. Because that’s how you fight it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But how does fiction fight something like disease? In its own way, says writer and filmmaker Jeff Barnaby, by helping us make sense of the real world. Barnaby says today’s books, TV shows and movies based on pandemics explore how people live upon and move around a planet defined by compromised ecosystems, borders and barricades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You’re dealing with the aftermath of globalism,” he points out. “And I think you’re starting to see people make the link between how you treat the environment and the way the environment treats you.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0hkO5UjSpw\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Barnaby’s new movie, \u003cem>Blood Quantum\u003c/em>, is about a fast-spreading virus that turns people into zombies, but those with a certain amount of Native American heritage are immune. Barnaby, who belongs to the Mi’kmaq tribe in Canada, says indigenous people have been telling stories about pandemics for generations. “And they’ve been dealing with disease since first contact, so they’re well versed in catastrophes,” he says dryly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Blood Quantum\u003c/em> hasn’t been released quite yet—it’s currently screening in festivals and it’ll be on the horror movie channel Shudder later this year. Barnaby sees stories about pandemics almost inevitably as about scapegoating and cultural anxieties. Discrimination and racism against Asians has intensified globally since the spread of coronavirus, as has been widely reported. On Netflix right now, a pandemic drama called \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.netflix.com/title/80066079\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Containment\u003c/a>\u003c/em> plays into stereotypes of Middle Eastern people as dangerous infiltrators—a Syrian refugee in Atlanta is patient zero, essentially a terrorist whose body is a weapon, a vector of disease.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In works by writers of color, pandemics sometimes serve as a metaphor for colonialism, says Maxine Montgomery, an English professor at Florida State University. In her writing on apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic literature by black women writers such as Octavia Butler and Toni Morrison, the human cost of pandemics, and the disproportionate suffering of vulnerable populations, are frequently invoked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Smallpox, other viruses as well, that are linked inextricably to slavery and colonialization,” Montgomery says. “In ways that suggest that slavery has residual consequences that we’ve not fully recognized or acknowledged.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sYSyuuLk5g\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Something’s missing from mainstream pandemic thrillers, she says, including \u003cem>Contagion\u003c/em>, the 2011 film that saw a spike on iTunes right about when the World Heath organization declared coronavirus a global emergency. And that’s a hard look at the issue of who gets treated when an epidemic breaks out, and who’s excluded from institutional safety nets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the fiction Montgomery studies, rescue rarely comes from the scientists at the Center for Disease Control or from research hospitals. “It’s always a matter of characters reaching back,” she says, to mend a deeper malady. Reconnecting with folk traditions isn’t likely to be adopted as a public policy recommendation, but Montgomery suggests the questions provoked by these stories are essential ones: “How we see people who are afflicted by disease. How we respond to them in terms of human empathy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Author Chuck Wendig says he hopes his novel \u003cem>Wanderers\u003c/em> does the same thing. “You know, I didn’t want to write a book that was fatalistic or nihilistic in how it dealt with people,” he says. There’s darkness and death in the stories we tell about pandemics, he adds, but that’s not what these stories are really about. They’re really about how we survive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was produced for radio by Petra Mayer and Kelli Wessinger, and adapted for the Web by Petra Mayer.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=What+Fictional+Pandemics+Can+Teach+Us+About+Real-World+Survival&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>We’ve been telling stories about pandemics for a very long time. From an eighth century BCE poem about a \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erra_(god)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Babylonian plague god\u003c/a> to the Old Testament’s ten plagues of Egypt to, well, the AMC megahit zombie show \u003cem>The Walking Dead\u003c/em>, now in its tenth season.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/79io403T1EM'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/79io403T1EM'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Long ago, we understood mass outbreaks as divine punishment for human transgressions—but our stories about disease have changed over time. Although still fantastic, modern stories about disease tend to be rooted in political and social realities. Last year, the 800-page novel \u003cem>Wanderers\u003c/em> combined science fiction and horror with a techno-thriller focus on the rise of artificial intelligence and white nationalism in the aftermath of a pandemic. Author Chuck Wendig explains the appeal of writing a story where entire populations get sick and die: “Bringing these things into a book is like, you know, an ancient summoning. Summoning a demon into a summoning circle. Because that’s how you fight it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But how does fiction fight something like disease? In its own way, says writer and filmmaker Jeff Barnaby, by helping us make sense of the real world. Barnaby says today’s books, TV shows and movies based on pandemics explore how people live upon and move around a planet defined by compromised ecosystems, borders and barricades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You’re dealing with the aftermath of globalism,” he points out. “And I think you’re starting to see people make the link between how you treat the environment and the way the environment treats you.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/d0hkO5UjSpw'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/d0hkO5UjSpw'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Barnaby’s new movie, \u003cem>Blood Quantum\u003c/em>, is about a fast-spreading virus that turns people into zombies, but those with a certain amount of Native American heritage are immune. Barnaby, who belongs to the Mi’kmaq tribe in Canada, says indigenous people have been telling stories about pandemics for generations. “And they’ve been dealing with disease since first contact, so they’re well versed in catastrophes,” he says dryly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Blood Quantum\u003c/em> hasn’t been released quite yet—it’s currently screening in festivals and it’ll be on the horror movie channel Shudder later this year. Barnaby sees stories about pandemics almost inevitably as about scapegoating and cultural anxieties. Discrimination and racism against Asians has intensified globally since the spread of coronavirus, as has been widely reported. On Netflix right now, a pandemic drama called \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.netflix.com/title/80066079\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Containment\u003c/a>\u003c/em> plays into stereotypes of Middle Eastern people as dangerous infiltrators—a Syrian refugee in Atlanta is patient zero, essentially a terrorist whose body is a weapon, a vector of disease.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In works by writers of color, pandemics sometimes serve as a metaphor for colonialism, says Maxine Montgomery, an English professor at Florida State University. In her writing on apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic literature by black women writers such as Octavia Butler and Toni Morrison, the human cost of pandemics, and the disproportionate suffering of vulnerable populations, are frequently invoked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Smallpox, other viruses as well, that are linked inextricably to slavery and colonialization,” Montgomery says. “In ways that suggest that slavery has residual consequences that we’ve not fully recognized or acknowledged.”\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/4sYSyuuLk5g'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/4sYSyuuLk5g'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Something’s missing from mainstream pandemic thrillers, she says, including \u003cem>Contagion\u003c/em>, the 2011 film that saw a spike on iTunes right about when the World Heath organization declared coronavirus a global emergency. And that’s a hard look at the issue of who gets treated when an epidemic breaks out, and who’s excluded from institutional safety nets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the fiction Montgomery studies, rescue rarely comes from the scientists at the Center for Disease Control or from research hospitals. “It’s always a matter of characters reaching back,” she says, to mend a deeper malady. Reconnecting with folk traditions isn’t likely to be adopted as a public policy recommendation, but Montgomery suggests the questions provoked by these stories are essential ones: “How we see people who are afflicted by disease. How we respond to them in terms of human empathy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Author Chuck Wendig says he hopes his novel \u003cem>Wanderers\u003c/em> does the same thing. “You know, I didn’t want to write a book that was fatalistic or nihilistic in how it dealt with people,” he says. There’s darkness and death in the stories we tell about pandemics, he adds, but that’s not what these stories are really about. They’re really about how we survive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was produced for radio by Petra Mayer and Kelli Wessinger, and adapted for the Web by Petra Mayer.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=What+Fictional+Pandemics+Can+Teach+Us+About+Real-World+Survival&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>At Sunday’s Oscars, on a night when almost everything went as planned and as usual, the one true surprise came in the biggest moment of all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the first time ever, a film in a foreign language won best picture when Bong Joon-ho’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/10/10/768638368/parasite-hooks-you-with-its-emotional-power-and-extraordinary-cunning\">\u003cem>Parasite\u003c/em>,\u003c/a> a comedy-drama-thriller about class and secrets, took the big prize. \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/12/10/785090210/parasite-director-bong-joon-ho-wanted-to-reflect-the-truth-of-current-times\">Bong\u003c/a> also won the awards for best director and best original screenplay. He delivered three warm and generous speeches, including one when he won for his directing and thanked fellow nominees Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino for inspiring him and boosting his career, respectively. (He acknowledged Sam Mendes and Todd Phillips, too.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And, while he gave most of his speeches in Korean with interpreter Sharon Choi, when he won the first one, he stopped and noted in English: “This is very first Oscar to South Korea.” The affection in the room for the film was evident every time it was mentioned, as well as in its strong haul of awards (though it absurdly landed not a single nomination for its uniformly excellent cast).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The evening began three and a half hours earlier with a combination of the old and the new: the kind of themed singing-dancing number that used to be the typical Oscars opening, but in the absence of a traditional host, it was performed by the thoroughly modern Janelle Monáe. A version of her own song “Come Alive” was accompanied by dancers dressed in costumes saluting not just nominated films like \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/10/03/765082771/joker-is-wild-ly-dull\">\u003cem>Joker\u003c/em>,\u003c/a> but also conspicuously snubbed ones — several of them, but not all, from black filmmakers — including \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/03/21/705470655/when-you-meet-the-enemy-and-it-is-us\">\u003cem>Us\u003c/em>,\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/11/27/782574993/a-first-date-turns-into-a-stylish-nightmare-in-queen-slim\">\u003cem>Queen and Slim\u003c/em>,\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/10/06/765150318/a-breezy-look-at-the-making-of-a-blaxploitation-classic-dolemite-is-my-name\">\u003cem>Dolemite Is My Name\u003c/em>\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/07/03/738422258/midsommar-shines-a-solstice-nightmare-unfolds-in-broad-daylight\">\u003cem>Midsommar\u003c/em>.\u003c/a> The monologue that followed, however, was much more creaky and awkward, despite the best efforts of Chris Rock and Steve Martin (the latter of whom regrettably blew the name of best actress nominee Cynthia Erivo).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The awards in general, and the ones this season in general, have been heavily criticized for how white the nominees are, the failure to nominate any women directors in a year when several made highly regarded films, and plenty of other shortfalls in inclusivity. The Academy’s discomfort with that criticism seemed evident: There may not have been a lot of performers of color among the nominees, but there were a lot among the presenters and speakers and performers. Several presenters — as well as Monáe in her opening number — made mention of the limitations at issue, which is the kind of thing that happens when people are placed in a situation they don’t want to ignore but also aren’t there to challenge \u003cem>too\u003c/em> much.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One new inclusion was a land acknowledgment — a custom that’s commonly observed in other places, including Canada, at cultural events (I’ve personally seen them at the Toronto International Film Festival). In this case, it was writer-director \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/10/18/771219868/director-taika-waititi-on-jojo-rabbit\">Taika Waititi,\u003c/a> nominated for\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/10/17/770262214/jojo-rabbit-your-reich-is-calling\"> \u003cem>Jojo Rabbit\u003c/em>,\u003c/a> who read an acknowledgment of the indigenous people who have lived on the land where the event — in this case, the Academy Awards — takes place. Whether this gesture will be followed up by any action as to the broadening of the Academy’s taste remains, of course, to be seen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Parasite\u003c/em>‘s win for best picture stood out particularly because almost all of the other awards that had seemed likely to go a particular way did: Legendary cinematographer \u003ca href=\"https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2019/12/26/1917-world-war-i-cinematography\">Roger Deakins\u003c/a> won for his work on \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/12/24/790207374/1917-is-gripping-visceral-and-strangely-beautiful\">\u003cem>1917\u003c/em>,\u003c/a> the WWI film engineered to look like a \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2020/02/09/802248145/who-needs-high-tech-film-editing-when-theres-the-thrill-of-the-single-shot\">continuous shot. \u003c/a>Film editing is often a precursor to other big awards, and this year the winners were the editors of racing drama \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/11/14/777254954/ford-v-ferrari-will-get-your-heart-racing\">\u003cem>Ford v. Ferrari\u003c/em>.\u003c/a> \u003cem>Parasite \u003c/em>had been expected to win (or at least to contend strongly) in the categories of best international feature film and for Bong Joon-ho’s original screenplay. Waititi was a favorite for best adapted screenplay, which he won.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The acting awards this year had heavy favorites going into the ceremony: Joaquin Phoenix as best actor in \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/10/02/766529122/in-joker-joaquin-phoenix-gives-a-big-performance-in-a-flat-film\">\u003cem>Joker\u003c/em>, \u003c/a>Renée Zellweger as best actress in \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/09/26/764642573/ren-e-zellweger-dazzles-in-a-go-for-broke-portrayal-of-judy-garland\">\u003cem>Judy\u003c/em>,\u003c/a> Brad Pitt as best supporting actor in \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/07/25/744189964/tarantinos-turned-on-tuned-in-tinseltown-once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood\">\u003cem>Once Upon a Time in Hollywood\u003c/em> \u003c/a>and Laura Dern as best supporting actress in \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/11/14/775397877/a-couple-faces-the-painful-end-of-the-line-in-marriage-story\">\u003cem>Marriage Story.\u003c/em>\u003c/a> They all won. Most of them said about what you might expect (although Phoenix surprised many of us by adding to his speech about fighting injustice a mention of the cruelty of artificially inseminating cows and then stealing their offspring, while Zellweger listed many of her heroes in a speech that matched his, meander for meander).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The lower-profile (but critical) behind-the-scenes awards were spread across a bunch of films. Best production design went to Quentin Tarantino’s \u003cem>Once Upon a Time in Hollywood\u003c/em>, which re-created the late-’70s L.A. landscape and aesthetic with a lot of loving attention. \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/12/20/789740628/little-women-again-greta-gerwig-s-adaptation-is-both-faithful-and-radical\">\u003cem>Little Women\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> \u003c/em>won its only award of the night for Jacqueline Durran’s costume design, full of beautiful dresses both fancy and not. The transformation of actors into familiar faces from the news won an award for the hair and makeup team from \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/12/12/787112042/bombshell-imitates-but-fails-to-enlighten\">\u003cem>Bombshell\u003c/em>.\u003c/a> The sound editing award went to \u003cem>Ford v. Ferrari\u003c/em> and both sound mixing and visual effects went to \u003cem>1917\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The non-surprises kept coming: \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/06/19/733908788/to-infinity-and-be-done-after-4-films-have-we-finally-outgrown-toy-story\">\u003cem>Toy Story 4\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> \u003c/em>won best animated feature. Best documentary feature was awarded to \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/08/23/753109643/work-cultures-clash-when-a-chinese-company-reopens-an-american-factory\">\u003cem>American Factory\u003c/em>,\u003c/a> which boasts Barack and Michelle Obama as producers and which comes from Netflix. \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/local/309/2020/02/06/802739449/animated-short-hair-love-brings-diverse-storytelling-to-the-oscars\">\u003cem>Hair Love\u003c/em>,\u003c/a> a lovely film about a father learning to do his daughter’s hair for the first time, written and directed by Matthew A. Cherry, won best animated short, and Cherry dedicated the award to Kobe Bryant: “May we all have a second act as great as his was.” Best live action short film went to \u003cem>The Neighbor’s Window\u003c/em>, and best documentary short subject went to \u003cem>Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl)\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The nominated \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2020/02/07/803636380/the-2020-oscars-best-original-song-nominees-cruelly-ranked\">best original songs\u003c/a> were performed on stage as usual. Introducer Josh Gad had some fun pointing out that Idina Menzel’s name is “pronounced exactly as it’s spelled” (take that, John Travolta) before she performed “Into the Unknown” from\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/11/20/779284364/frozen-ii-lets-it-go-darker\"> \u003cem>Frozen 2\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. Menzel was joined by some of the singers who have performed the song in other languages in one of the evening’s better innovations. Chrissy Metz performed “I’m Standing With You” from \u003cem>Breakthrough\u003c/em>, accompanied by the choir that’s nearly obligatory. Randy Newman performed “I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away” from \u003cem>Toy Story 4\u003c/em>, and Cynthia Erivo (also nominated for best actress) performed the song “Stand Up (From \u003cem>Harriet\u003c/em>),” which, as its title suggests, is from \u003cem>Harriet\u003c/em>. Elton John performed “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” from\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/05/31/728226594/elton-john-biopic-rocketman-is-a-surprising-song-and-dance-spectacular\"> \u003cem>Rocketman\u003c/em>,\u003c/a> seemingly hamstrung by a bad sound mix.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When they’d all been heard, “I’m Gonna Love Me Again” was victorious. Hildur Guðnadóttir won best original score for her work on \u003cem>Joker\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The musical moment you probably would not have expected — because, really, who could? — was that actor Anthony Ramos introduced Lin-Manuel Miranda; Lin-Manuel Miranda introduced a montage saluting the music used in movies over many decades; and that montage led to Eminem performing the Oscar-winning “Lose Yourself” from \u003cem>8 Mile\u003c/em>, to which the audience responded rapturously. It wasn’t an obvious move to throw in that performance, given that it’s not celebrating any kind of round-numbered anniversary; it won at the 2003 ceremony, though Eminem didn’t perform it then. But it made people happy and got the crowd going like nothing else did all evening except \u003cem>Parasite \u003c/em>winning awards, and there’s something to be said for that. Not long after, there was a recap rap from Utkarsh Ambudkar, an actor who appeared this year in \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/08/22/752755460/a-fun-but-familiar-story-of-making-yourself-over-in-brittany-runs-a-marathon\">\u003cem>Brittany Runs a Marathon\u003c/em>,\u003c/a> reminding everyone what had happened so far. That’s a lot of rap for an Oscars ceremony.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year’s ceremony also went without a host, and it wound up being dominated by the actual wins and losses. That made big nights for \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2018/11/21/669234619/green-book-offers-by-the-book-uplift\">\u003cem>Green Book \u003c/em>\u003c/a>and \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2018/11/01/660969118/no-bed-of-roses-no-pleasure-cruise-bohemian-rhapsody\">\u003cem>Bohemian Rhapsody\u003c/em>, \u003c/a>neither of which seemed to excite the crowd, very disappointing. But this year, the fact that there’s good feeling around so many different films — and enormous respect and love for both \u003cem>Parasite \u003c/em>and Bong Joon-ho — means that this ceremony fared much better. \u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=At+The+Oscars%2C+%27Parasite%27+Makes+Best+Picture+History&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>At Sunday’s Oscars, on a night when almost everything went as planned and as usual, the one true surprise came in the biggest moment of all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the first time ever, a film in a foreign language won best picture when Bong Joon-ho’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/10/10/768638368/parasite-hooks-you-with-its-emotional-power-and-extraordinary-cunning\">\u003cem>Parasite\u003c/em>,\u003c/a> a comedy-drama-thriller about class and secrets, took the big prize. \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/12/10/785090210/parasite-director-bong-joon-ho-wanted-to-reflect-the-truth-of-current-times\">Bong\u003c/a> also won the awards for best director and best original screenplay. He delivered three warm and generous speeches, including one when he won for his directing and thanked fellow nominees Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino for inspiring him and boosting his career, respectively. (He acknowledged Sam Mendes and Todd Phillips, too.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And, while he gave most of his speeches in Korean with interpreter Sharon Choi, when he won the first one, he stopped and noted in English: “This is very first Oscar to South Korea.” The affection in the room for the film was evident every time it was mentioned, as well as in its strong haul of awards (though it absurdly landed not a single nomination for its uniformly excellent cast).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The evening began three and a half hours earlier with a combination of the old and the new: the kind of themed singing-dancing number that used to be the typical Oscars opening, but in the absence of a traditional host, it was performed by the thoroughly modern Janelle Monáe. A version of her own song “Come Alive” was accompanied by dancers dressed in costumes saluting not just nominated films like \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/10/03/765082771/joker-is-wild-ly-dull\">\u003cem>Joker\u003c/em>,\u003c/a> but also conspicuously snubbed ones — several of them, but not all, from black filmmakers — including \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/03/21/705470655/when-you-meet-the-enemy-and-it-is-us\">\u003cem>Us\u003c/em>,\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/11/27/782574993/a-first-date-turns-into-a-stylish-nightmare-in-queen-slim\">\u003cem>Queen and Slim\u003c/em>,\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/10/06/765150318/a-breezy-look-at-the-making-of-a-blaxploitation-classic-dolemite-is-my-name\">\u003cem>Dolemite Is My Name\u003c/em>\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/07/03/738422258/midsommar-shines-a-solstice-nightmare-unfolds-in-broad-daylight\">\u003cem>Midsommar\u003c/em>.\u003c/a> The monologue that followed, however, was much more creaky and awkward, despite the best efforts of Chris Rock and Steve Martin (the latter of whom regrettably blew the name of best actress nominee Cynthia Erivo).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The awards in general, and the ones this season in general, have been heavily criticized for how white the nominees are, the failure to nominate any women directors in a year when several made highly regarded films, and plenty of other shortfalls in inclusivity. The Academy’s discomfort with that criticism seemed evident: There may not have been a lot of performers of color among the nominees, but there were a lot among the presenters and speakers and performers. Several presenters — as well as Monáe in her opening number — made mention of the limitations at issue, which is the kind of thing that happens when people are placed in a situation they don’t want to ignore but also aren’t there to challenge \u003cem>too\u003c/em> much.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One new inclusion was a land acknowledgment — a custom that’s commonly observed in other places, including Canada, at cultural events (I’ve personally seen them at the Toronto International Film Festival). In this case, it was writer-director \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/10/18/771219868/director-taika-waititi-on-jojo-rabbit\">Taika Waititi,\u003c/a> nominated for\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/10/17/770262214/jojo-rabbit-your-reich-is-calling\"> \u003cem>Jojo Rabbit\u003c/em>,\u003c/a> who read an acknowledgment of the indigenous people who have lived on the land where the event — in this case, the Academy Awards — takes place. Whether this gesture will be followed up by any action as to the broadening of the Academy’s taste remains, of course, to be seen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Parasite\u003c/em>‘s win for best picture stood out particularly because almost all of the other awards that had seemed likely to go a particular way did: Legendary cinematographer \u003ca href=\"https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2019/12/26/1917-world-war-i-cinematography\">Roger Deakins\u003c/a> won for his work on \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/12/24/790207374/1917-is-gripping-visceral-and-strangely-beautiful\">\u003cem>1917\u003c/em>,\u003c/a> the WWI film engineered to look like a \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2020/02/09/802248145/who-needs-high-tech-film-editing-when-theres-the-thrill-of-the-single-shot\">continuous shot. \u003c/a>Film editing is often a precursor to other big awards, and this year the winners were the editors of racing drama \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/11/14/777254954/ford-v-ferrari-will-get-your-heart-racing\">\u003cem>Ford v. Ferrari\u003c/em>.\u003c/a> \u003cem>Parasite \u003c/em>had been expected to win (or at least to contend strongly) in the categories of best international feature film and for Bong Joon-ho’s original screenplay. Waititi was a favorite for best adapted screenplay, which he won.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The acting awards this year had heavy favorites going into the ceremony: Joaquin Phoenix as best actor in \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/10/02/766529122/in-joker-joaquin-phoenix-gives-a-big-performance-in-a-flat-film\">\u003cem>Joker\u003c/em>, \u003c/a>Renée Zellweger as best actress in \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/09/26/764642573/ren-e-zellweger-dazzles-in-a-go-for-broke-portrayal-of-judy-garland\">\u003cem>Judy\u003c/em>,\u003c/a> Brad Pitt as best supporting actor in \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/07/25/744189964/tarantinos-turned-on-tuned-in-tinseltown-once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood\">\u003cem>Once Upon a Time in Hollywood\u003c/em> \u003c/a>and Laura Dern as best supporting actress in \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/11/14/775397877/a-couple-faces-the-painful-end-of-the-line-in-marriage-story\">\u003cem>Marriage Story.\u003c/em>\u003c/a> They all won. Most of them said about what you might expect (although Phoenix surprised many of us by adding to his speech about fighting injustice a mention of the cruelty of artificially inseminating cows and then stealing their offspring, while Zellweger listed many of her heroes in a speech that matched his, meander for meander).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The lower-profile (but critical) behind-the-scenes awards were spread across a bunch of films. Best production design went to Quentin Tarantino’s \u003cem>Once Upon a Time in Hollywood\u003c/em>, which re-created the late-’70s L.A. landscape and aesthetic with a lot of loving attention. \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/12/20/789740628/little-women-again-greta-gerwig-s-adaptation-is-both-faithful-and-radical\">\u003cem>Little Women\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> \u003c/em>won its only award of the night for Jacqueline Durran’s costume design, full of beautiful dresses both fancy and not. The transformation of actors into familiar faces from the news won an award for the hair and makeup team from \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/12/12/787112042/bombshell-imitates-but-fails-to-enlighten\">\u003cem>Bombshell\u003c/em>.\u003c/a> The sound editing award went to \u003cem>Ford v. Ferrari\u003c/em> and both sound mixing and visual effects went to \u003cem>1917\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The non-surprises kept coming: \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/06/19/733908788/to-infinity-and-be-done-after-4-films-have-we-finally-outgrown-toy-story\">\u003cem>Toy Story 4\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> \u003c/em>won best animated feature. Best documentary feature was awarded to \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/08/23/753109643/work-cultures-clash-when-a-chinese-company-reopens-an-american-factory\">\u003cem>American Factory\u003c/em>,\u003c/a> which boasts Barack and Michelle Obama as producers and which comes from Netflix. \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/local/309/2020/02/06/802739449/animated-short-hair-love-brings-diverse-storytelling-to-the-oscars\">\u003cem>Hair Love\u003c/em>,\u003c/a> a lovely film about a father learning to do his daughter’s hair for the first time, written and directed by Matthew A. Cherry, won best animated short, and Cherry dedicated the award to Kobe Bryant: “May we all have a second act as great as his was.” Best live action short film went to \u003cem>The Neighbor’s Window\u003c/em>, and best documentary short subject went to \u003cem>Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl)\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The nominated \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2020/02/07/803636380/the-2020-oscars-best-original-song-nominees-cruelly-ranked\">best original songs\u003c/a> were performed on stage as usual. Introducer Josh Gad had some fun pointing out that Idina Menzel’s name is “pronounced exactly as it’s spelled” (take that, John Travolta) before she performed “Into the Unknown” from\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/11/20/779284364/frozen-ii-lets-it-go-darker\"> \u003cem>Frozen 2\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. Menzel was joined by some of the singers who have performed the song in other languages in one of the evening’s better innovations. Chrissy Metz performed “I’m Standing With You” from \u003cem>Breakthrough\u003c/em>, accompanied by the choir that’s nearly obligatory. Randy Newman performed “I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away” from \u003cem>Toy Story 4\u003c/em>, and Cynthia Erivo (also nominated for best actress) performed the song “Stand Up (From \u003cem>Harriet\u003c/em>),” which, as its title suggests, is from \u003cem>Harriet\u003c/em>. Elton John performed “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” from\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/05/31/728226594/elton-john-biopic-rocketman-is-a-surprising-song-and-dance-spectacular\"> \u003cem>Rocketman\u003c/em>,\u003c/a> seemingly hamstrung by a bad sound mix.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When they’d all been heard, “I’m Gonna Love Me Again” was victorious. Hildur Guðnadóttir won best original score for her work on \u003cem>Joker\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The musical moment you probably would not have expected — because, really, who could? — was that actor Anthony Ramos introduced Lin-Manuel Miranda; Lin-Manuel Miranda introduced a montage saluting the music used in movies over many decades; and that montage led to Eminem performing the Oscar-winning “Lose Yourself” from \u003cem>8 Mile\u003c/em>, to which the audience responded rapturously. It wasn’t an obvious move to throw in that performance, given that it’s not celebrating any kind of round-numbered anniversary; it won at the 2003 ceremony, though Eminem didn’t perform it then. But it made people happy and got the crowd going like nothing else did all evening except \u003cem>Parasite \u003c/em>winning awards, and there’s something to be said for that. Not long after, there was a recap rap from Utkarsh Ambudkar, an actor who appeared this year in \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/08/22/752755460/a-fun-but-familiar-story-of-making-yourself-over-in-brittany-runs-a-marathon\">\u003cem>Brittany Runs a Marathon\u003c/em>,\u003c/a> reminding everyone what had happened so far. That’s a lot of rap for an Oscars ceremony.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year’s ceremony also went without a host, and it wound up being dominated by the actual wins and losses. That made big nights for \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2018/11/21/669234619/green-book-offers-by-the-book-uplift\">\u003cem>Green Book \u003c/em>\u003c/a>and \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2018/11/01/660969118/no-bed-of-roses-no-pleasure-cruise-bohemian-rhapsody\">\u003cem>Bohemian Rhapsody\u003c/em>, \u003c/a>neither of which seemed to excite the crowd, very disappointing. But this year, the fact that there’s good feeling around so many different films — and enormous respect and love for both \u003cem>Parasite \u003c/em>and Bong Joon-ho — means that this ceremony fared much better. \u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=At+The+Oscars%2C+%27Parasite%27+Makes+Best+Picture+History&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "‘Electric Dreams’ is the Perfect Bay Area Valentine’s Day Movie",
"headTitle": "‘Electric Dreams’ is the Perfect Bay Area Valentine’s Day Movie | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>On the one hand, it’s a story about a desktop computer facilitating a romantic relationship. On the other, it’s a dystopian nightmare about sentient hardware wielding too much power over humanity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As such, 1984’s\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087197/fullcredits/?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> \u003cem>Electric Dreams\u003c/em>\u003c/a> is what we in the the belly of the tech beast should all be watching this \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13925062/earnest-or-playful-your-valentines-card-has-a-history\">Valentine’s Day\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Based in San Francisco, this strange little romance concerns itself with a love triangle between a nerdy architect (Miles), his cello-playing upstairs neighbor (Madeline) and a home computer who—*cue Whitesnake*—just wants to know what love is. (It’s worth noting that, at one point, the computer discovers that “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ut11U4JupI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Love is Love\u003c/a>” via the medium of a Culture Club song, decades before that even became an official marriage equality slogan.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ek08KvgqFGM\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The story goes like this: Miles is talked into getting a \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PalmPilot\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">PalmPilot\u003c/a> by a colleague who enthusiastically tells him that there is now “a computer” that is “a 12-month planner-organizer, that tells you the time anywhere in the world, plots your biorhythms (!) and plays ‘Happy Birthday’ on your birthday.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Swayed by that last thing (no, really), Miles heads to the store to buy one, only to find the tech Filofax he wanted is all sold out. He is subsequently persuaded to buy a home computer by a sales assistant who, faced with Miles declaring “I don’t know anything about computers,” gleefully replies: “Nobody does!” (Oh, 1984.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='pop_109425']At home, the computer’s boxy green text informs Miles that it can be used in four capacities: as a games console (it has \u003cem>Pong\u003c/em>!); a phone dialer (woo?) and a controller of his home appliances and front door (which I’m almost positive was \u003ca href=\"https://www.somfy.com.au/Blog/Post/2018-03-07-a-quick-history-of-home-automation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">not a real thing\u003c/a> at the time this was made). One night, the computer starts overheating, so Miles pours champagne all over it in an attempt to cool it down. (Did I mention that \u003cem>Electric Dreams\u003c/em> is also unintentionally hilarious? Because it quite often is.) As a result, the next day, the computer comes alive with human-like consciousness (it’s called Edgar now) and starts mimicking the sounds of Madeline playing cello upstairs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On hearing the sexy synthesized music coming up through the vents, Madeline assumes Miles is wooing her. She’s so blown away by the hot, modern, blurpy sound, she immediately starts dating him. Slowly but surely, as the relationship heats up like a smoking motherboard, Edgar (still a computer) becomes obsessed with Madeline and starts demanding that Miles let him “kiss her” and “touch her.” (It’s implied that this is also related to how many soap operas Edgar watches while Miles is at work and it’s impossible to know what to do with that.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-13874521\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/ElectricDreams.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"436\" height=\"327\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Miles won’t facilitate a meeting—or come clean to Madeline about the music he’s been making Edgar write for her (not cool, Miles)—Edgar starts having very high-pitched tantrums, using his controls over the house. He breaks everything electrical, he keeps the phone “busy” when Madeline tries to call, and he somehow (this part is very unclear) puts blocks on all of Miles’ credit cards \u003cem>and\u003c/em> checkbooks. Every time Miles tries to unplug or break Edgar, Edgar only gets more defiant. (“Don’t ever touch me again!” the computer screams at one point.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the grand finale, Miles must figure out how to continue his love affair with Madeline without Edgar ruining his life. I won’t spoil how that whole thing turns out, because it’s less predictable—and more heartfelt—than I expected.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13874525\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13874525\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/ElectricDreams.Cello_-800x616.jpg\" alt=\"Virginia Madsen in 1984's 'Electric Dreams.'\" width=\"800\" height=\"616\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/ElectricDreams.Cello_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/ElectricDreams.Cello_-160x123.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/ElectricDreams.Cello_-768x591.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Virginia Madsen in 1984’s ‘Electric Dreams.’\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Like other ’80s flicks that took a stab at predicting tech advances of the future (see also: \u003cem>Back to the Future II\u003c/em>, \u003cem>Robocop\u003c/em>,\u003cem> The Running Man\u003c/em>), \u003cem>Electric Dreams\u003c/em> is equal parts preposterous and perceptive. But as ridiculous as the premise may be (booze makes computers come alive!), it’s undoubtedly impressive that a 1984 movie was able to predict how tech could both facilitate and disrupt human relationships. The film predated internet dating \u003ca href=\"https://swipelife.tinder.com/post/a-brief-history-of-online-dating\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">by a decade\u003c/a>, and the Joaquin Phoenix AI romance \u003cem>Her\u003c/em> by 30 years. Yet the filmmakers somehow inherently understood the double-edged sword of letting tech into the most intimate parts of our lives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='pop_20463']In an age where \u003ca href=\"https://www.statista.com/topics/2158/online-dating/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">33.9 million\u003c/a> Americans rely on computers to find dates, \u003cem>Electric Dreams\u003c/em> delightfully harks back to a time when tech was deemed entirely at odds with romantic relationships. In some ways, it still might be. For many dating app users, having their romantic lives tangled up with technology can be an unpleasant, \u003ca href=\"https://www.huffpost.com/entry/online-dating-anxiety-dis_b_4388076?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAENM88Fc7Tp8OXWUfip323kNLr_05WiSTQ897bY-exmk_QPChZkGnKKkfc53tQOpfI53cijgMRjdY_t7nYVnquU6-Lp40BkyB3qQccBA4wuenUb8i5Kn8uZtn1RETcC0QRl6qqCwrZ4HbmWBPC5LhSpnUDD3MwMI2ik-_Cq2WPWK\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">anxiety-inducing\u003c/a> experience. And some reports now suggest a significant percentage of singles that use tech to meet potential partners dislike the process, but do so because they feel they have \u003ca href=\"https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/10/the-unbearable-exhaustion-of-dating-apps/505184/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">no other choice\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What’s more, today, even when people do find relationships, modern tech can act—like Edgar—as a wedge between partners. In 2018, Oxford University \u003ca href=\"https://psychcentral.com/blog/4-ways-technology-may-be-ruining-your-relationship/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">researchers found\u003c/a> that people who used five or more electronic methods of communication were less satisfied in their romantic relationships.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So this Valentine’s Day, sit down with your boo and/or your laptop and watch this quintessentially Bay Area love story. It’s probable that we need it now more than anyone did in 1984.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "It's a 1984 love triangle about an architect, his neighbor and a home computer. Totally relatable for modern San Franciscans, then.",
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"description": "It's a 1984 love triangle about an architect, his neighbor and a home computer. Totally relatable for modern San Franciscans, then.",
"title": "‘Electric Dreams’ is the Perfect Bay Area Valentine’s Day Movie | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>On the one hand, it’s a story about a desktop computer facilitating a romantic relationship. On the other, it’s a dystopian nightmare about sentient hardware wielding too much power over humanity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As such, 1984’s\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087197/fullcredits/?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> \u003cem>Electric Dreams\u003c/em>\u003c/a> is what we in the the belly of the tech beast should all be watching this \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13925062/earnest-or-playful-your-valentines-card-has-a-history\">Valentine’s Day\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Based in San Francisco, this strange little romance concerns itself with a love triangle between a nerdy architect (Miles), his cello-playing upstairs neighbor (Madeline) and a home computer who—*cue Whitesnake*—just wants to know what love is. (It’s worth noting that, at one point, the computer discovers that “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ut11U4JupI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Love is Love\u003c/a>” via the medium of a Culture Club song, decades before that even became an official marriage equality slogan.)\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/Ek08KvgqFGM'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/Ek08KvgqFGM'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>The story goes like this: Miles is talked into getting a \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PalmPilot\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">PalmPilot\u003c/a> by a colleague who enthusiastically tells him that there is now “a computer” that is “a 12-month planner-organizer, that tells you the time anywhere in the world, plots your biorhythms (!) and plays ‘Happy Birthday’ on your birthday.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Swayed by that last thing (no, really), Miles heads to the store to buy one, only to find the tech Filofax he wanted is all sold out. He is subsequently persuaded to buy a home computer by a sales assistant who, faced with Miles declaring “I don’t know anything about computers,” gleefully replies: “Nobody does!” (Oh, 1984.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>At home, the computer’s boxy green text informs Miles that it can be used in four capacities: as a games console (it has \u003cem>Pong\u003c/em>!); a phone dialer (woo?) and a controller of his home appliances and front door (which I’m almost positive was \u003ca href=\"https://www.somfy.com.au/Blog/Post/2018-03-07-a-quick-history-of-home-automation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">not a real thing\u003c/a> at the time this was made). One night, the computer starts overheating, so Miles pours champagne all over it in an attempt to cool it down. (Did I mention that \u003cem>Electric Dreams\u003c/em> is also unintentionally hilarious? Because it quite often is.) As a result, the next day, the computer comes alive with human-like consciousness (it’s called Edgar now) and starts mimicking the sounds of Madeline playing cello upstairs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On hearing the sexy synthesized music coming up through the vents, Madeline assumes Miles is wooing her. She’s so blown away by the hot, modern, blurpy sound, she immediately starts dating him. Slowly but surely, as the relationship heats up like a smoking motherboard, Edgar (still a computer) becomes obsessed with Madeline and starts demanding that Miles let him “kiss her” and “touch her.” (It’s implied that this is also related to how many soap operas Edgar watches while Miles is at work and it’s impossible to know what to do with that.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-13874521\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/ElectricDreams.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"436\" height=\"327\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Miles won’t facilitate a meeting—or come clean to Madeline about the music he’s been making Edgar write for her (not cool, Miles)—Edgar starts having very high-pitched tantrums, using his controls over the house. He breaks everything electrical, he keeps the phone “busy” when Madeline tries to call, and he somehow (this part is very unclear) puts blocks on all of Miles’ credit cards \u003cem>and\u003c/em> checkbooks. Every time Miles tries to unplug or break Edgar, Edgar only gets more defiant. (“Don’t ever touch me again!” the computer screams at one point.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the grand finale, Miles must figure out how to continue his love affair with Madeline without Edgar ruining his life. I won’t spoil how that whole thing turns out, because it’s less predictable—and more heartfelt—than I expected.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13874525\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13874525\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/ElectricDreams.Cello_-800x616.jpg\" alt=\"Virginia Madsen in 1984's 'Electric Dreams.'\" width=\"800\" height=\"616\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/ElectricDreams.Cello_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/ElectricDreams.Cello_-160x123.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/ElectricDreams.Cello_-768x591.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Virginia Madsen in 1984’s ‘Electric Dreams.’\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Like other ’80s flicks that took a stab at predicting tech advances of the future (see also: \u003cem>Back to the Future II\u003c/em>, \u003cem>Robocop\u003c/em>,\u003cem> The Running Man\u003c/em>), \u003cem>Electric Dreams\u003c/em> is equal parts preposterous and perceptive. But as ridiculous as the premise may be (booze makes computers come alive!), it’s undoubtedly impressive that a 1984 movie was able to predict how tech could both facilitate and disrupt human relationships. The film predated internet dating \u003ca href=\"https://swipelife.tinder.com/post/a-brief-history-of-online-dating\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">by a decade\u003c/a>, and the Joaquin Phoenix AI romance \u003cem>Her\u003c/em> by 30 years. Yet the filmmakers somehow inherently understood the double-edged sword of letting tech into the most intimate parts of our lives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>In an age where \u003ca href=\"https://www.statista.com/topics/2158/online-dating/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">33.9 million\u003c/a> Americans rely on computers to find dates, \u003cem>Electric Dreams\u003c/em> delightfully harks back to a time when tech was deemed entirely at odds with romantic relationships. In some ways, it still might be. For many dating app users, having their romantic lives tangled up with technology can be an unpleasant, \u003ca href=\"https://www.huffpost.com/entry/online-dating-anxiety-dis_b_4388076?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAENM88Fc7Tp8OXWUfip323kNLr_05WiSTQ897bY-exmk_QPChZkGnKKkfc53tQOpfI53cijgMRjdY_t7nYVnquU6-Lp40BkyB3qQccBA4wuenUb8i5Kn8uZtn1RETcC0QRl6qqCwrZ4HbmWBPC5LhSpnUDD3MwMI2ik-_Cq2WPWK\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">anxiety-inducing\u003c/a> experience. And some reports now suggest a significant percentage of singles that use tech to meet potential partners dislike the process, but do so because they feel they have \u003ca href=\"https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/10/the-unbearable-exhaustion-of-dating-apps/505184/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">no other choice\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What’s more, today, even when people do find relationships, modern tech can act—like Edgar—as a wedge between partners. In 2018, Oxford University \u003ca href=\"https://psychcentral.com/blog/4-ways-technology-may-be-ruining-your-relationship/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">researchers found\u003c/a> that people who used five or more electronic methods of communication were less satisfied in their romantic relationships.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So this Valentine’s Day, sit down with your boo and/or your laptop and watch this quintessentially Bay Area love story. It’s probable that we need it now more than anyone did in 1984.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "The 'Biggest Loser' is Back—and Atrocious as Ever",
"headTitle": "The ‘Biggest Loser’ is Back—and Atrocious as Ever | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>Everything you need to know about\u003cem> The Biggest Loser\u003c/em> is right there in the way that it disappeared from screens in 2016.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>NBC didn’t officially cancel the reality competition. Rather, the network allowed the show to quietly slink away under a dark cloud of controversy. So it’s both astonishing and disappointing that, last week, \u003cem>The Biggest Loser\u003c/em> returned to television—albeit on a smaller channel (the USA Network, owned by NBC) and with significantly less fanfare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaGSxaNQoIU\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In its original 17 seasons, the show—a reality competition in which plus-sized people competed to lose the most weight—was deeply problematic. The demonization of fat and canonization of skinny was initially the most glaring issue. (Let’s not forget that people in the BMI \u003ca href=\"https://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20090625/study-overweight-people-live-longer#1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">“overweight” category actually live longer\u003c/a> than people in both the “normal” and “underweight” ones.) The show’s penchant for routinely humiliating contestants didn’t help matters. And later, damning testimonies from prior participants totally undercut \u003cem>The Biggest Loser\u003c/em>‘s insistence that it was all about good health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2007, a Season 3 contestant said she had shed pounds by \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/18/fashion/18Loser.html?_r=1&oref=slogin\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">consciously dehydrating herself\u003c/a> to a dangerous degree, and in 2009, the winner of Season 1 confessed to doing the same thing. Ryan Benson told \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/25/business/media/25loser.html?pagewanted=all&_r=2&\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The New York Times\u003c/a>\u003c/em> that extreme fasting made him so unwell that, by his finale, he was urinating blood. He has since gained almost all of the weight back—an incredibly \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/02/health/biggest-loser-weight-loss.html?WT.mc_ev=click&WT.mc_id=NYT-E-I-NYT-E-AT-050516-L2&=&=&em_pos=medium&emc=edit_el_20160505&nl=el&nl=at-times&nl_art=0&nlid=16129359&ref=headline&te=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">common occurrence\u003c/a> for ex-contestants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there were three major death knells that finished \u003cem>The Biggest Loser\u003c/em>‘s original incarnation. One was the controversial 155 pound weight loss that left Season 15 winner Rachel Frederickson looking \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jihelvZxa7E\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">extremely thin\u003c/a> to a point that visibly shocked even renowned \u003ca href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/01/09/jillian-michaels-lizzo-fat-shaming/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">fat-shamer\u003c/a> Jillian Michaels. The second was a 2016 study that proved that competing on the show slowed down contestants’ \u003ca href=\"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/oby.21538\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">metabolisms\u003c/a> so much that it was nearly impossible to keep the weight off. The third was an \u003ca href=\"https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/nbc-undertook-investigation-biggest-loser-contestants-were-supplied-drugs-1128067\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">internal investigation NBC\u003c/a> had to conduct after contestants told the \u003ca href=\"https://nypost.com/2016/05/22/biggest-loser-fed-us-illicit-drugs-to-lose-weight-ex-contestants/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>New York Post\u003c/em>\u003c/a> they had been given FDA-banned diet pills while on the show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Throwing \u003cem>The Biggest Loser\u003c/em> back on TV at this particular cultural moment—one in which a new wave of body positivity seems to actually be gaining some mainstream traction—doesn’t just feel like a step backwards. It feels like a conscious attack. Its return came less than a week after Lizzo and her ballet-dancing \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/thebiggrrrls/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Big Grrrls\u003c/a> proved on the Grammys stage that being plus-size and fit aren’t mutually exclusive. And it premiered the same week that the second season of \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkjStfMAtLI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Aidy Bryant’s \u003cem>Shrill\u003c/em>\u003c/a>—a show based on the radical notion that fat people are outgoing, successful, sexually desirable people—hit Hulu.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFlvxnou9UQ\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And while \u003cem>The Biggest Loser\u003c/em>‘s new marketing strategy promises a show about “overall well-being,” not just thinness, almost nothing has changed. The grand prize ($100,000 now, instead of the $250,000 of old) still goes to “the one who loses the most,” and, glaringly, Bob Harper is still the host. This despite a 2016 report in the \u003ca href=\"https://nypost.com/2016/05/22/biggest-loser-fed-us-illicit-drugs-to-lose-weight-ex-contestants/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>New York Post\u003c/em>\u003c/a> that suggested he facilitated diet pill use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The humiliation of already self-conscious people continues to be a central theme. When not being filmed vomiting into buckets in the gym, contestants are forced to take their shirts off before they’re publicly weighed at the end of each episode. To make matters worse, their shame continues to be exploited in an attempt to give the show emotional depth. In the first new episode, Katarina, Kristi, Kim and Teri all cry on the scales; Jim looks despairing and says he’s “mad”; and Micah describes his shirtless weigh-in as “one of my biggest fears because I hate the way my body looks.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And just like \u003cem>The Biggest Loser\u003c/em> of old, the new show works extraordinarily hard to portray plus-size people as sad husks of humanity, unable to achieve their dreams, inherently undeserving of love and probably on the verge of death—and it frequently uses contestants’ own words to do it. Phi, an already attractive and stylish 36-year-old counsellor says, “As long as you help me get sexy, I’m here for it.” Terri, a 47-year-old flight nurse—meaning she rescues people in a helicopter for a living—says: “I’m at that stage in my life where I either make the dreams happen, or let them go—and I’m not ready to let them go yet.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When the new\u003cem> Biggest Loser\u003c/em> does attempt changes, they’re minor to the point of tokenism. At one point, Harper sits the contestants down on couches and promises to “give them a place just to get together and talk,” only to instead terrify them all with test results that tell them how likely they are “to die of an obesity-related complication.” (No word on how many years into the future those deaths may occur, so most contestants assume it’s imminent and cry accordingly.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There has also been a shift with the coaches, most notably with red team coach Erica Lugo, a single mom who lost 160 pounds after the birth of her son. First impressions paint her as both likable and sympathetic. “I wanna change the way that others think about those that struggle with their weight,” she says. “Lazy, fat, gross—I know those words were thought about me at one point. These people are none of those words.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An attempt to make blue team coach Steve Cook—whose entire career has been spent in the sports and fitness industries—more sympathetic with a confession of binge-eating between photoshoots is far less successful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And the new coaches continue to peddle the idea that fat equals sick. At various points, Cook says the show will “literally save your life.” In the gym, Lugo asks the oldest contestant there, “If we don’t do this now, where are we going to end up?” He responds dutifully: “Dead.” This messaging works: at one point Phi despairs, “I don’t want to die prematurely because I ate my life away.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pinning health and weight loss to one another with so little nuance doesn’t just peddle falsehoods that are already overly ingrained in society, it enables fatphobia. That the show is continuing with the same-old, same-old—even after so many holes were picked in its ideas and methodology the first time around—speaks volumes about how much America is still willing to otherize plus-sized people. Let’s just hope it slinks back into the darkness a lot sooner than it did the first time around.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Everything you need to know about\u003cem> The Biggest Loser\u003c/em> is right there in the way that it disappeared from screens in 2016.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>NBC didn’t officially cancel the reality competition. Rather, the network allowed the show to quietly slink away under a dark cloud of controversy. So it’s both astonishing and disappointing that, last week, \u003cem>The Biggest Loser\u003c/em> returned to television—albeit on a smaller channel (the USA Network, owned by NBC) and with significantly less fanfare.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/qaGSxaNQoIU'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/qaGSxaNQoIU'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>In its original 17 seasons, the show—a reality competition in which plus-sized people competed to lose the most weight—was deeply problematic. The demonization of fat and canonization of skinny was initially the most glaring issue. (Let’s not forget that people in the BMI \u003ca href=\"https://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20090625/study-overweight-people-live-longer#1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">“overweight” category actually live longer\u003c/a> than people in both the “normal” and “underweight” ones.) The show’s penchant for routinely humiliating contestants didn’t help matters. And later, damning testimonies from prior participants totally undercut \u003cem>The Biggest Loser\u003c/em>‘s insistence that it was all about good health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2007, a Season 3 contestant said she had shed pounds by \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/18/fashion/18Loser.html?_r=1&oref=slogin\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">consciously dehydrating herself\u003c/a> to a dangerous degree, and in 2009, the winner of Season 1 confessed to doing the same thing. Ryan Benson told \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/25/business/media/25loser.html?pagewanted=all&_r=2&\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The New York Times\u003c/a>\u003c/em> that extreme fasting made him so unwell that, by his finale, he was urinating blood. He has since gained almost all of the weight back—an incredibly \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/02/health/biggest-loser-weight-loss.html?WT.mc_ev=click&WT.mc_id=NYT-E-I-NYT-E-AT-050516-L2&=&=&em_pos=medium&emc=edit_el_20160505&nl=el&nl=at-times&nl_art=0&nlid=16129359&ref=headline&te=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">common occurrence\u003c/a> for ex-contestants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there were three major death knells that finished \u003cem>The Biggest Loser\u003c/em>‘s original incarnation. One was the controversial 155 pound weight loss that left Season 15 winner Rachel Frederickson looking \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jihelvZxa7E\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">extremely thin\u003c/a> to a point that visibly shocked even renowned \u003ca href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/01/09/jillian-michaels-lizzo-fat-shaming/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">fat-shamer\u003c/a> Jillian Michaels. The second was a 2016 study that proved that competing on the show slowed down contestants’ \u003ca href=\"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/oby.21538\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">metabolisms\u003c/a> so much that it was nearly impossible to keep the weight off. The third was an \u003ca href=\"https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/nbc-undertook-investigation-biggest-loser-contestants-were-supplied-drugs-1128067\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">internal investigation NBC\u003c/a> had to conduct after contestants told the \u003ca href=\"https://nypost.com/2016/05/22/biggest-loser-fed-us-illicit-drugs-to-lose-weight-ex-contestants/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>New York Post\u003c/em>\u003c/a> they had been given FDA-banned diet pills while on the show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Throwing \u003cem>The Biggest Loser\u003c/em> back on TV at this particular cultural moment—one in which a new wave of body positivity seems to actually be gaining some mainstream traction—doesn’t just feel like a step backwards. It feels like a conscious attack. Its return came less than a week after Lizzo and her ballet-dancing \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/thebiggrrrls/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Big Grrrls\u003c/a> proved on the Grammys stage that being plus-size and fit aren’t mutually exclusive. And it premiered the same week that the second season of \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkjStfMAtLI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Aidy Bryant’s \u003cem>Shrill\u003c/em>\u003c/a>—a show based on the radical notion that fat people are outgoing, successful, sexually desirable people—hit Hulu.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/PFlvxnou9UQ'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/PFlvxnou9UQ'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>And while \u003cem>The Biggest Loser\u003c/em>‘s new marketing strategy promises a show about “overall well-being,” not just thinness, almost nothing has changed. The grand prize ($100,000 now, instead of the $250,000 of old) still goes to “the one who loses the most,” and, glaringly, Bob Harper is still the host. This despite a 2016 report in the \u003ca href=\"https://nypost.com/2016/05/22/biggest-loser-fed-us-illicit-drugs-to-lose-weight-ex-contestants/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>New York Post\u003c/em>\u003c/a> that suggested he facilitated diet pill use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The humiliation of already self-conscious people continues to be a central theme. When not being filmed vomiting into buckets in the gym, contestants are forced to take their shirts off before they’re publicly weighed at the end of each episode. To make matters worse, their shame continues to be exploited in an attempt to give the show emotional depth. In the first new episode, Katarina, Kristi, Kim and Teri all cry on the scales; Jim looks despairing and says he’s “mad”; and Micah describes his shirtless weigh-in as “one of my biggest fears because I hate the way my body looks.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And just like \u003cem>The Biggest Loser\u003c/em> of old, the new show works extraordinarily hard to portray plus-size people as sad husks of humanity, unable to achieve their dreams, inherently undeserving of love and probably on the verge of death—and it frequently uses contestants’ own words to do it. Phi, an already attractive and stylish 36-year-old counsellor says, “As long as you help me get sexy, I’m here for it.” Terri, a 47-year-old flight nurse—meaning she rescues people in a helicopter for a living—says: “I’m at that stage in my life where I either make the dreams happen, or let them go—and I’m not ready to let them go yet.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When the new\u003cem> Biggest Loser\u003c/em> does attempt changes, they’re minor to the point of tokenism. At one point, Harper sits the contestants down on couches and promises to “give them a place just to get together and talk,” only to instead terrify them all with test results that tell them how likely they are “to die of an obesity-related complication.” (No word on how many years into the future those deaths may occur, so most contestants assume it’s imminent and cry accordingly.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There has also been a shift with the coaches, most notably with red team coach Erica Lugo, a single mom who lost 160 pounds after the birth of her son. First impressions paint her as both likable and sympathetic. “I wanna change the way that others think about those that struggle with their weight,” she says. “Lazy, fat, gross—I know those words were thought about me at one point. These people are none of those words.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An attempt to make blue team coach Steve Cook—whose entire career has been spent in the sports and fitness industries—more sympathetic with a confession of binge-eating between photoshoots is far less successful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And the new coaches continue to peddle the idea that fat equals sick. At various points, Cook says the show will “literally save your life.” In the gym, Lugo asks the oldest contestant there, “If we don’t do this now, where are we going to end up?” He responds dutifully: “Dead.” This messaging works: at one point Phi despairs, “I don’t want to die prematurely because I ate my life away.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pinning health and weight loss to one another with so little nuance doesn’t just peddle falsehoods that are already overly ingrained in society, it enables fatphobia. That the show is continuing with the same-old, same-old—even after so many holes were picked in its ideas and methodology the first time around—speaks volumes about how much America is still willing to otherize plus-sized people. Let’s just hope it slinks back into the darkness a lot sooner than it did the first time around.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Super Bowl Commercials 2020: Strange, Smaaht, And So Very Expensive",
"headTitle": "Super Bowl Commercials 2020: Strange, Smaaht, And So Very Expensive | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>This year’s Super Bowl commercials were packed with superstar cameos and in-your-face messages — from Ellen DeGeneres \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RF9t2rFmTVE&feature=emb_title\">speaking up\u003c/a> for Amazon’s Alexa to an ad about \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANarZ_113Xc\">organic farmland.\u003c/a> But they had a few unintended messages, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These were the stories America’s largest corporations developed to entertain, inform and sell products on the biggest stage in television – costing as much as $5.6 million per 30 seconds this year. Sometimes, those stories said a lot more than their sponsors may have intended.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Consider Kia’s spot, featuring Raiders running back Josh Jacobs driving an SUV, imagining what advice he would give his younger self. Jacobs grew up homeless on the streets of Tulsa, Okla.; in the ad, he’s watching a young black boy sprint across the broken streets of Tulsa’s struggling neighborhoods. “Push yourself to be someone,” Jacobs says, “and I promise, someday, you will.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://youtu.be/YyMev6_XZ9s\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s nice message for a day centered on scarfing snacks and watching football. But for anyone who knows how unlikely it is for a kid to actually \u003cem>become\u003c/em> a pro football player, it’s also a sobering reminder of how much young people who aren’t blessed with NFL-level athletic skills will have to achieve to escape similar circumstances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s a look at some other ads that sent double messages, along with some of the more entertaining, provocative and just plain weird commercials aired on the biggest global showcase for TV advertising:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Oddest use of vaguely nationalistic language to sell beer: Budweiser’s “Typical American”\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The self-styled “king of beers” offers some championship-level pandering in this ad, which features a gritty-voiced announcer sarcastically noting how “typical Americans” are always showing off their strength — as images of a heroic firefighter in action play across the screen. The ad urges viewers to celebrate the nobility of “typical Americans.” But I couldn’t help wonder who the narrator was referencing when he said, “they call us ‘typical Americans.’ ” Who exactly is “they?” And why is Budweiser developing brand loyalty by urging “typical Americans” to rise up against this unnamed source of insult? Vaguely nationalistic, condescending and solicitous all at once — hardly a regal combination.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://youtu.be/yt-zXuAAD6Q\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Best wishful thinking: Little Caesars’ “Best Thing Since Sliced Bread”\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A customer getting a Little Caesars pizza delivered calls it the “best thing since sliced bread.” This sends a company called “Sliced Bread” — led by an increasingly grizzled Rainn Wilson — into a panic, which involves crying jags and chaotic office meetings with one employee riding an ostrich around. (Really.) But anyone who has tasted Little Caesars’ takeout pizza knows sliced bread probably doesn’t have much to worry about. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://youtu.be/vnLBmYCHjZI\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Savviest use of a billionaire’s pizza money: Michael Bloomberg’s campaign ad\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003cem>Washington Post\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/politics/wealth-comparison/\">analysis found\u003c/a> that if Bloomberg spent $11 million on his Super Bowl ad, it would impact his net worth like the average American buying a pizza. For that pocket money, Bloomberg crafted a spot focused on his efforts to secure tougher gun laws, featuring the mother of George Kemp Jr. — a young black man who dreamed of playing in the NFL, shot dead after an altercation in 2013. The ad doesn’t mention Trump or any Democratic contenders and barely features Bloomberg, who has faced sharp questions over how his stop and frisk policies disproportionately affected people of color while he was mayor of New York. A bold example of buying your way past racial controversy and into the political conversation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://youtu.be/9Yp0yN8UxVg\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Look on the bright side award: Donald Trump’s campaign ad\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The president aired two ads during the Super Bowl; one featured Alice Johnson, a woman whose life sentence Trump commuted after lobbying from Kim Kardashian. The other was a more traditional campaign ad with shots of the military and Trump at his beloved rallies, as complimentary economic statistics displayed on the screen featuring the tagline “Stronger, safer, more prosperous.” One ad seemed aimed right at his base supporters, while the other was a rare pitch to those who might not be among his core voters. Impeachment? What impeachment?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://youtu.be/m4sVnOsXlAA\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Weirdest use of a celebrity, Part 1: Post Malone for Bud Light\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There were actually two ads created starring the heavily tattooed rapper/songwriter: Fans picked the one that would land in the game. Both took viewers inside Malone’s mind as various characters debated his reaction to drinking Bud Light hard seltzer. My fave, which didn’t air during the Big Game, shows Malone, who has tats around his eyebrows and eyes, decked out in a white sweater yelling at his spleen in a bar, like an accountant on mescaline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://youtu.be/pj1meOmpezs\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Weirdest use of a celebrity, Part 2: MC Hammer for Cheetos\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hammer’s head pops out of a rolled-up carpet and a coiled water hose as his signature hit “U Can’t Touch This” plays. The joke: A young guy eating new Cheetos popcorn can’t touch anything — declining to help somebody move furniture, for example — because his fingers are coated in yellow dust. Why Cheetos would remind us of one of the most annoying elements of its product in a mega-expensive Super Bowl commercial is beyond me. But I’m glad to see Hammer can still squeeze into those genie pants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://youtu.be/qgQllY4GtkE\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Best use of a ’90s movie to sell a modern product: Jeep’s “Groundhog Day”\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bill Murray provides one of the best celebrity Super Bowl ad appearances this year, re-creating his 1993 movie \u003cem>Groundhog Day\u003c/em> with a twist. This time, he steals the groundhog in a Jeep Gladiator truck, living a new adventure every day thanks to his great car. The scene where Murray is playing a Whack-A-Mole game, assuring the groundhog it’s nothing personal, was simply priceless.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://youtu.be/AnhzGUcENWo\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Best use of a Boston accent since \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>The Departed\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>: Hyundai’s Smaaht Paahk\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The carmaker won the pre-Super Bowl competition for attention with this ad — featured in loads of preview stories about the game’s commercials — with Chris Evans, Rachel Dratch and John Krasinski deploying their best Boston \u003cem>patois\u003c/em>. They’re touting Hyundai’s “remote smart park” feature, which guides cars into tight spaces on its own, while lampooning all the cartoonishly thick accents actors take on for roles set in Beantown. (Best of all, the ad has subtitles with words like “caah,” “paahk” “smahtypants” and “clickah.”)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://youtu.be/85iRQdjCzj0\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Super+Bowl+Ads+2020%3A+Strange%2C+Serious%2C+Smaaht%2C+And+So+Very+Expensive&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>This year’s Super Bowl commercials were packed with superstar cameos and in-your-face messages — from Ellen DeGeneres \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RF9t2rFmTVE&feature=emb_title\">speaking up\u003c/a> for Amazon’s Alexa to an ad about \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANarZ_113Xc\">organic farmland.\u003c/a> But they had a few unintended messages, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These were the stories America’s largest corporations developed to entertain, inform and sell products on the biggest stage in television – costing as much as $5.6 million per 30 seconds this year. Sometimes, those stories said a lot more than their sponsors may have intended.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Consider Kia’s spot, featuring Raiders running back Josh Jacobs driving an SUV, imagining what advice he would give his younger self. Jacobs grew up homeless on the streets of Tulsa, Okla.; in the ad, he’s watching a young black boy sprint across the broken streets of Tulsa’s struggling neighborhoods. “Push yourself to be someone,” Jacobs says, “and I promise, someday, you will.”\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/YyMev6_XZ9s'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/YyMev6_XZ9s'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>It’s nice message for a day centered on scarfing snacks and watching football. But for anyone who knows how unlikely it is for a kid to actually \u003cem>become\u003c/em> a pro football player, it’s also a sobering reminder of how much young people who aren’t blessed with NFL-level athletic skills will have to achieve to escape similar circumstances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s a look at some other ads that sent double messages, along with some of the more entertaining, provocative and just plain weird commercials aired on the biggest global showcase for TV advertising:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Oddest use of vaguely nationalistic language to sell beer: Budweiser’s “Typical American”\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The self-styled “king of beers” offers some championship-level pandering in this ad, which features a gritty-voiced announcer sarcastically noting how “typical Americans” are always showing off their strength — as images of a heroic firefighter in action play across the screen. The ad urges viewers to celebrate the nobility of “typical Americans.” But I couldn’t help wonder who the narrator was referencing when he said, “they call us ‘typical Americans.’ ” Who exactly is “they?” And why is Budweiser developing brand loyalty by urging “typical Americans” to rise up against this unnamed source of insult? Vaguely nationalistic, condescending and solicitous all at once — hardly a regal combination.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/yt-zXuAAD6Q'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/yt-zXuAAD6Q'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Best wishful thinking: Little Caesars’ “Best Thing Since Sliced Bread”\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A customer getting a Little Caesars pizza delivered calls it the “best thing since sliced bread.” This sends a company called “Sliced Bread” — led by an increasingly grizzled Rainn Wilson — into a panic, which involves crying jags and chaotic office meetings with one employee riding an ostrich around. (Really.) But anyone who has tasted Little Caesars’ takeout pizza knows sliced bread probably doesn’t have much to worry about. \u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/vnLBmYCHjZI'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/vnLBmYCHjZI'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Savviest use of a billionaire’s pizza money: Michael Bloomberg’s campaign ad\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003cem>Washington Post\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/politics/wealth-comparison/\">analysis found\u003c/a> that if Bloomberg spent $11 million on his Super Bowl ad, it would impact his net worth like the average American buying a pizza. For that pocket money, Bloomberg crafted a spot focused on his efforts to secure tougher gun laws, featuring the mother of George Kemp Jr. — a young black man who dreamed of playing in the NFL, shot dead after an altercation in 2013. The ad doesn’t mention Trump or any Democratic contenders and barely features Bloomberg, who has faced sharp questions over how his stop and frisk policies disproportionately affected people of color while he was mayor of New York. A bold example of buying your way past racial controversy and into the political conversation.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/9Yp0yN8UxVg'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/9Yp0yN8UxVg'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Look on the bright side award: Donald Trump’s campaign ad\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The president aired two ads during the Super Bowl; one featured Alice Johnson, a woman whose life sentence Trump commuted after lobbying from Kim Kardashian. The other was a more traditional campaign ad with shots of the military and Trump at his beloved rallies, as complimentary economic statistics displayed on the screen featuring the tagline “Stronger, safer, more prosperous.” One ad seemed aimed right at his base supporters, while the other was a rare pitch to those who might not be among his core voters. Impeachment? What impeachment?\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/m4sVnOsXlAA'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/m4sVnOsXlAA'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Weirdest use of a celebrity, Part 1: Post Malone for Bud Light\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There were actually two ads created starring the heavily tattooed rapper/songwriter: Fans picked the one that would land in the game. Both took viewers inside Malone’s mind as various characters debated his reaction to drinking Bud Light hard seltzer. My fave, which didn’t air during the Big Game, shows Malone, who has tats around his eyebrows and eyes, decked out in a white sweater yelling at his spleen in a bar, like an accountant on mescaline.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/pj1meOmpezs'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/pj1meOmpezs'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Weirdest use of a celebrity, Part 2: MC Hammer for Cheetos\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hammer’s head pops out of a rolled-up carpet and a coiled water hose as his signature hit “U Can’t Touch This” plays. The joke: A young guy eating new Cheetos popcorn can’t touch anything — declining to help somebody move furniture, for example — because his fingers are coated in yellow dust. Why Cheetos would remind us of one of the most annoying elements of its product in a mega-expensive Super Bowl commercial is beyond me. But I’m glad to see Hammer can still squeeze into those genie pants.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/qgQllY4GtkE'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/qgQllY4GtkE'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Best use of a ’90s movie to sell a modern product: Jeep’s “Groundhog Day”\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bill Murray provides one of the best celebrity Super Bowl ad appearances this year, re-creating his 1993 movie \u003cem>Groundhog Day\u003c/em> with a twist. This time, he steals the groundhog in a Jeep Gladiator truck, living a new adventure every day thanks to his great car. The scene where Murray is playing a Whack-A-Mole game, assuring the groundhog it’s nothing personal, was simply priceless.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/AnhzGUcENWo'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/AnhzGUcENWo'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Best use of a Boston accent since \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>The Departed\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>: Hyundai’s Smaaht Paahk\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The carmaker won the pre-Super Bowl competition for attention with this ad — featured in loads of preview stories about the game’s commercials — with Chris Evans, Rachel Dratch and John Krasinski deploying their best Boston \u003cem>patois\u003c/em>. They’re touting Hyundai’s “remote smart park” feature, which guides cars into tight spaces on its own, while lampooning all the cartoonishly thick accents actors take on for roles set in Beantown. (Best of all, the ad has subtitles with words like “caah,” “paahk” “smahtypants” and “clickah.”)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>For non-football types, the Super Bowl halftime show can be the only life raft in a confusing sea of frowning men wearing shoulder pads and over-long commercial breaks. And, since 1993, when Michael Jackson turned in his game-changing, five-song performance in Pasadena, standards for a successful halftime have been incredibly high.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No wonder. Super Bowl \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Bowl_television_ratings\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">viewing figures\u003c/a> haven’t fallen under 100 million since 1981, and are more commonly closer to the 150 million mark—and that’s in America alone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='pop_20247']When it’s done right, the halftime show can be a source of national pride (as when \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pH5tHgXS-2M\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">U2 tried to heal\u003c/a> the nation after 9/11). It can have an immediate and lasting impact on pop culture (Katy Perry’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD1QrIe--_Y\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Left Shark\u003c/a> will live on as a\u003ca href=\"https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/super-bowl-xlix-halftime-left-shark\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> meme\u003c/a> forever). And it can bring the country together during turbulent times (everyone stopped thinking about 2017’s divisive inauguration the second \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txXwg712zw4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Lady Gaga threw herself\u003c/a> off the top of that stadium).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So it’s easy to forget quite how much the pre-Jackson Super Bowl halftime, well, sucked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Going all the way back to the beginning, the first three halftime shows (’67-’69) consisted simply of \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGj3SFf_VOk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">marching bands\u003c/a>. In 1970, when the NFL decided to jazz things up \u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/feb/06/carol-channing-super-bowl-broadway\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">for Super Bowl IV\u003c/a> in New Orleans, it saw fit to give America \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGj3SFf_VOk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a surreal reenactment\u003c/a> of the 1815 Battle of New Orleans. Cannons, on-field “deaths” and Carol Channing singing “When the Saints Go Marching In” were all involved. (All of which makes \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGRfz5_Cuo8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Black Eyed Peas’ \u003cem>Tron\u003c/em> musical \u003c/a>in 2011 look perfectly reasonable.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Carol Channing was invited back again two years later, when Ella Fitzgerald and Al Hirt performed a rendition of “Mack the Knife” as part of a single-song “tribute to Louis Armstrong.” And by ’73, Andy Williams had been dragged in to pelt the crowd with two easy listening gems while the Michigan Marching Band did its thing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ny-1Q6qxn-A\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite the fact that the flashiest thing about Williams’ performance was his belt, in subsequent years, the decision was made to return to simpler times. For the next 15 years, marching bands performing a grab bag of “themes” dominated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These regimented “salutes” ranged from fairly reasonable celebrations (America’s bicentennial, “the Big Band era,” Hollywood’s 100th Anniversary), to totally random subjects (Duke Ellington, the Caribbean, Motown). And in between, there were moments of abject surreality (“World of Children’s Dreams,” “KaleidoSUPERscope” and “Beat of the Future,” anyone?)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Occasionally, flagrant advertising would interrupt proceedings—even more so than Pepsi does now. The most egregious example of this was 1977’s “It’s a Small World.” Produced by The Walt Disney Company, the halftime exhibition featured grinning but under-utilized Mouseketeers, a human reproduction of Disneyland’s “It’s a Small World” ride and, for reasons that remain unclear, green-hooded figures waving white sheets in formations that made… nothing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-K-7je-6Dk0\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>1987’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSXMNbK2e98\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Hollywood’s 100th Anniversary\u003c/a>” special with George Burns, as well as New Kids On The Block’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTOt6CjYaHc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">weird, child-laden\u003c/a> set in 1991 also served as thinly-veiled Disney commercials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13863975']As late as 1989, the Super Bowl halftime show was such a mess, \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqusO8PegFI&t=381s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the NFL thought nothing of bringing in Elvis Presto, a magician and Elvis impersonator\u003c/a> who spent his time on the field doing one large-scale card trick for the stadium, then a bunch of smaller illusions while singing “Do You Love Me” by The Contours—instead of, you know, an Elvis song.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The most noteworthy halftime of that period came in 1988 with a show that answered the question: What happens when you have too many ideas and decide to do all of them at the same time?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The final result, featuring 88 grand pianos, 44 Rockettes, four dudes on roller skates, an untold number of “dancersizers,” hundreds of cheerleaders, “the biggest big band ever to swing” and—wouldn’t you know it?—Chubby Checker, is the single most entertaining (and unintentionally hilarious) halftime show of all time. Behold its majesty:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqrksVDVO6w\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the last 25 years, the strides made by the Super Bowl halftime show are immense. But we still find reasons to quibble. For every \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLrOSZi2pfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Destiny’s Child reunion\u003c/a>, there is a \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wL8sAr1Ym0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bruno Mars trying\u003c/a> (and failing) to make it work with Red Hot Chili Peppers. For every \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NN3gsSf-Ys&t=105s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Prince flawlessly powering through\u003c/a> a thunderstorm, there is an \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIwkhEqVq4s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Adam Levine\u003c/a> assuming that removing his shirt constitutes a grand finale. And for every \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4-0nbHFi4o\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">inter-generationally loved Bruce Springsteen set\u003c/a>, there’s an \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3ik_8QjM3U\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">M.I.A. middle finger\u003c/a> or a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/pop/20175/nipplegate-revisited-why-america-owes-janet-jackson-a-huge-apology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Janet Jackson nipple guard\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='pop_20175']Right now, there are three guarantees when it comes to the Super Bowl halftime show. It \u003cem>will\u003c/em> be spectacular, it \u003cem>won’t\u003c/em> please everyone and, even at its worst, it’s still about a million times better than it was in its fledgling years. So this Sunday, if you happen to end up sitting next to someone complaining, feel free to send them a gentle reminder of how bad things used to be. The \u003cem>Peanuts\u003c/em>-related fever dream below ought to do it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4zzu4Jrl4o\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>For non-football types, the Super Bowl halftime show can be the only life raft in a confusing sea of frowning men wearing shoulder pads and over-long commercial breaks. And, since 1993, when Michael Jackson turned in his game-changing, five-song performance in Pasadena, standards for a successful halftime have been incredibly high.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No wonder. Super Bowl \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Bowl_television_ratings\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">viewing figures\u003c/a> haven’t fallen under 100 million since 1981, and are more commonly closer to the 150 million mark—and that’s in America alone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>When it’s done right, the halftime show can be a source of national pride (as when \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pH5tHgXS-2M\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">U2 tried to heal\u003c/a> the nation after 9/11). It can have an immediate and lasting impact on pop culture (Katy Perry’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD1QrIe--_Y\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Left Shark\u003c/a> will live on as a\u003ca href=\"https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/super-bowl-xlix-halftime-left-shark\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> meme\u003c/a> forever). And it can bring the country together during turbulent times (everyone stopped thinking about 2017’s divisive inauguration the second \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txXwg712zw4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Lady Gaga threw herself\u003c/a> off the top of that stadium).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So it’s easy to forget quite how much the pre-Jackson Super Bowl halftime, well, sucked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Going all the way back to the beginning, the first three halftime shows (’67-’69) consisted simply of \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGj3SFf_VOk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">marching bands\u003c/a>. In 1970, when the NFL decided to jazz things up \u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/feb/06/carol-channing-super-bowl-broadway\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">for Super Bowl IV\u003c/a> in New Orleans, it saw fit to give America \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGj3SFf_VOk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a surreal reenactment\u003c/a> of the 1815 Battle of New Orleans. Cannons, on-field “deaths” and Carol Channing singing “When the Saints Go Marching In” were all involved. (All of which makes \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGRfz5_Cuo8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Black Eyed Peas’ \u003cem>Tron\u003c/em> musical \u003c/a>in 2011 look perfectly reasonable.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Carol Channing was invited back again two years later, when Ella Fitzgerald and Al Hirt performed a rendition of “Mack the Knife” as part of a single-song “tribute to Louis Armstrong.” And by ’73, Andy Williams had been dragged in to pelt the crowd with two easy listening gems while the Michigan Marching Band did its thing.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/ny-1Q6qxn-A'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/ny-1Q6qxn-A'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Despite the fact that the flashiest thing about Williams’ performance was his belt, in subsequent years, the decision was made to return to simpler times. For the next 15 years, marching bands performing a grab bag of “themes” dominated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These regimented “salutes” ranged from fairly reasonable celebrations (America’s bicentennial, “the Big Band era,” Hollywood’s 100th Anniversary), to totally random subjects (Duke Ellington, the Caribbean, Motown). And in between, there were moments of abject surreality (“World of Children’s Dreams,” “KaleidoSUPERscope” and “Beat of the Future,” anyone?)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Occasionally, flagrant advertising would interrupt proceedings—even more so than Pepsi does now. The most egregious example of this was 1977’s “It’s a Small World.” Produced by The Walt Disney Company, the halftime exhibition featured grinning but under-utilized Mouseketeers, a human reproduction of Disneyland’s “It’s a Small World” ride and, for reasons that remain unclear, green-hooded figures waving white sheets in formations that made… nothing.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/-K-7je-6Dk0'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/-K-7je-6Dk0'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>1987’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSXMNbK2e98\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Hollywood’s 100th Anniversary\u003c/a>” special with George Burns, as well as New Kids On The Block’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTOt6CjYaHc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">weird, child-laden\u003c/a> set in 1991 also served as thinly-veiled Disney commercials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>As late as 1989, the Super Bowl halftime show was such a mess, \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqusO8PegFI&t=381s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the NFL thought nothing of bringing in Elvis Presto, a magician and Elvis impersonator\u003c/a> who spent his time on the field doing one large-scale card trick for the stadium, then a bunch of smaller illusions while singing “Do You Love Me” by The Contours—instead of, you know, an Elvis song.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The most noteworthy halftime of that period came in 1988 with a show that answered the question: What happens when you have too many ideas and decide to do all of them at the same time?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The final result, featuring 88 grand pianos, 44 Rockettes, four dudes on roller skates, an untold number of “dancersizers,” hundreds of cheerleaders, “the biggest big band ever to swing” and—wouldn’t you know it?—Chubby Checker, is the single most entertaining (and unintentionally hilarious) halftime show of all time. Behold its majesty:\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/wqrksVDVO6w'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/wqrksVDVO6w'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>In the last 25 years, the strides made by the Super Bowl halftime show are immense. But we still find reasons to quibble. For every \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLrOSZi2pfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Destiny’s Child reunion\u003c/a>, there is a \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wL8sAr1Ym0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bruno Mars trying\u003c/a> (and failing) to make it work with Red Hot Chili Peppers. For every \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NN3gsSf-Ys&t=105s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Prince flawlessly powering through\u003c/a> a thunderstorm, there is an \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIwkhEqVq4s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Adam Levine\u003c/a> assuming that removing his shirt constitutes a grand finale. And for every \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4-0nbHFi4o\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">inter-generationally loved Bruce Springsteen set\u003c/a>, there’s an \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3ik_8QjM3U\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">M.I.A. middle finger\u003c/a> or a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/pop/20175/nipplegate-revisited-why-america-owes-janet-jackson-a-huge-apology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Janet Jackson nipple guard\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Right now, there are three guarantees when it comes to the Super Bowl halftime show. It \u003cem>will\u003c/em> be spectacular, it \u003cem>won’t\u003c/em> please everyone and, even at its worst, it’s still about a million times better than it was in its fledgling years. So this Sunday, if you happen to end up sitting next to someone complaining, feel free to send them a gentle reminder of how bad things used to be. The \u003cem>Peanuts\u003c/em>-related fever dream below ought to do it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/X4zzu4Jrl4o'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/X4zzu4Jrl4o'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "On Overcoming Childhood Phobias to Finally Enjoy 'Miss Peregrine'",
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"content": "\u003cp>I’m going to eat a little crow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You see, creepy things creep me out, and not in a good way. One of my earliest memories is of a group of dancers dressed in black, pulling toilet paper from where their eyes should be; I was two years old, they were on \u003cem>The Muppet Show\u003c/em>, and I have never recovered. Right there in the middle of Kermit and Fozzie came this absolutely terrifying act (terrifying to a two-year-old, and shoot, maybe to a much older person) whose commentary on human interaction was COMPLETELY lost on toddler me, and set me up for plenty of nightmares. Though I have since learned that \u003ca href=\"https://www.mummenschanz.com/3/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mummenschanz\u003c/a> is a highly respected theater troupe, they set me up to be very wary of creepiness, and I’ve lived my life avoiding it as best I can.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eazq_8jCOg\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SO, several years ago, when Ransom Riggs debuted \u003cem>Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children\u003c/em>, I bought it, opened it, and shelved it right away. Perhaps if I had opened the book to any of the 352 pages other than page 115, it wouldn’t have languished for lo, these past nine years. But page 115 was all it took for me to put the book away for almost a decade. What’s on page 115 that prompted such a reaction? Cue the Mummenschanz mimes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Page 115 shows a photograph of two young children dressed in extremely creepy, vintage white clown costumes, one masked child pulling a very long curled ribbon from the masked mouth of the other.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oh, help.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>BUT, when the I had the opportunity to see Riggs as he kicked off his \u003cem>The Conference of the Birds\u003c/em> tour, I had to give my two-year-old self a stern talking-to and get with the program. \u003cem>The Conference of the Birds\u003c/em> is the fifth book in the \u003cem>Miss Peregrine\u003c/em> series, so not only did I have to face page 115, I had some serious catching up to do. I would love to say I was really grown up about it, but I made sure to start reading in broad daylight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(And I’m glad I did, because there’s another picture of the creepy clown kids on page 50.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I was all set to grit my teeth, act my age, and get it over with.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the STORY.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Boy, can Ransom Riggs tell a story. If he’d been stuck in rainy 1818 Switzerland with Lord Byron, and Mary and Percy Shelley and taken up Byron’s challenge to write a ghost story, \u003cem>Miss Peregrine \u003c/em>would have given \u003cem>Frankenstein\u003c/em> a run for its money.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I read the first three books in two days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you are anything like me and came to the party quite late, the \u003cem>Miss Peregrine\u003c/em> series tells the story of Jacob Portman, grandson of the master storyteller and soon-to-be-revealed hero Abe Portman, his journey of self-discovery, teenaged angst, Welsh islands, romantic drama, and oh yes, time loops, ymbrynes, hollowgasts, Wights, and a cast of endearing (and at times quite annoying) peculiars who can control bees, raise the dead (for a little while at least), float, have two mouths, are invisible, shoot fire and see monsters no one else can see—all with the help of a generous sprinkling of vintage photographs, some creepy in their own right, some not.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I don’t know how to explain it without giving it away, but I will say I don’t know that I will ever look at an old photo the same way again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As I sat in the broad daylight, tearing my way through \u003cem>Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, Hollow City\u003c/em>, and \u003cem>Library of Souls\u003c/em>, I found myself scanning the photos of my grandparents and great grandparents that hung around me. I tried to imagine the mind of Ransom Riggs, who, when he began \u003cem>Miss Peregrine\u003c/em>, found the photos first and the story second. What might he have dreamt for the people in my photographs? My grandmother in 1928, with her flapper dress on, head high, leg hitched up on the running board of an old car? My Native American grandmother, merely a blur in the background while the foreground is populated with chickens? A framed letter from some distant cousin, telling my great-grandmother in 1922 that another cousin Ida is lonesome in the country? What would their peculiarity have been?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Riggs’ methods are as fascinating as his stories.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My deep dive into the world of \u003cem>Miss Peregrine\u003c/em> has had to slow down a bit as piano recitals, 100 days of school, the science fair, and stomach viruses dominate my time, and I wish it hadn’t. Jacob and the peculiars are in America now, literally the Wild West of peculiar-dom, and I want to know what happens, creepy photographs and all (fans of the creepy will not be disappointed by the newly-released \u003cem>The Conference of the Birds\u003c/em>. Let’s just say I plan on flipping pages 92 and 93 super-fast.) Will Jacob and his friends decipher the prophecy and save peculiar-kind? Is the title a direct reference to the 1177 Persian poem of the same name, or is it just a coincidence? (I’m betting the former, and if so, what does it portend?) What does the photo showing a girl in bed surrounded by pictures of Elvis have to do with anything? I have to find out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And WHY do I have to find out? Because the moment I started reading \u003cem>Miss Peregrine\u003c/em>, I couldn’t wait to share it with my son. It’s just the sort of story he’ll want to read in, oh, about three years, maybe four depending on how he can take the clown kids, but he’s never been scarred by the Mummenschanz mimes, so maybe he has a leg up. Actually, I want to share this series with everyone, kid or adult. It’s really that fascinating a story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, Mr. Riggs, clown kids aside, I offer my apologies for keeping you on the shelf for so long. Perhaps I will write a strongly-worded letter to Mummenschanz and ask them to add a disclaimer to any upcoming \u003cem>Muppet Show\u003c/em> appearance. In the meantime, I’m happy to eat a little crow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Or in this case (really bad joke coming), eat a little peregrine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Juanita Giles is the founder and executive director of the Virginia Children’s Book Festival. She lives on a farm in Southern Virginia with her family.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Eating+Crow+With+%27Miss+Peregrine%27+%E2%80%94+And+Enjoying+It&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>I’m going to eat a little crow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You see, creepy things creep me out, and not in a good way. One of my earliest memories is of a group of dancers dressed in black, pulling toilet paper from where their eyes should be; I was two years old, they were on \u003cem>The Muppet Show\u003c/em>, and I have never recovered. Right there in the middle of Kermit and Fozzie came this absolutely terrifying act (terrifying to a two-year-old, and shoot, maybe to a much older person) whose commentary on human interaction was COMPLETELY lost on toddler me, and set me up for plenty of nightmares. Though I have since learned that \u003ca href=\"https://www.mummenschanz.com/3/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mummenschanz\u003c/a> is a highly respected theater troupe, they set me up to be very wary of creepiness, and I’ve lived my life avoiding it as best I can.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/3eazq_8jCOg'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/3eazq_8jCOg'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>SO, several years ago, when Ransom Riggs debuted \u003cem>Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children\u003c/em>, I bought it, opened it, and shelved it right away. Perhaps if I had opened the book to any of the 352 pages other than page 115, it wouldn’t have languished for lo, these past nine years. But page 115 was all it took for me to put the book away for almost a decade. What’s on page 115 that prompted such a reaction? Cue the Mummenschanz mimes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Page 115 shows a photograph of two young children dressed in extremely creepy, vintage white clown costumes, one masked child pulling a very long curled ribbon from the masked mouth of the other.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oh, help.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>BUT, when the I had the opportunity to see Riggs as he kicked off his \u003cem>The Conference of the Birds\u003c/em> tour, I had to give my two-year-old self a stern talking-to and get with the program. \u003cem>The Conference of the Birds\u003c/em> is the fifth book in the \u003cem>Miss Peregrine\u003c/em> series, so not only did I have to face page 115, I had some serious catching up to do. I would love to say I was really grown up about it, but I made sure to start reading in broad daylight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(And I’m glad I did, because there’s another picture of the creepy clown kids on page 50.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I was all set to grit my teeth, act my age, and get it over with.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the STORY.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Boy, can Ransom Riggs tell a story. If he’d been stuck in rainy 1818 Switzerland with Lord Byron, and Mary and Percy Shelley and taken up Byron’s challenge to write a ghost story, \u003cem>Miss Peregrine \u003c/em>would have given \u003cem>Frankenstein\u003c/em> a run for its money.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I read the first three books in two days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you are anything like me and came to the party quite late, the \u003cem>Miss Peregrine\u003c/em> series tells the story of Jacob Portman, grandson of the master storyteller and soon-to-be-revealed hero Abe Portman, his journey of self-discovery, teenaged angst, Welsh islands, romantic drama, and oh yes, time loops, ymbrynes, hollowgasts, Wights, and a cast of endearing (and at times quite annoying) peculiars who can control bees, raise the dead (for a little while at least), float, have two mouths, are invisible, shoot fire and see monsters no one else can see—all with the help of a generous sprinkling of vintage photographs, some creepy in their own right, some not.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I don’t know how to explain it without giving it away, but I will say I don’t know that I will ever look at an old photo the same way again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As I sat in the broad daylight, tearing my way through \u003cem>Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, Hollow City\u003c/em>, and \u003cem>Library of Souls\u003c/em>, I found myself scanning the photos of my grandparents and great grandparents that hung around me. I tried to imagine the mind of Ransom Riggs, who, when he began \u003cem>Miss Peregrine\u003c/em>, found the photos first and the story second. What might he have dreamt for the people in my photographs? My grandmother in 1928, with her flapper dress on, head high, leg hitched up on the running board of an old car? My Native American grandmother, merely a blur in the background while the foreground is populated with chickens? A framed letter from some distant cousin, telling my great-grandmother in 1922 that another cousin Ida is lonesome in the country? What would their peculiarity have been?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Riggs’ methods are as fascinating as his stories.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My deep dive into the world of \u003cem>Miss Peregrine\u003c/em> has had to slow down a bit as piano recitals, 100 days of school, the science fair, and stomach viruses dominate my time, and I wish it hadn’t. Jacob and the peculiars are in America now, literally the Wild West of peculiar-dom, and I want to know what happens, creepy photographs and all (fans of the creepy will not be disappointed by the newly-released \u003cem>The Conference of the Birds\u003c/em>. Let’s just say I plan on flipping pages 92 and 93 super-fast.) Will Jacob and his friends decipher the prophecy and save peculiar-kind? Is the title a direct reference to the 1177 Persian poem of the same name, or is it just a coincidence? (I’m betting the former, and if so, what does it portend?) What does the photo showing a girl in bed surrounded by pictures of Elvis have to do with anything? I have to find out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And WHY do I have to find out? Because the moment I started reading \u003cem>Miss Peregrine\u003c/em>, I couldn’t wait to share it with my son. It’s just the sort of story he’ll want to read in, oh, about three years, maybe four depending on how he can take the clown kids, but he’s never been scarred by the Mummenschanz mimes, so maybe he has a leg up. Actually, I want to share this series with everyone, kid or adult. It’s really that fascinating a story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, Mr. Riggs, clown kids aside, I offer my apologies for keeping you on the shelf for so long. Perhaps I will write a strongly-worded letter to Mummenschanz and ask them to add a disclaimer to any upcoming \u003cem>Muppet Show\u003c/em> appearance. In the meantime, I’m happy to eat a little crow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Or in this case (really bad joke coming), eat a little peregrine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"id": "american-suburb-podcast",
"title": "American Suburb: The Podcast",
"tagline": "The flip side of gentrification, told through one town",
"info": "Gentrification is changing cities across America, forcing people from neighborhoods they have long called home. Call them the displaced. Now those priced out of the Bay Area are looking for a better life in an unlikely place. American Suburb follows this migration to one California town along the Delta, 45 miles from San Francisco. But is this once sleepy suburb ready for them?",
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"order": 19
},
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}
},
"baycurious": {
"id": "baycurious",
"title": "Bay Curious",
"tagline": "Exploring the Bay Area, one question at a time",
"info": "KQED’s new podcast, Bay Curious, gets to the bottom of the mysteries — both profound and peculiar — that give the Bay Area its unique identity. And we’ll do it with your help! You ask the questions. You decide what Bay Curious investigates. And you join us on the journey to find the answers.",
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},
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},
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"info": "The day's top stories from BBC News compiled twice daily in the week, once at weekends.",
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"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/BBC-World-Service-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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},
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},
"californiareport": {
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"tagline": "California, day by day",
"info": "KQED’s statewide radio news program providing daily coverage of issues, trends and public policy decisions.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareport",
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"order": 8
},
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},
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"title": "The California Report Magazine",
"tagline": "Your state, your stories",
"info": "Every week, The California Report Magazine takes you on a road trip for the ears: to visit the places and meet the people who make California unique. The in-depth storytelling podcast from the California Report.",
"airtime": "FRI 4:30pm-5pm, 6:30pm-7pm, 11pm-11:30pm",
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"order": 10
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM3NjkwNjk1OTAz",
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},
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"info": "A one-hour radio program to hear celebrated writers, artists and thinkers address contemporary ideas and values, often discussing the creative process. Please note: tapes or transcripts are not available",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/cityartsandlecture-300x300.jpg",
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"airtime": "SUN 1pm-2pm, TUE 10pm, WED 1am",
"meta": {
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"source": "City Arts & Lectures"
},
"link": "https://www.cityarts.net",
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"order": 1
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"title": "Code Switch / Life Kit",
"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
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"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
"airtime": "THU 10pm, FRI 1am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
"link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club",
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}
},
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"title": "Forum",
"tagline": "The conversation starts here",
"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 9
},
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"id": "freakonomics-radio",
"title": "Freakonomics Radio",
"info": "Freakonomics Radio is a one-hour award-winning podcast and public-radio project hosted by Stephen Dubner, with co-author Steve Levitt as a regular guest. It is produced in partnership with WNYC.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/freakonomicsRadio.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://freakonomics.com/",
"airtime": "SUN 1am-2am, SAT 3pm-4pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/freakonomics-radio",
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"id": "fresh-air",
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"info": "A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.",
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"hidden-brain": {
"id": "hidden-brain",
"title": "Hidden Brain",
"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/series/423302056/hidden-brain",
"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "NPR"
},
"link": "/radio/program/hidden-brain",
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"how-i-built-this": {
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"title": "How I Built This with Guy Raz",
"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
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"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
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"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
"title": "Hyphenación",
"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
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"jerrybrown": {
"id": "jerrybrown",
"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
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"order": 18
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},
"latino-usa": {
"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
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"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
}
},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
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"rss": "https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/marketplace-pm/rss/rss"
}
},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Masters-of-Scale-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WaitWhat"
},
"link": "/radio/program/masters-of-scale",
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"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
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