Is the tide turning in favour of video game film adaptations? The recent success of The Super Mario Bros. movie where despite receiving mixed reviews from critics, has grossed $377 million worldwide, offers evidence of this. The movie has been setting several box office records, including the biggest worldwide opening weekend for an animated film and domestic debut for a film based on a video game.
The Star Wars sequel trilogy, consisting of The Force Awakens (2015), The Last Jedi (2017), and The Rise of Skywalker (2019), was highly anticipated by fans and critics alike. However, the reception of the trilogy has been mixed, with some fans loving the films and others feeling disappointed with the direction the series took.
COVID-19 global pandemic had a mixed impact on the entertainment industry. On the one hand, cinemas were adversely affected by lockdowns and the like while the popularity of streaming platforms sky-rocketed. Both aspects of the industry have been skewered either positively or negatively as the case might be. What is clear is that post-pandemic, there is a sense that franchise fatigue is becoming a reality amongst fans. Let’s explore the reasons why this is the case right now.
Artistic expression has always been an important aspect of human culture and creativity, but with the advancements in artificial intelligence and machine learning, the boundaries of what we consider to be art are being redefined. AI art generators like DALL-E 2 and Midjourney are examples of this trend, where machines are used to create art, removing the need for human artists. While these AI art generators have their pros and cons, it’s worth noting that the debate surrounding their use is similar to the one that surrounded electronic music production when it first became popular.
In the coming months, the fantasy genre will become the focus of the American culture wars as The House of the Dragon (21 August) and The Rings of Power (2 September) are released on HBO Max and Amazon Prime Video respectively.
Erasing Tolkien? What’s that about? Well, the showrunners and actors of Amazon Prime Video’s Rings of Power series have declared that their series is a version of Tolkien’s work that reflects modernity – “To be part of creating accessibility for generations to come. For new generations this is their version of Tolkien, this is what my daughter will see of Tolkien’s works.” That is a direct quote from actress Sophia Nomvete, who plays Disa, the wife of Dwarf king Durin.
A caveat before I share this opinion about Religion and Anxiety. This is based on my own experience and is not intended to denigrate anybody’s religious beliefs. However, if you are triggered and offended by my personal sharing, then perhaps you need to reflect on your own religious experiences rather than lash out irrationally in anger. If you can take this opinion in that spirit, please read on – if not, then please stop right now and move on…
Social media is an integral marketing tool for blogs such as ours. Or at least that’s the conventional way of approaching the issue. But the fact is, most of the platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter suppress any opportunity for our posts being viewed by our followers unless we pay them money to advertise said post.
The superhero movie genre originated in comic books at the tail end of the 1930s and flourished during one of mankind’s darkest epochs viz. World War II. Since the conclusion of that war, superhero comics have been struggling for acceptance as an art form in its own right.
The superhero movie genre is now the dominant genre in the entertainment industry. From a 1% market share in 1998, the superhero movie genre grew to a 20% market share in 2018. Marvel Studios – now owned by Disney – is the undisputed leader in the genre earning over $22 billion at the global box office in about 12 years, since the release of Iron Man in 2008.
Q: Into the Storm is an American documentary television miniseries directed and produced by Cullen Hoback. It explores the QAnon conspiracy theory and the people involved with it. It consists of six episodes and premiered on HBO on March 21, 2021.
It has been more than 25 years since the death of Kurt Cobain, the last rock iconoclast that had a major impact on popular music before the rise of hip-hop. That is a generation ago and since then, Classic Rock as we understood the genre in the last forty years has declined to insignificance as a cultural force.
Since I rebooted Power of Pop in late July, I have been moved to focus on movie and TV reviews with hardly any music reviews featured. This change in direction might be somewhat bewildering to anyone who has followed Power of Pop in the decades that it has been around.
In my last post on coping with anxiety, I discussed how self-awareness (both internal and external) was a vital starting point for anyone who wants to manage the anxiety disorders in their lives. This is a good time to begin to look at individual symptoms that need to be tackled in order to successfully deal with anxiety. So, let’s look at Obsessive Problem Solving.
Global pandemic aside, the last 20 years have been horrendous for music and the music industry. The music culture that I have grown with from the 60s to the 90s has been utterly devastated for reasons I have enumerated in two articles viz. music is dead and the music industry is dead. However, despite all this, I can still defiantly proclaim : LONG LIVE ROCK!
“We can’t rewind, we’ve gone too far” is a lyric from “Video Killed the Radio Star” and perfectly encapsulates my opinion that music is dead. But music is everywhere you protest, how can music be dead? Let me explain.
Growing up in Singapore in the 60s/70s, we were cautioned against getting involved in politics or even be seen talking about politicians in public. While – like most folks around the world with access to radios, cinemas and TVs – we were besotted with U.S. pop culture, the same cannot be said about U.S. politics.
People are encouraged to have dreams – to be chasing rainbows. Inherent in this is the pressure to be our best selves but not as defined by ourselves but by external parties. Unfortunately, this pursuit of the presently unattained – whether it be of a career, romantic partner etc – is the root of expectations and desires, which will invariably lead to disappointment and despair!
WHY RAP IS NOT MUSIC is a PoP Theory opinion piece. Nothing more, nothing less.
Form not substance
To avoid any misunderstanding about the opinion I am about to express here, please note that this post is discussing Rap as an art form and NOT a substantive judgement of the merits (or otherwise) of Rap as a genre. Now that that’s out of the way, let us begin.
UNDERSTANDING MUSIC GENRES – THE BASICS is an opinion piece. Nothing more, nothing less.
Why understand music genres?
Music continues to be a major player in modern life and impacts all spheres of social and cultural influence – from politics to business to entertainment and so on. Even though the value received by music artists has been marginalised by record labels, publishers and more recently, tech companies – the value added by music artists remains vitally important.
MAKE MINE MARVEL is an opinion piece. A decade ago, Marvel Studios released its maiden production – Iron Man – and the world of movies have never been the same.
