The kids’ show “Cocomelon” is known for its bright visuals and its monopolization of toddlers’ attention. What is less commonly discussed is the means by which it got there. It’s no coincidence the show is so successful — rather, that success is an algorithmically calculated outcome by its parent company, Moonbug Entertainment. Moonbug’s London headquarters […]
Tag: art
Political Activism is the New Showbiz
An actor’s job is to act. It’s an art. Art has and will always be political. From every deliberate, red brushstroke in paintings, rendering in photography, and distinct diction used to make memorable phrases plastered on posters, art has served as a reliable method of expression and a form of silent activism in politics today. Independent artists […]
Restitution of Nazi-Looted Art: Can US Courts Guarantee Access to Justice ?
Léone Meyer never had a traditional life. In 1942, she was only two and a half years old when she saw her mother get deported to Auschwitz’s concentration camp. A Jewish orphanage in Paris’ suburbs then took her in, and after five long years, a wonderful couple finally adopted Léone: the Meyer family, philanthropic parents […]
To Fund or Not to Fund
How should society determine its priorities? Should government invest only in services that yield a quantifiable, measurable benefit? Or, should government also recognize the importance of things that, while gratifying to the soul, are not as clearly utilitarian? For decades, the arts have been lumped in with the second category. Museums, theaters, galleries, and other […]
Hipsters, Murals, and Putin’s New Youth Movement
It’s easy to see why Russia’s ultranationalist youth groups have earned comparisons to the Hitler Youth. Masterminded in 2005 by Kremlin ideologist and later Deputy Prime Minister Vladislav Surkov, Nashi (“Ours” in English) soon became the largest among the pro-Putin youth groups. In its heyday, it was some 100,000 members strong. Nashi members attended patriotic […]