The Attention-Span Class Divide
Several months ago, during an Oscar campaign far more memorable than the movie it was promoting, the actor Timothée Chalamet offered up an observation: “I don’t want to be working in ballet, or opera, or things where it’s like, Hey, keep this thing alive, even though, like, no one cares about this any more.” Recognizing that he might have just offended some ballet or opera lovers, he added, “I just lost 14 cents in viewership.”Chalamet went on to reference billion-dollar-grossing blockbusters, such as Oppenheimer and Barbie. Beloved as opera and ballet may be, they have a niche audience.
Reported by 1 outlet — The Atlantic. See all sources ↓
Several months ago, during an Oscar campaign far more memorable than the movie it was promoting, the actor Timothée Chalamet offered up an observation: “I don’t want to be working in ballet, or opera, or things where it’s like, Hey, keep this thing alive, even though, like, no one cares about this any more.” Recognizing that he might have just offended some ballet or opera lovers, he added, “I just lost 14 cents in viewership.”Chalamet went on to reference billion-dollar-grossing blockbusters, such as Oppenheimer and Barbie. Beloved as opera and ballet may be, they have a niche audience. I have never, for instance, witnessed gaggles of girlfriends dress like birds to catch a Swan Lake performance the way millions of women swathed themselves in pink to see Barbie. But what people who were annoyed by the ham-fisted comment may have missed—what Chalamet himself missed—is that he is already working in a field of narrowing cultural relevance.
Read the full report at The Atlantic ↗
Why it matters
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- What's the story?
- Several months ago, during an Oscar campaign far more memorable than the movie it was promoting, the actor Timothée Chalamet offered up an observation: “I don’t want to be working in ballet, or opera, or things where it’s like, Hey, keep this thing alive, even though, like, no one cares about this any more.” Recognizing that he might have just offended some ballet or opera lovers, he added, “I just lost 14 cents in viewership.”Chalamet went on to reference billion-dollar-grossing blockbusters, such as Oppenheimer and Barbie. Beloved as opera and ballet may be, they have a niche audience.
- How widely is it covered?
- 1 outlet, average source rating 8.0/10.
- When was it last updated?
- 3m ago.
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The Attention-Span Class Divide
Sources1TypeCoverageThe Atlantic