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Nominate a local hero for a Census 2021 Purple Plaque
Do you know someone in your area who is a community hero?
To mark Census 2021 in March next year, a competition has launched to find the nation's unsung community heroes. 22 people across England and Wales, one for each census that has taken place, will have their community spirit and efforts commemorated with a unique purple plaque.
The iconic purple plaques, in the brand colour of Census 2021, can be placed at the winner's home, place of work or a community building depending on their preference and permissions. From a schoolteacher who has transformed lives, to a carer who has given comfort, Berkshire is bursting with ordinary people who are doing extraordinary things.
To nominate someone visit www.census.gov.uk/census-2021-heroes and give your reason why. The closing date is 31 December 2020 and nominees will be judged by a panel of community champions, led by Gavin and Stacey actress and TV presenter Joanna Page. The plaques will be installed ahead of census day, 21 March 2021.
The census is a national survey that has taken place every ten years since 1801 (except in 1941). Data from the census is used to plan public services throughout the UK. As neighbourhoods continue to grow, it is especially important that we have accurate information about local residents.
New Family Carers Card
News from: Reading Borough Council
Many people are family carers and support someone who relies on them to collect shopping, prescriptions and other essential items. You may not identify yourself as a carer because you are firstly a parent, a wife, husband, daughter, son, grandchild, friend or neighbour.
Reading Mencap have produced "The Reading Family Carers Card" which is available to carers for FREE and it will identify you as a family carer in order to help shorten the time you might have to spend queueing for a shop, a pharmacy or even a health appointment. It is supported by Reading Borough Council.
How do I access a family carers card for me or someone else?
If you are already linked to a support service, contact them and they will advise you on how to get your card. If not, see various services below who will support you to access your family carers card.
-Carers Hub www.tuvida.org email berkshirehub@tuvida.org Tel 0118 324 7333
-Reading Mencap email – communications@readingmencap.org.uk Tel 0118 966 2518
-Age UK Berkshire – email info@ageukberkshire.org.uk Tel 0118 959 4242
-Berkshire Cancer Centre- email rbft.macmillaninformation@nhs.net Tel 0118 322 8700 (cards will be available to patients actively receiving treatment from the service, this if for Reading only)
For more information see the link below which contains a video explaining the card and how to get one:
https://servicesguide.reading.gov.uk/kb5/reading/directory
Oxford Road stories project – deadline 8 January 2021
Reading is one of 68 areas of England to receive a share of a £95 million government fund having secured High Street Heritage Action Zone (HSHAZ) status for three conservation areas in the centre of the town. As a result, Reading will receive up to £806,500 for the implementation of a four-year programme agreed with Historic England. This amount will be match funded by Reading Borough Council. You can read more here.
In advance of the wider cultural programme, Historic England offered several pilot grants to initiate and test projects to engage communities. Reading has been successful in achieving a grant of £9,231 to run a pilot project for the HSHAZ. This pilot project titled 'Re-imagining the high street through your stories' will focus on the Oxford Road conservation area, specifically the East end of Oxford Road (from Howard Street to Russel Street). The aim of the project is to engage with the Oxford Road communities, to explore people's real stories of Oxford Road and to link them with their local heritage and rich multicultural history.
Get involved: As part of the pilot project, local artists will soon be creating art to display along the Oxford Road which celebrates the amazingly diverse lives and cultures of the Oxford Road community and their histories. Can you help inspire this artwork by sharing your stories? What to share:
-Your memories
-Hidden histories
-Photographs
-Memorabilia
-Artwork
-Recipes
-Anything that you feel represents YOU and YOUR lives.
How to share: Please send to HSHAZ@reading.gov.uk or you can address to 'Oxford Road HSHAZ Project' and drop them off at a letter box collection point at either: LifeSpring Church, 143 – 145 Oxford Road, or Battle Library, 420 Oxford Road. The deadline for submissions is 8 January 2021.
Every person who shares their stories with us will also be entered into a prize draw for a chance to win vouchers for local shops and businesses. Remember to leave your contact details if you use one of the drop-off points. If you have any questions, contact the team at HSHAZ@reading.gov.uk.
Friends of the Elderly Grants for older people in financial need
News from: Reading Voluntary Action
Friends of the Elderly (FotE) provide grants of up to £400 to older people living on low incomes.
These grants are for older people who are:
-Resident in England and Wales
-Of/over state pension age
-In privately owned, privately rented, or social housing, but NOT in residential care or a nursing home
-Living on low incomes and with savings of less than £4,000
-Not previously a member of the UK Armed Forces
These grants can only be accessed via a third-party Referral Agent who knows you in a professional or community capacity. All communication with FotE about your grant will be via your Referral Agent. Examples of Referral Agents include local authority representatives, social services representative, charities, housing associations, community organisations, Information, Advice and Guidance providers, health and social care teams/keyworkers, health centres, cultural and religious centres.
Your Referral Agent commits to being your representative throughout this process.
There are currently four grant streams open.
HOME ESSENTIALS grants help with the cost of replacing everyday items in the home, small home repairs and mobility adaptations.
DIGITAL CONNECTION grants are to help older people get online and stay connected and can be used towards the cost of equipment such as tablets and smartphones as well as Broadband/Wi-Fi/Mi-Fi costs.
FINANCIAL SUPPORT grants are help with unexpected bills and large costs such as utility bills, funeral costs, moving fees etc.
ESSENTIAL LIVING COSTS grants include clothing, food, medicines, books, and anything that has become unmanageable either because of the Covid-19 pandemic or due to some pre-existing need.
Applications may be submitted at any time. They try to process grant applications as quickly as possible and aim to give a decision within 4 weeks of receiving a completed application with all the necessary evidence. At exceptionally busy times this may take a little longer.
Further information and how to apply: www.fote.org.uk/our-charity-work/grants-2
Energy vouchers available from Citizens Advice Reading – by referral
News from Citizens Advice Reading
Organisations in Berkshire who work with people who may be struggling with their energy bills, for all sorts of reasons – debts, loss of job, because they are vulnerable or elderly or living in cold homes – can make a referral to Citizens Advice Reading for energy vouchers.
Citizens Advice Reading is reaching out through Berkshire Community Foundation to extend their reach to all organisations who have frontline teams, working with eligible clients, who can be referred through to them. The funding is only available until 21 January 2021 and is for clients who meet the following criteria:
-use a prepayment meter
-have been affected by Covid-19 and
-are struggling to top up their fuel.
The vouchers have a value of £28 for a single person and £49 for a family household – each client who qualifies can potentially receive up to 3 vouchers, so a really valuable contribution to winter energy costs.
A referral is required from the charity or organisation working with the eligible client. Here is a link to the online form: Fuel Vouchers Request form. Once completed, Citizens Advice Reading will carry out checks and ensure clients aren't accessing the scheme through more than one route. They are aiming for a 3 working day turnaround time from receipt of request to issue of the first voucher.
If you have any questions, please get in touch with Jenny Neagle at Citizens Advice Reading on jenny.neagle@citizensadvicereading.org.
Food waste collections start in February 2021
News from Reading Borough Council (RBC)
Reading Borough Council is introducing a weekly food waste collection for residents in February 2021, as well as reducing the size of the general waste bins. The recycling team are keen to engage with as many community associations as possible.
If you are able to help with distribution of information to residents of Reading they would like to hear from you. The recycling team are also going to be translating some of their communications into other languages, so if you think this would help please get in touch.
Please contact recyclingandenforcement@reading.gov.uk with your information and an officer will get in contact. Read more about the new scheme on the RBC website here.
Mental Health Community Grants – open until 9 December 2020
News from Reading Voluntary Action (RVA)
We are pleased to announce this new funding to deliver early help and wellbeing support for Black and Asian Minority Ethnic and Refugee (BAMER) communities within Berkshire West.
The programme aims to identify voluntary sector organisations that can deliver and support BAMER groups in our communities accessing early help, support with navigating the system to access the right level of support they need to prevent mental ill health, reduce mental health stigma and promote good wellbeing. Groups can apply for a maximum of £5,000 with multiple applications. The funding is from Berkshire West Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), which has been awarded £20,000 as part of winter pressures planning in delivering Mental Health Urgent and Emergency Care for 2020/21. RVA is managing the grants process in partnership with Volunteer Centre West Berkshire, Involve – Wokingham and Berkshire Health NHS Foundation Trust.
The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted significant inequalities within the BAMER communities across health, social care, and social determinants of life such as loss of finances, unemployment/redundancies, social isolation including people living alone and people not being able to go out due to complexities. Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a well-recognised collective spirit of communities coming together to help rebuild our social networks and support people in need in the communities. We have seen the strength in joint collaboration of health, social care and our voluntary sector partners working to deliver service integration for all.
Whilst we recognise that there is an incredible voluntary and community sector and many larger groups and charities need financial support, we have specifically been awarded this sum to distribute to those groups who often do not have the same access to funding opportunities. Your organisation will need to fit the criteria outlined in the guidance notes.
To make an application:
Read the guidance notes here.
Complete the online form here.
You will need to submit your organisation's set of accounts and bank statement with your application. The application deadline is 9 December 2020, successful applicants will be notified by 14 December 2020 and your project is to be completed by 31 March 2021.
If you need help with applying or have any questions about this funding, please contact Herjeet Randhawa, RVA Advice Manager at herjeet.randhawa@rva.org.uk or telephone our main number on 0118 937 2273. One-to-one support is available to all small community groups in Reading for support with this application and a meeting can be set up via telephone or Zoom.
RVA launches expanded Social Prescribing service
RVA is extending its existing Social Prescribing service to work with Primary Care Networks across Reading. This month RVA welcomes four new Social Prescribing Link Workers: Sharon Fitton, Louise Keane, Helen Murphy and Charlotte Netherton-Sinclair. They join longstanding Social Prescribers Amber Holdway and Sarah Martin, and Social Prescribing Coordinator Liz Morrison at RVA, and Age UK Berkshire's Social Prescriber Jodie Burrage.
The Social Prescribing team will be working with Primary Care Networks (PCNs) across Reading, taking referrals from GPs and healthcare practitioners, as well as Reading Borough Council Adult Social Care, Royal Berkshire Hospital Occupational Therapists and Talking Therapies.
The aim of the Social Prescribing service is to link people aged 16 and over to the activities and support offered by Reading's voluntary and community groups, empowering people to improve their health and wellbeing. NHS England explains why Social Prescribing is so valuable:
It's estimated that one in five of the people who go to see their GP are troubled by things that can't be cured by medical treatment. GPs tell us that they spend significant amounts of time dealing with the effects of poor housing, debt, stress and loneliness. Many people are overwhelmed and can't reach out to make the connections that could make a difference to their situation. This is especially true for people who have long-term conditions, who need support with their mental health, who are lonely or isolated, or who have complex social needs which affect their wellbeing.
That's where Social Prescribing Link Workers come in, helping people to identify what matters to them and work out how to connect with the community activities that might make a difference.
-If you have received support from the Social Prescribing service in the past and would like us to get in touch again, please email social.prescribing@rva.org.uk.
-If you are a professional looking to make a referral, please email readingsocial.prescribing@nhs.net.
-Read more at www.rva.org.uk/social-prescribing and check back as we update the Social Prescribing resources on our website over the coming weeks.
Reading Rotary Virtual Santa Run 2020
The Seventh Reading Rotary Santa Run is now open for entries. Due to the uncertainty caused by coronavirus it will not be possible for us to all run together. Participants will complete a safe Virtual Run at any time either in the park, around town, up and down their stairs, or even on a treadmill, between 1 December and 31 December 2020. Families and friends can get together to run, walk, jog or cycle in their own bubble giving everyone the opportunity to join in the festive fun.
Reading Rotary organises the event and this year's race will be in aid of various Rotary charities. In the past they have supported Macmillan Nurses, Sport in Mind, Launchpad, The Multiple Sclerosis Society and many other charities.
All entrants, including children, will receive a unique special event medal and there will be prizes for all ages.
As usual they expect entrants of all abilities, including children, babies in buggies, those with disabilities, dog owners and of course serious runners, joggers, walkers, cyclists and swimmers.
Enter a team to raise funds for your charity: Rotary are particularly encouraging charities to enter sponsored teams to raise funds for their own charity. There is a special rate of £75 for charity teams of 10. The teams can run as individuals or in their own bubble.
–Go to the Reading Santa Run website to find out more and register.
–Download a flyer.
Veg4Reading update
News from: Food4Families
The Veg4Reading project started in June 2020 in response to the number of residents needing additional food parcels or hot meals in order to get by. The project has recruited 71 volunteers to date, who have been working at four Food4families sites, Whitley GrowAllot, Southcote GrowAllot, Lavender Place and Katesgrove Community Allotment, to extend the food growing capacity and grow additional fruit and veg.
This produce, along with surplus donated from local allotment and home growers, has been distributed to the following 6 organisations that provide free food parcels and hot meals to vulnerable residents:
-Whitley Community Development Association
-CIRDIC
-The Weller Centre
-Sadaka
-The Red Kitchen
-New Beginnings
Between them they feed 1,500 people per month. The total of donated veg and fruit so far is 755kg at a value equivalent to £3,500.
Food4families are hoping to secure the funding required to keep the project going through into 2021 to respond to the continued need. We are still open to receive donations of fruit and veg and have ongoing volunteer opportunities. For more details contact 07551 942960 or email sharon@risc.org.uk.
Volunteering as a route to employment
15:00 - 16:00Online via Zoom
In this Zoom session, we will explore how volunteering can play a role in helping you in your journey towards employment.
Whether seeking to return to the workplace following a break, looking for your first job or seeking to transfer into a new field, the right volunteering role can prove to be a valuable asset in successfully securing employment.
After a brief general introduction to volunteering, the session will outline how volunteering can make a difference to your job search, from building confidence and demonstrating soft skills to standing out from the crowd and building your network.
We will then explore how RVA can help you to identify the right role and other services available to support you into employment.
Sign up at HERE to secure your place
Volunteering for Wellbeing
In this Zoom session, we will explore how the right volunteering role can play a part in helping to enhance your sense of wellbeing.
Studies suggest that those who volunteer can benefit from a boost to their own wellbeing. This boost can result in an increased sense of happiness and life satisfaction and a reduction in feelings of depression and anxiety.
After a brief general introduction to volunteering, the session will outline how volunteering can provide you with a unique gateway to accessing the five ways to wellbeing:
We will then explore how RVA can help you to identify the right role and other services available to support your journey towards wellbeing.
Sign up HERE to secure your place
Tell Reading Voluntary Action about your local news and it will not only appear here, but also on the RVA Directory and be sent out to subscribers of both our newsletters.
RVA's news form
To keep up-to-date with the latest Reading Neighbourhood Network news and upcoming events, why not subscribe to our email newsletter?
Copyright © 2021 Reading Neighbourhood Network
RNN is funded by Reading Borough Council and supported by
Reading Voluntary Action


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Q: LoadData from SQL Server 2012 to 2008 R2 issue with date date type loading into datetime datatype column I have to load data from SQL Server 2012 to SQL Server 20108 R2. I have a column with a date datatype and in the destination table I have a data type of datetime. When I am trying to load data using SSIS I am getting an error as saying invalid date format and sometime I am getting conversation failed.
Source :

CREATE TABLE SourceTable(
    [SSNO] [char](9) NOT NULL,
    [SH_CHANGE_DATE] [date] NULL,
    [SH_REASON_CODE] [char](2) NOT NULL,
    [SH_ANN_SALARY] [decimal](8, 2) NOT NULL,
    [GRADE] [char](2) NOT NULL,
    [ITEM] [char](4) NOT NULL,
    [MULTI_POSITNBR] [char](4) NOT NULL,
    [STEP] [char](2) NOT NULL,
    [OFF_STEP] [char](1) NOT NULL,
    [SH_TITLE_NAME] [char](30) NOT NULL,
    [SH_CHANGE_AMT] [decimal](7, 2) NOT NULL,
    [SH_DIV_DIST_IND] [char](4) NOT NULL,
    [SH_BUDGET] [char](3) NOT NULL,
    [SH_ENGNO] [char](2) NOT NULL,
    [SH_RCDADD_DATE] [date] NULL,
    [SH_RCDADD_TIME] [time](0) NULL,
    [SH_OCC_CATEGORY] [char](1) NOT NULL,
    [SH_FULL_PART_CD] [char](1) NOT NULL,
    [SH_SUPVY_CLASS] [char](1) NOT NULL,
    [EMPLOYEE_NUMBER] [char](9) NOT NULL,
    [T101_TSAL_HIST_PRIMARY_KEY]  AS ((substring([SSNO],(1),(9))+substring(CONVERT([varchar],[SH_CHANGE_DATE],(112)),(1),(8)))+substring([SH_REASON_CODE],(1),(2))) PERSISTED NOT NULL,
 CONSTRAINT SourceTableconstrain PRIMARY KEY CLUSTERED
(
    [Source_PRIMARY_KEY] ASC
)WITH (PAD_INDEX = OFF, STATISTICS_NORECOMPUTE = OFF, IGNORE_DUP_KEY = OFF, ALLOW_ROW_LOCKS = ON, ALLOW_PAGE_LOCKS = ON) ON [PRIMARY]
) ON [PRIMARY]
GO

DESTINATION :

CREATE TABLE TableName(
    [SSNO] [char](9) NOT NULL,
    [SH_CHANGE_DATE] [datetime] NOT NULL,
    [SH_REASON_CODE] [char](2) NOT NULL,
    [SH_ANN_SALARY] [money] NULL,
    [GRADE] [char](2) NULL,
    [ITEM] [char](4) NULL,
    [MULTI_POSITNBR] [char](4) NULL,
    [STEP] [char](2) NULL,
    [OFF_STEP] [char](1) NULL,
    [SH_TITLE_NAME] [varchar](30) NULL,
    [SH_CHANGE_AMT] [money] NULL,
    [SH_DIV_DIST_IND] [char](4) NULL,
    [SH_BUDGET] [char](3) NULL,
    [SH_ENGNO] [char](2) NULL,
    [SH_RCDADD_DATE] [datetime] NULL,
    [SH_RCDADD_TIME] [varchar](6) NULL,
    [SH_OCC_CATEGORY] [char](1) NULL,
    [SH_FULL_PART_CD] [char](1) NULL,
    [SH_SUPVY_CLASS] [char](1) NULL,
    [EMPLOYEE_NUMBER] [char](9) NULL,
 CONSTRAINT Tablename PRIMARY KEY CLUSTERED
(
    [SSNO] ASC,
    [SH_CHANGE_DATE] ASC,
    [SH_REASON_CODE] ASC
)WITH (PAD_INDEX = OFF, STATISTICS_NORECOMPUTE = OFF, IGNORE_DUP_KEY = OFF, ALLOW_ROW_LOCKS = ON, ALLOW_PAGE_LOCKS = ON) ON [PRIMARY]
) ON [PRIMARY]
GO

A: guys thank you  for you feedback , I resolve this issue by myself . To load data from date to datetime from sql server 2012 to 2008r2 i have used two ssis packages ,In one ssis package i have converted the date to datetime(n) datatype for column value and in the next ssis pakcage copied the column value from loaded place initially to destination . This resulting in having the same datatype at destination while but still loading data from date to datetime datatype column value .

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text:
ARTICLES & CHAPTERS
TEACHING PAGES
The New Ethics of Pop: Celebrity Activism Since Lady Gaga
Mathieu Deflem
www.mathieudeflem.net
This is a copy of a chapter in the book Pop Cultures: Sconfinamenti Alterdisciplinari, edited by Massimiliano Stramaglia. Lecce-Rovato, Italy: Pensa Multimedia, 2019.
Also available in pdf format.
Please cite as: Deflem, Mathieu. 2019. "The New Ethics of Pop: Celebrity Activism Since Lady Gaga." Pp. 113-129 in Pop Cultures: Sconfinamenti Alterdisciplinari, edited by Massimiliano Stramaglia. Lecce-Rovato, Italy: Pensa Multimedia.
In this chapter, I discuss the recent expansion, in our days of an incessant obsession with fame, of the adoption of ethical, political, and charity causes by celebrities, especially stars in the pop culture world of popular music. In relation to historical developments of the differentiation and de-differentiation of culture, I analyze these developments as a commodification of politics in pop culture. Findings of this paper especially center on the case of the politics and activism of global pop sensation Lady Gaga. I will show how the ethics of activism is infused in the aesthetics and entertainment values relating to the singer's advocacy. Examining and extending the case of Lady Gaga, I offer a model on the new ethics of pop culture, specifically to account for the wide embrace of activism and charity causes in contemporary celebrity culture at large. This development, I argue, indicates the emergence of a marketable form of commodity activism that is presented as an economics of sincerity.
The sociology of fame and the broader multi-disciplinary area of celebrity studies are nowadays more popular than ever before. This development in itself must be a reflection of certain aspects of our contemporary culture, indicating a growth of the fame of the fame and the intellectual culture that comes with it. In my own sociological work, I have taken up the scholarly challenges some of these issues pose by means of an investigation of the conditions of the rise to fame of global pop star Lady Gaga. Now thoroughly cemented in the collective consciousness of our age and, as a result, the subject of a fair number of scholarly studies (Deflem, 2017; Huba, 2013; Iddon and Marshall, 2014; Stramaglia, 2015), Lady Gaga was able to attain a world-wide level of fame in the world of popular music at a time when, specifically in the period from 2008 to 2010, the discourse on the world of popular music was predominantly phrased in terms of decline and disintegration. The central question of my work, in other words, pertained to the conditions of why Lady Gaga became famous at a time when the music industry was imploding. In a book-length study (Deflem, 2017), I have addressed a number of sociologically relevant conditions to answer this question, specifically focusing on aspects of marketing and law, media and audience, sex and gender, artistry and styles, and, indeed, activism, dimensions of the latter of which are also at the heart of the present chapter. The issue of the activism of Lady Gaga is what provides the starting point of the present analysis to contemplate on the course and direction of activism and, more broadly, political and normative causes that are taken up by the celebrities in today's world of pop culture, especially though not exclusively in the realm of popular music.
In keeping with the perspective of this book, my approach is not only sociological, in oriented at an analysis of the conditions and direction of celebrity activism, but also branches out into an assessment of these issues on the basis of a perspective that is rooted in a reflection focused not only on questions of effectiveness, but of meaning as well. Since Max Weber, sociologists need not eschew an interpretive understanding of culture. Although a certain degree of distance, in time and/or space, might have to be accomplished to assess the meaning of culture in the longer term, this requirement need not prevent a heuristic analysis of our own times. We can leave it to future historians to sort out the true impact of our musings.
This paper will begin by clarifying the sociological conceptualization of culture my work on fame and activism in the world of pop is based on. I will especially seek to clarify the problem of the relationship between activism and pop culture in terms of the historical process of differentiation that has been characteristic of modern societies. Next, I will rely on the case of the activism of Lady Gaga to show some of its many components and especially the role it played in her rise to fame. In line with the objectives of this chapter, I will specifically address the implications of these developments with respect to the impact and meaning of such celebrity activism vis-à-vis the primary functions of pop culture in aesthetic terms. Properly understood, I will argue, today's celebrity activism has become part and parcel of the material products of pop and fame. As such, celebrity activism has reduced rather than expanded any meaningful politics of pop.
Differentiation and De-Differentiation in Modern Culture
What is culture? Any discussion on celebrity, fame, music, and the like must begin with addressing the question of culture itself. In my work, I take on a sociological conception of culture, indebted to theoretical contributions stretching from Emile Durkheim (1893) over Talcott Parsons (1971) to Jürgen Habermas (1981), to refer to the whole of values, ideas, and ideals, both in terms of ideal representations and the material practices associated therewith. Essentially mediated in a symbolic form that is meaningful within a concrete societal context through means such as language and sounds, culture is expressed in such various material artefacts as writings, paintings, and recordings. Applying insights from Parsonian systems theory, I conceptually distinguish cultural values from norms. Whereas values are defined as conceptions of desirable ways of acting within groups, norms refer to sanctionable standards of conduct among groups (Deflem, 2008).
Apart from the notion that culture is both what is said and believed and that which is done and acted, as praxeologists will remind us (Bourdieu, 1977), what is important in the present context is that culture in modern societies has most essentially differentiated in terms of the categories of knowledge, ethics, and aesthetics, institutional spheres which are institutionalized in, respectively, science, justice, and art (Habermas, 1981). Needless to say, whereas sociologists were once typically inclined to study culture in terms of the one dominant culture of a given society or, worse yet, that element of a more diverse co-existence of multiple cultures which had successful claimed, rather than actually attained, generality, culture is today understood pluralistically in a strictly analytical manner. Hence, within culture, our attention can and should go to various levels of subcultural diversity and the less as well as more popular aspects of culture, including especially those forms that may strike us as frivolous and perhaps even irrational. Kitsch and pop should be taken seriously and, additionally, cannot be assumed to exist merely because it is profitability as a commodity unless one would adopt a reductionist perspective at the expense of a constructionist approach (Deflem, 2017, pp. 19-20).
Among the contemporary instances of popular culture that command our special attention are peculiar developments in the world of popular music and various manifestations of celebrity culture. Whereas the industry of music has recently had to undergo various adjustments, especially in view of technological developments (i.e., the implosion of recorded music sales and its transition towards live performances and merchandise), the world of fame and celebrity has ironically greatly benefited from the same by means of a near endless proliferation of reality shows on TV, celebrity gossip on social networking sites, and a multitude of other opportunities that have expanded the reach of celebrity on the internet as well as in the traditional media.
This much is clear today: celebrity culture is here to stay for the foreseeable future and, likewise, popular music will remain, in whatever altered form, part of our everyday life. However, what is a historical achievement of modern societies as well is its differentiation between aesthetics and ethics. As a result of these dual developments, what has become important to analyze are the combinations and re-combinations of the ethics of pop culture with its aesthetic aspirations and, therefore, how the differentiation of culture into its various expert domains today is confronted with attempts to de-differentiate them once again. Simply put, where once the performers, musicians, and entertainers of old could and would restrict their activities to the aesthetic realm and where once the institutions of ethics, politics, and activism could rely on their own experts, these functions are nowadays again merged to develop a new kind of so-called 'celebvocacy' embodied by the contemporary celebrity activist. Among the questions this de-differentiation poses, I will begin my analysis in the coming pages by unraveling some of its manifestations and directions in the case of pop star Lady Gaga and subsequently address the implications thereof in terms of broader changes in the transformation of modern culture.
Ethics and Aesthetics in Celebrity Culture
It is only in the context of the highly differentiated culture of an otherwise also highly differentiated society that the infusion of activism, advocacy, and politics into the world of popular culture is readily puzzling or at least paradoxical (Deflem, 2017, pp. 11-13). Societies that are undifferentiated will experience questions of truth, justice, and beauty to be inseparable from and deeply intertwined with one other. But as societies modernize, the differentiation of these cultural dimensions will lead to the formation of expert (sub-)cultures and their respective corresponding expectations and objectives that do not readily connect in one particular way, but that instead can be combined and recombined on an individual or at least more restricted level only. What is (ethically) right for one need not co-exist with what is (aesthetically) beautiful for another.
Reductionist scholars of culture, especially those working in an orthodox Marxist tradition, could easily dispense with the problem that I here address as they will conceptualize culture in terms of the profit imperatives of market and wealth. Most emblematic in this respect is the work on the culture industry developed by Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno (1944), in which the dominant forms of entertainment and culture are conceived to reflect dominant politics and dominant values. The triviality of pop culture is thereby seen to be accompanied, at best, by an implied conservatism of bourgeois politics and its values and the marketability thereof for monetary gains. In his sociology of music, Adorno (1976) expressed this idea most sharply by arguing that pop music is by definition unaccomplished and unchallenging from a musicological viewpoint and equally unbearable for political and normative reasons.
The initial reaction against the triviality of the politics of pop among social scientists, likewise, presented a less than fruitful intellectual path by suggesting that popular culture, especially rock music in the era of the counter-culture of the 1960s, would not only be emancipatory but impactful as well as a political or normatively influential force (Street, 2001, 2003). This approach is non-empirical as well and far too presumptuous that political and ethical goals can be achieved through pop culture. Therefore, rather than assuming an a priori notion of the revolutionary politics of rock music and other politically charged expressions of pop culture, it may be wiser to empirically examine the various ways in which aesthetics and ethics are being assembled, the conditions under which these combinations and re-combinations take place, as well as their objectives and their consequences. In the next section of this paper, I will undertake this analysis in the case of Lady Gaga and other celebrities since.
Pop Culture Activism: The Case of Lady Gaga
In my book on the conditions of Lady Gaga's rise to fame, I devote a whole chapter to the role played by the singer's activism for a variety of causes, her political interventions, and her religiosity (Deflem, 2017, Chapter 8). I will here briefly summarize the key findings of this research. Some of these aspects of Lady Gaga's activism will be well-known and are perhaps also more readily understandable in the framework of her music and the other forms of her artistry which have managed to propel the singer to global stardom. But some findings may be more surprising, though no less relevant (see Deflem 2017, 148-154).
Given the nature of Lady Gaga's music and the composition of the core of her fanbase, it will cause no consternation to learn that the singer has been most active, from early on in her career, in causes related to issues relevant to youth, women, and members of the LGBT community. Most outspoken has been Lady Gaga's support for gay rights and the acceptance of the gay community in society at large. This concern was not related to any personal orientation on her part, but was especially fueled by her strong fanbase in the gay dance club dance during the early days of her recording career, especially in the summer of 2008, when she still struggled to get recognition with her first single, "Just Dance," and her debut album, The Fame. Lady Gaga was explicit and vocal about her support, most clearly, for instance, when in 2009 she participated in the National Equality March in Washington, DC, and advocated the repeal of the so-called "Don't Ask Don't Tell" (DADT) policy that prohibited gays from openly serving in the U.S. military. Lady Gaga's embrace of gay rights also influenced her music, both with respect to its content (e.g., the lyrics to the song "Born This Way" explicitly mention tolerance with respect to sexual orientation) as well as its form (e.g., the video to the song "Alejandro" was visually conceived as a celebration of gay love).
Lady Gaga has given her activism a structural permanence in the form of the creation, along with her mother Cynthia Germanotta, of the Born This Way Foundation, which was formally launched at an event hosted by Oprah Winfrey at Harvard University in 2012. The non-profit organization was particularly set up to address youth-empowerment issues, especially concerning bullying, and has since also involved itself in efforts related to inspiring bravery, body acceptance, and various mental health issues.
Besides her work through the Born This Way Foundation, Lady Gaga has also and very often been engaged in a variety of activist causes on an individual level, mostly by speaking out on certain issues she claims are dear to her. The examples are too numerous to mention, but include vocal support, especially through her Twitter account, on a wide variety of issues, including the promotion of gay rights, support for the people of Japan following the tsunami in 2011, awareness of sexual assault against women, body acceptance, poverty, and water conservation. It is to be noted, also, that Lady Gaga has on occasion voiced an explicit political orientation. Although she was relatively silent on her (party-)political stance during the first few years of her career, she has since been supportive of Democratic politicians and rallied for Hillary Clinton during the U.S. presidential race of 2016.
Additionally, and perhaps most surprisingly, is that Lady Gaga has also explicitly injected a strongly resonating ethical element in her work and public persona by publicly revealing and discussing her religious orientation (Deflem, 2017, pp. 153-154). During a television interview on CNN in 2010, she told Larry King that she considered herself to be very religious and to believe in Jesus Christ. At the same time, she expressed some doubts about the role of religion and church in the world today, saying that she is both quite religious but also confused about religion. Lady Gaga's work and public image have at times also explicitly revealed her religiosity, such as when she sings that "God makes no mistakes" in her song "Born This Way."
Apart from accelerating Lady Gaga's rise to fame, the singer's stance on ethical and religious issues and her embrace of activism, like that of many others before and since, are remarkable from a sociological viewpoint because it represents an infusion of the ethics of activism into the aesthetics of pop in a societal context that is most distinctly shaped by a long historical process of differentiation. The length alone of this process of cultural differentiation that is characteristic of modern societies makes it noteworthy when ethics and aesthetics are again combined, not to mention the fact that politics and activism have typically not been associated with pop stars whose primary job it is to entertain even as their musical abilities can be questioned. The contours and impact of at these rather sharp but, in any case, very recent instances of de-differentiation should be carefully examined.
Celebrity Activism and Fame
In my study of the conditions of the fame of Lady Gaga, I have contemplated on the direction and meaning of Lady Gaga's embrace of activist causes (Deflem, 2017, pp. 154-159). I here discuss the essential elements of these issues to subsequently take the analysis further in terms of both the singer's activism and the embrace of activism among other celebrities.
Lady Gaga is clearly not just a pop star, but also, and often at the same time, an activist. The singer's activism is revealed in what she (objectively) does, how she (subjectively) sees herself, and how she is (inter-subjectively) seen by the fans of her music and, more importantly still, by the wider audience of her fame. Openly and explicitly embracing the role of an advocate on numerous causes and thus bringing about an infusion of the ethics of activism into the aesthetics of pop, Lady Gaga not only presents herself, but is also widely perceived as, anything but a trivial pop star.
The recognition of Lady Gaga as an activist is perhaps most clearly revealed on those occasions when the reaction to her advocacy and her religious and political orientation is mixed, both positive as well as negatively critical. For her work on gay rights and acceptance, for instance, the singer has received awards and general praise from members and organizations in the LGBTQ community. Yet, it has also been suggested that the singer may have taken on these issues for self-serving purposes, claims whish she herself, of course, denied (Sciarretto, 2011). The sincerity of Lady Gaga's actions has often been accepted but has, at other times, also been questioned, leading the singer to have to affirm the earnestness of her actions. By example, when the trend among celebrities to publicly voice their religiosity was cynically interpreted as disingenuous, Lady Gaga defended herself and posted on Instagram that "God is never a trend" (Deflem, 2017, p. 158).
Such controversies in the reaction to Lady Gaga's activist actions affirm the seriousness with which the performer's extra-artistic conduct and opinions are taken. Strikingly, for instance, while Lady Gaga's advocacy on behalf of youth and LGBT rights has been generally very well received, her religious proclamations have led to a variety of critical responses, which is especially poignant in the United States where religion is a central aspect of cultural life that is not restricted to the private realm. Specifically, Lady Gaga's identification as a Christian who was raised in the Catholic faith has been both positively received, even when it led to being inserted into the non-traditional context of pop art, but has also met with criticism and even outright condemnation from other, more traditional groups (Deflem, 2017, pp. 156-157). Whether Lady Gaga has abused religious symbolism or, instead, is sensitive to the needs of those who suffer as Christians should, what is clear is that such controversies have positively influenced her notoriety and fame.
The ethics of the Lady Gaga's activism have served to bring her much attention. But there is more. From the viewpoint of politics, activism, and religion as accelerants of fame, the argument can be made that any infusion of a pop artist in the worlds of such normative issues will be beneficial with respect to the artist's fame precisely because the worlds of music and ethics are differentiated and, at best, co-exist in an uneasy relationship. This condition of tension and unease may even be more pronounced in the case of an artist like Lady Gaga who is known for her provocative image and outlandish style.
Besides its contribution to fame, the activism of Lady Gaga and other celebrities like her can also be examined in terms of its effectiveness and impact. These conditions will, inter alia, depend on the degree of influence the celebrity enjoys. The fans of Lady Gaga, for example, will surely have been made aware of a number of advocacy issues they might otherwise not have considered, not because of these issues' gravity on a social or even a personal level, but as a result of the fact that they adore the performer as an artist and as a person as well (Bennett, 2014; Jang and Lee, 2014).
Beyond her fanbase, Lady Gaga's advocacy will also have an impact of the wider audience of her fame, although perhaps not always as intended. In any case, it should be noted that despite her enormous influence, Lady Gaga may still be ineffective in bringing about actual change as she does not hold decision-making power. In fact, precisely because she is a popstar with a well-known and as eccentric perceived public image who at times enters the serious arenas of advocacy and politics, it can even be argued that Lady Gaga is not bringing any advocacy issues to light in a manner that is effective in addressing the underlying issues. As Lady Gaga's own intentions can never really be known, it is up to the public to decide if she is seen (rightly or wrongly) as deliberately calculated, taking on activist causes to further her success and fame, or instead is genuinely motivated and, as a result, may be more effective as well.
The Rise and Rise of Celebrity Activism
The activism of pop culture and the politics of music are not the invention of Lady Gaga or a phenomenon that has appeared only with the rise of recent celebrity culture (Street, 2001). However, it is undeniably a sign of contemporary times that celebrity activism and its study have moved to the center of attention (Tsaliki, 2016). At least two noteworthy changes have taken place, which, I argue, are indicative of activism in this age of celebrity culture and the direction it is taking.
First, as already hinted above, the range of activist causes taken up by celebrities is not limited to one or another issue, but has considerably expanded and diversified. Taking the case of Lady Gaga, the breadth and intensity of the singer's activism have increased greatly, with varying and ambiguous consequences. Lady Gaga began her activist path by advocating gay rights, which she could defend in view of her early fanbase, and from there extended into youth-related issues, such as bullying, assault awareness, and emotional health. But the singer has since also gone straight into politics, most clearly when she sang at the final campaign rally organized by then-Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton before the U.S. presidential elections of 2016. The results were not as Lady Gaga had hoped for and expected. In the middle of the night after the election, even before Hillary Clinton had conceded the race and called Donald Trump, the singer went out to Trump Tower in New York City holding up a "Love Trumps Hate" sign (Lang, 2016). Democracy be damned, Lady Gaga's opinion had to be heard. And it had to be seen as well, as her stunt was conveniently photographed for distribution on the internet and via other media.
Similar concerns and questions can be asked when the singer began taking on such a wide array of issues as disaster relief, all kinds of diseases, mental health issues, poverty, weapons reduction, and water conservation. By August 2017, Lady Gaga's ongoing march into the wide world of activism went so far that she felt no embarrassment tweeting the poll question, "How do you think it's best to solve the world's problems?", with the provided answer options "To #BeKind" and "To #BeViolent" (Lady Gaga, Twitter post, 2017).
Second, and of special concern in the context of this chapter, it is striking to observe that since, though surely not just because of, Lady Gaga's activist path, advocacy has taken on a new dimension among many other performers, artists, and celebrities. There are today indeed a great many artists and celebrities who take up various activist issues, advocate a wide range of charitable causes, and openly and eagerly speak on political, religious, and all kinds of ethical and normative issues.
To offer empirical foundation to the expansion of celebrity advocacy, I have for this paper examined the activism in today's world of popular culture by means of two published lists of top stars and performers in the music and entertainment industry. I identified their activist involvement as reported on these celebrities' respective Wikipedia pages as it would best indicate not only which activist causes they are involved in, but also how relevant they are judged to be as part of their career and public persona. Specifically consulted were the top-ten entertainers listed in the Billboard "Social 50" chart at year-end 2017, a list which ranks music artists in terms of popularity as indicated by their activities and fan involvement on the major social networking sites as well as weekly song plays reported by Next Big Sound (Billboard, 2017), and the most recent Forbes "Celebrity 100" list, which ranks the world's highest-paid celebrities in the preceding year (Forbes, 2018). In Tables 1 and 2, I list the performer or celebrity, their primary role in the world of music and entertainment, followed by their reported activist involvement.
The retrieved list of top-ten artists in the Billboard Social 50 list of 2017 contains mostly performers of commercial pop music, arguably the intrinsically least political of all styles of popular music. Yet, each and every one of the artists listed is elaborately involved in a wide range of activist causes. The Wikipedia pages of every artist on the list, other than reggaeton star Maluma, typically mention several paragraphs of activities in separate sections on philanthropy, charity, and/or activism. For artist Maluma, too, charitable involvement, such as aid in victim relief efforts, was readily found through a Google search.
The activist causes these popular artists are involved in are wide-ranging, including charitable donations, work on behalf of various diseases, self-acceptance, children and youth advocacy, education, orphaned children, aid to developing societies, substance abuse, mental health, voting campaigns, animal shelters, racial justice groups, gender equality, LGBT rights, United Nations programs, Amnesty International and other humanitarian groups, natural disasters relief, and many more. It is striking, also, that a source as rudimentary as Wikipedia would spend explicit and fairly elaborate attention to activism and charity, often totaling multiple paragraphs, on the pages of artists who, by definition, will be known primarily for their music and fan popularity. In simple terms, the conclusion of this brief inquiry shows that activism is now firmly established as a component of a career in popular music.
The list of celebrities in Forbes Celebrity 100 list published in July 2018 contains the highest-paid celebrities of the preceding year in various forms of entertainment, such as music, sports, and television. Like the list of the most popular musicians, all of the celebrities listed by Forbes engage in numerous charity and activism activities, as revealed from their Wikipedia pages, with the sole and striking exception of the highest-ranked celebrity, boxer Floyd Mayweather. The case of Mayweather is, in fact, especially problematic because of the boxer's history of domestic abuse allegations, which are duly noted on his Wikipedia page instead of any philanthropy or activist causes. But the issue of advocacy is nonetheless brought explicitly before Mayweather as he has been criticized for saying he spends his money on himself and does not engage much in charitable giving (Whaley, 2017). In fact, the athlete is involved in activism as he oversees his own foundation that is oriented at underprivileged youth and strives to promote community development, entrepreneurialism, and education.
Apart from Mayweather, however, all other celebrities on the Forbes list are very prolific as activists. The number-two ranked celebrity, actor George Clooney, is perhaps the most active and also best known to be an activist as his Wikipedia page lists various specialized categories of advocacy, including political actions, humanitarian interventions, and involvement in actions related to Darfur, the Armenian genocide, the Syrian refugee crisis, and gun control. Other celebrities on the Forbes list are likewise very active, such as television personality Judy Sheindlin, who is the creator and spokesperson for a mentoring program designed to nurture and strengthen women, and former athlete and actor Dwayne Johnson, who runs a foundation for at-risk and terminally ill children. Some of these activist efforts are less known, but others have gained much public attention and exposure and have duly contributed to the celebrities' standing and public image. By example, the Irish rock group U2 and its members are very well known, not only for their music, but also for their wide-ranging involvement in a multitude of issues relating to poverty, health, and injustice.
An undeniable conclusion from this brief empirical inquiry is that every celebrity of note has his or her charity or charitable and activist cause and that, in turn, every charity and activist issue today appears to have its celebrity. At times, a celebrity's activism will in fact be perceived to be so pronounced that it is considered of equal importance to their primary occupation as musician, actor, or other entertainment role. Of Lady Gaga, by example, it has been said that her activism is "her true calling" (MSN, 2017). The recognition of celebrities' involvement in activism is important to acknowledge, but it should also be framed in a broader context that considers a number of relevant factors in the contemporary constellation of celebrity culture before any meaningful conclusions on its impact and value can be reached.
Pop Ethics and the Economics of Sincerity
It is clear that ethics and aesthetics co-exist in the world of Lady Gaga and other entertainers and celebrities today. In fact, it is safe to say that today every celebrity is a celebrity activist. If this phenomenon is real, as I have here shown, and if it can be expected to continue and possibly expand, as I reasonable think is also the case, a new period may have been entered in the ethics of pop that poses questions on the effectiveness of activism in the age of celebrity culture and that calls for an assessment of its sociological dimensions in the development of culture and popular culture.
From the sociological viewpoint of a constructionist approach of popular culture, it is striking to observe that a new ethics of pop has been developing in which the politics and economics of entertainment and art, even in something as seemingly playful as pop music, are argued to co-exist with relative ease. Such an easy and unproblematic co-existence is at least portrayed by those who represent celebrities and their respective industries (Deflem, 2017, p. 154). The current personal manager of Lady Gaga, by example, has asserted that advocacy and activism can and should be taken up by musicians and entertainers in terms of an "authentic connection" can be presented between "the artist, the brand, and the charity" because it would matter much "when it comes from the heart" (Rys, 2016). Such a strategy would be beneficial both for reasons of the goals of activism and the economic sustainability of a career in music.
Indeed, besides Lady Gaga's management, the profit-oriented representatives of the music industry have begun to explicitly embrace the activism of its practitioners. When George Clooney was awarded the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award, he was praised not just for his work on television and in film, but for his "life of acting, activism and pranks" (Pena, 2018). When Lady Gaga received the Woman of the Year Award from Billboard magazine, she was explicitly honored because of her artistry as well as because of her role as a "crusader," particularly in matters of raising sexual assault awareness (Martins, 2015). At times, such instances of praise and recognition have even resulted from blatant expressions of identity politics, such as when Caitlyn Jenner, formerly known as decathlete Bruce Jenner, graced the cover of U.S. sports magazine Sports Illustrated and received the equally prestigious Arthur Ashe Award for Courage, not for any achievements in sports, but as a direct result of being a transgender person.
If the intertwined and peaceful co-existence of activism and business in the world of entertainment and popular culture will be widely accepted among their audiences, whether they be the fans of pop music or the more and less casual onlookers of celebrity behavior and misbehavior, a new economics of sincerity can be said to be developing in celebrity culture (Deflem, 2017, p. 160). Celebrities will take on causes that really are dear to them because it is judged to be good for business. The issue then is not only one of the effects and effectiveness of celebrity on activism but also, and even more peculiarly so, of the consequences of activism on celebrity culture and the role charity and philanthropy play for a career in pop and entertainment. For, indeed, not only is every celebrity today a celebrity activist, it appears to be considered necessary, among industry insiders, for celebrities to embrace activism and philanthropy to establish their careers.
From the viewpoint of the effectiveness and administration of activist causes, it is likely that the advocacy of celebrities can be effective only when it is perceived to be done for all and only the right reasons. This is an empirical question. In advance of any in-depth investigation, It can be argued only that the effects of activism in pop culture are essentially ambiguous in terms of their objectives. Yet, it is at least possible that the consumers of entertainment and celebrity as well as the overlapping category of those involved with and affected by a range of activist causes will perceive the new wave of celebvocacy as just another part of celebrity culture and, worse yet, its accompanying profit-oriented industry.
Saturation alone may be activism's worst enemy. In the case of Lady Gaga, for instance, the star has at times been less than effective in just even reaching her audience on some activist issues as she may have been perceived to be over-involved and, as a result, uneventful and no longer worthy of attention. When in March of 2018, Lady Gaga tweeted her support for the March For Our Lives rallies that were held in various U.S. cities in 2018 in support of stricter guns laws, she received relatively little and far less attention as compared to some of her past involvements (Allaire, 2018). What once was attention-grabbing precisely because it was unexpected from a pop star by now might have become bland, boring, and even off-putting. As such, Lady Gaga's activist involvement may have reached over-saturation to the point of her activism losing effectiveness, which should be a cautious warning to other celebrities as well as the representatives and beneficiaries of their causes.
Lady Gaga is a pop star who was able to rely, among other factors, on her involvement in various activist causes to establish her fame as a global pop sensation. This observation does not necessarily imply that the singer's commercial success has been deliberately guided by her activism, but is primarily meant to suggest that her activism objectively functioned to accelerate her fame. Of course, as Lady Gaga's management has explicitly acknowledged, once the singer's career had launched her into global stardom, the choices that were made with respect to continued activist causes were also influenced by an awareness over its career implications. This infusion of ethics into the aesthetics and entertainment qualities of pop music reveals a de-differentiation of popular culture. Similar actions, as the analysis in this paper has shown, can also be witnessed among many other artists, entertainers, and celebrities. But the consequences of these developments are ambiguous and puzzling. Most problematically, precisely when and because activism and philanthropy are widely embraced and practiced by a large number of all celebrities existing, a very real and consequential irony may very well be that contemporary celebrity activism has not only turned into, but is also widely perceived as, just another commodity in the business of popular culture.
Beyond the sociological implications I discussed above, the ironies of the development of a hyper-activism in celebrity culture are significant in at least two respects. First, from the viewpoint of the goals and means of activism, the audience of pop culture may be turned off by the political and activist orientation of entertainers because they can no longer differentiate one from the other. After all, just based on the sheer number of celebrities involved on a nearly endless wide range of social issues, all of the world's pains and ills should already have been solved by now. Worse yet, even in terms of its more pointed objectives, celebrity activism can fail rather miserably. Most strikingly perhaps, the election of Donald Trump in 2016 would make little sense if celebrity advocacy would have been effective as intended and that it would not, as can be reasonably claimed to be the case, actually have contributed to the unexpected electoral outcome because the public rebelled against so many a celebrity's self-righteous preaching.
Second, from the viewpoint of popular culture, entertainers like Lady Gaga, George Clooney, and many others may see audience members turn away from them, not because of a perceived lack of merit in their art, but because they disagree with the content and direction of their advocacy. The immensely popular and financially lucrative world of professional sports in the United States, for instance, has taken a hit recently in its viewership, attendance, and ratings because of its association with political causes not all sports fans agree with. The National Football League, perhaps most clearly of all, has lost fans (and revenue) in recent years because its leadership not only allowed, but openly embraced the unpatriotic behavior from some its players refusing to stand for the national anthem. Unable to disentangle activism and politics from entertainment and art, it may be popular culture that could become the worst casualty of all. Instead of being preached at and being told incessantly about this or that activist issue and charitable cause, what the fans of popular culture always and by definition want from performers and artists, more than anything else, is to enrich their lives with music, art, and joy. If only celebrities would stick to doing what they are meant to do. For there can be no worse sin for an entertainer than not to entertain.
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Exclusive: Kubbra Sait reveals why she had to shoot for Sacred Games' frontal nudity scene 7 times
Updated Jul 09, 2018 | 18:02 IST | Kriti Tulsiani
Kubbra Sait, who plays Cuckoo in Sacred Games, has garnered a positive response for her endearing portrayal. But for the iconic scene, wherein Nawazuddin Siddiqui's character Ganesh Gaitonde finds out about her sexual identity, the actor had to shoot seven times. Read on to know why.
Kubbra Sait as Cuckoo in Sacred Games | &nbspPhoto Credit:&nbspYouTube
In Sacred Games, India's first-of-its-kind web series helmed by Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane, Kubbra Sait plays Cuckoo. The beauty of Cuckoo is not that she turns out to be a transgender woman or that she admires Bobby and imitates her in more ways than one or even that she has the entire Bombay on her fingertips, but it's the way the character has been written, portrayed and directed.
There's a certain charm and innocence to Kubbra as she takes on the bold character and emerges as a winner in the series. When asked if she was apprehensive about accepting the part, she says, "I was not apprehensive at all. After I went to the audition, they told me there's frontal nudity scene and when you see the show, you can see how beautifully it has been shot. How vulnerable it is. You can never go wrong when you have a great team to work with."
For Kubbra, the character is not gender-specific but it's Cuckoo's personality traits that make her who she is. "It did not strike me that oh, this is a transgender or that I'll be typecast. For me, she was the diva. She is living her life to her tunes and standing tall for herself. In the 80s if someone could do that and know that she will have the entire Bombay on her fingertips, then she's done well for herself. That's the kind of pride I have in the character."
Her chemistry with Nawazuddin Siddiqui's character Ganesh Gaitonde seems more real that one could imagine. In a particular scene where her sexual identity is revealed, her feeling of helplessness and yet accepting oneself is palpable. But what went on behind shooting the scene will further get you intrigued.
Kubbra shares, "Just before the scene, I had a very happy, very excited, very joyful Anurag Kashyap jumping in front of me. Ache se karege haan, acha scene haan, ache se. I was laughing then, but I had to cry in the scene. We got to the vanity, he asked me what I drink, I said wine and he said get her a glass of whiskey. So he poured me a glass of whiskey and start reading the lines."
She elaborates, "Then I also start reading the lines, he takes the paper away and he says to me feel what I am saying. And the kind of emotion Anurag was reading the lines to me with, I was already at the helm of tears and at the one point, he said imagine you love someone so much but you can't have them. You want them but you know you can't have them. You don't know what do to with yourself. This love is so beautiful and strong but it's not going to last and when he said that, I just started tearing up. The minute he saw one tear in my eye, he said ab koi baat nahi karega and I am going to see her on set. He poured me another glass of whiskey, nobody spoke to me until I went on set."
Kubbra then shares that it was her first day on the set and Kashyap made her do the scene seven times. "He made me do the scene 7 times- every time after the scene, he'd come to me and say I am making you do this so many times, sorry haan. Just one more time, ek aur baar, one more and I am going again, don't hate me, I know you hate me, don't hate me."
"I would literally fall on the floor crying every time. He made me cry real-time 7 times. And when we finished the scene, I was still crying on the floor and he hugged me and said I love you so much and thank you for giving me this scene. I walked out of the room and everyone clapped, I didn't know it was so beautifully done."
She also shares that while in Vikram Chandra's novel of the same name, the character of Cuckoo is only a cabaret dancer, it's Kashyap and the team of writers who breathed life into Cuckoo for the web series. "I remember I bought the book, the minute I saw Sacred Games, I bought the book and after that, I saw the character index and it did not have Cuckoo in it at all. So I immediately called Anurag and I said that the book doesn't have Cuckoo, so he said yes, it's not there. She's only mentioned as a cabaret dancer in the book but Anurag has breathed life into her. He and the writers made her the most lovable character and treated her with the utmost respect."
Having made her acting debut in 2011 opposite Salman Khan in Ready, the actor is grateful for all the roles she's done and for the journey she's had. She, in fact, reveals that it's the first time in so many years that her mother said she felt pride. "Our mum has taken a lot of risks and bullets for us because we come from a small town. I come from a very small community called the Kutchi Memons, so to be able to break out of the traditional business models, it's our mom who stood up for us and said and I want my daughter to work, to have a career and to travel."
She shares, "I remember when I got this role, I didn't ask her before doing it but the moment I signed up for this, I told ma you have taken a lot of bullets for us and worn a bulletproof jacket but this one is a bazooka, please build a bunker for yourself."
Meanwhile, the series which is currently streaming on an OTT platform, stars Saif Ali Khan, Radhika Apte, Rajshree Deshpande, Neeraj Kabi, Pankaj Tripathi and Jitendra Joshi among others. The series has opened to superlative reviews on all fronts- acting, direction, cinematography, sound and production. Here's the trailer of the web series in case you missed out.
Complete your TV viewing experience with the best of Hollywood entertainment channels. Ask your cable/DTH provider for Times Tentertainment Pack at just Rs 10. p.m. To know more visit http://bit.ly/2tbV4gt
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text:
W. Parker Moore
Timothy M. Sullivan
Andrew C. Silton
James M. Auslander
Beveridge & Diamond PC
Client Alert--Beveridge and Diamond
Environmental, Energy & Resources
Federal Court Nullifies Clean Water Act General Permit for Pipelines and Other Linear Projects
In an order with serious and immediate national implications for the construction of pipelines, electrical lines, fiber optic cable, and other utility projects, a Montana federal court has vacated Clean Water Act (CWA) Nationwide Permit (NWP) 12 on the basis that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers failed to uphold its obligations under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) when it reissued NWP 12 in 2017. Industries rely on NWP 12 thousands of times each year. If the court's decision is not narrowed, stayed, or overturned, utility projects across the country that require NWP 12 authorization must postpone their activities until the Corps complies with the ESA or must secure separate authorization under the time- and resource-intensive individual CWA 404 permitting process. The ruling creates new legal risks for other types of projects that rely on other NWPs as well.
The order, issued in Northern Plains Resource Council v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, No. 4:19-cv-00044-BMM (D. Mont.), held that the Corps failed to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service (the Services) as required by Section 7(a)(2) of the ESA. This provision of the ESA requires federal agencies "to insure that the actions they authorize, fund, or carry out do not jeopardize the continued existence of endangered or threatened species or destroy or adversely modify critical habitat," and its implementing regulations require federal agencies to consult with the Services when their actions "may affect" a listed species or critical habitat. 50 C.F.R. § 402.14. The Corps had conducted voluntary programmatic consultation for prior 5-year iterations of NWP 12, but maintained that NWP 12 would have no effect on ESA-listed species or critical habitat because NWP 12's conditions do not authorize projects that might have such effects without first completing project-specific consultation. When the Corps reissued NWP 12 in 2017, it conducted no further consultation based on the same no effect rationale.
The court found the Corps' conclusion to be arbitrary and capricious and faulted the Corps for purportedly ignoring its own conclusions that both temporary and permanent fills often impact aquatic ecosystems. The court explained that these acknowledgements of ecosystem impacts exceeded the "low threshold for Section 7(a)(2) consultation." Slip op. at 12.
The court also concluded that the Corps' ability to review individual projects that require submission of a preconstruction notification (PCN) did not obviate the Corps' obligation to conduct a programmatic consultation for NWP 12 itself. The order further called into question General Condition 18 (applicable to all NWPs), which requires project proponents to submit a PCN for projects that "might" impact listed species or critical habitat. In the court's view, requiring private parties to assess whether a project might have impacts that could require consultation constituted an impermissible delegation of the Corp's duty under ESA to assess whether its actions "may affect" listed species and critical habitat.
Based on these findings, the order vacated NWP 12, remanded it to the Corps to consult with the Services, and prohibited the Corps from authorizing projects under NWP 12 until consultation is complete. The Court did not receive separate briefing on remedy. The order does not explicitly state that its effect is nationwide; the Corps will likely file a motion advocating that the order should apply only in Montana, similar to the strategy successfully used to limit the scope of a similar vacatur of NWP 21 several years ago. The Corps and intervenors in the case are also expected to appeal this ruling and seek a stay of NWP 12's vacatur pending appeal.
If the Montana court's order is not stayed and an appeal is unsuccessful, the Corps may reopen ESA consultation for NWP 12 to comply with the court's order. Yet it could take several months to complete consultation; the ESA's 135-day timeline for completing consultation is often extended. Plaintiffs may also subsequently challenge the sufficiency of any programmatic consultation. The court also expressed concerns regarding the Corps' compliance with the CWA and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for NWP 12, and deferred ruling on those separate claims.
This uncertainty will require developers of pipeline and other utility projects to more proactively reassess their permitting options for both active projects and future projects that seek to use NWP 12 for Section 404 authorization. Some activities authorized by NWP 12 may be eligible for coverage under a different NWP. Project developers may also need to reassess how projects are routed or adjust project timelines to allow for individual permitting. Proponents of projects impacted by this ruling may also seek leave to participate as amici in any appeal.
Finally, the ruling currently does not affect projects that rely on other Corps NWPs or State Programmatic General Permits. That said, with this novel ESA precedent now in hand, project opponents likely are already lining up to initiate similar challenges to the Corps' other NWPs and federal general permits.
© 2022 Beveridge & Diamond PC National Law Review, Volume X, Number 107
We Finally Have the US Supreme Court Decision in Atlantic Richfield, But Who Really Won?
Darin J. Smith
Supreme Court Green Lights State Law Claims for Broader Cleanup at Superfund Sites, but only with EPA's OK
Dan J. Jordanger
SCOTUS Will Review EPA's Authority to Control Superfund Cleanups at Company's Request
Gregory Dickinson
Parker guides complex projects to successful completion.
His environmental law practice is an outgrowth of his love for the natural world. He co-chairs Beveridge & Diamond's Natural Resources and Project Development Practice Group and its NEPA, Wetlands, and Endangered Species Act groups.
Parker dedicates his practice to successful project development, advising clients nationwide on activities implicating NEPA, wetlands regulation, and federal and state species protection laws, including the Endangered Species Act, Migratory Bird Treaty Act, Bald and...
pmoore@bdlaw.com
www.bdlaw.com
Office Managing Principal
Tim Sullivan's practice focuses primarily on environmental and natural resources litigation before federal and state courts and adjudicatory bodies.
He represents and advises public and private clients in regulatory, litigation, and other matters involving many federal and state environmental and natural resources laws, with a particular emphasis on Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and the Clean Water Act. Tim is the Managing Principal of Beveridge & Diamond's Baltimore office.
tsullivan@bdlaw.com
Andrew C. Silton guides clients through complex regulatory issues and high stakes litigation arising under the nation's clean water laws.
His practice focuses primarily on issues arising under the nation's water quality laws and spans regulatory counseling, enforcement defense, and litigation. He is currently the Deputy Chair of the firm's Water Practice Group and represents clients from both the private and public sectors in matters arising under the Clean Water Act and state law. Drew advises clients in a variety of sectors, ranging from waste and stormwater utilities to companies...
asilton@bdlaw.com
James (Jamie) M. Auslander's legal practice focuses on project development, natural resources, and administrative law and litigation.
Mr. Auslander co-chairs Beveridge & Diamond's Natural Resources and Project Development Practice Group, including its Energy Practice. He focuses on complex legal issues surrounding the development of oil and gas, hard rock minerals, renewable energy, and other natural resources on public lands onshore and on the Outer Continental Shelf. He frequently litigates appeals before federal courts and administrative bodies regarding rulemakings, permits...
jauslander@bdlaw.com


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The Childlike Empress — as her title indicates — was looked upon as the ruler over all the innumerable provinces of the Fantastican Empire, but in reality she was far more than a ruler; she was something entirely different.
Everyone in Fantastica knew what the medallion meant… Everyone knew its name… But many, who feared to pronounce the name, called it the "Gem" or the "Glory".
You may only search and inquire, never judge. Always remember that, Atreyu!
Then he let the amulet go.
In that moment AURYN, the golden Gem, became so bright, so radiant that he had to close his eyes as though dazzled by the sun.
Out of myself I grow.
The fuller I will flow.
There are people that can't go to Fantastica. There are those who can but never return. And there are just a few who go to Fantastica and come back. And they make both worlds well again.
There are many doors to Fantastica. There are other such magical books. A lot of people read them without noticing. It all depends on who lays hands on the book.
Human passions have mysterious ways, in children as well as grown-ups. Those affected by them can't explain them, and those who haven't known them have no understanding of them at all. Some people risk their lives to conquer a mountain peak. No one, not even they themselves, can really explain why. Others ruin themselves trying to win the heart of a certain person who wants nothing to do with them. Still others are destroyed by their devotion to the pleasures of the table. Some are so bent on winning a game of chance that they lose everything they own, and some sacrifice every thing for a dream that can never come true. Some think their only hope of happiness lies in being somewhere else, and spend their whole lives traveling from place to place. And some find no rest until they have become powerful. In short, there are as many different passions as there are people.
She didn't rule, she had never used force or made use of her power. She never issued commands and she never judged anyone. She never interfered with anyone and never had to defend herself against any assailant; for no one would have thought of rebelling against her or of harming her in any way. In her eyes all her subjects were equal.
She was simply there in a special way. She was the center of all life in Fantastica.
And every creature, whether good or bad, beautiful or ugly, merry or solemn, foolish or wise — all owed their existence to her existence. Without her, nothing could have lived, any more than a human body can live if it has lost its heart.
All knew this to be so, though no one fully understood her secret. Thus she was respected by all the creatures of the Empire, and her health was of equal concern to them all. For her death would have meant the end of them all, the end of the boundless Fantastican realm.
Everyone in Fantastica knew what the medallion meant. It was the badge of one acting on orders from the Childlike Empress, acting in her name as though she herself were present.
It was said to give the bearer mysterious powers, though no one knew exactly what these powers were. Everyone knew its name: AURYN.
But many, who feared to pronounce the name, called it the "Gem" or the "Glory".
It's doubtful whether even the greatest, most experienced of heroes could carry out this mission … and you! … She's sending you into the unfathomable to look for the unknown. … No one can help you, no one can advise you, no one can foresee what will befall you. And yet you must decide at once, immediately, whether or not you accept the mission. There's not a moment to be lost.
AURYN gives you great power … but you must not make use of it. For the Childlike Empress herself never makes use of her power. AURYN will protect you and guide you, but whatever comes your way you must never interfere, because from this moment on your own opinion ceases to count. For that same reason you must go unarmed. You must let what happens happen. Everything must be equal in your eyes, good and evil, beautiful and ugly, foolish and wise, just as it is in the eyes of the Childlike Empress. You may only search and inquire, never judge. Always remember that, Atreyu!
Your life is short, son. Ours is long. Much too long. But we both live in time. You a short time. We a long time. The Childlike Empress has always been there. But she's not old. She has always been young. She still is. Her life isn't measured by time, but by names. She needs a new name. She keeps needing new names.
The sphinxes shut their eyes for some travelers and let them through. The question that no one has answered up until now is this: Why one traveler and not another? Because you mustn't suppose they let wise, brave, or good people through, and keep the stupid, cowardly, and wicked out. Not a bit of it! With my own eyes I've seen them admit stupid fools and treacherous knaves, while decent, sensible people have given up after being kept waiting for months. And it seems to make no difference whether a person has some serious reason for consulting the Oracle, or whether he's just come for the fun of it.
If no one has told you who or what Uyulala is, there must be a reason. And before I know what that reason is, I can't decide whether someone who hasn't seen her with his own eyes has a right to know.
There is in Fantastica a certain place from which one can go anywhere and which can be reached from anywhere. We call it the Temple of a Thousand Doors. No one has ever seen it from outside. The inside is a maze of doors. Anyone wishing to know it must dare to enter it.
Bastian had shown the lion the inscription on the reverse side of the Gem. "What do you suppose it means?" he asked. "'DO WHAT YOU WISH.' That must mean I can do anything I feel like. Don't you think so?"
All at once Grograman's face looked alarmingly grave, and his eyes glowed.
"No," he said in his deep, rumbling voice. "It means that you must do what you really and truly want. And nothing is more difficult."
"What I really and truly want? What do you mean by that?"
"It's your own deepest secret and you yourself don't know it."
Slowly the boy without a name reached for the gold chain around his neck and divested himself of AURYN. He bent down and carefully laid the Gem in the snow before Atreyu. As he did so, he took another look at the two snakes, the one light, the other dark, which were biting each other's tail and formed an oval. Then he let the amulet go.
In that moment AURYN, the golden Gem, became so bright, so radiant that he had to close his eyes as though dazzled by the sun. When he opened them again, he saw that he was in a vaulted building, as large as the vault of the sky. It was built from blocks of golden light. And in the middle of this immeasurable space lay, as big as the ramparts of a town, the two snakes.
The motionless bodies of the snakes glistened like some unknown metal, the one black as night, the other silvery white. The havoc they could wreak was checked only because they held each other prisoner. If they let each other go, the world would end. That was certain.
But while holding each other fast, they guarded the Water of Life.