Hollywood reportedly casting light-skinned actors to appeal to China
Hollywood is casting more light-skinned actors for major roles in movies to appeal to Chinese audiences following the Communist Party allowing more foreign films in the country, according to a report on Tuesday.
Since 2012, US filmmakers apparently became aware of the aesthetic preferences of Chinese movie-goers — who place a higher premium on light skin — a practice known as colorism, Axios reported, citing a 2017 study.
The researchers concluded that Hollywood is not only influenced by Chinese censors but by cultural preferences, as well.
The study, “Impacts of Chinese Colorism on Hollywood Castings” published by Johns Hopkins University, looked at 3,000 films between 2009 and 2015 and discovered that the flicks made after 2012 showed an 8 percent increase in the number of light-skinned actors in starring roles.
That means that “for 1 of every 3 films in this category, the film went from having 2 out of 3 as very light-skinned actors, to having 3 out of 3 very light-skinned actors,” which the study’s authors termed “light-skin shift.”
The shift happened in summer blockbusters and action movies that the Chinese government allows Chinese film-goers to see and that are created by Hollywood with the Chinese market in mind.
Other films, like horror and comedy movies — that aren’t produced with the Chinese market’s preferences taken into account –didn’t show the same shift.
The study’s author said a promotional poster for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” in 2015 that minimized a black actor in the lead role, leading to racism allegations, prompted the examination.
“Colorism does not equate to racism. There may be significant variation in skin tones within races, and colorism may manifest within individuals of the same race,” Manuel Hermosilla and the other co-authors wrote.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/09/08/hollywood-casting-light-skinned-actors-to-appeal-to-china/
Photo Credit: Johns Hopkins University
Trump campaign blew most of its $1.1 billion war chest on trying to make the president happy: report
IS THIS WHAT YOU WANT IN A PRESIDENT? Trump is spending OUR (YOUR) hard earn taxes!
On Tuesday, Business Insider reported that President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign has wasted most of its $1.1 billion cash on hand — and that most of the money didn’t even go to meaningful efforts to get out the vote or persuade undecided voters, but to various stunts to make Trump himself feel good.
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For example, according to the report, Trump’s campaign spent “$11 million on ads during the February 7 Super Bowl to match spending by billionaire Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg.” The campaign also spent “$1 million on TV ads in Washington, DC, which is solidly Democrat. But Trump is known to watch hours of TV a day in the White House, venting on Twitter about negative coverage on news networks, and adverts by political opponents attacking him.” And the campaign also reportedly paid for an expensive and luxurious campaign headquarters in Virginia.
Much of this spending reportedly was approved by former campaign manager Brad Parscale, who himself has come under scrutiny following reports that he bought luxury condos in Florida, a yacht, and a Ferrari with the money he was being paid by the campaign.
The Trump campaign’s sudden lack of money has raised alarm among several GOP megadonors. Meanwhile, spurred in part by enthusiasm over the selection of running mate Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), Joe Biden’s campaign reported raising $364 million in August alone.
Facebook will pay users to log off before 2020 election
Facebook is offering users money to refrain from using the site and Instagram in the weeks leading up to the bitterly contested November elections.
To assess the impact of social media on voting, the company will pay selected members up to $120 to deactivate their accounts beginning at the end of September.
“Anyone who chooses to opt-in – whether it’s completing surveys or deactivating FB or IG for a period of time – will be compensated,” Facebook spokesperson Liz Bourgeois tweeted last week. “This is fairly standard for this type of academic research.”
The Silicon Valley giant said it expects 200,000 to 400,000 people to take part.
“Representative, scientific samples of people in the US will be selected and invited to participate in the study. Some potential participants will see a notice in Facebook or Instagram inviting them to take part in the study,” Facebook said. “Study samples will be designed to ensure that participants mirror the diversity of the US adult population, as well as users of Facebook and Instagram.”
The results of the study are expected to be released sometime next year.
“To continue to amplify all that is good for democracy on social media, and mitigate against that which is not, we need more objective, dispassionate, empirically grounded research,” Facebook said in describing the plan.
The research will be carried out by independent data scientists, company officials said.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced last Thursday that he was banning new political ads in the week before the election to curb misinformation.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/09/07/facebook-will-pay-users-to-log-off-before-elections/
Photo Credit: nypost.com
Colorado school calls sheriff on boy, 12, who showed toy gun in virtual class
A Colorado school suspended a pre-teen and sent authorities to his family’s home — for waving a toy gun on screen during a virtual class, according to reports.
Isaiah Elliott, 12, was taking an online art class through his Colorado Springs grade school on August 27 when he flashed the green-and-black mock gun, which bore the words “Zombie Hunter” and an orange tip to differentiate it from the real deal, according to local Fox affiliate KDVR.
The concerned teacher notified the school’s principal, who suspended Elliott for five days and called the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office without first talking to Elliott’s parents, the report said.
“If her main concern was his safety, a two-minute phone call to me or my husband could easily have alleviated this whole situation to where I told them it was fake,” Dani Elliott, Isaiah’s mom, told KDVR.
Instead, deputies came to the home to verify that the gun was fake and warn that if Elliott showed it during class again, according to his parents and the traumatized boy himself.
“I didn’t know what was going to happen. I didn’t know if they were going to bust down the door,” Elliott told the outlet. “My heart was beating super fast.”
Elliott, who has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, said that he was just trying to move the toy when he inadvertently flashed it across the screen.
“I didn’t mean to put it across the camera or anything,” he said. “I just wanted to move it across the couch.”
His father, Curtis Elliott, agreed that school officials have to understand that the virtual classes necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic have brought teachers into students’ homes, where expectations must be different from classrooms.
“The virtual setting is not the same as the school setting,” he said. “He did not take the toy gun to school. He’s in the comfort of his own home. It’s a toy.”
The dad added that he was particularly afraid for his son as a young black boy growing up in America.
“It was really frightening and upsetting for me as a parent, especially as the parent of an African-American young man, especially given what’s going on in our country right now,” he told KDVR. “I literally was scared for his life.”
Dani Elliott voiced similar fears.
“This could potentially impact his future. … Look at everything that’s going on in the world today,” she told BuzzFeed News. “God forbid something happens to my son down the road, people could look at this and decide he doesn’t deserve justice. I know that sounds extreme. … It’s a very real reality for us.”
In a statement posted to Facebook, school officials declined to go into specifics for privacy reasons, but defended their handling of the situation.
“We never have or ever will condone any form of racism or discrimination. Safety will always be number one for our students and staff. We follow board policies and safety protocols consistently, whether we are in-person or distance learning,” the statement read in part. “We will continue to support all families in our school to make sure they feel safe, respected, and educated.”
Elliott’s parents told the outlets that they intend to find a new school for their son.
Photo Credit: nypost.com
Protesters gather outside Nancy Pelosi’s home, hang blow dryers in trees over salon visit
More than a dozen women showed up outside Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco home with curlers in their hair and hung blow dryers in the trees outside to show their outrage over the House speaker’s visit to a salon as shops across the city and state were shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“What she has done is a slap [in] the face of not just a salon owner but every woman, every man, every person who’s unemployed in the state of California who has lost their jobs and lost their livelihoods, many of whom are my friends,” one of the protesters told KRON-TV Thursday.
Pelosi, who was not wearing a mask, was caught on video getting her hair done last Monday — even as salons across California are only allowed to do business outdoors.
The speaker claimed she was “set up” by the salon’s owner, who allegedly told her she was allowed to have one customer at a time in the shop.
The owner of eSalon, Erica Kious, denied she tricked Pelosi.
“In fact, not only did I not set her up, her assertion that she is a victim and set up is totally false and outrageous,” Kious said.
President Trump pounced on Pelosi’s allegation that she was set up.
“Crazy Nancy Pelosi said she was ‘set up’ by the beauty parlor owner when she improperly had the salon opened (and didn’t wear a MASK!),” Trump tweeted Thursday. “Does anyone want a Speaker of the House who can be so easily SET UP?”
At the White House press briefing last week, press secretary Kayleigh McEnany played the Pelosi security tape on a loop.
“Apparently the rules do not apply to Speaker Nancy Pelosi. She wants small businesses to stay shut down but only reopen for her convenience. ‘Do as I say, not as I do,’ says Nancy Pelosi,” McEnany said.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/09/07/women-protest-outside-pelosis-san-francisco-home-against-salon-visit/
Photo Credit: foxnews.com
Army veteran Ronnie McNutt commits suicide in Facebook livestream
A 33-year-old Army veteran from Mississippi who served in Iraq shot himself in the head live on Facebook — and social media sites are still scrambling to remove the harrowing footage, which went viral more than a week ago, according to reports.
Ronnie McNutt, who worked at a Toyota plant in Blue Springs, New Albany, killed himself in front of his computer on Aug. 31 during a livestream on Facebook, the Daily Star reported.
There were unconfirmed reports that McNutt had lost his job and broken up with his girlfriend.
In the days since, the horrifying footage has been shared on multiple social media platforms, including TikTok, where it reportedly ended up on the video-sharing app’s “For You” trending homepage.
A flood of social media users have expressed their alarm at stumbling on the clip and warned others to avoid watching the bearded vet commit suicide.
“If you see this guy on your FYP [For You page] please scroll up immediately, it’s very gruesome and I highly suggest you stay away from TikTok for a while,” one user said on Twitter, according to the Daily Star.
“I was scrolling TikTok and suddenly there’s a video of a guy that killed themselves with a shotgun and I am seriously warning you DO NOT watch it DO NOT SEARCH FOR IT because it’s very terrifying and gory so pls BE CAREFUL god damn I’m shaking,” another user said.
The man’s friends also posted messages conveying their futile attempts to stop him from taking his life.
“Please say a prayer right now for the family of Ronnie McNutt,” one wrote, according to the Sun.
“I tried but apparently it wasn’t quick enough to reach him,” another said.
McNutt was a member of Celebration Church Tupelo, which confirmed his death on its Facebook page, the Daily Star reported.
“In the midst of a sudden tragedy that occurred last night, we grieve with the McNutt Family during this time because passing of our brother in Christ, Ronnie McNutt,” it said.
“Ronnie will be missed by all who loved and knew him. He was very caring, committed, loyal, dependable, and eccentric. He served his church faithfully and was loved by many,” the church continued.
“Although events surrounding his death were tragic, we take comfort in our Creator, believing that because of Ronnie’s confession and conversion as a believer in Christ Jesus, he is currently before our loving Father.”
Facebook said the gruesome video was removed the day it was streamed, the Mirror reported.
A TikTok rep told the Daily Star: “Our systems have been automatically detecting and flagging these clips for violating our policies against content that displays, praises, glorifies, or promotes suicide.
“We are banning accounts that repeatedly try to upload clips, and we appreciate our community members who’ve reported content and warned others against watching, engaging, or sharing such videos on any platform out of respect for the person and their family,” the spokesperson said.
“If anyone in our community is struggling with thoughts of suicide or concerned about someone who is, we encourage them to seek support, and we provide access to hotlines directly from our app and in our Safety Center,” the rep added.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/09/08/army-veteran-kills-himself-in-facebook-livestream/
Photo Credit: Facebook
Kanye West performs ‘walk on water’ stunt while performing at Sunday Service in Atlanta
Kanye West appeared to walk on water during his Sunday Service event in Atlanta this weekend.
The rapper, who is currently running for president in the US, took his weekly church service to the Georgia city on Sunday (6 September).
In videos shared to social media by his wife, Kim Kardashian, West was seen leading the choir along with his children North, seven, and Saint, four, to the centre of the lake.
Once in the middle, the musical group performed a number of gospel songs, with Kardashian filming from the bank as the sun set.
TV pastor Joel Osteen addressed the audience from another point in the lake, praising West and comparing the choir to a biblical story.
“I’m watching these fine men and women singing, it looks like they’re walking on the water and my mind goes back to that time where Jesus invited Peter to walk on the water,” Osteen said.
“I think we all have times in life where God’s telling us to do something, I feel it down on the inside, [but] we don’t feel qualified. ‘I can’t sing like them’, ‘I can’t invent like Kanye’… but God doesn’t put a dream in your heart and not give you the ability to do it.”
Since it was formed in January 2019, West’s Sunday Service Choir has performed at events across the world, including at Coachella and Paris Fashion Week.
West is currently running for the US presidency as an independent candidate, but was last week barred from appearing on the ballot in Arizona and Virginia.
via: https://currently.att.yahoo.com/att/kanye-west-performs-walk-water-182301044.html
Photo Credit: Kim Kardashian/Instagram
President Trump’s press conference September 7th 2020
Truth please zippers who are going to or going to decide to vote for Trump ask yourself WHY you’re going to vote for him. Ask yourself have you passed any of the bills that were presented to him? Does he have empathy for anyone? Is he a leader or a dictator? This is how I look at it this man is very negative he has nothing good to say about anything or anyone all he talks about is Him and himself. A president tries to unite the country. But I’m giving you something to listen to and think about before you place your ballot VOTE2020
Vice president nominee Kamala Harris Meets with black union workers Black business owners Wisconsin
To be able to make an educated informative decision on each candidate. You must know each parties views and record as a senator or private citizen Etc. There are things about Kamala Harris I’m not too thrilled with but I at least want to hear her and understand where she’s coming from. VOTE 2020