Hollywood writers picket in front of Warner Bros. Studios.AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez Holly Willis, University of Southern California The bitter conflict between actors, writers and other creative professionals and the major movie and TV studios represents a flashpoint in the radical transformation roiling the entertainment industry. The ongoing strikes by the Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild were sparked in part by artificial intelligence and its use in the movie industry. Both actors and writers fear that the major studios, including Amazon/MGM, Apple, Disney/ABC/Fox, NB...

Destroyed homes and buildings in Lahaina on Aug. 10, 2023, in the aftermath of wildfires on western Maui, Hawaii.Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images Rich Harrill, University of South Carolina Major wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Maui have killed dozens of people and caused heavy damage, particularly in the historic town of Lahaina, as of Aug. 10, 2023. The state has asked all visitors to leave Maui and those planning to travel there to reschedule their trips – a harsh blow to a destination whose economy relies heavily on tourism. University of South Carolina research professor Rich H...

‘Euphoria’ is one of many premium cable TV shows to feature an abundance of prosthetic penises.HBOPeter Lehman, Arizona State UniversityIf you’ve noticed an uptick of male frontal nudity in TV and in movies in recent years, you’re onto something.In 1993, I studied patterns of male nudity in my book “Running Scared: Masculinity and the Representation of the Male Body.” After the old Motion Picture Production Code was replaced by a new ratings system in 1968, frontal male nudity in Hollywood movies in certain contexts was permitted. “Drive, He Said,” directed by Jack Nicholson in 1971, was an ea...