Tag Archives: the-monitor

Tech Disrupted Hollywood. AI Almost Destroyed It

The thread was 10 tweets long—verbose by X standards—and 219 words, but there was just one word that stuck out. Threat. The message, posted on the @SAG-AFTRA account, summed up everything the actors union had fought to get in the tentative agreement with Hollywood studios. In the context of the …

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TikTok-Hyped Halloween Decor Is Out of Control

What I’m about to tell you sounds like the kind of thing made by an AI story generator designed to spit out the final segments of the local 11 o’clock news, but here goes: A few weeks ago, firefighters in Glens Falls, New York, got called to the scene of …

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Netflix Just Shipped Its Last DVD. The Algorithms Won

Collectively, separately, Netflix’s film nerds mourn. On X/Twitter, and in think pieces, and in private moments, they let out a collective sigh knowing that they’ll never see a red-wrapped DVD in their mailboxes again. For some 25 years, the period after Netflix all but obliterated Blockbuster and most mom-and-pop video …

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Streaming TV Is Entering Its Jock Phase

Gather ‘round, ye readers, I have a question for you: Are you ready for some football? Worldwide, where football is what Americans call “soccer,” there’s always someone, somewhere ready to answer “yes” to this question. In the US, where the start of fall means the National Football League is in …

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Why Is Everyone Asking Men About the Roman Empire?

If the question hasn’t hit your For You page or Twitter feed (or group chat) yet, it will: How often do you think about the Roman Empire? The provenance of the query is a little blurry, but it maybe started with this tweet (which also references an Instagram Reel) or …

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