If all goes according to plan, 2010 will be remembered as the year gay and lesbian audiences enjoyed three well-directed, well-acted and well-marketed gay films: The Kids Are All Right (dir. Lisa Cholodenko, 2010), I Love You, Phillip Morris (dirs. Glenn Ficarra, John Requa, 2010-US) and Howl (dirs. Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman, 2010). These three [...]
Research Update: Thinking About Web Series, Independent Production and Emerging New Media
Most people who read this blog know me professionally, which is to say, digitally. And, digitally speaking, I talk about my research, but not as rigorously as I do in person. I’m developing my reading list for my exams now, which means I’m doing a lot of big and small preliminary thinking about “who I [...]
Paying for Content: The Context and Consequences of the Next Wave in New Media
I’m not a cynic by nature, but the times may be changing and perhaps not for the better. I’d been planning to write this post for a while, and the recent news of Google’s talks with Verizon for the company to pay for better bandwidth gave new texture and urgency to the debate over the [...]
Is Hulu Winning the Web Video Wars?
Originally published at SpliceToday. Comment there! Let’s flashback — something I love to do — to 2007. Hulu was about to launch in private beta. The media world was talking about Viacom’s YouTube lawsuit and NBC’s decision to pull the rug out from under the video site. Media analysts satirized online video as a crowded [...]
Is M. Night Shyamalan Really A Failure?
Thanks to Racialicious for reposting! Watching the previews for Salt, I had what appears to be a common experience. The trailer for an elevator-themed film came on. It seemed strange: what is this movie? What’s it about? My confusion grew into clarity when the words “From the Mind of M. Night Shyamalan” preceding the title [...]
Posted by Aymar Jean Christian on August 30th, 2010
If you’re interested in women and film, you’re probably acquainted with the Bechdel test, which I’ve referenced about before (see here and here). The informal test is a quick shorthand for whether or a not a film offers a meaningful space for women. On a broader level, the popularity of the Bechdel test provides an overall gauge for how women in Hollywood are fairing, onscreen in character and off-screen on the job market.
Failing is common and really bad, but passing doesn’t mean much. Why? Because the test is very generous. It sets a low bar. Even still, a lot of films fail, especially Hollywood blockbusters. Even still, does the Bechdel test need a couple exceptions?
Posted by Aymar Jean Christian on August 30th, 2010
If I blog only sporadically over the next month it’s because I’m locked in a library reading! I’ll be taking what my graduate program calls “comprehensive exams” in October and I have a ridiculously long list of books to get through. It’s an exciting process in the beginning: it’s great to get a solid historical, theoretical and topic-specific foundation on American media. Something so few people have! (How many people have a few months to just read?).
I’m publishing my reading list to help any other grad students or non-academic/professional aficionados out there who want to find resources. There aren’t many lists out there (Alisa Perren’s great list of recent books on media industries inspired this post). The list is by no means entirely “comprehensive.” A true comprehensive list would probably have well over 1,000 books, and that wouldn’t be very practical, would it?! Also, the list is suited to my personal research needs and interests (gaps in knowledge I need to close, specific topics I need to cover). Some books I’ve read over and over are not included, some are; it’s personally tailored. Finally, this is an almost-final draft, meaning a few of the citations are off/incorrect.
Posted by Aymar Jean Christian on August 30th, 2010
Everybody loves YouTube. Whether you’re into Miss Jia, Kingsley, or that guy who impersonates Obama, the Google-owned site is still a place for regular users without big marketing dollars to showcase their talent and style.
So you’re forgiven if you greeted the hand-wringing over Google and Verizon’s net neutrality pact with an impassioned “who cares?” With the Twitterati voicing “Google is now evil,” and countless articles threatening the death of the Internet, it may seem like much ado about nothing when you can still watch the latest Kanye West video on Vevo’s YouTube channel.
But don’t be fooled: a lot is at stake. What is net neutrality? Simply put, net neutrality is a principle calling for all Internet traffic to be treated equally. This means every website, portal and application is given the same access to bandwidth: Yahoo runs just as fast as Bing. Most cable providers, like Verizon and Comcast, would like to charge companies for bandwidth access. Google pays Verizon for faster YouTube, in a nutshell. Google and Verzion’s pact is halfway between net neutrality and full-on market competition: for now, it calls for most of the web to stay the same but says traffic on mobile devices should be an exception, where some content is faster than others.
Posted by Aymar Jean Christian on August 25th, 2010
If all goes according to plan, 2010 will be remembered as the year gay and lesbian audiences enjoyed three well-directed, well-acted and well-marketed gay films: The Kids Are All Right (dir. Lisa Cholodenko, 2010), I Love You, Phillip Morris (dirs. Glenn Ficarra, John Requa, 2010-US) and Howl (dirs. Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman, 2010).
These three films share a few important characteristics and differ in many others. What they all point to is an interesting possibility: with a handful of movies, Hollywood proved in the 2000s it knows how to make and market quality gay films.
Posted by Aymar Jean Christian on August 23rd, 2010
The Plain Dealer has quoted me in a nice article out today on the return of the classic sitcom, “Death of sitcoms, it turns out, was greatly exaggerated,” which basically states that cable and broadcast networks are returning to the form after bailing post-Friends, Frasier, Seinfeld and Will & Grace.
Most of the people in article attribute the return of the sitcom to a change in the national mood, both the ten-year distance from 9/11 and the economy — people are sad and out of work so need to laugh — which is certainly a key cultural factor.
Posted by Aymar Jean Christian on August 21st, 2010
It’s funny how scholarship, especially work in the social sciences and humanities, follows trends. As much as we try to separate ourselves from “the industry” — this is especially true of those of us in the much-maligned “cultural studies” — our research topics often mirror what the industry is interested in, which is fine, perhaps preferable, but it’s often those who criticize the industry the most who fall into this category.
One of the latest waves in new media scholarship is privacy, or, what happens when user identities become commodities online. I would never say “don’t study that,” because that’s silly, but I do think a small point is missing in the debate over whether targeting based on private information is “bad” or “good.” I wonder if I can broaden the debate.
Posted by Aymar Jean Christian on August 14th, 2010
Most people who read this blog know me professionally, which is to say, digitally. And, digitally speaking, I talk about my research, but not as rigorously as I do in person.
I’m developing my reading list for my exams now, which means I’m doing a lot of big and small preliminary thinking about “who I am” and “what I do” as a scholar. Rather than bore you with my most abstract problems, I thought I’d use a public platform to test out how I’d practically organize and frame my actual project. This is really an exercise for me — so thoughts/comments are very welcome — but also a chance to introduce myself. If you’re a practitioner, however, there may or may not be anything useful here; it’s academic, not practical. Continue at your own risk!
Reviewing Dinner for Schmucks was a challenge, not only because the film itself is neither here nor there, but also for all the constant grunts, groans and grumbles from the mostly male audience.
What was all the fuss about? After all, Dinner for Schmucks is a benign little movie, designed to offend as few people as people. It barely ranks on the faux-pas scale to Paul Rudd and Steve Carell’s work in the gross-out Apatow oeuvre.
The problem was male bonding, or rather, male-on-male intimacy.
Posted by Aymar Jean Christian on August 6th, 2010
I’m not a cynic by nature, but the times may be changing and perhaps not for the better.
I’d been planning to write this post for a while, and the recent news of Google’s talks with Verizon for the company to pay for better bandwidth gave new texture and urgency to the debate over the future of the web. Game-changing events in history are difficult to spot; big short-term developments may prove minor in the long-term, but the Google/Verizon deal — if it materializes beyond speculation — proves as good a turning point as any for the next wave of the media economy: when users pay.
Right now, the future is far from certain and maybe not so rosy. Let me try to tell a story; at the bottom of the post, a list of links and resources.
Posted by Aymar Jean Christian on August 3rd, 2010
I’ve been behind on my interviews and I’m trying to catch up. I’d originally intended to publish this interview months ago, but got sidetracked and never followed up. Now I’ve got it and it’s too interesting and entertaining to push aside!
Gay’s Anatomyis an Office-style independent web series that debuted last year. I came across it while compiling my gay and lesbian web series list, watched an episode and was hooked! The humor is sharp, the characters vivid and cartoony, and the plotlines quite creative.
After the jump, my interview with creators Karina Mangu-Ward and Bobby Hodgson and a few clips from the series!
Originally published at SpliceToday. Comment there!
Let’s flashback — something I love to do — to 2007. Hulu was about to launch in private beta. The media world was talking about Viacom’s YouTube lawsuit and NBC’s decision to pull the rug out from under the video site. Media analysts satirized online video as a crowded circus of low-quality clips randomly assembled on Google’s then-new trophy property.
Those same analysts knew News Corp. and NBC were plotting a “YouTube killer” soon known as Hulu. We saw headlines such as this:
Here in the US, it’s pretty safe to say, most if not all of the Hong Kong films we see are big budget, triad-themed or auteur-centered. We see Johnnie To, Wong Kar-Wai, films from stars like Tony Leung, Andy Lau, and Jackie Chan. While film production in Hong Kong has slowed way down from the highs in the 80s and 90s, there are still a number of independent and local filmmakers making films about and within the Special Region.
Among these filmmakers, relative newcomer Jennifer Thym is in a category unto herself, making films in English, directing web series, filming locally while distributing and raising funds globally.
There aren’t too many other people who embody the spirit of web entertainment as well as Sandeep Parikh. Parikh is all over the web: as an actor on marquee web series The Guild, writer-director of Atom’s Legend of Neil and creator of his own website, EffinFunny. Already a celebrity to hundreds of thousands of fans, Parikh’s popularity keeps growing each year.
Now, with Neil’s final season premiering yesterday on Atom, Parikh is set for the next big stage of his career: writing for television.
Watching the previews for Salt, I had what appears to be a common experience. The trailer for an elevator-themed film came on. It seemed strange: what is this movie? What’s it about? My confusion grew into clarity when the words “From the Mind of M. Night Shyamalan” preceding the title Devil came on the big screen. I sighed, recognizing the trademark “things are not as they appear” quality to the trailer. The rest of the audience, however, groaned.
Groaning at the sight Shyamalan’s name has been reported from screening to screening. The phrase “box office poison” is now repeatedly being associated with the director’s name. Shyamalan is only credited as creating the story for Devil, but already people are asking if the film can redeem his credibility. Shyamalan has hit a nadir, causing people to question his career and brand him a failure, a has-been riding off The Sixth Sense. My question: is it true?
If you’re following the discussion around Inception, you’ll notice there have been three clear waves of public opinion: hype or praise (Nolan is a genius; film is cinema classic); dissent (the New York critics — Observer, New Yorker, Magazine, Press); and assimilation (rampant theorizing).
We’re in the third phase now. I’m ready to call the next phase: resignation.
Critics should be honest, as I learned from A.O. Scott’s thoughtful essay on critical engagement with Inception. Why am I starting a review of Dinner for Schmucks with a reference to Inception? It was, for one, the only film audience members were talking about at the advance screening I attended. But it also begs critics to be honest about where they stand: on what they think film is supposed to be, on Christopher Nolan, on Hollywood marketing and so on. I’m being honest: I saw Dinner for Schmucks with Inception still on my mind.
So what did I think of Steve Carell’s latest entry in his library of lovable roles?
While major television networks search for new comedy formulas — though we might be seeing more classical sitcoms a la Hot in Clevelandand Big Bang Theory – and while drama and action flicks regularly top the movie box office, the web became ground zero for humor for this century’s first decade.
Will comedy continue its reign from 2010 to 2020? An introductory review of web comedy and some trends to look out for. All this is pretty basic, but sometimes stating the obvious brings more complex issues into focus.
One day in Beijing, a friend and I were walking through the hutong district, a small section of mostly single-story stone residences in the center of the very modern city. Many of the hutongs have been razed, apparently gone decades ago, but even as we were there more had been demolished. We were walking down the street and noticed a very colorful gate. It looked like either a business or the residence of a very wealthy person; we gambled on it being the former and walked in. A guard ran after us, asking us where we were headed.
Matthew Lessner, director of The Woods, whose post-production efforts were partially funded by Kickstarter. Full post at WSJ.
Two years ago, Matthew Lessner could not have imagined his script for a Lord of the Flies-inspired feature film would take him from the woods of Oregon to a rooftop in Brooklyn, all because of a newfangled website.
Lessner’s film, “The Woods,” financed on credit obtained before the financial crisis, is one of the projects showcased Friday at the Kickstarter Film Festival, in partnership with Rooftop Films.
Aymar Jean Christian researches visual culture -- including web series, television, and film -- at the Annenberg School at the University of Pennsylvania. He has been published in Newsweek, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, among other publications. He runs the Film@Perelman program and lectures on film at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. For information, visit my website or click the "about" tab above.
Full review at 
