Exclusive – New app WaterBear is the Netflix of social change
What happens when NGOs, storytellers, and tech experts unite to take control of our ecological narrative? One of the biggest hurdles that storytellers face today is the disconnect many of us have between problems ‘here’ and problems ‘far away’. We often feel untouched by global issues like climate change when...
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Kiss the Ground offers hope with regenerative agriculture
Woody Harrelson narrates this unusually optimistic film about the climate crisis, arguing that regenerative agriculture could be the key to turning things around. Netflix has released its latest documentary on the climate crisis called Kiss the Ground, which takes an extensive look at the use of soil and regenerative...
Disney responds to lockdown loneliness with GroupWatch
Disney Plus will now offer users the ability to share screens with up to seven viewers, giving it a significant advantage over Netflix. Despite its rocky launch and recent Mulan controversy, Disney Plus continues to enjoy huge subscriber numbers and viewing figures. In April of this year it managed to...
Why vinyl’s resurgence is hurting the planet
Vinyl sales have now overtaken CDs for the first time since the 1980s, but we need to talk more about the environmental damage of its recent resurgence. New figures released by the Record Industry Association of America indicate that vinyl sales have now overtaken CDs for the first time...
Stormzy’s new music video filmed inside Watch Dogs: Legion
The British grime and R&B artist has teamed up with Ubisoft for his latest single Waterfall, which was created entirely inside Watch Dogs: Legion. UK grime artist Stormzy announced that he’ll be featured in Ubisoft’s upcoming video game Watch Dog: Legions. The music video for his latest single ‘Waterfall’...
Disney ignores China’s human rights violations with Mulan release
Honk Kong activists are pushing to boycott Disney’s Mulan remake as the company ignores China’s violations of human rights in the Xinjiang province. Disney has been battling waves of controversy surrounding its ties to China since the Hong Kong protests erupted last year. Its latest film, a remake of the...
#FreeBritney and the contentious issue of online fandoms
Britney’s attorney said that she ‘welcomes and appreciates the informed support of her many fans’ in new Los Angeles Superior Court documents. Britney Spears seems to have shown support for the fan-led initiative to release her from her conservatorship called #FreeBritney in newly obtained court documents. Fans have been concerned about her wellbeing and financial situation for well over a decade (older readers may remember the vintage Chris Crocker ‘leave Britney...
How racism defined John Boyega’s Star Wars experience
Disney and the Star Wars franchise denounced by Boyega, who says his experience while filming has ‘changed him’. John Boyega has said he’s disappointed with the way non-white characters were written and treated during the production of recent Disney Star Wars films. His role as Finn in all three of the newest main trilogy entries in particular was played down as the series continued. You might remember early teasers for...
The new Oscars diversity rules: momentous or tokenistic?
The latest gambit from the Academy to up its woke credentials looks great on paper, but is vague in all the wrong places. This week the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced a new set of ‘representation and inclusion’ standards in the hope of diversifying the Oscars. The film industry’s biggest awards ceremony is now asking studios to meet a set of minority inclusion standards to be...
Digital subscription services continue to soar post lockdown
Britain has become a nation of super-subscribers with an average of seven services per household, according to new stats. Most people, besides maybe pensioners living out their retirement in aging rural towns, will know that online subscriptions are the present and almost certainly the future of home entertainment. Pre-Covid, Western viewing and listening pleasures were divvied up almost exclusively between ubiquitous hubs like Netflix, Amazon TV, Apple TV, and Spotify. And...
