5AM StoryTalk Coffee Reading: Issue 3
A compilation of arts-related articles you might've missed
Good morning, fellow art and coffee lovers!
I’ve established a regular schedule for this Reading List: a new issue will be published the first and third Wednesday of every month.
Today’s issue should’ve been posted last week, but I was waylaid by writing work elsewhere and preparing for the paid subscription launch of 5AM StoryTalk. The next one will post on September 6th.
What you’ll find here is a list of arts-related articles (and occasionally podcasts) I’ve recently read — not necessarily new ones either — that you might find illuminating/challenging/inspiring, too. I don’t necessarily agree with everything here, but I don’t need to entirely agree with something to think it’s worthy of my time and, when it comes to art, I encourage you to embrace the same philosophy.
Today’s links come to you in three different sections: The Arts, the Film/TV Industry (i.e. strikes, why studio/streamers are the worst these days, unionization efforts), and Fucking AI. It’s capped off with some recommendations about newsletters to read here on Substack.
Thanks for being part of this conversation!
Cole
THE ARTS
Barbie and Ken and Nothing in Between
By Emily St. James; New York Times
For one trans viewer, Greta Gerwig’s hit offers both a too-pat idea of gender and a complex view of humanity.
The Unapologetic Brilliance of Sinéad O’Connor
By Amanda Petrusich; The New Yorker
I think what O’Connor sought in her music was anguish, laid bare, and then a gorgeous moment of communion.
‘Oppenheimer’ doesn’t show us Hiroshima and Nagasaki. That’s an act of rigor, not erasure
By Justin Chang; Los Angeles Times
Christopher Nolan’s movie has no interest in reducing the atomic bombings of Japan to a trivializing, exploitative spectacle, despite what some would want.
How Greta Gerwig Recaptured Old Hollywood Technicolor Magic for Barbie
By Charles Bramesco; GQ
To bring Barbie Land to eye-popping life in a unique shade of pink, Gerwig and her team created a new way to implement a process that hasn't been used since the '50s.
How good, really, was Pablo Picasso?
By Sebastian Smee; The Washington Post
The exemplary modern artist died 50 years ago this month, and we’re still trying to clean up his mess
Everyone Is Beautiful and No One Is Horny
By RS Benedict; Blood Knife
Modern action and superhero films fetishize the body, even as they desexualize it.
The One Where And Just Like That Tiptoes Around Abortion
By Michelle Ruiz; Vogue
FILM/TV INDUSTRY
Writers Guild West Calls for Lawmakers to Look Into Disney, Amazon and Netflix Deals
By Katie Kilkenny and Winston Cho; The Hollywood Reporter
In a new 15-page antitrust report, the striking union says that the rise and growth of these three companies offer "an alarming window into the future of media."
FTC Chair Lina Khan on the 'Red Flags' in Hollywood's Market Structure
By
;Khan tells The Ankler 'by some basic metrics, there seems to be something broken in the market'
Opinion: Hollywood strikes prove Netflix and other streamers have grown too powerful. Time to break them up
By Miles Mogelescu; Los Angeles Times
Death Spiral of Hollywood Monopolies
By Alena Smith;
Too big to fail? Not so fast. A showrunner's cautionary memo
How the Strikes Could Impact Lavish Hollywood CEO Pay
By Ashley Cullins; Variety
Most entertainment giants won’t have to face a shareholder Say on Pay vote until early next year, but the Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA have effectively pointed to massive paychecks of top executives as a sign that the companies can make a deal.
Overworked and Underpaid, VFX Workers Vote to Unionize at Marvel
By Chris Lee; Vulture
“Historic first step”
South Korean actors in Netflix originals want better pay. The company refuses to meet with their union
By Max Kim; Los Angeles Times
It doesn't matter where in the world you go, Netflix's message to artists is always the same: "Go fuck yourself."
South Korea’s Directors Guild Pushes for Bargaining Rights and Backend Pay from Streamers, Studios
By Soomee Park; The Hollywood Reporter
In an echo of the screenwriters and actors guild strikes in the U.S., the Korean guild is lobbying to revise legislation that prevents directors from receiving residual pay from hit movies and shows.
High-profile exits spark fears that Hollywood diversity pledges are just ‘PR’
By Greg Braxton and Meg James; Los Angeles Times
FUCKING AI
AI-Created Art Isn’t Copyrightable, Judge Says in Ruling That Could Give Hollywood Studios Pause
By Winston Cho; The Hollywood Reporter
A federal judge on Friday upheld a finding from the U.S. Copyright Office that a piece of art created by AI is not open to protection.
Scraping or Stealing? A Legal Reckoning Over AI Looms
By Winston Cho; The Hollywood Reporter
Tech giants’ use of copyrighted works to train ChatGPT or Midjourney might violate the law — unless more deals are cut.
I Would Rather See My Books Get Pirated Than This (Or: Why Goodreads and Amazon Are Becoming Dumpster Fires)
By Jane Friedman
Revealed: The Authors Whose Pirated Books Are Powering Generative AI
By Alex Reisner; The Atlantic
Stephen King, Zadie Smith, and Michael Pollan are among thousands of writers whose copyrighted works are being used to train large language models.
AI is being used to give dead, missing kids a voice they didn’t ask for
By Jennifer Hassan; New York Times
This is just the tip of the grotesquerie that AI is going to inspire in our world.
I'm a Screenwriter. These AI Jokes Give Me Nightmares
By Simon Rich; Time
‘It’s already way beyond what humans can do’: will AI wipe out architects?
By Oliver Wainwright; The Guardian
It’s revolutionising building – but could AI kill off an entire profession? Perhaps not, finds our writer, as he enters a world where Corbusier-style marvels and 500-room hotels are just a click away.
SUBSTACK RECOMMENDATIONS
I enjoy reading the following Substack newsletters about art. Maybe you will, too.
Story Club with George Saunders from
In the Writing Burrow from
LegalDispatch from
Thin Ice from
The Cavletter from
Inkygirl from
Re:Writing from
Development Hell from
Frame by Frame from
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Thanks for this. I have a week's worth of reading to do now!