Popular Entertainment Research Articles

Of Bugs and Masks

This essay examines the entanglement of Galin Tihanov’s three regimes of relevance of literature—literature as art, literature as high-minded social engagement, and literature as popular entertainment—in the encounter between a literary theoretician (Tzvetan Todorov) and a science fiction writer (Stanislaw Lem). The overt clash takes place in a polemical article by Lem, in which he attacks Todorov’s theory of the fantastic. Not so obviously, the writer’s revolt against the theoretician imbues Lem’s masterpiece “The Mask.” Kafka’s novella “The Metamorphosis” plays a considerable role in both Lem’s polemic and in his fictional response, raising questions of genre (and its dependence on the market and the entertainment industry), of subjective agency (and its philosophical and political implications), and of artistic ingenuity vis-à-vis despotic power. Although Lem’s reading of Todorov involves considerable misunderstanding, it nevertheless produces fascinating results and exemplifies the impossibility of relegating literary theory to a single regime of relevance.

Performing National Identity in the Interwar Period: The Sarrasani Circus in Germany and Latin America

This article examines the production and promotion of popular entertainments by the German Sarrasani Circus during the interwar period and how they were used to establish specific national narratives in Germany and Latin America. Focusing particularly on its engagement of Lakota performers, it argues that the Circus acted as an active negotiator of national concerns within and beyond Germany’s borders, and presented the group as ‘familiar natives’ in order to appeal to local and national ideas of Germanness. At the same time, it shows that the performers pursued their own interests in becoming international and cosmopolitan performers, thereby challenging the assimilation forced upon their traditions and culture by institutions in the United States. Finally, it demonstrates how foreign propaganda built on the Circus’s national image in Latin America to restore Germany’s international relations after the First World War. Sabine Hanke is a lecturer in Modern History at the University of Duisberg-Essen. Her research examines the German and British interwar circus. She was recently awarded her PhD in cultural history, from which this article has evolved, at the University of Sheffield. A chapter based on her research is scheduled for publication in Circus Histories and Theories, ed. Nisha P.R. and Melon Dilip (Oxford University Press).

Watching television in a home environment: effects on children’s attention, problem solving and comprehension

ABSTRACT Correlational studies have suggested some harmful effects of television viewing in early childhood, especially for the viewing of fast-paced entertainment programs. However, this has not been consistently supported by experimental studies, many of which have lacked ecological validity. The current study explores the effects of pace of program on the attention, problem solving and comprehension of 41 3- and 4-year-olds using an ecologically valid experimental design. Children were visited twice at home; on each visit they were shown an episode of a popular animated entertainment program which differed in pace: one faster paced, one slower paced. Children’s behavior was coded for attention and arousal during viewing, attention, and effort on a problem-solving task after viewing, and performance on unrelated (problem-solving) and related (program comprehension) tasks. The faster-paced program was attended to more, while 3-year-olds showed more attention and effort on the problem-solving task after watching the slower program, but there were no significant differences in performance on unrelated or related tasks depending on pace. The lack of differences observed in this naturalistic setting together with the high levels of comprehension of the programs watched provides some evidence to counter the “harm” perceived in young children watching fast-paced entertainment programs.

“I just want to be the friendly face of national socialism”: The turn to civility in the cultural expressions of neo-Nazism in Sweden

Abstract This article is based on a case study of the media narratives of the neo-Nazi organisation Nordic Resistance Movement (NRM) and situates this particular actor within the broader landscape of violent extremism in Sweden today. Drawing on a qualitative content analysis informed by narrative inquiry, I examine various cultural expressions of neo-Nazi ideology in NRM's extensive repertoire of online media. Theoretically, I turn to cultural perspectives on violent extremism to bring to centre stage the role of popular culture and entertainment in the construction of a meaningful narrative of community and belonging built around neo-Nazism in Sweden today. The analysis explores the convergence between different genres, styles, and content into new cultural expressions of national socialism which bleed into mainstream Internet culture and political discourse in new ways. In the online universe of NRM, the extreme blends with the mainstream, the mundane and ordinary with the spectacular and provocative, and the serious with the silly. In this manner, the analysis lays bare the strategies through which NRM seeks to soften, trivialise, and normalise neo-Nazi discourse using the power and appeal of culture and entertainment.

Cross-Sectional Study on the Prevalence and Factors Influencing Occurrence of Tick-Borne Encephalitis in Horses in Lithuania.

Various animal species have been evaluated in depth for their potential as Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) sentinel species, although evidence for equine capacity is incomplete. Therefore, a comprehensive cross-sectional stratified serosurvey and PCR analysis of selected horses (n = 301) were performed in TBEV endemic localities in Lithuania. Attached and moving ticks (n = 241) have been collected from aforementioned hosts to evaluate natural infectivity of TBEV vectors (Ixodes spp.) in the recreational environments surrounding equestrian centers. All samples were screened for TBEV IgG and positive samples were confirmed by virus neutralization test (VNT). 113 (37.5%) horses from all counties of Lithuania tested positive for TBEV IgG, revealing age and sex indifferent results of equine seroprevalence that were significantly dependent on pedigree: horses of mixed breed were more susceptible to infection possibly due to their management practices. TBEV prevalence in equine species corresponded to TBEV-confirmed human cases in the precedent year. As much as 3.9% of horses were viraemic with TBEV-RNA with subsequent confirmation of TBEV European subtype. 4/38 of tested tick pools were positive for TBEV-RNA (Minimal infectious rate 1.2%). Several unknown microfoci were revealed during the study indicating areas of extreme risk close to popular human entertainment sites. The study provides important evidence in favor of horses’ usage as sentinel species, as equines could provide more detailed epidemiological mapping of TBEV, as well as more efficient collection of ticks for surveillance studies.

Exploring the effects of psychological ownership, gaming motivations, and primary/secondary control on online game addiction

Online gaming has grown to be a very popular electronic entertainment for people throughout the world. However, the burgeoning popularity of online games in some cases leads to addiction, a phenomenon that has received considerable attention. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of psychological ownership, gaming motivation, and primary–secondary control on online game addiction (OGA). Based on 436 valid responses collected from online questionnaires, the partial least squares structural equation modeling approach was employed to test the research model. Findings show that the motivations of achievement and escapism are positively associated with psychological ownership toward a virtual gaming environment. Of particular interest is the inverted-U relationship between psychological ownership and OGA, suggesting that too little or too much psychological ownership is associated with less OGA. Finally, individuals with high levels of primary (secondary) control are more (less) inclined to be addicted to online games.This study provides practical implications and strategies to address the alarming increase in OGA. First, families, communities, and universities should encourage outdoor activities, such as sports competitions, and offline cosplay games to address the need for achievement and escapism. Second, individuals who play online games for relaxation should choose a relatively easy or hard mode to avoid game addiction. Finally, parents, teachers, and employers are encouraged to pay attention to individuals who have a high level of primary control since they can be susceptible to OGA. This study provides several theoretical contributions. First, the study enriches OGA and the gaming motivation literature by exploring the roles of gaming motivation, psychological ownership, and personal control strategies as they can be a factor in OGA. In addition, this study is the first to investigate the dark side of psychological ownership in terms of negative outcomes for OGA. This study also advances the personal control strategy literature by understanding the roles of primary and secondary control on OGA.

Exploring the Effects of Psychological Ownership, Gaming Motivations, and Primary/Secondary Control on Online Game Addiction

Online gaming has grown to be a very popular electronic entertainment for people throughout the world. However, the burgeoning popularity of online games in some cases leads to addiction, a phenomenon that has received considerable attention. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of psychological ownership, gaming motivation, and primary–secondary control on online game addiction (OGA). Based on 436 valid responses collected from online questionnaires, the partial least squares structural equation modeling approach was employed to test the research model. Findings show that the motivations of achievement and escapism are positively associated with psychological ownership toward a virtual gaming environment. Of particular interest is the inverted-U relationship between psychological ownership and OGA, suggesting that too little or too much psychological ownership is associated with less OGA. Finally, individuals with high levels of primary (secondary) control are more (less) inclined to be addicted to online games. This study provides practical implications and strategies to address the alarming increase in OGA. First, families, communities, and universities should encourage outdoor activities, such as sports competitions, and offline cosplay games to address the need for achievement and escapism. Second, individuals who play online games for relaxation should choose a relatively easy or hard mode to avoid game addiction. Finally, parents, teachers, and employers are encouraged to pay attention to individuals who have a high level of primary control since they can be susceptible to OGA. This study provides several theoretical contributions. First, the study enriches OGA and the gaming motivation literature by exploring the roles of gaming motivation, psychological ownership, and personal control strategies as they can be a factor in OGA. In addition, this study is the first to investigate the dark side of psychological ownership in terms of negative outcomes for OGA. This study also advances the personal control strategy literature by understanding the roles of primary and secondary control on OGA.

Commercial Video Games in School Teaching: Two Mixed Methods Case Studies on Students' Reflection Processes.

Commercial video games are popular entertainment media and part of students’ media reality. While commercial video games’ main purpose is not learning, they nonetheless could and should serve as objects of reflection in formal educational settings. Teachers could guide student learning and reflection as well as motivate students with commercial video games, but more evidence from formal educational settings is required. We conducted two mixed methods case studies to investigate students’ reflection processes using commercial video games in regular formal high school teaching. In a double lesson, 29 students of a 10th-grade biology course (Study 1) and 17 students of a 12th-grade advanced course on history (Study 2) played and discussed a commercial video game related to the current curricular topic. We examined the reflection processes of students in terms of their reactions to the teachers’ game-related statements and questions. Regarding teachers’ statements, students discussed several topics related to game enjoyment and the games’ representation of topic-related content. Regarding teachers’ questions, students discussed multiple goals in each game, how the games represented topic-related content, and how the games could be appropriate for learning. In Study 2, students additionally discussed emotions, stereotypes, violence, and the narrative related to the digital history game. We found that the discussions provided students opportunities to reflect on their game experiences and the current curricular topic as well as to practice media criticism. We further provide quantitative results on students’ perceived topic knowledge, on several facets of their learning motivation, and on their acceptance of video games. Overall, our findings illustrate the educational value of using commercial video games as objects of reflection.

“Theatricals of Day”: Emily Dickinson and Nineteenth-Century American Popular Culture by Sandra Runzo

Reviewed by: “Theatricals of Day”: Emily Dickinson and Nineteenth-Century American Popular Culture by Sandra Runzo Elizabeth Hewitt “Theatricals of Day”: Emily Dickinson and Nineteenth-Century American Popular Culture. By Sandra Runzo. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2019. viii + 255 pp. $27.95. With the possible exception of Edgar Allan Poe, Emily Dickinson is the American artist most beloved and fetishized by contemporary popular culture. Her image and poetry are emblazoned on countless T-shirts, tote bags, and necklaces. Her life has been reimagined in novels, plays, movies, and recently in the Apple TV+ television series Dickinson. That show, and other recent biographical films about Dickinson, have set out to transform the old stereotype of the poet as a frigid hermit into a passionate and vibrant member of her community. This rewriting has also been the central project of Dickinson scholarship over the last three decades, and Sandra Runzo’s work is a crucial part of this endeavor. “Theatricals of Day” constitutes a major project to document Dickinson’s consumption of “popular entertainments of her time” and to calibrate how this popular media manifested itself in her poetry (1). Runzo begins with P. T. Barnum’s American Museum, focusing particularly on the exhibits Barnum marketed as “What Is It?” She calls particular attention to Joice Heth, the supposedly 161-year-old enslaved woman and nursemaid to George Washington, and to William Henry Johnson, the man Barnum marketed [End Page 172] as a cross between human and orangutan. Runzo does not claim that we find allusions to either Heth or Johnson specifically but suggests instead that Dickinson’s poetry resembles the circus by exhibiting a range of personae and experiences that challenge easy classification. Her verse presents “spectacle and conundrum” (26). But unlike Barnum, Dickinson does not exploit these ambiguous identities through her poetry—she identifies with them and “explore[s] her affiliation with the alien and fantastical” (44). Runzo follows a similar kind of analogic analysis in the next three chapters. She argues that we can see evidence of Dickinson’s appreciation for the Hutchinson Family Singers, an extremely popular antebellum singing group, not only because she owned sheet music of their songs but also because of other kinds of thematic affinities: “prominent references to graves, liberty, captivity, diminutiveness, desolation, yearning, and betrayal” (55). Similarly, the influence of minstrel songs on Dickinson is indicated by the elements of minstrelsy—song, dance, masquerade, riddles, satire—found in abundance in her poetry. And we can see the importance of Harriet Prescott Spofford’s short story “Circumstance” by observing the frequency with which Dickinson’s poetry narrates stories of crisis similar to that in Spofford’s tale: “a speaker encounters a demon, a monster, a goblin, a ghost . . . [and] the ghastly and the familiar live side-by-side” (127–28). Runzo meticulously works through Dickinson’s corpus to identify what is indisputably true: Dickinson’s poetry is laced with allusions to popular entertainments. But I did find myself less persuaded by some of the more sweeping claims made by the book, which threaten an overdetermined reading of the very influences Runzo skillfully uncovers. She certainly proves that the Hutchinson Family Singers influenced Dickinson’s work, but I am less persuaded that what Dickinson appreciated about their music was the “rebellious energy” and “threat of tumult” (63). While I appreciate Runzo’s desire to push back against scholarship that reads Dickinson’s poetry as racist or apolitical, the fact that Dickinson owned sheet music by the Hutchinsons does not, for me, “evince [Dickinson’s] interest in the musical voices of the abolitionist movement” (68). They were extremely popular musicians, so it is not surprising that an avid sheet music collector like Dickinson would own their music. And, as Runzo says, her collection did not include the Hutchinson’s most celebrated abolitionist song, “Get Off the Track.” Runzo argues on behalf of Dickinson’s anti-racism because she owns sheet music for “Old Dan Tucker” and several other antebellum minstrelsy songs. I am unsure why, however, Runzo reads Dickinson’s ownership of the Hutchinson sheet music as approbation of their reformist politics but offers a very different account of Dickinson’s ownership of minstrel music...

The Effect of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT) to Reduce of Game Online Addiction in Adolescents

Game Online are a popular entertainment among children and adolescents. Playing games online too often can lead to addiction. Adolescents are mostly to online game addiction. Online game addiction has a negative impact, to physical, psychological, social, achievement, economic, etc. Therefore, online game addiction in adolescents needs to be overcome, one of which is by providing Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance Committed Therapy (ACT). This study aims to determine the effect of CBT and ACT in reducing the level of online game addiciton among adolescents in District Bungo. The research design was a quasi experimental pretest and posttest with control group. Sampling was done by purposive sampling technique, namely as many as 54 people and classified into 27 people (intervention group) and 27 people (control group). The instrument used in this study was the Game Addiction Scale (GAS). The results of the paired t test showed that the average game online addiction in the intervention group at pre-test was 65.59 and at post-test was 47.26, with p value = 0.000. This shows that there is a significant difference in the conditions of game online addiction after being given CBT and ACT in the intervention group. The application of CBT and ACT is recommended for overcoming game online addiction in adolescents.

Oskar Schlemmer’s Kitsch (1922): a contextualisation and translation

ABSTRACT This article contextualises a previously unpublished manuscript on the subject of kitsch written in 1922 by the Bauhaus practitioner Oskar Schlemmer and provides an original annotated translation as an appendix. The article positions Schlemmer’s manuscript as a response to debates about the aesthetics of kitsch among his contemporaries in the German and Austrian intelligentsia, including Austrian architect Adolf Loos; Stuttgart-based art historian and member of the Deutscher Werkbund Gustav Pazaurek; the founding member of the Dürerbund, Ferdinand Avenarius; and the avant-garde satirist Frank Wedekind. Schlemmer’s unpublished manuscript is also located as part of a broader response to the social upheavals of industrialisation and the First World War, where the concept of kitsch figured centrally in discussions among taste-makers about the progress and purpose of art and design in the new century. While “kitsch” in Germany before 1920 was generally considered to be in poor taste and an expression of bourgeois excess, Schlemmer argues that not all kitsch is bad. Schlemmer’s manuscript highlights a shift, following the First World War, in attitudes among the German avant-garde towards what constituted kitsch and the role that it may have had on design inspiration within modernist theatre. Like Pazaurek, who classified different categories of kitsch, Schlemmer, too, identifies a new category of kitsch—“true” kitsch—and states not only that it appears as an expression of the joy found in popular entertainment, such as at circuses and market fairs, but that it is beautiful and as such should be celebrated.

João Silva, Entertaining Lisbon: Music, Theatre & Modern Life in the Late 19th Century

Joao Silva was awarded his PhD by the University of Newcastle for his thesis on music and theatre in Portugal. In his book Entertaining Lisbon, a captivating work of Cultural History research, he “studies the connections between construction of the modern Portuguese nation-state and popular entertainment between 1867 and 1910, focusing on theatrical music” (p. 1). He analyses the creation of realities and social images through music, explaining how cultural construction was related to the ide...

New Visual Expression of Anime Film Based on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Technology

With the improvement of material living standards, spiritual entertainment has become more and more important. As a more popular spiritual entertainment project, film and television entertainment is gradually receiving attention from people. However, in recent years, the film industry has developed rapidly, and the output of animation movies has also increased year by year. How to quickly and accurately find the user’s favorite movies in the huge amount of animation movie data has become an urgent problem. Based on the above background, the purpose of this article is to study the new visual expression of animation movies based on artificial intelligence and machine learning technology. This article takes the film industry’s informatization and intelligent development and upgrading as the background, uses computer vision and machine learning technology as the basis to explore new methods and new models for realizing film visual expression, and proposes relevant thinking to promote the innovative development of film visual expression from a strategic level. This article takes the Hollywood anime movie “Kung Fu Panda” as a sample and uses convolutional neural algorithms to study its new visual expression. The study found that after the parameters of the model were determined, the accuracy of the test set did not change much, all around 57%. This is of great significance for improving the audiovisual quality and creative standards of film works and promoting the healthy and sustainable development of the film industry.

Gandhi’s Metaphysics as Encountering the 'Unreasonable'

In this article, I reconsider Gandhi's relationship to liberal democracy. I argue that a properly Gandhian approach to this relationship should emphasize the role of the satyagrahi facilitating conflict resolutions and progress in truth. Above all, this approach calls upon courageous, exemplary individuals to pass over and join the viewpoints of 'unreasonables' marginalized by the liberal state. However, I also argue that contemporary Gandhians should explore cultural adaptations of the satyagrahi-role appropriate to highly materialistic, multicultural liberal-democracies. In these societies, the traditional figure of the ascetic or saint may lack popular cultural resonance. Moreover, moral learning and spiritual insight often derives from popular culture and entertainment as much as religious traditions, or devotional practices. Contemporary Gandhi’s scholars should thus consider the prospects for 'alternative satyagrahis' embracing some materialist values and cultural motifs, as appropriate sources spiritual growth and soul-force.

A War of Words Among Women: An Anonymous Bolognese Poem from 1282

Abstract Not only do the city registers of medieval Bologna, the Memoriali Bolognesi, contain legal and economic transactions, but they also transmit poetry of the age. Across the decades, the scribes introduced poems between the transactions; over some one hundred such poems have been preserved, many of them unica. Thus, the registers offer a glimpse into the popular entertainments of the times, providing valuable information about the culture of thirteenth-century Italy. One such poem is the ballata “Oi bona gente, oditi et endenditi” (“Oh, good people, hear and understand”), an insulting dialogue between two women. Intended to provoke laughter, the poem traffics in traditional misogynistic stereotypes. Its two antagonists accuse one another of drunkenness, gluttony, but mostly sexual impropriety such as cuckolding their husbands and attempting to pimp one another out to the parish priest. Through analysis of the poem, the anxieties provoked by the socio-economic changes of the Italian communes come into focus. The society was in flux, and the ballata employs the traditional insults of women to address the concerns that it raised.

Conjuring Kuwait Onstage: An Interview with Mohammed Al-Hemely

Conjuring Kuwait Onstage: An Interview with Mohammed Al-Hemely Yasmine Marie Jahanmir (bio) and Reno Hassan Hajiyah (bio) Mohammed Al-Hemely (b.1986), producer, director, and actor, shines brightly in the constellation of commercial theatre offered in Kuwait.1 His splashy spectacles are peppered with recognizable Western influences and inspired by theatrical innovation he seeks out in London each summer. They are extremely popular with Kuwaiti audiences, often selling out the entire run. His career started early: acting with the historic Al-Shabab [youth] Theater group under the auspices of the Youth Public Authority. In 2011, Al-Hemely founded his personal theatre company, Backstage Group, and has presented numerous comedies, thrillers, children’s shows, and musicals. Unlike most Kuwaiti commercial theatre, which occurs in rented and temporarily converted spaces, often sport clubs, Al-Hemely bought and renovated the Medical Professions Theater in Jabriya (an urban district in Kuwait City). This building is a point of pride for Al-Hemely, and it allows him to extend the runs of sold-out shows, remount previous shows because there is costume and set storage, and most importantly, gives him the freedom to produce theatre all year-round. Al-Hemely’s most popular and longest-running play, Mujab (2018; see the trailer at https://youtu.be/-OWxlm6WISA), which he wrote, directed, and plays the role of Sror, has run on and off for over two years. The play, set in unnamed slums of Kuwait, centers on Om Sror (mother of Sror), a leader of a hidden community that authorities have at best forgotten and at worst demonized (fig. 1). With a reputation for being an exorcist, Om Sror defends her threatened neighborhood from authorized demolition by spreading rumors of possession and inciting fear among the ranks of the police investigators. Based in comedic improvisation, like most of Kuwaiti commercial theatre, this eclectic, humorous, and supernatural play hints at social critique of class, race, and structural inequality. Mujab is also popular with Kuwaiti audiences because it is steeped in folk traditions. In Arabic, Mujab translates as “service and honoring” and often refers to exorcism. As the audience saunters from the box office to their seats, they experience a full-sensory transition into the world of the play with the scent of Al-Yawi bakhour, a type of woodchip incense particular to exorcism. Live drumming accompanies a recording of traditional-style Arabian gulf music such as Tanboura—a music specific to exorcisms called zar. Zar is a type of spirit-possession ritual that originated in East Africa.2 Actors encourage the audience to sing and clap with them while offering bakhour and watermelon (figs. 2–3). Mujab reflects a multifaceted Kuwait onstage by examining the extant social tensions between rich and poor, traditional and modern, and real and supernatural. In Mujab, Al-Hemely successfully explores these contradictions, all while presenting a wildly entertaining farcical play that is, at least in terms of box-office receipts, the most popular play in Kuwait’s recent history. When we sat down with Al-Hemely in December 2019, his enthusiasm to promote his vision of Kuwaiti culture was evident.3 He had just released a film, The End (2019), uniquely shot entirely in Kuwait. Closure of theatres around the world due to COVID-19 did not abet Al-Hemely’s drive, as he produced one of the first Zoom plays in the Arabic region. No matter what the future holds, there is no doubt that Al-Hemely will continue to make spectacular, comedic, and thoughtful shows that will shape the future of Kuwait’s popular entertainment landscape. [End Page e51] Click for larger view View full resolution Fig. 1. Sama (Samah) and Tabil (Abdullah Al-Ramyan) are lighting the Al-Yawi bakhour (incense specific to exorcism) during the ritual. (Photo: Nawaf Alsharaf.) Click for larger view View full resolution Fig. 2. Sror (Mohammed Al-Hemely), Om Sror (Haifaa Adel), and ensemble invite the spirits while the Al-Zar (exorcism) music is playing. (Photo: Nawaf Alsharaf.) [End Page e-52] Click for larger view View full resolution Fig. 3. Om Sror (Haifaa Adel) begins the exorcism ritual while the ensemble plays the Tar (drums), an instrument associated with zar. (Photo: Nawaf...

Academe vs. Hollywood: Sweet Liberty, or the Dilemmas of Historical Representation on Film

In Sweet Liberty, writer and director Alan Alda dramatizes the process of turning a scholarly study about the American Revolutionary War into a Hollywood film; he does so in ways that bring out the ethical complexities of adaptation, and eventually takes them to a meta-filmic level rarely seen in non-experimental cinema. While Sweet Liberty initially comes off as a light comedy with a predictable plot and ending, on closer inspection it compels us to reflect on the relationship between historical research and the popular entertainment industry. Although Alda appears to chastise the makers of period films who seek to capitalize on “history” without paying heed to historical facts, his professorial hero is not particularly critically minded either. Intentionally or not, Alda demonstrates that evaluating a mainstream history film cannot be reduced to a dichotomy between truth and fiction, and that research-based knowledge should also be viewed with a healthy skepticism.

„Bis zur Grenze des Tragbaren“. Zur Geschichte der Kritik am Antisemitismus im Feuilleton des ›Pester Lloyd‹ 1933 bis 1944.

“At the limit of tolerability”: On the history of criticism of anti-Semitism in the feuilleton of ›Pester Lloyd‹ 1933–1944. When Siegfried Brachfeld’s dissertation on the last decade of the most influential Germanlanguage newspaper in Hungary appeared in 1971, a turning point in the cultural and scientific debate about anti-Semitism became apparent. A contemporary contextualisation of the only academic work by the popular entertainer constitutes the starting point for an inspection of the reception of literary antisemitism in Hungarian fiction with the help of random samples from ›Pester Lloyd‹.

Recommendation Engine on IPTV

In recent years IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) platforms are becoming one of the most popular entertainment multimedia services which are used to serve movies, tv-series and other video and audio attractive content using the Internet Protocol. VoD (Video on Demand) is the most popular multimedia IPTV service, which provides content without the need for the old traditional way of using video playback devices. Except that it is necessary to have high-quality VoD content, IPTV platforms must provide the best end-user experience. Moreover, it is imperative to provide new features to attract new customers and keep the existing ones. We confirmed the efficacy of this classifier thru simple trial and error. When we searched for movies that have sequels, our engine recommended those sequels. Since Cosine Similarity Classifier considers multiple factors, such as actor, genre, year, etc. Even if the movie does not have prequels or sequels this algorithm was able to provide us with movies that share other common characteristics.

Presence, Prestige and Patronage: Circus Proprietors and Country Pastors in Australia, 1847–1942

Christianity and circus entered the Australian landscape within a few decades of each other. Christianity arrived with the First Fleet in 1788. Five years later, Australia’s first church was opened. In 1832, the first display of the circus arts was given by a ropewalker on the stage of Sydney’s Theatre Royal. Fifteen years later, Australia’s first circus was opened in Launceston. Nevertheless, Australia’s historians have tended to overlook both the nation’s religious history and its annals of popular entertainment. In their new antipodean setting, what did Christianity and circus offer each other? To what extent did each accommodate the other in terms of thought and behaviour? In raising these questions, this article suggests the need to remove the margins between the mainstreams of Australian religious and social histories. For the argument of this article: 1) the term “religion” will refer to Christianity, specifically its Roman Catholic and principal Protestant manifestations introduced in Australia, Anglican, Presbyterian and Methodist; and 2) the term “circus” will refer to the form of popular entertainment, a major branch of the performing arts and a sub-branch of theatre, as devised by Astley in London from 1768, and first displayed in the Australia in 1847.