Author: sp (sp )

Home sp
Hollywood Writers Strike: Ai Concerns, Industry Consequences
Post

Hollywood Writers Strike: AI Concerns, Industry Consequences

Hollywood screenwriters have gone on strike. The Writers Guild of America (WGA) seeks higher pay, upfront fees from streaming services, better working conditions and reassurance that studios won’t use artificial intelligence programs to generate scripts. The last WGA strike, 15 years ago, led to permanent changes in the entertainment landscape, such as the rise of...

The Voting Rights Act’s Impact on Black Representation in Local Government
Post

The Voting Rights Act’s Impact on Black Representation in Local Government

When the Voting Rights Act was signed into law in 1965, it didn’t just enfranchise Black voters in the American South. It also led to greater representation of Black lawmakers in local government, according to a new paper published in the April 2023 issue of the Journal of Political Economy. In “Race, Representation, and Local Governments...

‘When the Pictures on the Walls of Paris Bar Begin to Speak.’
Post

‘When the Pictures on the Walls of Paris Bar Begin to Speak.’

German playwright Heiner Müller once dubbed Paris Bar the ‘hell of Berlin bars.’ Müller lived in the Communist East, but had documents that allowed him to pass between East and West when the Berlin Wall still divided the city. In the 1980s, he was a regular at Kantstrasse 152. Then as now, Paris Bar felt...

Sudan’s Plunge into Chaos Has Geopolitical Implications near and Far – Including for U.S. Strategic Goals
Post

Sudan’s Plunge into Chaos Has Geopolitical Implications near and Far – Including for U.S. Strategic Goals

The sight of diplomats fleeing Sudan amid chaotic scenes reflects the gravity of the situation, but also the extent of international interest in the strife-torn nation. Days into fighting that has left at least 400 people dead, governments from across the Middle East, Europe, Asia and the Americas evacuated nationals – teachers, students and workers,...

Raw Materials, or Sacred Beings? Lithium Extraction Puts Two Worldviews into Tension
Post

Raw Materials, or Sacred Beings? Lithium Extraction Puts Two Worldviews into Tension

Located in the heart of South America, Bolivia contains the largest lithium deposits in the world – an enviable position, in many countries’ eyes, as the market for electric vehicles takes off. Though EVs emit fewer greenhouse gases than fuel-powered vehicles, their batteries require more minerals – especially lithium, which is also used to make...

What Socrates’ ‘Know Nothing’ Wisdom Can Teach a Polarized America
Post

What Socrates’ ‘Know Nothing’ Wisdom Can Teach a Polarized America

A common complaint in America today is that politics and even society as a whole are broken. Critics point out endless lists of what should be fixed: the complexity of the tax code, or immigration reform, or the inefficiency of government. But each dilemma usually comes down to polarized deadlock between two competing visions and...

In ‘Air,’ Michael Jordan’s Silence Speaks Volumes About the Marketing of Black Athletes
Post

In ‘Air,’ Michael Jordan’s Silence Speaks Volumes About the Marketing of Black Athletes

The film “Air,” which tells the story of Nike’s signing of Michael Jordan, isn’t actually about Michael Jordan at all. It’s about the beauty of design and the seduction of marketing. It’s about power suits, purple Porsches and Rolexes. It’s about white men languishing through midlife crises who salivate over the branding potential of a...

Art World Legend Jeffrey Deitch on Vanessa Beecroft and Kim Kardashian
Post

Art World Legend Jeffrey Deitch on Vanessa Beecroft and Kim Kardashian

For the fifth installment of Pierre-Alexandre Mateos and Charles Teyssou’s series of interviews on iconic exhibitions in commercial galleries, the curator-duo talk to gallerist Jeffrey Deitch about the Vanessa Beecroft performance that launched his New York gallery in 1996. Pierre-Alexandre Mateos and Charles Teyssou: You launched your gallery on Grand Street in New York in 1996 with a celebrated performance...