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The Internet Goes to WashingtonIn this satirical sketch about the current state of pageview journalism, the Internet’s elite bloggers from...
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8 Minutes of the Earth’s Rotation
How I wish our planet’s movement was this apparent while staring at the night sky. It...
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Emphasis and abridgment are mine. The full article is kind of lengthy, but an absolutely...
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How to Cover Rape Responsibly
In light of the recent coverage of rapes in India, Helen Benedict, a professor at Columbia J-School, recently wrote...
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Hajji Marea, Commander of Antigovernment Fighters in Aleppo.
The Saturday Profile in the NYT.
ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPH
Abdulkader al-Saleh,...
So God Made a (Latino) Farmer
One of the most popular ads during the Super Bowl was for the Dodge Ram. The spot took a 1978 speech by the late Paul Harvey and played it against images of American farmers.
Something was missing though. We let Latino Rebels take it away:
Do you notice anything about the farmers being featured in the commercial?
Yeah, 100% Americana. An America that seems to be stuck in another time. Last time we checked, the commercial overlooked a few other farmers, the over 3 million workers who contribute to the country’s $28+ billion fruit and vegetable industry. Or what about the fact that “the majority (72%) of all farmworkers were foreign-born, with 68 percent of all farmworkers were born in Mexico?” We are guessing that displaying the REAL FACE of farming in the United States would that have been way too uncomfortable to show? By the way, we know you showed only two Latino faces for a second, but that didn’t cut it, Chrysler.
So, a remake is in order. Doing so above is the award winning investigative reporter Issac Cubillos,
Power to more accurate ethno-cultural representations in mass media advertising.
Los Angeles’ creative, service and working classes divided
The Atlantic takes a look at the class divisions in Los Angeles, creating an interactive map of U.S. Census tracts:
“It examines the residential locations of today’s three major classes: the shrinking middle of blue-collar workers; the rising ranks of the knowledge, professional, and creative class; and the even larger and faster-growing ranks of lower-paid service workers…”
How arts and culture can change the future of Los Angeles:
It’s election season in the City of Los Angeles. Eleven candidates are vying for the Mayoral seat and a whopping forty are vying for eight city council seats. Because of these changes in representation, the political landscape in Los Angeles will shift significantly.
These leaders will vote to uphold or alter policies vital to our arts and culture delivery system. In fact, I believe we have the power to create a tipping point in this election. After all, we are the trendsetters, the truth tellers, the visionaries who generate the creative alchemy our town is known for.
We didn’t come to owning the term “creative capital” of the United States lightly. It’s taken decades of experimentation, of trial and error, to build a town on creativity. But from the dawn of the silent film era, to birth of the aerospace industry, to product design, modern dance and postmodern visual art, Los Angeles has fostered creative innovation. We tell the stories of the world through mixed media, many of which have become incredibly sophisticated and profitable. The leaders we elect become strategic partners in this creative alchemy. Operating in a political environment that is conducive to creativity will create the conditions for communities throughout our region to prosper.
‘Fruitvale’ movie brings Oscar Grant story to Sundance
MAJOR props to Bay Area filmmaker Ryan Coogler, who recreates the story of BART police victim Oscar Grant in his debut movie ‘Fruitvale.’
The movie, which Coogler considers his “love letter to the Bay Area,” won two top Sundance festival prizes this Saturday.
“The concept for ‘Fruitvale’ came from the incident itself,” said Coogler. “People who witnessed the event, recorded it on their cell phones and video cameras— once I saw that, and once a lot of people in the community saw that, there was a lot of anger, a lot of frustration. A lot of outrage. Because Oscar— he looked like me. He looked like us.”
And the media coverage is booming:
Ryan Coogler on pain, passion in making ‘Fruitvale’ on the LA Times
How ‘Fruitvale’ Director Ryan Coogler Brought Real Life to the Big Screen on COLORLINES
‘Fruitvale’ Takes Top Honors at Sundance on MTV Movies Blog
good:
Making art into a full-time job—indie or industry—can require years of scraping with no guaranteed payoff. It becomes a much smoother path if you’ve got a phone full of friends from whatever art school, enough spare time to hone and promote your work, and family who can support you and who don’t need to be supported. Social capital is still capital, and in our economic system, an art career is a luxury purchase.
A powerful whisper.
Jasper Johns - White Flag - 1954
The texture is really amazing.
Is there a California flag version?
