Wisik: A Splash of Reality

  INFECTIOUSNESS OF ARIANA GRANDE'S pov (2020)          It seems to me that music is the most 'infectious' art form. I am carried away when listening to music; certain emotions are evoked in my soul that even those things that I have not even experienced in my 21 years of existence come to light.      Recently, I encountered the song ' pov'  by Ariana Grande. When I heard it, certain emotions were evoked in me, and I was immediately reminded of Tolstoy's aesthetic notion of infectiousness. According to Leo Tolstoy, an artwork is valuable when it is able to infect its audience with feelings and emotions lived/experienced or imagined by the artist. Applying this to Grande's song, I am able to testify that pov  is a valuable artwork.     According to Elle.com, the song talks about Grande's experience with her husband (her boyfriend during the time of the song's release). The chorus tells the listener that her lover sees her for who she is and still love

    CAPITALIST AESTHETICS AND THE MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE (photo from: https://in.pinterest.com/pin/614037730426591184/?amp_client_id=CLIENT_ID(_)&mweb_unauth_id=%7B%7Bdefault.session%7D%7D&simplified=true)           Movies (especially those from franchises) are currently seen by many not as beautiful artworks but as mere products and commodities. The future of a movie (i.e., its sequel, prequel, or spin-offs) now depends on its income and on its box-office performance. The epitome of this phenomenon is the franchise of Marvel Studios, a.k.a. the "Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)." Sequels after sequels (and numerous spin-offs) have already been planned even if some films had a negative reception from critics and audiences. Although there are many good Marvel films, I still get the feeling that some of their stories are just done for milking profit.      Turning to what the figures say, we find that the MCU already has a $22.93 billion total worldwide box-office reve