<ul class="summary-list"><li>Artists like Mike Winkelmann of <keyword id="10848595" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="beeple">Beeple</keyword> have made millions of dollars off of their <keyword id="4668945" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="nft">NFT</keyword> artwork.</li><li>NFTs give artists more autonomy, but the space is becoming more competitive.</li><li>We asked NFT artists if it would be strategic for "traditional" artists to pivot to the digital space.</li></ul><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nft-artists-make-millions-traditional-galleries-adapt-cryptoart-2021-3">NFT artists are now making millions</a> of dollars from their work. But if you're a traditional artist looking to enter the growing space, pivoting solely to <keyword id="10871092" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="nft-art">NFT art</keyword> may be more difficult than it seems.As an artist, there are several benefits to pursuing NFT art. For one, it mimics the global shift towards remote work during COVID-19.Unlike the 1980s when artists used to cluster in major cities like New York, NFT art has made it possible for <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-find-customers-business-growth-strategies-creative-art-partners-2020-9?r=bc-sub">artists around the world to achieve financial success</a>, Sergio Scalet of Hackatao, an Italy-based NFT pop art duo, told Insider. Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/64-billion-art-bitcoin-blockchain-picasso-lincoln-townley-2020-7?r=bc-sub">The $64 billion art market is embracing blockchain and cryptocurrencies to sell paintings worth millions of dollars by the likes of Picasso</a>Overall, NFTs have given artists more autonomy, allowing them to both produce whatever art they'd like, and select where the art will be sold. To the latter point, selling NFTs inherently presents a financial advantage that can't be found in the "traditional" art world: artists can receive royalties when their work has been resold.Right now, the standard is a 10% royalty, Mike Winkelmann, also known as "Beeple," told Insider."I think that's definitely a huge selling point," Winkelmann said. "If this stuff takes off, you will be compensated well."Just how "well" is well? In October, a Miami art collector shelled out almost $67,000 a 10-second video art clip created by Winkelmann, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/retail-trading-nfts/insight-how-a-10-second-video-clip-sold-for-6-6-million-idUKL8N2KV6X9">Reuters reported</a>. In February, the same video resold for $6.6 million, of which Winkelmann received a 10% cut.<div type="image" title="&quot;On-Chain&quot; by Mike Winkelmann of Beeple." height="1875" width="2500" msid="81486243" hostid="261"></div>However, while NFTs present artists with the chance of financial success, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/job-diary-pharmacist-to-full-time-pill-resin-artist-2020-11?r=bc-sub">flourishing in the space may still be "tough,"</a> Winkelmann says."There's a reason 'starving artists' is an accurate term in a lot of ways," Winkelmann said. "I think it's going to be hyper-competitive because at the end of the day, who wouldn't want to just make whatever the hell they want and have people pay them for it."As a result, Mark Sabb, founder of artist collective <keyword id="10885621" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="felt-zine">Felt Zine</keyword>, doesn't recommend pivoting to NFT art while abandoning other streams of income.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/artists-gallery-owners-how-to-build-art-business-make-money-2021-2?r=bc-sub">"Do everything," Sabb said</a>, whether it be commissions, shows, or selling prints. In the end, a diversification of income will help raise the value of an artist's NFTs. And in turn, this can give artists the power to turn down "bad clients.""If you have the time to do it, I say do it," Sabb said. "NFTs have given [several people I know] the ability to become artists full-time. Now, digital artists are empowered to actually negotiate more because we have more options to make money."However, the success an artist could achieve in the NFT world may depend on prior connections to the community. For example, figures who are tapped into "digital art, underground cultures, and crypto" - <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/grimes-nft-art-warnymph-sells-for-millions-20-minutes-2021-3">like Grimes</a> - may prosper in the space, according to Sabb. But if you're a artist with no ties to crypto or digital art, you may be out of luck."This is a space where equity is important, and underground cultures or people who are on the fringes are actually being embraced," Sabb said. "That's part of the crypto ethos."

Successful NFT artists weigh in on if traditional artists should pivot to the digital space

<ul class="summary-list"><li>NFTs have been shaking up the <keyword id="1105" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="art">art</keyword> world, and auction house Christie's has already found success pivoting.</li><li><keyword id="4668945" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="nft">NFT</keyword> artist <keyword id="1583974" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Trevor-Jones">Trevor Jones</keyword> says traditional art markets could become obsolete in the face of NFTs.</li><li><keyword id="10848593" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="mike-winkelmann">Mike Winkelmann</keyword> of <keyword id="10848595" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="beeple">Beeple</keyword> says galleries will end up pivoting to cater to this emerging market.</li></ul><keyword id="10871092" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="nft-art">NFT art</keyword> has suddenly dominated headlines across the world, and it's impact on the "traditional" art scene may be here to stay.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-does-nft-mean-crytpo-non-fungible-tokens-art-explained-2021-2">NFTs, or non-fungible tokens</a>, are more straightforward than they sound. Basically, a NFT provides blockchain-backed "proof of ownership" on an item that the token is attached to. This could be anything, from the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ethereum-nft-meme-art-nyan-cat-sells-for-300-eth-2021-2">Nyan Cat meme</a> to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nba-top-shot-virtual-highlights-for-sale-moments-blockchain-explained-2021-2?r=bc-sub">virtual NBA "moments"</a> to an <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/pro/news/kings-of-leon-when-you-see-yourself-album-nft-crypto-1135192/">upcoming album from Kings of Leon</a>.Mainstream players like <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/grimes-nft-art-warnymph-sells-for-millions-20-minutes-2021-3">Grimes</a> and <a href="https://decrypt.co/59817/mark-cuban-explains-his-obsession-with-nft-collecting">Mark Cuban</a> are also getting in on the NFT scene."I have a feeling it's only going to get a lot bigger!" <a href="https://www.trevorjonesart.com/">Trevor Jones</a>, an artist who has an educational background in fine arts with a focus on drawing and painting, told Insider in an interview. "Ride that crypto wave!" Jones, who has been a full-time artist since 2015, considers himself a "traditional painter," but has been interested in the intersection between art and technology for the past decade, including exploring the NFT art space since 2019.In homage to his training, all of Jones' NFT work still begins as a traditional "physical" painting. And so far, this formula has been finding him massive success: His artwork has been selling for between $40,000 to $180,000 each, Jones told Insider.And last month, he sold 4,157 pieces of his "<a href="https://www.trevorjonesart.com/bitcoin-angel-open-edition.html">open edition Bitcoin Angel"</a> in seven minutes for $777 each, amounting to a total $3.2 million.Despite his background of "traditional" art, Jones predicts this wave of NFT artists could defunct the longstanding art market."This digital art market is only getting warmed up and it could quite easily take over the <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/news/art-market-report">$67 billion (physical) art market</a> in the not too distant future," Jones told Insider in an email interview. "The traditional art markets, galleries, and auction houses that don't see this and don't prepare will become obsolete in 10 to 15 years."<div type="image" title="tom hanks beating the shit out of coronavirus" height="1124" width="1499" msid="81378914" hostid="261"></div>Mike Winkelmann - also known as <a href="https://www.beeple-crap.com/">Beeple</a>, a wildly successful digital NFT artist with sales and resales amounting to millions of dollars - thinks galleries will in fact cater to this emerging market.As Winkelmann explains it, entities like museums and auction houses are "gatekeepers" and curators of the art world. And as the NFT world grows, so will the "noise" that comes with being able "quite cheaply or easily" produce art."I still think you're going to want other people to cut through the noise and show them cool things," Winkelmann told Insider. "I really don't think this is going to be the end of galleries or the end of some level of curation."For traditional galleries, this pivot could be replacing framed artwork with hanging video screens that will display these new digital works, an idea Winkelmann is already exploring.Sergio Scalet of <a href="https://hackatao.com/">Hackatao</a>, a pop NFT art duo based in Italy, also believes both curators and art experts will be essential in this emerging scene in order to tell the works' stories. Scalet believes this could create a meeting place between the NFT and traditional art worlds. "Probably in the beginning, the traditional art world will be on defense, but as we can see from the creation of many new technologies and apps, the bridge [between the two] is happening," Scalet told Insider. "Maybe these older entities [like galleries] should adapt and find a way to exist in this new space."And it seems like the traditional art world is already rapidly pivoting. Previously, these works of (often digital) art would have likely been rejected by old, standing art spaces. Now, traditionalists are scrambling to get a piece of the NFT art pie.This includes Christie's, which put Winkelmann's <a href="https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/beeple-first-5000-days/lots/2020">"Everydays: The First 5,000 Days"</a> up for auction in Februrary. The art piece is the famed auction house's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/art-nft-beeple-blockchain-pieces-sell-for-millions-2021-3">first digital art sale</a> and its first auction to accept cryptocurrency, specifically Ether.The piece was sitting at $3.5 million on March 5. By the auction's conclusion on March 11, the digital art sold for $69,346,250, making Winkelmann "among the top three most valuable living artists," <a href="https://twitter.com/ChristiesInc/status/1370027970560106497?s=20">Christie's announced in a tweet</a>.<div type="image" title="&quot;Everydays: The First 5000 Days&quot; by Beeple is up for auction on Christies' website" height="913" width="1827" msid="81378916" hostid="261"></div>The general art world's growing receptiveness to digital - and NFT - art is now being noticed by people who've been integrated in the community for much longer."No shade, but there's a lot of people [in the traditional art world] who would have never worked with us before we were in the NFT space," Mark Sabb, founder of artist collective <keyword id="10885621" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="felt-zine">Felt Zine</keyword>, told Insider in an interview. "They're like gallerists and people we looked up to understanding they would never want to work with us, represent us, or really communicate with us deeply at all, who [are now doing so]."<a href="https://news.feltzine.us/">Felt Zine</a> was founded about a decade ago to "give voice" to art that likely wouldn't be embraced by traditional galleries or museums.Felt, which has always been deeply integrated in the digital art scene, was initially approached by artists who wanted the collective to enter the NFT space. These artists - which Sabb calls "early adopters of NFT" - then began asking Felt for sales representation and "<keyword id="10871093" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="crypto-art">crypto art</keyword> exhibitions."Now, the collective is directly seeing the success in this recent NFT art boom: Its month-to-month sales volume has shot up 500% since mid-December 2020, Sabb told Insider.Felt is also taking the idea of traditional art galleries and applying it to the online community by creating digital galleries and museums to showcase its artists' work.It's a "new mode of experiencing this art," Sabb says.<div type="image" title="Bear Land by Mark Sabb for Felt Zine (2020) NFT art cryptoart" height="1875" width="2500" msid="81378917" hostid="261"></div>However, Sabb doesn't expect galleries to go defunct if they don't pivot to this NFT boom due to the inherent differences in business models. Also, many collectors still collect both traditional and NFT art, a trend Sabb says will continue to grow."I think that artists feeling empowered may change the relationship that they have with some gallerists, similar to the ways streaming impacted the music industry, for good and bad," Sabb said. "But ultimately, we're probably looking at a reality where we have a thriving NFT space while the traditional art galleries continue to sell art the ways they always have."Sabb also notes that some art is better viewed in a typical gallery, while others fare stronger in a digital gallery space. However, he still has his concerns."I think there's a reality where the NFT space can create more pressure for galleries to become increasingly controlling of the artists they represent if we're not careful," Sabb said. "So yes, it can be liberating, but we have to purposely work towards that."

A piece of NFT art just auctioned for a record-breaking $69 million. NFT artists making millions say the craze could permanently change the art world

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Netflix's "3 Body Problem" shifts the story's focus from China to a global stage.</li><li>The show, however, still has extended sequences in Mandarin.</li></ul><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/3-body-problem-review-game-of-thrones-2024-3">Netflix's "3 Body Problem"</a> adapts Liu Cixin's "Remembrance of Earth's Past" trilogy by shifting its primary focus away from China — but for its first two episodes, a significant amount of the dialogue is in Mandarin Chinese.The series, which premiered Thursday on Netflix, is helmed by showrunners David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, and Alexander Woo. While parts of it hew closely to Liu's original novels — particularly, flashbacks to Cultural Revolution-era China — the show remixes many of the books' Chinese characters into a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/3-body-problem-cast-who-they-play-netflix-2024-3">global cast</a> grounded in the United Kingdom.Hong Kong filmmaker Derek Tsang, who also serves as a producer on the show, helmed the series' first two episodes, which tell astrophysicist Ye Wenjie's backstory in 1960s China. He told Business Insider that it was "obvious" that he was brought onto the project in part because he's a Chinese director (he also scored an <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/oscars-nominated-movies-how-to-watch-streaming-this-year-2021-4">Oscar nomination</a> in 2020 for his film "Better Days"). In turn, he felt that he had a "huge responsibility" to depict this period of Chinese history authentically. That extended to the dialogue."I think a lot of the Chinese dialogue, they relied a lot on me and my writer," Tsang told BI. "I hired a writer from China to help us translate what David and Dan wrote."Tsang told BI that the dialogue was based on the book, which had been translated from Chinese to English. He then translated it back into Mandarin for the show."I always fall back to the book, and use the Chinese version of the book and try to be authentic to that," he said. "So that was a very interesting process, actually."Much of the show's Mandarin dialogue occurs in sequences set in China in the early episodes, with Zine Tseng, who plays young Ye Wenjie, working primarily in the language. However, there are select instances later in the show where other characters speak Mandarin as well, even outside the China-focused flashbacks.Tsang told BI that he thought showrunners Benioff, Weiss, and Woo had succeeded in carrying over the "essential" elements from Liu's novel while also incorporating a more international focus and cast."I don't want to use the word, but it's not a bastardized version of it," he said. "I think they have been adapting that into a very international story, which is very fitting for this show.""3 Body Problem" is now streaming on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.netflix.com/">Netflix</a>.

'3 Body Problem' director Derek Tsang says the show 'relied' on him and a Chinese writer to finesse its Mandarin dialogue

<ul class="summary-list"><li>"3 Body Problem" is a show about aliens — but before that, it's about a woman during the Cultural Revolution. </li><li>Hong Kong director Derek Tsang depicted the show's first two episodes, which tell Ye Wenjie's backstory.</li></ul><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/3-body-problem-review-game-of-thrones-2024-3">Netflix's "3 Body Problem"</a> is preoccupied with the far-flung reaches of the universe — but its moments of deep, historical specificity are where it thrives the most.The show is adapted from Chinese author Liu Cixin's "Remembrance of Earth's Past" trilogy. The entire series hinges on one deeply personal choice: Ye Wenjie, an astrophysicist, tells the alien antagonists to come to Earth after she comes to believe that humanity cannot save itself. It's a difficult sell, but a crucial one. For the show to work, you have to empathize with Ye, even as she singlehandedly charts the course of her planet.Showrunners <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/game-of-thrones-benioff-weiss-change-mord-the-jailer-2024-1">David Benioff, D.B. Weiss</a>, and Alexander Woo enlisted the Hong Kong director Derek Tsang (the filmmaker behind the Oscar-nominated <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/oscars-nominated-movies-how-to-watch-streaming-this-year-2021-4">"Better Days"</a>), to direct the two episodes most anchored in Ye's early life, which <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/3-body-problem-cultural-appropriation-china-benioff-weiss-game-of-thrones-2024-1">take place during Cultural Revolution China</a>. According to the director, that wasn't a coincidence."It's obvious that one of the reasons why I'm on board is because I'm a Chinese director, so I understand that part of history better and I have more reference and more, I guess, personal perspective from it," Tsang said.While Tsang told BI that he was excited to do more fantastical VFX work on the show, it's in Ye Wenjie's past that his work on the show shines brightest. BI spoke with the director about the pressure to authentically render Chinese history and virtual reality alike on screen.<div type="image" title="yang weining and ye wenjie sitting outside in three body problem, wearing utilitarian clothing" height="2400" width="3200" msid="108800171" hostid="261" sizebytes="229966"></div>In these first two episodes, you do some of the meatiest character work in the series with actor Zine Tseng, who plays young Ye Wenjie. You had the very difficult task of convincing us that someone could make the decision that she does in this show — how did you approach that?I think from day one, between me, Dave, Dan, and Alex, we came to a consensus that we want the audience to empathize with Ye. I think it's one of my biggest tasks, to make the audience step in her shoes and really feel like if you've been through what she's been through, you would press that button too. You would just do exactly what she did, even though it changed the course of human history.That was, for me, one of the biggest responsibilities as a director for these two episodes because that is such an important element in the story — really, what kickstarted the whole story — and all the events that come later on. I think it's really fundamental that we get that right, and get the audience to, in a way, side with Ye.You've spoken a bit about how your other big responsibility in these two episodes is to authentically render <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/3-body-problem-cultural-appropriation-china-benioff-weiss-game-of-thrones-2024-1">the Chinese elements that did make it into this version of the story</a>. What did that responsibility feel like, and what was your approach?I think it's a huge responsibility for me. It's obvious that one of the reasons why I'm on board is because I'm a Chinese director, so I understand that part of history better and I have more reference and more, I guess, personal perspective from it. So the pressure is huge. From the beginning, I really felt like I have to get it right.The support was tremendous from our production designer, our costume designer, the VFX team. Everybody was very respectful and wanted to get it right as much as we could. It's not an easy task creating that in London. So that was tough, but I think we really threw our one hundred percent into it and make sure that we get as authentic as we could be.It's just endless hours of research into what it should look like, what the colors should be, what kind of clothes they wear. And for me as the director, I think a lot of my homework is going back into the films that have been made about the Cultural Revolution. They were very well made and very touching, emotional. And then, also going back to a lot of books written about that era, just really trying to immerse myself into that period and get a sense of their mental state, what they're feeling, and what they went through during that time, and help me understand better. With Zine, I told her, "You have to watch these films, read these books, and really get to understand this era better." And everybody just really put their hearts into it.<div type="image" title="a struggle session during the cultural revolution, depicted fictionally on screen in 3 body problem. a man wearing a nameplate and large cone hat is being held with his arms behind his back in front of a microphone. students in green uniforms and red armbands stand on stage with him, as a crowd of people looks on" height="2400" width="3600" msid="108800173" hostid="261" sizebytes="713966"></div>You said in an <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gvsZPb8o4E">interview</a> with a Hong Kong media outlet that this show wasn't the equivalent of "American Chinese food." Can you say more about that?The credit has to go through David, Dan, and Alex. It's such a vast and ambitious novel, and adapting it, it's a huge task. I think they've done a tremendous job in keeping what's essential, but at the same time making it into a much more international story that is, I think in many ways, actually more fitting for this story because it's an existential crisis of humankind. So it makes more sense that this story is now based on the whole world instead of being primarily focused in just China.But then in the process of that, I don't think the showrunners took away or changed anything that made me feel like… I don't want to use the word, but it's not a bastardized version of it. I think they have been adapting that into a very international story, which is fitting for this show. And that's why the reporter asked me, are you concerned that people are going to feel like this is American Chinese food, not authentic Chinese food? My response is no, I feel like this is a fusion. This is international cuisine. So it's not specifically Chinese, but it's definitely not American Chinese.You come from a feature film background, and as a director on a film set, you're the one in charge. Obviously TV is a bit of a different situation — what was it like crafting this series with the showrunners and crew?The biggest difference, as you said, is having so many chefs in the kitchen. Coming from a feature film background, it's usually me or my producer who just call all the shots and make all the decisions. But coming onto such a huge American show, first of all, there are the showrunners and then there are the EPs, the producers. There's so many different people that you have to answer to, you have to compromise with.But in many ways, I really do see the merit of it. Because filmmaking, a lot of times, can be a very lonely endeavor when you have to bear all the responsibility. And for better or worse, you don't know if that's the right decision that you're making. But on a huge show, you have so many people that you can bounce ideas back and forth. And as long as the working relationship is a healthy one, it's a very collaborative one, then I think there's a lot of advantage to that.When I first got on board, I needed some adjustment myself, to be honest. David and Dan and Alex, they're amazing people, very easy to work with. There's no ego. They're very down to earth, they're very supportive of filmmakers.<div type="image" title="sean savage operating a camera on a platform, with director derek tsang, wearing a face mask, gesturing towards the lens in the front. jess hong, dressed in robes as jin cheng, looks into the camera. they're standing on a sandy set in 3 body problem" height="2192" width="2922" msid="108800175" hostid="261" sizebytes="423496"></div>Were there any specific instances you can recall where you guys had to hash out a compromise, or like you said, where you had to spitball an idea that turned out better after some discussion?Many. In terms of how we are going to approach the game, how that sequence is made, there's a lot of back and forth. I have my own version. The VFX team has their own version. We even did a whole day of test shooting just to try out whether my take would work.Particularly, I think <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/3-body-problem-netflix-chinese-mandarin-dialogue-director-writer-2024-3">a lot of the Chinese dialogue</a>, they relied a lot on me and my writer. I hired a writer from China to help us translate what David and Dan wrote. It's an interesting process because it is based on the book, the dialogue. So it's from Chinese translated to English, and then I have to translate it back to Chinese. I always fall back to the Chinese version of the book and try to be authentic to that.Speaking of the game sequences, those are some of the most fascinating ones in the show. What did your vision for that look like, and what were some of the challenges of shooting on that set?It's such a complicated world in terms of how, in essence, the game is about the movement of the sun. So that is something that we have to solve in terms of how we can mimic that massive movement of life in an environment, particularly on the actors. In post, in VFX, you can build all the suns, but how the light shines on the actors, how the light reflects on their skin, that's something that's really difficult to do. You have to achieve that in camera. So that's something that our director of photography, Jonathan Freeman, and the VFX team, we had a lot of discussion. We tried a lot of different, new technology, like the Volume stage.A lot of credit has to go to Jonathan for thinking of this ingenious more DIY, more impromptu Volume stage where we had thousands of LED panels, almost like a 360 from bottom to all the way to the ceiling that surrounds the whole stage. And then there's a panel that can control all these thousands of light panels, and we can mimic the light moving all across this huge space. And then on top of that, we have lights that we were mounting on wires that we can pull and move to mimic the light movement on the actors.Most of my previous works are very rooted in drama. I was really looking forward to doing a lot of VFX on this show, and it was just a very fun thing to do.<div type="image" title="follower and jin cheng in 3 body problem. follower, a young girl, is dripping wet and smiling at jin cheng, who is kneeling on the ground to face her at eye level. in the background, there are large towers and sand" height="1532" width="2043" msid="108800177" hostid="261" sizebytes="100746"></div>One of the coolest sequences is in the second episode when <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/3-body-problem-nudity-game-of-thrones-dehydration-rehydration-2024-3">Jin Cheng witnesses the rehydration cycle</a>. It's one of the most euphoric scenes in the entire show, and you had a ton of people on set — can you tell me a bit about filming that?We've always joked about this show, even though it's not "Game of Thrones," there's not that many sex scenes in it. But another thing about this show is that you've never seen so many naked Asians in one show.Because it's such an important element in that gaming world from the novel, it's very tricky how to visualize it. We had an amazing prosthetic team that came on board and helped us build those different stages of the skin. And working with the VFX team, and really knowing, "Okay, when is the VFX team going to step in and recreate that, and when is it the responsibility of the prosthetics team to build the dried-up skin?" It took a long time, and a lot of tests on both sides to really get it right, and I think it came up great. I'm very proud of it.This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length."3 Body Problem" is now streaming on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.netflix.com/">Netflix</a>.

'3 Body Problem' director says the 'pressure was huge' to represent Chinese history accurately on screen

<ul class="summary-list"><li>After six seasons, "<keyword id="12703437" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="supergirl" source="Orion">Supergirl</keyword>" aired its series finale on November 9.</li><li>The ending disappointed "<keyword id="12703438" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="supercorp" source="Orion">Supercorp</keyword>" fans, who rooted for Supergirl and Lena Luthor's relationship.</li></ul>The two-part series finale of "Supergirl," which ended the show's six-year run, were jam-packed episodes that not only brought back fan-favorite characters but also delivered a long-anticipated wedding.For some viewers, it was missing one major plot point: a <a href="https://www.insider.com/lgbtq-cartoon-characters-kids-database-2021-06?page=see-the-data#component">confession of love</a> or kiss between Supergirl/Kara Danvers (Melissa Benoist) and Lena Luthor (Katie McGrath).No, the two characters have never dated or been explicitly portrayed as love interests. But that didn't prevent fans of the pairing, known as "Supercorp" (a portmanteau of "Supergirl" and "Luthor Corp," the Luthor-family company where Lena works), from hoping for five years for a potential romance.Since Lena was first introduced in season two as the sister of Superman's iconic archnemesis, Lex Luthor, she and Kara were portrayed as close friends who sometimes relied on each other to stay alive. The series even dedicated entire <a href="https://decider.com/2020/02/23/supergirl-episode-100-supercorp-lena-luthor-kara-danvers/">alternate-universe episodes</a> to depicting how the two characters' personalities changed if they lived without each other.Lena, unlike Lex, is trying to do good in the world despite her family's negative influence. She befriends Supergirl and becomes a beloved friend to the superhero, second only to Kara's sister, Alex Danvers (Chyler Leigh). But certain viewers saw more than friendship in the bond between Kara and Lena.Romantically coded dialogue, longing looks, and pivotal episodes dedicated to defining how much Kara and Lena meant to each other led many Supercorp shippers — fans who wanted Lena and Kara to be together romantically — to believe that the only end point that made sense was a confession of love between the two.<div type="image" title="Katie Mcgrath as Lena Luthor and Melisa Benoist as Kara Danvers" height="848" width="1131" msid="88189107" hostid="261"></div>The "Supergirl" writers did deliver an intimate heart-to-heart between the women — Kara gets the strength from Lena to tell the residents of National City that she, the CatCo reporter Kara Danvers, is also Supergirl — but it was explicitly a conversation between two "friends."Even though "Supergirl" dedicated its 100th episode to proving that Kara and Lena needed each other to thrive in any universe, during <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvqlGjbTLCw">the series finale</a> Kara confessed, "Of all the friends I have ever had, you have pushed me the most, challenged me the most."Lena replied, "You've made me a better person."While a sweet moment on the surface, some longtime viewers told Insider they were left feeling bitter about the ending for Kara and Lena, and betrayed by writers they believed had queerbaited them for years.<h2>'Supergirl' introduced viewers to Superman's cousin</h2>Set in the DC universe, "Supergirl" follows the National City adventures of Superman's cousin, Supergirl. Much like her cousin, Kara spends her days as a reporter and moonlights as a superhero, saving the city from seemingly endless threats.Like "The Flash" and "Arrow," other shows on <keyword id="12168283" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="the-cw" source="Orion">The CW</keyword> that take place in the same DC universe, <a href="https://www.insider.com/the-cw-supergirl-melissa-benoist-suit-with-pants-details-interview-2019-10">"Supergirl"</a> had plenty of subplots dealing with Kara's personal life and romances. While Kara's sexuality was never specified, she was only shown in romances with male characters.Kara's friend and coworker James Olsen (a version of the classic comics character Jimmy Olsen, a pal of Superman and Lois Lane) was her potential love interest during the first season, which premiered in 2015 on CBS before the show moved to The CW for season two. Once the show changed networks, the writers introduced fellow alien Mon-El (Chris Wood) as Kara's potential partner.But season two also introduced Lena, who many fans thought was a better romantic partner for Kara than any of the men with whom she'd been paired.<h2>Fans noticed the chemistry between Kara and Lena</h2>Some viewers say they saw the chemistry between Lena and Kara from the start. Speaking with Insider, Supercorp fans named multiple moments that felt romantically coded. But many had one specific moment they called their favorite.It happens at the end of season two, episode 12, "Luthors," when Lena is thanking Kara for sending Supergirl to save her from her mother, Lillian Luthor (Brenda Strong), and a villain called Metallo (Frederick Schmidt). "Supergirl may have saved me, but Kara Danvers, you are my hero," Lena tells Kara. She adds that she's responsible for filling Kara's office with flowers. That "Luthors" scene resonated with one 24-year-old fan in the UK, who wished to be referred to as Zari for privacy. Zari, who's made Supercorp merchandise and art for other fans, credited Supercorp with pushing her to get back into drawing after a suicide attempt damaged her arms and hands, and almost prevented her from pursuing an art career.<div type="image" title="Supergirl and Lena sitting on clouds" height="1378" width="1378" msid="88189109" hostid="261"></div>Zari said she couldn't help but view the sentiment in the "Luthors" scene as more than platonic. Kara was romantically linked to Mon-El at the time, but Zari said she felt the scene "was just gay." "This was the most romantic thing that had happened," she said. She added that she watched the episode with her girlfriend. "We were just like, 'Whoa, is this really happening?'"<h2>Some 'Supercorp' fans said they felt the writers queerbaited them in many scenes </h2>Queerbaiting, <a href="https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/queerbaiting">as defined by Lexico</a>, is "the incorporation of apparently gay characters or same-sex relationships" into visual media, typically movies or <keyword id="11898468" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="tv" source="Orion">TV</keyword> shows, "as a means of appealing to gay and bisexual audiences while maintaining ambiguity about the characters' sexuality."Ultimately, an accusation of queerbaiting is an accusation that writers are using a queer story to draw in an audience, but they don't make that romance explicit.Another hit CW show, "Supernatural," was <a href="https://www.insider.com/supernatural-last-episode-when-destiel-queerbaiting-end-fandom-tumblr-2020-11">also accused</a> of queerbaiting because of the relationship between Dean (Jensen Ackles) and Castiel (Misha Collins).Dean's sexuality can be read as <a href="https://www.tvguide.com/news/supernatural-queerbaiting-destiel-1089286/">ambiguous</a> on the show, and his relationship with Castiel takes on more importance as time goes on. Castiel even tells Dean he loves him in a November 5, 2020, <a href="https://dailyillini.com/opinions-stories/2020/12/13/opinion-destiel-is-canon-yet-fans-are-still-upset/">episode</a> from the final season, though that doesn't <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/bvxzb4/let-the-hot-dudes-kiss-why-supernatural-fans-lost-it-at-the-series-finale">end well</a> for him. The relationship never goes further than that.These two CW shows aren't the only ones that have been accused of queerbaiting. Shows on various networks, including "Riverdale," "Sherlock," "How to Get Away With Murder," and "Pretty Little Liars," have been accused of queerbaiting by fans and critics.Despite the accusations of queerbaiting in Kara and Lena's relationship, "Supergirl" isn't devoid of LGBTQ representation.The show has two queer relationships, or "ships" for short: Alex and Kelly Olsen (Azie Tesfai), as well as Nia Nal (Nicole Maines) and Brainiac "Brainy" 5 (Jesse Rath).<div type="image" title="&quot;Supergirl&quot; cast" height="2957" width="3942" msid="88189111" hostid="261"></div>But no matter how many other queer ships there are on the show, one 28-year-old Supercorp fan from Louisiana, who wished to be identified as Megan for privacy, told Insider that she credited Supercorp, specifically, with getting her through a period of intense trauma.Megan said she was having suicidal thoughts after her grandmother died and her mother was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. The diagnosis happened around the time her girlfriend was killed by a drunk driver, she said. Megan put off acting on those thoughts after discovering "Supergirl" and Supercorp via Tumblr. She said she wanted to stay alive so she could see what would happen next in the fictional relationship."I was losing those closest to me, and I kind of stopped caring about everything. And there was a part of me that just wanted to be with the ones I loved the most, and they weren't here anymore," she said. Supercorp gave her something to care about again until she could ask for the help she needed. Megan said that "the beauty of life" is that "the smallest, seemingly inconsequential things can change everything."Though she believed Supercorp saved her life, Megan still thought the entire relationship was an example of queerbaiting."It's like they're so entangled in each other's lives, but they were written to be that way. They're not autonomous characters," she said of Lena and Kara. "I mean, the hundredth episode showed that without each other, then they both kind of cease to exist in a certain way."Demitra Zatica, the public-relations moderator of Supercorp Zine, which <a href="https://supercorpzine.tumblr.com/FAQ">describes itself</a> as a place "created to celebrate the love" between Lena and Kara, said she was hesitant to watch "Supergirl" after learning about Lena and Kara's relationship because of the storyline on another CW show, "The 100," where Lexa (Alycia Debnam-Carey), a popular queer character, <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/bury-your-gays-why-100-877176/">was killed</a>.Lexa's death sparked an outcry among fans and widespread discussions about the harmfulness of the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0fZjSluzI8">"Bury Your Gays"</a> trope, in which LGBTQ characters are disproportionately killed in devastating or traumatic ways.<div type="image" title="&quot;Supergirl&quot; cast at ComicCon" height="1933" width="2584" msid="88189113" hostid="261"></div>Lena and Kara survived the series finale, but Zatica told Insider before it aired that she believed the characters would be stronger if they were depicted as a romantic "power couple."Representatives for the CW did not respond to Insider's request for comment on accusations of queerbaiting in "Supergirl."Although the cast of "Supergirl" and its writers have publicly maintained that Kara and Lena are just friends, it hasn't stopped the actors behind the ship, Benoist and McGrath, from acknowledging Supercorp fans, signing fan art of the pairing, and accepting copies of Supercorp magazine that were gifted to them, said <a href="https://youtu.be/C2w2GBXd_Pg">"Televised Podcast,"</a> a podcast that recaps "Supergirl" and other TV shows, and fans Insider spoke with.<h2>Supercorp fans held out hope that the show would ultimately make their ship canon, but it never happened</h2>Many Supercorp shippers weren't expecting something as big as a kiss in the finale when Lena and Kara discussed how they'd affected each other's lives.But the writers using the word "friends" in the scene's script was offensive to some viewers, including Amanda Exposito, a Supercorp fan from Brazil. "It is a shame that after all these years they really ended Supercorp's story with 'friends,' the same word that has been used on the show, that has been used by homophobic fans and actors since the beginning to avoid discussing the love of two women," she wrote in an email to Insider after the finale aired. Zari was similarly disturbed by the way the scene emphasized friendship.<div type="image" title="Supercorp fan art" height="1107" width="1606" msid="88189116" hostid="261"></div>"Maybe the writers think acting super gay is canceled out by using words like that," Zari said in her email about the finale.The way the scene was shot made Zari believe Lena and Kara were going to kiss, so she was disappointed that the two hugged instead. And the <keyword id="12153702" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="fandom" source="Orion">fandom</keyword>'s disappointment, as a whole, was loud on social media.The phrases "<a href="https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/a43186/supergirl-sanvers-lgbtq-fandom/">SUPERGIRL IS GAY"</a> and "<a href="https://www.justjaredjr.com/2021/11/11/kara-lena-kiss-in-alleged-cut-supergirl-finale-scene/">SUPERCORP KISSED"</a> trended on Twitter after the series finale aired, with the latter referring to an alleged set photo being circulated on social media that appeared to show an alternate version of Lena and Kara's conversation, in which the two kissed.(The CW has not addressed whether the photo is real or fabricated, and representatives for the network didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.)Megan told Insider in a statement after the finale that while the fandom felt "anger," she chose to focus on the positive influence the Supercorp fandom had had on so many. Supercorp Zine, for instance, donates its proceeds to <a href="https://www.thetrevorproject.org/">The Trevor Project</a>, <a href="https://www.arcusfoundation.org/blog/social-justice-lgbt/resources-for-lgbtq-communities-and-advocates-navigating-covid-19/?utm_term=transgender%20law%20center&amp;utm_campaign=Arcus+%7C+Blogs&amp;utm_source=adwords&amp;utm_medium=ppc&amp;hsa_acc=2137832502&amp;hsa_cam=907991992&amp;hsa_grp=105319984249&amp;hsa_ad=442299167514&amp;hsa_src=g&amp;hsa_tgt=kwd-844089523104&amp;hsa_kw=transgender%20law%20center&amp;hsa_mt=p&amp;hsa_net=adwords&amp;hsa_ver=3&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQiAhMOMBhDhARIsAPVml-G_kWhB-6BxfJ7Qy2mJ2qk_ts3yyTIIKqJesLVniV5h71HK6cpbYTMaAi44EALw_wcB">Transgender Law Center</a>, and <a href="https://www.futureswithoutviolence.org/">Futures Without Violence</a> — organizations that have some connection to the characters on "Supergirl" or its cast members.Megan said, "The dust will settle, the anger and the memory of the show will fade, but the people it brought together will last far longer."

The 'Supergirl' series finale devastated 'Supercorp' fans who were hoping that a romance between Kara Danvers and Lena Luthor would finally be made explicit

When the news first broke that victims of the<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/atlanta-shooting-victims-6-of-8-dead-were-asian-women-2021-3?_ga=2.94690332.1618017524.1619283293-1769937336.1617942150"> Atlanta-area spa shootings</a> included six Asian women, Sirui Ma had just begun working on the second edition of her zine, a limited edition photo book.Called<a href="https://cataloguelibrary.co/new-york-street-style-2nd-edition-pre-order/"> New York Street Style</a>, Ma's 2018 edition was a love letter to the effortless style of New York City's Asian community - shot on an iPhone while roaming around New York City."I think there's so much dignity in the way these people carry themselves and go about their lives," Ma told Insider. "They really enrich the New York City life and culture through just having immigrated to New York; I think it's really beautiful."Images of countless Asian elders going about their day- crossing the street, reading the newspaper, observing a flyer, taking breaks - filled her camera roll.They later became her body of work.But since her first edition first premiered, racial violence against <keyword id="426188" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Asian-Americans">Asian Americans</keyword> and Pacific Islanders have <a href="https://www.insider.com/hate-incidents-against-asian-americans-have-skyrocketed-2021-2">skyrocketed.</a>For Ma, what began as an accidental documentation of street style for Asian elders in New York City, became a visual monument to the resilience of a community under attack."I just feel like immigrant people have this kind of endless tirelessness in their heart, but it breaks my heart knowing these people get attacked randomly or just laughed at," she said.<blockquote class="pullquote-wrapper"><q class="pullquote-quotation">People may think the elderly are more frail, less likely to fight back, and because they don't speak English, may not report to the police, but they're reporting to us.</q> <cite class="pullquote-source">Russel Jeung, San Francisco State University</cite></blockquote>Last year, Stop <keyword id="219355" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="AAPI">AAPI</keyword> Hate received 126 reported cases involving 60-year olds and up being physically assaulted, nearly five percent more than the Asian American population overall.Ma often flashed back to stylish elders she captured, in their laid back attire: a Nike-sporting Asian woman who was already wearing a mask as she handed out pamphlets pre-pandemic. Or the elegant women rocking a blue button-up blouse lined with a Mandarin collar. She reminded Ma of her grandmother."She just came downstairs from her house for a stroll," she told Insider. "She was just walking with a beautiful posture."Not everyone who captured Ma's attention and the camera's lens had a style that could be described as refined. Some of the elders she photographed were dressed in garments that encouraged comfort.<div type="image" title="Sirui Ma -New York Street Style" height="1326" width="1764" msid="82439719" hostid="261"></div>Ma thought back to the cobbler who had a tiny little wooden deck next to a grocery vendor in Chinatown. She captured his photo as he smoked a cigarette while gluing her broken shoe back together.There was also an elderly man who pulled up to a shop as she waited for a friend, his old car filled with mostly personal items and plastic bottles.In limited Mandarin, he told Ma he stayed active after having stomach surgery by collecting bottles around the city for nearly 12 hours every night. By 6am, he would drive to the recycling center to redeem his five cents per bottle.The pair briefly became pals, spotting each other a handful of times since then. But the last time Ma saw the neighborhood canner was in 2019. Ma worried about his experiences now as reports of attacks against Asian elderly go viral nearly every week. She kept the names of elders featured hidden from the public for their safety.Russell Jeung, chair of the Asian American Studies Department at San Francisco State University, told<a href="https://www.insider.com/hate-incidents-against-asian-americans-have-skyrocketed-2021-2"> Insider</a>, "People may think the elderly are more frail, less likely to fight back, and because they don't speak English, may not report to the police, but they're reporting to us."<a href="https://stopaapihate.org/">Stop AAPI Hate</a> announced that verbal harassment (68.1%) and shunning (20.5%) were the two largest incidents reported as part of nearly 4,000 hate crimes registered last year. The data represents only a fraction of what occurs in the day to day of Asian Americans and immigrants. Many incidents of verbal and online assault and harassment go unreported.According to an<a href="https://go.skimresources.com/?id=35871X1550380&amp;isjs=1&amp;jv=15.1.0-stackpath&amp;sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.insider.com%2Fhate-incidents-against-asian-americans-have-skyrocketed-2021-2&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ipsos.com%2Fen-us%2Fnews-polls%2Fcenter-for-public-integrity-poll-2020&amp;xguid=&amp;xs=1&amp;xtz=240&amp;xuuid=8cc8adfb967d045ebd5c260bc9e4f2e1&amp;xjsf=other_click__auxclick%20%5B2%5Dxjsf=other_click__auxclick%20%5B2%5D"> Ipsos survey</a>, 60% of Asian Americans reported having witnessed someone<a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2021/03/26/980480882/why-pandemics-give-birth-to-hate-from-black-death-to-covid-19"> blame Asian people for the spread of COVID-19</a>. Across the country, their communities have become<a href="https://www.insider.com/experts-trump-racist-names-for-coronavirus-distract-from-us-response-2020-7"> a scapegoat for a global pandemic and the recession it created.</a>They've also become the target of racist attacks.Ma told Insider the community elders she's featured remain vulnerable.<div type="image" title="Sirui Ma - New York Street Style" height="1028" width="1369" msid="82439721" hostid="261"></div> <div type="image" title="Sirui Ma - New York Street Syle" height="1533" width="2040" msid="82439724" hostid="261"></div> <div type="image" title="Sirui Ma - New York Street Style" height="1310" width="1743" msid="82439726" hostid="261"></div>"You would think that when we get old, someone would want to protect us right?" she adds. "People of color shouldn't be dealing with this, people of color shouldn't have to educate white people about not being racist, it's their job because they created this system." As these attacks gained<a href="https://time.com/5947862/anti-asian-attacks-rising-worldwide/"> widespread attention</a>, from Instagram posts to national news, like many, Ma felt hopeless, aimless. But, to the photographer, "it also just felt even more urgent to get it [the latest edition] out and raise as much money as possible."<blockquote class="pullquote-wrapper"><q class="pullquote-quotation">You don't have to sell a sob story when you're telling these stories. You can celebrate the beauty and celebrate the fact that they're just like us.</q> <cite class="pullquote-source">Sirui Ma</cite></blockquote>In support of civil rights charity, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, the second edition of New York Street Style includes 40 new photos taken on Ma's iPhone since the first release in 2018.Since first discovering <keyword id="22383" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="photography">photography</keyword> at an early age in Beijing, the art became a way for Ma to claim space for herself and her community amid Asian American erasure and violence. With the rise of attacks against Asian elders, screaming into the void of social media was not enough for the photographer. She told Insider capturing photos of elders to told their stories without "submitting to trauma porn.""You don't have to sell a sob story when you're telling these stories," Ma said. "You can celebrate the beauty and celebrate the fact that they're just like us." While the zine keeps the individuals photographed anonymous, this second collection of images displays how Sirui sees her community, which is not defined by its trauma, but instead shows pride in its heritage and resiliency. "I think of the way immigrant communities enrich our lives. We need to hold each other, and we need to really appreciate one another because, you know, a place like New York City or London is not the same without its diverse population," she said.

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The 'Supergirl' series finale devastated 'Supercorp' fans who were hoping that a romance between Kara Danvers and Lena Luthor would finally be made explicit

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