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    SXSW 2011

    A tale of two showcases: What SXSW must do to stay relevant & exciting

    Dan Solomon
    Mar 21, 2011 | 9:35 am
    • Folk singer Dan Bern
    • French indie rockers Herman Dune
    • Rapper P.O.S.

    Here's a tale of two showcases at SXSW.

    Both of them featured the full lineup of a well-regarded hip hop label.

    Both of them had a special guest in the form of an additional rapper who's working on an album full of duets with the label's standard-bearer.

    Both of them took over a venue for an entire evening's worth of performances, and at both shows, the die-hards in the crowd kept their hands in the air, waving like they just don't care, for hours on end. The fans rapped along with every word, shouted the choruses along with the emcee on the stage, hopped up and down in a frenzy of excitement when their favorite songs were played.

    One of those showcases was the closing night G.O.O.D. Music event at Austin's long-decommissioned Seaholm Power Plant, which featured the biggest names in the game – Kanye West, Jay-Z, Kid Cudi, Pusha T, Mos Def, John Legend, and more.

    The other was the opening night Doomtree showcase at Flamingo Cantina on Sixth Street, which offered fans six straight hours of music from the Minneapolis, Minnesota-based underground rap label. The names on that bill – P.O.S., Dessa, Sims, Cecil Otter, Mike Michtlan, and friend-to-the-label Astronautilus – aren't as famous as the ones who played at Seaholm, but to the packed room at Flamingo Cantina, they were just as meaningful.

    And in that, perhaps, lies the dynamic that keeps SXSW relevant and exciting, even as it grows exponentially every year, with more and more money and major power brokers flooding Texas for one hectic week in Austin.

    The line for the Kanye-headlined show at Seaholm started around midnight on Friday. The doors weren't scheduled to open for another 24 hours at that point, but how many other chances does a person get to see all of the world's most famous rappers for free?

    Tens of thousands of fans texted a number to request an RSVP – the capacity for the venue was less than 2,000. Jilted fans who didn't get in engaged in a virtual Twitter-riot against the music video-hosting website Vevo, which hosted the event and filmed it for a forthcoming streaming video release.

    At Flamingo Cantina on Wednesday, the crowd – which was close to the venue's capacity of 299 – was every bit as passionate. It was lighter on rock journalists, VIPs, and celebrity guests. Vince Young and Diddy weren't there sharing a private box, as they did on Saturday at the G.O.O.D. event.

    But as the questions about the future of SXSW come into focus – namely, if it still means anything if most of the marquee performances are insider-only events that threaten to alienate local fans who haven't a prayer of getting in – the answers were probably at least as likely to be found at Flamingo Cantina as at the power plant.

    P.O.S. is the flag-bearer for Doomtree, the label's biggest star. They're independent and underground, but not unknown – he's been on MTV, was nominated for one of the network's “Woodie” awards for his last album – but he's aware that he's lucky to have the opportunity to pack a room at SXSW.

    “We do this a couple times a year in Minnesota, but when it's here, it's really impressive that so many people come out,” he tells CultureMap. And while he scoffs at any comparison to Kanye West and Jay-Z – “Yeah, because we're such famous rap stars,” he laughs – the fact that SXSW provides rooms that all different kinds of artists can fill to capacity is one of the festival's greatest strengths.

    The people who care about G.O.O.D. Music can battle for spots at their event; the masses who wanted to see the Foo Fighters play their secret show on Tuesday night at Stubb's, or Queens Of The Stone Age at La Zona Rosa on Wednesday, had the chance to do so. But those big rooms aren't the only ones drawing passionate fans.

    As long as SXSW continues to provide venues for artists like those on Doomtree – or folk singer Dan Bern, who packed 60 wildly enthusiastic fans into Stephen F.'s Bar on 7th Street on Friday night, or French indie rockers Herman Dune, who brought a couple hundred devotees to St. David's Historic Sanctuary on Wednesday – then it'll withstand the expansion to include artists on the Jay-Z and Kanye-scale.

    Ultimately, the festival has always been about providing a diverse array of musicians with an audience. If that means “incredibly famous and way less famous” instead of “country and punk rock,” that may just be evolution at work.

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    Movie Review

    New Superman movie forges into the future while honoring the past

    Alex Bentley
    Jul 11, 2025 | 3:30 pm
    David Corenswet in Superman
    Photo by Jessica Miglio
    David Corenswet in Superman.

    When the character of Superman was invented in 1938, it was perhaps easier to see the world in good and bad terms. Fascism was already on the rise in Germany under Adolf Hitler, and the idea of an all-powerful superhero who stood up for people in need was a welcome one. In the nearly 90 years since, though, the world and the character have undergone multiple evolutions, and the thought of someone who is purely good is often met with cynicism or worse.

    The new Superman, written and directed by James Gunn, puts the superhero (or metahuman, as the film calls him and similar creatures) squarely in the midst of the modern world, with geopolitical conflicts, mega-corporations, and social media all combining to make the altruism of Superman/Clark Kent (David Corenswet) questionable. That skepticism even extends to his coworker/girlfriend Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan), whose knowledge of his exploits puts her in a tricky position personally and professionally.

    Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) is out to dominate the world and take down Superman, with his eponymous corporation and vast group of underlings dedicated to doing both. Superman is generally a one-man fighting crew, but he’s occasionally aided by a group calling themselves the Justice Gang, comprised of heroes many have never heard of like Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), a version of Green Lantern; Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), a flying metahuman; and Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi), who knows all kinds of technology.

    One of the best things about this new version of Superman is that it mostly dispenses with introductions, putting the audience in a world where Superman is already a well-known quantity who’s adored by many and hated by some. Gunn has used his new position as co-CEO of DC Studios to honor the past of the hero and take him into the future. With the 1978 John Williams theme song echoing throughout and Corenswet giving off Christopher Reeve vibes, it’s clear Gunn wants audiences to feel nostalgia while still getting something new.

    He also appears to want viewers to fight against the negativity that the modern world can bring. The plot involves manipulation of the public, usually at the hands of Luthor, through bombastic talk shows, political theater, and social media, the latter of which — in a great joke — comes to involve hundreds of typing monkeys. The film could be read as a rebuttal of many real-world ills as, despite Luthor’s machinations, many choose to continue to believe in the goodness of Superman.

    There is a lot going on in the film, but somehow it never comes off as overly complicated. Superman’s relationship with Lois Lane and Luthor’s attempts at taking him down are given the most prominence, with everything else supporting those two main things. The Justice Gang is a fun addition, with Mr. Terrific becoming the breakout hero of the group. The addition of the (CGI) dog Krypto provides levity, poignant moments, and unexpectedly great action scenes. The only part that gets somewhat short shrift is the crew of The Daily Planet, with everyone besides Lois and Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo) getting little more than face time.

    Being the new Superman is a lot to live up to, but Corenswet is completely up to the job. He, like Reeve, plays the character as someone who is earnest but not naive, a quality that comes through even when he’s in the middle of fight scenes. Brosnahan is also fantastic, providing a nice balance to the relationship while also proving the character’s own worth. Hoult makes for a great new version of Luthor, and Gathegi nearly makes the case that Mr. Terrific should get a starring film of his own.

    Just as he did with the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, Gunn has shown that success can be found through making characters people want to see. Not everyone in this Superman will be familiar to viewers, but in the end a group of people working together toward a goal that serves the common good is one worth watching and cheering for.

    ---

    Superman is now playing in theaters.

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