The Classic Christmas Movie That Offers a Lesson About Antisemitism in America

Marching through somber streets, men in uniform confiscate items, entering houses for further looting, all legalized by a leader waving his fist and spewing anger. Germany in the 1930s? No, the classic Christmas movie Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town, which aired originally in 1970.

Written and directed by the men who brought Americans Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, and the Little Drummer Boy, Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town was a classic story of good versus evil. It used Nazi imagery and symbolism to craft an origin story for Santa Claus—the story’s hero and the pinnacle figure of capitalist, secular Christmas. Needing an antihero for Santa to thwart, the film capitalized on a decade in which news stories, early Holocaust scholarship, and representations in popular culture made Americans far more aware of the Nazis and their heinous crimes. Many Americans have watched it almost every year since.

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Yet, while the story is beloved, it points to a cultural problem that has helped perpetuate antisemitism. The movie reminds Christian Americans of the Nazi crimes and uses them to convey villainy, without engaging antisemitism or Jewish people at all. Christmas presents, not Jewish people, are the victims of the vaguely German antihero. This is a common practice in movies, television, and novels, and it has left Americans understanding the evil of the Nazis without fully grasping who they targeted, why, and how the antisemitism at the root of the Holocaust continues to reverberate for Jewish communities around the world.

Despite early efforts after World War II to punish the Nazis, such as the Nuremberg Trials, as well as the creation of the state of Israel, collective memory of the era failed to grasp fully the horrors of the genocide perpetrated against Jewish people. One problem was that some audiences Christianized the victims to be able to empathize and identify with the tragedy.

In the 1950s, the reaction to the best-selling The Diary of a Young Girl epitomized how popular memory of the Holocaust was incomplete, with the public not reckoning with the full scope of the Nazi atrocities — especially who the victims were and why they were targeted. Readers tended to ignore Anne Frank’s Jewishness, viewing her as Anglicized and as forgiving them: “In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart,” Frank wrote before having seen a death camp.

Read More: Inside the Biden Administration’s Response to the Spike in Antisemitic Attacks

A turning point arrived in 1960, when Israel captured Nazi leader Adolf Eichmann in Argentina, and flew him to Jerusalem to stand trial. Survivors provided eyewitness testimony, including photographs, and the world rediscovered the tragedy. Planes air-shipped video-tapes of the proceedings to New York every day to ensure that the American media covered the trial.

That year also marked the translation of Night by Eli Wiesel from Yiddish into English. The book offered a depiction of a ghetto, a deportation, a death camp, and a death march, from the perspective of a Jewish survivor with an instinct for literary framing. Night became a mainstay of literature and history curricula. Historical memory of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust were on the rise. 

Even so, Wiesel’s book revealed how Holocaust memory was often tailored to the interests of Christian audiences. He emphasized his struggles with faith, which helped to connect with Christian audiences for whom belief in God is a central theological question.

In 1965, the award-winning film The Sound of Music also reflected how, even as the Nazis’ crimes had become more visible, Holocaust memory often excluded the tie between antisemitism and the Nazi regime. Sometimes, Jewish victims themselves were missing entirely, as was the case in The Sound of Music, which featured Nazi villains without ever depicting or even mentioning Jewish people.

The rise in consciousness meant that when the filmmakers behind Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town needed an antagonist and a backdrop to convey evil, the Nazi trope was well known among Americans. They knew it would work to feature an evil bad guy with a German-sounding name — Burgermeister Meisterburger — and a German-accented voice. 

The inciting incident in the movie occurs when Meisterburger, the Mayor of “Sombertown,” trips on a toy and breaks his “funny bone.” “I hate toys,” he declares, “and toys hate me. Either they are going, or I am going, and I am certainly not going.” He growls to his right-hand man, Grimsley, “Take this down.” 

He breaks into song, proclaiming, “Let it be known throughout the land from sea to sea / there will be no more toymakers.” He delivers the melody with an air of authority, with Meisterburger’s grimacing voice carrying a catchy tune while proclaiming violence against all toys: “Outlaw the dolls and sink the boats / they bring me only woes.” Grimsley transcribes Meisterburger’s whims and issues a formal decree: “Toys are hereby declared illegal, immoral, unlawful, and anyone found with a toy in his possession will be placed under arrest and thrown in the dungeon.” 

To make Meisterburger and his regime sufficiently sinister, the filmmakers had them resort to tactics that mimic some of what the Nazis did. The anti-toy decree functions in Sombertown like the 1935 Nuremberg Laws did in Germany. Empowered by the law, men in uniform patrol the streets, confiscating possessions and instilling fear among townspeople. At one point they even publicly burn toys. 

Crucially, the film replaced Jews with toys. Rather than depriving Jewish people of the rights, privileges, and physical safety of citizenship as happened in Germany, Burgermeister banned the people of Sombertown from having toys. “If you find so much as a marble or half a jack, the whole house is under arrest,” he ordered, searching each home before dawn with armed men in tow.

Read More: Ken Burns on His New Documentary ‘The U.S. and the Holocaust’

That’s the backdrop against which Santa Claus a.k.a. Kris Kringle sneaks into houses by night to hide toys and circumvent the authoritarian, oppressive regime. Kringle’s team — a penguin, a winter warlock, and the future Mrs. Claus — and the townspeople brave and spirited enough to challenge authority join him in hiding toys. Just as people in Nazi Germany hid Jews, to protect lives, Kringle and his allies hide toys, to protect, presumably, Christmas.

Yet, once again, as with the Sound of Music, Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town uses the Nazis as villains while decoupling them from their primary victims: Jewish people. In this case, the goal was to elevate Christmas and advance the secular, cultural aspects of the holiday. After all, Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town was not a Holocaust movie and never claimed to be.

But the choice reflected the way in which Nazis had come to play a key role as a villain in American collective consciousness without widespread understanding of the antisemitism at the root of their crimes. Fighting Nazi-reminiscent monsters has become a common plot element in all sorts of movies, books, and more.

Nothing’s wrong with using a historically horrific regime and their evil as inspiration for fictional bad guys. In fact, it makes sense, because it conveys to the audience how uniquely evil the antagonist is. But the tradition of doing so with the Nazis has left viewers unaware of the history of antisemitism, how the Holocaust looks from a Jewish perspective, and how that understanding shapes Jewish fears in 2023. When Jewish people sound the alarm about the rise of antisemitism, many downplay it. They don’t grasp the historical memory shaping Jewish perceptions. 

Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town is a classic: the plot is catchy, the music is memorable, and the characters are iconic. It also premiered at a formative moment for Holocaust memory in the U.S. When retreating to the nostalgia of a mid-20th century classic, viewers should enjoy it while also considering who’s included, who’s erased, and how those choices shape the present.

Rebecca Brenner Graham is a history teacher at the Madeira School, an adjunct professorial lecturer at American University, and a Cokie Roberts fellow at the National Archives. Her forthcoming book, Dear Miss Perkins: A Story of Frances Perkins’s Efforts to Aid Refugees from Nazi Germany, will be published by Kensington in 2025. Made by History takes readers beyond the headlines with articles written and edited by professional historians. Learn more about Made by History at TIME here.

source https://time.com/6548383/christmas-movie-holocaust-memory-antisemitism/

Warner Bros. Discovery in Merger Talks With Paramount Global

Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. held talks on a possible merger with Paramount Global, potentially combining two of the biggest media companies in the world, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The talks are preliminary and may not lead to an agreement, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are at such an early stage.

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David Zaslav, chief executive officer of Warner Bros. Discovery Inc., met with Bob Bakish, his counterpart at Paramount Global, on Tuesday in New York to discuss a possible deal, Axios reported earlier. He has also spoken with Paramount Chair Shari Redstone, whose family company owns a controlling stake in Paramount, the owner of CBS and other television properties.

A combination of the companies would unite famous Hollywood properties, including the Paramount and Warner Bros. film and TV studios, and put a number of pay-TV and broadcast stations, such as HBO and CBS, under a single roof. 

A merger of the two large media companies would likely face intense scrutiny by federal regulators who have challenged numerous combinations under the Biden administration. According to Axios, Warner Bros. executives say they could complete such a merger because their company doesn’t own a broadcast network like Paramount’s CBS.Play Video

Both companies have struggled as consumers have canceled cable-TV subscriptions in favor of a new generation of streaming services. The streaming businesses are expensive to run, and haven’t made up for shrinking profits at traditional networks. Programming costs, especially for sports, have been escalating.

People familiar with Paramount’s thinking say the board has been more open to strategic alternatives, such as an alliance with another media giant, or even a sale to a private equity buyer or technology company.

Paramount has been selling noncore assets, such as its real estate and Simon & Schuster booking publishing business. Bloomberg News reported Wednesday that the company was once again holding talks about a sale of the Black Entertainment Television network, this time with a management-led group.

Paramount is controlled by the Redstone family, which owns a majority of the voting stock through National Amusements, a family holding company. Shari Redstone has also held discussions about a sale of her family’s stake in Paramount with film producer David Ellison and RedBird Capital Partners.

Warner Bros.’ Zaslav has shown a great appetite for deals, merging his Discovery cable networks with the Scripps channels and later acquiring Warner Media from AT&T Inc. in a $43 billion merger.

The latter deal included tax benefits that bar Warner Bros. from doing new acquisitions until April 2024, two years after the AT&T transaction was completed.

Shares of Paramount were down more than 1% in extended trading. Warner Bros. was down almost 1.5%.

source https://time.com/6549800/warner-bros-discovery-paramount-global-merge-talks/

Maestro’s Scenes from an Open Marriage

“I know exactly who you are. Let’s give it a whirl,” are the confident words said by Felicia Montealegre Cohn to Leonard Bernstein toward the beginning of Bradley Cooper’s Netflix biopic Maestro. Cooper directs himself as Bernstein; Felicia is embodied by Carrie Mulligan, whose naturally expressive (often sad) eyes tend to say more than her words. They happen to sparkle in that scene, as Leonard and Felicia walk through a garden and into a life that they would share for more than 30 years.

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What exactly Felicia knew is a question that hangs in the air for much of the film’s runtime. Where some biopics exact a laser focus on a brief period of their subject’s lives (The Queen, Jackie) and others attempt to cram so much in that they take on the fool’s errand of summing up an entire human experience in a few hours (Respect, Blonde), Cooper (who wrote the Maestro script with Josh Singer) splits the difference by spanning decades with a particular eye toward Bernstein’s love and family life. Few and far between are incredible shots of Cooper’s Bernstein composing and conducting, some of which underscore Cooper’s virtuosity as a performer, as he sweatily commands an orchestra for minutes of unedited film. Maestro is less the recounting of an illustrious career than an affair of the heart.

When Felicia agrees to take the plunge with Leonard, she’s already met David Oppenheim (Matt Bomer, one of the many openly queer actors cast here to play a queer character, alongside Michael Urie as Jerome Robbins and Gideon Glick as Tommy Cothran). Leonard calls him “sweetie” and touches him affectionately within eyeshot of Felicia. The audience has already been introduced to David, who’s in bed with Leonard when he gets the call to stand in for conductor Bruno Walter for the performance at Carnegie Hall that’s framed as Leonard’s big break. Later, he encounters David and his wife in Central Park and Leonard tells their infant child, “I slept with both of your parents. I love too much, what can I say?”

Read more: Leonard Bernstein Comes to Life, Gloriously, in Maestro

As the film progresses, Leonard openly flirts and carries out affairs with men, sometimes to Felicia’s consternation. At a party, she complains to friends about the “cookie-cutter boys” that often surround her husband; moments later she catches him kissing a hot young thing named Tommy whom he eventually takes on as a lover, at times inviting him along to hang out with his family. Leonard sits between Felicia and Tommy during the opening night of his musical Mass. He and Tommy clasp hands and earn a side eye from Felicia, the wedge in their relationship telegraphed in an instant. Mulligan’s wonderful performance is at its most astonishing when she’s completely silent and the emotion gushes forth.

Cooper finds great narrative power in what’s left unsaid. Comments on Bernstein’s vocational multivalence—as a composer and conductor, who had feet in the worlds of classical music and Broadway musicals—play like double entendres that speak to his busy love life. When a TV interviewer notes that it’s “difficult to classify” Leonard, he responds in the affirmative, contrasting his public and private lives. “And if you carry around both personalities, I suppose that means you become a schizophrenic and that’s the end of it,” he says.

Leonard and Felicia’s marriage lasted from 1951 to her death from cancer in 1978, and yet the film’s lack of labels feels extremely contemporary. Bernstein had sex with women and men, but his sexuality is never specifically given a name in the film. Nor are the terms of his arrangement with Felicia—she clearly knows he’s carrying on affairs with men, but how not OK she is with all of this is something that’s suggested rather than explicitly stated. In one third-act scene, she announces, “I’ve always known who he is,” but the audience is only allowed glimpses. And that’s the way, it seems, Felicia wanted it. 

When their oldest daughter Jamie (Maya Hawke) catches wind of “gossip” about her father, Felicia warns him: “Don’t you dare tell her the truth.” In an ensuing scene, neither Leonard nor Jamie explicate said rumors—he just chalks the chatter up to jealousy. The vagueness with which Cooper presents Bernstein’s sex life dovetails with Felicia’s perspective (there’s no indication she was ever in the room during any of Leonard’s extracurricular sex, nor that they discussed the finer details of it) and narratively illustrates the mysterious quality of sexuality, how even its possessors and those around them might not know what it all means, just that it is. In this case, vague gets at something specific.

In real life, Felicia did label Leonard—at least once. In a note to him, printed in the 2013 collection The Bernstein Letters, that is estimated to have been written mere months after they married, she stated bluntly: “You are a homosexual and may never change.” That was not a referendum on their relationship—in fact, the premise of the letter was to illustrate how “this whole bloody mess which is our ‘connubial’ life” was, in fact, “not such a mess after all.” At least in that early part of their marriage, Felicia adopted a laissez faire approach to loving a man who loved men. She wrote: “You don’t admit to the possibility of a double life, but if your peace of mind, your health, your whole nervous system depend on a certain sexual pattern what can you do?” And then later: “I am willing to accept you as you are.”

Today, one of the agreed-upon essential aspects of a healthy open relationship is a clear setting of terms (and if one member of the relationship requires a changing of said terms, that should be made clear as well). Maestro is missing that, which is hardly a surprise given how little nonmonogamy was discussed in the ‘50s. Perhaps Leonard and Felicia’s relationship was not open, per se, but merely ajar. Perhaps he took a sentiment like, “I know exactly who you are,” as license to be whatever he wanted and ran with it, carelessly overlooking its consequences for the wife he loved and failing to circle back to figure out a more tenable arrangement when things clearly got to be too much for her. Felicia’s feelings on the matter seem to have been treated as collateral damage if they were treated like anything at all.

Read more: The 100 Best Movies of the Past 10 Decades

It becomes clear as the film progresses that what she didn’t know was exactly who she would be as a result of this open lifestyle. That she didn’t fully account for her own needs in giving him permission to fulfill his. One never knows how such an arrangement will affect a shared life until one’s in the thick of it; this is not untrue of any marriage or lifelong commitment, regardless of its specific terms. We see his dalliances wearing on her and his absences causing tension. During an incredible scene, all captured in one static medium shot in a giant apartment whose windows overlook the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, she warns him: “It’s so draining to love and accept someone who doesn’t love and accept themselves. And that’s the only truth I know about you. If you’re not careful, you’re going to die a lonely, old queen.” The real Bernstein reportedly underwent years of therapy in search of a cure for his sexuality.

If we are to use modern language to evaluate the Bernsteins’ arrangement, we’re left to question just how ethical their ethical nonmonogamy was. Leonard clearly dipped in and out of their relationship as the ‘70s dragged on, but recommitted upon Felicia’s cancer diagnosis. The film is framed with scenes of a late-in-life Bernstein waxing nostalgic about his devotion to Felicia. Devoted is perhaps how he saw himself ultimately. Crucially, the editor of the aforementioned book The Bernstein Letters, Nigel Simeone, writes in the introduction that Felicia “was unquestionably the greatest love of his life.”

After Felicia’s death, we see Leonard instructing a student, with whom he later dances at a party, sweatily and drunkenly. It’s, in a way, business as usual for Leonard, who is now freer than ever to pursue the kind of connections he craved. This doesn’t negate the scenes of him lovingly serving his dying wife. It does, however, recall an earlier scene at one of his Thursday rehearsals (which allowed spectators), in which he describes to the crowd the importance of an artist letting go of “anything that’s restraining him.” He continues: “I have to live the rest of my life, however long or short that may be, exactly the way that I want.”

Bernstein’s own words bestow the film with an epigraph that only grows in poignancy upon viewing: “A work of art does not answer questions, it provokes them; and its essential meaning is in the tension between the contradictory answers.” As we know, many things can be true at once. And with that wisdom, Cooper suggests, Bernstein conducted his life.

source https://time.com/6549262/maestro-open-marriage-ethical-nonmonogamy/

The Top 10 Fashion Moments of 2023

Fashion has always been a reflection of society, and 2023 was no exception. The sartorial moments that made a splash were a pretty good gauge of the things we couldn’t stop talking or thinking about this year. In an uncertain world still recovering from the pandemic, rife with international conflict and at risk of global recession, economics often dominated the discourse, even when it came to fashion. How else to explain the obsession with quiet luxury in the early months of 2023, reinforced by the final season of Succession and a highly publicized trial for stealth wealth icon Gwyneth Paltrow?

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Meanwhile, on the other end of the spectrum, the spending power of women was on full display with the run on themed outfits and merchandise this summer for the very pink Barbie movie, Taylor Swift’s friendship bracelet-laden Eras tour, and Beyoncé’s silver, disco-inspired Renaissance tour. The girl-power triumvirate was lauded for giving a much-needed boost to the global economy—and making everyone’s closet a little pinker and a little sparklier.

Read more: 2023 Is One Big Costume Party

It would be impossible to ignore the ways in which fashion was also symbolic of the sizable shifts happening in society; the WGA and SAG strikes in Hollywood shut down red carpets in favor of picket lines. Meanwhile, an exodus of creative directors at designer fashion houses and the appointment of new, primarily white talent sparked much-needed conversations about representation in the industry, especially when it comes to leadership.

And while the standout events in fashion may have been emblematic of the weightier issues in the world, there were also plenty of moments of levity, like Rihanna announcing her second pregnancy with a showstopping all-red outfit during her Super Bowl halftime performance. And there were moments of pure viral delight, like Jared Leto dressing as Choupette, Karl Lagerfeld’s cat, for the Met Gala or the viral tale of a woman whose one-night stand absconded with her Margiela Tabi shoes before ghosting her, forcing her into the role of amateur sleuth to get them back and making her a heroine to the disgruntled fashionistas of the Internet.

Here, the top 10 fashion moments that defined the year.

Rihanna announces her pregnancy at the Super Bowl halftime show

Leave it to Rihanna to use one of the biggest stages in the world to announce her personal news. The bad gal announced her second pregnancy with her partner, rapper A$AP Rocky, while headlining the Super Bowl halftime show in February, and she did it in style. Clad in a custom all-red Loewe flight-inspired jumpsuit with a gleaming metallic breastplate, an Alaia jacket, and Margiela x Salomon sneakers, the singer used her outfit to showcase a growing baby bump, which she emphasized by gently touching her stomach during the performance. The gesture was subtle, but set off an online firestorm of speculation, which, in turn, sparked its own backlash about whether or not netizens of the Internet should be speculating about a woman’s body. As always, Rihanna emerged from the buzz triumphant, confirming the pregnancy through a rep following the show.

Read more: The Subversive Brilliance of Rihanna’s Super Bowl Halftime Show

Cats were the hottest costume at the Met Gala

While Karl Lagerfeld’s complicated legacy as one of fashion’s most opinionated talents was a point of discourse during the 2023 Met Gala, one point that everyone could agree on was that Choupette, Lagerfeld’s pampered blue-cream Birman cat, was one of the most influential figures of the night. Stars like Doja Cat and Lil Nas X channeled Choupette with their designer looks, donning cat ears, and in Doja’s case, prosthetics, for a feline look. (She also responded to interview questions by purring.) Jared Leto upped the ante by interpreting Choupette’s look literally, showing up to the gala in a full cat costume.

Quiet luxury dominates the discourse

Quiet luxury emerged as the top trend at the start of 2023, sparking countless conversations about the presentation of wealth and class along with it. It was fueled by the final season of Succession, a show on which Shiv Roy’s stealth-wealth power dressing has long embodied the qualities of quiet luxury (minimalist clothing, fine tailoring, and tasteful, obscenely expensive accessories) as well as the highly publicized ski trial of Gwyneth Paltrow, where the actor and Goop founder, long notorious for her patrician tastes, sported a number of understated designer outfits that went viral on social media.

The very pink Barbie takeover

If you were looking for a visual manifestation of the reach of Barbie, the undeniable blockbuster hit of the year, you’d need look no further than the proliferation of pink, from the runway to high street fashion. All shades of the rosy hue, from bubblegum pink to neon fuchsia, were spotted this summer, especially at movie screenings of the film, where viewers often dressed up in “Barbiecore,” a.k.a. pink and often Barbie-inspired outfits. Of course, the most prominent ambassador of Barbiecore was Barbie star Margot Robbie, whose press tour outfits were replicas of famous Barbie looks throughout the years.

Read more: The Long, Complicated, and Very Pink History of Barbiecore

Swifties give new life to friendship bracelets on the Eras tour

While there are plenty of ways to identify a Taylor Swift fan, the most overt way may be to look at the stacks of colorful friendship bracelets adorning the wrist. This summer, as Swifties took over stadiums across the world, friendship bracelets that spelled out references to Swift’s songs, albums or eras, were made and shared at concerts. It wasn’t uncommon for fans to share their bracelets with complete strangers or venue staff; in fact, it became one of the most integral parts of the Eras tour experience, exchanging friendship bracelets with fellow fans. The trend was birthed from a single song lyric from “You’re On Your Own, Kid,” a track on Swift’s 2022 album, Midnights: “So make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it,” but has now become a such a Swiftie staple that there were reported bead shortages this summer.

Read more: Taylor Swift Is TIME’s Person of the Year

Beyoncé sparks a silver revolution with the Renaissance tour

Beyoncé’s Renaissance tour was a celebration of disco and club culture and the fan looks more than reflected that. Concertgoers got decked out in all-silver and metallic looks, sparing no detail when it came to glitter, glitz, and sequins to attend Club Renaissance. Beyhive members also took cues from Queen Bey herself, accessorizing with bedazzled cowboy hats, in a nod to her Texas roots, and dressing in all silver, per her request, for her special birthday concert in Los Angeles.

The WGA and SAG strikes trade in red carpets for picket lines

After both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA unions voted to strike this summer, red carpets and press tours came to a halt. Actors traded in their designer gowns and suits for union t-shirts and protest signs to join the picket lines alongside writers. Call it labor chic, but it was a fashion statement that held some real impact, as both unions ended their strikes with historic gains.

Julia Fox turned her book tour into a runway

There may be no public figure of this generation as sartorially iconic and iconoclastic as Julia Fox. The actor, who went from downtown NYC It girl to internationally recognized celebrity after attending the Schiaparelli fashion show with some dramatic eyeliner, a very good outfit, and a controversial artist as arm candy, knows the power of presentation and isn’t afraid to have fun or set tongues wagging with her daring outfits. Case in point? The tongue-in-cheek looks she’s sported this year while promoting her memoir; from a cheeky Chopova Lowena schoolgirl-inspired look to an oversized Luar suit, Fox is one to watch.

Read more: Julia Fox Perfects the Art of the Overshare With Her New Memoir, Down the Drain

Changing of the guards at fashion houses sparks dialogue about diversity

This year saw the exits of multiple creative directors from prominent fashion houses: Gabriela Hearst from Chloé, Sarah Burton from Alexander McQueen, Jeremy Scott from Moschino, and Tom Ford from his eponymous label, to name a few. This industry shuffle sparked discourse about who the new guard of creative leaders might be. Given discussions in recent years about the need for more diversity in all positions in the industry, many saw this moment as an opportunity to put those intentions into action. However, when many of the new appointments came in, they were overwhelmingly white and male; at Kering, one of the biggest and most influential luxury groups in the world, all of the creative directors are now white men. The moves confirmed to those pushing for change from within and outside of the industry that there’s still much more work to be done.

The Tabi Thief takes over the Internet

@nextlevellexuss

Girls and gays of TikTok please get to work 😭 #nycdating #tinderhorrorstories #hingedating #margielatabis #nyc#greenscreen

♬ bad idea right? – Olivia Rodrigo

No story in the fashionsphere was as bizarre or captivating as the tale of the Tabi Thief. A TikTok user and knitwear designer named Lexus took to the platform to share the horrifying yet hilarious story of how a man she connected with on a dating app stole her Maison Margiela Tabi Mary Jane shoes then ghosted her. (For the uninitiated, Maison Margiela is one of the most coveted and avant garde fashion brands; a pair of their Tabi Mary Janes retail for over $1000.) As is to be expected, the story went viral, with disgruntled fashionistas across the Internet coming to Lexus’ defense. Internet sleuths soon exposed the Tabi thief and Lexus was reunited with her shoes. At least there was one happy ending in a year full of fashion ups and downs.

source https://time.com/6548065/top-fashion-moments-2023/

Meta’s Review Board Rules to Reinstate Two Video Posts About the Israel-Hamas War

MENLO PARK, Calif. — A quasi-independent review board has ruled that Facebook parent company Meta should overturn two decisions it made this fall to remove posts “informing the world about human suffering on both sides” of the Israel-Hamas war.

In both cases, Meta ended up reinstating the posts — one showing Palestinian casualties and the other, an Israeli hostage — on its own, although it added warning screens to both due to violent content. This means the company isn’t obligated to do anything about the board’s decision.

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That said, the board also said it disagrees with Meta’s decision to bar the posts in question from being recommended by Facebook and Instagram, “even in cases where it had determined posts intended to raise awareness.” And it said Meta’s use of automated tools to remove “potentially harmful” content increased the likelihood of taking down “valuable posts” that not only raise awareness about the conflict but may contain evidence of human rights violations. It urged the company to preserve such content.

The Oversight Board, established three years ago by Meta, issued its decisions Tuesday in what it said was its first expedited ruling — taking 12 days rather than the usual 90.

In one case, the board said, Instagram removed a video showing what appears to be the aftermath of a strike on or near Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. The post shows Palestinians, including children, injured or killed. Meta’s automated systems removed the post saying it violated its rules against violent and graphic content. While Meta eventually reversed its decision, the board said, it placed a warning screen on the post and demoted it, which means it was not recommended to users and fewer people saw it. The board said it disagrees with the decision to demote the video.

The other case concerns video posted to Facebook of an Israeli woman begging her kidnappers not to kill her as she is taken hostage during the Hamas raids on Israel on Oct. 7.

Users appealed Meta’s decision to remove the posts and the cases went to the Oversight Board. The board said it saw an almost three-fold increase in the daily average of appeals marked by users as related to the Middle East and North Africa region in the weeks following Oct. 7.

Meta said it welcomes the board’s decision.

“Both expression and safety are important to us and the people who use our services. The board overturned Meta’s original decision to take this content down but approved of the subsequent decision to restore the content with a warning screen. Meta previously reinstated this content so no further action will be taken on it,” the company said. “There will be no further updates to this case, as the board did not make any recommendations as part of their decision.”

In a briefing on the cases, the board said Meta confirmed it had temporarily lowered thresholds for automated tools to detect and remove potentially violating content.

“While reducing the risk of harmful content, it also increased the likelihood of mistakenly removing valuable, non-violating content from its platforms,” the Oversight Board said, adding that as of Dec. 11, Meta had not restored the thresholds to pre-Oct. 7 levels.

Meta, then called Facebook, launched the Oversight Board in 2020 in response to criticism that it wasn’t moving fast enough to remove misinformation, hate speech and influence campaigns from its platforms. The board has 22 members, a multinational group that includes legal scholars, human rights experts and journalists.

The board’s rulings, such as in these two cases, are binding but its broader policy findings are advisory and Meta is not obligated to follow them.

source https://time.com/6549487/meta-review-board-israel-hamas-war-posts/

The 39 Most Anticipated Movies of 2024

Summer blockbusters, action-packed thrillers, sweet rom-coms, and much-anticipated sequels are all on the movie slate for 2024. The upcoming year for movies promises to be one for the books, especially with the long-awaited releases of films that were delayed as a result of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. From dramatic biopics like Bob Marley: One Love and the Amy Winehouse film Back to Black to epic sequels like Dune: Part Two and Beetlejuice 2, here are 38 films to look forward to in the new year.

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The Book of Clarence (Jan. 12)

Jeymes Samuel’s (The Harder They Fall) dark comedy leans on Biblical inspiration for some decidedly irreverent humor. For Clarence (Lakeith Stanfield), staying on the path of righteousness is a challenge, but he’s inspired to emulate Jesus Christ, especially after he sees the fame and accolades the latter gets from doing his good deeds. Eyeing an opportunity to capitalize on the star power of Jesus, Clarence begins faking miracles, a lucrative hustle that goes well until the Roman empire comes calling.

Mean Girls: The Musical (Jan. 12)

Mean Girls will be back on the big screen with the film adaptation of the 2018 hit Broadway musical based on Tina Fey’s 2004 cult classic movie. Reneé Rapp will return to the role she played on Broadway as Queen Bee Regina George, while Angourie Rice will star as new girl Cady Heron. Fey and fellow SNL alum Tim Meadows will reprise their roles from the original movie as math teacher Ms. Norbury and Principal Duvall, respectively.

Lisa Frankenstein (Feb. 9)

A dark romance blossoms between a misunderstood teenage goth named Lisa (Kathryn Newton) and The Creature, a handsome Victorian corpse that she reanimates (Cole Sprouse), in this a horror comedy written by Juno’s Diablo Cody. The pair’s pursuit of romantic bliss turns into a wild murder spree as they attempt to source missing body parts for The Creature.

Madame Web (Feb. 14)

Dakota Johnson enters the world of Marvel comics as Cassandra Webb, the paramedic heroine grappling with her clairvoyant abilities in Madame Web. As Cassie reckons with dark secrets from her past and her newfound psychic abilities, she assumes responsibility for ensuring that a trio of young girls, who will be profoundly influential in the future, survive a deadly adversary.

Bob Marley: One Love (Feb. 14)

The life and legacy of Jamaican singer and songwriter Bob Marley is the subject of this new biopic starring Kingsley Ben-Adir as the iconic reggae artist. The film, which was produced in partnership with the Marley family, charts his rise to fame, including an attempted 1976 shooting at his home, his longtime time advocacy for peace, and his prolific music career, up until his untimely death in 1981.

Drive-Away Dolls (Feb. 23)

Ethan Coen will make his solo directorial debut outside of his work as part of the Coen Brothers with Drive-Away Dolls, the queer roadtrip buddy comedy he co-wrote with his partner and longtime collaborator Tricia Cooke. The film stars Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan as friends and roommates whose spontaneous road trip to Tallahassee is undermined by a gang of amateur criminals.

Dune: Part Two (March 1)

Timothée Chalamet returns as the defiant hero Paul Atriedes for the second installation of Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of the classic sci-fi saga. In this new chapter, Paul joins forces with his love interest Chani (Zendaya) and the Fremen, to avenge his family and bring peace to the planet of Arrakis.

Spaceman (March 1)

Adam Sandler stars in this Netflix original about an astronaut on a mission to the outer reaches of the solar system who strikes up an unexpected friendship with a creature (voiced by Paul Dano) who has stowed away on his spaceship, as he worries over his relationship with his wife back home (Carey Mulligan).

Damsel (March 8)

Millie Bobby Brown is no damsel in distress in Damsel, Netflix’s fantasy flick that subverts the traditional fairy tale princess narrative. In the film, Brown plays Princess Elodie, a young woman betrothed to marry a prince, who discovers that her engagement was actually an elaborate ruse to sacrifice her as part of an ancient debt that claimed the lives of many women before her. Elodie must brave steep cliffs, harsh weather, and a fire-breathing dragon if she wants to escape this fate.

The American Society of Magical Negroes (March 22)

Writer and director Kobi Libii turns the racist trope of the “Magical Negro” on its head with The American Society of Magical Negroes. In the satirical film, Justice Smith stars as Aren, a young Black man who is recruited to be a part of a secret society of magical Black people who derive their power from the act of making white people’s lives easier.

Mickey 17 (March 29)

Bong Joon-ho’s much-anticipated film adaptation of Edward Ashton’s science fiction thriller, Mickey 17 stars Robert Pattinson as the titular Mickey 17, an “expendable” space traveler sent on a deadly mission to colonize Niflheim. When Mickey dies, his body is cloned with most of his memories intact, setting off a cycle that parallels immortality.

Challengers (April 26)

A tense love triangle ups the stakes for a trio of elite tennis players in Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers. Zendaya stars as Tashi Duncan, a former tennis prodigy who now coaches her husband, Art (Mike Faist). Sparks fly when she signs him up for a Challenger match, where he’ll face off with Patrick (Josh O’Connor), his former best friend—and Tashi’s ex-boyfriend.

Civil War (April 26)

Alex Garland’s dystopian thriller, his first since 2018’s Annihilation, imagines a deeply divided America in the not-so-distant future, ravaged by a violent second civil war. Starring Kirsten Dunst, Cailee Spaeny, and Jesse Plemons, the film probes just how far people will go to defend their beliefs.

The Fall Guy (May 3)

In this big-screen adaptation of the 1980s TV series of the same name, Ryan Gosling brings the action as Colt Seavers, a past-his-prime stuntman who is reunited with Jody (Emily Blunt), an ex-flame, after he’s hired for a job on a movie she’s directing. After the star of Jody’s film goes missing, Seavers must find the missing actor to finish the film, but the discovery of a criminal plot threatens to upend not only his mission, but his job and his plan to win back the love of his life.

Back to Black (May 10)

In the Amy Winehouse biopic Back to Black, director Sam Taylor-Johnson revisits the late musician’s rise to fame and the release of her acclaimed album of the same name. Starring Marisa Abela (Industry) as Winehouse, the film is told from the singer’s perspective, giving an intimate look at the complex woman behind the music and the relationship that inspired her final legendary album.

IF (May 17)

A young girl’s (Cailey Fleming) extraordinary power to see forgotten imaginary friends sends her on a journey to save them from being lost forever in this heartwarming film written, directed by, and co-starring John Krasinski. Featuring a star-studded cast led by Ryan Reynolds, it’s a fantastical romp that’s entirely family friendly.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (May 24)

In George Miller’s epic Mad Max prequel, Anya Taylor-Joy stars as a young Furiosa, before she became a formidable imperator. After Furiosa is kidnapped by the warlord Dementus (Chris Hemsworth) and forced to leave the Green Place of Many Mothers, she must fight for her life and her freedom across the barren wasteland as she tries to make her way back home.

Garfield (May 24)

Everyone’s favorite, perpetually hungry orange cat embarks on a wild adventure in The Garfield Movie. After Garfield (voiced by Chris Pratt) reunites with his long-lost father Vic (Samuel L. Jackson), a slick street cat, he and his hapless dog friend Odie (Harvey Guillén) get roped into helping Vic with a high-stakes scheme that challenges their comfortable suburban existence.

Inside Out 2 (June 14)

Adolescence provides ripe fodder for the sequel to Pixar’s 2015 film about the emotions that run the mind of Riley, a young girl. Emotions from the first film Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), and Anger (Lewis Black) find their world turned upside down as Riley enters her teenage years and new emotions, like Anxiety (Maya Hawke), enter the scene.

Horizon: An American Saga: Film 1 (June 28)

Kevin Costner brings his all to the American West with Horizon: An American Saga: Film 1, the first of two installments for his epic film about post-Civil War expansion in the States. The movie, which takes place over the course of 15 years, is a veritable passion project for Costner, who has devoted the last 30 years to it and wrote, directed and stars in it.

A Quiet Place: Day One (June 28)

This spin-off prequel is the third installment in the A Quiet Place franchise. Starring Lupita Nyong’o and Joseph Quinn, the film, which shows the beginning of the invasion of aliens with super hearing, is written and directed by Michael Sarnoski.

Despicable Me 4 (July 3)

The latest installment of the Despicable Me franchise sees Steve Carrell reprising his role as reformed supervillain Gru and will feature a script written by White Lotus creator Mike White.

Twisters (July 19)

Minari director Lee Isaac Chung will helm Twisters, the sequel to 1996’s Twister. While the film is not a continuation of the original film, it promises to deliver the same thrills and disasters that made the original a box-office hit. According to screenwriter Mark L. Smith, the film will focus on how climate change affects the fearsome storms.

Deadpool 3 (July 26)

Ryan Reynolds revives his foul-mouthed superhero once more for Deadpool 3, the long-awaited third sequel for the “Merc with a Mouth.” The film, which also stars Hugh Jackman reprising his role as Wolverine, finds the two superheroes teaming up to defeat a common enemy.

Horizon: An American Saga: Film 2 (Aug. 16)

The second installment of Kevin Costner’s epic about the American West returns two months after its first release. Costner leads a star-studded cast that includes Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Jena Malone, and Luke Wilson.

Beetlejuice 2 (Sept. 6)

Winona Ryder and Michael Keaton will reprise their iconic roles as Lydia Deetz and Betelgeuse in Beetlejuice 2, Tim Burton’s sequel to his 1988 hit horror comedy. The film also stars scream queen of the moment, Jenna Ortega, as Lydia’s daughter Astrid, as well as Willem Dafoe and Monica Belluci in supporting roles.

Joker: Folie à Deux (Oct. 4)

In the much-anticipated sequel to Todd Phillips’ 2019 film Joker, Joaquin Phoenix reprises his Oscar-winning role as dastardly villain Arthur Fleck, while Lady Gaga stars as Dr. Harleen Quinzel, a psychologist at Arkham Asylum, whose attempts to treat the Joker lead to her own descent into madness and the adoption of a new persona, Harley Quinn. Zazie Beetz will return as Fleck’s neighbor, Sophie Dumond. 

Gladiator 2 (Nov. 22)

Ridley Scott revisits the Roman Empire with Gladiator 2. For this epic sequel, Paul Mescal stars as a now-grown Lucius Verus (Commodus’ a.k.a. Joaquin Phoenix’s nephew who was saved by Maximus a.k.a. Russell Crowe in the original Gladiator) as he seeks answers about his biological father.

Wicked Part 1 (Nov. 27)

The origin story of one of the world’s most misunderstood witches hits the big screen on Thanksgiving 2024 with the first of two installments of Jon Chu’s adaptation of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical. Bringing to life the origin story of The Wizard of Oz’s Wicked Witch of the West, from her perspective, the movie stars Cynthia Ervio as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda.

Mufasa: The Lion King (Dec. 20)

The origin story of Mufasa, Simba’s late father, will come to life in Mufasa: The Lion King, the live-action prequel to be helmed by Oscar-winning director Barry Jenkins. Starring Aaron Pierre as the voice of Mufasa, the film will address the backstory of the lion leader and his relationship with his younger brother, Scar.

Nosferatu (Dec. 25)

The Witch director Robert Eggers will helm a new adaptation of F.W. Murnau’s iconic 1922 silent film Nosferatu, reinterpreting its tale of a bloodthirsty, bubonic plague-spreading vampire and the tortured young woman he’s obsessed with. Eggers’ remake will star Bill Skarsgard as the infamous vampire and Lily-Rose Depp as the object of his infatuation.

Dates TBA

Babes

Better Things creator Pamela Adlon makes her directorial feature debut with Babes, a comedy about Eden, an aggressively single woman (Ilana Glazer), who gets pregnant from a one-night stand. After deciding to keep the baby, Eden relies heavily on her best friend Dawn (Michelle Buteau), a married mother of two, to guide her through her pregnancy and beyond.

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F

Eddie Murphy returns to the role he originated nearly four decades ago, teaming up with a new
partner (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) for a case that hits close to home in this Netflix sequel.

Hit Man

Glen Powell stars in Richard Linklater’s action comedy based on the real story of an undercover fake hit man. The film was acquired by Netflix after impressing audiences on the fall festival circuit.

The Idea of You

In this big-screen adaptation of Robinne Lee’s novel of the same name, Anne Hathaway stars as a 40-year-old mother who gets swept off her feet in a whirlwind romance with a 24-year-old boy band member (Nicholas Galitzine from Bottoms and Red, White & Royal Blue) after meeting him while chaperoning her 16-year-old daughter at Coachella.

Problemista

Los Espookys creator Julio Torres delivers a triple threat as the director, writer and star of Problemista, a surrealist tale about Alejandro (played by Torres himself), an artist and aspiring toy designer from El Salvador, who needs his eccentric boss (Tilda Swinton) to co-sign his visa so he can stay in the U.S.

Rez Ball

Co-written by Reservation Dogs co-creator Sterlin Harjo, alongside director Sydney Freeland, this Netflix underdog sports film follows a Native American high school basketball team in New Mexico.

Shirley

Regina King plays Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman to run for president, in this Netflix biopic from John Ridley.

Unfrosted: The Pop Tart Story

Jerry Seinfeld directs and stars in this ‘60s-set Netflix origin story for the iconic toaster pastry. He’s joined by Melissa McCarthy, Jim Gaffigan, and Hugh Grant, among others.

source https://time.com/6549005/most-anticipated-movies-2024/

After My Parents Died, I Lost the Christmas Spirit. Now It’s Slowly Coming Back

My mother shopped for Christmas gifts all year long. By the time I was 8 or 9, I’d given up on the quaint idea of writing a wish list. “I’ve already bought all your presents,” she would inform me by the first of December, in a tone I can only describe as smug. “I’ve had them for weeks now.” She had a knack for finding things I never would have asked for but ended up treasuring: an album whose adhesive pages she’d filled with sheets of colorful stickers; a pale blue vintage perfume bottle; a small wooden box hand-carved with a moon and stars; an old green electric typewriter on which I composed several unfinished mystery novels. Many of my favorite gifts from her, I now know, were thrift or antique-shop finds; the little heart necklace I loved and wore for years came from a pawn shop. Money was tight and she was good at hunting for bargains, but she also couldn’t see the point of giving someone a present unless it was both a quirky surprise and “just the right thing.”

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

Her delight in gift-giving was matched in every other holiday activity she undertook. She oversaw our Christmas decorations, from the tree we cut and hauled home from the woods to the Nativity creche whose figurines we arranged just so, and painted our living-room windows in wintry scenes. She wrapped presents with care, showing me how to curl ribbon and create special bows. Though she never much enjoyed cooking, she reveled in holiday baking: buttery spritz cookies dusted with sprinkles, peanut-butter buckeyes, her favorite gingerbread, and her mother’s strudel. Her Christmas spirit was infectious, or maybe just unavoidable—she signed me up to go caroling every year (she herself was tone-deaf) and my father to dress up as St. Nick and hand out candy canes to kids at their church. She was also the reason our holiday celebrations lasted a full month, starting with chocolate left in my shoes on St. Nicholas Day (December 6) and ending with a final “bonus gift” on Epiphany, or the Three Kings Day (January 6). I loved this tradition most of all—as my mother said, it was “a second shot at Christmas.” Even then, she was reluctant to see the season end, and often had to be persuaded to take down our tree in mid- to late January.

Read More: Why We Say ‘Merry Christmas.’ The Surprising Origins of 5 Christmas Traditions

My dad died on Epiphany in 2018. By Christmas that year, my mom had been diagnosed with cancer. She was sick for that holiday, and the one after, but of course she still felt like celebrating, determined to savor every possible moment of happiness with her grandchildren.

The long pandemic winter of 2020 brought my first Christmas without both of my parents. I participated in my family’s holiday rituals, hoping more than believing that the predictable delights would offer a kind of respite from my grief, but I was still sad all the time and felt like I was only going through the motions for the sake of my kids. I was constantly being ambushed by little things I hadn’t known would hurt, like not getting a box of treats from my mother on St. Nicholas Day—long after I’d left home, she’d continued to send me chocolate every December 6—or coming across things I would have wanted to give her if she were alive. After isolating and testing, we were lucky to get to spend a couple of days with my husband’s family, but all I could think about was the fact that my parents would miss this and every future holiday, milestone, and celebration.

Hardest of all, to my surprise, was being bombarded with recollections of Christmases past, reminders of time my parents and I would never get back. Sometimes I tried to share these memories with others, but in that haze of heavy grief, it was often impossible to summon and describe them. As the sole surviving member of the family I’d grown up in, I wasn’t able to fully convey what the holidays were like when I was young, or precisely how my mother looked and sounded decades before her grandchildren knew her, or what the little house I grew up in—a house they never saw—looked like all decked out for Christmas. Surrounded by people I loved, I felt unexpectedly and unbearably lonely, realizing that I truly was the only person left who could recall these and a thousand other things.

Read More: How ‘All I Want for Christmas’ Still Dominates the Holiday Charts

Christmas the following year felt much the same, and I worried that holidays without my parents would always bring these feelings of isolation and anguish. But last year, as I spoke to my kids about my mother’s abundant love for our Christmas festivities, and how excited she always was watching me open the presents she’d acquired over the last year, I felt real warmth, the urge to smile, alongside the expected wave of pain.

I’m not sure what’s changed. It’s not that the grief is gone, or even significantly lessened—I am aware of it every day. There are still times when “celebration” is a task I must dutifully work at, not something I feel in my heart. But I also know that carrying certain memories alone doesn’t mean that I am alone, and I’ve come to appreciate the ones that surge on holidays and birthdays and important anniversaries, letting them keep me company even when they bring sadness.

Since last Christmas, I’ve given myself permission to purchase small presents with my mother in mind. Not every time, but sometimes, when I see something I know she would have loved, I let myself buy it instead of just feeling a pang and wishing I could. I keep some of these items and give others as gifts, like the small opal ring my daughter now wears. I’ve also started incorporating some of my mom’s favorite traditions as a way of remembering her: my kids got treats on St. Nicholas Day, and I’ll set aside a single present each for them to unwrap on Epiphany. Though there’s still no one else who remembers what our Christmases were like when I was a child, I can tell my daughters what my mom used to do for me, sharing her irrepressible holiday spirit.

My parents feel closer this time of year because I associate it so strongly with them, and that’s something that now makes me thankful rather than feel empty and battered. It can be a complicated and bittersweet season, as many who face the holidays after losing a loved one can attest. But now, three years after losing my mom, I think I’ve gotten better at living with joy and grief at once, no longer expecting one to rise up and conquer the other. After all, when my mother and father were alive, the burdens they carried didn’t disappear just because it was Christmas. There were many years when someone was sick or out of work, angry or afraid; we still had our losses and our disappointments, reasons to mourn as well as celebrate. The holidays were never a perfect idyll for us, just a time when we chose to be happy together—all the more precious, perhaps, in years when our happiness was hard-won.

source https://time.com/6514101/holidays-grief-christmas-without-parents/