Are the Muppets turning into hipsters, or were they just early adopters? (Salon)

In the '70s, Muppets were able to blur the boundaries between adult and kid entertainment. What's great now is that they don't have to: With a love for all things nostalgic, as well as the cultural parodies and "winks to the audience" that Jim Henson's creations were known for, the Muppets won't have to change at all to fit into our current definition of "hipsters."

The only thing wrong with this article is that it doesn't mention the completely genius version of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody, which I'm sure you've all seen. But God forbid you haven't....


Read the full article here.

Small Change: Why the revolution will not be tweeted, by Malcolm Gladwell (New Yorker)

[Social media] shifts our energies from organizations that promote strategic and disciplined activity and toward those which promote resilience and adaptability. It makes it easier for activists to express themselves, and harder for that expression to have any impact. The instruments of social media are well suited to making the existing social order more efficient. They are not a natural enemy of the status quo. If you are of the opinion that all the world needs is a little buffing around the edges, this should not trouble you. But if you think that there are still lunch counters out there that need integrating it ought to give you pause.

As always, Malcolm Gladwell offers a fascinating viewpoint. Though a little off topic, definitely worth the read. Pretty sure it'll make you think, and that's what it's all about.

Read the full article here.

"Eat Pray Love," "Sex and the City 2," and the Summer of Backlash (The Atlantic)

All of these franchises are fueled by women's money, and women's interest, and all are massive cultural and economic forces. They sell movie tickets, books, and a truly impressive amount of tie-in merchandise. But the most important thing they have in common may be the derision and contempt they inspire in cultural commentators. They're about trivial stuff like shopping, boyfriends, trying to put the "sparkle" back in marriages; they're about pathetic stuff like heartbreak, divorce, loneliness, and menopause; they're about drippy stuff like self-love, family, and cuddly, soft-focus, Oprah-approved spirituality. In other words, they're about the very things that women are encouraged to be most interested in. And this alone may be enough to keep many people from taking them seriously.

The above quote is a little misleading because it probably makes you think this article also slams "women's" films. It doesn't. For example, the author goes on to say "that there is no special shame in buying a ticket to Eat, Pray, Love rather than The Expendables." To which I say, Amen Sister! (Disclaimer: I haven't actually seen either of those films, but I agree 100% with the sentiment.)
Read the full article here.

How not having a car became Hollywood shorthand for loser (Slate Magazine)

As the humorist Art Buchwald once observed, "People are broad-minded. They'll accept the fact that a person can be an alcoholic, a dope fiend, a wife beater and even a newspaperman, but if a man doesn't drive, there's something wrong with him."

This attitude seems to flourish in Hollywood. ... Why does the film industry have such contempt for the carless?

It's true. I am always amazed when I hear that someone doesn't have a car in LA. I was shocked (shocked!) when I found out my neighbors actually use the Metro - to go to Trader Joe's no less! Hop on at the station a block away and hop off at Hollywood & Highland? Never! Must drive. Must pay to park. Must endure sweating through summer with no AC and the silence of a radio that shorts out every few weeks. Hmmm... Who's the loser now?
Read the full article here.

Generation Me - Are We in a Narcissism Epidemic? (Newsweek)

But no matter how you were raised, the handiest cure for narcissism used to be life. Whether through fate, circumstances or moral imperative, our culture kept hubris in check. Now, we encourage it. ... Treating the whole world as if it works for you doesn't suggest you're special, it means you're an ass.

This article is actually from an old issue of Newsweek (I'm finally getting around to my Spring cleaning) but it's still 100% relevant. Not so much because I think we are all narcissistic asses, but because Hollywood has influence on the hubris-checking culture mentioned above. And I'd guess about 99% of biz bosses firmly believe the world works for them. The industry is certainly not the only culprit, but change has to start somewhere, right?
Read the full article here.

Twilight: The Franchise That Ate Feminism (The Guardian, UK)

Anyway, Bella's like totally in love with him, and it's this that justifies the sacrifice of her human life. After all, Edward has qualities to die for. His determination to protect Bella's best interests verges on the abusively controlling. In particular, unusually for a well-favoured suitor, he's prepared to contain his carnal urges lest their gratification harm his beloved.

A warm-blooded rival for Bella's affections is available. Like Edward, Jacob the werewolf wants only what's best for her, but he's not as handsome as Edward, so nuts to him. In a climactic argument, the two guys debate what's best for her. As they decide her future she sleeps between them, the epitome of submissive passivity.

I will admit to reading the first book in this trilogy, and since I'm being honest, I will also admit that I didn't love it. Finally, I will admit that if I thought Robert Pattison was even remotely attractive, I may have been convinced to check out at least the first of the films. But I don't, so I didn't. But even after all those personal confessions, I understand it's appeal, and maybe if I were 15 I'd be gaga over the series, but alas, I am not. I wouldn't necessarily have made the connection to feminism that the article makes, but I think it's at least valid enough to consider.
Read the full article here.

W. S. Merwin to Be Named Poet Laureate (NY Times)

What distinguishes his work from the other poets of his generation who were forging a new style in the wake of modernism, Mr. Gioia said, is how he “combined the intensity of English-language modernism with the expansive lyricism of Spanish-language modernism.”

I'd guess most of us haven't read a poem since college - I was an English major and still have only very little poetry on my bookshelves. Perhaps this occassion will give us all an excuse to put down our scripts and read something that uses language in a completely different way.
Read the full article here.

The End of Men (The Atlantic)

“Women live longer than men. They do better in this economy. More of ’em graduate from college. They go into space and do everything men do, and sometimes they do it a whole lot better. I mean, hell, get out of the way—these females are going to leave us males in the dust.”

Earlier this year, women became the majority of the workforce for the first time in U.S. history. Most managers are now women too. And for every two men who get a college degree this year, three women will do the same. For years, women’s progress has been cast as a struggle for equality. But what if equality isn’t the end point? What if modern, postindustrial society is simply better suited to women? A report on the unprecedented role reversal now under way — and its vast cultural consequences.

This is a very compelling, thought-provoking article. It's not about "Yeah! Women Rule!" It's about changes that have been underway for decades and what they mean for the future.
Read the full article here.

LACMA's film program 'still in jeopardy' (LA Times)

The protests that saved the program included director Martin Scorsese's open letter in The Times asserting the importance of movie screenings in a museum context. But despite the high-profile backdrop to their fundraising efforts, LACMA officials say that financial support — presumably from film industry figures who'd be the logical donors to an L.A. film endowment — has not materialized.

I definitely don't want to see this program go away - at least not until I've actually been to a screening. I think I'll write them a check for the $6 million right now.
Read the full article here.

Are we really in a cultural golden age? (The AV Club)

First, why - other than the natural laziness that informs most nostalgia - do so many people think that the culture is in decline? Why is the belief that things were better in the mysterious “before” so common that it jumps from generation to generation, like baldness or a bad ticker? While the tendency to be politically conservative knows no particular age, cultural conservatism is as predictable as prostate cancer. Why hasn’t this changed since Sallust’s time?

I could give you a list of 1,000 reasons why culture is in decline, but we don't have time for that - instead here's three: most Fox movies (no offense to those of you involved in making them), famous people only famous because they're famous, and the acceptance of the f-bomb as a word to be used in everyday vocabulary.
However! The man does have a point, and so I encourage you to take a look at the article. (And no, I don't know who Sallust is either. See? Case in point!)
Read the full article here.