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 [...]
Archive for the ‘uncategorized’ Category
Reading List in Communication, Culture and Industry
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, [...]
Why Black Americans Should Care About Net Neutrality
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?” [...]
Posted in uncategorized 
Tags: black, new media, politics, race, Web Series/Online Video 
No Comments »The Sitcom Returns! If So, For How Long?
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 [...]
The Other Side of Privacy: Benefits of Targeted Advertising?
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 [...]
Posted in uncategorized Tags: advertising, distribution, privacy, web series, Web Series/Online Video No Comments »Are Men Still Afraid of Hugging?
Posted by Aymar Jean Christian on August 12th, 2010
Full article at SpliceToday! Comment there. 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, [...]
‘Gay’s Anatomy:’ A ‘Freaky,’ ‘Awkward’ and ‘Sodomytastic’ Web Series
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 Anatomy is an Office-style independent web series that debuted last year. I came [...]
Jennifer Thym: Making Independent Films and Web Series in Hong Kong
Posted by Aymar Jean Christian on July 27th, 2010
Thanks to Racialicious for reposting! 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 [...]
Sandeep Parikh, Web Entrepreneur, Shifts from Web to TV
Posted by Aymar Jean Christian on July 27th, 2010
Full post and interview at Tubefilter! 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 [...]
Inception Theories: Is There Any Point?
Posted by Aymar Jean Christian on July 24th, 2010
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 [...]
‘Dinner for Schmucks’: What To Do With An OK Film?
Posted by Aymar Jean Christian on July 23rd, 2010
Full review at SpliceToday 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 [...]
Is China Ruining Its Cinematic Appeal?
Posted by Aymar Jean Christian on July 20th, 2010
Full post at Ronebreak here 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 [...]
Vuvuzelas for BP!: From Kickstarter to Babelgum, Cheezburger In Weeks
Posted by Aymar Jean Christian on July 15th, 2010
Kickstarter once again proves itself to be a nimble little site! It is, apparently, Kickstarter week at my blog.
Posted in uncategorized Tags: distribution, social networking, Web Series/Online Video No Comments »Kickstarter-Supported Projects Get Own Film Festival
Posted by Aymar Jean Christian on July 12th, 2010
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 [...]
Crowdsourcing Funding for Web Series
Posted by Aymar Jean Christian on July 11th, 2010
I have a post over at Tubefilter looking at Kickstarter as a tool for funding web series and giving tips on how creators can harness the full potential of the site, partially intended to coincide with the website’s first film festival, held Friday in Brooklyn. After the jump, the first half of the post — [...]
First Amateurs, Then Web Stars, MaverickMen Go Professional
Posted by Aymar Jean Christian on July 3rd, 2010
Stars abound on XTube, but none stand out more than Cole and Hunter, the self-described “maverickmen” of adult online video who have dominated the site for months. Glance at the “most viewed” videos for any given week and you’ll see their clips scattered about, easily overpowering most of their competitors. After nearly two years of [...]
Getting Together: LGBT Web Series Festival in New York
Posted by Aymar Jean Christian on June 25th, 2010
The festival will be held at New World Stages in New York City (340 W. 50th St.), 7pm, June 26 (Saturday) Web series festivals are becoming a significant outlet for publicizing and distributing online content. A lot of web series show at feature-film and short film festivals, but events focused on web series are particularly [...]
Is Black Queer Back?
Posted by Aymar Jean Christian on June 24th, 2010
Thanks to Racialicious for reposting! In Brooklyn one night in May I was treated to my very first performance from Monstah Black, an artist who defies categorization, but whose show I would characterize as part-rock concert, part-live art theatre, with a black queer bent. Despite my awe I managed to divert my eyes long enough [...]
I’m on Vacation!
Posted by Aymar Jean Christian on June 4th, 2010
I’m on vacation! Well, not a complete vacation. I’ll be relaxing, attending the International Communication Association conference and a summer research program in Hong Kong. Nonetheless I’ll be gone from June 5 until July 10. I may do a bit of blogging, but right now I don’t expect to!
Fashion Copyright = Bad Idea (Televisual Break)
Posted by Aymar Jean Christian on June 4th, 2010
I’m taking a break from film/TV/online video today to give a principled rant about copyright, which I’ve done before. (This was originally published on SpliceToday. Comment there!) Copyright legislation is full of bad ideas. Chief among them are the decades-long rights artists and corporations currently receive. Copyright now exists for up to 70 years after [...]
