The Cultural Algorithm

It has been a year since citizens of the world were asked to shelter in place to keep family, friends, and neighbors safe. With everyone staying home, the entertainment industry has had to adapt and evolve. People who would normally go out for dinner and a movie on a Friday night have whipped up new recipes at home and hit play on the latest Amazon Prime or Netflix original movie. This brought many broadcasters face to face with the “existential threat” of streaming.

Tom Holland is Spiderman. Thanks to the Russo Brothers, it is rather difficult to imagine Holland playing any character who isn’t wearing tights or swinging from a web with Mary Jane. His iconic role as Peter Parker has propelled his popularity among Marvel fans to monolithic proportions. After the release of “Spiderman: Far from Home,” Holland devotees will flock to just about anything he is involved in. Apple TV+ gives audiences a rare opportunity to see Holland expand his acting range for this rather dark role in “Cherry” which received an R-rating. Moviegoers be warned. This is not your friendly neighborhood web slinging feature for the kids. It is far from that.

India's government has established new rules for digital news organizations, social media intermediaries and OTT platforms under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, released by the Electronics & Information Technology Ministry and the Information & Broadcasting Ministry on Feb. 25 2021.

Big Tech is on watch with Australia's new media bill . Introduced to parliament in December 2020, the new bill "will pass into law fairly soon" and require digital platforms to pay for news. This means that companies like Google and Facebook will have "to pay local media outlets and publishers to link their content," according to CNBC.

The Mouse Empire is on roll, churning out quality content for its lucrative Disney+ which currently has 95 million subscribers. Mickey has developed a devout following that consumes whatever the Disney overlords produce. So, to further its ambition to win the streaming wars, Mickey and friends are giving the fans what they want-more violence.

The recent release of Amazon Prime Video's "Tandav" created enormous controversy in India. Many viewers accused the show of offending religious sentiments. "Tandav" is a political drama with several popular Indian actors including Saif Ali Khan who also starred in the contentious "Sacred Games" and Dimple Kapadia who was seen in Christopher Nolan's "Tenet." The actors ran into trouble when, in six different states, multiple police cases were filed (FIRs) against the program's creators and cast.

Who knew back in 2016 that "Deadpool" would become the highest grossing R-rated superhero movie of all time? It's no surprise that its sequel "Deadpool 2" would garner even more success. After everyone's favorite rodent swallowed the Fox Corporation back in 2019, they acquired the rights to the Deadpool franchise. Now fans can rejoice that "Merc With a Mouth" is back for a third installment-thanks to Disney. The Mouse Empire revealed its plans to release "Deadpool 3" with an R rating; the first R-Rated film set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Often, before going to see a film at the theater, or pressing play on our remote, we check the rating of a film or series. On most streaming platforms, this is found on the title’s information page. For movies in theaters, ratings are found at the end of the trailers played on television commercial breaks or in the paper.

The world is entering a new era of international collaboration in media and entertainment. How do stakeholders and participants blend and interpret their respective cultures and points of view? What results--a piece of work that celebrates the beliefs and values of local people, or will misunderstanding and controversy flourish? The film, "The Lady of Heaven," is one such multicultural endeavor. It was produced by the U.K.'s Enlightened Kingdom, directed by Eli King, an Australian born actor of Egyptian descent, and written by Sheikh Yasser Al-Habib, a Kuwaiti Shia Muslim cleric, and the head of the London-based Khoddam Al-Mahdi Organization. After watching the trailer, the film appears to be a vivid, multilayered story with significant religious overtones. "The Lady of Heaven" was due to be released Dec. 30 but has not. While no official reason has been given, dissent about the content's veracity has already begun.