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Topic Review
Femme Fatale
A femme fatale (/ˌfæm fəˈtɑːl/ or /ˌfɛm fəˈtɑːl/; French: [fam fatal]), sometimes called a maneater, is a stock character of a mysterious and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, dangerous, and deadly situations. She is an archetype of literature and art. Her ability to enchant and hypnotise her victim with a spell was in the earliest stories seen as being literally supernatural; hence, the femme fatale today is still often described as having a power akin to an enchantress, seductress, vampire, witch, or demon, having power over men. In American early 20th century film, femme fatale characters were referred to as vamps, an allusion to their role as sexual vampires. The phrase is French for "fatal woman". A femme fatale tries to achieve her hidden purpose by using feminine wiles such as beauty, charm, and sexual allure. In some situations, she uses lies or coercion rather than charm. She may also make use of some subduing weapon such as sleeping gas, a modern analog of magical powers in older tales. She may also be (or imply that she is) a victim, caught in a situation from which she cannot escape; The Lady from Shanghai (a 1947 film noir) is one such example. A younger version of a femme fatale is called a fille fatale, or "fatal girl". One of the most common traits of the femme fatale includes promiscuity and the "rejection of motherhood," seen as "one of her most threatening qualities since by denying his immortality and his posterity it leads to the ultimate destruction of the male." Femmes fatales are typically villainous, or at least morally ambiguous, and always associated with a sense of mystification, and unease.
  • 2.0K
  • 02 Dec 2022
Topic Review
React (Media Franchise)
React (sometimes stylized in all caps as REACT) is a media franchise used by the Fine Brothers consisting of several online series centering on a group of individuals reacting to viral videos, trends, video games, film trailers, or music videos. React was also the first react channel on YouTube. The franchise was launched with the YouTube debut of Kids React in October 2010, and then grew to encompass four more series uploaded on the Fine Brothers' primary YouTube channel, a separate YouTube channel with various reaction-related content, as well as a television series titled React to That. In 2016, the duo announced React World, a program and channel in which they would license the format of their React shows to creators, which led to widespread negative reception from viewers and fellow content creators, as well as confusion about what their format is. This eventually lead to the Fine Brothers to removing all videos related to React World, essentially pulling the plug on the React World program.
  • 1.9K
  • 10 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Pegasus in Popular Culture
The winged, divine horse Pegasus has been a prominent figure in modern popular culture.
  • 1.9K
  • 28 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Munchausen by Internet
Munchausen by Internet is a pattern of behavior akin to Munchausen syndrome (renamed factitious disorder imposed on self), a psychiatric disorder, wherein those affected feign disease, illness, or psychological trauma to draw attention, sympathy, or reassurance to themselves. In Munchausen by Internet, users seek attention by feigning illnesses in online venues such as chat rooms, message boards, and Internet Relay Chat (IRC). It is different from catfishing, where the person feigns an identity to seek attention by online dating. It has been described in medical literature as a manifestation of factitious disorder imposed on self, or if claiming illness of a child or other family member, factitious disorder imposed on another. Reports of users who deceive Internet forum participants by portraying themselves as gravely ill or as victims of violence first appeared in the 1990s due to the relative newness of Internet communications. The pattern was identified in 1998 by psychiatrist Marc Feldman, who created the term "Münchausen by Internet" in 2000. It is not included in the fifth revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). The development of factitious disorders in online venues is made easier by the availability of medical literature on the Internet, the anonymous and malleable nature of online identities, and the existence of communication forums established for the sole purpose of giving support to members facing significant health or psychological problems. Several high-profile cases have demonstrated behavior patterns which are common among those who pose as gravely ill or as victims of violence, or whose deaths are announced to online forums. The virtual communities that were created to give support, as well as general non-medical communities, often express genuine sympathy and grief for the purported victims. When fabrications are suspected or confirmed, the ensuing discussion can create schisms in online communities, destroying some and altering the trusting nature of individual members in others.
  • 1.8K
  • 07 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Postinternet
Postinternet denotes an idea in arts and criticism that refers to society and modes of interaction following the widespread adoption of the internet. The term emerged from discussions about Internet Art by Marisa Olson, Gene McHugh, and Artie Vierkant. Guthrie Lonergan and Cory Arcangel have mentioned it as a term for being "internet aware", which some believe to be more accurate. Generally it is described as art that is about the internet's effects on aesthetics, culture and society. Critics of the term claim that it falsely implies that there is a kind of art made after the internet has ceased to exist (and artists such as Rafael Rozendaal have criticized the ambiguity of "post-" in this instance).
  • 1.8K
  • 04 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Agenda 21 for Culture
Agenda 21 for culture (now also known as Culture 21) is a program for cultural governance developed in 2002–2004 and organized by United Cities and Local Governments. Part of the program's premise is to add culture as a fourth conceptual pillar of sustainable development in governance, the historical three pillars of which are environment, social inclusion, and economics.
  • 1.7K
  • 30 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Plaçage
Plaçage was a recognized extralegal system in French and Spanish slave colonies of North America (including the Caribbean) by which ethnic European men entered into civil unions with non-Europeans of African, Native American and mixed-race descent. The term comes from the French placer meaning "to place with". The women were not legally recognized as wives but were known as placées; their relationships were recognized among the free people of color as mariages de la main gauche or left-handed marriages. They became institutionalized with contracts or negotiations that settled property on the woman and her children and, in some cases, gave them freedom if they were enslaved. The system flourished throughout the French and Spanish colonial periods, reaching its zenith during the latter, between 1769 and 1803. It was widely practiced in New Orleans, where planter society had created enough wealth to support the system. It also took place in the Latin-influenced cities of Natchez and Biloxi, Mississippi; Mobile, Alabama; St. Augustine and Pensacola, Florida; as well as Saint-Domingue (now the Republic of Haiti). Plaçage became associated with New Orleans as part of its cosmopolitan society. In recent years, at least three historians (viz. Kenneth Aslakson, Emily Clark, and Carol Schlueter) have challenged the historicity of plaçage and have referred to many of its features, including quadroon balls, as "a myth".
  • 1.7K
  • 01 Dec 2022
Topic Review
The Critic
The Critic is an American prime time animated series revolving around the life of New York film critic Jay Sherman, voiced by actor Jon Lovitz. It was created by writing partners Al Jean and Mike Reiss, who had previously worked as writers and showrunners (seasons 3 and 4) on The Simpsons. The Critic had 23 episodes produced, first broadcast on ABC in 1994, and finishing its original run on Fox in 1995. According to PopMatters, "the creators [said] they intended the series as their 'love letter to New York.'" Episodes featured movie parodies with notable examples including a musical version of Apocalypse Now, Howard Stern's End (Howards End), Honey, I Ate the Kids (Honey, I Shrunk the Kids/The Silence of the Lambs), The Cockroach King (The Lion King), Abe Lincoln: Pet Detective (Ace Ventura: Pet Detective), Scent of a Jackass and Scent of a Wolfman (Scent of a Woman). The show often referenced popular movies such as Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and The Godfather, and routinely lampooned actor Marlon Brando and actor/director Orson Welles. They also spoofed Dudley Moore, usually as his character Arthur Bach from the 1981 film Arthur. Despite the ratings improving, The Critic was cancelled after two seasons. It continued to air through reruns on Comedy Central and then on Locomotion. From February 1, 2000, to 2001, ten webisodes were later produced using Adobe Shockwave, and were broadcast on AtomFilms.com and Shockwave.com. In 2004, the DVD box set was released, which includes all 23 TV episodes (in their original production order) and the webisodes. In the late 2000s, reruns of the show aired again on ReelzChannel in the US and on Teletoon's programming block Teletoon at Night in Canada. As of 2016, the first season can be viewed for free on Crackle.
  • 1.7K
  • 01 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Common Heritage of Mankind
Common heritage of mankind (also termed the common heritage of humanity, common heritage of humankind or common heritage principle) is a principle of international law that holds that defined territorial areas and elements of humanity's common heritage (cultural and natural) should be held in trust for future generations and be protected from exploitation by individual nation states or corporations.
  • 1.7K
  • 27 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Meet the Flintstones
"Meet the Flintstones", also worded as "(Meet) The Flintstones", is the theme song of the 1960s animated television series The Flintstones. Composed in 1961 by Hoyt Curtin, Joseph Barbera and William Hanna, it is one of the most popular and best known of all theme songs, with its catchy lyrics "Flintstones, meet the Flintstones, they're the modern Stone Age family".
  • 1.7K
  • 01 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Interracial Adoption
Interracial adoption (also referred to as transracial adoption) refers to the act of placing a child of one racial or ethnic group with adoptive parents of another racial or ethnic group. Interracial adoption is not inherently the same as transcultural or international adoption. However, in some circumstances an adoption may be interracial, international, and transcultural at the same time (or some combination of two of those).
  • 1.7K
  • 29 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Semantic Trajectory and Recommender Systems in Cultural Spaces
Semantic trajectories can efficiently model human movement for further analysis and pattern recognition, while personalised recommender systems can adapt to constantly changing user needs and provide meaningful and optimised suggestions. 
  • 1.7K
  • 22 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Folk Art
Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture. Definitions vary, but generally the objects have practical utility of some kind, rather than being exclusively decorative. The makers of folk art are normally trained within a popular tradition, rather than in the fine art tradition of the culture. There is often overlap, or contested ground, with naive art, but in traditional societies where ethnographic art is still made, that term is normally used instead of "folk art". The types of object covered by the term varies considerably and in particular "divergent categories of cultural production are comprehended by its usage in Europe, where the term originated, and in the United States, where it developed for the most part along very different lines." Folk arts are rooted in and reflective of the cultural life of a community. They encompass the body of expressive culture associated with the fields of folklore and cultural heritage. Tangible folk art includes objects which historically are crafted and used within a traditional community. Intangible folk arts include such forms as music, dance and narrative structures. Each of these arts, both tangible and intangible, was originally developed to address a real need. Once this practical purpose has been lost or forgotten, there is no reason for further transmission unless the object or action has been imbued with meaning beyond its initial practicality. These vital and constantly reinvigorated artistic traditions are shaped by values and standards of excellence that are passed from generation to generation, most often within family and community, through demonstration, conversation, and practice.
  • 1.6K
  • 15 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Large Language Models as Recommendation Systems in Museums
The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) has led to various applications in different domains, including recommendation systems (RSs). In the context of museums and cultural spaces, where visitors seek meaningful and engaging experiences, the utilization of advanced RSs can greatly contribute to their enjoyment and overall satisfaction.
  • 1.6K
  • 22 Sep 2023
Topic Review
Zephaniah Kingsley
Zephaniah Kingsley Jr. (December 4, 1765 – September 14, 1843), a Quaker born in England who moved as a child with his family to South Carolina, became a planter, slave trader, and merchant who built several plantations in the Spanish colony of Florida in what is now Jacksonville, Florida. He served on the Florida Territorial Council after Florida was acquired by the United States in 1821. Kingsley Plantation, which he owned and where he lived for 25 years, has been preserved as part of the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve, run by the United States National Park Service. Kingsley was a relatively lenient slaveholder, who allowed his slaves the opportunity to be hired out and earn their freedom. He took four enslaved African women as common-law wives, practicing polygamy. His first wife, Anna Madgigine Jai Kingsley, was 13 years old when Kingsley purchased her in Havana. He said that he had married her, which he never said of his three other common-law wives. He emancipated Anna Jai when she turned 18, and trusted her with running his plantation when he was away on business. He had a total of nine mixed-race children with his wives. He educated his children to high standards and worked to ensure he could settle his estate on them and his wives. His interracial family and his business interests resulted in Kingsley being deeply invested in the Spanish system of slavery and society. As in the French colonies, certain rights were provided to a class of free people of color, and multiracial natural children were allowed to inherit property from white fathers. "In the Spanish Floridas free people of color ... enjoyed tremendously elevated status when compared to virtually any other person of African descent in North America.":61 Kingsley became involved in politics when control of the Florida colony passed in 1821 from Spain to the United States. He tried to persuade the new territorial government to maintain the special status of the population of free people of color, who were mostly multi-racial. He was unsuccessful in this effort, and in 1828 he published a pamphlet that defended a system of slavery that would allow slaves to purchase their freedom, and give rights to free blacks and free people of color. Faced with American laws that forbade interracial marriage, and discouraged "free people of color" (see Free black#Free negroes unwelcome) being allowed to stay or settle in the state, between 1835 and 1837, Kingsley relocated his large family to Haiti. (At that time it controlled part of what is today the Dominican Republic.) After his death, his estate in Florida was the subject of dispute between his widow Anna Jai and other members of Kingsley's family, but she was successful in gaining the estate he had bequeathed to her.
  • 1.6K
  • 11 Oct 2022
Topic Review
The Forgotten Scripts and Languages of India
Today, India stands as a mosaic of linguistic range, with over 700 languages spoken throughout its tremendous expanse. Among these, 22 languages hold the repute of reputable languages of India, as enshrined in its charter.....
  • 1.6K
  • 31 Oct 2024
Topic Review
Lide 1993, p. 11-217.
Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky day in Western superstition. It occurs when the 13th day of the month in the Gregorian calendar falls on a Friday, which happens at least once every year but can occur up to three times in the same year—for example, in 2015, Friday the 13th occurred in February, March, and November. 2017 through 2020 will all have two Friday the 13ths each, and the years 2021 and 2022 will both have just one occurrence each. Friday the 13th occurs in any month that begins on a Sunday.
  • 1.5K
  • 26 Oct 2022
Topic Review
The Amazing Bulk
The Amazing Bulk is a 2012 American direct-to-video superhero film directed by Lewis Schoenbrun. Considered to be a mockbuster of the Marvel Studios film The Incredible Hulk, as well as other media featuring the Hulk character, the film's settings and visuals are almost entirely all reused stock imagery, graphics, and video purchased from various websites.
  • 1.5K
  • 25 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Emotive Internet
Emotive Internet (also Emotive Web, Emotional Internet) is a conceptualization of the Internet as an emergent emotional public space, such as how it serves as a space for the social sharing of emotions. It can also denote the quality of the Internet that allows it to be used to communicate in an emotive fashion or with emotional intent. Since it is an expressive medium, it also enables users to construct and represent their identities online. This is evident in the way emotional responses have been integrated in online communication and interactions. The concept is also linked to emotional analytics and emotion-sensing applications, particularly those technologies that power the Internet of Things (IoTs) - the smart home devices that have the capability to store and process the user's emotional profile to deliver services.
  • 1.4K
  • 28 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Fine Wine and Gout
From ancient times to the present day, gout has been associated in the popular and scientific literature with wealthy men who overindulge in fancy foods, fine wine, and debauchery. Curiously, amongst diseases, gout was thought to be good, a malady to be accepted because of otherwise beneficial effects on health, and longevity. 
  • 1.4K
  • 13 Jun 2022
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