Steven Spielberg Announced as the 2021 Genesis Prize Laureate [Video Included]

Steven Spielberg Announced as the 2021 Genesis Prize Laureate (screengrab)

The Genesis Prize Foundation today announced film director, producer, and philanthropist Steven Spielberg as the 2021 Genesis Prize Laureate.

• The annual $1 million Genesis Prize, dubbed the "Jewish Nobel" by TIME magazine, honors extraordinary individuals for their outstanding professional achievement, contribution to humanity, and commitment to Jewish values.

The award recognizes Spielberg's outstanding achievement as one the most influential filmmakers in the history of cinema; his social activism and prolific philanthropy; and his principled stance against anti-Semitism and all forms of intolerance. 

The Prize also recognizes his extraordinary work to preserve the memory of the Holocaust and prevent future genocides through film, public advocacy and philanthropy.

For the first time in the history of the Genesis Prize, the voice of global Jewry was a major factor in Laureate selection. Two hundred thousand Jews on six continents cast their votes for the 2021 Laureate; millions more engaged on social media. While the Prize Committee had the ultimate discretion about the selection of the recipient of this prestigious award, the fact Spielberg received the most votes was a major determining factor.

"The Genesis Prize celebrates Steven Spielberg's unique talent, his commitment to making the world a better place, and his unparalleled contribution to teaching the post-war generations about the horrors of the Holocaust," said Stan Polovets, Co-Founder and Chairman of GPF. "We are delighted to welcome Steven Spielberg to the distinguished family of Genesis Prize honorees, which includes such luminaries as Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Natan Sharansky, and Michael Bloomberg."

This is the latest in a series of prominent awards bestowed on Spielberg, which among others include the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award of the United States; Legion d'Honneur, the highest order of the French Republic, and Germany's Federal Cross of Merit.

"Spielberg is a great Jewish visionary and storyteller," said the legendary human rights activist Natan Sharansky, who was awarded the Genesis Prize in 2020. "Key Jewish themes are often woven into his narratives: importance of identity and belonging, maintaining humanity in a ruthless world, caring for the other, and honoring the moral obligation to do the right thing. His talent makes them universal: told by Spielberg, these stories come alive in people's hearts across the globe."

Steven Spielberg becomes the 9th Genesis Prize honoree. All previous Laureates chose to direct the $1 million Prize award to philanthropic causes about which they were passionate. Sharansky, who preceded Spielberg as the Genesis Prize Laureate, directed his $1 million award to support individuals and organizations working to alleviate the Covid-19 health crisis and prevent future pandemics.

"Congratulations to Steven Spielberg on this important Jewish award," said Isaac Herzog, Chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel and Chairman of the Genesis Prize Selection Committee. "He is an example of great Jewish talent, whose extraordinary work in film and philanthropy is infused with the values of his people – a quest for justice, compassion, humanism, and a heartfelt desire to make the world a better place."

2021 Genesis Prize Laureate Steven Spielberg. (Credit: WFPA / Alamy Stock Photo)

About the 2021 Genesis Prize Laureate:

Steven Spielberg is widely considered to be the most successful film director in the history of cinema. His films grossed $10bn and his imagination has captivated tens of millions of people around the world. After establishing his reputation with blockbuster films such as Jaws, ET, Jurassic Park and Indiana Jones, he began to explore serious topics such as justice, slavery, women's rights, corruption, and morality of war in films such as Saving Private Ryan, Lincoln, The Color Purple, The Post, Munich and Bridge of Spies.

His films also have delivered compelling narratives of Jewish history and present day events – the Holocaust, terrorism, and the maturing of the State of Israel. Spielberg's 1993 masterpiece Schindler's List has had a profound impact on humanity's perception and awareness of the Holocaust. Fifty years after the Shoah, Spielberg's film fostered a strong emotional connection with this tragedy for a vast, global audience – touching the post-war generations in a way that no other medium could. Spielberg channeled all of his proceeds from Schindler's List to fund philanthropic causes – both Jewish and non-Jewish. In 1994, he established the USC Shoah Foundation, dedicated to preserving Holocaust survivor testimonies. Concerned with prevention of genocide, the Foundation also works to preserve the memory of other 20th century genocides – in Cambodia, Armenia and Rwanda. Over 55,000 survivor testimonies have been recorded to-date.

• Spielberg and his wife Kate Capshaw founded the Righteous Persons Foundation, which has made more than $100 million in grants to various Jewish organizations. Through the Wunderkinder Foundation, Spielberg has given extensively to health, arts, youth and education.

About the Genesis Prize and Prior Laureates:

The Genesis Prize is a global award that celebrates Jewish achievement and contribution to humanity. Launched in 2013, the Prize is financed through a permanent endowment of $100 million established by The Genesis Prize Foundation.

Previous Genesis Prize laureates are former New York City Mayor and philanthropist Michael Bloomberg (2014); actor, producer and peace activist Michael Douglas (2015); Itzhak Perlman, virtuoso violinist and advocate for individuals with special needs (2016); sculptor and advocate for the rights of refugees Sir Anish Kapoor (2017); Oscar-winning actress and social activist Natalie Portman (2018); owner of New England Patriots and founder of the leading foundation to combat anti-Semitism Robert Kraft (2019); and legendary Jewish leader and human rights activist Natan Sharansky (2020). In 2018, the Genesis Prize Foundation honored U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg with its inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award for her contribution to social justice and equal rights.

SOURCE: The Genesis Prize Foundation

15th Annual Festival of the Arts Boca to Reach Global Audience with Star-Studded Virtual Performances & Interactive Discussions with Award-Winning Authors

15th Annual Festival of the Arts Boca to Reach Global Audience with Star-Studded Virtual Performances & Interactive Discussions with Award-Winning Authors

Festival of the Arts Boca will go forward in 2021, with virtual performances by Florida-based artists from iconic locations throughout Boca Raton from March 6 – 14, 2021. Each program will stream once only on the Festival of the Arts Boca website.

• Access is free with advance registration.

"Our 15th installment will celebrate the tremendous talent in South Florida, showcase the beauty of Boca from various venues and honor the legacy of our co-founder, Charlie Siemon," said Joanna Marie Kaye, Executive Director of Festival of the Arts Boca. "Charlie would have been thrilled to see that paradoxically, we have the opportunity to reach our biggest audience ever in 2021 with all of our events filmed and broadcast worldwide.

 Nadine Sierra

• The Festival will open on Saturday, March 6 with Boca native and Metropolitan Opera star soprano Nadine Sierra and friends, in concert at Signature Flight Services at the Boca Raton Airport.

James Ehnes

• On Sunday, March 7, the Festival will welcome Grammy Award-winning Florida-based violinist James Ehnes, from the Boca Raton Innovation Campus.

• On Saturday, March 13, tune in for an evening with the Festival All-Stars featuring Constantine Kitsopoulos, Festival Music Director, and musicians from the Festival Orchestra.

• The Festival will close on Sunday, March 14 with Grammy-Award winning South Florida favorite, jazz flautist Nestor Torres, and his band at the Boca Raton Resort and Club.

This season's Authors & Ideas program will include interactive discussions with three authors, Admiral James Stavridis, Sonia Shah and Bruce Feiler, via Zoom.

• On Monday, March 8 at 7 p.m., Admiral James Stavridis author and retired four-star U.S. Naval officer, will talk about leadership.

• On Tuesday, March 9 at 7 p.m., Bruce Feiler will discuss his latest book, a top 10 New York Times bestseller, Life Is In the Transitions: Mastering Change at Any Age, a collection of hundreds of life stories, exploring how we can navigate life's growing number of transitions to live with more meaning, purpose, and joy.

• On Thursday, March 11 at 7 p.m., the Festival will welcome Sonia Shah, science journalist and prize-winning author of the heavily lauded, The Next Great Migration: The Beauty and Terror of Life on the Move, that explores our centuries-long assumptions about migration through science, history, and reporting, predicting its lifesaving power in the face of climate change.

• For more information visit festivalboca.org or call (561) 571-5270

SOURCE: Festival of the Arts Boca

Streaming Now! Patrick Page's "All The Devils Are Here: How Shakespeare Invented The Villain" [Trailer Included]

 Patrick Page's "All The Devils Are Here: How Shakespeare Invented The Villain"Now Streaming

All the Devils Are Here: How Shakespeare Invented the Villain, written by and starring Tony nominee Patrick Page, begins streaming today. It's the first ever online-only production from Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C.

In the show, Page traces the evolution of Shakespeare's most diabolical characters, through a series of monologues and scenes. Filmed under strict health and safety protocols onstage at Sidney Harman Hall by Joo Kno Media, All the Devils Are Here illustrates the growth of Shakespeare's characters from stock archetypes to fully developed three-dimensional characters unlike anything that had come before.

Patrick Page, (Credit: Nathan Johnson)

About Patrick Page:

Beloved on Broadway and in Washington, D.C., Page has portrayed an astonishing array of bad guys. In 2019, Page was nominated for a Tony Award for his role as Hades in Hadestown. Other notable Broadway credits include Julius Caesar (with Denzel Washington), Saint Joan, Casa Valentina, Spring Awakening, Cyrano de Bergerac, The Lion King, and Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical. At STC he received a Helen Hayes Award for his portrayal of Iago to Avery Brooks' Othello, and has also starred as Claudius in Hamlet, Prospero in Tempest, and the lead roles in Macbeth and Coriolanus.

"Patrick understands Shakespeare's works as only a seasoned actor can," STC Artistic Director Simon Godwin shares. "Shakespeare was a playwright and an actor, and Patrick can get under the skin and into the minds of the most devilish creations ever to grace a stage."

The Trailer:

• Tickets are priced at $25 for this limited engagement and may be purchased here

All the Devils Are Here: How Shakespeare Invented the Villain is sponsored by KPMG. CoStar is the streaming sponsor for the 2020/21 season. This production is a component of Shakespeare Everywhere, which is made possible by the visionary support of the Beech Street Foundation.

Related Video:

SOURCE: Shakespeare Theatre Company

Glass Portrait of Vice President Kamala Harris at Lincoln Memorial Celebrates Her Shattering of Historic Glass Ceiling

Glass Portrait of VP Kamala Harris Presented by National Women's History Museum, Chief & BBH NY Celebrates Her Shattering of Historic Glass Ceiling. (Photo by Shannon Finney /Getty Images for National Women's History Museum & Chief)

A dramatic glass portrait honoring Vice President Kamala Harris has been unveiled in front of the Lincoln Memorial today, celebrating Harris as America's first woman vice president.

The exhibit, which will be on display through Feb. 6th, commemorates this seminal achievement for women in America and celebrates an incredible woman leader with many "firsts" to her name – including the first woman vice president, first Black vice president, first South Asian vice president and first vice president to graduate from a Historically Black College and University.

The installation to honor Harris' shattering of this monumental "glass ceiling'' is presented by the National Women's History Museum – the nation's leading women's history museum and the most recognized institution dedicated to uncovering, interpreting, and celebrating women's diverse contributions to society, in partnership with Chief, a private network focused on connecting and supporting women leaders.

The one-of-a-kind broken glass medium used by the artist Simon Berger to create the portrait uniquely embodies Harris' glass-shattering achievement. The installation was created by creative agency BBH New York, with production partnership from M ss ng P eces.

"Representation matters, especially at the ballot box, and the inauguration of Kamala Harris as the first woman, and first woman of color, to serve as vice president of the United States is a landmark moment in American history," said Holly Hotchner, President and CEO of the National Women's History Museum.

"Today's progress is built on the legacy of the women who came before – the trailblazers, like Kamala, who raised their voices, marched for their rights, and ran for elected office; the women who cracked glass ceilings so that other women could shatter them," Hotchner said. "It is a true honor to join BBH and Chief as partners in this remarkable installation honoring this critical turning point in the fight for representation, Vice President Harris, and the numerous women throughout history who demanded a seat at the table."

"Chief's mission is to drive women into positions of power and keep them there – we exist to support ascendant women to break glass ceilings, retain their seats at the table, and create lines of succession for future women leaders," said Lindsay Kaplan, who co-founded Chief in 2019 with Carolyn Childers. "This artwork not only celebrates Vice President Kamala Harris, a woman who embodies this mission, but it recognizes the women who came before her and those who'll come after. Today, only 23% of executive roles are held by women. We hope this exhibit will show women of all backgrounds that they can change that percentage, assert their voices, and open doors as they shatter barriers."

• Set against the historic and scenic backdrop of the reflecting pool and Washington Monument, the installation will include a plaque featuring a QR code which viewers can scan to take them to an Instagram Spark AR. This will provide an augmented reality experience that immerses the observer in Harris' glass-breaking moments. 

• The campaign also includes a companion website and film.

"We hope that women – of all ages and backgrounds – will see their own strength and potential reflected in the portrait of our first woman vice president," said Amani Duncan, President of BBH New York. "This incredible work of art featuring interactive elements is a rallying moment for all organizations to work together to advance gender equity and address the issues facing women and other marginalized genders."

• Based on a color photo of Harris taken by photographer Celeste Sloman (represented by ATRBUTE, New York), the artwork measures 6.5 feet x 6.5 feet and was crafted by artist Simon Berger (represented by Artstübli Gallery, Basel). To create these unique works of art, Berger delicately taps a hammer on large sheets of laminated safety glass, making tiny cracks and fissures that, when viewed together, coalesce to create an incredible, 3-D-style likeness .

Glass Portrait of VP Kamala Harris Presented by National Women's History Museum, Chief & BBH NY Celebrates Her Shattering of Historic Glass Ceiling. (Photo by Shannon Finney /Getty Images for National Women's History Museum & Chief)

About National Women's History Museum:

Founded in 1996, the National Women's History Museum is the nation's leading women's history museum and the most recognized institution dedicated to uncovering, interpreting, and celebrating women's diverse contributions to society. A renowned leader in women's history education, the Museum brings to life the countless untold stories of women throughout history, and serves as a space for all to inspire, experience, collaborate, and amplify women's impact—past, present, and future. The Museum is a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)3. 

• Follow the National Women's History Museum on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

About Chief:

Chief is the future of women in the workplace. Created to drive more women into positions of power and keep them there, Chief is a private network designed specifically for women executives to strengthen their experience in the C-suite, cross-pollinate power across industries, and effect change from the top-down. Co-founders Carolyn Childers and Lindsay Kaplan launched in Chief in 2019, and have grown to nearly 4,000 of the most formidable senior leaders in the United States, representing over 3,000 companies. Chief is headquartered in New York City, with membership open in Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, and San Francisco. 

• Learn more at chief.com.

About BBH NY:

Helmed by the trio of President Amani Duncan, Chief Creative Officer Rafael Rizuto and Head of Planning Tom Callard, BBH NY "zags" where other agencies "zig," making ambitious ideas for ambitious clients. Leveraging the power of creativity for outsized impact on culture and business growth, BBH NY works with some of the most innovative marketers in the world, including Google, Marvel, Brighthouse Financial, and Samsung. 

• For more information, visit bbhny.com.

About m ss ng p eces:

m ss ng p eces is the new wave production and entertainment partner for content and immersive experiences that inspire culture. As the industry shifts and evolves through new mediums and new demands, we bring the missing pieces to the table to make content and immersive experiences with diverse creatives across storytelling, technology and physical experiences – all supported by world-class integrated production. With offices in NY & LA, we produce globally recognized work for agencies, brands, and studios, and have been named to the Ad Age Production Company A-List for the past 4 years in a row.

SOURCE: Chief

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SpaceX Vs Nasa: Who Will Get Us To The Moon First? Here's How Their Latest Rockets Compare

Nasa’s Space Launch System. (Nasa)

No-one has visited the Moon since 1972. But with the advent of commercial human spaceflight, the urge to return is resurgent and generating a new space race. Nasa has selected the private company SpaceX to be part of its commercial spaceflight operations, but the firm is also pursuing its own space exploration agenda.

To enable flights to the Moon and beyond, both Nasa and SpaceX are developing new heavy lift rockets: SpaceX’s Starship and Nasa’s Space Launch System.

But how do they differ and which one is more powerful?

Starship

Rockets go through multiple stages to get into orbit. By discarding spent fuel tanks while in flight, the rocket becomes lighter and therefore easier to accelerate. Once in operation, SpaceX’s launch system will be comprised of two stages: the launch vehicle known as Super Heavy and the Starship.

Super Heavy is powered by the Raptor rocket engine, burning a combination of liquid methane and liquid oxygen. The basic principle of a liquid fuel rocket engine is that two propellants, – a fuel such as kerosene and an oxidiser such as liquid oxygen – are brought together in a combustion chamber and ignited. The flame produces hot gas under high pressure which is expelled at high speed through the engine nozzle to produce thrust.

The rocket will provide 15 million pounds of thrust at launch, which is approximately twice as much as the rockets of the Apollo era. Atop the launcher sits the Starship, itself powered by another six Raptor engines and equipped with a large mission bay for accommodating satellites, compartments for up to 100 crew and even extra fuel tanks for refuelling in space, which is critical to long duration interplanetary human spaceflight.

Super Heavy separating from Starship. (wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

The Starship is designed to operate both in the vacuum of space and within the atmospheres of Earth and Mars, using small moveable wings to glide to a desired landing zone.

Once over the landing area, the Starship flips into a vertical position and uses its on-board Raptor engines to make a powered descent and landing. It will have sufficient thrust to lift itself off the surface of Mars or the Moon, overcoming the weaker gravity of these worlds, and return to Earth – again making a powered soft landing. The Starship and Super Heavy are both fully reuseable and the entire system is designed to lift more than 100 tons of payload to the surface of the Moon or Mars.

The spacecraft is maturing rapidly. A recent test flight of the Starship prototype, the SN8, successfully demonstrated a number of the manoeuvres required to make this work. Unfortunately, there was a malfunction in one of the Raptor engines and the SN8 crashed on landing. Another test flight is expected in the coming days.

Nasa’s Space Launch System

The Space Launch System (SLS) from Nasa will be taking the crown from the discontinued Saturn V as the most powerful rocket the agency has ever used. The current incarnation (SLS block 1) stands at almost 100 metres tall.

The SLS core stage, containing more than 3.3 million litres of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen (equivalent to one-and-a-half Olympic size swimming pools), is powered by four RS-25 engines, three of which were used on the previous Space Shuttle. Their main difference from the Raptors is that they burn liquid hydrogen instead of methane.

Stages of the SLS. (Nasa)

The core stage of the rocket is augmented by two solid rocket boosters, attached to its sides, providing a total combined thrust of 8.2 million pounds at launch - about 5% more than the Saturn V at launch. This will lift the spacecraft to low Earth orbit. The upper stage is intended to lift the attached payload – the astronaut capsule – out of Earth’s orbit and is a smaller liquid fuel stage powered by a single RL-10 engine (already in use by ATLAS and DELTA rockets) which is smaller and lighter than the RS-25.

The Space Launch System will send the Orion crew capsule, which can support up to six crew for 21 days, to the Moon as part of the Artemis-1 mission – a task that current Nasa rockets are currently not capable of performing.

It is intended to have large acrylic windows so astronauts can watch the journey. It will also have its own engine and fuel supply, as well as secondary propulsion systems for returning to the Earth. Future space stations, such as the Lunar Gateway, will serve as a logistical hub, which may include refuelling.

The core stage and booster rockets are unlikely to be reusable (instead of landing they will drop in the ocean), so there is a higher cost with the SLS system, both in materials and environmentally. It is designed to evolve to larger stages capable of carrying crew or cargo weighing up to 120 tonnes, which is potentially more than Starship.

NASA’s SLS and SpaceX’s Starship, on the right, could both get us to the Moon and beyond. (Ian Whittaker/NASA/SpaceX, Author provided)

A lot of the technology being used in SLS is so-called “legacy equipment” in that it is adapted from previous missions, cutting down the research and development time. However, earlier this month, a test fire of the SLS core stage was stopped a minute into the eight-minute test due to a suspected component failure. No significant damage occurred, and the SLS program manager, John Honeycutt, stated: “I don’t think we’re looking at a significant design change.”

And the winner is…

So which spacecraft likely to reach carry a crew to the Moon first? Artemis 2 is planned as the first crewed mission using SLS to perform a flyby of the Moon and is expected to launch in August 2023. Whereas SpaceX has no specific date planned for crewed launch, they are running #dearMoon – a project involving lunar space tourism planned for 2023. Musk has also stated that a crewed Martian mission could take place as early as 2024, also using Starship.

Ultimately it is a competition between an agency that has had years of testing and experience but is limited by a fluctuating taxpayer budget and administration policy changes, and a company relatively new to the game but which has already launched 109 Falcon 9 rockets with a 98% success rate and has a dedicated long-term cash flow.

Whoever reaches the Moon first will inaugurate a new era of exploration of a world which still has much scientific value.

About Today's Contributors:

Gareth Dorrian, Post Doctoral Research Fellow in Space Science, University of Birmingham and Ian Whittaker, Senior Lecturer in Physics, Nottingham Trent University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. 

COVID-19 Movie 'Songbird' is a Disaster – We Need Better Pandemic Stories [Trailer Included]

COVID-19 Movie 'Songbird' is a Disaster – We Need Better Pandemic Stories (Image via STX Films)

If the reality of COVID-19 were not enough, you can now watch Songbird, a new blockbuster movie which pictures the world in 2024 trying to deal with the ravages of COVID-23, a new mutation of the coronavirus. As one reviewer writes, the film combines “a Romeo & Juliet-lite love story with a sub-Contagion thriller”. Hailed as the first feature film about the pandemic, released during the pandemic, Songbird has not received the warm welcome its producers might have hoped for.

'Songbird' (screengrab)

One of the most generous reviews is from The Guardian, which described the film as “a fascinating historical document of how some creatives found their way around the rules during an impossible time for a struggling industry”. In contrast, Canada’s Globe and Mail, cautioned viewers to “physically distance” themselves from Songbird, which it described as “crass and gimmicky”. Other reviewers also saw the film as a “schlocky and opportunistic” production. Viewers, meanwhile, have criticised it as being in bad taste for trying “to bank on the current times and failing just about every step of the way”.

The range of these responses tellingly reveals the complexity of the bigger questions behind the film, namely: what role does culture play when it comes to disasters? This question is not new. Yet the seemingly never-ending current global health crisis gives it a sense of urgency.

Cultural representations of disasters can show ways to make sense of crises. Whether it’s the allegorical painting of the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, HBO’s Chernobyl, or Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012), a magical realist response to Hurricane Katrina, these cultural representations act as social commentaries. They anticipate political action, shape and express environmental ethics, and – most importantly – they can help us to imagine what a possible future could look like.

Not in the same boat

Films, TV series and books about disasters show, again and again, that there is no one way of experiencing any disaster. Zadie Smith’s recently published Intimations, an essay collection of pandemic reflections, describes this in clear terms: “The misery is very precisely designed, and different for each person.” As the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 clearly demonstrates, we are all not in the same boat. This has been captured by poetry, and confirmed by research.

The pandemic has not struck with the same force nor at the same time. What COVID-19 has revealed is ever-starker socioeconomic divides. The pandemic is having a disproportionate impact on certain demographic and labour groups. It has cut a swath through the most vulnerable populations, the elderly and those with pre-existing health conditions as well as the key workers who are keeping the cities, hospitals, and schools running. In short, the impact of the pandemic (and we’re only seeing the tip of the iceberg) is contingent on pre-existing, long-term, and sustained vulnerability.

'Songbird' (screengrab)

In response to the profound suffering and disruption to all aspects of our lives, many yearn for some, even small, return to “normal life”. Yet, it is precisely this “normal” – the reality of fatal inequalities, racial violence, injustice, and disenfranchisement – that is the problem.

No return to the pre-pandemic conditions is possible, nor should it be wished for. Rather, post-pandemic recovery has to work to address and repair these long-term structures of injustice, racism, and political, social and cultural marginalisation. Good artistic works aim to recover these hidden narratives and voices, voices that need to be central to any long-term recovery processes.

Starting slowly

The future starts slowly. How it will look depends on long-term community efforts and – even more so – on policy changes and political decisions. Yet waiting for these might mean waiting too long. In the meantime, artists, neighbourhood groups, mutual aid and solidarity groups forge their way through the crisis, start this slow labour of recovering, already pointing towards what alternative futures, in a small way, might look like.

The future starts with listening to the discordant experiences of those most affected by the impact of the pandemic. For Nobel Prize winner Svetlana Alexievich, reflecting on writing in the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster, it soon became clear that “the book that I’m going to write will take years”. Indeed, her novel Chernobyl Prayer took ten years to complete. This “novel of voices”, as she calls it, captures precisely those discordant meanings, ongoing sense of irreparable loss and confusion.

Understanding what the current pandemic means and what its real impact is will also take years. Undoing long-term vulnerabilities will take even longer. Yet this work has to start now and continue day in, day out. For British philosopher Nigel Warburton, Albert Camus’s The Plague (1947) provides inspiration, with its depiction of “ordinary people rising to an occasion and doing extraordinary things”.

Whether an artistically uninspiring, ethically problematic contagion-themed love story where the pandemic is exploited as a jumping-off point can capture the many voices of the pandemic experience, sketch a horizon of post-COVID-19 life, or provide an inspiration for such ordinary work of slow healing and recovery, is highly unlikely. Tellingly, for one viewer of Songbird, in order to enjoy the film, one must “ignore what’s happening” in real life.

While seeking an escape might not in itself be bad, as film scholar Alfio Leotta reminds us: “The kind of escape we seek matters.” It is thanks to the other worlds offered by books, films, that we can gain a better, more critical, but also more courageous, imaginative, view of the present we are in and, not least, of what can the future hold.

About Today's Contributor:

Kasia Mika, Lecturer in Comparative Literature, Queen Mary University of London

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. 

Poirot at 100: The Refugee Detective Who Stole Britain's Heart

David Suchet as Hercule Poirot.(ITV)

A hundred years ago, Agatha Christie introduced British readers to a small man with an impeccably maintained moustache who, with the help of his “little grey cells”, was very good at solving crimes. That man, of course, was Hercule Poirot, who made his debut in Christie’s first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, in 1921.

Though potentially the second most famous detective in British culture (after Sherlock Holmes), Poirot is not British at all but a refugee. Coming to England as part of a group of Belgians displaced by the first world war, his origins lie in Brussels. Writing about this retired Belgian police officer solving cases around the UK and across the globe, Christie was able to explore (and at times poke fun at) the complexities of Englishness and its relationship to continental Europe.

European flair

On the surface, Christie’s novels resemble a nostalgic retreat to the pastoral and to the English stately home. They can be read as a possible turning-inwards thanks to an emphasis on closed rooms and detailed floor plans of grand buildings. But such appearances are deceptive.

The opening of borders, both literal and intellectual, shapes Christie’s England. It was her understanding of the work of European thinkers that gives her detective an edge. Where an English detective, like Sherlock Holmes, looks for external pieces of evidence that can be analysed, Poirot solves the case by realising the hidden implications of people’s behaviour – including his own. Poirot’s Freudian focus on the psychology of suspects enables him to see that simple mistakes and slips of the tongue can hide deeper meanings. In The Mysterious Affair at Styles, a crucial clue is revealed when Poirot realises the importance of his own almost unconscious instinct to tidy.

In Christie’s world, the typically English common sense of policemen is not enough to solve the mystery. Instead, a dash of continental theory sheds light on what lies beneath the surface.

Another of Poirot’s trademarks is his occasional struggle to find the correct English word or idiom. In The Mysterious Affair at Styles, he even misquotes Hamlet. Yet it would be a mistake to read these moments as simple errors. Instead, Poirot knowingly plays into the trope of the “funny foreigner”, using difficulties with language to disarm suspects and allay fears of suspicion (how could such a comic figure be so great a detective?). In the famous scenes where Poirot explains the truth, his English becomes markedly more fluent. In this, Poirot represents the outsider perfectly placed to see through English deceptions.

Little England

The success of the “funny foreigner” schtick with unsuspecting English plays into Christie’s larger exploration of Englishness in her books.

Poirot is an enthusiastic devotee of England. In The Murder of Roger Ackroyd he comments that England is “very beautiful, is it not?” But this enthusiasm is not always returned. A running joke of the Poirot novels and adaptations is that he is often mistaken as French. In Ackroyd, he is described as looking “just like a comic Frenchman in a revue”. But in a genre that demands close attention to detail, the joke here is at the expense of a particularly inward-looking type of Englishness, those who cannot tell the difference between the French and the Belgian.

Likewise, as literary scholar Alison Light notes, Poirot’s popularity coincides with the expansion in travel, as the English increasingly saw themselves as tourists abroad. Several of Poirot’s most famous cases occur on modes of transport and in exotic locations, like Death on the Nile. However, while the English in these stories might be abroad, class relations from home still manage to play out wherever they might be. England follows them, and that inward-looking Englishness runs deep.

While Christie might have poked fun at England and Englishness, she managed to capture the hearts of British readers with her small, smart Belgian. Poirot was so loved by readers that Christie wrote 33 novels, two plays, and more than 50 short stories about him between 1921 and 1975. ITV’s adaptation of many of these stories, Agatha Christie’s Poirot starring David Suchet, ran for 25 years (1989-2013) and is also now considered a classic of British TV. Few fictional detectives have had their complete adventures adapted for the screen. In this regard, Poirot makes a strong claim to being Britain’s most loved detective.

David Suchet as Hercule Poirot.(screengrab)

About Today's Contributor:

Christopher Pittard, Senior Lecturer in English Literature, University of Portsmouth

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. 

Eric St. John Stars with Chris Brown and Young Thug in New Mini Movie / Music Video [Video Included]

Eric St. John Stars with Chris Brown and Young Thug in New Mini Movie / Music Video (screengrab)

Eric St. John has continued to shake the entertainment industry as he is currently working with award-winning artist Chris Brown and talented rapper, Young Thug, on a new mini -movie / music video. 

• Eric St. John has already shown the world his incredible acting skills, and he is set to star in "De Gringo a la Tumba," an amazing movie by international writer and director Jacob N. Stuart.

City Girls set in 1940's Hollywood in an exclusive cabaret-style club, is narrated by "A Bronx Tale" star Lillo Brancato Jr. Throughout the video Chris Brown sings, along with Young Thug, and the cabaret girls put on a show, until the scene explodes into a cinematic shootout.

City Girls - The Video:

"I am truly impressed with Executive Producer Matt Goldstein and I am grateful that he hired me for this acting role on his incredible production!" said Eric St. John.

Eric St. John is fast-becoming a sought-after brand in the entertainment industry as the American actor and producer has caught the attention of major stakeholders in the industry. Not too many people will be surprised that Eric is working with Chris Brown on a new music video, considering the fantastic acting skills he has displayed in recent times.

City Girls (Behind The Scenes) - Video:

• City Girls  was directed by talented Jake Miosge, in his directorial debut. Eric is grateful to work with Miosge stating " It is an honor to work with Jake on his directorial debut!"

Eric has expressed his delight in working with Chris Brown and Young Thug. "Chris Brown is one of the premier musical talents of our generation, and I am grateful that he brought me on board for his awesome project! Young Thug is the epitome of cool!" said Eric St. John.

Eric St. John

About Eric St. John:

Eric St. John is a talented American actor and world-class martial artist, trained in multiple disciplines with some of the best in the world. The multifaceted entertainer looks set to take the industry by storm as he continues to deliver captivating performances on movie sets.

• For more information about Eric St. John and his works, please visit IMDb, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

SOURCE: Eric St. John

Favale Media's "Donald Trump Farewell Video" Features Four Long Years Of Lowlights In Just Four Minutes [Video Included]

REM predicted the end of the world as we know it would start with an earthquake but for many it started with a descending escalator carrying Donald and Melania in Trump Tower on June 16th, 2015…and it's been all downhill since then.

Now with Trump's presidency officially ended, Favale Media has captured the last four years of lowlights in a commemorative video featuring Radiohead's "Creep".

"Regardless of political affiliation, every presidency in modern history has been fodder for comedy," said Vinnie Favale.

Comedians had a field day in 1952 with Vice President Nixon's "checkers" speech. In 1963, Vaughn Meader had the number one album ("The First Family") spoofing JFK. Nixon's Watergate and Clinton's Monicagate were a goldmine for Johnny Carson's monologue writers and Reagan, Bush 41, Bush 43 and Obama made their own fair share of gaffes to keep the late-night talk show writers busy.

• But Trump's presidency presented a whole different challenge for the comedy industry.

Favale says "Unfortunately old the expression 'it's all fun and games till somebody gets hurt...then it's hilarious" never applied to Trump. Claims that he could shoot someone on 5th avenue and get away with it and exaggerating the size of his inauguration crowds were relatively harmless…contesting the election results and instigating the riot at the Capitol not so much."

Prior to the attack on the Capitol, Favale was going to take a lighthearted approach. "There were so many moments to choose from, I thought I might just highlight the silly stuff and use the Village People as the soundtrack. But then Trump's comments at his "Save America March" rally and the ensuing attack on the Capitol by his loyalists forced Favale to change the tone of the video.

"The thing about the Trump is that for every silly video clip there are like ten horrific ones and the footage from the January 6th riot was just too difficult to ignore."

• Using the aptly titled "Creep" from Radiohead, the video came together pretty quickly.

"It's sad that it all had to end this way and I think we all are looking forward to the inevitable Biden grandpa memes."

Favale Media's "Donald Trump Farewell Video" Features Four Long Years Of Lowlights In Just Four Minutes (screengrab)

Favale Media specializes in Live Events, Films, Musical Theater, Scripted & Unscripted TV Programs. Vinnie Favale is a veteran of CBS, David Letterman, The Howard Stern Show and a founder of Comedy Central.

SOURCE: Favale Media

Shackleton presents Antarctica NOW: Why does Antarctica Matter to All of Us?

A seven-day online festival that takes participants on a virtual journey to discover: ‘Why does Antarctica Matter to All of Us?’

British Expedition Apparel brand Shackleton presents Antarctica NOW, a seven-day online festival celebrating the extraordinary continent that for centuries has captured restless imaginations and transformed understanding of the rest of the world. 

Normally January would be a time when thousands of people head to the Antarctic, whether for work or exploration, but COVID-19 has inevitably impacted on that. As borders close and lockdowns intensify, we invite people instead to come with us on a virtual journey. Through dynamic presentations and discussions, provocative writing and pioneering photography, this is a chance to explore the unique wonder and vital significance of Antarctica today.

Over a century ago, when the brand's namesake Ernest Shackleton led three expeditions to Antarctica, exploration was about discovering new lands and breaking records. Today's explorations in the seventh continent are more focused on fields of science, climate and conservation, all of which are playing a pivotal role in our understanding of the planet.

We are realising what we learn from the frozen continent today will be paramount in fighting climate change in the future. This is why Shackleton has decided to host Antarctica NOW, in order to spread awareness of what's happening in the coldest place on earth right now - and why it's crucially important to every single one of us.

Shackleton presents Antarctica NOW: Why does Antarctica Matter to All of Us? (screengrab)

Discussion topics at the 7-day festival will include:

• What's the polar power struggle playing out in Antarctica right now?
• How do events in Antarctica impact on everyone?
• What's left for Antarctic explorers? Who gets to decide who goes?
• How fast are the ice shelves melting?
• What's the link between Antarctica and space research?
• What can the ice tell us about the past - and the future?
• Are we winning the wildlife conservation battle?
• How can we make the world sit up and notice?

Antarctica NOW opens on Monday January 25th and runs until the 31st January with a lead speaker broadcast live on Zoom and Facebook at 6pm each evening, as well as a host of other interviews, briefings, writing, photographic essays and a discussion forum available via Shackleton's website and social media channels.

Curated by writer and editor Rachel Halliburton (Avaunt Magazine), the festival brings together some of the most exciting and significant voices in the Antarctic community, including explorers, geopoliticians, scientists from the European Space Agency, cartographers and prize-winning photographers, to investigate and raise awareness of the most urgent and critical issues threatening the frozen continent..

"Antarctica is our spiritual home - it's where Sir Ernest Shackleton made his name as a polar explorer over a century ago and where our expedition-grade apparel is tested and used today. 'Like me, anyone who's seen Antarctica first-hand feels compelled to protect it" says Shackleton co-founder Martin Brooks. 'The aim of the festival is to raise awareness of the critical issues surrounding Antarctica, and how these impact all of us across the globe. As Shackleton said himself, 'It's in our nature to explore, to reach out into the unknown. The only true failure would be not to explore at all,' We invite everyone to explore what makes Antarctica both critical and wonderfully compelling.'

Shackleton presents Antarctica NOW: Why does Antarctica Matter to All of Us? (screengrab)

The Event Schedule:

• Monday 25th

6:00 PM - Klaus Dodds, Professor of Geopolitics at Royal Holloway University of London
A new Cold War? - why the Antarctic is on the brink of an international power struggle

• Tuesday 26th

6:00 PM - Mark Drinkwater, Head, Earth and Mission Science Division at the European Space Agency
Checking Earth's Pulse at the Poles from Space: Are 2020 vital signs cause for concern?

• Wednesday 27th

6:00 PM - Dr Mackenzie Grieman, Post Doctoral Research Associate at the Department of Earth Sciences, Cambridge University
Ice as a time machine – what stories can glaciers and ice sheets can tell us about our past?

• Thursday 28th

6:00 PM - Sebastian Copeland, Photographer, filmmaker, explorer & philanthropist
Waking the giant – how can photography help bring about change?

• Friday 29th

6:00 PM - Lizzie Daly, Biologist & wildlife broadcaster
From gentoo penguins to Antarctic blue whales – what needs to be done to win the wildlife conservation battle?

• Saturday 30th

6:00 PM - Hugh Broughton, Architect and leading designer of research facilities in the Polar Regions
Polar architecture – what are the challenges of designing for the world's most extreme environment?

• Sunday 31st

5:00 PM - Steve Jones, Expedition Manager at Antarctic Logistics & Expeditions
Earth's final frontier – what advice do today's explorers need and why did Scott and Shackleton's expeditions go wrong?

6:00 PM - Louis Rudd MBE, Record-breaking polar explorer & SAS Soldier
Tales of the Unexpected - the inside story on The Spirit of Endurance Expedition.

Related Video:

SOURCE: Shackleton