Some of the panels I went to at SXSW Interactive 2013

It’s Reddit’s Web. We Just Live In It
Reddit has become the most exciting and influential community online. How is Reddit’s power altering Internet culture, and should we celebrate it, or fear it?
Speakers: Adrian Chen, Gawker; Farhad Manjoo, Slate; Rebecca Watson, SkepChick.

Aaron Swartz Town Hall
In addition to addressing some of the open source principles that shape his philosophies, the session will also cover ongoing efforts to change the US copyright laws under which Swartz was being prosecuted. 
Speakers: David Segal, Demand Progress; Jennifer Lynch, EFF; Marvin Ammori, New America Foundation; Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman, SumOfUs (Aaron’s partner).

Beyond Work/Life: Changing the Debate and Making Change
Anne-Marie Slaughter discusses her Atlantic article, “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All.”
Speakers: Anne-Marie Slaughter, Princeton University; Jessica Coen, Jezebel.

Is Women’s Media Too Girly?
Do female journalists and writers undermine themselves (and other women) by publishing odes to frozen yogurt, writing about their breakups, or creating a cable show about female friendship? Or does “girly” media surface and acknowledge women’s experiences as important and worth hearing?
Speakers: Anna Holmes, founder of Jezebel.com; Deborah Schoeneman, HBO’s GIRLS; Margaret Johnson, HuffPost Women; Rebecca Fernandez, Hello Giggles.

Changing Rules for Women and Sex on TV
Television shows today are exploring the age old questions of the double standard and female desire, but in a much more interesting way.
Speakers: Anna Camp; David Haglund, Slate; Noreen Malone, The New Republic; Sarah Shapiro; Alyssa Rosenberg, ThinkProgress.

The Future of TV Coverage in the Post-Recap World 
In a media landscape in which everyone recaps America’s Next Top Model, and in which insta-responses on second screens are reshaping the critical metabolism readers expect, what is the next great innovation in TV coverage?
Speakers: Chris Rovzar, Vanity Fair; Jason Forbes, Zeebox; Stephanie Goodman, The New York Times; Willa Paskin, Salon; Dan Kois, Slate.

Why Comedians Don’t Give A F*ck If You’re Offended
Many comedians and fans alike consider the comedy stage a sacred place, where the dark, offensive, sacrilegious and even stupid can and should remain uncensored. But what does free speech mean in the age of iPhones, Facebook and YouTube accounts?
Speakers: Eddie Pepitone, Janine Brito, Joe Garden, W Kamau Bell

Time to Re-Boot: What Next for Podcasting?
Is podcasting being superseded by socially curated audio platforms like Soundcloud and AudioBoo? What advantages does podcasting hold over its older and younger rivals and how can producers harness the best aspects of both to become more powerful than ever?
Speakers: Colin Anderson, BBC; Jesse Thorn, Maximum Fun; Roman Mars, 99% Invisible; Helen Zaltzman, Answer Me This.

Satire is traditionally the weapon of the powerless against the powerful. I only aim at the powerful. When satire is aimed at the powerless, it is not only cruel — it’s vulgar.
Molly Ivins, as quoted by Eddie Pepitone at the SXSW panel “Why Comedians Don’t Give A F*ck If You’re Offended.”
collegehumor: If People Talked About Seinfeld Like They Talk About Girls [Click for more] Do you watch Seinfeld? Do you like it? REALLY?! Ugh, I mean it’s fine, I guess, I just think it has A LOT of problems. The whole thing just seems SO self-indulgent. Seinfeld stars a comedian named Jerry Seinfeld who plays a comedian named Jerry. Wow. Really, Jerry? He also created the show and writes it. It’s like he can’t give up control of anything. Sometimes it seems like he’s just using this show as an excuse to play out his fantasies, y’know? Every show opens with him performing stand-up to a great crowd that loves every one of his jokes. And he’s constantly having sex with these beautiful women. Like, WAY too beautiful for a schlubby guy like Jerry. Even George, who’s like short and fat, and Kramer, who’s just kind of gross, both also have sex with these beautiful women. It’s like, yeah, okay, Jerry. I guess enjoy the dream while you can. He really seems to think he’s funny. Do you think he’s funny? I don’t think he’s funny. Like, the critics say it’s a funny show, but the comedy is kind of weird. And nothing ever HAPPENS. It’s just these privileged white people (and I mean, they’re ALL white) living their lives in New York. The only non-white characters are wacky immigrant cab drivers and soup vendors. Oh, hilarious: they can’t speak English well — what’s so groundbreaking about that? Continue
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collegehumor:

If People Talked About Seinfeld Like They Talk About Girls [Click for more]

Do you watch Seinfeld? Do you like it? REALLY?! Ugh, I mean it’s fine, I guess, I just think it has A LOT of problems.

The whole thing just seems SO self-indulgent. Seinfeld stars a comedian named Jerry Seinfeld who plays a comedian named Jerry. Wow. Really, Jerry? He also created the show and writes it. It’s like he can’t give up control of anything.

Sometimes it seems like he’s just using this show as an excuse to play out his fantasies, y’know? Every show opens with him performing stand-up to a great crowd that loves every one of his jokes. And he’s constantly having sex with these beautiful women. Like, WAY too beautiful for a schlubby guy like Jerry. Even George, who’s like short and fat, and Kramer, who’s just kind of gross, both also have sex with these beautiful women. It’s like, yeah, okay, Jerry. I guess enjoy the dream while you can.

He really seems to think he’s funny. Do you think he’s funny? I don’t think he’s funny. Like, the critics say it’s a funny show, but the comedy is kind of weird. And nothing ever HAPPENS. It’s just these privileged white people (and I mean, they’re ALL white) living their lives in New York. The only non-white characters are wacky immigrant cab drivers and soup vendors. Oh, hilarious: they can’t speak English well — what’s so groundbreaking about that? Continue

(via popculturebrain)

Source: College Humor

nprfreshair:

Over at The New Yorker Emily Nussbaum is developing the “Hummingbird Theory” about a new character archetype that includes Amy Jellicoe from HBO’s Enlightened:

Meanwhile, I’d been obsessing, like many other TV critics, about the fate of the great HBO series “Enlightened,” whose main character, played by Laura Dern, possesses a similar intensity—and provokes a similar anxiety. You could see Amy Jellicoe as a gender flip on Larry David: she’s another Californian liberal who wants, and fails, to be good. At first glance, “Enlightened” looks cynical, a caustic satire like “Curb” and “Veep.” But Mike White’s show is a more radical creation, in part because Amy, like Sue, is a heroine. This is true despite the fact that she makes viewers, and everyone who meets her, wildly uncomfortable: Amy’s inner vision of herself as a chill New Age seeker is rarely matched by her outward appearance. She’s needy, she’s manipulative, she’s passive-aggressive. Yet despite her flaws, her heart is pure. Her idealism is real.

Today on the show, Terry talks with Enlightened’s creator Mike White about writing the show and awaiting its fate.
Here’s a Fresh Air interview with Larry David.

MIKE WHITE ON FRESH AIR TODAY, YOU GUYS.