English Entertainment
Remembering TV shows that speak about AIDS
MUMBAI: Thirty years ago, the nation was in a crisis mode, agonising over the AIDS (Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome) virus. There are an estimated 10 lakh people currently living in India with HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) (PLHIV). World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day, held for the first time in 1988.
World AIDS Day is held on the 1 December each year and is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, show their support for people living with HIV and to commemorate people who have died. The red ribbon is the global symbol for solidarity with HIV-positive people and those living with AIDS.
As yet another World AIDS Day is observed, the nation can afford to look back with some satisfaction at its AIDS control programme. The timely and focussed programme has proved that all those doomsday predictions were wrong with India having managed to register a 57 per cent decrease in new infections in the past decade.
The government is taking all the possible measures to control the diffusion of the HIV virus. We at Indiantelevision.com have pinned down a few television shows and films, which have displayed characters or a concept or a message on this deadly virus.
Here’s the list:
• Real World
Real World is a reality television program on MTV. It was first broadcast in 1992 and has successfully penetrated in the entertainment world with 30 seasons. In its early years, the series was hailed for depicting issues of contemporary young adulthood relevant to its core audience like AIDS, sex, prejudice, abortion, illness, death, politics and substance abuse. The series later on garnered a reputation as a showcase for immaturity and irresponsible behaviour of the declining morals of contemporary youth.
· The Normal Heart
The Normal Heart is a 2014 American drama television film directed by Ryan Murphy and is written by Larry Kramer. The film stars Mark Ruffalo, Matt Bomer, Taylor Kitsch, Jim Parsons, Alfred Molina, Joe Mantello, Jonathan Groff and Julia Roberts. The film depicts the rise of HIV AIDS crisis in New York City between 1981 and 1984. It takes an unflinching look at the nation’s sexual politics as gay activists and their allies in the medical community fights to expose the truth about the burgeoning epidemic to a city and nation in denial.
· Degrassi High
This is the third television show in the Degrassi series of teen dramas about the lives of a group of teenagers living in Toronto. It ran from 1989 to 1991. Much like the entire series, this show also dealt with controversial issues ranging from AIDS, abortion, abuse, alcoholism, cheating, sex, death and suicide, dating, depression, bullying, transgender identity, gay rights, homophobia, racism, the environment, drugs and eating disorders.
· A Different World
A Different World is an American television sitcom, which aired for six seasons starting from 1987 to 1993. One of the show’s episodes that aired in 1990 addressed the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The original premise was to have a white student there and have Lena Horne as an acting teacher, but in production, the premise changed from being a story about a white girl in a black college to a black girl in a black college with a white friend.
English Entertainment
Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders approve Paramount deal
Investors wave through a $111 billion megamerger but deliver a stinging, if toothless, rebuke over half-a-billion-dollar goodbye packages
NEW YORK: The shareholders said yes to the deal. They said no to the cheque. At a virtual special meeting on Thursday that lasted barely ten minutes, Warner Bros. Discovery investors voted overwhelmingly to approve Paramount Skydance’s $111 billion acquisition of the company — and then turned around and voted against the lavish exit pay packages lined up for chief executive David Zaslav and his fellow outgoing executives.
Not that it will make much difference. The compensation vote is purely advisory and non-binding. The Warner Bros. Discovery board can, and almost certainly will, pay out as planned.
But the symbolism stings. It is the second consecutive year that WBD shareholders have voted against the executive compensation packages, and this time they had good reason. Zaslav’s exit deal is, by any measure, extraordinary. Under the terms filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, he is set to receive $34.2 million in cash severance, $517.2 million in equity in the combined company, and $44,195 in continued health coverage — a total of at least $550 million. On top of that, Warner Bros. Discovery has agreed to reimburse Zaslav up to $335 million for taxes assessed by the Internal Revenue Service on his accelerated stock vesting, though the company says that figure will decline depending on when the deal closes. As of March 11, Zaslav also held $115.85 million in vested WBD stock awards — and last month sold a further $114 million worth of WBD shares.
Shareholder advisory firm ISS recommended voting against the compensation measure, citing “problematic” tax reimbursements to Zaslav and the full vesting of his stock awards.
Zaslav will be bound by a two-year non-competition covenant and a two-year non-solicitation of customers and employees after the deal closes.
His lieutenants are not walking away empty-handed either. J.B. Perrette, chief executive and president of global streaming and games, is in line for $142 million, comprising $18.2 million in cash severance and $123.9 million in equity. Bruce Campbell, chief revenue and strategy officer, will receive an estimated $121.5 million, including $18.8 million in severance and $102.7 million in equity. Chief financial officer Gunnar Wiedenfels is set for $120 million, made up of $6.6 million in cash severance and $113.1 million in equity. Gerhard Zeiler, president of international, will get $82.6 million, including $11.9 million in severance and $70.7 million in equity.
The deal itself, clinched in February after Netflix declined to raise its bid for Warner Bros., still needs regulatory clearance from the Justice Department and European authorities. Several state attorneys general are also weighing legal action to block it.
Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, was unsparing. “The Paramount-Warner Bros. merger isn’t a done deal,” she said after the shareholder vote. “State attorneys general across the country are stepping up to stop this antitrust disaster. We need to keep up this fight.”
If it does go through, the combined entity would be a formidable beast, bringing together Paramount Skydance’s stable — CBS, CBS News, Paramount Pictures, Paramount+, BET, MTV and Nickelodeon — with WBD’s portfolio of HBO, Max, Warner Bros. film and TV studios, DC, CNN, TBS, TNT, HGTV and Discovery+. Paramount has said it expects $6 billion in cost savings from the merger, which is Wall Street shorthand for mass layoffs on a significant scale.
The ten-minute meeting was presided over by chairman Samuel Di Piazza Jr., with Zaslav, Campbell, Wiedenfels and chief communications officer Robert Gibbs in virtual attendance. Di Piazza was bullish. “We appreciate the support and confidence our stockholders have placed in us to unlock the full value of our world-class entertainment portfolio,” he said. “With Paramount, we look forward to creating an exceptional combined company that will expand consumer choice and benefit the global creative talent community.”
Zaslav echoed the sentiment. “Over the past four years, our teams have transformed Warner Bros. Discovery and returned the company to industry leadership,” he said. “Today’s stockholder approval is another key milestone toward completing this historic transaction that will deliver exceptional value to our stockholders.”
Paramount Skydance struck a similar note. “Shareholder approval marks another important milestone towards completing our acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery,” it said in a statement, adding that it looked forward to “closing the transaction in the coming months.”
The shareholders have spoken on the merger. On the pay, they were ignored before the vote was even counted.
