NFTRW Weekly Top Five

Here are the top five comment generating posts of the past week:

New Zealand students suffer neck cuts in Sweeney Todd show

BBC News: Two boys were taken to hospital after receiving neck wounds during an opening night performance of Sweeney Todd at a school in Auckland, New Zealand.

The musical features a barber who murders his customers by slitting their throats and selling their remains to a pie shop.

Posted by David at 4/07/2016 01:44:00 PM

Parents who censor high school theater are morons

New York Post: The terrific 1972 musical “Pippin” begins with a call from a charismatic leading player to “join us.” What ensues is a wild, funny, inclusive coming-of-age story about the son of Charlemagne, with a score by Stephen Schwartz, the composer of other excellent titles like “Wicked” and “Godspell.”

But, according to a report in the Cape May County Herald, a group of 140 community members in Middle Township, NJ, would like you to join them — against this harmless musical.

Posted by David at 4/06/2016 01:59:00 PM

Comedy, College, and the Fight to Save Free Speech: Can We Take a Joke?

Reason.com: According to a recent study by the Pew Research Center, 40 percent of millennials believe it would be appropriate for the government to restrict speech that offends minority groups. This mindset is manifesting itself on college campuses across the country, from the disinvitation of controversial speakers to top comedians refusing to perform at universities.

Posted by David at 4/08/2016 04:45:00 PM

The Largest Ever Analysis of Film Dialogue by Gender: 2,000 scripts, 25,000 actors, 4 million lines

polygraph.cool: Lately, Hollywood has been taking so much shit for rampant sexism and racism. The prevailing theme: white men dominate movie roles.
But it’s all rhetoric and no data, which gets us nowhere in terms of having an informed discussion. How many movies are actually about men? What changes by genre, era, or box-office revenue? What circumstances generate more diversity?

Posted by David at 4/08/2016 04:49:00 PM

Do You Need to Be a Narcissist to Be a Successful Artist?

Big Think: Shameless self-promotion and artistic navel-gazing has gotten a scientific boost from an unexpected source. By comparing signatures in auction house transactions of over 400,000 paintings, researchers found that works by narcissistic artists sold for higher prices.

Posted by David at 4/06/2016 01:55:00 PM