window.__IS_SSR__=true
window.__INITIAL_STATE__={
"attachmentsReducer": {
"audio_0": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "audio_0",
"imgSizes": {
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background0.jpg"
}
}
},
"audio_1": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "audio_1",
"imgSizes": {
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background1.jpg"
}
}
},
"audio_2": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "audio_2",
"imgSizes": {
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background2.jpg"
}
}
},
"audio_3": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "audio_3",
"imgSizes": {
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background3.jpg"
}
}
},
"audio_4": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "audio_4",
"imgSizes": {
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background4.jpg"
}
}
},
"placeholder": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "placeholder",
"imgSizes": {
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-160x107.jpg",
"width": 160,
"height": 107,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-800x533.jpg",
"width": 800,
"height": 533,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-768x512.jpg",
"width": 768,
"height": 512,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"large": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1020x680.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"height": 680,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"1536x1536": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1536x1024.jpg",
"width": 1536,
"height": 1024,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"fd-lrg": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1536x1024.jpg",
"width": 1536,
"height": 1024,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"fd-med": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1020x680.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"height": 680,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-800x533.jpg",
"width": 800,
"height": 533,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"height": 372,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"height": 576,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"xxsmall": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-160x107.jpg",
"width": 160,
"height": 107,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"xsmall": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"height": 372,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"small": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"height": 372,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"xlarge": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1020x680.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"height": 680,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"full-width": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1920x1280.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"height": 1280,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg",
"width": 32,
"height": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"guest-author-50": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg",
"width": 50,
"height": 50,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg",
"width": 64,
"height": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg",
"width": 96,
"height": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg",
"width": 128,
"height": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg",
"width": 160,
"height": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1.jpg",
"width": 2000,
"height": 1333
}
}
},
"pop_111451": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "pop_111451",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "111451",
"found": true
},
"parent": 111446,
"imgSizes": {
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/04/maxresdefault-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/04/maxresdefault-160x90.jpg",
"width": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 90
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/04/maxresdefault-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/04/maxresdefault.jpg",
"width": 1280,
"height": 720
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/04/maxresdefault-1020x574.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 574
},
"complete_open_graph": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/04/maxresdefault-1200x675.jpg",
"width": 1200,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 675
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/04/maxresdefault-800x450.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 450
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/04/maxresdefault-768x432.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 432
}
},
"publishDate": 1556525836,
"modified": 1556525922,
"caption": "'Jurassic Park' (130 minutes)",
"description": "'Jurassic Park' (130 minutes)",
"title": "'Jurassic Park' (130 minutes)",
"credit": null,
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"pop_111313": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "pop_111313",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "111313",
"found": true
},
"parent": 111308,
"imgSizes": {
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/04/avengersendgame-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/04/avengersendgame-160x107.jpg",
"width": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 107
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/04/avengersendgame-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/04/avengersendgame.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"height": 1282
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/04/avengersendgame-1020x681.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 681
},
"complete_open_graph": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/04/avengersendgame-1200x801.jpg",
"width": 1200,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 801
},
"full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/04/avengersendgame-1920x1282.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1282
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/04/avengersendgame-800x534.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 534
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/04/avengersendgame-768x513.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 513
}
},
"publishDate": 1556130408,
"modified": 1556130445,
"caption": "'Avengers: Endgame'",
"description": "'Avengers: Endgame'",
"title": "'Avengers: Endgame'",
"credit": "Marvel",
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"pop_110749": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "pop_110749",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "110749",
"found": true
},
"parent": 110748,
"imgSizes": {
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/04/rev-1-shzm-fp-0005_high_res_jpeg_wide-c74e78ab312509533f7fd9e756fc5dd07b83f39f-1038x576.jpe",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/04/rev-1-shzm-fp-0005_high_res_jpeg_wide-c74e78ab312509533f7fd9e756fc5dd07b83f39f-160x90.jpe",
"width": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 90
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/04/rev-1-shzm-fp-0005_high_res_jpeg_wide-c74e78ab312509533f7fd9e756fc5dd07b83f39f-672x372.jpe",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/04/rev-1-shzm-fp-0005_high_res_jpeg_wide-c74e78ab312509533f7fd9e756fc5dd07b83f39f.jpe",
"width": 2045,
"height": 1150
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/04/rev-1-shzm-fp-0005_high_res_jpeg_wide-c74e78ab312509533f7fd9e756fc5dd07b83f39f-1020x574.jpe",
"width": 1020,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 574
},
"complete_open_graph": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/04/rev-1-shzm-fp-0005_high_res_jpeg_wide-c74e78ab312509533f7fd9e756fc5dd07b83f39f-1200x675.jpe",
"width": 1200,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 675
},
"guest-author-50": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/04/rev-1-shzm-fp-0005_high_res_jpeg_wide-c74e78ab312509533f7fd9e756fc5dd07b83f39f-50x50.jpe",
"width": 50,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 50
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/04/rev-1-shzm-fp-0005_high_res_jpeg_wide-c74e78ab312509533f7fd9e756fc5dd07b83f39f-96x96.jpe",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/04/rev-1-shzm-fp-0005_high_res_jpeg_wide-c74e78ab312509533f7fd9e756fc5dd07b83f39f-800x450.jpe",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 450
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/04/rev-1-shzm-fp-0005_high_res_jpeg_wide-c74e78ab312509533f7fd9e756fc5dd07b83f39f-64x64.jpe",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/04/rev-1-shzm-fp-0005_high_res_jpeg_wide-c74e78ab312509533f7fd9e756fc5dd07b83f39f-32x32.jpe",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/04/rev-1-shzm-fp-0005_high_res_jpeg_wide-c74e78ab312509533f7fd9e756fc5dd07b83f39f-1920x1080.jpe",
"width": 1920,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1080
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/04/rev-1-shzm-fp-0005_high_res_jpeg_wide-c74e78ab312509533f7fd9e756fc5dd07b83f39f-768x432.jpe",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 432
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/04/rev-1-shzm-fp-0005_high_res_jpeg_wide-c74e78ab312509533f7fd9e756fc5dd07b83f39f-128x128.jpe",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
}
},
"publishDate": 1554405196,
"modified": 1554406241,
"caption": "Let there be light...ness: Freddy Freeman (Jack Dylan Grazer) and ... well, he goes by many names, long story (Zachary Levi) forget their troubles, come on and get zappy in 'Shazam.'",
"description": "Let there be light...ness: Freddy Freeman (Jack Dylan Grazer) and ... well, he goes by many names, long story (Zachary Levi) forget their troubles, come on and get zappy in 'Shazam.'",
"title": "Let there be light...ness: Freddy Freeman (Jack Dylan Grazer) and ... well, he goes by many names, long story (Zachary Levi) forget their troubles, come on and get zappy in 'Shazam.'",
"credit": "Warner Bros. Pictures",
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"pop_109937": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "pop_109937",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "109937",
"found": true
},
"parent": 109932,
"imgSizes": {
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/03/captain-marvel-character-poster-brie-larson-header-1154082-1280x0-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/03/captain-marvel-character-poster-brie-larson-header-1154082-1280x0-160x90.jpg",
"width": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 90
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/03/captain-marvel-character-poster-brie-larson-header-1154082-1280x0-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/03/captain-marvel-character-poster-brie-larson-header-1154082-1280x0.jpg",
"width": 1280,
"height": 718
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/03/captain-marvel-character-poster-brie-larson-header-1154082-1280x0-1020x572.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 572
},
"complete_open_graph": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/03/captain-marvel-character-poster-brie-larson-header-1154082-1280x0-1200x673.jpg",
"width": 1200,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 673
},
"guest-author-50": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/03/captain-marvel-character-poster-brie-larson-header-1154082-1280x0-50x50.jpg",
"width": 50,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 50
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/03/captain-marvel-character-poster-brie-larson-header-1154082-1280x0-96x96.jpg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/03/captain-marvel-character-poster-brie-larson-header-1154082-1280x0-800x449.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 449
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/03/captain-marvel-character-poster-brie-larson-header-1154082-1280x0-64x64.jpg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/03/captain-marvel-character-poster-brie-larson-header-1154082-1280x0-32x32.jpg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/03/captain-marvel-character-poster-brie-larson-header-1154082-1280x0-768x431.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 431
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/03/captain-marvel-character-poster-brie-larson-header-1154082-1280x0-128x128.jpg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
}
},
"publishDate": 1551817159,
"modified": 1551817234,
"caption": "'Captain Marvel'",
"description": "'Captain Marvel'",
"title": "'Captain Marvel'",
"credit": "Marvel Studios",
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"pop_107419": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "pop_107419",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "107419",
"found": true
},
"parent": 107416,
"imgSizes": {
"small": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/11/Fi-M-The-Falcon-Origins-480i60-520x293.jpg",
"width": 520,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 293
},
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/11/Fi-M-The-Falcon-Origins-480i60-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/11/Fi-M-The-Falcon-Origins-480i60-160x90.jpg",
"width": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 90
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/11/Fi-M-The-Falcon-Origins-480i60-960x540.jpg",
"width": 960,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 540
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/11/Fi-M-The-Falcon-Origins-480i60-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"xsmall": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/11/Fi-M-The-Falcon-Origins-480i60-375x211.jpg",
"width": 375,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 211
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/11/Fi-M-The-Falcon-Origins-480i60.jpg",
"width": 1280,
"height": 720
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/11/Fi-M-The-Falcon-Origins-480i60-1020x574.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 574
},
"xlarge": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/11/Fi-M-The-Falcon-Origins-480i60-1180x664.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 664
},
"complete_open_graph": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/11/Fi-M-The-Falcon-Origins-480i60-1200x675.jpg",
"width": 1200,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 675
},
"guest-author-50": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/11/Fi-M-The-Falcon-Origins-480i60-50x50.jpg",
"width": 50,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 50
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/11/Fi-M-The-Falcon-Origins-480i60-96x96.jpg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/11/Fi-M-The-Falcon-Origins-480i60-800x450.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 450
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/11/Fi-M-The-Falcon-Origins-480i60-64x64.jpg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/11/Fi-M-The-Falcon-Origins-480i60-32x32.jpg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"fd-med": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/11/Fi-M-The-Falcon-Origins-480i60-1180x664.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 664
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/11/Fi-M-The-Falcon-Origins-480i60-150x150.jpg",
"width": 150,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 150
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/11/Fi-M-The-Falcon-Origins-480i60-768x432.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 432
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/11/Fi-M-The-Falcon-Origins-480i60-128x128.jpg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
},
"xxsmall": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/11/Fi-M-The-Falcon-Origins-480i60-240x135.jpg",
"width": 240,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 135
}
},
"publishDate": 1542142519,
"modified": 1542142607,
"caption": "The Falcon, one of the black superheroes Stan Lee helped to create. ",
"description": null,
"title": "The Falcon, one of the black superheroes Stan Lee helped to create.",
"credit": "Marvel",
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"pop_101570": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "pop_101570",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "101570",
"found": true
},
"parent": 101544,
"imgSizes": {
"small": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/01/superman-520x321.jpg",
"width": 520,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 321
},
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/01/superman-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/01/superman-160x99.jpg",
"width": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 99
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/01/superman-960x593.jpg",
"width": 960,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 593
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/01/superman-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"xsmall": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/01/superman-375x232.jpg",
"width": 375,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 232
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/01/superman.jpg",
"width": 3992,
"height": 2467
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/01/superman-1020x630.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 630
},
"xlarge": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/01/superman-1180x729.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 729
},
"complete_open_graph": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/01/superman-1200x742.jpg",
"width": 1200,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 742
},
"guest-author-50": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/01/superman-50x50.jpg",
"width": 50,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 50
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/01/superman-96x96.jpg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/01/superman-800x494.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 494
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/01/superman-64x64.jpg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/01/superman-32x32.jpg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"fd-lrg": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/01/superman-1920x1187.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1187
},
"fd-med": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/01/superman-1180x729.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 729
},
"full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/01/superman-1920x1187.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1187
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/01/superman-150x150.jpg",
"width": 150,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 150
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/01/superman-768x475.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 475
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/01/superman-128x128.jpg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
},
"xxsmall": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/01/superman-240x148.jpg",
"width": 240,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 148
}
},
"publishDate": 1517367337,
"modified": 1517367378,
"caption": "L: Christopher Reeve, \nM: Marlon Brando\nR: George Reeves",
"description": null,
"title": "superman",
"credit": null,
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"pop_104458": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "pop_104458",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "104458",
"found": true
},
"parent": 104457,
"imgSizes": {
"small": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/07/cas0140_comp_v018.1169_wide-0c3c522a676bc7c345fd18f36c51dcedeebb1b76-520x292.jpg",
"width": 520,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 292
},
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/07/cas0140_comp_v018.1169_wide-0c3c522a676bc7c345fd18f36c51dcedeebb1b76-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/07/cas0140_comp_v018.1169_wide-0c3c522a676bc7c345fd18f36c51dcedeebb1b76-160x90.jpg",
"width": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 90
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/07/cas0140_comp_v018.1169_wide-0c3c522a676bc7c345fd18f36c51dcedeebb1b76-960x540.jpg",
"width": 960,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 540
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/07/cas0140_comp_v018.1169_wide-0c3c522a676bc7c345fd18f36c51dcedeebb1b76-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"xsmall": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/07/cas0140_comp_v018.1169_wide-0c3c522a676bc7c345fd18f36c51dcedeebb1b76-375x211.jpg",
"width": 375,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 211
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/07/cas0140_comp_v018.1169_wide-0c3c522a676bc7c345fd18f36c51dcedeebb1b76.jpg",
"width": 2153,
"height": 1211
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/07/cas0140_comp_v018.1169_wide-0c3c522a676bc7c345fd18f36c51dcedeebb1b76-1020x574.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 574
},
"xlarge": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/07/cas0140_comp_v018.1169_wide-0c3c522a676bc7c345fd18f36c51dcedeebb1b76-1180x664.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 664
},
"complete_open_graph": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/07/cas0140_comp_v018.1169_wide-0c3c522a676bc7c345fd18f36c51dcedeebb1b76-1200x675.jpg",
"width": 1200,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 675
},
"guest-author-50": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/07/cas0140_comp_v018.1169_wide-0c3c522a676bc7c345fd18f36c51dcedeebb1b76-50x50.jpg",
"width": 50,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 50
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/07/cas0140_comp_v018.1169_wide-0c3c522a676bc7c345fd18f36c51dcedeebb1b76-96x96.jpg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/07/cas0140_comp_v018.1169_wide-0c3c522a676bc7c345fd18f36c51dcedeebb1b76-800x450.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 450
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/07/cas0140_comp_v018.1169_wide-0c3c522a676bc7c345fd18f36c51dcedeebb1b76-64x64.jpg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/07/cas0140_comp_v018.1169_wide-0c3c522a676bc7c345fd18f36c51dcedeebb1b76-32x32.jpg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"fd-lrg": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/07/cas0140_comp_v018.1169_wide-0c3c522a676bc7c345fd18f36c51dcedeebb1b76-1920x1080.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1080
},
"fd-med": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/07/cas0140_comp_v018.1169_wide-0c3c522a676bc7c345fd18f36c51dcedeebb1b76-1180x664.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 664
},
"full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/07/cas0140_comp_v018.1169_wide-0c3c522a676bc7c345fd18f36c51dcedeebb1b76-1920x1080.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1080
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/07/cas0140_comp_v018.1169_wide-0c3c522a676bc7c345fd18f36c51dcedeebb1b76-150x150.jpg",
"width": 150,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 150
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/07/cas0140_comp_v018.1169_wide-0c3c522a676bc7c345fd18f36c51dcedeebb1b76-768x432.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 432
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/07/cas0140_comp_v018.1169_wide-0c3c522a676bc7c345fd18f36c51dcedeebb1b76-128x128.jpg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
},
"xxsmall": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/07/cas0140_comp_v018.1169_wide-0c3c522a676bc7c345fd18f36c51dcedeebb1b76-240x135.jpg",
"width": 240,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 135
}
},
"publishDate": 1530559299,
"modified": 1530559847,
"caption": "Ant-Man (Paul Rudd, L) and The Wasp (Evangeline Lilly, R) find fighting crime is no picnic in 'Ant-Man and the Wasp'. (Marvel Studios)",
"description": "Ant-Man (Paul Rudd, L) and The Wasp (Evangeline Lilly, R) find fighting crime is no picnic in \u003cem>Ant-Man and the Wasp.\u003c/em>",
"title": "Ant-Man (Paul Rudd, L) and The Wasp (Evangeline Lilly, R) find fighting crime is no picnic in Ant-Man and the Wasp.",
"credit": null,
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"pop_103662": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "pop_103662",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "103662",
"found": true
},
"parent": 103659,
"imgSizes": {
"small": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/05/AC15-May-Ms-Marvel-pic-520x293.jpg",
"width": 520,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 293
},
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/05/AC15-May-Ms-Marvel-pic-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/05/AC15-May-Ms-Marvel-pic-160x90.jpg",
"width": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 90
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/05/AC15-May-Ms-Marvel-pic-960x542.jpg",
"width": 960,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 542
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/05/AC15-May-Ms-Marvel-pic-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"xsmall": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/05/AC15-May-Ms-Marvel-pic-375x212.jpg",
"width": 375,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 212
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/05/AC15-May-Ms-Marvel-pic.jpg",
"width": 1200,
"height": 677
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/05/AC15-May-Ms-Marvel-pic-1020x575.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 575
},
"xlarge": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/05/AC15-May-Ms-Marvel-pic-1180x666.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 666
},
"complete_open_graph": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/05/AC15-May-Ms-Marvel-pic-1200x677.jpg",
"width": 1200,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 677
},
"guest-author-50": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/05/AC15-May-Ms-Marvel-pic-50x50.jpg",
"width": 50,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 50
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/05/AC15-May-Ms-Marvel-pic-96x96.jpg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/05/AC15-May-Ms-Marvel-pic-800x451.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 451
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/05/AC15-May-Ms-Marvel-pic-64x64.jpg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/05/AC15-May-Ms-Marvel-pic-32x32.jpg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"fd-med": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/05/AC15-May-Ms-Marvel-pic-1180x666.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 666
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/05/AC15-May-Ms-Marvel-pic-150x150.jpg",
"width": 150,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 150
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/05/AC15-May-Ms-Marvel-pic-768x433.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 433
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/05/AC15-May-Ms-Marvel-pic-128x128.jpg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
},
"xxsmall": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/05/AC15-May-Ms-Marvel-pic-240x135.jpg",
"width": 240,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 135
}
},
"publishDate": 1526504932,
"modified": 1526504975,
"caption": "Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan",
"description": null,
"title": "AC15-May-Ms-Marvel-pic",
"credit": null,
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"pop_103230": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "pop_103230",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "103230",
"found": true
},
"parent": 103228,
"imgSizes": {
"small": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/Chris-Collage-520x241.jpg",
"width": 520,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 241
},
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/Chris-Collage-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/Chris-Collage-160x74.jpg",
"width": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 74
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/Chris-Collage-960x445.jpg",
"width": 960,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 445
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/Chris-Collage-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"xsmall": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/Chris-Collage-375x174.jpg",
"width": 375,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 174
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/Chris-Collage.jpg",
"width": 3994,
"height": 1851
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/Chris-Collage-1020x473.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 473
},
"xlarge": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/Chris-Collage-1180x547.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 547
},
"complete_open_graph": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/Chris-Collage-1200x556.jpg",
"width": 1200,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 556
},
"guest-author-50": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/Chris-Collage-50x50.jpg",
"width": 50,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 50
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/Chris-Collage-96x96.jpg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/Chris-Collage-800x371.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 371
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/Chris-Collage-64x64.jpg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/Chris-Collage-32x32.jpg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"fd-lrg": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/Chris-Collage-1920x890.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 890
},
"fd-med": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/Chris-Collage-1180x547.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 547
},
"full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/Chris-Collage-1920x890.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 890
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/Chris-Collage-150x150.jpg",
"width": 150,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 150
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/Chris-Collage-768x356.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 356
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/Chris-Collage-128x128.jpg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
},
"xxsmall": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/Chris-Collage-240x111.jpg",
"width": 240,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 111
}
},
"publishDate": 1524513752,
"modified": 1524513818,
"caption": "(L-R) Chris Pine/ Chris Evans/ Chris Hemsworth/ Chris Pratt.",
"description": null,
"title": "Chris Collage",
"credit": null,
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"pop_103287": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "pop_103287",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "103287",
"found": true
},
"parent": 103283,
"imgSizes": {
"small": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/avengers-infinity-war-feature-520x292.jpg",
"width": 520,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 292
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/avengers-infinity-war-feature-160x90.jpg",
"width": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 90
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/avengers-infinity-war-feature-960x539.jpg",
"width": 960,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 539
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/avengers-infinity-war-feature-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"xsmall": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/avengers-infinity-war-feature-375x211.jpg",
"width": 375,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 211
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/avengers-infinity-war-feature.jpg",
"width": 970,
"height": 545
},
"guest-author-50": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/avengers-infinity-war-feature-50x50.jpg",
"width": 50,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 50
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/avengers-infinity-war-feature-96x96.jpg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/avengers-infinity-war-feature-800x449.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 449
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/avengers-infinity-war-feature-64x64.jpg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/avengers-infinity-war-feature-32x32.jpg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/avengers-infinity-war-feature-150x150.jpg",
"width": 150,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 150
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/avengers-infinity-war-feature-768x432.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 432
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/avengers-infinity-war-feature-128x128.jpg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
},
"xxsmall": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/avengers-infinity-war-feature-240x135.jpg",
"width": 240,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 135
}
},
"publishDate": 1524638065,
"modified": 1524638084,
"caption": "'Avengers: Infinity War' (Marvel)",
"description": null,
"title": "avengers-infinity-war-feature",
"credit": null,
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"pop_103096": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "pop_103096",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "103096",
"found": true
},
"parent": 103095,
"imgSizes": {
"small": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/dtt4430_v707.1023_wide-374e0c86747e5793e3d636a9d4f6bb7db68544af-520x293.jpg",
"width": 520,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 293
},
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/dtt4430_v707.1023_wide-374e0c86747e5793e3d636a9d4f6bb7db68544af-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/dtt4430_v707.1023_wide-374e0c86747e5793e3d636a9d4f6bb7db68544af-160x90.jpg",
"width": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 90
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/dtt4430_v707.1023_wide-374e0c86747e5793e3d636a9d4f6bb7db68544af-960x540.jpg",
"width": 960,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 540
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/dtt4430_v707.1023_wide-374e0c86747e5793e3d636a9d4f6bb7db68544af-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"xsmall": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/dtt4430_v707.1023_wide-374e0c86747e5793e3d636a9d4f6bb7db68544af-375x211.jpg",
"width": 375,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 211
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/dtt4430_v707.1023_wide-374e0c86747e5793e3d636a9d4f6bb7db68544af.jpg",
"width": 1872,
"height": 1053
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/dtt4430_v707.1023_wide-374e0c86747e5793e3d636a9d4f6bb7db68544af-1020x574.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 574
},
"xlarge": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/dtt4430_v707.1023_wide-374e0c86747e5793e3d636a9d4f6bb7db68544af-1180x664.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 664
},
"complete_open_graph": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/dtt4430_v707.1023_wide-374e0c86747e5793e3d636a9d4f6bb7db68544af-1200x675.jpg",
"width": 1200,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 675
},
"guest-author-50": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/dtt4430_v707.1023_wide-374e0c86747e5793e3d636a9d4f6bb7db68544af-50x50.jpg",
"width": 50,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 50
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/dtt4430_v707.1023_wide-374e0c86747e5793e3d636a9d4f6bb7db68544af-96x96.jpg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/dtt4430_v707.1023_wide-374e0c86747e5793e3d636a9d4f6bb7db68544af-800x450.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 450
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/dtt4430_v707.1023_wide-374e0c86747e5793e3d636a9d4f6bb7db68544af-64x64.jpg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/dtt4430_v707.1023_wide-374e0c86747e5793e3d636a9d4f6bb7db68544af-32x32.jpg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"fd-med": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/dtt4430_v707.1023_wide-374e0c86747e5793e3d636a9d4f6bb7db68544af-1180x664.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 664
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/dtt4430_v707.1023_wide-374e0c86747e5793e3d636a9d4f6bb7db68544af-150x150.jpg",
"width": 150,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 150
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/dtt4430_v707.1023_wide-374e0c86747e5793e3d636a9d4f6bb7db68544af-768x432.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 432
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/dtt4430_v707.1023_wide-374e0c86747e5793e3d636a9d4f6bb7db68544af-128x128.jpg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
},
"xxsmall": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/dtt4430_v707.1023_wide-374e0c86747e5793e3d636a9d4f6bb7db68544af-240x135.jpg",
"width": 240,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 135
}
},
"publishDate": 1523904218,
"modified": 1523904218,
"caption": null,
"description": "\u003cem>Ya Got The Stones For This?\u003c/em> Thanos (Josh Brolin) blithely ignores Coco Chanel's advice on accessorizing — so you \u003cem>know\u003c/em> he's evil — in Marvel's \u003cem>Avengers: Infinity War.",
"title": "Ya Got The Stones For This? Thanos (Josh Brolin) blithely ignores Coco Chanel's advice on accessorizing — so you know he's evil — in Marvel's Avengers: Infinity War.",
"credit": null,
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"pop_102918": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "pop_102918",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "102918",
"found": true
},
"parent": 102914,
"imgSizes": {
"small": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/Dan-Stevens-as-David-Haller-in-Legion-Season-2-520x260.jpg",
"width": 520,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 260
},
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/Dan-Stevens-as-David-Haller-in-Legion-Season-2-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/Dan-Stevens-as-David-Haller-in-Legion-Season-2-160x80.jpg",
"width": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 80
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/Dan-Stevens-as-David-Haller-in-Legion-Season-2-960x480.jpg",
"width": 960,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 480
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/Dan-Stevens-as-David-Haller-in-Legion-Season-2-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"xsmall": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/Dan-Stevens-as-David-Haller-in-Legion-Season-2-375x188.jpg",
"width": 375,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 188
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/Dan-Stevens-as-David-Haller-in-Legion-Season-2.jpg",
"width": 2000,
"height": 1000
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/Dan-Stevens-as-David-Haller-in-Legion-Season-2-1020x510.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 510
},
"xlarge": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/Dan-Stevens-as-David-Haller-in-Legion-Season-2-1180x590.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 590
},
"complete_open_graph": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/Dan-Stevens-as-David-Haller-in-Legion-Season-2-1200x600.jpg",
"width": 1200,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 600
},
"guest-author-50": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/Dan-Stevens-as-David-Haller-in-Legion-Season-2-50x50.jpg",
"width": 50,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 50
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/Dan-Stevens-as-David-Haller-in-Legion-Season-2-96x96.jpg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/Dan-Stevens-as-David-Haller-in-Legion-Season-2-800x400.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 400
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/Dan-Stevens-as-David-Haller-in-Legion-Season-2-64x64.jpg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/Dan-Stevens-as-David-Haller-in-Legion-Season-2-32x32.jpg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"fd-lrg": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/Dan-Stevens-as-David-Haller-in-Legion-Season-2-1920x960.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 960
},
"fd-med": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/Dan-Stevens-as-David-Haller-in-Legion-Season-2-1180x590.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 590
},
"full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/Dan-Stevens-as-David-Haller-in-Legion-Season-2-1920x960.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 960
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/Dan-Stevens-as-David-Haller-in-Legion-Season-2-150x150.jpg",
"width": 150,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 150
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/Dan-Stevens-as-David-Haller-in-Legion-Season-2-768x384.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 384
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/Dan-Stevens-as-David-Haller-in-Legion-Season-2-128x128.jpg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
},
"xxsmall": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/Dan-Stevens-as-David-Haller-in-Legion-Season-2-240x120.jpg",
"width": 240,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 120
}
},
"publishDate": 1522788418,
"modified": 1522788448,
"caption": "'Legion' / FX",
"description": null,
"title": "Dan-Stevens-as-David-Haller-in-Legion-Season-2",
"credit": null,
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
}
},
"audioPlayerReducer": {
"postId": "stream_live",
"isPaused": true,
"isPlaying": false,
"pfsActive": false,
"pledgeModalIsOpen": true,
"playerDrawerIsOpen": false,
"liveAudioPlayStartedAt": 0,
"liveAudioPlayContext": ""
},
"authorsReducer": {
"byline_pop_111446": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "byline_pop_111446",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"slug": "byline_pop_111446",
"name": "Chris Klimek",
"isLoading": false
},
"byline_pop_111308": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "byline_pop_111308",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"slug": "byline_pop_111308",
"name": "Glen Weldon",
"isLoading": false
},
"byline_pop_110748": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "byline_pop_110748",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"slug": "byline_pop_110748",
"name": "Glen Weldon",
"isLoading": false
},
"byline_pop_109932": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "byline_pop_109932",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"slug": "byline_pop_109932",
"name": "Glen Weldon",
"isLoading": false
},
"byline_pop_107416": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "byline_pop_107416",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"slug": "byline_pop_107416",
"name": "Eric Deggans",
"isLoading": false
},
"byline_pop_104457": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "byline_pop_104457",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"slug": "byline_pop_104457",
"name": "Glen Weldon",
"isLoading": false
},
"byline_pop_103283": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "byline_pop_103283",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"slug": "byline_pop_103283",
"name": "Glen Weldon",
"isLoading": false
},
"byline_pop_103095": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "byline_pop_103095",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"slug": "byline_pop_103095",
"name": "Glen Weldon",
"isLoading": false
},
"byline_pop_102914": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "byline_pop_102914",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"slug": "byline_pop_102914",
"name": "Glen Weldon",
"isLoading": false
},
"ralexandra": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "11242",
"meta": {
"index": "authors_1716337520",
"id": "11242",
"found": true
},
"name": "Rae Alexandra",
"firstName": "Rae",
"lastName": "Alexandra",
"slug": "ralexandra",
"email": "ralexandra@kqed.org",
"display_author_email": true,
"staff_mastheads": [
"arts"
],
"title": "Reporter/Producer",
"bio": "Rae Alexandra is a Reporter/Producer for KQED Arts & Culture, and the creator/author of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/program/rebel-girls-from-bay-area-history\">Rebel Girls From Bay Area History\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bizarrebayarea\">Bizarre Bay Area\u003c/a> series. Her debut book, \u003ca href=\"https://citylights.com/politics-current-events-history/unsung-heroines35-women-who-changed/\">Unsung Heroines: 35 Women Who Changed the Bay Area\u003c/a> was published by City Lights in March 2026. In 2023, Rae was awarded an SPJ Excellence in Journalism Award for Arts & Culture. Rae was born and raised in Wales and subsequently — even after two decades in Northern California — still uses phrases that regularly baffle her coworkers.",
"avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/edfee8176c80cc0a382b051190f5341997df378a934a5774dcb0977732dfd401?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twitter": null,
"bluesky": null,
"facebook": null,
"instagram": null,
"linkedin": null,
"sites": [
{
"site": "arts",
"roles": [
"editor"
]
},
{
"site": "news",
"roles": [
"editor"
]
},
{
"site": "pop",
"roles": [
"editor"
]
},
{
"site": "bayareabites",
"roles": [
"editor"
]
},
{
"site": "science",
"roles": [
"editor"
]
}
],
"headData": {
"title": "Rae Alexandra | KQED",
"description": "Reporter/Producer",
"ogImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/edfee8176c80cc0a382b051190f5341997df378a934a5774dcb0977732dfd401?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/edfee8176c80cc0a382b051190f5341997df378a934a5774dcb0977732dfd401?s=600&d=blank&r=g"
},
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/author/ralexandra"
}
},
"pagesReducer": {
"pop_tag_marvel": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "pop_756",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "756",
"score": 9.553094
},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Marvel",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Marvel Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 757,
"slug": "marvel",
"isLoading": false,
"title": "Marvel",
"pageMeta": {
"site": "pop",
"WpPageTemplate": "page-topic-editorial",
"currentPage": 1
},
"blocks": [
{
"blockName": "kqed/post-list",
"attrs": {
"layout": "cardArticle2",
"query": "posts/pop?tag=marvel",
"seeMore": false,
"paginated": true,
"page": 1
}
},
{
"blockName": "kqed/ad"
}
]
}
},
"pfsSessionReducer": {},
"postsReducer": {
"stream_live": {
"type": "live",
"id": "stream_live",
"audioUrl": "https://streams.kqed.org/kqedradio",
"title": "Live Stream",
"excerpt": "Live Stream information currently unavailable.",
"link": "/radio",
"featImg": "",
"label": {
"name": "KQED Live",
"link": "/"
}
},
"stream_kqedNewscast": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "stream_kqedNewscast",
"audioUrl": "https://www.kqed.org/.stream/anon/radio/RDnews/newscast.mp3?_=1",
"title": "KQED Newscast",
"featImg": "",
"label": {
"name": "88.5 FM",
"link": "/"
}
},
"pop_111446": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "pop_111446",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "111446",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1556526168000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {
"site": "pop"
},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1556526168,
"format": "standard",
"disqusTitle": "Blockbuster Films Keep Getting Longer; How and Why Did We Get Here?",
"title": "Blockbuster Films Keep Getting Longer; How and Why Did We Get Here?",
"headTitle": "KQED Pop | KQED Arts",
"content": "\u003cp>\"No amount of money ever bought a second of time,\" says Tony \"Iron Man\" Stark, patient zero of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, midway through the new \u003cem>Avengers: Endgame.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As has frequently been the case in the nine Marvel films in which he has appeared, Mr. Stark is right but also wrong. \u003cem>Endgame,\u003c/em> the long-promised commencement ceremony/farewell tour for the founding class of Earth's Mightiest Heroes, has both commodities in abundance. Contrast that with the 1990 Cannon Films production \u003cem>Captain America, \u003c/em>starring Matt (\u003cem>Revenge of the Nerds\u003c/em>) Salinger as Steve Rogers, which runs a svelte 97 minutes and looks like it may well have cost several hundred dollars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That was then. As the capstone of Marvel Studios' 11-year, 22-film saga, freely adapted from more than half a century of comic books, the no-expense-spared \u003cem>Endgame\u003c/em> dares what few blockbusters have, occupying a bladder-taxing, intermission-free 182 minutes. But then, movies such as this one—franchise entries, popcorn flicks, movies that \u003cem>often\u003c/em> harbor artistic ambitions but are \u003cem>always\u003c/em> designed to draw a huge audience—began to Hulk out years before \u003cem>Iron Man \u003c/em>arrived in May of 2008.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a trained semiprofessional film critic, licensed, insured and bonded, I am credentialed to tell you that the follow-up to \u003cem>Avengers: Infinity War\u003c/em> feels satisfyingly ... finite. I do not consider the irreplaceable 3 hours, 2 minutes that \u003cem>Avengers: Hail Dehydration\u003c/em> extracted from my statistically half-over life to have been misspent. But I do feel an obligation to remind you, reader, that that is—and I invite you to check my math on this—0.0003 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That's 17 minutes longer than 2012's \u003cem>The Dark Knight Rises, \u003c/em>the only superhero blockbuster that's had to satisfy remotely comparable expectations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And 33 minutes longer than \u003cem>Avengers\u003c/em>: \u003cem>Infinity War.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still 12 minutes shorter than \u003cem>Titanic\u003c/em>, 1997's unlikely box office champion and Academy Awards magnet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCy5WQ9S4c0\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And 28 minutes shorter than the 1963 farce \u003cem>It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.\u003c/em> Which would be a good subtitle for an \u003cem>Avengers\u003c/em> movie.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a budding cinephile, one who wouldn't see \u003cem>Lawrence of Arabia \u003c/em>(227 minutes) until my 30s, I conflated length with substance, just as hardcover books seemed to be more important than paperbacks, regardless of their contents. I have an early memory of phoning my local multiplex to ask the running time of \u003cem>Jurassic Park\u003c/em> and feeling relieved to learn it was 130 minutes. Run times shorter than two hours were permissible, if suspect; a footprint of under 90 minutes reflected incompetence on the parts of the filmmakers. Long movies were measurably more entertaining than short ones; that was \u003cem>quantifiable.\u003c/em> That was physics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A few years later, in high school, my girlfriend's mom would kick me out of their house promptly at 11 p.m. unless we were watching a movie that had yet to finish. Amy had a yen for expansive 1950s and '60s musicals and historical epics anyway, but the loophole in her mom's curfew enforcement regimen led us to become well acquainted with our local Blockbuster's complement of double-VHS selections. I don't remember how \u003cem>Doctor Zhivago\u003c/em> ends, but I remember being grateful, under the circumstances, that it took 193 minutes—\u003cem>Endgame\u003c/em> +12—for the Russian Revolution to ... succeed? Fail? I think someone sings a song at the end.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When \u003cem>Endgame'\u003c/em>s run time was first announced, observers on Twitter began opining that it should have an intermission. \u003cem>2001: A Space Odyssey \u003c/em>(the biggest hit of 1968!) does, and it's a mere 148 minutes. Beginning with a chapter called \"The Dawn of Man\" and climaxing with astronaut Dave Bowman's consciousness-expanding journey \"Beyond the Infinite\" 2 million years later, \u003cem>2001\u003c/em> apparently warrants 34 fewer minutes of our attention than does \u003cem>Endgame,\u003c/em> which stars Bradley Cooper as a talking, violence-loving raccoon. (\u003cem>2001\u003c/em> cast mime Daniel Richter as an enterprising hominid who discovers weapons, so there's a congruity there. Sorta.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There's more to be factored in, of course. \u003cem>2001\u003c/em>'s humans, by design, do not exude warmth or humor or sex appeal; Stanley Kubrick did not make hangout films. \u003cem>Endgame, \u003c/em>meanwhile, is bursting with noble characters embodied by charismatic and good-looking actors—bursting, in fact, like Bruce Banner's shirts (and unlike his suspiciously resilient purple pants). Plus, it's got jokes! One of them is about Bruce Banner's shirts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>How \u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong>We Got Here: A Brief History of Blockbuster Run Times\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the beginning, there was a great white shark. \u003cem>Jaws,\u003c/em> it was called, and though its influence on the movie business would persist for decades, the film that starred him did not overstay. That first blockbuster—loosely defined as a movie that opens nationwide, delivers the sort of visceral experience that would invite comparisons to theme park rides and enjoys repeat business by appealing to 11-year-olds of every age—was 124 minutes long.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1fu_sA7XhE\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two Memorial Day weekends later, \u003cem>Star Wars\u003c/em> took us to a galaxy far, far away but got us home in (again) 124 minutes, becoming the top-grossing movie of 1977. Exactly six years after that, when \u003cem>Return of the Jedi \u003c/em>brought what felt like a close to the biggest movie franchise the world had yet seen, its run time was upscaled accordingly, to 134 minutes. The cinematic event of 1983, a movie that grossed 2 1/2 times what the year's next highest earner (the James L. Brooks drama \u003cem>Terms of Endearment\u003c/em>) brought in, was the same length as this year's \u003cem>Shazam!—\u003c/em>an amiable, kid-focused superhero comedy that has no business being a minute longer than 1 hour, 45 minutes, which is the length it would have been had it been made in the prior century.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not until the turn of the century did megabudget movies begin to suffer from mission creep. Seven of the year-end top grossers released during the 1980s ran under two hours. But from 1991 to 2000, only three of the top earners were that compact.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Only two year-end box office champs this \u003cem>century\u003c/em> have had sub-two-hour run times, and both were animated: \u003cem>Shrek 2\u003c/em> (2004) and \u003cem>Toy Story 3\u003c/em> (2010).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even the Marvel movies have swollen. I did the math: The six films that comprised Marvel's Phase One, beginning with Jon Favreau's\u003cem> Iron Man\u003c/em> and culminating in Joss Whedon's \u003cem>The Avengers\u003c/em>, averaged 124 minutes—a number significantly inflated by \u003cem>The Avengers\u003c/em>' 143-minute run time. The six Phase Two movies averaged 127 minutes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hYlB38asDY\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the 11-film Phase Three (2016's \u003cem>Captain America: Civil War\u003c/em> through \u003cem>Spider-Man: Far From Home, \u003c/em>due in July) the average run time has swollen to 136 minutes. (\u003cem>Far From Home\u003c/em> has not been factored in here, as the movie's running time is still TBD.) The only hero regularly getting it done in less than two hours nowadays is, appropriately enough, Ant-Man. And just barely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Predictably, even graybeard blockbuster franchises have begun to emulate the youngest one. The longest film in the 57-year-old James Bond series is also the most recent, 2015's \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2015/11/05/453959502/spectre-pleads-the-case-for-bonds-relevance-in-the-drone-age\">\u003cem>Spectre\u003c/em>\u003c/a> (148 minutes). In fact, the three longest of the two dozen EON Productions Bond entries released since 1962 have all starred the current occupant of the tuxedo, Daniel Craig. (He also headlined 2008's\u003cem> Quantum of Solace,\u003c/em> the shortest 007 joint, but also the first one in the series to continue the storyline of the prior film.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The longest film in the 42-year-old \u003cem>Star Wars\u003c/em> franchise? \u003cem>The Last Jedi, \u003c/em>released in 2017. 152 minutes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The eight (!) \u003cem>Fast & the Furious \u003c/em>movies circa 2001-2017 average 120 minutes, but that's because each of the latter four are almost half an hour longer than the initial four. They swole up, run time-wise and gross-wise, with 2011's \u003cem>Fast Five, \u003c/em>when Dwayne Johnson joined the cast.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003cem>Harry Potter \u003c/em>movies, by contrast, were always long. Released between 2001 and 2011, the eight movies have an average run time of 147 minutes. This makes sense; J.K. Rowling's novels are doorstops.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mObK5XD8udk\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But what about \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2017/05/26/529671543/yo-ho-hum-johnny-depp-returns-for-more-pirates\">Pirates of the Caribbean\u003c/a>\u003cem>?\u003c/em> There are five of these, somehow, running an average of 144 minutes. These are perhaps the purest blockbusters, in that they were literally extrapolated from a theme park ride.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003cem>Lord of the Rings\u003c/em> trilogy films were each substantially extended for their home video releases, but in their original theatrical runs circa 2001-2003, they averaged 186 minutes. Released one year apart from one another and featuring the same cast and creative principals, all displaying a great reverence for the literary material being adapted, perhaps \u003cem>these\u003c/em> were the movies that convinced Marvel Studios honcho Kevin Feige that such an ambitious act of translation could succeed. Certainly the current Marvel movies more resemble these interlocked early-aughts blockbusters than they do Sam Raimi's roughly contemporaneous (2002-2007) trilogy of \u003cem>Spider-Man\u003c/em> movies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Why \u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong>We Got Here: The Benjamins\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Movies can be so long nowadays because there is now less financial pressure to keep them short. According to the National Association of Theater Owners, there were 40,837 movie screens in the United States in 2018. In 1987 that number was 22,697. That year's box office champ was \u003cem>Three Men and a Baby,\u003c/em> running 102 minutes, or \u003cem>Endgame\u003c/em>-minus-80. In those days, screen real estate was more scarce, and movies that ran much longer than two hours would reduce the number of potential screenings per day. Availability is seldom an issue now, with single-screen theaters having all but vanished, and theatrical exhibition windows having shrunk to as little as 60 days, when there's a theatrical exhibition window at all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Let's consider some other metrics that may have changed in that three-decade period, like, say, the human lifespan. For men and women of all races in the United States, life expectancy has ticked up by about four years since the mid-1980s, from 74 to 78. We've each been given, on average, another 1,460 days to spend as we will. I suppose you could use that extra time watching \u003cem>more\u003c/em> movies or reading \u003cem>more\u003c/em> books, or basking in the laughter of your grandchildren, if that's your sort of thing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Plus, the entertainment options competing with theatrical movies are more format-agnostic than they've ever been. Streaming video platforms have made it so that episodes of what I'm still calling television can run barely into the double-digit minutes or as long as 90. The number of episodes that comprise a season is just as malleable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5X-hFf6Bwo\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Endgame\u003c/em> is probably where this wave of expanding theatrical run times will break. These massive temporal footprints shall and should remain anomalies. Sixteen years ago, \u003cem>The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King\u003c/em> became both 2003's top-grossing film and its Best Picture winner despite a theatrical (and intermissionless) run time of 201 minutes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Endgame\u003c/em> +19.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>0.0004 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In \u003cem>this\u003c/em> economy? Who can afford to watch a movie like that?\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Blockbuster+Films+Keep+Getting+Longer%3B+How+And+Why+Did+We+Get+Here%3F&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "111446 https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/?p=111446",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/2019/04/29/blockbuster-films-keep-getting-longer-how-and-why-did-we-get-here/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": true,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 1906,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 35
},
"modified": 1556526168,
"excerpt": "Films like 'Avengers: Endgame' have swelled to great, bladder-busting lengths for many reasons. Movie theaters have grown, binge-watching has expanded our attention spans, and, oh yes, we live longer now. ",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "Films like 'Avengers: Endgame' have swelled to great, bladder-busting lengths for many reasons. Movie theaters have grown, binge-watching has expanded our attention spans, and, oh yes, we live longer now. ",
"title": "Blockbuster Films Keep Getting Longer; How and Why Did We Get Here? | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Blockbuster Films Keep Getting Longer; How and Why Did We Get Here?",
"datePublished": "2019-04-29T01:22:48-07:00",
"dateModified": "2019-04-29T01:22:48-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "blockbuster-films-keep-getting-longer-how-and-why-did-we-get-here",
"status": "publish",
"nprApiLink": "http://api.npr.org/query?id=717088744&apiKey=MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004",
"nprByline": "Chris Klimek",
"nprStoryDate": "Fri, 26 Apr 2019 06:10:36 -0400",
"nprLastModifiedDate": "Fri, 26 Apr 2019 06:10:36 -0400",
"nprHtmlLink": "https://www.npr.org/2019/04/26/717088744/blockbuster-films-keep-getting-longer-how-and-why-did-we-get-here?ft=nprml&f=717088744",
"nprImageAgency": "Marvel Studios",
"nprStoryId": "717088744",
"nprRetrievedStory": "1",
"nprPubDate": "Fri, 26 Apr 2019 06:10:00 -0400",
"path": "/pop/111446/blockbuster-films-keep-getting-longer-how-and-why-did-we-get-here",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\"No amount of money ever bought a second of time,\" says Tony \"Iron Man\" Stark, patient zero of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, midway through the new \u003cem>Avengers: Endgame.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As has frequently been the case in the nine Marvel films in which he has appeared, Mr. Stark is right but also wrong. \u003cem>Endgame,\u003c/em> the long-promised commencement ceremony/farewell tour for the founding class of Earth's Mightiest Heroes, has both commodities in abundance. Contrast that with the 1990 Cannon Films production \u003cem>Captain America, \u003c/em>starring Matt (\u003cem>Revenge of the Nerds\u003c/em>) Salinger as Steve Rogers, which runs a svelte 97 minutes and looks like it may well have cost several hundred dollars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That was then. As the capstone of Marvel Studios' 11-year, 22-film saga, freely adapted from more than half a century of comic books, the no-expense-spared \u003cem>Endgame\u003c/em> dares what few blockbusters have, occupying a bladder-taxing, intermission-free 182 minutes. But then, movies such as this one—franchise entries, popcorn flicks, movies that \u003cem>often\u003c/em> harbor artistic ambitions but are \u003cem>always\u003c/em> designed to draw a huge audience—began to Hulk out years before \u003cem>Iron Man \u003c/em>arrived in May of 2008.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a trained semiprofessional film critic, licensed, insured and bonded, I am credentialed to tell you that the follow-up to \u003cem>Avengers: Infinity War\u003c/em> feels satisfyingly ... finite. I do not consider the irreplaceable 3 hours, 2 minutes that \u003cem>Avengers: Hail Dehydration\u003c/em> extracted from my statistically half-over life to have been misspent. But I do feel an obligation to remind you, reader, that that is—and I invite you to check my math on this—0.0003 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That's 17 minutes longer than 2012's \u003cem>The Dark Knight Rises, \u003c/em>the only superhero blockbuster that's had to satisfy remotely comparable expectations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And 33 minutes longer than \u003cem>Avengers\u003c/em>: \u003cem>Infinity War.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still 12 minutes shorter than \u003cem>Titanic\u003c/em>, 1997's unlikely box office champion and Academy Awards magnet.\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/zCy5WQ9S4c0'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/zCy5WQ9S4c0'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>And 28 minutes shorter than the 1963 farce \u003cem>It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.\u003c/em> Which would be a good subtitle for an \u003cem>Avengers\u003c/em> movie.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a budding cinephile, one who wouldn't see \u003cem>Lawrence of Arabia \u003c/em>(227 minutes) until my 30s, I conflated length with substance, just as hardcover books seemed to be more important than paperbacks, regardless of their contents. I have an early memory of phoning my local multiplex to ask the running time of \u003cem>Jurassic Park\u003c/em> and feeling relieved to learn it was 130 minutes. Run times shorter than two hours were permissible, if suspect; a footprint of under 90 minutes reflected incompetence on the parts of the filmmakers. Long movies were measurably more entertaining than short ones; that was \u003cem>quantifiable.\u003c/em> That was physics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A few years later, in high school, my girlfriend's mom would kick me out of their house promptly at 11 p.m. unless we were watching a movie that had yet to finish. Amy had a yen for expansive 1950s and '60s musicals and historical epics anyway, but the loophole in her mom's curfew enforcement regimen led us to become well acquainted with our local Blockbuster's complement of double-VHS selections. I don't remember how \u003cem>Doctor Zhivago\u003c/em> ends, but I remember being grateful, under the circumstances, that it took 193 minutes—\u003cem>Endgame\u003c/em> +12—for the Russian Revolution to ... succeed? Fail? I think someone sings a song at the end.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When \u003cem>Endgame'\u003c/em>s run time was first announced, observers on Twitter began opining that it should have an intermission. \u003cem>2001: A Space Odyssey \u003c/em>(the biggest hit of 1968!) does, and it's a mere 148 minutes. Beginning with a chapter called \"The Dawn of Man\" and climaxing with astronaut Dave Bowman's consciousness-expanding journey \"Beyond the Infinite\" 2 million years later, \u003cem>2001\u003c/em> apparently warrants 34 fewer minutes of our attention than does \u003cem>Endgame,\u003c/em> which stars Bradley Cooper as a talking, violence-loving raccoon. (\u003cem>2001\u003c/em> cast mime Daniel Richter as an enterprising hominid who discovers weapons, so there's a congruity there. Sorta.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There's more to be factored in, of course. \u003cem>2001\u003c/em>'s humans, by design, do not exude warmth or humor or sex appeal; Stanley Kubrick did not make hangout films. \u003cem>Endgame, \u003c/em>meanwhile, is bursting with noble characters embodied by charismatic and good-looking actors—bursting, in fact, like Bruce Banner's shirts (and unlike his suspiciously resilient purple pants). Plus, it's got jokes! One of them is about Bruce Banner's shirts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>How \u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong>We Got Here: A Brief History of Blockbuster Run Times\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the beginning, there was a great white shark. \u003cem>Jaws,\u003c/em> it was called, and though its influence on the movie business would persist for decades, the film that starred him did not overstay. That first blockbuster—loosely defined as a movie that opens nationwide, delivers the sort of visceral experience that would invite comparisons to theme park rides and enjoys repeat business by appealing to 11-year-olds of every age—was 124 minutes long.\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/U1fu_sA7XhE'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/U1fu_sA7XhE'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Two Memorial Day weekends later, \u003cem>Star Wars\u003c/em> took us to a galaxy far, far away but got us home in (again) 124 minutes, becoming the top-grossing movie of 1977. Exactly six years after that, when \u003cem>Return of the Jedi \u003c/em>brought what felt like a close to the biggest movie franchise the world had yet seen, its run time was upscaled accordingly, to 134 minutes. The cinematic event of 1983, a movie that grossed 2 1/2 times what the year's next highest earner (the James L. Brooks drama \u003cem>Terms of Endearment\u003c/em>) brought in, was the same length as this year's \u003cem>Shazam!—\u003c/em>an amiable, kid-focused superhero comedy that has no business being a minute longer than 1 hour, 45 minutes, which is the length it would have been had it been made in the prior century.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not until the turn of the century did megabudget movies begin to suffer from mission creep. Seven of the year-end top grossers released during the 1980s ran under two hours. But from 1991 to 2000, only three of the top earners were that compact.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Only two year-end box office champs this \u003cem>century\u003c/em> have had sub-two-hour run times, and both were animated: \u003cem>Shrek 2\u003c/em> (2004) and \u003cem>Toy Story 3\u003c/em> (2010).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even the Marvel movies have swollen. I did the math: The six films that comprised Marvel's Phase One, beginning with Jon Favreau's\u003cem> Iron Man\u003c/em> and culminating in Joss Whedon's \u003cem>The Avengers\u003c/em>, averaged 124 minutes—a number significantly inflated by \u003cem>The Avengers\u003c/em>' 143-minute run time. The six Phase Two movies averaged 127 minutes.\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/8hYlB38asDY'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/8hYlB38asDY'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>In the 11-film Phase Three (2016's \u003cem>Captain America: Civil War\u003c/em> through \u003cem>Spider-Man: Far From Home, \u003c/em>due in July) the average run time has swollen to 136 minutes. (\u003cem>Far From Home\u003c/em> has not been factored in here, as the movie's running time is still TBD.) The only hero regularly getting it done in less than two hours nowadays is, appropriately enough, Ant-Man. And just barely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Predictably, even graybeard blockbuster franchises have begun to emulate the youngest one. The longest film in the 57-year-old James Bond series is also the most recent, 2015's \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2015/11/05/453959502/spectre-pleads-the-case-for-bonds-relevance-in-the-drone-age\">\u003cem>Spectre\u003c/em>\u003c/a> (148 minutes). In fact, the three longest of the two dozen EON Productions Bond entries released since 1962 have all starred the current occupant of the tuxedo, Daniel Craig. (He also headlined 2008's\u003cem> Quantum of Solace,\u003c/em> the shortest 007 joint, but also the first one in the series to continue the storyline of the prior film.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The longest film in the 42-year-old \u003cem>Star Wars\u003c/em> franchise? \u003cem>The Last Jedi, \u003c/em>released in 2017. 152 minutes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The eight (!) \u003cem>Fast & the Furious \u003c/em>movies circa 2001-2017 average 120 minutes, but that's because each of the latter four are almost half an hour longer than the initial four. They swole up, run time-wise and gross-wise, with 2011's \u003cem>Fast Five, \u003c/em>when Dwayne Johnson joined the cast.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003cem>Harry Potter \u003c/em>movies, by contrast, were always long. Released between 2001 and 2011, the eight movies have an average run time of 147 minutes. This makes sense; J.K. Rowling's novels are doorstops.\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/mObK5XD8udk'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/mObK5XD8udk'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>But what about \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2017/05/26/529671543/yo-ho-hum-johnny-depp-returns-for-more-pirates\">Pirates of the Caribbean\u003c/a>\u003cem>?\u003c/em> There are five of these, somehow, running an average of 144 minutes. These are perhaps the purest blockbusters, in that they were literally extrapolated from a theme park ride.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003cem>Lord of the Rings\u003c/em> trilogy films were each substantially extended for their home video releases, but in their original theatrical runs circa 2001-2003, they averaged 186 minutes. Released one year apart from one another and featuring the same cast and creative principals, all displaying a great reverence for the literary material being adapted, perhaps \u003cem>these\u003c/em> were the movies that convinced Marvel Studios honcho Kevin Feige that such an ambitious act of translation could succeed. Certainly the current Marvel movies more resemble these interlocked early-aughts blockbusters than they do Sam Raimi's roughly contemporaneous (2002-2007) trilogy of \u003cem>Spider-Man\u003c/em> movies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Why \u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong>We Got Here: The Benjamins\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Movies can be so long nowadays because there is now less financial pressure to keep them short. According to the National Association of Theater Owners, there were 40,837 movie screens in the United States in 2018. In 1987 that number was 22,697. That year's box office champ was \u003cem>Three Men and a Baby,\u003c/em> running 102 minutes, or \u003cem>Endgame\u003c/em>-minus-80. In those days, screen real estate was more scarce, and movies that ran much longer than two hours would reduce the number of potential screenings per day. Availability is seldom an issue now, with single-screen theaters having all but vanished, and theatrical exhibition windows having shrunk to as little as 60 days, when there's a theatrical exhibition window at all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Let's consider some other metrics that may have changed in that three-decade period, like, say, the human lifespan. For men and women of all races in the United States, life expectancy has ticked up by about four years since the mid-1980s, from 74 to 78. We've each been given, on average, another 1,460 days to spend as we will. I suppose you could use that extra time watching \u003cem>more\u003c/em> movies or reading \u003cem>more\u003c/em> books, or basking in the laughter of your grandchildren, if that's your sort of thing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Plus, the entertainment options competing with theatrical movies are more format-agnostic than they've ever been. Streaming video platforms have made it so that episodes of what I'm still calling television can run barely into the double-digit minutes or as long as 90. The number of episodes that comprise a season is just as malleable.\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/r5X-hFf6Bwo'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/r5X-hFf6Bwo'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>Endgame\u003c/em> is probably where this wave of expanding theatrical run times will break. These massive temporal footprints shall and should remain anomalies. Sixteen years ago, \u003cem>The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King\u003c/em> became both 2003's top-grossing film and its Best Picture winner despite a theatrical (and intermissionless) run time of 201 minutes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Endgame\u003c/em> +19.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>0.0004 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "floatright"
},
"numeric": [
"floatright"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In \u003cem>this\u003c/em> economy? Who can afford to watch a movie like that?\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Blockbuster+Films+Keep+Getting+Longer%3B+How+And+Why+Did+We+Get+Here%3F&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/pop/111446/blockbuster-films-keep-getting-longer-how-and-why-did-we-get-here",
"authors": [
"byline_pop_111446"
],
"categories": [
"pop_51",
"pop_1041"
],
"tags": [
"pop_3191",
"pop_1339",
"pop_3591",
"pop_3007",
"pop_2776",
"pop_756",
"pop_3592",
"pop_3593",
"pop_904",
"pop_187"
],
"featImg": "pop_111451",
"label": "pop"
},
"pop_111308": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "pop_111308",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "111308",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1556130601000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {
"site": "pop"
},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1556130601,
"format": "standard",
"disqusTitle": "Mourning Has Broken Them: 'Avengers: Endgame'",
"title": "Mourning Has Broken Them: 'Avengers: Endgame'",
"headTitle": "KQED Pop | KQED Arts",
"content": "\u003cp>Let's start with a bit of service journalism: Going into \u003cem>Avengers: Endgame\u003c/em>, one would be well-advised to manage both one's expectations, and—given its three-hour-plus, intermissionless runtime—one's fluid intake.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKStYmMgNRA\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The film deposits us, \u003cem>in medias res(igned)\u003c/em>, into a world sunk neck-deep in mourning, though it shows us only fleeting (albeit intriguing) glimpses of how that world's non-spandex contingent is muddling through somehow. No, the film's concerns are the same as ours: For more than a year now, we've wondered how the remaining Avengers (particularly founding parents Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, Hulk and Thor) would deal with the fact that 50 percent of the universe's living beings vanished into visually striking dust, due entirely to our heroes' collective failure to keep a certain giant purple mesomorphic despot from snapping his bedazzled fingers. (NOTE: This shattering cosmic event \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2018/04/30/607093337/ok-lets-talk-about-the-ending-of-avengers-infinity-war\">has been dubbed \"The Snapture\" by one minor media semi-luminary\u003c/a> who shall remain me. NOTE THE SECOND: Marvel has not officially signed on to said coinage. NOTE THE THIRD: But they totally should. NOTE THE FOURTH: Because, come on.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The film's decision to breeze over how fundamentally the world has changed around our heroes may have as much to do with directors Anthony and Joe Russo's desire to make a movie about the intersection of communal grief and personal guilt as it does with the fact that said film is being made in a post-\u003cem>The Leftovers\u003c/em> media universe—after all, that series cornered the market on depicting what a collective, aching loss looks like on a global scale.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, \u003cem>Avengers: Endgame\u003c/em> burns through the first two hours showing us how its heroes have dutifully arranged themselves at various way stations along the spectrum of the Kubler-Ross stages of grief: wet-eyed denial, violent rage, disingenuous bargaining, beer-soaked depression and performatively optimistic (and not entirely sincere) acceptance. This is where the aforementioned expectation management will serve you well, particularly if one of the (perfectly reasonable!) expectations you're clinging to is that the culminating chapter of the Avengers saga must and should take the form of a wall-to-wall cosmic brawl, from the jump. Because the film's first two hours prove a resolutely intimate and unapologetically somber cinematic experience overall—albeit one punctuated by bracing and welcome jolts of humor from Chris Hemsworth's newly bleary Thor, Mark Ruffalo's freshly smarmy Hulk and Paul Rudd's as-always goofy Ant-Man.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_111310\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-111310\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2019/04/lst1960_v070_trl.1106_wide-399b6dbe403a47132a07d1df1f0e7cdfb0fcff1e-1-800x450.jpg\" alt=\""I... was Iron Man." A stranded-in-space Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) shares a somber moment with his suit's A.I.\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/04/lst1960_v070_trl.1106_wide-399b6dbe403a47132a07d1df1f0e7cdfb0fcff1e-1-800x450.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/04/lst1960_v070_trl.1106_wide-399b6dbe403a47132a07d1df1f0e7cdfb0fcff1e-1-160x90.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/04/lst1960_v070_trl.1106_wide-399b6dbe403a47132a07d1df1f0e7cdfb0fcff1e-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/04/lst1960_v070_trl.1106_wide-399b6dbe403a47132a07d1df1f0e7cdfb0fcff1e-1-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/04/lst1960_v070_trl.1106_wide-399b6dbe403a47132a07d1df1f0e7cdfb0fcff1e-1-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/04/lst1960_v070_trl.1106_wide-399b6dbe403a47132a07d1df1f0e7cdfb0fcff1e-1.jpg 1919w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">\"I... was Iron Man.\" A stranded-in-space Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) shares a somber moment with his suit's A.I. \u003ccite>(Marvel)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It cannot possibly be a spoiler to note that our heroes—eventually—band together in an attempt to reverse the effects of The Snapture. Nor can it be a spoiler to note that said early attempts have no real hope of success, unless and until help arrives from unlooked-for sources. (The sheer narrative breadth of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, peopled (and raccooned and treed) as it is with so many different characters both Snaptured and un-, ensures that in any given story moment, our brains refuse to contain them all. So in those instances when unlooked-for help \u003cem>does\u003c/em> arrive in the nick of time, it can't help but come as a surprise, because you'll have legitimately forgotten about its sources' existence.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Russos' decision to stick close to the experiences of the remaining Avengers proves a rewarding one, as they've expressly constructed the film as an extended victory lap for the Marvel Cinematic Universe writ large. Got a favorite character from \u003cem>any\u003c/em> Marvel movie over the past decade, no matter how obscure? Prepare to get serviced, fan. Because the film's third and final hour contains extended references to every single Marvel film that has led up to this one—yes! even \u003cem>Thor: The Dark World!\u003c/em> I'm as surprised as you are!—and part of the delight \u003cem>Endgame\u003c/em> provides to the patient audience member is gauging the size of the cheer that greets the entrance of any given hero, locale or—in at least one instance—item of super-hardware.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Make no mistake: There will be cheers. And boos. And gasps. The final, climactic battle (come on, you \u003cem>knew\u003c/em> there'd be one) is legitimately thrilling, because every one of its manifold delights is fueled by (a cynic would say \u003cem>coasting on\u003c/em>) the warm familiarity that spending a decade with these characters has engendered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yes, on one level, it's just more smash-em-up superhero CGI spectacle, but it's spectacle so thoroughly grounded in a devoutly earned, hard-won and entirely un-dismissible affection that at one crucial moment, it is capable, using something as hopelessly cheesy, as ridiculous, as hokey, as idiotic, as childish as the onscreen utterance of a \u003cem>superhero catchphrase\u003c/em>, of sending a lump to the throat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That's not a thing that should happen, 22 films into a franchise owned and maintained by a bloated global mega-corporation that cares more about keeping its shareholders happy than any critic or audience member. And yet the sniffles I heard around me in the film's press screening were just as real as any quarterly earnings statement. Realer, on a human level. And they were a direct product of Marvel's learned ability, after so many accreted hours of cinematic storytelling, to target the emotions of Nerd and Normal alike with a laserlike, ruthless efficiency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And if you're still balking at that runtime, consider: Of all the entertainments that take more than three hours to unspool—Verdi's \u003cem>Rigoletto\u003c/em>, say, or O'Neill's \u003cem>Mourning Becomes Electra\u003c/em>, or an NFL game—how many can be legitimately said to boast a ruthless efficiency?\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Mourning+Has+Broken+Them%3A+%27Avengers%3A+Endgame%27&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "111308 https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/?p=111308",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/2019/04/24/mourning-has-broken-them-avengers-endgame/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": true,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 997,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 12
},
"modified": 1556130601,
"excerpt": "The culmination of the 'Avengers' franchise proves a remarkably intimate and somber affair until it concludes with a climactic battle more thrilling than anything superhero cinema has delivered to date.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "The culmination of the 'Avengers' franchise proves a remarkably intimate and somber affair until it concludes with a climactic battle more thrilling than anything superhero cinema has delivered to date.",
"title": "Mourning Has Broken Them: 'Avengers: Endgame' | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Mourning Has Broken Them: 'Avengers: Endgame'",
"datePublished": "2019-04-24T11:30:01-07:00",
"dateModified": "2019-04-24T11:30:01-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "mourning-has-broken-them-avengers-endgame",
"status": "publish",
"nprApiLink": "http://api.npr.org/query?id=716315111&apiKey=MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004",
"nprByline": "Glen Weldon",
"nprStoryDate": "Wed, 24 Apr 2019 05:01:17 -0400",
"nprLastModifiedDate": "Wed, 24 Apr 2019 12:34:01 -0400",
"nprHtmlLink": "https://www.npr.org/2019/04/24/716315111/mourning-has-broken-them-avengers-endgame?ft=nprml&f=716315111",
"nprImageAgency": "Marvel Studios",
"nprStoryId": "716315111",
"nprRetrievedStory": "1",
"nprPubDate": "Wed, 24 Apr 2019 12:34:00 -0400",
"path": "/pop/111308/mourning-has-broken-them-avengers-endgame",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Let's start with a bit of service journalism: Going into \u003cem>Avengers: Endgame\u003c/em>, one would be well-advised to manage both one's expectations, and—given its three-hour-plus, intermissionless runtime—one's fluid intake.\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/oKStYmMgNRA'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/oKStYmMgNRA'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>The film deposits us, \u003cem>in medias res(igned)\u003c/em>, into a world sunk neck-deep in mourning, though it shows us only fleeting (albeit intriguing) glimpses of how that world's non-spandex contingent is muddling through somehow. No, the film's concerns are the same as ours: For more than a year now, we've wondered how the remaining Avengers (particularly founding parents Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, Hulk and Thor) would deal with the fact that 50 percent of the universe's living beings vanished into visually striking dust, due entirely to our heroes' collective failure to keep a certain giant purple mesomorphic despot from snapping his bedazzled fingers. (NOTE: This shattering cosmic event \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2018/04/30/607093337/ok-lets-talk-about-the-ending-of-avengers-infinity-war\">has been dubbed \"The Snapture\" by one minor media semi-luminary\u003c/a> who shall remain me. NOTE THE SECOND: Marvel has not officially signed on to said coinage. NOTE THE THIRD: But they totally should. NOTE THE FOURTH: Because, come on.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The film's decision to breeze over how fundamentally the world has changed around our heroes may have as much to do with directors Anthony and Joe Russo's desire to make a movie about the intersection of communal grief and personal guilt as it does with the fact that said film is being made in a post-\u003cem>The Leftovers\u003c/em> media universe—after all, that series cornered the market on depicting what a collective, aching loss looks like on a global scale.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, \u003cem>Avengers: Endgame\u003c/em> burns through the first two hours showing us how its heroes have dutifully arranged themselves at various way stations along the spectrum of the Kubler-Ross stages of grief: wet-eyed denial, violent rage, disingenuous bargaining, beer-soaked depression and performatively optimistic (and not entirely sincere) acceptance. This is where the aforementioned expectation management will serve you well, particularly if one of the (perfectly reasonable!) expectations you're clinging to is that the culminating chapter of the Avengers saga must and should take the form of a wall-to-wall cosmic brawl, from the jump. Because the film's first two hours prove a resolutely intimate and unapologetically somber cinematic experience overall—albeit one punctuated by bracing and welcome jolts of humor from Chris Hemsworth's newly bleary Thor, Mark Ruffalo's freshly smarmy Hulk and Paul Rudd's as-always goofy Ant-Man.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_111310\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-111310\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2019/04/lst1960_v070_trl.1106_wide-399b6dbe403a47132a07d1df1f0e7cdfb0fcff1e-1-800x450.jpg\" alt=\""I... was Iron Man." A stranded-in-space Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) shares a somber moment with his suit's A.I.\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/04/lst1960_v070_trl.1106_wide-399b6dbe403a47132a07d1df1f0e7cdfb0fcff1e-1-800x450.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/04/lst1960_v070_trl.1106_wide-399b6dbe403a47132a07d1df1f0e7cdfb0fcff1e-1-160x90.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/04/lst1960_v070_trl.1106_wide-399b6dbe403a47132a07d1df1f0e7cdfb0fcff1e-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/04/lst1960_v070_trl.1106_wide-399b6dbe403a47132a07d1df1f0e7cdfb0fcff1e-1-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/04/lst1960_v070_trl.1106_wide-399b6dbe403a47132a07d1df1f0e7cdfb0fcff1e-1-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2019/04/lst1960_v070_trl.1106_wide-399b6dbe403a47132a07d1df1f0e7cdfb0fcff1e-1.jpg 1919w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">\"I... was Iron Man.\" A stranded-in-space Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) shares a somber moment with his suit's A.I. \u003ccite>(Marvel)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It cannot possibly be a spoiler to note that our heroes—eventually—band together in an attempt to reverse the effects of The Snapture. Nor can it be a spoiler to note that said early attempts have no real hope of success, unless and until help arrives from unlooked-for sources. (The sheer narrative breadth of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, peopled (and raccooned and treed) as it is with so many different characters both Snaptured and un-, ensures that in any given story moment, our brains refuse to contain them all. So in those instances when unlooked-for help \u003cem>does\u003c/em> arrive in the nick of time, it can't help but come as a surprise, because you'll have legitimately forgotten about its sources' existence.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Russos' decision to stick close to the experiences of the remaining Avengers proves a rewarding one, as they've expressly constructed the film as an extended victory lap for the Marvel Cinematic Universe writ large. Got a favorite character from \u003cem>any\u003c/em> Marvel movie over the past decade, no matter how obscure? Prepare to get serviced, fan. Because the film's third and final hour contains extended references to every single Marvel film that has led up to this one—yes! even \u003cem>Thor: The Dark World!\u003c/em> I'm as surprised as you are!—and part of the delight \u003cem>Endgame\u003c/em> provides to the patient audience member is gauging the size of the cheer that greets the entrance of any given hero, locale or—in at least one instance—item of super-hardware.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Make no mistake: There will be cheers. And boos. And gasps. The final, climactic battle (come on, you \u003cem>knew\u003c/em> there'd be one) is legitimately thrilling, because every one of its manifold delights is fueled by (a cynic would say \u003cem>coasting on\u003c/em>) the warm familiarity that spending a decade with these characters has engendered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yes, on one level, it's just more smash-em-up superhero CGI spectacle, but it's spectacle so thoroughly grounded in a devoutly earned, hard-won and entirely un-dismissible affection that at one crucial moment, it is capable, using something as hopelessly cheesy, as ridiculous, as hokey, as idiotic, as childish as the onscreen utterance of a \u003cem>superhero catchphrase\u003c/em>, of sending a lump to the throat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That's not a thing that should happen, 22 films into a franchise owned and maintained by a bloated global mega-corporation that cares more about keeping its shareholders happy than any critic or audience member. And yet the sniffles I heard around me in the film's press screening were just as real as any quarterly earnings statement. Realer, on a human level. And they were a direct product of Marvel's learned ability, after so many accreted hours of cinematic storytelling, to target the emotions of Nerd and Normal alike with a laserlike, ruthless efficiency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And if you're still balking at that runtime, consider: Of all the entertainments that take more than three hours to unspool—Verdi's \u003cem>Rigoletto\u003c/em>, say, or O'Neill's \u003cem>Mourning Becomes Electra\u003c/em>, or an NFL game—how many can be legitimately said to boast a ruthless efficiency?\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Mourning+Has+Broken+Them%3A+%27Avengers%3A+Endgame%27&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/pop/111308/mourning-has-broken-them-avengers-endgame",
"authors": [
"byline_pop_111308"
],
"categories": [
"pop_51"
],
"tags": [
"pop_3239",
"pop_3191",
"pop_3152",
"pop_3585",
"pop_3584",
"pop_3489",
"pop_3588",
"pop_3586",
"pop_713",
"pop_756",
"pop_3587"
],
"featImg": "pop_111313",
"label": "pop"
},
"pop_110748": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "pop_110748",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "110748",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1554406344000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {
"site": "pop"
},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1554406344,
"format": "standard",
"disqusTitle": "With 'Shazam!' DC Finally Figures Out How To Have Marvel-Level Fun",
"title": "With 'Shazam!' DC Finally Figures Out How To Have Marvel-Level Fun",
"headTitle": "KQED Pop | KQED Arts",
"content": "\u003cp>The cultural narrative that's built around films starring DC Comics superheroes over the course of the past decade or so reads thusly: DC films are too dark and dour, and the company should take a cue from Marvel, whose films always leave room for the fun and whimsical elements so crucial to the superhero genre.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It's a gross oversimplification, but there's no denying the kryptonite-hard nugget of truth there: Years ago, Warners/DC executives looked at the runaway success of Christopher Nolan's dark and dour \u003cem>The Dark Knight\u003c/em> trilogy, and concluded that they'd cracked how to approach the superhero genre, once and for all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But they'd conflated the \"once\" with the \"for all.\" Because of course what they had instead cracked was how to approach one particular superhero—a dark and dour one. It was a failure of insight akin to mistaking a huge forest, teeming with verdant and varied biodiversity for one lone, particularly spooky and gothic-looking willow tree.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Different heroes don't just come factory-installed with differing sets of powers and color-blocking, but with different outlooks, motivations, goals and fears. For movies about them to work, these characters must be approached in the particular narrative mode and tonal valence that best resonates with them. Spider-Man isn't Thor, Thor isn't Iron Man. Knowing this, \u003cem>truly \u003c/em>knowing this, makes for effective characterization, and effective characterization means these characters can be brought into conflict with each other—delineating the contours of their hard edges by bashing them into each other, again and again, as in films like \u003cem>Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War\u003c/em> and, especially, \u003cem>Thor: Ragnarok, \u003c/em>a film that worked best when it gleefully and repeatedly undercut the gravid, Asgardian pomposity for which its audience has grown to know, and love, its hero.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But for DC/Warners, superhero capes came one-size-fits-all: They followed up the \u003cem>Dark Knight\u003c/em> films with the similarly grim, dun-colored \u003cem>Man of Steel\u003c/em> and\u003cem> Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice\u003c/em>, a movie that attempted to draw its two main characters into a conflict that made no sense, because so little daylight could be found between their respective characterizations. \u003cem>Wonder Woman \u003c/em>represented a welcome and purposeful step forward, \u003cem>Justice League\u003c/em> an Olympic-level long jump backward, and \u003cem>Suicide Squad ... \u003c/em>was also a movie that was somehow made and released.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It would be easy to say that the latest DC superhero outing, \u003cem>Shazam\u003c/em>!, represents DC/Warners finally learning how to pivot, how to come at a given hero in the mode that suits them best. It's certainly true that the film's stuffed to its gills with goofy gags and clever winks, and that the film's resident good guy (his name's \"Shazam!\" in the credits, but in the movie's reality, it's more an open-question kind of deal) is a puffed-up, square-jawed galoot in a tomato-red getup played by Zachary Levi. But it also frequently stops dead in its tracks to dutifully attend to more familiar, straight-ahead genre business.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uilJZZ_iVwY\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fun bits—the way it transforms the usually brief \"superhero training montage\" sequence into an extended and rewarding running gag, for instance—are \u003cem>so \u003c/em>fun, and fresh, and invigorating, they can't help but throw the story's duller, genre-dictated passages into sharper relief. \u003cem>Shazam\u003c/em>! kicks off with an extended flashback that turns out to be our villain's (Mark Strong) origin story that, yes, \u003cem>does \u003c/em>outfit him with a key characterizing detail that will pay off nicely in the third act (the film gets better and more joyful as it goes, unusually enough). But there's so \u003cem>much \u003c/em>of that backstory that you will feel every last minute of the film's two-hour-and-twelve-minute running time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(Compare to last year's \u003cem>Aquaman\u003c/em>, an even longer DC superhero film that \u003cem>also \u003c/em>came with plenty of cheerfully goony elements like a percussionist octopus and a kraken with the mellifluous voice of Mary Freaking Poppins—but \u003cem>that \u003c/em>movie knew to assert its genre beats (hero motivation, love story) so quickly, lightly and perfunctorily they proved downright water-soluble.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As young Billy Batson, who becomes imbued with the ability to transform himself into a crimson-longjohnned super-champion, Asher Angel is understated and naturalistic. As Billy's voluble best friend Freddy Freeman, Jack Dylan Grazer turns in a standout, eccentric, nicely calibrated performance—one that tiptoes to the edge of annoying, and constantly threatens to tumble over into the twee school of acting known as Live-Action-Disney-Channel-Weird-Kid, without ever doing so.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Levi is a charming actor, and he hurls himself into the title role, and into the muscle suit that comes with it. He's playing the grown-up-super-swole-Billy with broad, goggle-eyed gusto that doesn't really jibe with Angel's performance in any way you can point to—but it doesn't particularly matter, because he's such a goony, game presence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Shazam!\u003c/em> isn't enough to shatter the \"DC films dark, Marvel films fun\" narrative by itself, especially with another \u003cem>Suicide Squad\u003c/em> film looming, not to mention a capital-D-Dark Joaquin Phoenix \u003cem>Joker \u003c/em>headed to theaters this fall. (And keep in mind that over at Marvel, the remaining Avengers are currently cycling through Kubler-Ross' stages of grief on a cosmic scale, which necessitates a hard look at our current collective criteria for \"fun.\")\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But what this film \u003cem>does \u003c/em>do is build, steadily, to a joyous, colorful conclusion—a superhero vs. supervillain battle-royale that's compelling, easy to follow, frequently funny and, crucially, satisfying.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It's an ending that wears its heart on its sleeve, and that makes the story's subtext—wish fulfillment, which is the subtext of all superhero stories—so emphatically and explicitly text. A lonely kid finds a \u003cem>magic word\u003c/em> that transforms him into a champion, and also, not for nothing, finds him a family. The pure and simple imaginative \u003cem>power \u003c/em>of that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It's the superhero refined to its thematic essence: so clean, so clear and—happily! importantly! unabashedly!—so, \u003cem>so \u003c/em>goofy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\">NPR.org\u003c/a>.\u003cimg src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=With+%27Shazam%21%27+DC+Superhero+Movies+Bring+The+Thunder+...+And+The+Lightening+Up&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "110748 https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/?p=110748",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/2019/04/04/with-shazam-dc-finally-figures-out-how-to-have-marvel-level-fun/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": true,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 1060,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 16
},
"modified": 1554406344,
"excerpt": "The breezy, funny elements of DC's latest superhero film feel so fresh they throw the movie's duller sections into sharper relief. ",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "The breezy, funny elements of DC's latest superhero film feel so fresh they throw the movie's duller sections into sharper relief. ",
"title": "With 'Shazam!' DC Finally Figures Out How To Have Marvel-Level Fun | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "With 'Shazam!' DC Finally Figures Out How To Have Marvel-Level Fun",
"datePublished": "2019-04-04T12:32:24-07:00",
"dateModified": "2019-04-04T12:32:24-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "with-shazam-dc-finally-figures-out-how-to-have-marvel-level-fun",
"status": "publish",
"nprApiLink": "http://api.npr.org/query?id=709463497&apiKey=MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004",
"nprByline": "Glen Weldon",
"nprStoryDate": "Thu, 04 Apr 2019 05:01:16 -0400",
"nprLastModifiedDate": "Thu, 04 Apr 2019 05:01:16 -0400",
"nprHtmlLink": "https://www.npr.org/2019/04/04/709463497/with-shazam-dc-superhero-movies-bring-the-thunder-and-the-lightening-up?ft=nprml&f=709463497",
"nprImageAgency": "Warner Bros. Pictures ",
"nprStoryId": "709463497",
"nprRetrievedStory": "1",
"nprPubDate": "Thu, 04 Apr 2019 05:01:00 -0400",
"path": "/pop/110748/with-shazam-dc-finally-figures-out-how-to-have-marvel-level-fun",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The cultural narrative that's built around films starring DC Comics superheroes over the course of the past decade or so reads thusly: DC films are too dark and dour, and the company should take a cue from Marvel, whose films always leave room for the fun and whimsical elements so crucial to the superhero genre.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It's a gross oversimplification, but there's no denying the kryptonite-hard nugget of truth there: Years ago, Warners/DC executives looked at the runaway success of Christopher Nolan's dark and dour \u003cem>The Dark Knight\u003c/em> trilogy, and concluded that they'd cracked how to approach the superhero genre, once and for all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But they'd conflated the \"once\" with the \"for all.\" Because of course what they had instead cracked was how to approach one particular superhero—a dark and dour one. It was a failure of insight akin to mistaking a huge forest, teeming with verdant and varied biodiversity for one lone, particularly spooky and gothic-looking willow tree.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Different heroes don't just come factory-installed with differing sets of powers and color-blocking, but with different outlooks, motivations, goals and fears. For movies about them to work, these characters must be approached in the particular narrative mode and tonal valence that best resonates with them. Spider-Man isn't Thor, Thor isn't Iron Man. Knowing this, \u003cem>truly \u003c/em>knowing this, makes for effective characterization, and effective characterization means these characters can be brought into conflict with each other—delineating the contours of their hard edges by bashing them into each other, again and again, as in films like \u003cem>Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War\u003c/em> and, especially, \u003cem>Thor: Ragnarok, \u003c/em>a film that worked best when it gleefully and repeatedly undercut the gravid, Asgardian pomposity for which its audience has grown to know, and love, its hero.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But for DC/Warners, superhero capes came one-size-fits-all: They followed up the \u003cem>Dark Knight\u003c/em> films with the similarly grim, dun-colored \u003cem>Man of Steel\u003c/em> and\u003cem> Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice\u003c/em>, a movie that attempted to draw its two main characters into a conflict that made no sense, because so little daylight could be found between their respective characterizations. \u003cem>Wonder Woman \u003c/em>represented a welcome and purposeful step forward, \u003cem>Justice League\u003c/em> an Olympic-level long jump backward, and \u003cem>Suicide Squad ... \u003c/em>was also a movie that was somehow made and released.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It would be easy to say that the latest DC superhero outing, \u003cem>Shazam\u003c/em>!, represents DC/Warners finally learning how to pivot, how to come at a given hero in the mode that suits them best. It's certainly true that the film's stuffed to its gills with goofy gags and clever winks, and that the film's resident good guy (his name's \"Shazam!\" in the credits, but in the movie's reality, it's more an open-question kind of deal) is a puffed-up, square-jawed galoot in a tomato-red getup played by Zachary Levi. But it also frequently stops dead in its tracks to dutifully attend to more familiar, straight-ahead genre business.\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/uilJZZ_iVwY'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/uilJZZ_iVwY'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>The fun bits—the way it transforms the usually brief \"superhero training montage\" sequence into an extended and rewarding running gag, for instance—are \u003cem>so \u003c/em>fun, and fresh, and invigorating, they can't help but throw the story's duller, genre-dictated passages into sharper relief. \u003cem>Shazam\u003c/em>! kicks off with an extended flashback that turns out to be our villain's (Mark Strong) origin story that, yes, \u003cem>does \u003c/em>outfit him with a key characterizing detail that will pay off nicely in the third act (the film gets better and more joyful as it goes, unusually enough). But there's so \u003cem>much \u003c/em>of that backstory that you will feel every last minute of the film's two-hour-and-twelve-minute running time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(Compare to last year's \u003cem>Aquaman\u003c/em>, an even longer DC superhero film that \u003cem>also \u003c/em>came with plenty of cheerfully goony elements like a percussionist octopus and a kraken with the mellifluous voice of Mary Freaking Poppins—but \u003cem>that \u003c/em>movie knew to assert its genre beats (hero motivation, love story) so quickly, lightly and perfunctorily they proved downright water-soluble.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As young Billy Batson, who becomes imbued with the ability to transform himself into a crimson-longjohnned super-champion, Asher Angel is understated and naturalistic. As Billy's voluble best friend Freddy Freeman, Jack Dylan Grazer turns in a standout, eccentric, nicely calibrated performance—one that tiptoes to the edge of annoying, and constantly threatens to tumble over into the twee school of acting known as Live-Action-Disney-Channel-Weird-Kid, without ever doing so.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Levi is a charming actor, and he hurls himself into the title role, and into the muscle suit that comes with it. He's playing the grown-up-super-swole-Billy with broad, goggle-eyed gusto that doesn't really jibe with Angel's performance in any way you can point to—but it doesn't particularly matter, because he's such a goony, game presence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Shazam!\u003c/em> isn't enough to shatter the \"DC films dark, Marvel films fun\" narrative by itself, especially with another \u003cem>Suicide Squad\u003c/em> film looming, not to mention a capital-D-Dark Joaquin Phoenix \u003cem>Joker \u003c/em>headed to theaters this fall. (And keep in mind that over at Marvel, the remaining Avengers are currently cycling through Kubler-Ross' stages of grief on a cosmic scale, which necessitates a hard look at our current collective criteria for \"fun.\")\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But what this film \u003cem>does \u003c/em>do is build, steadily, to a joyous, colorful conclusion—a superhero vs. supervillain battle-royale that's compelling, easy to follow, frequently funny and, crucially, satisfying.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It's an ending that wears its heart on its sleeve, and that makes the story's subtext—wish fulfillment, which is the subtext of all superhero stories—so emphatically and explicitly text. A lonely kid finds a \u003cem>magic word\u003c/em> that transforms him into a champion, and also, not for nothing, finds him a family. The pure and simple imaginative \u003cem>power \u003c/em>of that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It's the superhero refined to its thematic essence: so clean, so clear and—happily! importantly! unabashedly!—so, \u003cem>so \u003c/em>goofy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\">NPR.org\u003c/a>.\u003cimg src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=With+%27Shazam%21%27+DC+Superhero+Movies+Bring+The+Thunder+...+And+The+Lightening+Up&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/pop/110748/with-shazam-dc-finally-figures-out-how-to-have-marvel-level-fun",
"authors": [
"byline_pop_110748"
],
"categories": [
"pop_51"
],
"tags": [
"pop_3145",
"pop_2954",
"pop_756",
"pop_3540"
],
"featImg": "pop_110749",
"label": "pop"
},
"pop_109932": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "pop_109932",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "109932",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1551817828000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {
"site": "pop"
},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1551817828,
"format": "standard",
"disqusTitle": "'Captain Marvel' Checks Every Superhero Movie Box AND Passes the Bechdel Test",
"title": "'Captain Marvel' Checks Every Superhero Movie Box AND Passes the Bechdel Test",
"headTitle": "KQED Pop | KQED Arts",
"content": "\u003cp>There are several moments in \u003cem>Captain Marvel\u003c/em>—most of them intimate two-hander scenes between Agent Nick Fury (a digitally de-aged Samuel L. Jackson) and the main character (Brie Larson)—where the performances click, the comic chemistry catalyzes, the dialogue buzzes, and everything in this latest million-dollar superhero blockbuster seems downright ... breezy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now: It's a \u003cem>practiced \u003c/em>breeziness. A \u003cem>studied \u003c/em>breeziness. A breeziness that doesn't feel forced, exactly, but that certainly feels \u003cem>en\u003c/em>forced. Because as they trade quips and cracks and grins while expositing about an intergalactic war between two alien races, you react to the quips and cracks and grins with a sense of satisfaction, as down deep in your forebrain, your unconscious knows that this right here is the part of the Marvel superhero movie where they do the quips and cracks and grins. And that they will soon get interrupted by the bad guy. And that there will then be some (quite good) fight choreography. And that some venerated veteran actor (why, hello, Miss Annette Bening!) will show up in a goofy outfit to deliver hokey dialogue at precisely 23% of their ability and stand around looking just you know \u003cem>wildly \u003c/em>incongruous.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You know all this not because you saw the trailers (though the trailers give away all the best stuff, including far too much of the plot), but because Marvel has been churning out million-dollar superhero blockbusters for over a decade now. They know how to do them—and you know how to watch them. And that means knowing, for example, that when the Big Reveal shows up to kick off the third act, right on schedule, it'll be neither big nor particularly revelatory. It never is. And that's fine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It's fine, because we have arrived at a cultural moment when audiences enter a million-dollar superhero blockbuster with a set of tacit expectations, a series of boxes to be checked, and \u003cem>Captain Marvel\u003c/em> dutifully checks them. And if that sounds less than ambitious, consider the very real and substantial sense of satisfaction that a well-checked box engenders. It's not \u003cem>surprising\u003c/em>, no. But it's not nothing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1BCujX3pw8\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Co-directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (who wrote the screenplay with Geneva Robertson-Dworet) hail from the world of talky indies like \u003cem>Half-Nelson\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Sugar\u003c/em>, which might explain why their film about a doughty space-warrior that features so many space-dogfights and space-explosions feels most at home on Earth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There's an extended chase scene, for example, that takes place on the surface streets of Los Angeles' wholesale district—the very same sun-blasted, bleached-out asphalt across which so many brown-suited guys in Dodge Chargers once chased Jim Rockford, Steve Austin, the A-Team, and all six of Charlie's Angels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It's one familiar element among many that make \u003cem>Captain Marvel\u003c/em> feel smaller than you'd think, given its intergalactic scope: There are the Kree, see, a proud warrior race locked in a war with the shifty—and shape-shifty—Skrulls. (For those scoring at home: The Kree look like Jude Law, the Skrulls look like if Nosferatu and a Gila Monster had kids.) Our hero is a Kree. (Nobody calls her \"Captain Marvel\" in the movie; most of the time she goes by \"Vers,\" pronounced \"Veers\"—which is weird, but less weird than her fellow Kree soldiers who get stuck with names like Minn-Erva, Yon-Rogg and ... wait for it ... Mar-Vell.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Captain Marvel lands on Earth in the mid-1990s (a fact the film has \u003cem>just \u003c/em>enough fun with), runs into a still-binocular Nick Fury, and the two promptly (very promptly! more promptly than seems wise, frankly!) set about looking for exactly the kind of glowy energy-core thingy you fully expect them to, because you've seen a damn Marvel movie before.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now if you're a filmmaker looking to check the \"bad guy\" box, you could do a hell of a lot worse than checking it with Ben Mendelsohn. Yeah, the guy's been racking up the sci-fi bad guys on his IMDB page lately, but here, as Talos the Skrull, he gets to relax a bit, and have some fun. So do we. (Put it this way: The Skrull homeworld must have an East London.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of course, amid all the familiar hallmarks, the genre tropes, the checked boxes, one thing about the Marvel superhero blockbuster \u003cem>Captain Marvel\u003c/em> is legitimately new: the fact that its star is a woman. And while the filmmakers spend some time underlining this in all the ways you anticipate (both Hole \u003cem>and \u003c/em>Heart on the soundtrack guys!) they've carefully crafted the film to supply at least some young women with the kind of onscreen, butt-kicking, name-taking proxy young boys have enjoyed for decades. It outfits our hero not with a blandly handsome male romantic partner, but with a supportive, badass female friend (Lashana Lynch) with whom to ace the Bechdel test like they swiped the answer key.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some will begrudge the filmmakers this liberty; some are wrong.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Larson imbues her character with a confidence that shades into cockiness, especially around Jackson's Nick Fury, but doesn't quite sell us on the film's Big Reveal, or its lesser emotional beats. It's tough to emote when you're lit up like a flying Christmas tree, I suppose.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Larson's Captain Marvel will of course return in next month's \u003cem>Avengers: Endgame\u003c/em> where, one assumes, female empowerment will take a back seat to powers of the zappy-explodey kind. In the meantime, we've got \u003cem>Captain Marvel\u003c/em>—a little bit \u003cem>The Right Stuff\u003c/em>, a little bit\u003cem> Top Gun\u003c/em>, a little bit \u003cem>Guardians of the Galaxy\u003c/em>, a little bit \u003cem>Men in Black\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afyrnrocULM\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oh, and one more: There's a scene near the end, the big one, the one in which the film's themes of toughness and resilience get driven home. The music swells and we watch our hero ... do something. (If you've seen the trailers, you know the moment I mean.) And it's supposed to stir us. It's supposed to make us cheer. But it doesn't, quite.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It should, it's \u003cem>trying \u003c/em>to, but it doesn't.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because that moment, like so many things about \u003cem>Captain Marvel\u003c/em>, is something you've seen before. So sure, it's satisfying, in that unconscious, soothingly familiar way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the \u003cem>first \u003c/em>time you saw it? On the \u003cem>Buffy the Vampire Slayer\u003c/em> series finale? That—now \u003cem>that \u003c/em>was something.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.\u003cimg src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=%27Captain+Marvel%27+Takes+Flight+%E2%80%94+Through+Very+Familiar+Skies&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "109932 https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/?p=109932",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/2019/03/05/captain-marvel-checks-every-superhero-movie-box-and-passes-the-bechdel-test/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": true,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 1128,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 19
},
"modified": 1551817828,
"excerpt": "The movie finally gives young women the kind of onscreen, butt-kicking, name-taking proxy young boys have enjoyed for decades.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "The movie finally gives young women the kind of onscreen, butt-kicking, name-taking proxy young boys have enjoyed for decades.",
"title": "'Captain Marvel' Checks Every Superhero Movie Box AND Passes the Bechdel Test | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "'Captain Marvel' Checks Every Superhero Movie Box AND Passes the Bechdel Test",
"datePublished": "2019-03-05T12:30:28-08:00",
"dateModified": "2019-03-05T12:30:28-08:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "captain-marvel-checks-every-superhero-movie-box-and-passes-the-bechdel-test",
"status": "publish",
"nprApiLink": "http://api.npr.org/query?id=700046148&apiKey=MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004",
"nprByline": "Glen Weldon",
"nprStoryDate": "Tue, 05 Mar 2019 09:00:51 -0500",
"nprLastModifiedDate": "Tue, 05 Mar 2019 09:00:51 -0500",
"nprHtmlLink": "https://www.npr.org/2019/03/05/700046148/captain-marvel-takes-flight-through-very-familiar-skies?ft=nprml&f=700046148",
"nprImageAgency": "Marvel",
"nprStoryId": "700046148",
"nprRetrievedStory": "1",
"nprPubDate": "Tue, 05 Mar 2019 09:00:00 -0500",
"path": "/pop/109932/captain-marvel-checks-every-superhero-movie-box-and-passes-the-bechdel-test",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>There are several moments in \u003cem>Captain Marvel\u003c/em>—most of them intimate two-hander scenes between Agent Nick Fury (a digitally de-aged Samuel L. Jackson) and the main character (Brie Larson)—where the performances click, the comic chemistry catalyzes, the dialogue buzzes, and everything in this latest million-dollar superhero blockbuster seems downright ... breezy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now: It's a \u003cem>practiced \u003c/em>breeziness. A \u003cem>studied \u003c/em>breeziness. A breeziness that doesn't feel forced, exactly, but that certainly feels \u003cem>en\u003c/em>forced. Because as they trade quips and cracks and grins while expositing about an intergalactic war between two alien races, you react to the quips and cracks and grins with a sense of satisfaction, as down deep in your forebrain, your unconscious knows that this right here is the part of the Marvel superhero movie where they do the quips and cracks and grins. And that they will soon get interrupted by the bad guy. And that there will then be some (quite good) fight choreography. And that some venerated veteran actor (why, hello, Miss Annette Bening!) will show up in a goofy outfit to deliver hokey dialogue at precisely 23% of their ability and stand around looking just you know \u003cem>wildly \u003c/em>incongruous.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You know all this not because you saw the trailers (though the trailers give away all the best stuff, including far too much of the plot), but because Marvel has been churning out million-dollar superhero blockbusters for over a decade now. They know how to do them—and you know how to watch them. And that means knowing, for example, that when the Big Reveal shows up to kick off the third act, right on schedule, it'll be neither big nor particularly revelatory. It never is. And that's fine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It's fine, because we have arrived at a cultural moment when audiences enter a million-dollar superhero blockbuster with a set of tacit expectations, a series of boxes to be checked, and \u003cem>Captain Marvel\u003c/em> dutifully checks them. And if that sounds less than ambitious, consider the very real and substantial sense of satisfaction that a well-checked box engenders. It's not \u003cem>surprising\u003c/em>, no. But it's not 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/Z1BCujX3pw8'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/Z1BCujX3pw8'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Co-directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (who wrote the screenplay with Geneva Robertson-Dworet) hail from the world of talky indies like \u003cem>Half-Nelson\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Sugar\u003c/em>, which might explain why their film about a doughty space-warrior that features so many space-dogfights and space-explosions feels most at home on Earth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There's an extended chase scene, for example, that takes place on the surface streets of Los Angeles' wholesale district—the very same sun-blasted, bleached-out asphalt across which so many brown-suited guys in Dodge Chargers once chased Jim Rockford, Steve Austin, the A-Team, and all six of Charlie's Angels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It's one familiar element among many that make \u003cem>Captain Marvel\u003c/em> feel smaller than you'd think, given its intergalactic scope: There are the Kree, see, a proud warrior race locked in a war with the shifty—and shape-shifty—Skrulls. (For those scoring at home: The Kree look like Jude Law, the Skrulls look like if Nosferatu and a Gila Monster had kids.) Our hero is a Kree. (Nobody calls her \"Captain Marvel\" in the movie; most of the time she goes by \"Vers,\" pronounced \"Veers\"—which is weird, but less weird than her fellow Kree soldiers who get stuck with names like Minn-Erva, Yon-Rogg and ... wait for it ... Mar-Vell.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Captain Marvel lands on Earth in the mid-1990s (a fact the film has \u003cem>just \u003c/em>enough fun with), runs into a still-binocular Nick Fury, and the two promptly (very promptly! more promptly than seems wise, frankly!) set about looking for exactly the kind of glowy energy-core thingy you fully expect them to, because you've seen a damn Marvel movie before.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now if you're a filmmaker looking to check the \"bad guy\" box, you could do a hell of a lot worse than checking it with Ben Mendelsohn. Yeah, the guy's been racking up the sci-fi bad guys on his IMDB page lately, but here, as Talos the Skrull, he gets to relax a bit, and have some fun. So do we. (Put it this way: The Skrull homeworld must have an East London.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of course, amid all the familiar hallmarks, the genre tropes, the checked boxes, one thing about the Marvel superhero blockbuster \u003cem>Captain Marvel\u003c/em> is legitimately new: the fact that its star is a woman. And while the filmmakers spend some time underlining this in all the ways you anticipate (both Hole \u003cem>and \u003c/em>Heart on the soundtrack guys!) they've carefully crafted the film to supply at least some young women with the kind of onscreen, butt-kicking, name-taking proxy young boys have enjoyed for decades. It outfits our hero not with a blandly handsome male romantic partner, but with a supportive, badass female friend (Lashana Lynch) with whom to ace the Bechdel test like they swiped the answer key.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some will begrudge the filmmakers this liberty; some are wrong.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Larson imbues her character with a confidence that shades into cockiness, especially around Jackson's Nick Fury, but doesn't quite sell us on the film's Big Reveal, or its lesser emotional beats. It's tough to emote when you're lit up like a flying Christmas tree, I suppose.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Larson's Captain Marvel will of course return in next month's \u003cem>Avengers: Endgame\u003c/em> where, one assumes, female empowerment will take a back seat to powers of the zappy-explodey kind. In the meantime, we've got \u003cem>Captain Marvel\u003c/em>—a little bit \u003cem>The Right Stuff\u003c/em>, a little bit\u003cem> Top Gun\u003c/em>, a little bit \u003cem>Guardians of the Galaxy\u003c/em>, a little bit \u003cem>Men in Black\u003c/em>.\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/afyrnrocULM'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/afyrnrocULM'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Oh, and one more: There's a scene near the end, the big one, the one in which the film's themes of toughness and resilience get driven home. The music swells and we watch our hero ... do something. (If you've seen the trailers, you know the moment I mean.) And it's supposed to stir us. It's supposed to make us cheer. But it doesn't, quite.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It should, it's \u003cem>trying \u003c/em>to, but it doesn't.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because that moment, like so many things about \u003cem>Captain Marvel\u003c/em>, is something you've seen before. So sure, it's satisfying, in that unconscious, soothingly familiar way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "floatright"
},
"numeric": [
"floatright"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the \u003cem>first \u003c/em>time you saw it? On the \u003cem>Buffy the Vampire Slayer\u003c/em> series finale? That—now \u003cem>that \u003c/em>was something.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.\u003cimg src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=%27Captain+Marvel%27+Takes+Flight+%E2%80%94+Through+Very+Familiar+Skies&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/pop/109932/captain-marvel-checks-every-superhero-movie-box-and-passes-the-bechdel-test",
"authors": [
"byline_pop_109932"
],
"categories": [
"pop_51"
],
"tags": [
"pop_3426",
"pop_3155",
"pop_3489",
"pop_2889",
"pop_965",
"pop_756",
"pop_3488"
],
"featImg": "pop_109937",
"label": "pop"
},
"pop_107416": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "pop_107416",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "107416",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1542142880000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {
"site": "pop"
},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1542142880,
"format": "standard",
"disqusTitle": "How Stan Lee Helped One Blerd Find His Superhero",
"title": "How Stan Lee Helped One Blerd Find His Superhero",
"headTitle": "KQED Pop | KQED Arts",
"content": "\u003cp>Stan Lee was always a hero of mine; a feeling I share with many comic book fans. But it wasn't until recently—and especially following his death Monday at age 95—that I began to realize that some of my love for him came specifically from my perspective as a black kid who grew up reading comic books in the 1970s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It wasn't just that, as the editor-in-chief and later publisher of Marvel Comics, he helped create the coolest black superheroes of that time, like Black Panther and The Falcon. Or that he developed cool allegories for overcoming prejudice and stereotypes rooted in fear and ignorance, like The X-Men, The Inhumans and The Hulk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What was cool about Marvel under Stan Lee was the realism. They used actual cities as the home-base for their heroes, which grounded everything in a world that felt more real, more possible. Spider-Man was a nerdy kid from Queens; The Fantastic Four were a bickering family headquartered in a Manhattan high-rise building. And Luke Cage was a principled, African American ex-con reinventing himself as a hero for hire from an office in Times Square.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For a geeky kid growing up Gary, Ind.—the term blerd, or black nerd, would be coined much later to describe my cool-challenged lifestyle back then—this was an amazing step forward. I felt like I was learning about the world while sitting in my backward corner of Northwest Indiana. Somewhere, there was a place where being better at reading and writing than fighting and sports made you a hero. Or, at least, allowed you to create one or two of them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not to shade DC Comics. But heroes like Superman and The Flash lived in gleaming places called Metropolis and Central City. Their stories rarely featured people who looked like me or lived anywhere I recognized. Watching their exploits felt a bit disconnected; like watching a fairy tale set in a land kinda like my world...but also not.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stan Lee's Marvel universe was grittier, wilder and often set in urban spaces I longed to see in person. He tackled pressing social issues that young people cared about, with stories rooted in relatable stuff. The Fantastic Four worried about paying bills for their towering headquarters, while Spider-Man fretted about finishing homework and handling bully Flash Thompson without revealing his powers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Luke Cage, while not a direct creation of Lee's, was filled with nods to the Blaxploitation action movies that I loved back then. Given his own book series in 1972, Luke Cage was proud, practical and a total powerhouse in a way I didn't know I needed to see until it was in a book looking back at me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I also loved Lee's way of talking directly to fans, through editor's notes in the comics and his columns in the books, with their own jokey, distinctive patter. I hate to think about how much of his style—with jovial asides slipped into the action, much like this phrase was slipped into this sentence—influenced my own writing. He dropped words like \"Excelsior!\" at the end of columns, giving young fans a shared language and culture that could get us through the inevitable moments when we had to explain our obsessions with these \"cartoons\" to parents, teachers or contemptuous bullies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than anything, Lee made it clear he was creating a wondrous, exciting fictional universe that valued a wide range of people. Last year, in the wake of the white supremacist Unite the Right gathering in Charlottesville, the man himself tweeted a link to one of his \"Stan's Soapbox\" columns from 1968 asserting \"\u003ca href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2018/11/12/stan-lee-used-his-platform-call-out-racism-s-he-never-stopped/?utm_term=.c91eff11147f\">bigotry and racism are among the deadliest social ills plaguing the world today\u003c/a>.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At a time when people of color were still struggling to be seen in mainstream spaces, that sentiment meant a lot—especially when it was backed up by the stories in the comics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There were limits to Lee's vision back then. White men were still most often the heroes, especially in the early books. Much as I loved the anti-hero he helped create called The Prowler, it was a bit of a let down to see that this character, who was basically a super burglar, turned out to be a misunderstood African American kid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_107417\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-107417\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2018/11/stan-lee-black-panther-d7bb2b29efabd53cebd256d2b02701f0da081db4-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"Stan Lee and actor Chadwick Boseman attend the world premiere of ‘Black Panther.’\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/11/stan-lee-black-panther-d7bb2b29efabd53cebd256d2b02701f0da081db4-800x600.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/11/stan-lee-black-panther-d7bb2b29efabd53cebd256d2b02701f0da081db4-160x120.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/11/stan-lee-black-panther-d7bb2b29efabd53cebd256d2b02701f0da081db4-768x576.jpg 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/11/stan-lee-black-panther-d7bb2b29efabd53cebd256d2b02701f0da081db4-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/11/stan-lee-black-panther-d7bb2b29efabd53cebd256d2b02701f0da081db4-1200x900.jpg 1200w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/11/stan-lee-black-panther-d7bb2b29efabd53cebd256d2b02701f0da081db4-1920x1439.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/11/stan-lee-black-panther-d7bb2b29efabd53cebd256d2b02701f0da081db4-1180x885.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/11/stan-lee-black-panther-d7bb2b29efabd53cebd256d2b02701f0da081db4-960x720.jpg 960w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/11/stan-lee-black-panther-d7bb2b29efabd53cebd256d2b02701f0da081db4-240x180.jpg 240w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/11/stan-lee-black-panther-d7bb2b29efabd53cebd256d2b02701f0da081db4-375x281.jpg 375w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/11/stan-lee-black-panther-d7bb2b29efabd53cebd256d2b02701f0da081db4-520x390.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Stan Lee and actor Chadwick Boseman attend the world premiere of ‘Black Panther.’ \u003ccite>(Valerie Macon/AFP/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>And too many non-white heroes were sidekicks—like Captain America's backup The Falcon—or had powers rooted in their racial identity, as was the custom of the time. So we had Black Panther and Black Goliath at Marvel, with Black Lightning and Black Racer in rival DC Comics' books.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(I joked in one column I wrote a while ago that I always wondered why Thor, The God of Thunder wasn't originally named White Lightning.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>NPR's Glen Weldon noted in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2018/11/12/667022269/a-true-believer-remembers-stan-lee\">most excellent obituary\u003c/a> how complicated Lee's legacy truly is. His tireless self-promotion led to criticisms that he shared credit too little and didn't fairly compensate the artists who helped him create this amazing universe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But for a young black kid trying figure his place in the world and in comic book fandom, Stan Lee helped make that journey a little easier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many years ago, I was struck by an advertisement in a black-focused magazine, which pictured a young black kid staring into a mirror with a towel pinned to his shoulders, clearly imagining himself as a mighty superhero. But the face which stared back at him from the mirror was a white man in a cape.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thanks in part to Lee's influence, I could imagine Black Panther or The Falcon staring back at me, instead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.\u003cimg src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=How+Stan+Lee+Helped+This+Blerd+Find+His+Superhero&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "107416 https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/?p=107416",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/2018/11/13/how-stan-lee-helped-one-blerd-find-his-superhero/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 994,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 19
},
"modified": 1542142880,
"excerpt": "For one black nerd growing up in Indiana, Stan Lee's world was an amazing step forward.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "For one black nerd growing up in Indiana, Stan Lee's world was an amazing step forward.",
"title": "How Stan Lee Helped One Blerd Find His Superhero | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "How Stan Lee Helped One Blerd Find His Superhero",
"datePublished": "2018-11-13T13:01:20-08:00",
"dateModified": "2018-11-13T13:01:20-08:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "how-stan-lee-helped-one-blerd-find-his-superhero",
"status": "publish",
"nprApiLink": "http://api.npr.org/query?id=667489958&apiKey=MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004",
"nprByline": "Eric Deggans",
"nprStoryDate": "Tue, 13 Nov 2018 15:29:46 -0500",
"nprLastModifiedDate": "Tue, 13 Nov 2018 15:29:46 -0500",
"nprHtmlLink": "https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2018/11/13/667489958/how-stan-lee-helped-this-blerd-find-his-superhero?ft=nprml&f=667489958",
"nprImageAgency": "AFP/Getty Images",
"nprImageCredit": "Valerie Macon",
"nprStoryId": "667489958",
"nprRetrievedStory": "1",
"nprPubDate": "Tue, 13 Nov 2018 15:29:00 -0500",
"path": "/pop/107416/how-stan-lee-helped-one-blerd-find-his-superhero",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Stan Lee was always a hero of mine; a feeling I share with many comic book fans. But it wasn't until recently—and especially following his death Monday at age 95—that I began to realize that some of my love for him came specifically from my perspective as a black kid who grew up reading comic books in the 1970s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It wasn't just that, as the editor-in-chief and later publisher of Marvel Comics, he helped create the coolest black superheroes of that time, like Black Panther and The Falcon. Or that he developed cool allegories for overcoming prejudice and stereotypes rooted in fear and ignorance, like The X-Men, The Inhumans and The Hulk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What was cool about Marvel under Stan Lee was the realism. They used actual cities as the home-base for their heroes, which grounded everything in a world that felt more real, more possible. Spider-Man was a nerdy kid from Queens; The Fantastic Four were a bickering family headquartered in a Manhattan high-rise building. And Luke Cage was a principled, African American ex-con reinventing himself as a hero for hire from an office in Times Square.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For a geeky kid growing up Gary, Ind.—the term blerd, or black nerd, would be coined much later to describe my cool-challenged lifestyle back then—this was an amazing step forward. I felt like I was learning about the world while sitting in my backward corner of Northwest Indiana. Somewhere, there was a place where being better at reading and writing than fighting and sports made you a hero. Or, at least, allowed you to create one or two of them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not to shade DC Comics. But heroes like Superman and The Flash lived in gleaming places called Metropolis and Central City. Their stories rarely featured people who looked like me or lived anywhere I recognized. Watching their exploits felt a bit disconnected; like watching a fairy tale set in a land kinda like my world...but also not.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stan Lee's Marvel universe was grittier, wilder and often set in urban spaces I longed to see in person. He tackled pressing social issues that young people cared about, with stories rooted in relatable stuff. The Fantastic Four worried about paying bills for their towering headquarters, while Spider-Man fretted about finishing homework and handling bully Flash Thompson without revealing his powers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Luke Cage, while not a direct creation of Lee's, was filled with nods to the Blaxploitation action movies that I loved back then. Given his own book series in 1972, Luke Cage was proud, practical and a total powerhouse in a way I didn't know I needed to see until it was in a book looking back at me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I also loved Lee's way of talking directly to fans, through editor's notes in the comics and his columns in the books, with their own jokey, distinctive patter. I hate to think about how much of his style—with jovial asides slipped into the action, much like this phrase was slipped into this sentence—influenced my own writing. He dropped words like \"Excelsior!\" at the end of columns, giving young fans a shared language and culture that could get us through the inevitable moments when we had to explain our obsessions with these \"cartoons\" to parents, teachers or contemptuous bullies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than anything, Lee made it clear he was creating a wondrous, exciting fictional universe that valued a wide range of people. Last year, in the wake of the white supremacist Unite the Right gathering in Charlottesville, the man himself tweeted a link to one of his \"Stan's Soapbox\" columns from 1968 asserting \"\u003ca href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2018/11/12/stan-lee-used-his-platform-call-out-racism-s-he-never-stopped/?utm_term=.c91eff11147f\">bigotry and racism are among the deadliest social ills plaguing the world today\u003c/a>.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At a time when people of color were still struggling to be seen in mainstream spaces, that sentiment meant a lot—especially when it was backed up by the stories in the comics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There were limits to Lee's vision back then. White men were still most often the heroes, especially in the early books. Much as I loved the anti-hero he helped create called The Prowler, it was a bit of a let down to see that this character, who was basically a super burglar, turned out to be a misunderstood African American kid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_107417\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-107417\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2018/11/stan-lee-black-panther-d7bb2b29efabd53cebd256d2b02701f0da081db4-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"Stan Lee and actor Chadwick Boseman attend the world premiere of ‘Black Panther.’\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/11/stan-lee-black-panther-d7bb2b29efabd53cebd256d2b02701f0da081db4-800x600.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/11/stan-lee-black-panther-d7bb2b29efabd53cebd256d2b02701f0da081db4-160x120.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/11/stan-lee-black-panther-d7bb2b29efabd53cebd256d2b02701f0da081db4-768x576.jpg 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/11/stan-lee-black-panther-d7bb2b29efabd53cebd256d2b02701f0da081db4-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/11/stan-lee-black-panther-d7bb2b29efabd53cebd256d2b02701f0da081db4-1200x900.jpg 1200w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/11/stan-lee-black-panther-d7bb2b29efabd53cebd256d2b02701f0da081db4-1920x1439.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/11/stan-lee-black-panther-d7bb2b29efabd53cebd256d2b02701f0da081db4-1180x885.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/11/stan-lee-black-panther-d7bb2b29efabd53cebd256d2b02701f0da081db4-960x720.jpg 960w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/11/stan-lee-black-panther-d7bb2b29efabd53cebd256d2b02701f0da081db4-240x180.jpg 240w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/11/stan-lee-black-panther-d7bb2b29efabd53cebd256d2b02701f0da081db4-375x281.jpg 375w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/11/stan-lee-black-panther-d7bb2b29efabd53cebd256d2b02701f0da081db4-520x390.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Stan Lee and actor Chadwick Boseman attend the world premiere of ‘Black Panther.’ \u003ccite>(Valerie Macon/AFP/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>And too many non-white heroes were sidekicks—like Captain America's backup The Falcon—or had powers rooted in their racial identity, as was the custom of the time. So we had Black Panther and Black Goliath at Marvel, with Black Lightning and Black Racer in rival DC Comics' books.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(I joked in one column I wrote a while ago that I always wondered why Thor, The God of Thunder wasn't originally named White Lightning.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>NPR's Glen Weldon noted in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2018/11/12/667022269/a-true-believer-remembers-stan-lee\">most excellent obituary\u003c/a> how complicated Lee's legacy truly is. His tireless self-promotion led to criticisms that he shared credit too little and didn't fairly compensate the artists who helped him create this amazing universe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But for a young black kid trying figure his place in the world and in comic book fandom, Stan Lee helped make that journey a little easier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many years ago, I was struck by an advertisement in a black-focused magazine, which pictured a young black kid staring into a mirror with a towel pinned to his shoulders, clearly imagining himself as a mighty superhero. But the face which stared back at him from the mirror was a white man in a cape.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thanks in part to Lee's influence, I could imagine Black Panther or The Falcon staring back at me, instead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.\u003cimg src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=How+Stan+Lee+Helped+This+Blerd+Find+His+Superhero&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/pop/107416/how-stan-lee-helped-one-blerd-find-his-superhero",
"authors": [
"byline_pop_107416"
],
"categories": [
"pop_1548"
],
"tags": [
"pop_2889",
"pop_756",
"pop_3346"
],
"featImg": "pop_107419",
"label": "pop"
},
"pop_101544": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "pop_101544",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "101544",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1531141217000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {
"site": "pop"
},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1531141217,
"format": "standard",
"disqusTitle": "The Superman Curse: A Look at All the Death, Destruction and Destitution",
"title": "The Superman Curse: A Look at All the Death, Destruction and Destitution",
"headTitle": "KQED Pop | KQED Arts",
"content": "\u003cp>If you're a Millennial, when you think of Superman, you most likely think of Dean Cain, who played Clark Kent in \u003ca href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106057/?ref_=nv_sr_1\">\u003cem>Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman\u003c/em>\u003c/a> between 1993 and 1997, Tom Welling in \u003ca href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0279600/?ref_=ttep_ep_tt\">\u003cem>Smallville\u003c/em>\u003c/a> (2001—2011), or Henry Cavill, who first donned the famous red cape in 2013's \u003ca href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0770828/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1\">\u003cem>Man of Steel\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. For the generations before, not only did Superman look and sound different, the role came with a -- dun-dun-duuun! -- curse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_101573\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 727px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-101573\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2018/01/130624_r23666_g2048.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"727\" height=\"905\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/01/130624_r23666_g2048.jpg 727w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/01/130624_r23666_g2048-160x199.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/01/130624_r23666_g2048-240x299.jpg 240w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/01/130624_r23666_g2048-375x467.jpg 375w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/01/130624_r23666_g2048-520x647.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 727px) 100vw, 727px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The Superman jinx started with \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Siegel\">Jerry Siegel\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Shuster\">Joe Shuster\u003c/a>, who created the character for \u003cem>Action Comics #1,\u003c/em> which came out in June 1938. Not only were the duo not fairly compensated in royalties for the invention of Clark Kent, but Shuster's career flatlined shortly afterwards. By the 1950s, the artist's deteriorating eyesight had forced him out of comic books entirely, and he eventually became almost completely blind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Max and Dave Fleischer were the next duo to suffer, producing a \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman_(1940s_cartoons)\">series of Superman cartoons\u003c/a> for Paramount between 1941 and 1943. Not only did the brothers fall out in such a big way during the process that their partnership was permanently severed, but Max -- despite also inventing Betty Boop and producing \u003cem>Popeye\u003c/em> cartoons -- ultimately died in abject poverty. After what had been a prolific career in animation, Max only produced five more projects after working on Superman.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_101574\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 220px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-101574\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2018/01/Kirk_Alyn_as_Superman_in_a_publicity_still_from_1948.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"220\" height=\"279\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/01/Kirk_Alyn_as_Superman_in_a_publicity_still_from_1948.jpg 220w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/01/Kirk_Alyn_as_Superman_in_a_publicity_still_from_1948-160x203.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 220px) 100vw, 220px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kirk Alyn\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001906/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1\">Kirk Alyn\u003c/a>, TV's first Superman, found brief success playing the character, but was irreversibly typecast afterwards. He failed to find substantial work ever again, despite having been successful on Broadway before taking the role. In 1988, in an\u003ca href=\"http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/WolfFiles/story?id=2103736&page=1\"> interview with the Associated Press\u003c/a>, he said simply: \"I couldn't get another job.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Misfortune also befell TV's second Superman, \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Reeves\">George Reeves\u003c/a>. The actor took on the role in 1951 and continued to play the superhero on screen and stage until his suspicious death in 1959. Reeves was found dead from a gunshot wound, days before he was due to get married. His death was ruled a suicide, despite the fact that his fingerprints were never found on the weapon that killed him. His tragic story was immortalized in 2006's \u003ca href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0427969/?ref_=nv_sr_1\">\u003cem>Hollywoodland\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. He was just 45.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The curse of Superman really took hold when the character was revived for movie audiences in 1978. The cast of \u003ca href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078346/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1\">\u003cem>Superman\u003c/em>\u003c/a> (1978), \u003ca href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081573/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1\">\u003cem>Superman II\u003c/em> \u003c/a>(1980), \u003ca href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086393/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1\">\u003cem>Superman III\u003c/em> \u003c/a>(1983), and \u003ca href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094074/?ref_=nv_sr_7\">\u003cem>Superman IV: The Quest for Peace\u003c/em>\u003c/a> (1987) dealt with an insane amount of bad luck in the years that followed. Most famously, the series' biggest star, \u003ca href=\"http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001659/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1\">Christopher Reeve\u003c/a>, was paralyzed from the neck down in a 1995 horse-riding accident. He died in 2004, followed two years later by his wife Dana. The 44-year-old actress, singer and activist died of lung cancer, despite having never even been a smoker.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_101575\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 274px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-101575\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2018/01/Screen-Shot-2018-01-30-at-7.14.34-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"274\" height=\"312\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/01/Screen-Shot-2018-01-30-at-7.14.34-PM.png 274w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/01/Screen-Shot-2018-01-30-at-7.14.34-PM-160x182.png 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/01/Screen-Shot-2018-01-30-at-7.14.34-PM-240x273.png 240w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 274px) 100vw, 274px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Margot Kidder\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Reeve's co-stars didn't fare much better. \u003ca href=\"http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0703510/\">Lee Quigley\u003c/a>, the actor that played the infant Clark Kent, died at only 14-years-old, from solvent abuse. Three years after last playing Lois Lane, \u003ca href=\"http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0452288/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm\">Margot Kidder\u003c/a> got into a horrific car crash and was rendered unable to work for several years. After finally physically healing from the accident, she suffered a nervous breakdown in 1996, and was found in a stranger's backyard, beaten, hair hacked off, teeth damaged, and in a deeply distressed state. Convinced that her first husband was trying to kill her, Kidder had attempted to fake her own death to get away and had been living on the streets. She has since made a recovery and claims to have not had another manic episode since 2007.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000008/?ref_=nv_sr_1\">Marlon Brando\u003c/a>, who played Jor-El in the 1978 film, died within three months of Christopher Reeve, after a run of horrendous familial tragedy. Brando's son \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Brando\">Christian\u003c/a> spent five years of his life in prison for murdering his half-sister \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheyenne_Brando\">Cheyenne'\u003c/a>s boyfriend. A month after her boyfriend's death, Cheyenne gave birth to their child, only to lose custody of the infant, after increasingly erratic behavior and a schizophrenia diagnosis. Cheyenne committed suicide in 1995, at the age of 25, and Brando subsequently became a recluse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite the fact that comedian \u003ca href=\"http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001640/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm\">Richard Pryor\u003c/a> battled drug addiction and was involved in a self-immolation incident well before his role in \u003cem>Superman III\u003c/em>, believers still think certain aspects of his life -- including his multiple sclerosis diagnosis -- are related to the curse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In more recent years, the curse seems to have all but evaporated, though it's worth noting that 64-year-old \u003cem>Man of Steel\u003c/em> producer Lloyd Phillips passed away of a heart attack in January 2013, five months before the movie even came out. In addition, Kate Bosworth, who starred as Lois Lane in the flop \u003ca href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0348150/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1\">\u003cem>Superman Returns\u003c/em>\u003c/a> (2006), \u003ca href=\"https://www.ranker.com/list/story-behind-the-superman-curse/laura-allan\">attributed her break up\u003c/a> with Orlando Bloom to the curse. Three people who worked on the DVD of the film were also horribly injured during that time -- one was mugged and beaten, another fell through a glass window, the third fell down some stairs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In truth, if there ever was a real Superman curse, the worst of it seems to be over. This hasn't stopped DC and Warner Bros' new \u003cem>Superman\u003c/em>-related show from leaving Clark Kent out of the equation entirely though. Coincidence? \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/i/moments/958409824013713413\">Fans are in disbelief\u003c/a> that \u003ca href=\"https://mashable.com/2018/01/30/dc-superman-metropolis/#vzB9QjXo7Pq4\">\u003cem>Metropolis\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, a 13-episode series, will center only on Lois Lane and Lex Luther's lives before Superman's arrival in the city. But with this kind of cursed history, who can blame them?\u003c/p>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "101544 https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/?p=101544",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/2018/07/09/the-superman-curse-a-look-at-all-the-death-destruction-and-destitution/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 932,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 13
},
"modified": 1531185929,
"excerpt": "The story of how 'Superman' stars have been haunted by tragedy for decades.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "The story of how 'Superman' stars have been haunted by tragedy for decades.",
"title": "The Superman Curse: A Look at All the Death, Destruction and Destitution | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "The Superman Curse: A Look at All the Death, Destruction and Destitution",
"datePublished": "2018-07-09T06:00:17-07:00",
"dateModified": "2018-07-09T18:25:29-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "the-superman-curse-a-look-at-all-the-death-destruction-and-destitution",
"status": "publish",
"path": "/pop/101544/the-superman-curse-a-look-at-all-the-death-destruction-and-destitution",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>If you're a Millennial, when you think of Superman, you most likely think of Dean Cain, who played Clark Kent in \u003ca href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106057/?ref_=nv_sr_1\">\u003cem>Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman\u003c/em>\u003c/a> between 1993 and 1997, Tom Welling in \u003ca href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0279600/?ref_=ttep_ep_tt\">\u003cem>Smallville\u003c/em>\u003c/a> (2001—2011), or Henry Cavill, who first donned the famous red cape in 2013's \u003ca href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0770828/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1\">\u003cem>Man of Steel\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. For the generations before, not only did Superman look and sound different, the role came with a -- dun-dun-duuun! -- curse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_101573\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 727px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-101573\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2018/01/130624_r23666_g2048.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"727\" height=\"905\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/01/130624_r23666_g2048.jpg 727w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/01/130624_r23666_g2048-160x199.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/01/130624_r23666_g2048-240x299.jpg 240w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/01/130624_r23666_g2048-375x467.jpg 375w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/01/130624_r23666_g2048-520x647.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 727px) 100vw, 727px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The Superman jinx started with \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Siegel\">Jerry Siegel\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Shuster\">Joe Shuster\u003c/a>, who created the character for \u003cem>Action Comics #1,\u003c/em> which came out in June 1938. Not only were the duo not fairly compensated in royalties for the invention of Clark Kent, but Shuster's career flatlined shortly afterwards. By the 1950s, the artist's deteriorating eyesight had forced him out of comic books entirely, and he eventually became almost completely blind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Max and Dave Fleischer were the next duo to suffer, producing a \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman_(1940s_cartoons)\">series of Superman cartoons\u003c/a> for Paramount between 1941 and 1943. Not only did the brothers fall out in such a big way during the process that their partnership was permanently severed, but Max -- despite also inventing Betty Boop and producing \u003cem>Popeye\u003c/em> cartoons -- ultimately died in abject poverty. After what had been a prolific career in animation, Max only produced five more projects after working on Superman.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_101574\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 220px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-101574\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2018/01/Kirk_Alyn_as_Superman_in_a_publicity_still_from_1948.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"220\" height=\"279\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/01/Kirk_Alyn_as_Superman_in_a_publicity_still_from_1948.jpg 220w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/01/Kirk_Alyn_as_Superman_in_a_publicity_still_from_1948-160x203.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 220px) 100vw, 220px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kirk Alyn\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001906/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1\">Kirk Alyn\u003c/a>, TV's first Superman, found brief success playing the character, but was irreversibly typecast afterwards. He failed to find substantial work ever again, despite having been successful on Broadway before taking the role. In 1988, in an\u003ca href=\"http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/WolfFiles/story?id=2103736&page=1\"> interview with the Associated Press\u003c/a>, he said simply: \"I couldn't get another job.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Misfortune also befell TV's second Superman, \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Reeves\">George Reeves\u003c/a>. The actor took on the role in 1951 and continued to play the superhero on screen and stage until his suspicious death in 1959. Reeves was found dead from a gunshot wound, days before he was due to get married. His death was ruled a suicide, despite the fact that his fingerprints were never found on the weapon that killed him. His tragic story was immortalized in 2006's \u003ca href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0427969/?ref_=nv_sr_1\">\u003cem>Hollywoodland\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. He was just 45.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The curse of Superman really took hold when the character was revived for movie audiences in 1978. The cast of \u003ca href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078346/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1\">\u003cem>Superman\u003c/em>\u003c/a> (1978), \u003ca href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081573/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1\">\u003cem>Superman II\u003c/em> \u003c/a>(1980), \u003ca href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086393/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1\">\u003cem>Superman III\u003c/em> \u003c/a>(1983), and \u003ca href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094074/?ref_=nv_sr_7\">\u003cem>Superman IV: The Quest for Peace\u003c/em>\u003c/a> (1987) dealt with an insane amount of bad luck in the years that followed. Most famously, the series' biggest star, \u003ca href=\"http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001659/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1\">Christopher Reeve\u003c/a>, was paralyzed from the neck down in a 1995 horse-riding accident. He died in 2004, followed two years later by his wife Dana. The 44-year-old actress, singer and activist died of lung cancer, despite having never even been a smoker.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_101575\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 274px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-101575\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2018/01/Screen-Shot-2018-01-30-at-7.14.34-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"274\" height=\"312\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/01/Screen-Shot-2018-01-30-at-7.14.34-PM.png 274w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/01/Screen-Shot-2018-01-30-at-7.14.34-PM-160x182.png 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/01/Screen-Shot-2018-01-30-at-7.14.34-PM-240x273.png 240w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 274px) 100vw, 274px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Margot Kidder\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Reeve's co-stars didn't fare much better. \u003ca href=\"http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0703510/\">Lee Quigley\u003c/a>, the actor that played the infant Clark Kent, died at only 14-years-old, from solvent abuse. Three years after last playing Lois Lane, \u003ca href=\"http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0452288/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm\">Margot Kidder\u003c/a> got into a horrific car crash and was rendered unable to work for several years. After finally physically healing from the accident, she suffered a nervous breakdown in 1996, and was found in a stranger's backyard, beaten, hair hacked off, teeth damaged, and in a deeply distressed state. Convinced that her first husband was trying to kill her, Kidder had attempted to fake her own death to get away and had been living on the streets. She has since made a recovery and claims to have not had another manic episode since 2007.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000008/?ref_=nv_sr_1\">Marlon Brando\u003c/a>, who played Jor-El in the 1978 film, died within three months of Christopher Reeve, after a run of horrendous familial tragedy. Brando's son \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Brando\">Christian\u003c/a> spent five years of his life in prison for murdering his half-sister \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheyenne_Brando\">Cheyenne'\u003c/a>s boyfriend. A month after her boyfriend's death, Cheyenne gave birth to their child, only to lose custody of the infant, after increasingly erratic behavior and a schizophrenia diagnosis. Cheyenne committed suicide in 1995, at the age of 25, and Brando subsequently became a recluse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite the fact that comedian \u003ca href=\"http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001640/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm\">Richard Pryor\u003c/a> battled drug addiction and was involved in a self-immolation incident well before his role in \u003cem>Superman III\u003c/em>, believers still think certain aspects of his life -- including his multiple sclerosis diagnosis -- are related to the curse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In more recent years, the curse seems to have all but evaporated, though it's worth noting that 64-year-old \u003cem>Man of Steel\u003c/em> producer Lloyd Phillips passed away of a heart attack in January 2013, five months before the movie even came out. In addition, Kate Bosworth, who starred as Lois Lane in the flop \u003ca href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0348150/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1\">\u003cem>Superman Returns\u003c/em>\u003c/a> (2006), \u003ca href=\"https://www.ranker.com/list/story-behind-the-superman-curse/laura-allan\">attributed her break up\u003c/a> with Orlando Bloom to the curse. Three people who worked on the DVD of the film were also horribly injured during that time -- one was mugged and beaten, another fell through a glass window, the third fell down some stairs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In truth, if there ever was a real Superman curse, the worst of it seems to be over. This hasn't stopped DC and Warner Bros' new \u003cem>Superman\u003c/em>-related show from leaving Clark Kent out of the equation entirely though. Coincidence? \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/i/moments/958409824013713413\">Fans are in disbelief\u003c/a> that \u003ca href=\"https://mashable.com/2018/01/30/dc-superman-metropolis/#vzB9QjXo7Pq4\">\u003cem>Metropolis\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, a 13-episode series, will center only on Lois Lane and Lex Luther's lives before Superman's arrival in the city. But with this kind of cursed history, who can blame them?\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/pop/101544/the-superman-curse-a-look-at-all-the-death-destruction-and-destitution",
"authors": [
"11242"
],
"categories": [
"pop_51",
"pop_3"
],
"tags": [
"pop_3145",
"pop_756",
"pop_714",
"pop_754"
],
"featImg": "pop_101570",
"label": "pop"
},
"pop_104457": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "pop_104457",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "104457",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1530561779000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {
"site": "pop"
},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1530561779,
"format": "standard",
"disqusTitle": "Wee, the People: 'Ant-Man and the Wasp' is Here!",
"title": "Wee, the People: 'Ant-Man and the Wasp' is Here!",
"headTitle": "KQED Pop | KQED Arts",
"content": "\u003cp>It's fine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5095030/?ref_=nv_sr_1\">\u003cem>Ant-Man and the Wasp\u003c/em>,\u003c/a> the sequel to 2015's feather-light and perfectly forgettable \u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0478970/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1\">\u003cem>Ant-Man\u003c/em>,\u003c/a> is just fine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEWeV2_MAWg\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It does what it sets out to do, which, by all readily legible indicators, is to be... fine. Agreeable. Inoffensive. A good way to pass a couple of hours in air-conditioned darkness. Jokes. Car chases. Fight scenes. Michelle Pfeiffer, briefly, in a hoodie and a chalk-white wig and, for some reason, fingerless gloves. A gruff Michael Douglas, less briefly, as the resident goateed genius of this particular corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Tony Stark and Doctor Strange having their attentions turned elsewhere).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Also: Evangeline Lilly as badass superhero The Wasp, kickin' thoraxes and takin' names and even crackin' the occasional joke, thank God. The always-winning Michael Peña as voluble sidekick Luis, whose presence in any given scene amps up its charm factor. Phrases like \"We have to adjust the refractors on the regulator!\" (LOTS of those.) And of course, Paul Rudd.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Paul Rudd! Ageless and affable! Looking just a bit jacked, lately. And bringing that affect of his, which is, as always, just a bit goofy, without going overboard — \u003cem>handsome \u003c/em>goofy. Hollywood goofy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ah, but:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The first \u003cem>Ant-Man\u003c/em> film was light, of course, and that lightness felt like a small revelation: Cast a guy like Rudd in the hero role, then sit back and watch what it does to the tone of the film around him. Turns out he's a vector for breeziness, for a mood that's too sincere and good-natured to be glib, though it shares a lot of glib's DNA. As a result, there was something defiantly shaggy and low-stakes and loose about the whole thing. It wasn't lightning in a bottle, exactly — it wasn't nearly as dramatic as that. Static electricity in a bottle, maybe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWdKf3MneyI&t=9s\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Ant-Man\u003c/em> director Peyton Reed (along with just about all of the cast) is back for the sequel, and he seems to have studied that film's accomplishments in order to replicate them here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And that's the thing. Because it \u003cem>feels \u003c/em>studied. And self-conscious. What came naturally, and perhaps accidentally, the first time out feels practiced and artificial here. The rhythm is, slightly but persistently, off.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The pacing of the jokes, for example, is more deliberate, and they're delivered with a greater sense of intentionality: Instead of tossing them out playfully, the cast fires them from a cannon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Which is why, a few minutes in, it strikes you that you're not watching Paul Rudd playing Scott Lang, the Ant-Man. You're watching Paul Rudd \u003cem>playing Paul Rudd\u003c/em> playing Scott Lang, the Ant-Man. It feels more like an imitation of a performance than a performance itself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now: Is that performance, whatever its provenance, charming? Sure it is. Are there fun action set-pieces? Yep. Does Michelle Pfeiffer look like she's about to bust into \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGVZOLV9SPo\">\"Love is a Battlefield,\"\u003c/a> complete with shoulder-dancing, at any moment? Reader, she does.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Which is all well and good, but the stuff that doesn't work here really, \u003cem>really \u003c/em>doesn't. A mysterious antagonist named Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) utterly fails in the business of being mysterious or intriguing, and at one point serves up a clot of over-complicated exposition that stops the film dead for long minutes. An evil mercenary played by the great and good \u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0324658/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1\">Walton Goggins\u003c/a> also over-salts the stew, on a plot level. (Why hire Goggins if you're only gonna give him a couple of moments to Goggins?) (And while we're at it, why bring gifted comic actor Judy Greer back, if you're only going to shunt her into the worried unfunny ex-wife role again? Learn from your dang mistakes, franchise! Course-correct where it truly counts!)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But again: On balance, it's fine. It will leave you neither shattered nor elated. But it's so light, so agreeable and so insubstantial that it \u003cem>will\u003c/em> leave you, and sooner than you expect it to — perhaps as you're pulling out of the theater's parking lot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.\u003cimg src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Wee%2C+The+People%3A+%27Ant-Man+And+The+Wasp%27&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "104457 https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/?p=104457",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/2018/07/02/wee-the-people-ant-man-and-the-wasp-is-here/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": true,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 725,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 16
},
"modified": 1530560746,
"excerpt": "It's not as good as the original, but it does still have Paul Rudd and San Francisco and jokes, so okay!",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "It's not as good as the original, but it does still have Paul Rudd and San Francisco and jokes, so okay!",
"title": "Wee, the People: 'Ant-Man and the Wasp' is Here! | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Wee, the People: 'Ant-Man and the Wasp' is Here!",
"datePublished": "2018-07-02T13:02:59-07:00",
"dateModified": "2018-07-02T12:45:46-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "wee-the-people-ant-man-and-the-wasp-is-here",
"status": "publish",
"nprApiLink": "http://api.npr.org/query?id=623157142&apiKey=MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004",
"nprByline": "Glen Weldon",
"nprStoryDate": "Mon, 02 Jul 2018 05:01:24 -0400",
"nprLastModifiedDate": "Mon, 02 Jul 2018 05:01:24 -0400",
"nprHtmlLink": "https://www.npr.org/sections/monkeysee/2018/07/02/623157142/wee-the-people-ant-man-and-the-wasp?ft=nprml&f=623157142",
"nprImageAgency": "Marvel Studios",
"nprStoryId": "623157142",
"nprRetrievedStory": "1",
"nprPubDate": "Mon, 02 Jul 2018 05:01:00 -0400",
"path": "/pop/104457/wee-the-people-ant-man-and-the-wasp-is-here",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>It's fine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5095030/?ref_=nv_sr_1\">\u003cem>Ant-Man and the Wasp\u003c/em>,\u003c/a> the sequel to 2015's feather-light and perfectly forgettable \u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0478970/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1\">\u003cem>Ant-Man\u003c/em>,\u003c/a> is just fine.\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/FEWeV2_MAWg'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/FEWeV2_MAWg'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>It does what it sets out to do, which, by all readily legible indicators, is to be... fine. Agreeable. Inoffensive. A good way to pass a couple of hours in air-conditioned darkness. Jokes. Car chases. Fight scenes. Michelle Pfeiffer, briefly, in a hoodie and a chalk-white wig and, for some reason, fingerless gloves. A gruff Michael Douglas, less briefly, as the resident goateed genius of this particular corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Tony Stark and Doctor Strange having their attentions turned elsewhere).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Also: Evangeline Lilly as badass superhero The Wasp, kickin' thoraxes and takin' names and even crackin' the occasional joke, thank God. The always-winning Michael Peña as voluble sidekick Luis, whose presence in any given scene amps up its charm factor. Phrases like \"We have to adjust the refractors on the regulator!\" (LOTS of those.) And of course, Paul Rudd.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Paul Rudd! Ageless and affable! Looking just a bit jacked, lately. And bringing that affect of his, which is, as always, just a bit goofy, without going overboard — \u003cem>handsome \u003c/em>goofy. Hollywood goofy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ah, but:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The first \u003cem>Ant-Man\u003c/em> film was light, of course, and that lightness felt like a small revelation: Cast a guy like Rudd in the hero role, then sit back and watch what it does to the tone of the film around him. Turns out he's a vector for breeziness, for a mood that's too sincere and good-natured to be glib, though it shares a lot of glib's DNA. As a result, there was something defiantly shaggy and low-stakes and loose about the whole thing. It wasn't lightning in a bottle, exactly — it wasn't nearly as dramatic as that. Static electricity in a bottle, maybe.\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/pWdKf3MneyI'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/pWdKf3MneyI'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>Ant-Man\u003c/em> director Peyton Reed (along with just about all of the cast) is back for the sequel, and he seems to have studied that film's accomplishments in order to replicate them here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And that's the thing. Because it \u003cem>feels \u003c/em>studied. And self-conscious. What came naturally, and perhaps accidentally, the first time out feels practiced and artificial here. The rhythm is, slightly but persistently, off.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The pacing of the jokes, for example, is more deliberate, and they're delivered with a greater sense of intentionality: Instead of tossing them out playfully, the cast fires them from a cannon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Which is why, a few minutes in, it strikes you that you're not watching Paul Rudd playing Scott Lang, the Ant-Man. You're watching Paul Rudd \u003cem>playing Paul Rudd\u003c/em> playing Scott Lang, the Ant-Man. It feels more like an imitation of a performance than a performance itself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now: Is that performance, whatever its provenance, charming? Sure it is. Are there fun action set-pieces? Yep. Does Michelle Pfeiffer look like she's about to bust into \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGVZOLV9SPo\">\"Love is a Battlefield,\"\u003c/a> complete with shoulder-dancing, at any moment? Reader, she does.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Which is all well and good, but the stuff that doesn't work here really, \u003cem>really \u003c/em>doesn't. A mysterious antagonist named Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) utterly fails in the business of being mysterious or intriguing, and at one point serves up a clot of over-complicated exposition that stops the film dead for long minutes. An evil mercenary played by the great and good \u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0324658/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1\">Walton Goggins\u003c/a> also over-salts the stew, on a plot level. (Why hire Goggins if you're only gonna give him a couple of moments to Goggins?) (And while we're at it, why bring gifted comic actor Judy Greer back, if you're only going to shunt her into the worried unfunny ex-wife role again? Learn from your dang mistakes, franchise! Course-correct where it truly counts!)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But again: On balance, it's fine. It will leave you neither shattered nor elated. But it's so light, so agreeable and so insubstantial that it \u003cem>will\u003c/em> leave you, and sooner than you expect it to — perhaps as you're pulling out of the theater's parking lot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.\u003cimg src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Wee%2C+The+People%3A+%27Ant-Man+And+The+Wasp%27&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/pop/104457/wee-the-people-ant-man-and-the-wasp-is-here",
"authors": [
"byline_pop_104457"
],
"categories": [
"pop_51"
],
"tags": [
"pop_3239",
"pop_756",
"pop_262"
],
"featImg": "pop_104458",
"label": "pop"
},
"pop_103659": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "pop_103659",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "103659",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1526936281000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {
"site": "pop"
},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1526936281,
"format": "standard",
"disqusTitle": "Who is Ms. Marvel and Why Does Everyone Want to be in Her Movie?",
"title": "Who is Ms. Marvel and Why Does Everyone Want to be in Her Movie?",
"headTitle": "KQED Pop | KQED Arts",
"content": "\u003cp>It started with what seemed like a small announcement on Twitter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/CBR/status/995359214825590786\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1981893/?ref_=nv_sr_1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Rogue One\u003c/em>\u003c/a> star—and one-half of the absurdly underrated \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4Yb8AWXgLI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Swet Shop Boys\u003c/a>—Riz Ahmed jumped in, tagging Mindy Kaling and \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5462602/?ref_=nv_sr_1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Big Sick\u003c/a> \u003c/em>writer/actor Kumail Nanjiani along the way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"So when do @MarvelStudios want me @mindykaling @kumailn to get started on the MsMarvel screenplay?\" he wrote on May 16, 2018.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kaling was quick to respond, declaring:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/mindykaling/status/996557999807369221\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then \u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4955642/?ref_=nv_sr_1\">\u003cem>The Good Place'\u003c/em>\u003c/a>s Jameela Jamil chimed in too. \"I can also do weekends!\" she quipped.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ahmed quickly replied that after being commissioned, they should just \"hand the pen over\" to \u003cem>Ms. Marvel\u003c/em> creator \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sana_Amanat\">Sana Amanat\u003c/a> and \u003cem>Ms. Marvel\u003c/em> writer, \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G._Willow_Wilson\">G. Willow Wilson\u003c/a>. Amanat immediately responded by inviting Kaling to collaborate on a \u003cem>Ms. Marvel\u003c/em> comic book:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/MiniB622/status/996583977124319232\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So who\u003cem> is\u003c/em> Ms. Marvel, and why do some of the most sought-after stars in Hollywood want in on this project?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you haven't heard of Ms. Marvel before, it's probably because she's only existed for five years. In her everyday life, the shape-shifting, fast-healing superhero is Kamala Khan, a New Jersey-based Pakistani-American teen, who was inspired into action by her heroine, Captain Marvel. She is the first Muslim character in the Marvel universe to get her own comic book—and it was a\u003ca href=\"http://www.vulture.com/2018/05/mindy-kaling-and-riz-ahmed-want-to-do-a-ms-marvel-movie.html\"> bestseller\u003c/a> to boot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you're a San Francisco resident already familiar with the character, it may have something to do with the anti-Muslim ads the American Freedom Defense Initiative put on buses in 2015. The posters were subsequently pasted over by protesters, using triumphant images of Ms. Marvel and pro-equality messages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_103661\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 719px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-103661\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2018/05/Screen-Shot-2018-05-16-at-12.38.19-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"719\" height=\"535\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/05/Screen-Shot-2018-05-16-at-12.38.19-PM.png 719w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/05/Screen-Shot-2018-05-16-at-12.38.19-PM-160x119.png 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/05/Screen-Shot-2018-05-16-at-12.38.19-PM-240x179.png 240w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/05/Screen-Shot-2018-05-16-at-12.38.19-PM-375x279.png 375w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/05/Screen-Shot-2018-05-16-at-12.38.19-PM-520x387.png 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 719px) 100vw, 719px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo by 'Street Cred - Advertising For the People' (via Facebook)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A \u003cem>Ms. Marvel\u003c/em> movie would be incredibly significant, coming at a time when Hollywood is finally realizing that audiences want to see more films led by women and people of color. Not only did the phenomenal successes of \u003cem>Wonder Woman\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Black Panther\u003c/em> drive that point home, but we've only just recently arrived in a period where actors of South Asian descent aren't automatically expected to be accented caricatures. (\u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raj_Koothrappali\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Raj Koothrappali\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apu_Nahasapeemapetilon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Apu Nahasapeemapetilon\u003c/a> remain on our televisions.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although \u003cem>E.R.\u003c/em> broke ground between 2003 and 2009 with Neela Rasgotra (played by Parminder Nagra), the first major steps in changing the perception of what people of Indian and Pakistani descent had to look like in American pop culture really came courtesy of Mindy Kaling and Aziz Ansari.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kaling's \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2211129/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Mindy Project\u003c/a> \u003c/em>(2012-2017) had mixed reviews, and Aziz Ansari's \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/pop/98503/how-the-aziz-ansari-debate-is-currently-missing-the-point\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">consent-related issues\u003c/a> have since scuffed his image, but both \u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4635276/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Master of None\u003c/em>\u003c/a> and \u003cem>The Mindy Project\u003c/em> broadened ideas about identity, culture, and integration, to a phenomenal degree. Both opened up the kind of space that allowed Jameela Jamil to join the cast of \u003cem>The Good Place\u003c/em> as a wealthy British woman, steeped in class privilege, who just happened to have a name like Tahani Al-Jamil.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PvuOQ3jLzg\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Assisting matters further, 2017's\u003cem> The Big Sick—\u003c/em>Kumail Nanjiani's movie about the cultural challenges posed by his own relationship with a white woman—received critical praise and was nominated for a multitude of awards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That same year, Hari Kondabolu issued a rallying cry with his documentary, \u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7588752/?ref_=rvi_tt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>The Problem With Apu.\u003c/em>\u003c/a> The film prompted \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/pop/97518/a-new-documentary-calls-into-question-apu-from-the-simpsons\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">major discussions in the U.S.\u003c/a> around what is and isn't acceptable when it comes to South Asian representation in pop culture. It was a watershed moment that enabled the community to talk about the personal damage caused by tired old stereotyping, and the things they don't want to be asked to do on screen anymore. When \u003cem>The Simpsons\u003c/em> refused to apologize for Apu (still voiced by a white man) and worked a tone-deaf response into the cartoon, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/pop/103007/the-simpsons-to-the-problem-with-apu-drop-dead\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the conversation only got larger\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If America was ever primed to see a young Muslim woman carving out space for herself next to an army of majority-white superheroes, it's now. A \u003cem>Ms. Marvel\u003c/em> movie would be the perfect follow-up to \u003cem>Captain Marvel\u003c/em> (arriving March 8, 2019, with Brie Larson in the starring role), and would keep the momentum going for women in superhero movies. (Let's not forget, we're \u003cem>still\u003c/em> waiting for a stand alone \u003cem>Black Widow\u003c/em> project.) To have stars of Mindy Kaling and Riz Ahmed's caliber involved would be a major boost to the project—but it's likely that Ms. Marvel would do just fine on her own.\u003c/p>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "103659 https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/?p=103659",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/2018/05/21/who-is-ms-marvel-and-why-does-everyone-want-to-be-in-her-movie/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": true,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 790,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 17
},
"modified": 1654552238,
"excerpt": "A 'Ms. Marvel' movie is coming, and both Mindy Kaling and Riz Ahmed want in.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "A 'Ms. Marvel' movie is coming, and both Mindy Kaling and Riz Ahmed want in.",
"title": "Who is Ms. Marvel and Why Does Everyone Want to be in Her Movie? - KQED Pop",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Who is Ms. Marvel and Why Does Everyone Want to be in Her Movie?",
"datePublished": "2018-05-21T13:58:01-07:00",
"dateModified": "2022-06-06T14:50:38-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "who-is-ms-marvel-and-why-does-everyone-want-to-be-in-her-movie",
"status": "publish",
"templateType": "standard",
"excludeFromSiteSearch": "Include",
"featuredImageType": "standard",
"path": "/pop/103659/who-is-ms-marvel-and-why-does-everyone-want-to-be-in-her-movie",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>It started with what seemed like a small announcement on Twitter.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "singleTwitterStatus",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"id": "995359214825590786"
},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1981893/?ref_=nv_sr_1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Rogue One\u003c/em>\u003c/a> star—and one-half of the absurdly underrated \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4Yb8AWXgLI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Swet Shop Boys\u003c/a>—Riz Ahmed jumped in, tagging Mindy Kaling and \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5462602/?ref_=nv_sr_1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Big Sick\u003c/a> \u003c/em>writer/actor Kumail Nanjiani along the way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"So when do @MarvelStudios want me @mindykaling @kumailn to get started on the MsMarvel screenplay?\" he wrote on May 16, 2018.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kaling was quick to respond, declaring:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "singleTwitterStatus",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"id": "996557999807369221"
},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>Then \u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4955642/?ref_=nv_sr_1\">\u003cem>The Good Place'\u003c/em>\u003c/a>s Jameela Jamil chimed in too. \"I can also do weekends!\" she quipped.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ahmed quickly replied that after being commissioned, they should just \"hand the pen over\" to \u003cem>Ms. Marvel\u003c/em> creator \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sana_Amanat\">Sana Amanat\u003c/a> and \u003cem>Ms. Marvel\u003c/em> writer, \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G._Willow_Wilson\">G. Willow Wilson\u003c/a>. Amanat immediately responded by inviting Kaling to collaborate on a \u003cem>Ms. Marvel\u003c/em> comic book:\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "singleTwitterStatus",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"id": "996583977124319232"
},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>So who\u003cem> is\u003c/em> Ms. Marvel, and why do some of the most sought-after stars in Hollywood want in on this project?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you haven't heard of Ms. Marvel before, it's probably because she's only existed for five years. In her everyday life, the shape-shifting, fast-healing superhero is Kamala Khan, a New Jersey-based Pakistani-American teen, who was inspired into action by her heroine, Captain Marvel. She is the first Muslim character in the Marvel universe to get her own comic book—and it was a\u003ca href=\"http://www.vulture.com/2018/05/mindy-kaling-and-riz-ahmed-want-to-do-a-ms-marvel-movie.html\"> bestseller\u003c/a> to boot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you're a San Francisco resident already familiar with the character, it may have something to do with the anti-Muslim ads the American Freedom Defense Initiative put on buses in 2015. The posters were subsequently pasted over by protesters, using triumphant images of Ms. Marvel and pro-equality messages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_103661\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 719px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-103661\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2018/05/Screen-Shot-2018-05-16-at-12.38.19-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"719\" height=\"535\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/05/Screen-Shot-2018-05-16-at-12.38.19-PM.png 719w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/05/Screen-Shot-2018-05-16-at-12.38.19-PM-160x119.png 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/05/Screen-Shot-2018-05-16-at-12.38.19-PM-240x179.png 240w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/05/Screen-Shot-2018-05-16-at-12.38.19-PM-375x279.png 375w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/05/Screen-Shot-2018-05-16-at-12.38.19-PM-520x387.png 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 719px) 100vw, 719px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo by 'Street Cred - Advertising For the People' (via Facebook)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A \u003cem>Ms. Marvel\u003c/em> movie would be incredibly significant, coming at a time when Hollywood is finally realizing that audiences want to see more films led by women and people of color. Not only did the phenomenal successes of \u003cem>Wonder Woman\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Black Panther\u003c/em> drive that point home, but we've only just recently arrived in a period where actors of South Asian descent aren't automatically expected to be accented caricatures. (\u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raj_Koothrappali\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Raj Koothrappali\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apu_Nahasapeemapetilon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Apu Nahasapeemapetilon\u003c/a> remain on our televisions.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although \u003cem>E.R.\u003c/em> broke ground between 2003 and 2009 with Neela Rasgotra (played by Parminder Nagra), the first major steps in changing the perception of what people of Indian and Pakistani descent had to look like in American pop culture really came courtesy of Mindy Kaling and Aziz Ansari.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kaling's \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2211129/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Mindy Project\u003c/a> \u003c/em>(2012-2017) had mixed reviews, and Aziz Ansari's \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/pop/98503/how-the-aziz-ansari-debate-is-currently-missing-the-point\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">consent-related issues\u003c/a> have since scuffed his image, but both \u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4635276/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Master of None\u003c/em>\u003c/a> and \u003cem>The Mindy Project\u003c/em> broadened ideas about identity, culture, and integration, to a phenomenal degree. Both opened up the kind of space that allowed Jameela Jamil to join the cast of \u003cem>The Good Place\u003c/em> as a wealthy British woman, steeped in class privilege, who just happened to have a name like Tahani Al-Jamil.\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/-PvuOQ3jLzg'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/-PvuOQ3jLzg'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Assisting matters further, 2017's\u003cem> The Big Sick—\u003c/em>Kumail Nanjiani's movie about the cultural challenges posed by his own relationship with a white woman—received critical praise and was nominated for a multitude of awards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That same year, Hari Kondabolu issued a rallying cry with his documentary, \u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7588752/?ref_=rvi_tt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>The Problem With Apu.\u003c/em>\u003c/a> The film prompted \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/pop/97518/a-new-documentary-calls-into-question-apu-from-the-simpsons\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">major discussions in the U.S.\u003c/a> around what is and isn't acceptable when it comes to South Asian representation in pop culture. It was a watershed moment that enabled the community to talk about the personal damage caused by tired old stereotyping, and the things they don't want to be asked to do on screen anymore. When \u003cem>The Simpsons\u003c/em> refused to apologize for Apu (still voiced by a white man) and worked a tone-deaf response into the cartoon, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/pop/103007/the-simpsons-to-the-problem-with-apu-drop-dead\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the conversation only got larger\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If America was ever primed to see a young Muslim woman carving out space for herself next to an army of majority-white superheroes, it's now. A \u003cem>Ms. Marvel\u003c/em> movie would be the perfect follow-up to \u003cem>Captain Marvel\u003c/em> (arriving March 8, 2019, with Brie Larson in the starring role), and would keep the momentum going for women in superhero movies. (Let's not forget, we're \u003cem>still\u003c/em> waiting for a stand alone \u003cem>Black Widow\u003c/em> project.) To have stars of Mindy Kaling and Riz Ahmed's caliber involved would be a major boost to the project—but it's likely that Ms. Marvel would do just fine on her own.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/pop/103659/who-is-ms-marvel-and-why-does-everyone-want-to-be-in-her-movie",
"authors": [
"11242"
],
"categories": [
"pop_51"
],
"tags": [
"pop_2889",
"pop_756"
],
"featImg": "pop_103662",
"label": "pop"
},
"pop_103228": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "pop_103228",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "103228",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1524679668000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {
"site": "pop"
},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1524679668,
"format": "standard",
"disqusTitle": "Why Do So Many Male Hollywood Stars Look the Same?",
"title": "Why Do So Many Male Hollywood Stars Look the Same?",
"headTitle": "KQED Pop | KQED Arts",
"content": "\u003cp>They're perfectly aware of it. How could they not be?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Chris Pine hosted \u003cem>SNL\u003c/em> last year, his monologue focused on the fact that so many people have a hard time telling the difference between him, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, and Chris Pratt. In the bit, Kate McKinnon hit the core issues right on the head: \"You're all kind of scruffy and squinty and jacked, but in a sweet way.\" Pine channeled his faux-frustration into a musical number: \u003cem>\"I'm not that Chris, I look just like him, but I'm not that Chris,\"\u003c/em> he sang. \u003cem>\"We're all white guys, but these aren't the white guys I am.\"\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGurtL83zhY\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was a brilliant acknowledgement of the homogenization of what so often constitutes An Attractive Hero in Hollywood these days: mousy-brown hair, tall in stature, light eyes, strong jawline, and muscular physique. While there are female celebrities who are also easy to confuse with one another (Bryce Dallas Howard and Jessica Chastain; Zooey Deschanel and Katy Perry), it seems to be a more common problem for famous men -- particularly the ones in superhero movies (which all four Chrises are).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back in 2014, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/02/magazine/the-last-disposable-action-hero.html\">\u003cem>New York Times\u003c/em>\u003c/a> compiled a list of “the men vying to be the next action superstar.” These are three out of the five people listed, and not only do Theo James, Stephen Amell, and Kellan Lutz all look like each other -- they all look like the four Chrises too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_103231\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-103231\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/different-men-800x494.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"494\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/different-men-800x494.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/different-men-160x99.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/different-men-768x475.jpg 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/different-men-1020x630.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/different-men-1200x742.jpg 1200w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/different-men-1920x1187.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/different-men-1180x729.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/different-men-960x593.jpg 960w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/different-men-240x148.jpg 240w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/different-men-375x232.jpg 375w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/different-men-520x321.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(L-R) Theo James, Stephen Amell, Kellan Lutz.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>So what's going on here?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A mountain of evidence suggests the rise of the Chris (and the doppelgängers that will inevitably follow) is no accident. In fact, it's a little surprising that this hasn't happened sooner. Research shows that the traits that make them somewhat difficult to distinguish are considered the most desirable by the largest number of people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Let's start with the most obvious attributes. In 1994, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7924253\">US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health\u003c/a> published the first study confirming that facial symmetry \"has a positive influence on facial attractiveness ratings.\" The assertion has been \u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1090513801000836\">backed up repeatedly over the years \u003c/a>by a number of other studies, making it pretty much a requirement in Hollywood blockbusters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then there are the kinds of big muscles necessary to star in \u003cem>Thor\u003c/em>, \u003cem>Wonder Woman\u003c/em>, \u003cem>Captain America\u003c/em>, and \u003cem>Guardians of the Galaxy\u003c/em>. It is probably also a factor that, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/cutting-edge-leadership/201207/which-body-shapes-are-most-sexually-attractive\">\u003cem>Psychology Today\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, women prefer \"a strong and well-defined musculature on the upper body and a narrow and slim waist.” In another poll, \u003ca href=\"https://www.menshealth.com/sex-women/a19535604/top-20-traits-she-wants/\">conducted for \u003cem>Men's Health\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, results stated that “women in cross-cultural studies have also ranked men with broad chins [and] high cheekbones as the most attractive.” Let's not forget that, until recently, Hollywood didn't think women had any other reason to be interested in superhero movies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the appeal of the Chris -- and the reason they look so similar -- lies in more than just big muscles and pretty faces; it's about the little details. In a survey of over 1,000 people, \u003ca href=\"http://www.sheknows.com/health-and-wellness/articles/1037747/features-people-are-most-attracted-to\">Fastlife.com found\u003c/a> that blue is the most attractive eye color to both women and men -- all of the Chrises have blue eyes, except Pratt, whose are green.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then there's that mousy hair color. In 2014, dating site \u003ca href=\"http://blog.pof.com/2014/01/most-desirable-singles-of-2014/\">Plenty of Fish compiled data\u003c/a> from over 81,000 heterosexual profiles and 1.8 million messages. They found that men with brown hair were getting 20 percent more messages than men with any other hair color. And blondes came in second.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As for the scruffy facial hair? That's probably no accident either. According to an Australian study published in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.researchgate.net/publication/257492193_The_role_of_facial_hair_in_women's_perceptions_of_men's_attractiveness_health_masculinity_and_parenting_abilities\">\u003cem>Journal of Evolution and Human Behavior \u003c/em>\u003c/a>in 2013, \"Women judged faces with heavy stubble as most attractive... Men [also] rated full beards and heavy stubble as most attractive... Our findings confirm that... an intermediate level of beardedness is most attractive.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an article titled \u003ca href=\"https://www.mensjournal.com/features/building-a-bigger-action-hero-20140418/\">\"Building a Bigger Action Hero\" for \u003cem>Men's Journal,\u003c/em>\u003c/a> movie producer Deborah Snyder pointed out: “A decade or so ago, Stallone and Van Damme and Schwarzenegger were the action stars. Now we expect actors who aren’t action stars to transform themselves. And we expect them to be big and powerful and commanding.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the process of writing that piece, journalist Logan Hill stumbled across another major contributing factor to the confusingly similar looks of today's big stars. \"Every [celebrity] trainer interviewed for this story,\" Hill wrote, \"cited \u003ca href=\"http://www.fitclarity.com/brad-pitts-fight-club-workout-schedule/\">Brad Pitt’s ripped physique\u003c/a> in 1999’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0137523/?ref_=nv_sr_1\">\u003cem>Fight Club\u003c/em>\u003c/a> as an inspiration. Previously known for his lush, golden hair, the girls’ guy Pitt was reborn as [Tyler] Durden, a sinewy, predatory man’s man.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A man that could appeal to men on one level, and women on another. A little bit like this one, who arrived a few years later:\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_103232\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 788px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-103232\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/gosling.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"788\" height=\"521\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/gosling.jpg 788w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/gosling-160x106.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/gosling-768x508.jpg 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/gosling-240x159.jpg 240w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/gosling-375x248.jpg 375w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/gosling-520x344.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 788px) 100vw, 788px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ryan Gosling in 'Crazy Stupid Love.'\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Obviously, there are plenty of other dudes in Hollywood that don't look like the Chrises. Or the Ryans, for that matter. If we only look at the Marvel universe, for example, in addition to Hemsworth, Evans and Pratt, the superhero factory isn't so blind that it doesn't also understand the undeniable appeal of Paul Rudd (Antman), Chadwick Boseman (Black Panther), and Mark Ruffalo ( the Incredible Hulk). But never before in the history of cinema have we had so many leading men who looked so incredibly similar -- certainly not in the same film! (Thank you, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4154756/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast\">Avengers: Infinity War\u003c/a>\u003c/em>).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It's a fair assumption that the Chrises (and the up-and-coming actors modeling themselves after them) were a calculated choice made by casting directors, in an attempt to appeal to the largest possible audience, with the most mainstream of tastes. Not only do these actors have all of the physical attributes that have been found by recent polls and studies to be most favorable, each of them manages to retain an everyman quality that is undoubtedly appealing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, movie makers would be wise, moving forward, to remember a very smart thing William Shakespeare once wrote about having \u003ca href=\"https://www.shmoop.com/shakespeare-quotes/too-much-of-a-good-thing/meaning-now.html\">too much of a good thing\u003c/a>... 2018 demands more diversity than this.\u003c/p>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "103228 https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/?p=103228",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/2018/04/25/why-do-so-many-male-hollywood-stars-look-the-same/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": true,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 1066,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 19
},
"modified": 1524687935,
"excerpt": "Tall, light eyes, strong jawline, and muscular physique—action heroes are mostly the same now, and there's a reason.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "Tall, light eyes, strong jawline, and muscular physique—action heroes are mostly the same now, and there's a reason.",
"title": "Why Do So Many Male Hollywood Stars Look the Same? | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Why Do So Many Male Hollywood Stars Look the Same?",
"datePublished": "2018-04-25T11:07:48-07:00",
"dateModified": "2018-04-25T13:25:35-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "why-do-so-many-male-hollywood-stars-look-the-same",
"status": "publish",
"path": "/pop/103228/why-do-so-many-male-hollywood-stars-look-the-same",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>They're perfectly aware of it. How could they not be?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Chris Pine hosted \u003cem>SNL\u003c/em> last year, his monologue focused on the fact that so many people have a hard time telling the difference between him, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, and Chris Pratt. In the bit, Kate McKinnon hit the core issues right on the head: \"You're all kind of scruffy and squinty and jacked, but in a sweet way.\" Pine channeled his faux-frustration into a musical number: \u003cem>\"I'm not that Chris, I look just like him, but I'm not that Chris,\"\u003c/em> he sang. \u003cem>\"We're all white guys, but these aren't the white guys I am.\"\u003c/em>\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/MGurtL83zhY'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/MGurtL83zhY'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>It was a brilliant acknowledgement of the homogenization of what so often constitutes An Attractive Hero in Hollywood these days: mousy-brown hair, tall in stature, light eyes, strong jawline, and muscular physique. While there are female celebrities who are also easy to confuse with one another (Bryce Dallas Howard and Jessica Chastain; Zooey Deschanel and Katy Perry), it seems to be a more common problem for famous men -- particularly the ones in superhero movies (which all four Chrises are).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back in 2014, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/02/magazine/the-last-disposable-action-hero.html\">\u003cem>New York Times\u003c/em>\u003c/a> compiled a list of “the men vying to be the next action superstar.” These are three out of the five people listed, and not only do Theo James, Stephen Amell, and Kellan Lutz all look like each other -- they all look like the four Chrises too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_103231\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-103231\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/different-men-800x494.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"494\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/different-men-800x494.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/different-men-160x99.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/different-men-768x475.jpg 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/different-men-1020x630.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/different-men-1200x742.jpg 1200w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/different-men-1920x1187.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/different-men-1180x729.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/different-men-960x593.jpg 960w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/different-men-240x148.jpg 240w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/different-men-375x232.jpg 375w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/different-men-520x321.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(L-R) Theo James, Stephen Amell, Kellan Lutz.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>So what's going on here?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A mountain of evidence suggests the rise of the Chris (and the doppelgängers that will inevitably follow) is no accident. In fact, it's a little surprising that this hasn't happened sooner. Research shows that the traits that make them somewhat difficult to distinguish are considered the most desirable by the largest number of people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Let's start with the most obvious attributes. In 1994, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7924253\">US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health\u003c/a> published the first study confirming that facial symmetry \"has a positive influence on facial attractiveness ratings.\" The assertion has been \u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1090513801000836\">backed up repeatedly over the years \u003c/a>by a number of other studies, making it pretty much a requirement in Hollywood blockbusters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then there are the kinds of big muscles necessary to star in \u003cem>Thor\u003c/em>, \u003cem>Wonder Woman\u003c/em>, \u003cem>Captain America\u003c/em>, and \u003cem>Guardians of the Galaxy\u003c/em>. It is probably also a factor that, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/cutting-edge-leadership/201207/which-body-shapes-are-most-sexually-attractive\">\u003cem>Psychology Today\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, women prefer \"a strong and well-defined musculature on the upper body and a narrow and slim waist.” In another poll, \u003ca href=\"https://www.menshealth.com/sex-women/a19535604/top-20-traits-she-wants/\">conducted for \u003cem>Men's Health\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, results stated that “women in cross-cultural studies have also ranked men with broad chins [and] high cheekbones as the most attractive.” Let's not forget that, until recently, Hollywood didn't think women had any other reason to be interested in superhero movies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the appeal of the Chris -- and the reason they look so similar -- lies in more than just big muscles and pretty faces; it's about the little details. In a survey of over 1,000 people, \u003ca href=\"http://www.sheknows.com/health-and-wellness/articles/1037747/features-people-are-most-attracted-to\">Fastlife.com found\u003c/a> that blue is the most attractive eye color to both women and men -- all of the Chrises have blue eyes, except Pratt, whose are green.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then there's that mousy hair color. In 2014, dating site \u003ca href=\"http://blog.pof.com/2014/01/most-desirable-singles-of-2014/\">Plenty of Fish compiled data\u003c/a> from over 81,000 heterosexual profiles and 1.8 million messages. They found that men with brown hair were getting 20 percent more messages than men with any other hair color. And blondes came in second.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As for the scruffy facial hair? That's probably no accident either. According to an Australian study published in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.researchgate.net/publication/257492193_The_role_of_facial_hair_in_women's_perceptions_of_men's_attractiveness_health_masculinity_and_parenting_abilities\">\u003cem>Journal of Evolution and Human Behavior \u003c/em>\u003c/a>in 2013, \"Women judged faces with heavy stubble as most attractive... Men [also] rated full beards and heavy stubble as most attractive... Our findings confirm that... an intermediate level of beardedness is most attractive.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an article titled \u003ca href=\"https://www.mensjournal.com/features/building-a-bigger-action-hero-20140418/\">\"Building a Bigger Action Hero\" for \u003cem>Men's Journal,\u003c/em>\u003c/a> movie producer Deborah Snyder pointed out: “A decade or so ago, Stallone and Van Damme and Schwarzenegger were the action stars. Now we expect actors who aren’t action stars to transform themselves. And we expect them to be big and powerful and commanding.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the process of writing that piece, journalist Logan Hill stumbled across another major contributing factor to the confusingly similar looks of today's big stars. \"Every [celebrity] trainer interviewed for this story,\" Hill wrote, \"cited \u003ca href=\"http://www.fitclarity.com/brad-pitts-fight-club-workout-schedule/\">Brad Pitt’s ripped physique\u003c/a> in 1999’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0137523/?ref_=nv_sr_1\">\u003cem>Fight Club\u003c/em>\u003c/a> as an inspiration. Previously known for his lush, golden hair, the girls’ guy Pitt was reborn as [Tyler] Durden, a sinewy, predatory man’s man.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A man that could appeal to men on one level, and women on another. A little bit like this one, who arrived a few years later:\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_103232\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 788px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-103232\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/gosling.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"788\" height=\"521\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/gosling.jpg 788w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/gosling-160x106.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/gosling-768x508.jpg 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/gosling-240x159.jpg 240w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/gosling-375x248.jpg 375w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/gosling-520x344.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 788px) 100vw, 788px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ryan Gosling in 'Crazy Stupid Love.'\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Obviously, there are plenty of other dudes in Hollywood that don't look like the Chrises. Or the Ryans, for that matter. If we only look at the Marvel universe, for example, in addition to Hemsworth, Evans and Pratt, the superhero factory isn't so blind that it doesn't also understand the undeniable appeal of Paul Rudd (Antman), Chadwick Boseman (Black Panther), and Mark Ruffalo ( the Incredible Hulk). But never before in the history of cinema have we had so many leading men who looked so incredibly similar -- certainly not in the same film! (Thank you, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4154756/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast\">Avengers: Infinity War\u003c/a>\u003c/em>).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It's a fair assumption that the Chrises (and the up-and-coming actors modeling themselves after them) were a calculated choice made by casting directors, in an attempt to appeal to the largest possible audience, with the most mainstream of tastes. Not only do these actors have all of the physical attributes that have been found by recent polls and studies to be most favorable, each of them manages to retain an everyman quality that is undoubtedly appealing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "floatright"
},
"numeric": [
"floatright"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, movie makers would be wise, moving forward, to remember a very smart thing William Shakespeare once wrote about having \u003ca href=\"https://www.shmoop.com/shakespeare-quotes/too-much-of-a-good-thing/meaning-now.html\">too much of a good thing\u003c/a>... 2018 demands more diversity than this.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/pop/103228/why-do-so-many-male-hollywood-stars-look-the-same",
"authors": [
"11242"
],
"categories": [
"pop_51"
],
"tags": [
"pop_756"
],
"featImg": "pop_103230",
"label": "pop"
},
"pop_103283": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "pop_103283",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "103283",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1524638431000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {
"site": "pop"
},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1524638431,
"format": "standard",
"disqusTitle": "9 Different 'Infinity War' Reviews, Catered to Your Level of Interest",
"title": "9 Different 'Infinity War' Reviews, Catered to Your Level of Interest",
"headTitle": "KQED Pop | KQED Arts",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4154756/?ref_=nv_sr_1\">\u003cem>Avengers: Infinity War\u003c/em>\u003c/a> is — and truly \u003cem>feels \u003c/em>like — the culmination of something.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZfuNTqbHE8\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over the course of many years and many more Marvel Universe films — including some that proved to be hugely successful (\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2015381/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1\">\u003cem>Guardians of the Galaxy\u003c/em>\u003c/a>) and some that proved to be \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1981115/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1\">Thor: The Dark World\u003c/a> --\u003c/em> the proprietors of that universe have been nesting glowy magical gemstones inside their heroes' stories. We nerdlings familiar with the 1991 Marvel Comics mini-series \u003cem>Infinity Gauntlet\u003c/em> (written by Jim Starlin with art by George Perez and Ron Lim) have been waiting patiently for a certain big bald Marvel villain to come along and collect/hoard those sparklies like some kind of purple, cosmically powered space-tyrant/magpie.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thanos is here at last — an alchemical blend made up of state-of-the-art CGI, an oddly wistful performance from actor Josh Brolin, and Violet Beauregarde's post-gum skin tone — and he's fixin' to cause Trouble. With a capital T, and that rhymes with C, and that stands for cosmic genocide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_103286\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-103286\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/infinity-war-trailer-thanos-800x400.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/infinity-war-trailer-thanos-800x400.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/infinity-war-trailer-thanos-160x80.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/infinity-war-trailer-thanos-768x384.jpg 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/infinity-war-trailer-thanos-960x480.jpg 960w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/infinity-war-trailer-thanos-240x120.jpg 240w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/infinity-war-trailer-thanos-375x188.jpg 375w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/infinity-war-trailer-thanos-520x260.jpg 520w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/infinity-war-trailer-thanos.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Thanos, 'Avengers: Infinity War' (Marvel)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Who can stop him, or at least try to? Pretty much every actor who's ever cashed a Marvel Cinematic Universe paycheck, is who. Which is why, even with its two-hour-and-40-minute running time (belay that \"Infinity Kidney Stones\" joke, it's been made), \u003cem>Infinity War\u003c/em> still manages to feel overstuffed, crammed to the gills with characters and locations and events and stakes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That's the setup. But in the interest of efficiency in criticism, we must acknowledge that the potential audience for \u003cem>Infinity War\u003c/em> is large, and consists of people who come at it with \u003cem>widely \u003c/em>varying degrees of Marvel Cinematic Universe engagement. And knowledge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And — let's be blunt — level of interest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thus we are attempting to account for this fact by providing discrete reviews, expressly tailored to your individual needs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Here's How It Works\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Picture yourself in the theater with a friend. No really, picture it: You're about to see \u003cem>Avengers: Infinity War\u003c/em>. The trailers are over. The lights dim. The Marvel Studios logo appears on the screen. At that moment, you lean over to your friend, and you whisper something.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What is it?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Choose from the options below, and then scroll down to find your Personalized, Artisanally Blended \u003cem>Avengers: Infinity War\u003c/em> Movie Review.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>CHOOSE ONE\u003c/h3>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\"So. The Avengers. They're the ones with Batman, right?\"\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\"Is [My Favorite Marvel Character] in this?\"\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\"They had better not kill off [My Favorite Marvel Character].\"\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\"I saw the trailer, and I can't wait for the scene where [something].\"\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\"How in the world are they gonna take all these characters and tell a story that makes any sense?\"\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\"OK, so: Remind me where all the Infinity Stones are, as far as we know?\"\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\"I hope it feels like an old-school summer comics crossover.\"\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\"I just hope it's fun.\"\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\"I hate these stupid superhero movies. They're all pointless, loud, violent fodder served up for the dull-witted masses. I am here against my will. It's possible I'm on a bad date but it's more likely I have been kidnapped. Please contact the authorities. Blink twice if you understand me.\"\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\"So. The Avengers. They're the ones with Batman, right?\"\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No. No, the Avengers are not, as you say, \"the ones with Batman.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Clearly, you belong to that subset of \u003cem>Infinity War\u003c/em> audience members that doesn't care overmuch about the mythological infrastructure of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And that's fine — ideally, you shouldn't need to bring a scorecard, physical or mental, along with you. The film \u003cem>should\u003c/em> stand alone as a full experience, regardless of your particular level of nerdery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But to you I say: Proceed with caution. First, ask yourself: If some character I don't recognize steps out of the shadows and the audience around me gasps in shocked recognition (this happens at \u003cem>least\u003c/em> twice) — am I OK with that? When the camera cuts to some random location, the music swells and a legend appears at the bottom of the screen that is supposed to be the name of said place but is obviously just some dumb, made-up nerd-word that doesn't mean anything — will I be miffed? If the answer to either of those questions is \"Yeah, probably,\" maybe wait for it to hit the streaming services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Don't worry too much about getting lost in the mechanics of the plot, however — it's a simple series of fetch quests. Thanos wants to collect the various Infinity Stones. You'll know what those are when you see them, and at one point you'll be treated to a kind of mystical slide deck about them, plus you'll be told \"If he collects all six, he can kill half the universe\" enough times that you'll understand the opposing sides.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\"Is [My Favorite Marvel Character] in this?\"\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yes, probably. That's ... kind of the whole point of the exercise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Provided you realize that the X-Men and Deadpool aren't really invited to the intellectual-property party, you can be reasonably certain your own favorite character appears onscreen at some point.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>... With two notable exceptions. Notable chiefly because their absences are explained in a throwaway line that gets thrown away by the character tasked to deliver it like it's a soiled diaper.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But in most other cases, your favorite character will get some business to do. It may not be a lot, but they will hit the familiar beats you want them to hit.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\"They had better not kill off [My Favorite Marvel Character].\"\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In previous Marvel films, character deaths served their usual superhero-genre purpose: They motivated the heroes into action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In \u003cem>Infinity War\u003c/em>, death is a consequence of superheroic action, not its trigger. There's ... rather a \u003cem>lot \u003c/em>of death, this time out, and — the superhero genre being what it is — only \u003cem>most \u003c/em>of it is permanent. If you're worried about your favorite character, rest assured that if they \u003cem>do\u003c/em> get killed off, you'll likely see it coming long enough to mentally prepare for it. (There's a specific cinematic language these films speak; when you hear a certain kind of music cue, or see a shot framed in just such a way, or when a character expresses anything approaching contentment, you'll know it's coming, so gird your loins.)\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong> \"I saw the trailer, and I can't wait for the scene where [something].\" \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yyyyyeah, careful there. The official \u003cem>Infinity War\u003c/em> trailers include several shots that aren't in the film. That happens all the time, of course — they probably come from scenes that got deleted for time. But there's at least one trailer image that looks like it was an intentional fake-out.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\"How in the world are they gonna take all these characters and tell a story that makes any sense?\" \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That is an excellent question, and \u003cem>Infinity War\u003c/em> answers it smartly, if not always effectively.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The filmmakers know that over the life of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, their different characters vibrate at different frequencies, so the films built around them have adopted different tones. This is perhaps the biggest reason for their success — Captain America and Iron Man, for example, are wildly different characters, and their films \u003cem>feel \u003c/em>that way. When they come together in an \u003cem>Avengers \u003c/em>film, they clash — and as they're brought into conflict, the filmmakers and actors seize the opportunity to delineate them further, bringing their respective characterizations into even sharper relief.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a result, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is painted in a variety of tonal colors, not simply a monolithic grayscale.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Inifinty War \u003c/em>doubles down on this character interaction by carefully pairing off its huge cast of characters. When two familiar characters with a well-established dynamic share the screen (Tom Holland's Peter Parker and Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark, most winningly) the film hums along. We get treated to several new duos whose chemistry we perhaps didn't see coming but really should have (Downey and Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange get their respective goatees in a twist, while Chris Hemsworth's Thor and Chris Pratt's Peter Quill — size each other up in exactly the way you'd expect two such pretty-boy doofuses to do).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The technique doesn't always work — and in one instance, fails completely. It's mystifying that a movie that represents the great synthesis of so many long-established storylines should attempt to locate its emotional center in the (to put it charitably) fraught relationship between Thanos, whom we've only just met after all, and Gamora (Zoe Saldana), a character whose interiority fails to register, and who has yet to define herself beyond \"resident badass.\" Thanos is given several bemused monologues that attempt to cast him as something in addition to what he is — a great big honkin' purple (more than a little silly) CGI villain — and Gamora's reactions to him, scene to scene, keep surprising us because they come off as not so much nuanced and complicated as disconnected and puzzling. The film asks this Thanos/Gamora dynamic to carry a lot of weight — too much, in the end — and scenes between them never manage to land with the impact the filmmakers want them to.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\"OK, so: Remind me where all the Infinity Stones are, as far as we know?\" \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>OK, asking \u003cem>this \u003c/em>question of your friend in the next seat suggests that you're in precisely the right headspace for this film. You're curious, you're engaged, you know what the MacGuffins-du-jour are, and why they're important.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And if your friend can't answer your question: \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/pop/103095/heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-infinity-stones-before-the-new-avengers-movie\">We can.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rest assured, you won't have to watch six repetitive scenes of Thanos going around and painstakingly collecting all six Infinity Stones — by the time we meet him, he's already got one under his belt. Which is to say: bedazzling his glove. Plus he's got a brace of creepy minions to do some of the his rock-collecting for him. He's a villain who outsources.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\"\u003cstrong>I hope it feels like an old-school summer comics crossover.\" \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By that do you mean sprawling, and great to look at, with confusing subplots that send some heroes off to chase still yet another object, far away from the main action? And that some characters don't get enough to do while others get too much? Then yes. Yes, it feels like that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Do you \u003cem>also \u003c/em>mean that you keep stopping to wonder why an all-powerful being with burgeoning control over the fundamental forces of the universe itself, who can unmake reality at will, would instead devote so much time and energy to simply ... punching others a lot?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yes. That, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong> \"I just hope it's fun.\" \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Aha, see, now \u003cem>you \u003c/em>belong to that vast sea of potential seers-of-this-movie that just wants to bask in high adventure with space-hopping and plenty of jokes (there are more than you might think, and most land) and heroes striking poses and villains sneering and saying things like, I kid you not, \"Insect!\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You, then, will enjoy this film, most likely. There is, as mentioned above ... just really a whole \u003cem>lot \u003c/em>of death, and an ending that is more \u003cem>Empire \u003c/em>than \u003cem>Jedi. \u003c/em>And if Marvel is committed to having the consequences of \u003cem>Infinity War \u003c/em>truly reverberate through this summer's \u003cem>Ant-Man and the Wasp\u003c/em> and next spring's \u003cem>Captain Marvel\u003c/em>, then consider the stakes raised. Or, equally possibly, razed.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\"I hate these stupid superhero movies. They're all pointless, loud, violent fodder served up for the dull-witted masses. I am here against my will. It's possible I'm on a bad date but it's more likely I have been kidnapped. Please contact the authorities. Blink twice if you understand me.\" \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I am sorry for the position you find yourself in but I'm confident it will soon resolve itself and that, in no time, you'll be back to your usual routine, commenting on the NPR Facebook page without reading the articles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.\u003cimg src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Space-Hopping+%27Avengers%3A+Infinity+War%27+Raises+The+Stakes+To+Infinity+%E2%80%94+And+Beyond&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "103283 https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/?p=103283",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/2018/04/24/9-different-infinity-war-reviews-catered-to-your-level-of-interest/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": true,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 2072,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 47
},
"modified": 1524638532,
"excerpt": "Is it fun? Does it make sense? Why am I even here anyway? The answers to all of these and more!",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "Is it fun? Does it make sense? Why am I even here anyway? The answers to all of these and more!",
"title": "9 Different 'Infinity War' Reviews, Catered to Your Level of Interest | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "9 Different 'Infinity War' Reviews, Catered to Your Level of Interest",
"datePublished": "2018-04-24T23:40:31-07:00",
"dateModified": "2018-04-24T23:42:12-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "9-different-infinity-war-reviews-catered-to-your-level-of-interest",
"status": "publish",
"nprApiLink": "http://api.npr.org/query?id=604940011&apiKey=MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004",
"nprByline": "Glen Weldon",
"nprStoryDate": "Tue, 24 Apr 2018 20:44:00 -0400",
"nprLastModifiedDate": "Tue, 24 Apr 2018 20:51:31 -0400",
"nprHtmlLink": "https://www.npr.org/sections/monkeysee/2018/04/24/604940011/space-hopping-avengers-infinity-war-raises-the-stakes-to-infinity-and-beyond?ft=nprml&f=604940011",
"nprImageAgency": "Marvel Studios",
"nprImageCredit": "Chris Zlotnick",
"nprStoryId": "604940011",
"nprRetrievedStory": "1",
"nprPubDate": "Tue, 24 Apr 2018 20:51:00 -0400",
"path": "/pop/103283/9-different-infinity-war-reviews-catered-to-your-level-of-interest",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4154756/?ref_=nv_sr_1\">\u003cem>Avengers: Infinity War\u003c/em>\u003c/a> is — and truly \u003cem>feels \u003c/em>like — the culmination of something.\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/6ZfuNTqbHE8'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/6ZfuNTqbHE8'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Over the course of many years and many more Marvel Universe films — including some that proved to be hugely successful (\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2015381/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1\">\u003cem>Guardians of the Galaxy\u003c/em>\u003c/a>) and some that proved to be \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1981115/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1\">Thor: The Dark World\u003c/a> --\u003c/em> the proprietors of that universe have been nesting glowy magical gemstones inside their heroes' stories. We nerdlings familiar with the 1991 Marvel Comics mini-series \u003cem>Infinity Gauntlet\u003c/em> (written by Jim Starlin with art by George Perez and Ron Lim) have been waiting patiently for a certain big bald Marvel villain to come along and collect/hoard those sparklies like some kind of purple, cosmically powered space-tyrant/magpie.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thanos is here at last — an alchemical blend made up of state-of-the-art CGI, an oddly wistful performance from actor Josh Brolin, and Violet Beauregarde's post-gum skin tone — and he's fixin' to cause Trouble. With a capital T, and that rhymes with C, and that stands for cosmic genocide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_103286\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-103286\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/infinity-war-trailer-thanos-800x400.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/infinity-war-trailer-thanos-800x400.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/infinity-war-trailer-thanos-160x80.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/infinity-war-trailer-thanos-768x384.jpg 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/infinity-war-trailer-thanos-960x480.jpg 960w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/infinity-war-trailer-thanos-240x120.jpg 240w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/infinity-war-trailer-thanos-375x188.jpg 375w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/infinity-war-trailer-thanos-520x260.jpg 520w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/infinity-war-trailer-thanos.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Thanos, 'Avengers: Infinity War' (Marvel)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Who can stop him, or at least try to? Pretty much every actor who's ever cashed a Marvel Cinematic Universe paycheck, is who. Which is why, even with its two-hour-and-40-minute running time (belay that \"Infinity Kidney Stones\" joke, it's been made), \u003cem>Infinity War\u003c/em> still manages to feel overstuffed, crammed to the gills with characters and locations and events and stakes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That's the setup. But in the interest of efficiency in criticism, we must acknowledge that the potential audience for \u003cem>Infinity War\u003c/em> is large, and consists of people who come at it with \u003cem>widely \u003c/em>varying degrees of Marvel Cinematic Universe engagement. And knowledge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And — let's be blunt — level of interest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thus we are attempting to account for this fact by providing discrete reviews, expressly tailored to your individual needs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Here's How It Works\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Picture yourself in the theater with a friend. No really, picture it: You're about to see \u003cem>Avengers: Infinity War\u003c/em>. The trailers are over. The lights dim. The Marvel Studios logo appears on the screen. At that moment, you lean over to your friend, and you whisper something.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What is it?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Choose from the options below, and then scroll down to find your Personalized, Artisanally Blended \u003cem>Avengers: Infinity War\u003c/em> Movie Review.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>CHOOSE ONE\u003c/h3>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\"So. The Avengers. They're the ones with Batman, right?\"\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\"Is [My Favorite Marvel Character] in this?\"\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\"They had better not kill off [My Favorite Marvel Character].\"\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\"I saw the trailer, and I can't wait for the scene where [something].\"\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\"How in the world are they gonna take all these characters and tell a story that makes any sense?\"\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\"OK, so: Remind me where all the Infinity Stones are, as far as we know?\"\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\"I hope it feels like an old-school summer comics crossover.\"\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\"I just hope it's fun.\"\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\"I hate these stupid superhero movies. They're all pointless, loud, violent fodder served up for the dull-witted masses. I am here against my will. It's possible I'm on a bad date but it's more likely I have been kidnapped. Please contact the authorities. Blink twice if you understand me.\"\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\"So. The Avengers. They're the ones with Batman, right?\"\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No. No, the Avengers are not, as you say, \"the ones with Batman.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Clearly, you belong to that subset of \u003cem>Infinity War\u003c/em> audience members that doesn't care overmuch about the mythological infrastructure of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And that's fine — ideally, you shouldn't need to bring a scorecard, physical or mental, along with you. The film \u003cem>should\u003c/em> stand alone as a full experience, regardless of your particular level of nerdery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But to you I say: Proceed with caution. First, ask yourself: If some character I don't recognize steps out of the shadows and the audience around me gasps in shocked recognition (this happens at \u003cem>least\u003c/em> twice) — am I OK with that? When the camera cuts to some random location, the music swells and a legend appears at the bottom of the screen that is supposed to be the name of said place but is obviously just some dumb, made-up nerd-word that doesn't mean anything — will I be miffed? If the answer to either of those questions is \"Yeah, probably,\" maybe wait for it to hit the streaming services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Don't worry too much about getting lost in the mechanics of the plot, however — it's a simple series of fetch quests. Thanos wants to collect the various Infinity Stones. You'll know what those are when you see them, and at one point you'll be treated to a kind of mystical slide deck about them, plus you'll be told \"If he collects all six, he can kill half the universe\" enough times that you'll understand the opposing sides.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\"Is [My Favorite Marvel Character] in this?\"\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yes, probably. That's ... kind of the whole point of the exercise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Provided you realize that the X-Men and Deadpool aren't really invited to the intellectual-property party, you can be reasonably certain your own favorite character appears onscreen at some point.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>... With two notable exceptions. Notable chiefly because their absences are explained in a throwaway line that gets thrown away by the character tasked to deliver it like it's a soiled diaper.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But in most other cases, your favorite character will get some business to do. It may not be a lot, but they will hit the familiar beats you want them to hit.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\"They had better not kill off [My Favorite Marvel Character].\"\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In previous Marvel films, character deaths served their usual superhero-genre purpose: They motivated the heroes into action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In \u003cem>Infinity War\u003c/em>, death is a consequence of superheroic action, not its trigger. There's ... rather a \u003cem>lot \u003c/em>of death, this time out, and — the superhero genre being what it is — only \u003cem>most \u003c/em>of it is permanent. If you're worried about your favorite character, rest assured that if they \u003cem>do\u003c/em> get killed off, you'll likely see it coming long enough to mentally prepare for it. (There's a specific cinematic language these films speak; when you hear a certain kind of music cue, or see a shot framed in just such a way, or when a character expresses anything approaching contentment, you'll know it's coming, so gird your loins.)\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong> \"I saw the trailer, and I can't wait for the scene where [something].\" \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yyyyyeah, careful there. The official \u003cem>Infinity War\u003c/em> trailers include several shots that aren't in the film. That happens all the time, of course — they probably come from scenes that got deleted for time. But there's at least one trailer image that looks like it was an intentional fake-out.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\"How in the world are they gonna take all these characters and tell a story that makes any sense?\" \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That is an excellent question, and \u003cem>Infinity War\u003c/em> answers it smartly, if not always effectively.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The filmmakers know that over the life of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, their different characters vibrate at different frequencies, so the films built around them have adopted different tones. This is perhaps the biggest reason for their success — Captain America and Iron Man, for example, are wildly different characters, and their films \u003cem>feel \u003c/em>that way. When they come together in an \u003cem>Avengers \u003c/em>film, they clash — and as they're brought into conflict, the filmmakers and actors seize the opportunity to delineate them further, bringing their respective characterizations into even sharper relief.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a result, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is painted in a variety of tonal colors, not simply a monolithic grayscale.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Inifinty War \u003c/em>doubles down on this character interaction by carefully pairing off its huge cast of characters. When two familiar characters with a well-established dynamic share the screen (Tom Holland's Peter Parker and Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark, most winningly) the film hums along. We get treated to several new duos whose chemistry we perhaps didn't see coming but really should have (Downey and Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange get their respective goatees in a twist, while Chris Hemsworth's Thor and Chris Pratt's Peter Quill — size each other up in exactly the way you'd expect two such pretty-boy doofuses to do).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The technique doesn't always work — and in one instance, fails completely. It's mystifying that a movie that represents the great synthesis of so many long-established storylines should attempt to locate its emotional center in the (to put it charitably) fraught relationship between Thanos, whom we've only just met after all, and Gamora (Zoe Saldana), a character whose interiority fails to register, and who has yet to define herself beyond \"resident badass.\" Thanos is given several bemused monologues that attempt to cast him as something in addition to what he is — a great big honkin' purple (more than a little silly) CGI villain — and Gamora's reactions to him, scene to scene, keep surprising us because they come off as not so much nuanced and complicated as disconnected and puzzling. The film asks this Thanos/Gamora dynamic to carry a lot of weight — too much, in the end — and scenes between them never manage to land with the impact the filmmakers want them to.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\"OK, so: Remind me where all the Infinity Stones are, as far as we know?\" \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>OK, asking \u003cem>this \u003c/em>question of your friend in the next seat suggests that you're in precisely the right headspace for this film. You're curious, you're engaged, you know what the MacGuffins-du-jour are, and why they're important.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And if your friend can't answer your question: \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/pop/103095/heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-infinity-stones-before-the-new-avengers-movie\">We can.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rest assured, you won't have to watch six repetitive scenes of Thanos going around and painstakingly collecting all six Infinity Stones — by the time we meet him, he's already got one under his belt. Which is to say: bedazzling his glove. Plus he's got a brace of creepy minions to do some of the his rock-collecting for him. He's a villain who outsources.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\"\u003cstrong>I hope it feels like an old-school summer comics crossover.\" \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By that do you mean sprawling, and great to look at, with confusing subplots that send some heroes off to chase still yet another object, far away from the main action? And that some characters don't get enough to do while others get too much? Then yes. Yes, it feels like that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Do you \u003cem>also \u003c/em>mean that you keep stopping to wonder why an all-powerful being with burgeoning control over the fundamental forces of the universe itself, who can unmake reality at will, would instead devote so much time and energy to simply ... punching others a lot?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yes. That, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong> \"I just hope it's fun.\" \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Aha, see, now \u003cem>you \u003c/em>belong to that vast sea of potential seers-of-this-movie that just wants to bask in high adventure with space-hopping and plenty of jokes (there are more than you might think, and most land) and heroes striking poses and villains sneering and saying things like, I kid you not, \"Insect!\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You, then, will enjoy this film, most likely. There is, as mentioned above ... just really a whole \u003cem>lot \u003c/em>of death, and an ending that is more \u003cem>Empire \u003c/em>than \u003cem>Jedi. \u003c/em>And if Marvel is committed to having the consequences of \u003cem>Infinity War \u003c/em>truly reverberate through this summer's \u003cem>Ant-Man and the Wasp\u003c/em> and next spring's \u003cem>Captain Marvel\u003c/em>, then consider the stakes raised. Or, equally possibly, razed.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\"I hate these stupid superhero movies. They're all pointless, loud, violent fodder served up for the dull-witted masses. I am here against my will. It's possible I'm on a bad date but it's more likely I have been kidnapped. Please contact the authorities. Blink twice if you understand me.\" \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "floatright"
},
"numeric": [
"floatright"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I am sorry for the position you find yourself in but I'm confident it will soon resolve itself and that, in no time, you'll be back to your usual routine, commenting on the NPR Facebook page without reading the articles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.\u003cimg src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Space-Hopping+%27Avengers%3A+Infinity+War%27+Raises+The+Stakes+To+Infinity+%E2%80%94+And+Beyond&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/pop/103283/9-different-infinity-war-reviews-catered-to-your-level-of-interest",
"authors": [
"byline_pop_103283"
],
"categories": [
"pop_51"
],
"tags": [
"pop_3191",
"pop_756"
],
"featImg": "pop_103287",
"label": "pop"
},
"pop_103095": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "pop_103095",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "103095",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1524235423000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {
"site": "pop"
},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1524235423,
"format": "standard",
"disqusTitle": "Here's What You Need to Know About Infinity Stones Before the New Avengers Movie",
"title": "Here's What You Need to Know About Infinity Stones Before the New Avengers Movie",
"headTitle": "KQED Pop | KQED Arts",
"content": "\u003cp>Call them the Mighty Marvel Movie MacGuffins. They're the glittery objects that drove the plots of several individual Marvel movies and that collectively shaped the direction the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe has been heading (almost) since its inception.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They are the Infinity Stones — immensely powerful gems that contain and channel elemental forces of the universe. They're what the villains crave and what the heroes protect. They can be used to destroy or create.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mmmmmostly that first thing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They've been seeded throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe since 2011, and now, with the release of \u003cem>Avengers: Infinity War\u003c/em> on April 27, all the logistical heavy lifting of seven years' worth of films — chasing the Stones, finding them, wielding them, handing them off to shady minor characters for safekeeping — comes to a head.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Well. To a \u003cem>hand\u003c/em>, anyway.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thanos' hand, to be specific. Thanos' \u003cem>gauntlet\u003c/em>, if you want to get technical.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwievZ1Tx-8\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thanos is the MCU's biggest Big Bad, first glimpsed in a post-credit scene in 2012's \u003cem>The Avengers\u003c/em>. He is a hulking, purplish-reddish-bluish (seems to depend on the movie's color balance) space warlord determined to reduce the population of the universe by half. If he collects all of the Infinity Stones and affixes them to a metal glove-thingy called the Infinity Gauntlet, he will be able to go about his deadly halving business, according to his daughter Gamora (Zoe Saldana) in the trailer, \"with a snap of his fingers.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(Leave aside, for the moment, how difficult it would be to snap one's fingers in a metal gauntlet.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(I mean it would be less of a \u003cem>snap \u003c/em>and more a \u003cem>rasp\u003c/em>, right?)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(Or maybe a \u003cem>clang\u003c/em>? Like he was striking some terrible Xylophone of Pan-Galactic Death? Or a Wind Chime of Cosmic Annihilation?)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Anyway. That's Thanos pictured at the top of this post. He is played in the movie by Josh Brolin and a superfluity of CGI chin dimples. And that thing he has on his left hand (so \u003cem>literally \u003c/em>sinister!) is the Infinity Gauntlet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As you can see, he is already well on his way to collecting 'em all — not quite at full, \"Billie Jean\"-era sparkle-glove status, but close.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Let's review where the various Infinity Stones were the last time we saw them — and what they do.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>Space Stone \u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>AKA:\u003c/strong> The Tesseract\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_103098\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-103098 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/uyj-800x441.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"441\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/uyj-800x441.png 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/uyj-160x88.png 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/uyj-768x423.png 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/uyj-240x132.png 240w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/uyj-375x207.png 375w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/uyj-520x287.png 520w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/uyj.png 820w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Tesseract: handle with care. (Marvel Studios)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What It Looks Like:\u003c/strong> When first glimpsed in \u003cem>Captain America: The First Avenger \u003c/em>(2011), a glowing blue cube. (The cube is just a housing that allows the glowy blue stone inside to be handled by us lowly humans.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What It Does: \u003c/strong>Opens wormholes in space, making possible instantaneous travel between any two points in the universe. Also has undetermined (read: hazily defined) power to develop weaponry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Transporting is what the eeeevil Red Skull did with it in\u003cem> Captain America: The First Avenger.\u003c/em> It was later recovered by S.H.I.E.L.D., which lost it when Loki absconded with it in \u003cem>The Avengers\u003c/em> (2012) and used it to open a wormhole above Manhattan through which an alien army attacked Earth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Where It Is Now: \u003c/strong>It spent some time in Asgard's armory, but at the end of \u003cem>Thor: Ragnarok \u003c/em>(2017), it was stolen by Loki. (At the very end of \u003cem>Thor: Ragnarok\u003c/em>, the spaceship Thor and Loki were flying was intercepted by what was very likely Thanos' ship. So if you're taking bets, the Space Stone is likely one of the first Infinity Stones we'll see Thanos add to his collection.)\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>Mind Stone\u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>AKA:\u003c/strong> The Scepter\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_103099\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 600px\">\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-103099 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/vision-avengers-paperwork.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"349\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/vision-avengers-paperwork.jpg 600w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/vision-avengers-paperwork-160x93.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/vision-avengers-paperwork-240x140.jpg 240w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/vision-avengers-paperwork-375x218.jpg 375w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/vision-avengers-paperwork-520x302.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Vision and the Mind (forehead?) Stone. (Marvel Studios)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What It Looks Like:\u003c/strong> At first, in \u003cem>The Avengers\u003c/em>, a scepter housing a glowy blue gem. Nowadays, a yellow gem (long story) embedded in the forehead of Vision.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What It Does: \u003c/strong>Oh, a lot of stuff. In its Scepter mode, it granted Loki zappy powers and the ability to manipulate minds, and its mere presence made the Avengers more snippy than baseline. In its current mode (as of 2015's \u003cem>Avengers: Age of Ultron\u003c/em>, it grants Vision the ability to ... do lots of stuff, including phase through matter, fly, zap others with energy beams and, you know ... live.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Where It Is Now: \u003c/strong>Doing time on Vision's forehead. But the trailers suggest this will not be a permanent condition. Look for Vision to get blurry.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>Reality Stone\u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>AKA\u003c/strong>: The Aether\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_103100\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-103100 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/4123370.jpg-r_1280_720-f_jpg-q_x-xxyxx-800x477.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"477\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/4123370.jpg-r_1280_720-f_jpg-q_x-xxyxx.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/4123370.jpg-r_1280_720-f_jpg-q_x-xxyxx-160x95.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/4123370.jpg-r_1280_720-f_jpg-q_x-xxyxx-768x458.jpg 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/4123370.jpg-r_1280_720-f_jpg-q_x-xxyxx-240x143.jpg 240w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/4123370.jpg-r_1280_720-f_jpg-q_x-xxyxx-375x224.jpg 375w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/4123370.jpg-r_1280_720-f_jpg-q_x-xxyxx-520x310.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Aether. Like the elevator scene in 'The Shining' but different. (Marvel Studios)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What It Looks Like: \u003c/strong>Not like a stone, for one thing. Instead, it's a thick, red liquid that sends out tendrils that undulate in a cinematically creepy way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What It Does\u003c/strong>: Look, it's OK. You didn't see \u003cem>Thor: The Dark World \u003c/em>(2013). A lot of people didn't. So you didn't see the Reality Stone (in the form of the Aether) take over the body of Thor's girlfriend, Jane Foster, allowing her to send out shock waves and... whatnot. As its name suggests, the Reality Stone alters reality, by converting matter to dark matter. Don't bother asking why that's a thing. Doesn't matter. Lots of people didn't see \u003cem>Thor: The Dark World\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Where It Is Now: \u003c/strong>For safekeeping, it was given to an ancient being who collects lots of stuff. His name, appropriately enough, is the Collector. (He is played by Benicio del Toro in \u003cem>Thor: The Dark World\u003c/em>, and his character is the brother of Jeff Goldblum's Grandmaster from \u003cem>Thor: Ragnarok.\u003c/em>)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Given that not a lot of people saw \u003cem>Thor: The Dark World\u003c/em>, I'd wager we won't get a big protracted scene of Thanos hunting down and claiming the Reality Stone, and \u003cem>Infinity War\u003c/em> will simply cut to the (end of the) chase.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>Power Stone\u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>AKA:\u003c/strong> The Orb\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_103101\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-103101 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/MCU-Phase-2-1024x518-820x381-800x372.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"372\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/MCU-Phase-2-1024x518-820x381-800x372.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/MCU-Phase-2-1024x518-820x381-160x74.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/MCU-Phase-2-1024x518-820x381-768x357.jpg 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/MCU-Phase-2-1024x518-820x381-240x112.jpg 240w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/MCU-Phase-2-1024x518-820x381-375x174.jpg 375w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/MCU-Phase-2-1024x518-820x381-520x242.jpg 520w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/MCU-Phase-2-1024x518-820x381.jpg 820w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">It's got the power! (Marvel Studios)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What It Looks Like: \u003c/strong>When we first see it, at the beginning of \u003cem>Guardians of the Galaxy\u003c/em> (2014), it's encased in a silver spherical rock-thing. Later, the Orb is split open and the stone inside is grafted onto a bad guy's space-hammer and given the awesomely ridiculous name of Cosmi-Rod. Once the bad guy is defeated \u003cem>through the power of dance\u003c/em>, the Stone is returned to another Orb-casing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What It Does:\u003c/strong> Grants... power? Look, I know, the specific abilities of the various stones seem kind of frustratingly all over the place, but this one's legit. It makes its wielder more powerful — better, stronger, more zappy. You know: energy blasts and energy tornadoes and energy waves and energy bars. (No, OK, not that last one.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Where It Is Now:\u003c/strong> Benicio del Toro's Collector character nearly added it to his collection, but it sent out a massive energy blast, as is its zappy wont, that destroyed most of his menagerie. It ended up in hands of the Nova Corps — basically the Marvel Universe's resident space-cops, run by Glenn Close in a complicated wig — and there it will stay, until it won't.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>Time Stone \u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>AKA: \u003c/strong>The Eye of Agamotto\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_103102\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 477px\">\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-103102 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/main-qimg-f2a5d284b0c3b0cb704e008710898ca7-c.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"477\" height=\"223\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/main-qimg-f2a5d284b0c3b0cb704e008710898ca7-c.jpg 477w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/main-qimg-f2a5d284b0c3b0cb704e008710898ca7-c-160x75.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/main-qimg-f2a5d284b0c3b0cb704e008710898ca7-c-240x112.jpg 240w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/main-qimg-f2a5d284b0c3b0cb704e008710898ca7-c-375x175.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 477px) 100vw, 477px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Time Stone: simple, precise, clean and green. (Marvel Studios)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What It Looks Like: \u003c/strong>First (and only) seen in \u003cem>Doctor Strange\u003c/em> (2016), it's a glowy green gem housed inside an amulet embossed with an eye.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What It Does:\u003c/strong> Finally, some specificity! Some truth in advertising! The Time Stone allows its wielder to control time — to speed it up, slow it down, reverse it or create time loops. See, there, Marvel? Simple. Precise. Clean.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Where It Is Now:\u003c/strong> Hanging around Doctor Stephen Strange's neck, right under his dumb goatee.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>Soul Stone\u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>AKA\u003c/strong>: ?\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_103103\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-103103 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/svcnojwrsqwcrqhwrjqz-800x450.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/svcnojwrsqwcrqhwrjqz.png 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/svcnojwrsqwcrqhwrjqz-160x90.png 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/svcnojwrsqwcrqhwrjqz-768x432.png 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/svcnojwrsqwcrqhwrjqz-240x135.png 240w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/svcnojwrsqwcrqhwrjqz-375x211.png 375w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/svcnojwrsqwcrqhwrjqz-520x293.png 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Soul Stone: it's the big one. (Marvel Studios)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What It Looks Like:\u003c/strong> Again, ? It has yet to turn up in a Marvel movie, at least by that name. It's most likely an orange gem, the largest of them all, which fits on the back of the gauntlet — not, as the others do, on the fingers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What It Does: \u003c/strong>In the comics, it grants its owner the ability to do lots of mystical things — trap souls in an artificial existence, see into a person's soul, etc. It's not known how closely the film will adhere to this.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But given the fact that so much of the \u003cem>Infinity War\u003c/em> trailer is set in and around Wakanda — and the fact that the \"heart-shaped flower\" seen in \u003cem>Black Panther\u003c/em> grants the ability to commune with the dead — many have speculated that the Soul Stone will turn out to have something to do with vibranium.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Where It Is Now:\u003c/strong> Your guess is as good as any. Unless you guess, \"in Wakanda,\" in which case it's slightly better than most, probably.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>Sharon Stone\u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>AKA: \u003c/strong>Catherine Tramell, Ginger McKenna, Iris Burton\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What It Looks Like\u003c/strong>: A human woman.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What It Does\u003c/strong>: Wears the Gap to the Oscars, \u003ca href=\"https://www.thecut.com/article/best-oscar-looks-of-all-time.html\">famously\u003c/a>. And nowadays? Rocks the hell out of a \u003cem>Disaster Artist\u003c/em> cameo and \u003ca href=\"https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/01/sharon-stone-sexual-harassment-interview-hollywood\">gives a great interview\u003c/a> in a sweater to which \u003cem>attention must be paid\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Where It Is Now:\u003c/strong> Not getting the work it deserves, HOLLYWOOD.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>Slyandthefamily Stone \u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>AKA:\u003c/strong> Sly Stone, Freddie Stone, Rose Stone, Cynthia Robinson, Greg Errico, Jerry Martini, Larry Graham.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What It Looks Like: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>Deeply \u003c/em>groovy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What It Does:\u003c/strong> Effortlessly fuse rock, soul, funk and psychedelia into chart-topping, socially conscious pop anthems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Where It Is Now: \u003c/strong>On the set list of every wedding DJ at or slightly after 10:30 p.m.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>Coldcreamery Stone\u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>AKA\u003c/strong>: \"That place your Aunt Janice likes? With the slab? What's it called?\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What It Looks Like:\u003c/strong> An ice cream store, duh.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What It Does\u003c/strong>: Grants its wielder one unusually muscular forearm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Where It Is Now:\u003c/strong> 1,100 locations in the U.S. and abroad.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.\u003cimg src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Here%27s+What+You+Need+To+Know+About+Infinity+Stones+Before+The+New+Avengers+Movie&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "103095 https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/?p=103095",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/2018/04/20/heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-infinity-stones-before-the-new-avengers-movie/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": true,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 1667,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 54
},
"modified": 1523922385,
"excerpt": "You probably need a guidebook to keep track of which stone does what in Marvel-land. We're here for you.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "You probably need a guidebook to keep track of which stone does what in Marvel-land. We're here for you.",
"title": "Here's What You Need to Know About Infinity Stones Before the New Avengers Movie | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Here's What You Need to Know About Infinity Stones Before the New Avengers Movie",
"datePublished": "2018-04-20T07:43:43-07:00",
"dateModified": "2018-04-16T16:46:25-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-infinity-stones-before-the-new-avengers-movie",
"status": "publish",
"nprApiLink": "http://api.npr.org/query?id=601138466&apiKey=MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004",
"nprByline": "Glen Weldon",
"nprStoryDate": "Mon, 16 Apr 2018 05:00:00 -0400",
"nprLastModifiedDate": "Mon, 16 Apr 2018 11:24:04 -0400",
"nprHtmlLink": "https://www.npr.org/sections/monkeysee/2018/04/16/601138466/heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-infinity-stones-before-the-new-avengers-movie?ft=nprml&f=601138466",
"nprImageAgency": "Marvel Studios",
"nprStoryId": "601138466",
"nprRetrievedStory": "1",
"nprPubDate": "Mon, 16 Apr 2018 11:24:00 -0400",
"path": "/pop/103095/heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-infinity-stones-before-the-new-avengers-movie",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Call them the Mighty Marvel Movie MacGuffins. They're the glittery objects that drove the plots of several individual Marvel movies and that collectively shaped the direction the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe has been heading (almost) since its inception.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They are the Infinity Stones — immensely powerful gems that contain and channel elemental forces of the universe. They're what the villains crave and what the heroes protect. They can be used to destroy or create.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mmmmmostly that first thing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They've been seeded throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe since 2011, and now, with the release of \u003cem>Avengers: Infinity War\u003c/em> on April 27, all the logistical heavy lifting of seven years' worth of films — chasing the Stones, finding them, wielding them, handing them off to shady minor characters for safekeeping — comes to a head.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Well. To a \u003cem>hand\u003c/em>, anyway.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thanos' hand, to be specific. Thanos' \u003cem>gauntlet\u003c/em>, if you want to get technical.\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/QwievZ1Tx-8'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/QwievZ1Tx-8'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Thanos is the MCU's biggest Big Bad, first glimpsed in a post-credit scene in 2012's \u003cem>The Avengers\u003c/em>. He is a hulking, purplish-reddish-bluish (seems to depend on the movie's color balance) space warlord determined to reduce the population of the universe by half. If he collects all of the Infinity Stones and affixes them to a metal glove-thingy called the Infinity Gauntlet, he will be able to go about his deadly halving business, according to his daughter Gamora (Zoe Saldana) in the trailer, \"with a snap of his fingers.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(Leave aside, for the moment, how difficult it would be to snap one's fingers in a metal gauntlet.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(I mean it would be less of a \u003cem>snap \u003c/em>and more a \u003cem>rasp\u003c/em>, right?)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(Or maybe a \u003cem>clang\u003c/em>? Like he was striking some terrible Xylophone of Pan-Galactic Death? Or a Wind Chime of Cosmic Annihilation?)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Anyway. That's Thanos pictured at the top of this post. He is played in the movie by Josh Brolin and a superfluity of CGI chin dimples. And that thing he has on his left hand (so \u003cem>literally \u003c/em>sinister!) is the Infinity Gauntlet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As you can see, he is already well on his way to collecting 'em all — not quite at full, \"Billie Jean\"-era sparkle-glove status, but close.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Let's review where the various Infinity Stones were the last time we saw them — and what they do.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>Space Stone \u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>AKA:\u003c/strong> The Tesseract\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_103098\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-103098 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/uyj-800x441.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"441\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/uyj-800x441.png 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/uyj-160x88.png 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/uyj-768x423.png 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/uyj-240x132.png 240w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/uyj-375x207.png 375w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/uyj-520x287.png 520w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/uyj.png 820w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Tesseract: handle with care. (Marvel Studios)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What It Looks Like:\u003c/strong> When first glimpsed in \u003cem>Captain America: The First Avenger \u003c/em>(2011), a glowing blue cube. (The cube is just a housing that allows the glowy blue stone inside to be handled by us lowly humans.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What It Does: \u003c/strong>Opens wormholes in space, making possible instantaneous travel between any two points in the universe. Also has undetermined (read: hazily defined) power to develop weaponry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Transporting is what the eeeevil Red Skull did with it in\u003cem> Captain America: The First Avenger.\u003c/em> It was later recovered by S.H.I.E.L.D., which lost it when Loki absconded with it in \u003cem>The Avengers\u003c/em> (2012) and used it to open a wormhole above Manhattan through which an alien army attacked Earth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Where It Is Now: \u003c/strong>It spent some time in Asgard's armory, but at the end of \u003cem>Thor: Ragnarok \u003c/em>(2017), it was stolen by Loki. (At the very end of \u003cem>Thor: Ragnarok\u003c/em>, the spaceship Thor and Loki were flying was intercepted by what was very likely Thanos' ship. So if you're taking bets, the Space Stone is likely one of the first Infinity Stones we'll see Thanos add to his collection.)\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>Mind Stone\u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>AKA:\u003c/strong> The Scepter\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_103099\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 600px\">\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-103099 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/vision-avengers-paperwork.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"349\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/vision-avengers-paperwork.jpg 600w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/vision-avengers-paperwork-160x93.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/vision-avengers-paperwork-240x140.jpg 240w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/vision-avengers-paperwork-375x218.jpg 375w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/vision-avengers-paperwork-520x302.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Vision and the Mind (forehead?) Stone. (Marvel Studios)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What It Looks Like:\u003c/strong> At first, in \u003cem>The Avengers\u003c/em>, a scepter housing a glowy blue gem. Nowadays, a yellow gem (long story) embedded in the forehead of Vision.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What It Does: \u003c/strong>Oh, a lot of stuff. In its Scepter mode, it granted Loki zappy powers and the ability to manipulate minds, and its mere presence made the Avengers more snippy than baseline. In its current mode (as of 2015's \u003cem>Avengers: Age of Ultron\u003c/em>, it grants Vision the ability to ... do lots of stuff, including phase through matter, fly, zap others with energy beams and, you know ... live.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Where It Is Now: \u003c/strong>Doing time on Vision's forehead. But the trailers suggest this will not be a permanent condition. Look for Vision to get blurry.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>Reality Stone\u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>AKA\u003c/strong>: The Aether\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_103100\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-103100 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/4123370.jpg-r_1280_720-f_jpg-q_x-xxyxx-800x477.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"477\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/4123370.jpg-r_1280_720-f_jpg-q_x-xxyxx.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/4123370.jpg-r_1280_720-f_jpg-q_x-xxyxx-160x95.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/4123370.jpg-r_1280_720-f_jpg-q_x-xxyxx-768x458.jpg 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/4123370.jpg-r_1280_720-f_jpg-q_x-xxyxx-240x143.jpg 240w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/4123370.jpg-r_1280_720-f_jpg-q_x-xxyxx-375x224.jpg 375w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/4123370.jpg-r_1280_720-f_jpg-q_x-xxyxx-520x310.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Aether. Like the elevator scene in 'The Shining' but different. (Marvel Studios)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What It Looks Like: \u003c/strong>Not like a stone, for one thing. Instead, it's a thick, red liquid that sends out tendrils that undulate in a cinematically creepy way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What It Does\u003c/strong>: Look, it's OK. You didn't see \u003cem>Thor: The Dark World \u003c/em>(2013). A lot of people didn't. So you didn't see the Reality Stone (in the form of the Aether) take over the body of Thor's girlfriend, Jane Foster, allowing her to send out shock waves and... whatnot. As its name suggests, the Reality Stone alters reality, by converting matter to dark matter. Don't bother asking why that's a thing. Doesn't matter. Lots of people didn't see \u003cem>Thor: The Dark World\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Where It Is Now: \u003c/strong>For safekeeping, it was given to an ancient being who collects lots of stuff. His name, appropriately enough, is the Collector. (He is played by Benicio del Toro in \u003cem>Thor: The Dark World\u003c/em>, and his character is the brother of Jeff Goldblum's Grandmaster from \u003cem>Thor: Ragnarok.\u003c/em>)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Given that not a lot of people saw \u003cem>Thor: The Dark World\u003c/em>, I'd wager we won't get a big protracted scene of Thanos hunting down and claiming the Reality Stone, and \u003cem>Infinity War\u003c/em> will simply cut to the (end of the) chase.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>Power Stone\u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>AKA:\u003c/strong> The Orb\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_103101\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-103101 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/MCU-Phase-2-1024x518-820x381-800x372.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"372\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/MCU-Phase-2-1024x518-820x381-800x372.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/MCU-Phase-2-1024x518-820x381-160x74.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/MCU-Phase-2-1024x518-820x381-768x357.jpg 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/MCU-Phase-2-1024x518-820x381-240x112.jpg 240w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/MCU-Phase-2-1024x518-820x381-375x174.jpg 375w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/MCU-Phase-2-1024x518-820x381-520x242.jpg 520w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/MCU-Phase-2-1024x518-820x381.jpg 820w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">It's got the power! (Marvel Studios)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What It Looks Like: \u003c/strong>When we first see it, at the beginning of \u003cem>Guardians of the Galaxy\u003c/em> (2014), it's encased in a silver spherical rock-thing. Later, the Orb is split open and the stone inside is grafted onto a bad guy's space-hammer and given the awesomely ridiculous name of Cosmi-Rod. Once the bad guy is defeated \u003cem>through the power of dance\u003c/em>, the Stone is returned to another Orb-casing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What It Does:\u003c/strong> Grants... power? Look, I know, the specific abilities of the various stones seem kind of frustratingly all over the place, but this one's legit. It makes its wielder more powerful — better, stronger, more zappy. You know: energy blasts and energy tornadoes and energy waves and energy bars. (No, OK, not that last one.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Where It Is Now:\u003c/strong> Benicio del Toro's Collector character nearly added it to his collection, but it sent out a massive energy blast, as is its zappy wont, that destroyed most of his menagerie. It ended up in hands of the Nova Corps — basically the Marvel Universe's resident space-cops, run by Glenn Close in a complicated wig — and there it will stay, until it won't.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>Time Stone \u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>AKA: \u003c/strong>The Eye of Agamotto\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_103102\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 477px\">\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-103102 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/main-qimg-f2a5d284b0c3b0cb704e008710898ca7-c.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"477\" height=\"223\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/main-qimg-f2a5d284b0c3b0cb704e008710898ca7-c.jpg 477w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/main-qimg-f2a5d284b0c3b0cb704e008710898ca7-c-160x75.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/main-qimg-f2a5d284b0c3b0cb704e008710898ca7-c-240x112.jpg 240w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/main-qimg-f2a5d284b0c3b0cb704e008710898ca7-c-375x175.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 477px) 100vw, 477px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Time Stone: simple, precise, clean and green. (Marvel Studios)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What It Looks Like: \u003c/strong>First (and only) seen in \u003cem>Doctor Strange\u003c/em> (2016), it's a glowy green gem housed inside an amulet embossed with an eye.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What It Does:\u003c/strong> Finally, some specificity! Some truth in advertising! The Time Stone allows its wielder to control time — to speed it up, slow it down, reverse it or create time loops. See, there, Marvel? Simple. Precise. Clean.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Where It Is Now:\u003c/strong> Hanging around Doctor Stephen Strange's neck, right under his dumb goatee.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>Soul Stone\u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>AKA\u003c/strong>: ?\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_103103\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-103103 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/svcnojwrsqwcrqhwrjqz-800x450.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/svcnojwrsqwcrqhwrjqz.png 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/svcnojwrsqwcrqhwrjqz-160x90.png 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/svcnojwrsqwcrqhwrjqz-768x432.png 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/svcnojwrsqwcrqhwrjqz-240x135.png 240w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/svcnojwrsqwcrqhwrjqz-375x211.png 375w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/svcnojwrsqwcrqhwrjqz-520x293.png 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Soul Stone: it's the big one. (Marvel Studios)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What It Looks Like:\u003c/strong> Again, ? It has yet to turn up in a Marvel movie, at least by that name. It's most likely an orange gem, the largest of them all, which fits on the back of the gauntlet — not, as the others do, on the fingers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What It Does: \u003c/strong>In the comics, it grants its owner the ability to do lots of mystical things — trap souls in an artificial existence, see into a person's soul, etc. It's not known how closely the film will adhere to this.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But given the fact that so much of the \u003cem>Infinity War\u003c/em> trailer is set in and around Wakanda — and the fact that the \"heart-shaped flower\" seen in \u003cem>Black Panther\u003c/em> grants the ability to commune with the dead — many have speculated that the Soul Stone will turn out to have something to do with vibranium.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Where It Is Now:\u003c/strong> Your guess is as good as any. Unless you guess, \"in Wakanda,\" in which case it's slightly better than most, probably.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>Sharon Stone\u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>AKA: \u003c/strong>Catherine Tramell, Ginger McKenna, Iris Burton\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What It Looks Like\u003c/strong>: A human woman.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What It Does\u003c/strong>: Wears the Gap to the Oscars, \u003ca href=\"https://www.thecut.com/article/best-oscar-looks-of-all-time.html\">famously\u003c/a>. And nowadays? Rocks the hell out of a \u003cem>Disaster Artist\u003c/em> cameo and \u003ca href=\"https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/01/sharon-stone-sexual-harassment-interview-hollywood\">gives a great interview\u003c/a> in a sweater to which \u003cem>attention must be paid\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Where It Is Now:\u003c/strong> Not getting the work it deserves, HOLLYWOOD.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>Slyandthefamily Stone \u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>AKA:\u003c/strong> Sly Stone, Freddie Stone, Rose Stone, Cynthia Robinson, Greg Errico, Jerry Martini, Larry Graham.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What It Looks Like: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>Deeply \u003c/em>groovy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What It Does:\u003c/strong> Effortlessly fuse rock, soul, funk and psychedelia into chart-topping, socially conscious pop anthems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Where It Is Now: \u003c/strong>On the set list of every wedding DJ at or slightly after 10:30 p.m.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>Coldcreamery Stone\u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>AKA\u003c/strong>: \"That place your Aunt Janice likes? With the slab? What's it called?\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What It Looks Like:\u003c/strong> An ice cream store, duh.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What It Does\u003c/strong>: Grants its wielder one unusually muscular forearm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "floatright"
},
"numeric": [
"floatright"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Where It Is Now:\u003c/strong> 1,100 locations in the U.S. and abroad.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.\u003cimg src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Here%27s+What+You+Need+To+Know+About+Infinity+Stones+Before+The+New+Avengers+Movie&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/pop/103095/heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-infinity-stones-before-the-new-avengers-movie",
"authors": [
"byline_pop_103095"
],
"categories": [
"pop_51"
],
"tags": [
"pop_2889",
"pop_756"
],
"featImg": "pop_103096",
"label": "pop"
},
"pop_102914": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "pop_102914",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "102914",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1522855834000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {
"site": "pop"
},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1522855834,
"format": "standard",
"disqusTitle": "'Legion' is Definitely the Weirdest Corner of the Marvel Universe",
"title": "'Legion' is Definitely the Weirdest Corner of the Marvel Universe",
"headTitle": "KQED Pop | KQED Arts",
"content": "\u003cp>When the guy with a wicker bucket on his head (who only talks through androgynous android-clones in Tom Selleck mustaches and Beatle wigs) is the \u003cem>least\u003c/em> weird thing about your show, that show can safely be called... distinctive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Welcome to season two of \u003ca href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5114356/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1\">\u003cem>Legion\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, FX's not-your-daddy's-mutant-superhero-series, helmed once again by Noah Hawley, between gigs running FX's other stylish, genre-inflected offering, \u003ca href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2802850/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1\">\u003cem>Fargo\u003c/em>\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Legion\u003c/em> is the story of David Haller (a perpetually rumpled and vaguely confused \u003ca href=\"http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1405398/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1\">Dan Stevens\u003c/a>), the world's most powerful mutant, who's now free of the evil psychic parasite known only as the Shadow King, who last season assumed the form of his friend Lenny, played by \u003ca href=\"http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2201555/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1\">Aubrey Plaza\u003c/a>. David's grown up believing himself to be schizophrenic, but came to realize his true nature when he was taken in by an organization seeking to train him — and to fight the Shadow King, who is in fact an ancient being known as Amahl Farouk (played, this season, by \u003ca href=\"http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1041023/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1\">Navid Negahban\u003c/a>).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmBIn9De-Yc\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As you can see,the broad outlines of\u003cem> Legion'\u003c/em>s story don't stray terribly far from typical superhero fare — newfound powers, secret organization, sinister bad guy, rinse and repeat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But \u003cem>Legion\u003c/em> isn't about the story. Not really.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It's a visual and aural feast, a stylized-to-the-point-of-gorgeous-absurdity testament to what a director with a good eye (and a loose leash) can bring to series television. Each episode (the first four of season two were made available to press) features showy, inventive camerawork — every scene magnificently framed and rapturously lit — and gleefully bizarre imagery. It's also filled with sound cues that delight and/or unsettle (there's a recurring bit involving chattering teeth that does both, every time).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Legion\u003c/em> is so thoroughly itself — so obviously \u003cem>wrought\u003c/em>, so painstakingly \u003cem>constructed\u003c/em> — it risks self-indulgence, crossing the line from showy to show-off-y. Viewers hungry for a simple story simply told will likely grow impatient with the show's languorous approach to storytelling — whole episodes pass without moving the main conflict forward an inch. The fourth episode, for example, gives long-overdue attention to David's girlfriend Syd (\u003ca href=\"http://www.imdb.com/name/nm5043859/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1\">Rachel Keller\u003c/a>), via that most dreaded and momentum-killing device in serialized television — the flashback.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And yet: That deliberate pacing, and all those dazzling visual flourishes, exist in service to these characters, and their (to say the least) singular predicaments. Those flashbacks work, because Hawley and his directors know that keeping us visually enthralled won't do any good if we're not emotionally engaged. That's why the show's performances stay as grounded and specific as they do. Stevens' David, especially, constantly undercuts the bizarre goings-on with a hesitant, beta-male form of incredulity that infuses the show with sly humor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_102917\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-102917\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/legion-season-2-script-pic-800x569.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"569\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/legion-season-2-script-pic-800x569.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/legion-season-2-script-pic-160x114.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/legion-season-2-script-pic-768x546.jpg 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/legion-season-2-script-pic-1020x726.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/legion-season-2-script-pic-1200x854.jpg 1200w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/legion-season-2-script-pic-1180x839.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/legion-season-2-script-pic-960x683.jpg 960w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/legion-season-2-script-pic-240x171.jpg 240w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/legion-season-2-script-pic-375x267.jpg 375w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/legion-season-2-script-pic-520x370.jpg 520w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/legion-season-2-script-pic.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dan Stevens and Aubrey Plaza in 'Legion' (FX)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Plus, of course, the dance numbers. Oh, the dance numbers. (This season, the character of Cary, played by the great Bill Irwin, finally gets a brief chance to shake his eminently shakable groove thing, and it's worth the wait.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Legion\u003c/em> is technically a part of the Marvel Universe — but it's millions of light-years away, emotionally and aesthetically, from either the gritty streets of the various Marvel series on Netflix, or the cosmic sweep of the \u003cem>The Avengers\u003c/em>. It's a dark, trippy corner of that universe, where time moves more slowly, but it's filled with moments and images you'll find nowhere else.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Trust me, the guy with the bucket on his head is only the beginning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.\u003cimg src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=%27Legion%2C%27+Season+2%3A+Welcome+Back+To+The+Weirdest+Corner+Of+The+Marvel+Universe&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "102914 https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/?p=102914",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/2018/04/04/legion-is-definitely-the-weirdest-corner-of-the-marvel-universe/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": true,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 629,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 13
},
"modified": 1522788625,
"excerpt": "Season 2 is defiantly trippy, visually stunning and lightyears away from the rest of the Marvel Universe.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "Season 2 is defiantly trippy, visually stunning and lightyears away from the rest of the Marvel Universe.",
"title": "'Legion' is Definitely the Weirdest Corner of the Marvel Universe | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "'Legion' is Definitely the Weirdest Corner of the Marvel Universe",
"datePublished": "2018-04-04T08:30:34-07:00",
"dateModified": "2018-04-03T13:50:25-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "legion-is-definitely-the-weirdest-corner-of-the-marvel-universe",
"status": "publish",
"nprApiLink": "http://api.npr.org/query?id=597795582&apiKey=MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004",
"nprByline": "Glen Weldon",
"nprStoryDate": "Tue, 03 Apr 2018 05:01:05 -0400",
"nprLastModifiedDate": "Tue, 03 Apr 2018 05:01:05 -0400",
"nprHtmlLink": "https://www.npr.org/sections/monkeysee/2018/04/03/597795582/legion-season-2-welcome-back-to-the-weirdest-corner-of-the-marvel-universe?ft=nprml&f=597795582",
"nprImageAgency": "FX",
"nprImageCredit": " Suzanne Tenner ",
"nprStoryId": "597795582",
"nprRetrievedStory": "1",
"nprPubDate": "Tue, 03 Apr 2018 05:01:00 -0400",
"path": "/pop/102914/legion-is-definitely-the-weirdest-corner-of-the-marvel-universe",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>When the guy with a wicker bucket on his head (who only talks through androgynous android-clones in Tom Selleck mustaches and Beatle wigs) is the \u003cem>least\u003c/em> weird thing about your show, that show can safely be called... distinctive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Welcome to season two of \u003ca href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5114356/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1\">\u003cem>Legion\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, FX's not-your-daddy's-mutant-superhero-series, helmed once again by Noah Hawley, between gigs running FX's other stylish, genre-inflected offering, \u003ca href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2802850/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1\">\u003cem>Fargo\u003c/em>\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Legion\u003c/em> is the story of David Haller (a perpetually rumpled and vaguely confused \u003ca href=\"http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1405398/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1\">Dan Stevens\u003c/a>), the world's most powerful mutant, who's now free of the evil psychic parasite known only as the Shadow King, who last season assumed the form of his friend Lenny, played by \u003ca href=\"http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2201555/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1\">Aubrey Plaza\u003c/a>. David's grown up believing himself to be schizophrenic, but came to realize his true nature when he was taken in by an organization seeking to train him — and to fight the Shadow King, who is in fact an ancient being known as Amahl Farouk (played, this season, by \u003ca href=\"http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1041023/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1\">Navid Negahban\u003c/a>).\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/HmBIn9De-Yc'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/HmBIn9De-Yc'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>As you can see,the broad outlines of\u003cem> Legion'\u003c/em>s story don't stray terribly far from typical superhero fare — newfound powers, secret organization, sinister bad guy, rinse and repeat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But \u003cem>Legion\u003c/em> isn't about the story. Not really.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It's a visual and aural feast, a stylized-to-the-point-of-gorgeous-absurdity testament to what a director with a good eye (and a loose leash) can bring to series television. Each episode (the first four of season two were made available to press) features showy, inventive camerawork — every scene magnificently framed and rapturously lit — and gleefully bizarre imagery. It's also filled with sound cues that delight and/or unsettle (there's a recurring bit involving chattering teeth that does both, every time).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Legion\u003c/em> is so thoroughly itself — so obviously \u003cem>wrought\u003c/em>, so painstakingly \u003cem>constructed\u003c/em> — it risks self-indulgence, crossing the line from showy to show-off-y. Viewers hungry for a simple story simply told will likely grow impatient with the show's languorous approach to storytelling — whole episodes pass without moving the main conflict forward an inch. The fourth episode, for example, gives long-overdue attention to David's girlfriend Syd (\u003ca href=\"http://www.imdb.com/name/nm5043859/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1\">Rachel Keller\u003c/a>), via that most dreaded and momentum-killing device in serialized television — the flashback.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And yet: That deliberate pacing, and all those dazzling visual flourishes, exist in service to these characters, and their (to say the least) singular predicaments. Those flashbacks work, because Hawley and his directors know that keeping us visually enthralled won't do any good if we're not emotionally engaged. That's why the show's performances stay as grounded and specific as they do. Stevens' David, especially, constantly undercuts the bizarre goings-on with a hesitant, beta-male form of incredulity that infuses the show with sly humor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_102917\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-102917\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/pop/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/legion-season-2-script-pic-800x569.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"569\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/legion-season-2-script-pic-800x569.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/legion-season-2-script-pic-160x114.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/legion-season-2-script-pic-768x546.jpg 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/legion-season-2-script-pic-1020x726.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/legion-season-2-script-pic-1200x854.jpg 1200w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/legion-season-2-script-pic-1180x839.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/legion-season-2-script-pic-960x683.jpg 960w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/legion-season-2-script-pic-240x171.jpg 240w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/legion-season-2-script-pic-375x267.jpg 375w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/legion-season-2-script-pic-520x370.jpg 520w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/12/2018/04/legion-season-2-script-pic.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dan Stevens and Aubrey Plaza in 'Legion' (FX)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Plus, of course, the dance numbers. Oh, the dance numbers. (This season, the character of Cary, played by the great Bill Irwin, finally gets a brief chance to shake his eminently shakable groove thing, and it's worth the wait.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Legion\u003c/em> is technically a part of the Marvel Universe — but it's millions of light-years away, emotionally and aesthetically, from either the gritty streets of the various Marvel series on Netflix, or the cosmic sweep of the \u003cem>The Avengers\u003c/em>. It's a dark, trippy corner of that universe, where time moves more slowly, but it's filled with moments and images you'll find nowhere else.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Trust me, the guy with the bucket on his head is only the beginning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.\u003cimg src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=%27Legion%2C%27+Season+2%3A+Welcome+Back+To+The+Weirdest+Corner+Of+The+Marvel+Universe&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/pop/102914/legion-is-definitely-the-weirdest-corner-of-the-marvel-universe",
"authors": [
"byline_pop_102914"
],
"categories": [
"pop_3"
],
"tags": [
"pop_3093",
"pop_3180",
"pop_756"
],
"featImg": "pop_102918",
"label": "pop"
}
},
"podcastsReducer": {
"isFetching": false,
"fetchFailed": false,
"hasFetched": false,
"podcasts": {}
},
"radioProgramsReducer": {
"isFetching": false,
"fetchFailed": false,
"hasFetched": false,
"radioPrograms": {}
},
"programsReducer": {
"all-things-considered": {
"id": "all-things-considered",
"title": "All Things Considered",
"info": "Every weekday, \u003cem>All Things Considered\u003c/em> hosts Robert Siegel, Audie Cornish, Ari Shapiro, and Kelly McEvers present the program's trademark mix of news, interviews, commentaries, reviews, and offbeat features. Michel Martin hosts on the weekends.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 1pm-2pm, 4:30pm-6:30pm\u003cbr />SAT-SUN 5pm-6pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/All-Things-Considered-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/all-things-considered/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/all-things-considered"
},
"american-suburb-podcast": {
"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?",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/American-Suburb-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/news/series/american-suburb-podcast",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 19
},
"link": "/news/series/american-suburb-podcast/",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/RBrW",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?mt=2&id=1287748328",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/American-Suburb-p1086805/",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/series/american-suburb-podcast/feed/podcast",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkMzMDExODgxNjA5"
}
},
"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.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Bay-Curious-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Bay Curious",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/news/series/baycurious",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 3
},
"link": "/podcasts/baycurious",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bay-curious/id1172473406",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/500557090/bay-curious",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/category/bay-curious-podcast/feed/podcast",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9a90d476-aa04-455d-9a4c-0871ed6216d4/bay-curious",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/bay-curious",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/6O76IdmhixfijmhTZLIJ8k"
}
},
"bbc-world-service": {
"id": "bbc-world-service",
"title": "BBC World Service",
"info": "The day's top stories from BBC News compiled twice daily in the week, once at weekends.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9pm-10pm, TUE-FRI 1am-2am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/BBC-World-Service-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live:bbc_world_service",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "BBC World Service"
},
"link": "/radio/program/bbc-world-service",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/global-news-podcast/id135067274?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/BBC-World-Service-p455581/",
"rss": "https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/p02nq0gn.rss"
}
},
"californiareport": {
"id": "californiareport",
"title": "The California Report",
"tagline": "California, day by day",
"info": "KQED’s statewide radio news program providing daily coverage of issues, trends and public policy decisions.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-California-Report-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The California Report",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareport",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 8
},
"link": "/californiareport",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kqeds-the-california-report/id79681292",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/26099305-72af-4542-9dde-ac1807fe36d5/kqed-s-the-california-report",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/432285393/the-california-report",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqedfm-kqeds-the-california-report-podcast-8838",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/tcram/feed/podcast"
}
},
"californiareportmagazine": {
"id": "californiareportmagazine",
"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",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-California-Report-Magazine-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The California Report Magazine",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareportmagazine",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 10
},
"link": "/californiareportmagazine",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-california-report-magazine/id1314750545",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM3NjkwNjk1OTAz",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/564733126/the-california-report-magazine",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/the-california-report-magazine",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/tcrmag/feed/podcast"
}
},
"city-arts": {
"id": "city-arts",
"title": "City Arts & Lectures",
"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",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.cityarts.net/",
"airtime": "SUN 1pm-2pm, TUE 10pm, WED 1am",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "City Arts & Lectures"
},
"link": "https://www.cityarts.net",
"subscribe": {
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/City-Arts-and-Lectures-p692/",
"rss": "https://www.cityarts.net/feed/"
}
},
"closealltabs": {
"id": "closealltabs",
"title": "Close All Tabs",
"tagline": "Your irreverent guide to the trends redefining our world",
"info": "Close All Tabs breaks down how digital culture shapes our world through thoughtful insights and irreverent humor.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/CAT_2_Tile-scaled.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Close All Tabs",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 1
},
"link": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/close-all-tabs/id214663465",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC6993880386",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/92d9d4ac-67a3-4eed-b10a-fb45d45b1ef2/close-all-tabs",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/6LAJFHnGK1pYXYzv6SIol6?si=deb0cae19813417c"
}
},
"code-switch-life-kit": {
"id": "code-switch-life-kit",
"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 />",
"airtime": "SUN 9pm-10pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Code-Switch-Life-Kit-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/code-switch-life-kit",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/1112190608?mt=2&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnByLm9yZy9yc3MvcG9kY2FzdC5waHA_aWQ9NTEwMzEy",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/3bExJ9JQpkwNhoHvaIIuyV",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510312/podcast.xml"
}
},
"commonwealth-club": {
"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",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.commonwealthclub.org/podcasts",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
"link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/commonwealth-club-of-california-podcast/id976334034?mt=2",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Commonwealth-Club-of-California-p1060/"
}
},
"forum": {
"id": "forum",
"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",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/forum",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 9
},
"link": "/forum",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kqeds-forum/id73329719",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/432307980/forum",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqedfm-kqeds-forum-podcast",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC9557381633"
}
},
"freakonomics-radio": {
"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",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/4s8b",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/Freakonomics-Radio-p272293/",
"rss": "https://feeds.feedburner.com/freakonomicsradio"
}
},
"fresh-air": {
"id": "fresh-air",
"title": "Fresh Air",
"info": "Hosted by Terry Gross, \u003cem>Fresh Air from WHYY\u003c/em> is the Peabody Award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues. One of public radio's most popular programs, Fresh Air features intimate conversations with today's biggest luminaries.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 7pm-8pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Fresh-Air-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-air/",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/fresh-air",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/4s8b",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Fresh-Air-p17/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/381444908/podcast.xml"
}
},
"here-and-now": {
"id": "here-and-now",
"title": "Here & Now",
"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.",
"airtime": "MON-THU 11am-12pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Here-And-Now-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://www.wbur.org/hereandnow",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/here-and-now",
"subsdcribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?mt=2&id=426698661",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Here--Now-p211/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510051/podcast.xml"
}
},
"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.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/hiddenbrain.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/series/423302056/hidden-brain",
"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "NPR"
},
"link": "/radio/program/hidden-brain",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/hidden-brain/id1028908750?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/Science-Podcasts/Hidden-Brain-p787503/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510308/podcast.xml"
}
},
"how-i-built-this": {
"id": "how-i-built-this",
"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.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/howIBuiltThis.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this",
"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/3zxy",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz/id1150510297?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/Arts--Culture-Podcasts/How-I-Built-This-p910896/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510313/podcast.xml"
}
},
"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. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hyphenacion_FinalAssets_PodcastTile.png",
"imageAlt": "KQED Hyphenación",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 15
},
"link": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hyphenaci%C3%B3n/id1191591838",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/2p3Fifq96nw9BPcmFdIq0o?si=39209f7b25774f38",
"youtube": "https://www.youtube.com/c/kqedarts",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/6c3dd23c-93fb-4aab-97ba-1725fa6315f1/hyphenaci%C3%B3n",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC2275451163"
}
},
"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. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 18
},
"link": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/790253322/the-political-mind-of-jerry-brown",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1492194549",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/series/jerrybrown/feed/podcast/",
"tuneIn": "http://tun.in/pjGcK",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/the-political-mind-of-jerry-brown",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/54C1dmuyFyKMFttY6X2j6r?si=K8SgRCoISNK6ZbjpXrX5-w",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/44420f75-3b0e-4301-ab3b-16da6b09e543/the-political-mind-of-jerry-brown"
}
},
"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/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/xtTd",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Latino-USA-p621/",
"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",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=201853034&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/APM-Marketplace-p88/",
"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",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "http://mastersofscale.app.link/",
"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": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mindshift-podcast/id1078765985",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/464615685/mind-shift-podcast",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/stories-teachers-share",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/0MxSpNYZKNprFLCl7eEtyx"
}
},
"morning-edition": {
"id": "morning-edition",
"title": "Morning Edition",
"info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3am-9am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Morning-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/morning-edition"
},
"onourwatch": {
"id": "onourwatch",
"title": "On Our Watch",
"tagline": "Deeply-reported investigative journalism",
"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/On-Our-Watch-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "On Our Watch from NPR and KQED",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 11
},
"link": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1567098962",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5ucHIub3JnLzUxMDM2MC9wb2RjYXN0LnhtbD9zYz1nb29nbGVwb2RjYXN0cw",
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/onourwatch",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/0OLWoyizopu6tY1XiuX70x",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/On-Our-Watch-p1436229/",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/show/on-our-watch",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510360/podcast.xml"
}
},
"on-the-media": {
"id": "on-the-media",
"title": "On The Media",
"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm-3pm, MON 12am-1am",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/onTheMedia.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/otm",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "wnyc"
},
"link": "/radio/program/on-the-media",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/on-the-media/id73330715?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/On-the-Media-p69/",
"rss": "http://feeds.wnyc.org/onthemedia"
}
},
"pbs-newshour": {
"id": "pbs-newshour",
"title": "PBS NewsHour",
"info": "Analysis, background reports and updates from the PBS NewsHour putting today's news in context.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3pm-4pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/PBS-News-Hour-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "pbs"
},
"link": "/radio/program/pbs-newshour",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pbs-newshour-full-show/id394432287?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/PBS-NewsHour---Full-Show-p425698/",
"rss": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/feeds/rss/podcasts/show"
}
},
"perspectives": {
"id": "perspectives",
"title": "Perspectives",
"tagline": "KQED's series of daily listener commentaries since 1991",
"info": "KQED's series of daily listener commentaries since 1991.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Perspectives_Tile_Final.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Perspectives",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/perspectives/",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 14
},
"link": "/perspectives",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id73801135",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/432309616/perspectives",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/perspectives/category/perspectives/feed/",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93dzIua3FlZC5vcmcvcGVyc3BlY3RpdmVzL2NhdGVnb3J5L3BlcnNwZWN0aXZlcy9mZWVkLw"
}
},
"planet-money": {
"id": "planet-money",
"title": "Planet Money",
"info": "The economy explained. Imagine you could call up a friend and say, Meet me at the bar and tell me what's going on with the economy. Now imagine that's actually a fun evening.",
"airtime": "SUN 3pm-4pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/planetmoney.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/sections/money/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/planet-money",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/M4f5",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/planet-money/id290783428?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/Business--Economics-Podcasts/Planet-Money-p164680/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510289/podcast.xml"
}
},
"politicalbreakdown": {
"id": "politicalbreakdown",
"title": "Political Breakdown",
"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
"airtime": "THU 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Political-Breakdown-2024-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Political Breakdown",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/politicalbreakdown",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 5
},
"link": "/podcasts/politicalbreakdown",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/political-breakdown/id1327641087",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/e0c2d153-ad36-4c8d-901d-f1da6a724824/political-breakdown",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/572155894/political-breakdown",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/political-breakdown",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/07RVyIjIdk2WDuVehvBMoN",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/political-breakdown/feed/podcast"
}
},
"possible": {
"id": "possible",
"title": "Possible",
"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Possible-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.possible.fm/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "Possible"
},
"link": "/radio/program/possible",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/possible/id1677184070",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/730YpdUSNlMyPQwNnyjp4k"
}
},
"pri-the-world": {
"id": "pri-the-world",
"title": "PRI's The World: Latest Edition",
"info": "Each weekday, host Marco Werman and his team of producers bring you the world's most interesting stories in an hour of radio that reminds us just how small our planet really is.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 2pm-3pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-World-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.pri.org/programs/the-world",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "PRI"
},
"link": "/radio/program/pri-the-world",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pris-the-world-latest-edition/id278196007?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/News--Politics-Podcasts/PRIs-The-World-p24/",
"rss": "http://feeds.feedburner.com/pri/theworld"
}
},
"radiolab": {
"id": "radiolab",
"title": "Radiolab",
"info": "A two-time Peabody Award-winner, Radiolab is an investigation told through sounds and stories, and centered around one big idea. In the Radiolab world, information sounds like music and science and culture collide. Hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, the show is designed for listeners who demand skepticism, but appreciate wonder. WNYC Studios is the producer of other leading podcasts including Freakonomics Radio, Death, Sex & Money, On the Media and many more.",
"airtime": "SUN 12am-1am, SAT 2pm-3pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/radiolab1400.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/radiolab/",
"meta": {
"site": "science",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/radiolab",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/radiolab/id152249110?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/RadioLab-p68032/",
"rss": "https://feeds.wnyc.org/radiolab"
}
},
"reveal": {
"id": "reveal",
"title": "Reveal",
"info": "Created by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX, Reveal is public radios first one-hour weekly radio show and podcast dedicated to investigative reporting. Credible, fact based and without a partisan agenda, Reveal combines the power and artistry of driveway moment storytelling with data-rich reporting on critically important issues. The result is stories that inform and inspire, arming our listeners with information to right injustices, hold the powerful accountable and improve lives.Reveal is hosted by Al Letson and showcases the award-winning work of CIR and newsrooms large and small across the nation. In a radio and podcast market crowded with choices, Reveal focuses on important and often surprising stories that illuminate the world for our listeners.",
"airtime": "SAT 4pm-5pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/reveal300px.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.revealnews.org/episodes/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/reveal",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/reveal/id886009669",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Reveal-p679597/",
"rss": "http://feeds.revealradio.org/revealpodcast"
}
},
"rightnowish": {
"id": "rightnowish",
"title": "Rightnowish",
"tagline": "Art is where you find it",
"info": "Rightnowish digs into life in the Bay Area right now… ish. Journalist Pendarvis Harshaw takes us to galleries painted on the sides of liquor stores in West Oakland. We'll dance in warehouses in the Bayview, make smoothies with kids in South Berkeley, and listen to classical music in a 1984 Cutlass Supreme in Richmond. Every week, Pen talks to movers and shakers about how the Bay Area shapes what they create, and how they shape the place we call home.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Rightnowish-Podcast-Tile-500x500-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Rightnowish with Pendarvis Harshaw",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/rightnowish",
"meta": {
"site": "arts",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 16
},
"link": "/podcasts/rightnowish",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/721590300/rightnowish",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/programs/rightnowish/feed/podcast",
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rightnowish/id1482187648",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/rightnowish",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkMxMjU5MTY3NDc4",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/7kEJuafTzTVan7B78ttz1I"
}
},
"science-friday": {
"id": "science-friday",
"title": "Science Friday",
"info": "Science Friday is a weekly science talk show, broadcast live over public radio stations nationwide. Each week, the show focuses on science topics that are in the news and tries to bring an educated, balanced discussion to bear on the scientific issues at hand. Panels of expert guests join host Ira Flatow, a veteran science journalist, to discuss science and to take questions from listeners during the call-in portion of the program.",
"airtime": "FRI 11am-1pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Science-Friday-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/science-friday",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/science-friday",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=73329284&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Science-Friday-p394/",
"rss": "http://feeds.wnyc.org/science-friday"
}
},
"snap-judgment": {
"id": "snap-judgment",
"title": "Snap Judgment",
"tagline": "Real stories with killer beats",
"info": "The Snap Judgment radio show and podcast mixes real stories with killer beats to produce cinematic, dramatic radio. Snap's musical brand of storytelling dares listeners to see the world through the eyes of another. This is storytelling... with a BEAT!! Snap first aired on public radio stations nationwide in July 2010. Today, Snap Judgment airs on over 450 public radio stations and is brought to the airwaves by KQED & PRX.",
"airtime": "SAT 1pm-2pm, 9pm-10pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Snap-Judgment-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Snap Judgment",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://snapjudgment.org",
"meta": {
"site": "arts",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 4
},
"link": "https://snapjudgment.org",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/snap-judgment/id283657561",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/449018144/snap-judgment",
"stitcher": "https://www.pandora.com/podcast/snap-judgment/PC:241?source=stitcher-sunset",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/3Cct7ZWmxHNAtLgBTqjC5v",
"rss": "https://snap.feed.snapjudgment.org/"
}
},
"soldout": {
"id": "soldout",
"title": "SOLD OUT: Rethinking Housing in America",
"tagline": "A new future for housing",
"info": "Sold Out: Rethinking Housing in America",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Sold-Out-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Sold Out: Rethinking Housing in America",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/soldout",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 13
},
"link": "/podcasts/soldout",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/911586047/s-o-l-d-o-u-t-a-new-future-for-housing",
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/introducing-sold-out-rethinking-housing-in-america/id1531354937",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/soldout",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/38dTBSk2ISFoPiyYNoKn1X",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/sold-out-rethinking-housing-in-america",
"tunein": "https://tunein.com/radio/SOLD-OUT-Rethinking-Housing-in-America-p1365871/"
}
},
"spooked": {
"id": "spooked",
"title": "Spooked",
"tagline": "True-life supernatural stories",
"info": "",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Spooked-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Spooked",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://spookedpodcast.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 7
},
"link": "https://spookedpodcast.org/",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/spooked/id1279361017",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/549547848/snap-judgment-presents-spooked",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/76571Rfl3m7PLJQZKQIGCT",
"rss": "https://feeds.simplecast.com/TBotaapn"
}
},
"tech-nation": {
"id": "tech-nation",
"title": "Tech Nation Radio Podcast",
"info": "Tech Nation is a weekly public radio program, hosted by Dr. Moira Gunn. Founded in 1993, it has grown from a simple interview show to a multi-faceted production, featuring conversations with noted technology and science leaders, and a weekly science and technology-related commentary.",
"airtime": "FRI 10pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Tech-Nation-Radio-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://technation.podomatic.com/",
"meta": {
"site": "science",
"source": "Tech Nation Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/tech-nation",
"subscribe": {
"rss": "https://technation.podomatic.com/rss2.xml"
}
},
"ted-radio-hour": {
"id": "ted-radio-hour",
"title": "TED Radio Hour",
"info": "The TED Radio Hour is a journey through fascinating ideas, astonishing inventions, fresh approaches to old problems, and new ways to think and create.",
"airtime": "SUN 3pm-4pm, SAT 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/tedRadioHour.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/ted-radio-hour/?showDate=2018-06-22",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/ted-radio-hour",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/8vsS",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=523121474&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/TED-Radio-Hour-p418021/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510298/podcast.xml"
}
},
"thebay": {
"id": "thebay",
"title": "The Bay",
"tagline": "Local news to keep you rooted",
"info": "Host Devin Katayama walks you through the biggest story of the day with reporters and newsmakers.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Bay-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The Bay",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/thebay",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 2
},
"link": "/podcasts/thebay",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-bay/id1350043452",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/d800ea4c-7a2c-42f2-b861-edaf78a5db0b/the-bay",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/586725995/the-bay",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/the-bay",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/4BIKBKIujizLHlIlBNaAqQ",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC8259786327"
}
},
"thelatest": {
"id": "thelatest",
"title": "The Latest",
"tagline": "Trusted local news in real time",
"info": "",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/The-Latest-2025-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The Latest",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/thelatest",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 6
},
"link": "/thelatest",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-latest-from-kqed/id1197721799",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/1257949365/the-latest-from-k-q-e-d",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/5KIIXMgM9GTi5AepwOYvIZ?si=bd3053fec7244dba",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC9137121918"
}
},
"theleap": {
"id": "theleap",
"title": "The Leap",
"tagline": "What if you closed your eyes, and jumped?",
"info": "Stories about people making dramatic, risky changes, told by award-winning public radio reporter Judy Campbell.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Leap-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The Leap",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/theleap",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 17
},
"link": "/podcasts/theleap",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-leap/id1046668171",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/447248267/the-leap",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/the-leap",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/3sSlVHHzU0ytLwuGs1SD1U",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/programs/the-leap/feed/podcast"
}
},
"the-moth-radio-hour": {
"id": "the-moth-radio-hour",
"title": "The Moth Radio Hour",
"info": "Since its launch in 1997, The Moth has presented thousands of true stories, told live and without notes, to standing-room-only crowds worldwide. Moth storytellers stand alone, under a spotlight, with only a microphone and a roomful of strangers. The storyteller and the audience embark on a high-wire act of shared experience which is both terrifying and exhilarating. Since 2008, The Moth podcast has featured many of our favorite stories told live on Moth stages around the country. For information on all of our programs and live events, visit themoth.org.",
"airtime": "SAT 8pm-9pm and SUN 11am-12pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/theMoth.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://themoth.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "arts",
"source": "prx"
},
"link": "/radio/program/the-moth-radio-hour",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-moth-podcast/id275699983?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/The-Moth-p273888/",
"rss": "http://feeds.themoth.org/themothpodcast"
}
},
"the-new-yorker-radio-hour": {
"id": "the-new-yorker-radio-hour",
"title": "The New Yorker Radio Hour",
"info": "The New Yorker Radio Hour is a weekly program presented by the magazine's editor, David Remnick, and produced by WNYC Studios and The New Yorker. Each episode features a diverse mix of interviews, profiles, storytelling, and an occasional burst of humor inspired by the magazine, and shaped by its writers, artists, and editors. This isn't a radio version of a magazine, but something all its own, reflecting the rich possibilities of audio storytelling and conversation. Theme music for the show was composed and performed by Merrill Garbus of tUnE-YArDs.",
"airtime": "SAT 10am-11am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-New-Yorker-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/tnyradiohour",
"meta": {
"site": "arts",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/the-new-yorker-radio-hour",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1050430296",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/New-Yorker-Radio-Hour-p803804/",
"rss": "https://feeds.feedburner.com/newyorkerradiohour"
}
},
"the-sam-sanders-show": {
"id": "the-sam-sanders-show",
"title": "The Sam Sanders Show",
"info": "One of public radio's most dynamic voices, Sam Sanders helped launch The NPR Politics Podcast and hosted NPR's hit show It's Been A Minute. Now, the award-winning host returns with something brand new, The Sam Sanders Show. Every week, Sam Sanders and friends dig into the culture that shapes our lives: what's driving the biggest trends, how artists really think, and even the memes you can't stop scrolling past. Sam is beloved for his way of unpacking the world and bringing you up close to fresh currents and engaging conversations. The Sam Sanders Show is smart, funny and always a good time.",
"airtime": "FRI 12-1pm AND SAT 11am-12pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/The-Sam-Sanders-Show-Podcast-Tile-400x400-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.kcrw.com/shows/the-sam-sanders-show/latest",
"meta": {
"site": "arts",
"source": "KCRW"
},
"link": "https://www.kcrw.com/shows/the-sam-sanders-show/latest",
"subscribe": {
"rss": "https://feed.cdnstream1.com/zjb/feed/download/ac/28/59/ac28594c-e1d0-4231-8728-61865cdc80e8.xml"
}
},
"the-splendid-table": {
"id": "the-splendid-table",
"title": "The Splendid Table",
"info": "\u003cem>The Splendid Table\u003c/em> hosts our nation's conversations about cooking, sustainability and food culture.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Splendid-Table-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.splendidtable.org/",
"airtime": "SUN 10-11 pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/the-splendid-table"
},
"this-american-life": {
"id": "this-american-life",
"title": "This American Life",
"info": "This American Life is a weekly public radio show, heard by 2.2 million people on more than 500 stations. Another 2.5 million people download the weekly podcast. It is hosted by Ira Glass, produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media, delivered to stations by PRX The Public Radio Exchange, and has won all of the major broadcasting awards.",
"airtime": "SAT 12pm-1pm, 7pm-8pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/thisAmericanLife.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.thisamericanlife.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "wbez"
},
"link": "/radio/program/this-american-life",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=201671138&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"rss": "https://www.thisamericanlife.org/podcast/rss.xml"
}
},
"tinydeskradio": {
"id": "tinydeskradio",
"title": "Tiny Desk Radio",
"info": "We're bringing the best of Tiny Desk to the airwaves, only on public radio.",
"airtime": "SUN 8pm and SAT 9pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/300x300-For-Member-Station-Logo-Tiny-Desk-Radio-@2x.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/series/g-s1-52030/tiny-desk-radio",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/tinydeskradio",
"subscribe": {
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/g-s1-52030/rss.xml"
}
},
"wait-wait-dont-tell-me": {
"id": "wait-wait-dont-tell-me",
"title": "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!",
"info": "Peter Sagal and Bill Kurtis host the weekly NPR News quiz show alongside some of the best and brightest news and entertainment personalities.",
"airtime": "SUN 10am-11am, SAT 11am-12pm, SAT 6pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Wait-Wait-Podcast-Tile-300x300-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/wait-wait-dont-tell-me/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/wait-wait-dont-tell-me",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/Xogv",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=121493804&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Wait-Wait-Dont-Tell-Me-p46/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/344098539/podcast.xml"
}
},
"weekend-edition-saturday": {
"id": "weekend-edition-saturday",
"title": "Weekend Edition Saturday",
"info": "Weekend Edition Saturday wraps up the week's news and offers a mix of analysis and features on a wide range of topics, including arts, sports, entertainment, and human interest stories. The two-hour program is hosted by NPR's Peabody Award-winning Scott Simon.",
"airtime": "SAT 5am-10am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Weekend-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/weekend-edition-saturday/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/weekend-edition-saturday"
},
"weekend-edition-sunday": {
"id": "weekend-edition-sunday",
"title": "Weekend Edition Sunday",
"info": "Weekend Edition Sunday features interviews with newsmakers, artists, scientists, politicians, musicians, writers, theologians and historians. The program has covered news events from Nelson Mandela's 1990 release from a South African prison to the capture of Saddam Hussein.",
"airtime": "SUN 5am-10am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Weekend-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/weekend-edition-sunday/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/weekend-edition-sunday"
}
},
"racesReducer": {},
"racesGenElectionReducer": {},
"racesGenElection2026Reducer": {},
"radioSchedulesReducer": {},
"listsReducer": {
"posts/pop?tag=marvel": {
"isFetching": false,
"latestQuery": {
"from": 0,
"size": 12
},
"vitalsOnly": false,
"totalRequested": 12,
"isLoading": false,
"isLoadingMore": true,
"total": {
"value": 20,
"relation": "eq"
},
"items": [
"pop_111446",
"pop_111308",
"pop_110748",
"pop_109932",
"pop_107416",
"pop_101544",
"pop_104457",
"pop_103659",
"pop_103228",
"pop_103283",
"pop_103095",
"pop_102914"
],
"complete": true
}
},
"recallGuideReducer": {
"intros": {},
"policy": {},
"candidates": {}
},
"savedArticleReducer": {
"articles": [],
"status": {}
},
"newslettersReducer": {
"isFetching": false,
"fetchFailed": false,
"hasFetched": false,
"newsletters": {},
"isSubscribing": false,
"isUnsubscribing": false,
"subscribedNewsletters": {}
},
"termsReducer": {
"about": {
"name": "About",
"type": "terms",
"id": "about",
"slug": "about",
"link": "/about",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"arts": {
"name": "Arts & Culture",
"grouping": [
"arts",
"pop",
"trulyca"
],
"description": "KQED Arts provides daily in-depth coverage of the Bay Area's music, art, film, performing arts, literature and arts news, as well as cultural commentary and criticism.",
"type": "terms",
"id": "arts",
"slug": "arts",
"link": "/arts",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"artschool": {
"name": "Art School",
"parent": "arts",
"type": "terms",
"id": "artschool",
"slug": "artschool",
"link": "/artschool",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"bayareabites": {
"name": "KQED food",
"grouping": [
"food",
"bayareabites",
"checkplease"
],
"parent": "food",
"type": "terms",
"id": "bayareabites",
"slug": "bayareabites",
"link": "/food",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"bayareahiphop": {
"name": "Bay Area Hiphop",
"type": "terms",
"id": "bayareahiphop",
"slug": "bayareahiphop",
"link": "/bayareahiphop",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"campaign21": {
"name": "Campaign 21",
"type": "terms",
"id": "campaign21",
"slug": "campaign21",
"link": "/campaign21",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"careers": {
"name": "Careers",
"type": "terms",
"id": "careers",
"slug": "careers",
"link": "/careers",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"checkplease": {
"name": "KQED food",
"grouping": [
"food",
"bayareabites",
"checkplease"
],
"parent": "food",
"type": "terms",
"id": "checkplease",
"slug": "checkplease",
"link": "/food",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"education": {
"name": "Education",
"grouping": [
"education"
],
"type": "terms",
"id": "education",
"slug": "education",
"link": "/education",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"elections": {
"name": "Elections",
"type": "terms",
"id": "elections",
"slug": "elections",
"link": "/elections",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"events": {
"name": "Events",
"type": "terms",
"id": "events",
"slug": "events",
"link": "/events",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"event": {
"name": "Event",
"alias": "events",
"type": "terms",
"id": "event",
"slug": "event",
"link": "/event",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"filmschoolshorts": {
"name": "Film School Shorts",
"type": "terms",
"id": "filmschoolshorts",
"slug": "filmschoolshorts",
"link": "/filmschoolshorts",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"food": {
"name": "KQED food",
"grouping": [
"food",
"bayareabites",
"checkplease"
],
"type": "terms",
"id": "food",
"slug": "food",
"link": "/food",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"forum": {
"name": "Forum",
"relatedContentQuery": "posts/forum?",
"parent": "news",
"type": "terms",
"id": "forum",
"slug": "forum",
"link": "/forum",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"futureofyou": {
"name": "Future of You",
"grouping": [
"science",
"futureofyou"
],
"parent": "science",
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou",
"slug": "futureofyou",
"link": "/futureofyou",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"jpepinheart": {
"name": "KQED food",
"relatedContentQuery": "posts/food,bayareabites,checkplease",
"parent": "food",
"type": "terms",
"id": "jpepinheart",
"slug": "jpepinheart",
"link": "/food",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"liveblog": {
"name": "Live Blog",
"type": "terms",
"id": "liveblog",
"slug": "liveblog",
"link": "/liveblog",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"livetv": {
"name": "Live TV",
"parent": "tv",
"type": "terms",
"id": "livetv",
"slug": "livetv",
"link": "/livetv",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"lowdown": {
"name": "The Lowdown",
"relatedContentQuery": "posts/lowdown?",
"parent": "news",
"type": "terms",
"id": "lowdown",
"slug": "lowdown",
"link": "/lowdown",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"mindshift": {
"name": "Mindshift",
"parent": "news",
"description": "MindShift explores the future of education by highlighting the innovative – and sometimes counterintuitive – ways educators and parents are helping all children succeed.",
"type": "terms",
"id": "mindshift",
"slug": "mindshift",
"link": "/mindshift",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"news": {
"name": "News",
"grouping": [
"news",
"forum"
],
"type": "terms",
"id": "news",
"slug": "news",
"link": "/news",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"newsletters": {
"name": "newsletters",
"type": "terms",
"id": "newsletters",
"slug": "newsletters",
"link": "/newsletters",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"perspectives": {
"name": "Perspectives",
"parent": "radio",
"type": "terms",
"id": "perspectives",
"slug": "perspectives",
"link": "/perspectives",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"podcasts": {
"name": "Podcasts",
"type": "terms",
"id": "podcasts",
"slug": "podcasts",
"link": "/podcasts",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"pop": {
"name": "Pop",
"parent": "arts",
"type": "terms",
"id": "pop",
"slug": "pop",
"link": "/pop",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"pressroom": {
"name": "Pressroom",
"type": "terms",
"id": "pressroom",
"slug": "pressroom",
"link": "/pressroom",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"quest": {
"name": "Quest",
"parent": "science",
"type": "terms",
"id": "quest",
"slug": "quest",
"link": "/quest",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"radio": {
"name": "Radio",
"grouping": [
"forum",
"perspectives"
],
"description": "Listen to KQED Public Radio – home of Forum and The California Report – on 88.5 FM in San Francisco, 89.3 FM in Sacramento, 88.3 FM in Santa Rosa and 88.1 FM in Martinez.",
"type": "terms",
"id": "radio",
"slug": "radio",
"link": "/radio",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"root": {
"name": "KQED",
"image": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png",
"imageWidth": 1200,
"imageHeight": 630,
"headData": {
"title": "KQED | News, Radio, Podcasts, TV | Public Media for Northern California",
"description": "KQED provides public radio, television, and independent reporting on issues that matter to the Bay Area. We’re the NPR and PBS member station for Northern California."
},
"type": "terms",
"id": "root",
"slug": "root",
"link": "/root",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"science": {
"name": "Science",
"grouping": [
"science",
"futureofyou"
],
"description": "KQED Science brings you award-winning science and environment coverage from the Bay Area and beyond.",
"type": "terms",
"id": "science",
"slug": "science",
"link": "/science",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"stateofhealth": {
"name": "State of Health",
"parent": "science",
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth",
"slug": "stateofhealth",
"link": "/stateofhealth",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"support": {
"name": "Support",
"type": "terms",
"id": "support",
"slug": "support",
"link": "/support",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"thedolist": {
"name": "The Do List",
"parent": "arts",
"type": "terms",
"id": "thedolist",
"slug": "thedolist",
"link": "/thedolist",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"trulyca": {
"name": "Truly CA",
"grouping": [
"arts",
"pop",
"trulyca"
],
"parent": "arts",
"type": "terms",
"id": "trulyca",
"slug": "trulyca",
"link": "/trulyca",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"tv": {
"name": "TV",
"type": "terms",
"id": "tv",
"slug": "tv",
"link": "/tv",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"voterguide": {
"name": "Voter Guide",
"parent": "elections",
"alias": "elections",
"type": "terms",
"id": "voterguide",
"slug": "voterguide",
"link": "/voterguide",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"guiaelectoral": {
"name": "Guia Electoral",
"parent": "elections",
"alias": "elections",
"type": "terms",
"id": "guiaelectoral",
"slug": "guiaelectoral",
"link": "/guiaelectoral",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"pop_tag_marvel": {
"isLoading": true
},
"pop_756": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "pop_756",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "756",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Marvel",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Marvel Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 757,
"slug": "marvel",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/pop/tag/marvel"
},
"pop_51": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "pop_51",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "51",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Movies",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "category",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Movies Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 51,
"slug": "movies",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/pop/category/movies"
},
"pop_1041": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "pop_1041",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "1041",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Zeitgeist",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "category",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Zeitgeist Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 1042,
"slug": "zeitgeist",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/pop/category/zeitgeist"
},
"pop_3191": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "pop_3191",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "3191",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Avengers",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Avengers Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 3191,
"slug": "avengers",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/pop/tag/avengers"
},
"pop_1339": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "pop_1339",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "1339",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Harry Potter",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Harry Potter Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 1341,
"slug": "harry-potter",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/pop/tag/harry-potter"
},
"pop_3591": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "pop_3591",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "3591",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "James Bond",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "James Bond Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 3591,
"slug": "james-bond",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/pop/tag/james-bond"
},
"pop_3007": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "pop_3007",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "3007",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Jaws",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Jaws Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 3007,
"slug": "jaws",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/pop/tag/jaws"
},
"pop_2776": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "pop_2776",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "2776",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Jurassic Park",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Jurassic Park Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 2782,
"slug": "jurassic-park",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/pop/tag/jurassic-park"
},
"pop_3592": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "pop_3592",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "3592",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Pirates of the Caribbean",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Pirates of the Caribbean Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 3592,
"slug": "pirates-of-the-caribbean",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/pop/tag/pirates-of-the-caribbean"
},
"pop_3593": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "pop_3593",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "3593",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Shrek",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Shrek Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 3593,
"slug": "shrek",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/pop/tag/shrek"
},
"pop_904": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "pop_904",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "904",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Star Wars",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Star Wars Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 905,
"slug": "star-wars",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/pop/tag/star-wars"
},
"pop_187": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "pop_187",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "187",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Titanic",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Titanic Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 187,
"slug": "titanic",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/pop/tag/titanic"
},
"pop_3239": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "pop_3239",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "3239",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Ant-Man",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Ant-Man Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 3239,
"slug": "ant-man",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/pop/tag/ant-man"
},
"pop_3152": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "pop_3152",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "3152",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Black Panther",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Black Panther Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 3152,
"slug": "black-panther",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/pop/tag/black-panther"
},
"pop_3585": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "pop_3585",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "3585",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Black Widow",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Black Widow Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 3585,
"slug": "black-widow",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/pop/tag/black-widow"
},
"pop_3584": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "pop_3584",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "3584",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Captain America",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Captain America Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 3584,
"slug": "captain-america",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/pop/tag/captain-america"
},
"pop_3489": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "pop_3489",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "3489",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Captain Marvel",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Captain Marvel Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 3489,
"slug": "captain-marvel",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/pop/tag/captain-marvel"
},
"pop_3588": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "pop_3588",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "3588",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Guardians of the Galaxy",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Guardians of the Galaxy Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 3588,
"slug": "guardians-of-the-galaxy",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/pop/tag/guardians-of-the-galaxy"
},
"pop_3586": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "pop_3586",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "3586",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Hulk",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Hulk Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 3586,
"slug": "hulk",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/pop/tag/hulk"
},
"pop_713": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "pop_713",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "713",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Iron Man",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Iron Man Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 714,
"slug": "iron-man",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/pop/tag/iron-man"
},
"pop_3587": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "pop_3587",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "3587",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Thor",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Thor Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 3587,
"slug": "thor",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/pop/tag/thor"
},
"pop_3145": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "pop_3145",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "3145",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "DC",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "DC Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 3145,
"slug": "dc",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/pop/tag/dc"
},
"pop_2954": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "pop_2954",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "2954",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "DC Comics",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "DC Comics Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 2954,
"slug": "dc-comics",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/pop/tag/dc-comics"
},
"pop_3540": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "pop_3540",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "3540",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Shazam!",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Shazam! Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 3540,
"slug": "shazam",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/pop/tag/shazam"
},
"pop_3426": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "pop_3426",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "3426",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "artspop",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "artspop Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 3426,
"slug": "artspop",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/pop/tag/artspop"
},
"pop_3155": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "pop_3155",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "3155",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Brie Larson",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Brie Larson Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 3155,
"slug": "brie-larson",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/pop/tag/brie-larson"
},
"pop_2889": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "pop_2889",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "2889",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "comic books",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "comic books Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 2889,
"slug": "comic-books",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/pop/tag/comic-books"
},
"pop_965": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "pop_965",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "965",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "comics",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "comics Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 966,
"slug": "comics",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/pop/tag/comics"
},
"pop_3488": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "pop_3488",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "3488",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Samuel L Jackson",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Samuel L Jackson Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 3488,
"slug": "samuel-l-jackson",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/pop/tag/samuel-l-jackson"
},
"pop_1548": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "pop_1548",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "1548",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Books",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "category",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Books Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 1552,
"slug": "books-2",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/pop/category/books-2"
},
"pop_3346": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "pop_3346",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "3346",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Stan Lee",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Stan Lee Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 3346,
"slug": "stan-lee",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/pop/tag/stan-lee"
},
"pop_3": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "pop_3",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "3",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "TV",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "category",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "TV Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 3,
"slug": "tv",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/pop/category/tv"
},
"pop_714": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "pop_714",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "714",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "superheroes",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "superheroes Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 715,
"slug": "superheroes",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/pop/tag/superheroes"
},
"pop_754": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "pop_754",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "754",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Superman",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Superman Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 755,
"slug": "superman",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/pop/tag/superman"
},
"pop_262": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "pop_262",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "262",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Paul Rudd",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Paul Rudd Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 262,
"slug": "paul-rudd",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/pop/tag/paul-rudd"
},
"pop_3093": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "pop_3093",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "3093",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "FX",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "FX Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 3093,
"slug": "fx",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/pop/tag/fx"
},
"pop_3180": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "pop_3180",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "pop",
"id": "3180",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Legion",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Legion Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 3180,
"slug": "legion",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/pop/tag/legion"
}
},
"userPermissionsReducer": {
"wpLoggedIn": false
},
"eventsReducer": {},
"fssReducer": {},
"tvDailyScheduleReducer": {},
"tvWeeklyScheduleReducer": {},
"tvPrimetimeScheduleReducer": {},
"tvMonthlyScheduleReducer": {},
"userAccountReducer": {
"user": {
"email": null,
"emailStatus": "EMAIL_UNVALIDATED",
"loggedStatus": "LOGGED_OUT",
"loggingChecked": false,
"articles": [],
"firstName": null,
"lastName": null,
"phoneNumber": null,
"fetchingMembership": false,
"membershipError": false,
"memberships": [
{
"id": null,
"startDate": null,
"firstName": null,
"lastName": null,
"familyNumber": null,
"memberNumber": null,
"memberSince": null,
"expirationDate": null,
"pfsEligible": false,
"isSustaining": false,
"membershipLevel": "Prospect",
"membershipStatus": "Non Member",
"lastGiftDate": null,
"renewalDate": null,
"lastDonationAmount": null
}
]
},
"authModal": {
"isOpen": false,
"view": "LANDING_VIEW"
},
"error": null
},
"youthMediaReducer": {},
"checkPleaseReducer": {
"filterData": {
"region": {
"key": "Restaurant Region",
"filters": [
"Any Region"
]
},
"cuisine": {
"key": "Restaurant Cuisine",
"filters": [
"Any Cuisine"
]
}
},
"restaurantDataById": {},
"restaurantIdsSorted": [],
"error": null
},
"userAgentReducer": {
"userAgent": "Mozilla/5.0 AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko; compatible; ClaudeBot/1.0; +claudebot@anthropic.com)",
"isBot": true
}
}
