Here’s why the VFX world of the movies is so extremely broken.

Color-blind casting is supposed to create a fantasy world for a broader set of audiences. But it comes with its own problems. See also: “Does colonialism exist in Bridgerton’s world?”

The wonderful Gabrielle Bellot considers Netflix’s Sandman.

Conspiracy theories about celebrity pregnancies are unalloyed misogyny.

The CEO who (allegedly) raised everyone’s salary to $70,000 is an abuser, and he has been known to be one for quite some time. Please stop RTing his content!

What makes a dumpling a dumpling? (Challenge: Read this story without achieving semantic satiation on the word “dumpling.”)

“[She] sometimes converses like she has a tiny Bachelor producer in her brain” is the funniest description I can imagine. Anyway, here is a compassionate and smart profile of Meghan Markle!

I am obsessed with this London Underground-style map of the human body.

Why have US universities let themselves become pipelines to Lockheed Martin and similar defense contractors?

JK Rowling has uh. has written a new book. of sorts.

How Normal Gossip (a newish favorite podcast of mine!) gets made.

Masiyaleti Mbewe considers the state of African millennial fiction — though tragically without mentioning the very millennial (in my opinion) The Eternal Audience of One.

Charlie Warzel reflects on the mistake that led to him being Twitter’s main character for a day, and considers what we can learn from it.

Add this to the list of Scientology’s abuses: It relies on a steady stream of immigrant labor that it acquires by cheating the R1 visa system and abusing immigrant workers.

One of my favorite genres of article is “THIS SYSTEM IS TOTALLY UNREGULATED.” For your consideration today: dog training.

“Hollow moral leadership upheld by a spectacle of extravagant, ill-gotten wealth has enabled Britons to remain proud of rather than reflective about empire and its destructive impact today.”

“The Queen is not entitled to your grief.” Ayan Artan, a Somali-British writer, considers the marketing effort on behalf of the monarchy to conceal and erase the damage of British imperialism.

“People like Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder who has gone all in on The Rings of Power, have more wealth than they could possibly use in a single lifetime, and in many respects more power than any king could ever have dreamed of; the rest of us face rising rents, inflation, and a gig economy that affords few protections when we get sick or injured.” On the new crop of fantasy TV shows.

Chinelo Okparanto considers the ethics and aesthetics of writing across racial identities.

Sarah Weinman reflects on Serial and all that it did and didn’t do.

Tips and tricks to run a good book club.

It’s always a cause for celebration when Lamar Giles has a new book out! He has a new book out AND he’s writing about social horror, yay!

Scaachi Coul is terrific as ever on the downfall of the Wife Guy. Linda Holmes on audience entitlement re: same.

This is superb TikTok journalism and I think Kady Ruth Ashcraft for doing it.

“The Very Online never leave: they hate it here but they’re never anywhere else.” On the digital afterlife of my beloved Constantine Cavafy.

So-called “secret menus” that go viral on TikTok are making the lives of fast food workers hell.

Hell of a kicker on this piece about how India’s movie industry has been affected by the rise of Hindu nationalism.

Maori polar explorers!

Happy weekend, friends!

The post It’s Scary How Many Links There Are: A Links Round-Up appeared first on Reading the End.

It never seems to be the right time to talk about racism among white teachers. (link)

Young people with long COVID are struggling to get support, necessary treatments, and even the belief of their nearest and dearest. (link)

Emerald Faith recommends some classics of Black queer literature. (link)

Two journalists did a podcast about a hoax letter that led to anti-Muslim policies. It explores how journalism can go terribly wrong when it’s overly deferential to those in power. The response of British journalism has been… not good. (link)

“There’s no easy block option in real life.” Larisha Paul on Megan Thee Stallion and the misogynoir underpinning the online and offline harm done to her. (link)

Have we been thinking about burnout all wrong? Does it make more sense to consider it as a trauma response? (link)

Why have we given up on the pandemic? Ed Yong, our trustiest pandemic journalist, has some answers. (link)

American journalism claimed to be facing a racial reckoning after the events of Summer 2020. What ever came of that? Hanaa’ Tameez investigates. (link)

In praise of the humble video essay. (link)

Any time Rachel Cordasco has thoughts on SFF in translation, they’re worth reading. (link)

The music of Sesame Street could never have been what it was without one man: Joe Raposo. (link)

Some bros entering the online knitting space feel they have been treated unfairly by the knitting community. (link)

What happens when novelists take to Substack? (link) And what makes writers leave? (link)

Ryan from The O.C. just really really does not like cryptocurrency. I can’t overstate how charming this article is. (link)

What do linguists think of LOL? (link)

The #MeToo movement has failed in Sweden, with more women being prosecuted for talking about their abuse than men prosecuted for doing the abuse. (link)

“We’re still supposed to somehow root for the few good apples while ignoring the bad.” David Dennis Jr. examines the new Batman’s portrayal of police and policing. (link)

Tech whistleblowers are begging for us to hear them. (link)

The creator of the Netflix TV show The Babysitters Club discusses its unexpected cancellation. (link)

“Run you might get away. But you probably won’t.” Wesley Morris explores Jane Campion’s unprovoked snottiness toward the Williams sisters. (link)

Here’s how the costume designers for The Gilded Age, 1883, and Vienna Blood design the outfits their actors wear. (link)

Turning Red is a glorious, funny, emotional celebration of boy band fandom. I LOVED IT and I hope y’all did/will too. (link)

Orchestras need HR departments. (link)

I cannot fucking wait to read Dead Collections. It’s about a trans vampire archivist. And now I learn it’s also about fandom? I mean!! (link)

Drunk parents explain Paw Patrol to sober childless people. (link)

That’s it for the links! Paw Patrol is terrible! Be well this weekend!

The post I Forgot to Add a Title to This Post: A Links Round-Up appeared first on Reading the End.

Emma Southon is so great, and she has a new book out about murder in ancient Rome! Here is an excerpt! (link)

Social-emotional learning can help kids relate to each other better, without taking away from their academic competencies. (link)

What went wrong at Gimlet? (link)

Story karma! A lovely, useful concept from Emily VanDerWerff. (link)

Brandon Taylor considers whether we will ever, ever feel comfortable going to the movies again. (We will, I think.) (link)

“There is something backhanded about using authors’ personal statements as a Captcha tool for verifying the emotional resonance of their work.” Not all fiction is autofiction! It is rude to assume! (link)

In case you missed the Amanda Gorman translation controversy, here’s a round-up of responses and reactions to it! (link)

Philip Roth sounds like a real treat to be around. I am consumed with regret that I long ago decided never ever to read one of his books. (link)

Ignoring anti-Asian racism for the last 150 years has brought us to this place. (link)

All Arthuriana is fanfic. (link)

“The psychologist and tech commentator Sherry Turkle has observed that technological solutions often start out being regarded as ‘better than nothing’ only to supplant the alternatives and come to be treated as better than anything.'” On all those therapy apps. (link)

Was Naomi Wolf always terrible? Kinda! (link)

Lyz Lenz and Talia Levin discuss sustained internet harassment and how they have each learned to deal with it. (link)

Generational stereotypes are whitewashed and do not assist us in breaking down unjust systems. So let’s just not. (link)

Here’s how to make small talk, for those of us who have been quarantined so long we don’t remember how to interact with others. (link)

“What I know is that being Bich, and growing up as Bich in a mostly white town in the eighties, has felt like a test that I was constantly failing.” A heartbreaking, complicated essay about Beth Nguyen’s choice to change her name. (link)

Nobody’s doing well; everyone’s doing badly. (link)

Reading in the morning is Good. I can personally attest to this. I used to read every day on my commute, and if I missed it I became very cranky indeed. (link)

Disney keeps making movies where the Black characters spend most of the movie not being Black characters. W h y. (tw for a really heartbreaking set of anecdotes about the author’s son trying to find TV that represents him) (link)

Two of my favorite critics, Alex Brown and Angelica Jade Bastien, discuss why Them‘s overuse on brutality makes the show, overall, an artistic failure.

GOOD TALK, NOW HAVE A WEEKEND.

The post Everyone’s Doing Badly: A Links Round-Up appeared first on Reading the End.