Panel
Art, Politics and Popular Culture
- The Blacklist initiative aims to generate nationwide productions for unproduced plays by female and non-cis male writers, expecting this to shift storytelling methods and empower theater boards to support these diverse voices as representation numbers continue to move dramatically.
- The play Allegiance is predicted to break the 80-year box office record at the Old Globe Theater in San Diego, while its subsequent Broadway run is forecast to last four months without breaking records, and its Los Angeles run is expected to sell out due to the high concentration of Japanese American families.
- Public attitudes regarding Japanese American incarceration are projected to continue transforming over a 70-year period.
- Producers and studio chiefs are expected to recognize that Sophia Bush will decline roles conveying messages she morally opposes, specifically refusing generic horror scripts, while the industry will see sustained demand for thoughtful television exploring complex human stories alongside a "hunger" for active changes in programming lineups and female representation.
- The industry is expected to shift its content consumption and social conversation habits, with interaction rising and viewing patterns alternating between binge-watching and traditional weekly releases.
- Following Hamilton and Black Panther, the industry anticipates a ripple effect from Time's Up and Me Too movements, driving a tectonic shift in media culture where studios assume Black protagonists can succeed globally and where audiences favor authentically told stories regardless of political topics.
- Damon Lindelof has altered his creative process to include diverse writers' rooms, such as the six-member diverse majority in Watchmen (comprising four white males and six others), to challenge assumptions and create "big tent" shows that present unexpected content.
- The executive suites of media companies are expected to move from being disproportionately white men to facilitate cultural shifts, though the tangible manifestation of major public companies changing how they address social and political issues has yet to fully occur.
- The fragmentation of the news environment will persist, creating a media market where consumers increasingly select content targeting their specific opinions.