Roundup: Pop Culture & the Arts ...
Movies, Documentaries and Museum Exhibits
This page features links to reviews of movies, documentaries and exhibits with a historical theme. Listings are in reverse chronological order. Descriptions are taken directly from the linked publication. If you have articles you think should be listed on the Pop Culture page, please send them to the editor editor@historynewsnetwork.org.
SOURCE: NY Magazine (4-24-12)
The last century saw two World Wars, economic disaster, numerous artistic movements, and the rise of the digital age — and, along with it, a complete transformation in women's fashion. Cally Blackman, a dress historian and instructor at Central Saint Martins, attempts to chronicle the shift from corsets to today's ready-to-wear, pulling together more than 400 photographs and illustrations to create 100 Years of Fashion, published by Laurence King. Organized by sections that include "Youthquake," "Amazons," "Couturière," and "New Looks," the goal was to give an overview without getting too in-depth. "I suppose one of the frustrations was I couldn't go into great detail on any one topic because there just wasn’t space to do that," Blackman says. "I think that's always the difficulty with this kind of book." This is the third in a series, following 100 Years of Menswear and 100 Years of Fashion Illustration. The new title comes out May 7, but you can see a preview in our slideshow: "...
SOURCE: NYT (4-12-12)
In an effort to reach beyond the Western art world the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation is embarking on a five-year program to work with artists, curators and educators from South and Southeast Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and North Africa. In addition to bringing curators from those parts of the world to the Guggenheim Museum in New York and organizing exhibitions that highlight art from their regions, the program will acquire art for the Guggenheim’s permanent collection.
The project, to be financed by UBS and called the Guggenheim UBS Map Global Art Initiative, will begin with South and Southeast Asia. The museum will invite a curator from each region to New York for overlapping two-year residencies; they will work with a team of Guggenheim curators to identify new and recent artworks that best reflect the range of talents in their areas. The artworks they choose will be...
SOURCE: Zap2It (4-5-12)
Will Ferrell's hysterical web series "Drunk History" might end up on your TV screen. Comedy Central has given a pilot presentation order for the show, which will be produced by Ferrell, Adam McKay and Gary Sanchez Prods., according to Deadline.
The series has a drunk narrator describing an historical event, while famous comedians and actors reenactment the scene. The pilot will be called "Drunk History Across America." It will also include travel elements. City locals will get smashed and talk about local history. These will be reenacted as well.
Check out one of the episodes of the web series featuring Jack Black below. Other segments have featured Michael Cera (pictured above), Zooey Deschanel...
SOURCE: NYT (4-2-12)
It’s no easy feat for a show set in the 1960s to comment on an election taking shape in 2012. And while the writers of “Mad Men,” the popular AMC period drama, haven’t officially endorsed any candidate in this year’s presidential contest, they did find a way to take a sly dig at the Republican front-runner – or at least a progenitor who shares his name.
In a brief scene from Sunday’s latest installment of “Mad Men,” written by Erin Levy and the series creator Matthew Weiner, the character Henry Francis (played by Christopher Stanley) is shown in a telephone call with an unseen colleague. Francis, a fictional character who is the public relations director for Mayor John Lindsay of New York City, tells the off-screen figure: “Well, tell Jim his Honor’s not going to Michigan.”
After a pause, Francis adds: “Because Romney’s a clown and I don’t want him standing next to him.”...
