title: Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport

text: Hundreds of people, enthusiastic about the new aerial installation, witnessed the inaugural events presided over by Luis Muñoz Marín. In a part of his eloquent speech, the Governor said: "Impressive is this work in its structure and in its many facilities, but not as impressive as the fact that this center of communications symbolizes the great technical processes that are transforming civilization".


title: Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport

text: The first year of operations of the new airport produced an upward movement of passengers to 694,199 and a total of 28 million pounds of cargo was handled.


title: Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport

text: By 1959, major airlines had introduced jets, which significantly reduced flight time and increased flight cruising safety. At the start of operations, the airport had only one runway (8/26), the old control tower on top of the hotel, 3 terminals and a parking lot for 200 cars.


title: Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport

text: During the beginning of the 60s, several expansion and improvement projects began, starting with the runway extending from in length. Construction of the second runway (10–28) on the south side began in May 1967. The project was completed in 1974 at an approximate cost of $4.2 million. With the introduction of the 747 aircraft, runway 8–26 was reinforced and widened in 1974, and ten years later it was repaved.


title: Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport

text: On January 17, 1983, the two-leveled vehicular access system was built at a cost of approximately $9.2 million. This access separates the arrivals and departures of passengers at different levels, to eliminate traffic congestion.


title: Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport

text: On February 18, 1985, the Governor of Puerto Rico, Rafael Hernández Colón, converted to law the project to Senate Number 1, officially designating the international airport under the name of Luis Muñoz Marín, in honor of the first governor of Puerto Rico elected by the people.


title: Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport

text: The airport served as a hub for Pan Am, Trans Caribbean Airways, Eastern Air Lines, and for a short period a focus city for TWA. It was also the center for Puerto Rico's international airline, Prinair, from 1966 to 1984, when Prinair went bankrupt.


title: Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport

text: In 1986, American Airlines together with American Eagle established a base in Puerto Rico to compete with Eastern Air Lines. At its peak in 2001, the American hub saw over 60 daily mainline flights, mostly to the mainland, and over 100 daily American Eagle flights, mostly to other Caribbean islands on ATR 72 aircraft.


title: Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport

text: In the past, the airport has been served by Mexicana de Aviación, Lufthansa, Air France, KLM, Martinair, British Airways, British Caledonian, Virgin Atlantic, Norwegian Air Shuttle, Air Europa, PAWA Dominicana, ACES Colombia, BWIA West Indies Airways, ALM Antillean Airlines, Air Jamaica, Viasa, Aeropostal, Volaris, LACSA, Aerolíneas Argentinas, Dominicana De Aviación, Wardair, Allegiant Air, ATA Airlines, Northwest Airlines, Continental Airlines, National Airlines (N8), AirTran Airways, Ladeco, Aeronaves de Puerto Rico, Coral Air, Aero Virgin Islands and US Airways.


title: Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport

text: With the expansion of Eastern Airlines and American Airlines facilities, turning Puerto Rico into their Caribbean hub, the historic figure of eight million passengers at the end of 1988. That same year, an investment in expansion and remodeling of $137 million was announced.


title: Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport

text: The 1990s marked the beginning of important projects to modernize and expand the facilities and services of the airport in response to the boom in passenger and cargo movement and growth projections.


title: Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport

text: In the period from 1990 to 2000, several infrastructure works were carried out with an investment of approximately $128 million. Some of these include the expansion of the two-level access road to a maximum of 10 lanes on both levels, the new air traffic control tower (designed by Segundo Cardona FAIA of SCF Architects), a parallel taxiway connecting lanes 8 and 10, a parking garage, and the first and second phase of the Terminal B expansion, modification, and rehabilitation project.


title: Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport

text: In subsequent years, from 2000 to 2005, other major projects were initiated and completed such as the third phase of the rehabilitation, modification and expansion of Terminal B and the new B / C connector at a cost of $35.9 million, the construction of a new building for the Air Rescue unit at a cost of $4.1 million, and remodeling the hotel at a cost of $5 million.


title: Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport

text: Competition from low-cost carriers, together with the financial crisis and oil price shock of 2008, led American to reduce its San Juan operation and consolidate its Caribbean hub flying at Miami. American eventually closed its San Juan base and retired its ATR fleet in 2013 as part of its Chapter 11 restructuring. That same year, the airport received major upgrades, including the new Terminal A, new pavement and expansions, new light systems, press conference rooms, consolidated security area for Terminals B, C and D as well as new fast food restaurants along its corridors. In 2012, the new Terminal A was opened, which is currently occupied by JetBlue Airways.


title: Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport

text: The Airport is owned by the Ports Authority but since 2013 it is managed by Aerostar Airport Holdings, in a private public initiative through which a contract was granted to that company to operate the airport for 40 years. This was after observations were made by politicians in and outside of Puerto Rico, and comments were made that privatization was a better solution for the airport. Prior to privatization, management was changed each time a different political party in Puerto Rico took office and this caused disruption, and a lack of a long-term vision for the airport.


title: Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport

text: Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport is Puerto Rico's main international gateway and its main connection to the mainland United States. Domestic flights fly between Carolina and other local destinations, including Culebra, Mayagüez and Vieques. The airport is accessed from the San Juan district of Hato Rey, the island's financial district, via the Teodoro Moscoso Bridge. Old San Juan is accessed via the Baldorioty de Castro Expressway (PR-26).


title: Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport

text: The airport serves as the Caribbean hub for Cape Air, Air Sunshine, and Seaborne Airlines, and an operating base for JetBlue. JetBlue is the largest carrier in San Juan, with 51 daily flights on an average day.


title: Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport

text: As of August 2020, Luis Muñoz Marín Airport has one main terminal building with four concourses and a separate terminal with one concourse. However, all terminals are connected. Over the years, the airport has switched between letter designations and number designations. In the late 2010s, the airport incorporated both letter and numbers. The letters are used for the concourses and the numbers used for the airlines' departure areas in Terminals B, C and D, Terminal A having its own ticketing area.


title: Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport

text: In June 2012, Terminal A was opened and occupied solely by JetBlue Airways, making San Juan a focus city. The terminal originally had seven gates but an additional gate was added for regional airlines during the renovations of Terminals B and C.


title: Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport

text: As of September 2022, JetBlue uses all gates at Terminal A. Gates A1 and A2 have been used by other airlines in the past such as Copa Airlines and Allegiant Air. Seaborne Airlines and Silver Airways had temporarily moved their operations to Terminal A from Terminal D as renovations and partial reopening took place. All JetBlue flights, both domestic and international, depart from Terminal A.


title: Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport

text: Terminal A also houses The Lounge San Juan, a VIP airport lounge belonging to Priority Pass as well as Gates A1 through A8.


title: Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport

text: When Terminal B was closed for renovations, airlines were temporarily moved to Terminals A, C and D. Terminal B reopened after a $130 million renovation in December 2014, with Delta, United, Southwest, and Spirit as its first tenants (with all operations moved in February 2015).


title: Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport

text: As of September 2022, Terminal B is also used by Air Canada. All check-in counters for airlines using gates in Terminals B, C and D are all located within the Terminal and Gates B2 through B10 are located within the Concourse.


title: Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport

text: Terminal C reopened from its $55 million renovation in March 2016. The letter designation for Terminal C was temporarily discontinued, and the concourse was instead added as an extension to Terminal B. The Terminal B extension was later changed back to Terminal C.


title: Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport

text: Both Terminals B and C feature high-end retail stores and new restaurants, improved seating as well as automated baggage scanners currently used only by six other airports in the mainland U.S.


title: Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport

text: An Avianca VIP airport lounge is located at the entrance of Terminal C. This All-Inclusive lounge is operated by Global Lounge Network.


title: Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport

text: As of September 2022, Terminal C houses gates C2 through C10 and is used by American, Avianca, Copa, Frontier, Iberia, and international JetBlue arrivals.


title: Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport

text: The current Terminal D also occupies what was formerly known as Terminal E. The terminal is mostly unused and undergoing renovations. It was previously occupied solely by American Airlines, its regional affiliate, Executive Airlines, which operated flights under the American Eagle brand, and later both British Airways and Iberia. The latter two discontinued service to San Juan in March 2013 with Iberia returning in May 2016. American Airlines' Admirals Lounge continued to operate until March 22, 2014.


title: Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport

text: The former Terminal E area became unused after American Airlines moved their operations to Terminal C in 2015. The American Eagle flights were moved to the currently open areas of Terminal D in the late 2000s before being discontinued in April 2013.


title: Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport

text: Terminal D is partially opened and mostly used for small and regional aircraft operators such as Air Antilles, Cape Air, InterCaribbean Airways, Silver Airways and formerly LIAT. As of September, 2022, the terminal is still undergoing renovations while it is in operation and these have not yet affected Gates D1, D2, and D4, the only three gates currently active within the concourse. The former ticketing area is currently empty, as all check-in counters are located in Terminals A and B. The area is now used only to access the Airport Hotel as well as the former security checkpoint, which is now used for merchandise screening. The terminal is also used by charter operators and sometimes used as a relief area for diverted and cancelled flights.


title: Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport

text: On April 24, 2022, Aerostar Airport Holdings announced the upcoming completion of renovations, originally scheduled for August 2022, with five gates set up for regional flights and another three gates set up for high-capacity flights. The new terminal is expected to have a more open ambience which will be used as a basis for future renovations at Terminals A, B and C. The cost of renovations is estimated to be at around $14 million dollars.


title: Zoetrope

text: A zoetrope is one of several pre-film animation devices that produce the illusion of motion by displaying a sequence of drawings or photographs showing progressive phases of that motion. It was basically a cylindrical variation of the phénakisticope, suggested almost immediately after the stroboscopic discs were introduced in 1833. The definitive version, with easily replaceable picture strips, was introduced as a toy by Milton Bradley in 1866 and became very successful.


title: Zoetrope

text: The name "zoetrope" was composed from the Greek root words ζωή "zoe", "life" and τρόπος "tropos", "turning" as a translation of "wheel of life".


title: Zoetrope

text: The zoetrope consists of a cylinder with cuts vertically in the sides. On the inner surface of the cylinder is a band with images from a set of sequenced pictures. As the cylinder spins, the user looks through the cuts at the pictures across. The scanning of the slits keeps the pictures from simply blurring together, and the user sees a rapid succession of images, producing the illusion of motion. From the late 19th century, devices working on similar principles have been developed, named analogously as linear zoetropes and 3D zoetropes, with traditional zoetropes referred to as "cylindrical zoetropes" if distinction is needed.


title: Zoetrope

text: zoetrope works on the same principle as its predecessor, the phenakistoscope, but is more convenient and allows the animation to be viewed by several people at the same time. Instead of being radially arrayed on a disc, the sequence of pictures depicting phases of motion is on a paper strip. For viewing, this is placed against the inner surface of the lower part of an open-topped metal drum, the upper part of which is provided with a vertical viewing slit across from each picture. The drum, on a spindle base, is spun. The faster the drum is spun, the smoother the animation appears.


title: Zoetrope

text: An earthenware bowl from Iran, over 5000 years old, could be considered a predecessor of the zoetrope. This bowl is decorated in a series of images portraying a goat jumping toward a tree and eating its leaves. Though the images are sequential and seem evenly distributed around the bowl, to have the images appear as an animation the bowl would have to rotate quite fast and steadily while a stroboscopic effect would somehow have to be generated. As such, it remains very uncertain if the artist who created the bowl actually intended to create an animation.


title: Zoetrope

text: According to a 4th-century Chinese historical text, the 1st-century BC Chinese mechanical engineer and craftsman Ding Huan created a lamp with a circular band with images of birds and animals that moved "quite naturally" when the heat of the lamp caused the band to rotate. However, it is unclear whether this really created the illusion of motion or whether the account was an interpretation of the spatial movement of the pictures of animals. Possibly the same device was referred to as "umbrella lamp" and mentioned as "a variety of zoetrope" which "may well have originated in China" by historian of Chinese technology Joseph Needham. It had pictures painted on thin panes of paper or mica on the sides of a light cylindrical canopy bearing vanes at the top. When placed over a lamp it would give an impression of movement of animals or men. Needham mentions several other descriptions of figures moving after the lighting of a candle or lamp, but some of these have a semi-fabulous context or can be compared to heat operated carousel toys. It is possible that all these early Chinese examples were actually the same as, or very similar to, the "trotting horse lamp" [走馬燈] known in China since before 1000 AD. This is a lantern which on the inside has cut-out silhouettes or painted figures attached to a shaft with a paper vane impeller on top, rotated by heated air rising from a lamp. The moving silhouettes are projected on the thin paper sides of the lantern. Some versions added extra motion with jointed heads, feet or hands of figures triggered by a transversely connected iron wire. None of these lamps are known to have featured sequential substitution of images depicting motion and thus don't display animation in the way that the zoetrope does.


title: Zoetrope

text: John Bate described a simple device in his 1634 book "The Mysteries of Nature and Art". It consisted of "a light card, with several images set upon it" fastened on the four spokes of a wheel which was turned around by heat inside a glass or horn cylinder, "so that you would think the immages to bee living creatures by their motion". The description seems rather close to a simple four-phase animation device depicted and described in Henry V. Hopwood's 1899 book "Living Pictures" (see picture). Hopwood gave no name, date or any additional information for this toy that rotated when blown upon. A similar device inside a small zoetrope drum with four slits, was marketed around 1900 by a Parisian company as "L'Animateur" (or "The Animator"). However, Bate's device as it is seen in the accompanying illustration seems not to have actually animated the images, but rather to have moved the images around spatially.


title: Zoetrope

text: Simon Stampfer, one of the inventors of the phenakistiscope animation disc (or "stroboscope discs" as he called them), suggested in July 1833 in a pamphlet that the sequence of images for the stroboscopic animation could be placed on either a disc, a cylinder or a looped strip of paper or canvas stretched around two parallel rollers. Stampfer chose to publish his invention in the shape of a disc.


title: Zoetrope

text: After taking notice of Joseph Plateau's invention of the phénakisticope (published in London as "phantasmascope") British mathematician William George Horner thought up a cylindrical variation and published details about its mathematical principles in January 1834. He called his device the "Dædaleum", as a reference to the Greek myth of Daedalus. Horner's revolving drum had viewing slits between the pictures, instead of above as the later zoetrope variations would have. Horner planned to publish the dædaleum with optician King, Jr in Bristol but it "met with some impediment probably in the sketching of the figures".


title: Zoetrope

text: During the next three decades the phénakisticope remained the more common animation device, while relatively few experimental variations followed the idea of Horner's dædaleum or Stampfer's stroboscopic cylinder. Most of the zoetrope-like devices created between 1833 and 1865 were intended for viewing photographic sequences, often with a stereoscopic effect. These included Johann Nepomuk Czermak's Stereophoroskop, about which he published an article in 1855. On February 27, 1860, Peter Hubert Desvignes received British patent no. 537 for 28 monocular and stereoscopic variations of cylindrical stroboscopic devices. This included a version that used an endless band of pictures running between two spools that was intermittently lit by an electric spark. Desvignes' "Mimoscope", received an Honourable Mention "for ingenuity of construction" at the 1862 International Exhibition in London. It could "exhibit drawings, models, single or stereoscopic photographs, so as to animate animal movements, or that of machinery, showing various other illusions." Desvignes "employed models, insects and other objects, instead of pictures, with perfect success." The horizontal slits (like in Czermak's Stereophoroskop) allowed a much improved view, with both eyes, of the opposite pictures.


title: Zoetrope

text: William Ensign Lincoln invented the definitive zoetrope in 1865 when he was about 18 years old and a sophomore at Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island. Lincoln's patented version had the viewing slits on a level "above" the pictures, which allowed the use of easily replaceable strips of images. It also had an illustrated paper disc on the base, which was not always exploited on the commercially produced versions. On advice of a local bookstore owner, Lincoln sent a model to color lithographers and board game manufacturers Milton Bradley and Co. Some shop owners advertised the zoetrope in American newspapers in December 1866. William E. Lincoln applied for a U.S. patent for his "Zoëtrope" on July 27, 1866 as an assignor to Milton Bradley, and it was granted on April 23, 1867.


title: Zoetrope

text: It was also patented in the U.K. on June 7, 1867 (application March 6, 1867) under no. 629, by Henry Watson Hallett (as a communication to him by Milton Bradley), and in France by Charles William May (filed May 14, 1867).


title: Zoetrope

text: Over the years Milton Bradley released at least seven numbered series of twelve zoetrope strips each, as well as a set of twelve strips by Professor Robert Hallowell Richards showing the gradual transformations from one isometric form to another, and one separately available strip showing the progress of the Grecian bend (a woman morphing into a camel). The London Stereoscopic & Photographic Company was licensed as the British publisher and repeated most of the Milton Bradley animations, while adding a set of twelve animations by famous British illustrator George Cruikshank in 1870. French licensee F. Delacour & Bakes produced the "Zootrope, ou cercle magique", of which newspaper "Le Figaro" ordered 10,000 copies to sell to subscribers at a reduced price.


title: Zoetrope

text: In 1868 James Clerk Maxwell had an improved zoetrope constructed. Instead of slits it used concave lenses with a focal length equaling the diameter of the cylinder. The virtual image was thus seen in the centre and appeared much more sharp and steady than in the original zoetrope. Maxwell drew several strips that mostly demonstrated subjects relating to physics, like the vibrations of a harp string or Helmholtz's vortex rings threading through each other. An article about the "Zootrope perfectionné" was published in French scientific magazine "Le Cosmos" in 1869, but the device was never marketed. Maxwell's original zoetrope and some strips are kept in the collection of the Cavendish Museum in Cambridge.


title: Zoetrope

text: A linear zoetrope consists of an opaque linear screen with thin vertical slits in it. Behind each slit is an image, often illuminated. A motion picture is seen by moving past the display.


title: Zoetrope

text: Linear zoetropes have several differences compared to cylindrical zoetropes due to their different geometries. Linear zoetropes can have arbitrarily long animations and can cause images to appear wider than their actual sizes.


title: Zoetrope

text: Linear zoetrope-like advertising was in use in Japan in the early 1990s, for example on the line between the Narita airport and central Tokyo.


title: Zoetrope

text: In September 1980, independent filmmaker Bill Brand installed a type of linear zoetrope he called the "Masstransiscope" in an unused subway platform at the former Myrtle Avenue station on the New York City Subway. It consists of a wall with 228 slits; behind each slit is a hand-painted panel, and riders of passing trains see a motion picture. After falling into a state of disrepair, the "Masstransiscope" was restored in late 2008. Since then, a variety of artists and advertisers have begun to use subway tunnel walls to produce a zoetrope effect when viewed from moving trains.


title: Zoetrope

text: Joshua Spodek, as an astrophysics graduate student, conceived of and led the development of a class of linear zoetropes that saw the zoetrope's first commercial success in over a century. A display of his design debuted in September 2001 in the Atlanta subway system tunnel and showed an advertisement to riders moving past. The display is internally lit and nearly long, with an animation lasting around 20 seconds. His design soon appeared, both commercially and artistically, in subway systems around North America, Asia, and Europe.


title: Zoetrope

text: In April 2006, the Washington Metro installed advertisement zoetropes between the Metro Center and Gallery Place subway stations. A similar advertisement was installed on the PATH train in New Jersey, between the World Trade Center and Exchange Place stations.


title: Zoetrope

text: At around the same time, the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system installed a zoetrope-type advertisement between the Embarcadero and Montgomery stations which could be viewed by commuters traveling in either direction. The BART ads are still visible, though they are changed infrequently: a particular ad may remain up for several months before being replaced.


title: Zoetrope

text: The New York City Subway hosted two digital linear zoetropes through its Arts for Transit program. One, "Bryant Park in Motion", was installed in 2010 at the Bryant Park subway station, and was created by Spodek and students at New York University's Tisch School of Arts' Interactive Telecommunications Program. The other, "Union Square in Motion", was installed in 2011 by Spodek and students and alumni from Parsons the New School for Design's Art, Media, and Technology program in the Union Square station.


title: Zoetrope

text: The Kyiv Metro (in Kyiv, Ukraine) also featured an advertisement about 2008 for Life mobile telephone carrier in one of its subway tunnels that featured the zoetrope effect. It was quickly taken down.


title: Zoetrope

text: In Mexico City, Mexico, an advertisement for the Honda Civic featuring a zoetrope effect was placed in one of the Line 2 tunnels.


title: Zoetrope

text: 3D zoetropes apply the same principle to three-dimensional models, as already practiced by Czermak (1855) and Desvignes (1860) in predecessors of the zoetrope. In 1887, Étienne-Jules Marey used a large zoetrope to animate a series of plaster models based on his chronophotographs of birds in flight. Modern equivalents normally dispense with the slitted drum and instead use a rapidly flashing strobe light to illuminate the models, producing much clearer and sharper distortion-free results. The models are mounted on a rotating base and the light flashes on and off within an extremely small fraction of a second as each successive model passes the same spot. The stroboscopic effect makes each seem to be a single animated object. By allowing the rotation speed to be slightly out of synchronization with the strobe, the animated objects can be made to appear to also move slowly forwards or backwards, according to how much faster or slower each rotation is than the corresponding series of strobe flashes.


title: Zoetrope

text: The Ghibli Museum in Tokyo, Japan hosts a 3D zoetrope featuring characters from the animated movie "My Neighbour Totoro." The zoetrope is accompanied by an explanatory display, and is part of an exhibit explaining the principles of animation and historical devices.


title: Zoetrope

text: Pixar created a 3D zoetrope inspired by Ghibli's for its touring exhibition, which first showed at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and features characters from "Toy Story 2". Two more 3D Zoetropes were created by Pixar, both featuring 360-degree viewing. One was installed at Disney California Adventure, sister park to Disneyland, but has since been moved to The Walt Disney Studios Lot in Burbank, CA. The other was installed at Hong Kong Disneyland from 2010 until 2017, and is now shown in Disneyland Paris as of late 2019. The original "Toy Story" "Zoetrope" still travels worldwide and has been shown in 34 national museums and art galleries in 18 countries since 2005.


title: Zoetrope

text: "All Things Fall" is a 3D printed zoetrope, created by British artist Mat Collishaw. It is inspired by a painting by Ippolito Scarsella of "The Massacre of Innocents". The work was presented during the solo exhibition "Black Mirror" at Galleria Borghese in Rome. It is made of steel, aluminium, plaster, resin, lit by LED lights and powered by an electric motor. Of his work, Collishaw says: "The zoetrope literally repeats characters to create an overwhelming orgy of violence that is simultaneously appalling and compelling." Each model figure was 3D printed with a fused deposition modeling technique in acrylonitrile butadiene styrene.


title: Zoetrope

text: Over the period 2002–2016, Peter Hudson and the makers at Spin Art, LLC, have created multiple interactive 3D stroboscopic zoetrope art installations. This began with "Sisyphish" (2002), a human powered zoetrope that used strobe light to animate human figures swimming on a large rotating disk. "Sisyphish", sometimes called "The Playa Swimmers", was originally unveiled at the arts and culture event, "Burning Man", in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada.


title: Zoetrope

text: Peter has since created stroboscopic zoetropes from 2004 to present including: "Deeper" (2004), "Homouroboros" (2007), "Tantalus" (2008), and "Charon", which toured Europe and the United Kingdom in summer of 2012. The "Charon" zoetrope is built to resemble and rotate in the same kinetic fashion as a ferris wheel, stands at 32 feet high, weighs 8 tons and features twenty rowing skeleton figures representing the mythological character, Charon, who carries souls of the newly deceased across the river Styx.


title: Zoetrope

text: Hudson's most recent zoetrope creation is entitled "Eternal Return", took two years to build, and was unveiled in 2014 in the Black Rock Desert.


title: Zoetrope

text: Peter Hudson's zoetropes are based in San Francisco are exhibited at various festivals and special events in the United States and internationally throughout the year.


title: Zoetrope

text: An 1857 textbook on physics mentioned an early cylindrical stroboscopic installation with moving images that was 18 feet (5.5 meters) in diameter and had been exhibited in Frankfurt.


title: Zoetrope

text: A "Great Zoetrope ; or: Wheel of Life", 50 feet (15 meters) in circumference, with "life-size figures", was installed in the Concert Hall of the Crystal Palace in London by permission of the London Stereoscopic and Photographic Company. The programme featured at least four animations based on strips in their catalogue. The huge cylinder was turned around by a gas engine and was operative at least from late 1867 to spring 1868.


title: Zoetrope

text: In 2008, Artem Limited, a UK visual effects house, built a 10-meter wide, 10-metric ton zoetrope for Sony, called the BRAVIA-drome, to promote Sony's motion interpolation technology. It features 64 images of the Brazilian footballer Kaká. This has been declared the largest zoetrope in the world by "Guinness World Records".


title: Zoetrope

text: Émile Reynaud's 1877 praxinoscope was an improvement on the zoetrope that became popular toward the end of the 19th century. It replaced the zoetrope's narrow viewing slits with an inner circle of mirrors that intermittently reflected the images.


title: Zoetrope

text: Soon after the zoetrope became popular, the flip book was introduced in 1868. With its simplicity and compactness, along with its more tactile qualities, the flip book has stayed relatively popular. A disadvantage of the flip book can be seen in the fact that the animation stops rather quickly, while the zoetrope can display animation as a continuous loop.


title: Zoetrope

text: Eadward Muybridge published his first chronophotography pictures in 1878. These sequential pictures were soon mounted in zoetropes by several people (including Muybridge himself) and were also published as strips for the zoetrope in the 1880s. This paved the way for the development of motion pictures. Muybridge's own Zoopraxiscope (1879) was an early moving image projector and one of several inventions made before the breakthrough in 1895.


title: Zoetrope

text: In 1895 Auguste and Louis Lumière were developing the Kinora simultaneously with the cinematograph. While cinema proved to be an enormous success, the Kinora became a popular motion picture viewer for home use.


title: Zoetrope

text: Film, television and video are seen as the prevailing successors of the zoetrope, when regarded as technological steps in the development of motion pictures.


title: Zoetrope

text: In 2016, an inside-out variation of the zoetrope was invented and patented with the name Silhouette Zoetrope. The device was invented by the researcher Dr. Christine Veras, and it won third place in the Best Illusion of the Year Contest, paying homage to the classical zoetrope but displaying a unique combination of optical illusions.


title: Zoetrope

text: GIF animation can arguably be seen as the closest contemporary successor of Zoetrope animation, since both usually show looped image sequences.


title: Zoetrope

text: Since the late 20th century, zoetropes have seen occasional use for artwork, entertainment, marketing and other media use, notably as linear zoetropes and 3D zoetropes (see above).


title: Zoetrope

text: Making a zoetrope has also become a relatively common arts and crafts assignment and a means to explain some of the technical and optical principles of film and motion viewing in educational programs.


title: Zoetrope

text: The American company Optical Toys, in Vermont, publishes a paper zoetrope reproduction that was originally published as a newspaper supplement in 1896 in the Boston Herald.


title: Zoetrope

text: Blue Man Group uses a zoetrope at their shows in Las Vegas and the Sharp Aquos Theater in Universal Studios (in Orlando, Florida).


title: Zoetrope

text: Wick Alexander and Robin Brailsford's 2001 4-piece artwork titled "Moving Pictures" consists of 4 sculptural zoetropes at different public locations in Culver City, California.


title: Zoetrope

text: A zoetrope was used in the filming of the music video for "My Last Serenade" from "Alive or Just Breathing" (2002) by Killswitch Engage. It features a woman looking through the slits on a zoetrope while it moves; as she looks closer, the camera moves through the slits into the zoetrope, where the band is playing the song.


title: Zoetrope

text: In 2007, an image of a zoetrope was unveiled as one of BBC Two's new idents: a futuristic city with flying cars seen through the shape of the number two.


title: Zoetrope

text: In 2009 the E4 drama program "Skins" released silent preview clips of series four to coincide with their mash-up competition. One of the clips featured the character Emily Fitch looking into a zoetrope.


title: Zoetrope

text: In 2011, Scott Blake created a "9/11 Zoetrope" allowing viewers to watch a continuous reenactment of United Airlines Flight 175 crashing into the South Tower of the World Trade Center.


title: Zoetrope

text: In 2012 animation studio Sehsucht, Berlin created the opener to the 2012 MTV Europe Music Awards. The CGI animation features a 3D zoetrope that shows a story of the American Dream. The animation followed the lives of Roxxy and Seth, who, through social media and popularity reach the height of their success playing at the EMA's atop the zoetrope carousel. It was directed by Mate Steinforth and produced by Christina Geller


title: Zoetrope

text: In 2013, director Jeff Zwart created a two-minute film, "Forza/Filmspeed", promoting Forza Motorsport 5. The production placed high resolution still images from the game on panels around Barber Motorsports Park and filmed them from a camera attached to a McLaren MP4-12C sports car.


title: Zoetrope

text: In 2019, the second season of the anime adaptation of ONE's manga, Mob Psycho 100 features a 3D rendering of a zoetrope in its opening credit sequence.


title: Zoetrope

text: In 2022, the official music video for Pharrell Williams's song "Cash in Cash Out" makes use of a computer-animated zoetrope. In the video, directed by Francois Rousselet, Williams, 21 Savage, and Tyler, the Creator turn into characters that look like action figures as they drive in fancy cars, count their money, and play small instruments.


title: United States of Tara

text: United States of Tara is an American television comedy-drama created by Diablo Cody, which aired on Showtime from 2009 to 2011. The series follows the life of Tara (Toni Collette), a suburban artist and mother coping with dissociative identity disorder.


title: United States of Tara

text: The series was based on an idea by Steven Spielberg, who is the executive producer, under his DreamWorks Television label. Other executive producers include writers Darryl Frank, Justin Falvey, director Craig Zisk, and showrunners Cody and Joey Soloway. Former executive producer Alexa Junge quit as showrunner after the first season.


title: United States of Tara

text: Principal photography took place in Los Angeles, California, while the show is set in Overland Park, Kansas. Collette won the 2009 Primetime Emmy Award and 2010 Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series for her role; the opening title sequence also won an Emmy. The show's third and final season premiered on March 28, 2011.


title: United States of Tara

text: On May 23, 2011, Showtime announced that the series would not be renewed for a fourth season, and the series finale aired on June 20, 2011.


title: United States of Tara

text: The show is a representation of a seemingly typical American family who must cope with the daily struggles of dissociative identity disorder (DID). Tara Gregson is a wife and mother of two children in Overland Park, Kansas, a suburb of Kansas City, who has been diagnosed with DID. Suffering side effects from the medication, she is depressed at her inability to focus, to feel, to be intimate, to create art, and to progress in therapy to discover the painful source of her dissociation. With approval from her therapist, she discontinues the medication, knowing that multiple personalities will reemerge.


title: United States of Tara

text: When stressed, Tara may transition into one of her alters: wild and flirty teenager T; 1950s style housewife Alice; and male, loud, beer-drinking Vietnam vet Buck. A fourth alter, Gimme, is introduced later in the first season. During the second season, two further personalities are introduced: Shoshana, Tara's therapist of sorts, and Chicken, an infantile representation of Tara when she was five years old. Another alter emerges in Season 3, that of Tara's previously unknown half-brother Bryce. Tara is supported by her husband Max, daughter Kate, and son Marshall. Her sister, Charmaine, is not very supportive of Tara, expressing doubts about the validity of her sister's disorder, though she becomes increasingly more understanding and receptive as the series progresses.


title: United States of Tara

text: The show was conceived by executive producer Steven Spielberg and his wife Kate Capshaw, while discussing the compartmentalization of the typical human psyche. The staff members were challenged with making a comedy show that is counteracted by the unknowable but believable anguish of severe mental illness. They wanted a widely relatable story of fragmentation of the self, and of the loving perseverance of the family. Executive producer Alexa Junge said, "It never comes from making fun of a woman who can't control herself." Series creator Diablo Cody said she was "nervous" about making the pilot funny but not a sitcom, while being sensitive to a mental disorder. Therefore, the disorder was researched and then the scripts were reviewed by dissociative identity disorder expert and medical school professor, Richard Kluft.


title: United States of Tara

text: Portia Doubleday was cast as Kate in the pilot episode of "United States of Tara". Doubleday was replaced by Brie Larson when the series' creative team chose to go in a different direction with the character.


title: United States of Tara

text: Diablo Cody didn't expect the pilot to reach series status, so she considered "three seasons in the lion's den" to be exceptional. She emphatically appreciated the writers, but was pressured with the expectation of writing more "gobbledygook banter" as seen in her recent hit movie "Juno"; she disliked the institution of the writers' room and wished that it had been primarily a solo effort. She said Steven Spielberg was "incredibly involved", offering "his soul and his input" to the series. She was sad to learn of the cancellation especially without a proper finale, but was fairly satisfied with "a nice, natural end".


title: United States of Tara

text: The series premiered on the US network Showtime on January 18, 2009. On February 10, 2009, after only four episodes had aired, Showtime Networks president of entertainment Robert Greenblatt announced that "United States of Tara" would be renewed for a second season, to consist of twelve episodes and air in early 2010. He said the early renewal decision came after the show averaged 2.67 million viewers per week, giving the network its highest ratings since 2004, when Nielsen Media Research began counting original shows on premium channels in its prime time ratings. Season two premiered on March 22, 2010.


title: United States of Tara

text: On March 25, three days after the season 2 premiere, it was announced that it would be picked up for a third season which aired in spring 2011. Season 3 officially premiered on March 28, 2011. On May 23, 2011, it was announced that the series would not be renewed for a fourth season.


title: United States of Tara

text: Critical response to the show was positive, with many reviewers praising Collette's acting. According to Metacritic, which assigns a rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the show's first season holds a score of 63 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews", based on 24 reviews. Season 2 has 79% with 10 reviews, and Season 3 has 84% ("universal acclaim") with 5 reviews.


title: United States of Tara

text: Troy Patterson of "Slate" gave high praise to Diablo Cody's infamous style of snarky pop-culture dialog, and to the cast, concluding that "The most elusive of the personalities is Tara herself, and that's as it should be." Emily Nussbaum of Vulture saw "Tara" as "the true sister act" to "Dexter", Showtime's other hit show at the time, with a more feminine focus on the allegorical roots of mental illness. She said it "has slowly taken its premise deeper, bolder places than I ever expected, all while maintaining an arch-comic tone that could sour if it weren’t so smart. Far more ambitious than bloated award bait like "Boardwalk Empire", it has become a truly original series, a dark comedy about sexual abuse, swinging at existential questions about its heroine's struggle to become a real girl." Alan Sepinwall of HitFix said that "Tara" has "gotten deeper, darker and just plain better as it's gone along" where sometimes "the Gregson family seems in danger of splintering as badly as Tara's psyche".


title: United States of Tara

text: In a 2014 retrospective, Ariana Bacle at "Entertainment Weekly" said that she was "still not over" the show's premature cancellation. She said the show portrays mental illness in a realistic, humanizing, and normalizing way that gives appropriate weight to the lives of all the family members who were overwhelmed but not totally consumed by one's mental illness. She found it "dark" but "consistently funny, never taking itself too seriously". She praised Toni Collette's "flawless" transition between personalities that are so multilayered yet "insanely distinct" that they could have each been a different actor.


title: United States of Tara

text: Episodes 1 and 2 are available as bonus features on DVD disc 4 (of 4) of Season 3 of "Dexter", and on disc 4 (of 4) of Season 3 of "The Tudors".


title: United States of Tara

text: In Australia, "United States of Tara" was rated MA 15+, and in New Zealand, it was rated R13 for offensive language and sexual references.


title: Native Son

text: Native Son (1940) is a novel written by the American author Richard Wright. It tells the story of 20-year-old Bigger Thomas, a black youth living in utter poverty in a poor area on Chicago's South Side in the 1930s.


title: Native Son

text: While not apologizing for Bigger's crimes, Wright portrays a systemic causation behind them. Bigger's lawyer, Boris Max, makes the case that there is no escape from this destiny for his client or any other black American since they are the necessary product of the society that formed them and told them since birth who exactly they were supposed to be.


title: Native Son

text: "No American Negro exists", James Baldwin once wrote, "who does not have his private Bigger Thomas living in his skull." Frantz Fanon discusses the feeling in his 1952 essay "L'expérience vécue du noir" ("The Fact of Blackness"). "In the end", writes Fanon, "Bigger Thomas acts. To put an end to his tension, he acts, he responds to the world's anticipation." The book was a successful and groundbreaking best seller. However, it was also criticized by Baldwin and others as ultimately advancing Bigger as a stereotype, and not a real character.


title: Native Son

text: Twenty-year-old Bigger Thomas is a young black man living in one room with his brother Buddy, his sister Vera, and their mother. Suddenly, a rat appears. The room turns into a maelstrom, and after a violent chase, Bigger kills the animal with an iron skillet and terrorizes his sister Vera with the dead rat. She faints, and Mrs. Thomas scolds Bigger, who hates his family because they suffer and he cannot do anything about it.


title: Native Son

text: That evening, Bigger has to see Mr. Dalton, a white man, for a new job. Bigger's family depends on him. He would like to leave his responsibilities forever, but when he thinks of what to do, he only sees a blank wall.


title: Native Son

text: Bigger walks to a poolroom and meets his friend, Gus. Bigger tells him that every time he thinks about whites, he feels something terrible will happen to him. They meet other friends, G.H. and Jack, and plan a robbery. They are all afraid of attacking and stealing from a white man, but none of them wants to admit their concerns. Before the robbery, Bigger and Jack go to the movies. They are attracted to the world of wealthy whites in the newsreel and feel strangely moved by the tom-toms and the primitive black people in the film, yet also feel they are equal to those worlds. After the film, Bigger returns to the poolroom and attacks Gus violently, forcing him to lick his blade in a demeaning way to hide Bigger's own cowardice. The fight ends any chance of the robbery's occurring, and Bigger is vaguely conscious that he has done this intentionally.


title: Native Son

text: When he finally gets the job, Bigger does not know how to behave in Dalton's large and luxurious house. Mr. Dalton and his blind wife use strange words. They try to be kind to Bigger, but actually make him uncomfortable; Bigger does not know what they expect of him.


title: Native Son

text: Then their daughter, Mary, enters the room, asks Bigger why he does not belong to a union, and calls her father a "capitalist". Bigger does not know that word and is even more confused and afraid to lose the job. After the conversation, Peggy, an Irish cook, takes Bigger to his room and tells him the Daltons are a nice family, but he must avoid Mary's Communist friends. Bigger has never had a room for himself before.


title: Native Son

text: That night, he drives Mary around and meets her Communist boyfriend Jan. Throughout the evening, Jan and Mary talk to Bigger, oblige him to take them to the diner where his friends are, invite him to sit at their table, and tell him to call them by their first names. Bigger does not know how to respond to their requests and becomes frustrated, as he is simply their chauffeur for the night. At the diner, they buy a bottle of rum. Bigger drives throughout Washington Park, and Jan and Mary drink the rum and make out in the back seat. Jan departs, but Mary is so drunk that Bigger has to carry her to her bedroom when they arrive home. He is terrified someone will see him with her in his arms; however, he cannot resist the temptation of the forbidden, and he kisses her.


title: Native Son

text: Just then, the bedroom door opens, and Mrs. Dalton enters. Bigger knows she is blind but is terrified she will sense him there. Frightened of the consequences if he, a black man, were to be found in Mary's bedroom, he silences Mary by pressing a pillow into her face. Mary claws at Bigger's hands while Mrs. Dalton is in the room, trying to alert Bigger that she cannot breathe. Mrs. Dalton approaches the bed, smells alcohol in the air, scolds her daughter, and leaves. As Bigger removes the pillow, he realizes that Mary has suffocated to death. Bigger starts thinking frantically, and decides he will tell everyone that Jan, her Communist boyfriend, took Mary into the house that night. Thinking it will be better if Mary disappears as she was supposed to leave for Detroit in the morning, he decides in desperation to burn her body in the house's furnace. Her body initially will not fit through the furnace opening, but after decapitating it, Bigger finally manages to put the corpse inside. He adds extra coal to the furnace, leaves the corpse to burn, and goes home.


title: Native Son

text: Bigger's current girlfriend Bessie suspects him of having done something to Mary. Bigger goes back to work.


title: Native Son

text: Mr. Dalton has called a private detective, Mr. Britten. Britten interrogates Bigger accusingly, but Dalton vouches for Bigger. Bigger relates the events of the previous evening in a way calculated to throw suspicion on Jan, knowing Mr. Dalton dislikes Jan because he is a Communist. When Britten finds Jan, he puts the boy and Bigger in the same room and confronts them with their conflicting stories. Jan is surprised by Bigger's story but offers him help.


title: Native Son

text: Bigger storms away from the Daltons'. He decides to write a false kidnapping note when he discovers Mr. Dalton owns the rat-infested flat Bigger's family rents. Bigger slips the note under the Daltons' front door and then returns to his room.


title: Native Son

text: When the Daltons receive the note, they contact the police, who take over the investigation from Britten, and journalists soon arrive at the house. Bigger is afraid, but he does not want to leave. In the afternoon, he is ordered to take the ashes out of the furnace and make a new fire. He is terrified and starts poking the ashes with the shovel until the whole room is full of smoke. Furious, one of the journalists takes the shovel and pushes Bigger aside. He immediately finds the remains of Mary's bones and an earring in the furnace, and Bigger flees.


title: Native Son

text: Bigger goes directly to Bessie and tells her the whole story. Bessie realizes that white people will think he raped the girl before killing her. They leave together, but Bigger has to drag Bessie around because she is paralyzed by fear. When they lie down together in an abandoned building, Bigger rapes Bessie and falls asleep. In the morning, he decides he has to kill her in her sleep. He hits Bessie on the head with a brick before throwing her through a window and into an air shaft. He quickly realizes that the money he had taken from Mary's purse was in Bessie's pocket.


title: Native Son

text: Bigger runs through the city. He sees newspaper headlines concerning the crime and overhears different conversations about it. Whites hate him and blacks hate him because he brought shame on the black race. After a wild chase over the rooftops of the city, the police catch him.


title: Native Son

text: During his first few days in prison, Bigger does not eat, drink, or talk to anyone. Then Jan comes to visit him. He says Bigger has taught him a lot about black-white relationships and offers him the help of a Communist lawyer named Boris Max. In the long hours Max and Bigger spend talking, Bigger starts understanding his relationships with his family and with the world. He acknowledges his fury, his need for a future, and his wish for a meaningful life. He reconsiders his attitudes about white people, whether they are aggressive like Britten, or accepting like Jan.


title: Native Son

text: Bigger is found guilty in front of the court and sentenced to death for murder. By the end of the novel, he appears to come to terms with his fate.


title: Native Son

text: The Book-of-the-Month Club exerted influence to have "Native Son" edited. Wright originally had a scene where Bigger and a friend illegally masturbate in a movie theater, and other lines showing that Mary sexually arouses Bigger. Library of America published a restored draft version of the book assembled by editor Arnold Rampersad.


title: Native Son

text: Bigger Thomas: The protagonist of the novel, Bigger, commits two crimes and is put on trial for his life. He is convicted and sentenced to the electric chair. His acts give the novel action but the real plot involves Bigger's reactions to his environment and his crime. Through it all, Bigger struggles to discuss his feelings, but he can neither find the words to fully express himself nor does he have the time to say them. However, as they have been related through the narration, Bigger—typical of the "outsider" archetype—has finally discovered the only important and real thing: his life. Though too late, his realization that he is alive—and able to choose to befriend Mr. Max—creates some hope that men like him might be reached earlier.


title: Native Son

text: Debatable as the final scene is, in which for the first time Bigger calls a white man by his first name, Bigger is never anything but a failed human. He represents a black man conscious of a system of racial oppression that leaves him no opportunity to exist but through crime. As he says to Gus, "They don't let us do nothing... [and] I can't get used to it." A line goes, one cannot exist by simply reacting: a man must be more than the sum total of his brutalizations. Bigger admits to wanting to be an aviator and later, to Max, aspire to other positions esteemed in the American Dream. But here he can do nothing . . . just be one of many blacks in what was called the "ghetto" and maybe get a job serving whites; crime seems preferable, rather than accidental or inevitable. Not surprisingly, then, he already has a criminal history, and he has even been to reform school. Ultimately, the snap decisions which law calls "crimes" arose from assaults to his dignity, and being trapped like the rat he killed with a pan living a life where others held the skillet.


title: Native Son

text: Mary Dalton: An only child, Mary is a very rich white girl who has far leftist leanings. She is a Communist sympathizer recently understood to be frolicking with Jan, a known Communist party organizer. Consequently, she is trying to abide, for a time, by her parents' wishes and go to Detroit. She is to leave the morning after Bigger is hired as the family chauffeur. Under the ruse of a University meeting, she has Bigger take her to meet Jan. When they return to the house, she is too drunk to make it to her room unassisted and thus, Bigger helps her. Mrs. Dalton comes upon them in the room and Bigger smothers her for fear that Mrs. Dalton will discover him. Although she dies earlier in the story, she remains a significant plot element, as Bigger constantly has flashbacks during stressful times, in which he sees various scenes from her murder.


title: Native Son

text: Henry Dalton: Father of Mary, he owns a controlling amount of stock in a real estate firm which maintains the black ghetto. Blacks in the ghetto pay too much for rat-infested flats. As Max points out at the inquest, Mr. Dalton refuses to rent flats to black people outside of the designated ghetto area. He does this while donating money to the NAACP, buying ping-pong tables for the local black youth outreach program, and giving people like Bigger a chance at employment. Mr. Dalton's philanthropy, however, only shows off his wealth while backing up the business practices which contain an already oppressed people. An example of this is when the reader learns that Mr. Dalton owns the real estate company that controls a lot of the South Side (where most of the black community lives), but instead of using his power to improve their situation, he does things such as donate ping pong tables to them, or hire individual blacks to work in his house. Mr. Dalton is blind to the real plight of blacks in the ghetto, a plight that he maintains.


title: Native Son

text: Mrs. Dalton: Mary Dalton's mother. Her blindness serves to accentuate the motif of racial blindness throughout the story. Both Bigger and Max comment on how people are blind to the reality of race in America. Mrs. Dalton betrays her metaphorical blindness when she meets Mrs. Thomas. Mrs. Dalton hides behind her philanthropy and claims there is nothing she can do for Bigger.


title: Native Son

text: Jan Erlone: Jan is a member of the Communist Party as well as the boyfriend of the very rich Mary Dalton. Bigger attempts to frame him for the murder of Mary. Even though Bigger attempts to frame him, Jan uses this to try to prove that black people aren't masters of their own destinies, but rather, a product of an oppressive white society. Jan had already been seeking for a way to understand the 'negro' so as to organize them along communist lines against the rich like Mr. Dalton. He is not able to fully do so, but he is able to put aside his personal trauma and persuade Max to help Bigger. He represents the idealistic young Marxist who hopes to save the world through revolution. However, before he can do that, he must understand the 'negro' much more than he thinks he does.


title: Native Son

text: Gus: Gus is a member of Bigger's gang, but he has an uneasy relationship with Bigger. Both are aware of the other's nervous anxiety concerning whites. Consequently, Bigger would rather brutalize Gus than admit he is scared to rob a white man.


title: Native Son

text: Jack Harding: Jack is a member of Bigger's gang and perhaps the only one Bigger ever views as a real friend.


title: Native Son

text: G.H.: G.H. is another member of Bigger's gang. He is the neutral member of the gang who will do what the gang does, but will not be too closely attached to any one member of the gang.


title: Native Son

text: Mr. Boris Max: A lawyer from the Communist Party who represents Bigger against the State's prosecuting attorney. As a Jewish American, he is in a position to understand Bigger. It is through his speech during the trial that Wright reveals the greater moral and political implications of Bigger Thomas' life. Even though Mr. Max is the only one who understands Bigger, Bigger still horrifies him by displaying just how damaged white society has made him. When Mr. Max finally leaves Bigger he is aghast at the extent of the brutality of racism in America. The third part of the novel called Fate seems to focus on Max's relationship with Bigger, and because of this Max becomes the main character of Fate.


title: Native Son

text: Bessie Mears: She is Bigger's girlfriend. She drinks often, saying she is trying to forget her hard life. At the end of Book 2, Bigger takes her to an abandoned building and, while there, rapes her, then proceeds to kill her in haste to keep her from talking to the police. This is his second killing in the book.


title: Native Son

text: Peggy: Peggy is the Daltons' Irish-American housekeeper and, like Max, can empathize with Bigger's status as an "outsider". However, she is more typical of poor whites who are sure to invest in racism if only to keep someone / anyone below themselves. Peggy hides her dislike for blacks and treats Bigger nicely.


title: Native Son

text: Buddy Thomas: Buddy, Bigger's younger brother, idolizes Bigger as a male role model. He defends him to the rest of the family and consistently asks if he can help Bigger.


title: Native Son

text: Mrs. Thomas: Bigger's mother. She struggles to keep her family alive on the meager wages earned by taking in other people's laundry. She is a religious woman who believes she will be rewarded in an "afterlife", but as a black woman accepts that nothing can be done to improve her people's situation. Additionally, she knows Bigger will end up hanging from the "gallows" for his crime, but this is just another fact of life.


title: Native Son

text: Vera Thomas: Vera is Bigger's sister. In her, Bigger sees many similarities to his mother. Bigger fears Vera will grow up to either be like his mother, constantly exhausted with the strain of supporting a family, or like Bessie, a drunk trying to escape her troubles.


title: Native Son

text: Britten: The Daltons' investigator. He seems quite prejudiced, first towards Bigger (because Bigger is black) and then towards Jan (because Jan is a Communist).


title: Native Son

text: Wright based aspects of the novel on the 1938 arrest and trial of Robert Nixon, executed in 1939 following a series of "brick bat murders" in Los Angeles and Chicago.


title: Native Son

text: "Native Son" was the original title of Chicago writer Nelson Algren's first novel, "Somebody in Boots", based on a piece of doggerel about the first Texan. Algren and Wright had met at Chicago's John Reed Club circa 1933 and later worked together at the Federal Writers' Project in Chicago. According to Bettina Drew's 1989 biography "Nelson Algren":


title: Native Son

text: Wright's protest novel was an immediate best-seller; it sold 250,000 hardcover copies within three weeks of its publication by the Book-of-the-Month Club on March 1, 1940. It was one of the earliest successful attempts to explain the racial divide in America in terms of the social conditions imposed on African Americans by the dominant white society. It also made Wright the wealthiest Black writer of his time and established him as a spokesperson for African American issues, and the "father of Black American literature." As Irving Howe said in his 1963 essay "Black Boys and Native Sons": "The day "Native Son" appeared, American culture was changed forever. No matter how much qualifying the book might later need, it made impossible a repetition of the old lies ... [and] brought out into the open, as no one ever had before, the hatred, fear, and violence that have crippled and may yet destroy our culture."


title: Native Son

text: The book also received criticism from some of Wright's fellow African-American writers. James Baldwin's 1948 essay, "Everybody's Protest Novel," dismissed "Native Son" as protest fiction, as well as limited in its understanding of human character and in artistic value. The essay was collected with nine others in Baldwin's "Notes of a Native Son" (1955).


title: Native Son

text: In 1991, "Native Son" was published for the first time in its entirety by the Library of America, together with an introduction, a chronology, and notes by Arnold Rampersad, a well-regarded scholar of African American literary works. This edition also contains Richard Wright's 1940 essay "How 'Bigger' Was Born." The original edition had a masturbation scene removed at the request of the Book-of-the-Month club.


title: Native Son

text: The novel has endured a series of challenges in public high schools and libraries all over the United States. Many of these challenges focus on the book's being "sexually graphic," "unnecessarily violent," and "profane." Despite complaints from parents, many schools have successfully fought to keep Wright's work in the classroom. Some teachers believe the themes in "Native Son" and other challenged books "foster dialogue and discussion in the classroom" and "guide students into the reality of the complex adult and social world." "Native Son" is number 27 on "Radcliffe's Rival 100 Best Novels List".


title: Native Son

text: The book is number 71 on the American Library Association's list of the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–2000. The Modern Library placed it number 20 on its list of the 100 best novels of the 20th Century. "Time Magazine" also included the novel in its "TIME 100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005."


title: Native Son

text: Biblical allusions appear frequently throughout "Native Son," but they do not serve as an uplifting component of Bigger Thomas' life. Instead, Richard Wright seems to allude to the Bible with irony. Bigger is exposed to Christianity through his religious mother, Reverend Hammond, a Catholic priest, and his encounter with the church. However, Bigger's constant rejection of Christianity and the church reveals Wright's negative tone toward the religion. He views Christianity as an opiate of the black masses.


title: Native Son

text: Bigger has several negative encounters with religion. In one instance, Bigger hears his mother singing a hymn when he sneaks into his flat to get his pistol to prepare for robbing Blum's delicatessen. His mother is singing the words: "Lord, I want to be a Christian, /In my heart, in my heart." Her hymns and prayers are wholly ineffective and do nothing to forestall his violence. Even toward the end of the novel, with her son facing a possible death sentence, Bigger's mother pleads with him to pray to God for repentance. Reverend Hammond also preaches to Bigger, yet he does not understand the words of Reverend Hammond and does not pray for repentance. Instead, Bigger does the opposite and rejects Christianity. When he later sees the fiery cross that the Ku Klux Klan displays, he tears the cross which Reverend Hammond had given him from his neck and throws it to the ground. In yet another instance, Bigger overhears the church choir singing and ponders whether he should become Christian. However, his contemplation of changing his heart into a humble heart causes him to reject the idea because it meant, "losing his hope of living in the world. And he would never do that."


title: Native Son

text: Wright directly alludes to the Bible in the epigraph of "Native Son". The epigraph states, "Even today is my complaint rebellious; my stroke is heavier than my groaning" (Job 23:2). This quotation is from the Book of Job. According to the Bible, Job was a faithful man of God. However, Job experienced immense suffering in his lifetime, losing his children and his great wealth. He was stricken with poverty and boils. In these afflictions, God was silent, leaving Job in a state of deep spiritual anguish. This tone of anguish and despair is established in the epigraph at the outset of "Native Son" and emphasizes Bigger's suffering.


title: Native Son

text: Job and Bigger are parallel characters in their dealings with suffering. That further suggests the aptness of Wright's epigraph. Job suffered trials from an outside force that he could not control. Similar to Job, Bigger struggled with an outside force of the racial norms of society. The parallel is further strengthened by the freedom both characters display in their defiance.


title: Native Son

text: Savory has mentioned two quotes in the book of Job and "Native Son" that suggest Bigger and Job's parallel stories. The protagonist of the book of Job lifts himself proudly through his suffering. "If the charges my opponent brings against me were written down so that I could have them, I would wear them proudly around my neck, and hold them up for everyone to see. I would tell God everything I have done, and hold my head high in his presence". During this point of the passage, Job has yet to confess his sins to God. Convinced of his innocence, Job asserts that he will stand proud and tall in God's presence.


title: Native Son

text: Bigger has a similar experience. He muses, "He had done this. He had brought all this about. In all of his life these two murders were the most meaningful things that had ever happened to him. He was living, truly and deeply, no matter what others might think, looking at him with their blind eyes. Never had he had the chance to live out the consequences of his actions: never had his will been so free as in this night and day of fear and murder and flight." It is the first time in the novel where Bigger does not throw the blame on others but instead asserts that he was responsible for his actions. Through that, he finally experiences free will and finds freedom.


title: Native Son

text: "Native Son" contains several allusions to other works that were significant during Wright's time. One of the major works that influenced "Native Son" was Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin" (1852), the best-selling novel of the 19th century which also played a major role in the abolitionist movement.


title: Native Son

text: Wright's "Native Son" (1940) contains multiple similarities to "Uncle Tom's Cabin". Like "Uncle Tom's Cabin", "Native Son" can be interpreted as an illustration of the harsh reality of racial injustice in the United States. James Baldwin, writing in the "Partisan Review", boldly linked the two novels. In both books, racial injustice is a "pre-ordained pattern set upon the living reality". There is little the characters can do to escape racial discrimination. Additionally, both of these novels are a form of social protest, seek to disprove the idea that society neatly analyzes and treats race, and portrays African Americans who emerge confused, dishonest, and panicked as they are trapped and immobilized as prisoners within the American dream.


title: Native Son

text: The title and content of another book Wright published, the collection of short stories "Uncle Tom's Children" (1938), suggest the inspiration Stowe's work provided Wright in his own books. Both "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and "Uncle Tom's Children" exploit the term "Uncle Tom," attacking an African American who seems to act in a subservient manner toward white people. However, while these two titles are similar and contain similar themes, Wright's "Native Son" can also be considered reactionary against "Uncle Tom's Cabin." Bigger Thomas is the antithesis of Uncle Tom. Bigger is fearful of and angry toward white society. He also lacks the religious background and Christian faith that Uncle Tom possessed. This contrast between the characters of Bigger Thomas and Uncle Tom may be Wright's attempt to show the contemporary racial conflicts that persisted long after the publication of Stowe's novel in 1852.


title: Native Son

text: Wright was affiliated with the Communist Party of the United States both prior to and following his publishing of "Native Son". The Communist ideas in "Native Son" are evident as Wright draws a parallel between the Scottsboro boys case and Bigger Thomas' case. One parallel is the court scene in "Native Son", in which Max calls the "hate and impatience" of "the mob congregated upon the streets beyond the window" (Wright, p. 386) and the "mob who surrounded the Scottsboro jail with rope and kerosene" after the Scottsboro boys' initial conviction. Critics attacked Max's final speech in the courtroom, claiming that it was an irrelevant elaboration on Wright's own Communist beliefs and unrelated to Bigger's case.


title: Native Son

text: There are many different interpretations concerning which group was the intended target of Max's speech. James Baldwin, a renowned critic of Wright's, presented his own interpretation of Max's final speech in "Notes by a Native Son"; Baldwin says Max's speech is "addressed to those among us of good will and it seems to say that, though there are whites and blacks among us who hate each other, we will not; there are those who are betrayed by greed, by guilt, by blood, by blood lust, but not we; we will set our faces against them and join hands and walk together into that dazzling future when there will be no white or black" (Baldwin, p. 47). However, other critics, such as Siegel, have argued that the original text in "Native Son" does not imply "the dazzling future when there will be no white or black".


title: Native Son

text: Thus, the argument that Max's final speech is a Communist promotion is not supported by the texts in the novel. Max referred to Bigger as a part of the working class in his closing statement. Furthermore, in 1938, Wright also advocated the image of African Americans as members of the working class in his article in the "New York Amsterdam News": "I have found in the Negro worker the real symbol of the working class in America." Thus, Wright's depiction of and belief in the figure of African American workers and his depiction of Bigger Thomas as a worker showed evidence of Communist influence on "Native Son".


title: Native Son

text: "Native Son" is mentioned in a flashback in the film "American History X" (1998), when Dennis criticizes his son Derek's teacher for including lessons on African-American literature and affirmative action.


title: Native Son

text: An allusion to the story is presented in part 1 of "The Second Renaissance" (2003), a short anime film from The Animatrix collection. In this film, a domestic robot named "B1-66ER" is placed on trial for murder. The name is created using Leet Speak.


title: Native Son

text: In the motion picture "The Help" (2011), the main character (played by Emma Stone) is seen in an oblique camera angle to have a copy of "Native Son" on her bookshelf.


title: Native Son

text: A film adaptation was released in 2019. It was directed by Rashid Johnson and starred Ashton Sanders (as Bigger Thomas), Margaret Qualley, Nick Robinson and KiKi Layne.


title: Native Son

text: James Baldwin's short story Previous Condition mentions a lead part in a play production of "Native Son" as "type-casting".


title: Native Son

text: In Cecil Brown's novel "The Life and Loves of Mr. Jiveass Nigger" (1969), the protagonist, George Washington, states that he is not fearful, that he is not a "Bigger Thomas".


title: Native Son

text: "Native Son" is mentioned in Edward Bunker's novel "Little Boy Blue" (1981) as being read while in solitary confinement by the main character, Alex Hammond, who is said to be greatly fascinated by it.


title: Native Son

text: A large section of Percival Everett's novel "Erasure" (1999) contains a parody of "Native Son", entitled "My Pafology".


title: Native Son

text: A line from the trial speech by Bigger Thomas' lawyer, Boris Max, is woven into the plot of Lemony Snicket's book, "The Penultimate Peril" (2005): "Richard Wright, an American novelist of the realist school, asks a famous unfathomable question... 'Who knows when some slight shock,' he asks, 'disturbing the delicate balance between social order and thirsty aspiration, shall send the skyscrapers in our cities toppling?' .. So when Mr. Wright asks his question, he might be wondering if a small event, such as a stone dropping into a pond, can cause ripples in the system of the world, and tremble the things that people want, until all this rippling and trembling brings down something enormous..."


title: Native Son

text: In Ron Suskind's book, "A Hope in the Unseen" (1998), "Native Son" is referenced during a discussion the main character takes part in at Brown University.


title: Native Son

text: Bigger Thomas is mentioned in one of the lyrical hooks of "The Ritual" in Saul Williams' "The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust!" (2007).


title: Native Son

text: The U2 song "Vertigo" was called "Native Son" by the band during the recording sessions for "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" (2004). The song was originally released digitally as part of "Unreleased & Rare", which debuted in The Complete U2 (2004), and later in "U2: Medium, Rare & Remastered" (2009).


title: Native Son

text: On the HBO series "Brave New Voices", during the 2008 finals, the Chicago team performed a poem called "Lost Count: A Love Story". This poem addresses the youth on youth murder in Chicago and includes the phrase: "Being brown in Bigger Thomas' town".


title: Native Son

text: In the "" episode, "Far Beyond the Stars" (1998), Benny Russell cites "Native Son" as an example of a significant work of African-American literature.


title: Native Son

text: HBO released "Native Son", a film adaption of the book, on April 6, 2019. It was directed by Rashid Johnson, starring Ashton Sanders as Bigger Thomas and Kiki Layne as Bessie Mears.


title: Native Son

text: "Native Son" was adapted for the stage by Wright and Paul Green, with some conflict between the authors affecting the project. The initial production, directed by Orson Welles and with Canada Lee as Bigger, opened at the St. James Theatre on March 24, 1941.


title: Native Son

text: The book was newly adapted and directed again by Kent Gash (in conjunction with the Paul Green Foundation) for Intiman Theatre in Seattle, Washington, in 2006. The production, featuring Ato Essandoh as Bigger Thomas, was a more literal translation of the book than the 1941 version and was a critical success.


title: Native Son

text: In 2014, a stage adaptation by Nambi E. Kelley played the Court Theatre in Chicago with Jerod Haynes starring as Bigger Thomas. Directed by Seret Scott, the show was the highest grossing straight play in the theatre's 60-year history, went on to win multiple awards, and has had celebrated productions across the country, most notably at Yale Repertory Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut. The play can be purchased through Samuel French Publications.


title: Native Son

text: "Native Son" has been adapted into a film three times: once in 1951, again in 1986 and a third released in 2019. The first version was made in Argentina. Wright, aged 42, played the protagonist despite being twice the age of 20-year-old Bigger Thomas. The film was not well received; Wright's performance was a particular target of critics.


title: Native Son

text: Critical reception remains mixed given disparities in the perception of Bigger Thomas: "Is he a helpless victim of his environment? A symbol of the proletariat empowered by violence? Is the incompleteness of Bigger's personality a realistic portrayal or an act of bad faith that succumbs to racist caricature?" Audiences were also split along the divide of race and gender: they were forced to choose between sympathizing with a rapist, or condemn him and ignore that he was a victim of systemic racism. Said Ayana Mathis of "The New York Times", "I don't imagine many black people would have embraced such a grotesque portrait of themselves. […] What future, what vision is reflected in such a miserable and incompletely realized creature?"


title: Native Son

text: The novel was intended to educate its audience about the black experience in the ghetto. Thus, its intended audience was (and remains) white people. Baldwin called it a "pamphlet in literary disguise," exaggerating characters with the sole purpose of carrying his message. He went on to say that Wright failed because of his "insistence that it is … categorization alone which is real and which cannot be transcended." Wright exaggerated his characters with the intention of gaining the sympathies of white people, but many of his audiences felt that it perpetuated stereotypes of African Americans with little to no benefit. One of the few successes noted was that the controversial, struggling Bigger Thomas was a strong attack on white people who wanted to be comforted by complacent black characters onstage.


title: Native Son

text: David Bradley wrote in "The New York Times" that, in his first reading of the novel, while he strongly disliked the work, "It wasn't that Bigger failed as a character, exactly" as Bradley knew of the author's intentions to make Bigger unlikeable, but Bradley felt the author did not succeed in making Bigger symbolize ordinary black men. Upon reading an edition of the book with an introduction, Bradley stated "Suddenly I realized that many readers of "Native Son" had seen Bigger Thomas as a symbol". Upon researching other writings from the author Bradley interpreted Bigger as Wright's autobiographical view of himself, and Bradley changed his own view to see the work as a tragedy despite Wright initially not meaning for this.


title: Native Son

text: Clyde Taylor, an associate professor of English at Tufts University, criticized Bradley's view, stating that the analysis failed to perceive how the work "disrupted the accommodation to racism through polite conventions in American social discourse".


title: The Scientist (song)

text: "The Scientist" is a song by British rock band Coldplay. The song was written collaboratively by all the band members for their second album, "A Rush of Blood to the Head". It is built around a piano ballad, with lyrics telling the story about a man's desire to love and an apology. The song was released in the United Kingdom on 11 November 2002 as the second single from "A Rush of Blood to the Head" and reached number 10 in the UK Charts. It was released in the United States on 15 April 2003 as the third single and reached number 18 on the US "Billboard" Modern Rock Tracks chart and number 34 on the Adult Top 40 chart.


title: The Scientist (song)

text: Critics were highly positive towards "The Scientist" and praised the song's piano ballad and falsetto. Several remixes of the track exist, and its riff has been widely sampled. The single's music video won three MTV Video Music Awards, for the video's use of reverse narrative. The song was also featured on the band's 2003 live album "Live 2003" and has been a permanent fixture in the band's live set lists since 2002.


title: The Scientist (song)

text: Lead singer Chris Martin wrote "The Scientist" after listening to George Harrison's "All Things Must Pass". In an interview with "Rolling Stone", Martin revealed that while working on the band's second album, "A Rush of Blood to the Head", he knew that the album was missing something. One night, during a stay in Liverpool, Martin found an old piano that was out of tune. He wanted to work on Harrison's song, "Isn't It a Pity", but he could not manage to do so. When the song came to Martin, he asked that the recorder be turned on. He concluded by saying that he came across this chord sequence and noted that the chord was "lovely". Martin recorded the vocals and piano takes in a studio in Liverpool.


title: The Scientist (song)

text: When asked about the development of the song, during a track-by-track reveal, Martin said: "That's just about girls. It's weird that whatever else is on your mind, whether it's the downfall of global economics or terrible environmental troubles, the thing that always gets you most is when you fancy someone." The liner notes from "A Rush of Blood to the Head", on the other hand, states that "The Scientist is Dan", a reference to Dan Keeling, the A&R man who signed the band to Parlophone.


title: The Scientist (song)

text: "The Scientist" is a melancholic, piano-driven ballad written in the key of F major. The lyrics to the song allude to a man's powerlessness in the face of love. It begins with the main four-chord piano melody created by lead singer Chris Martin, transitioning to him singing the first verses. He is then joined by the rest of the band after the first chorus. In addition to the main piano melody, the music of the song is created by a string arrangement, harmony, acoustic guitar, with its rhythm being slow tempo drums and bass guitar riffs. After the second chorus, Jonny Buckland plays an electric guitar riff.


title: The Scientist (song)

text: Coldplay released "The Scientist" in the United Kingdom on 11 November 2002 as the album's second single. The single was pressed with two B-sides: "1.36" and "I Ran Away." While preparing for the song as the album's second release, the band's US label felt the song failed to "provide enough of a blood rush for American listeners"; instead, they released "Clocks" as the second single in the US. The song was released on 15 April 2003 in the US.


title: The Scientist (song)

text: In Australia, "The Scientist" was released as a CD single on 27 October 2003. The song appeared on Australian Singles Chart at number 40 on 1 November 2003. It appeared on "Billboard's" Modern Rock Tracks at number 18. The song peaked at number sixteen at Canada Singles Chart. The song peaked at number 10 in UK Top 75 on 17 November 2002.


title: The Scientist (song)

text: The single's cover image was created by Norwegian photographer Sølve Sundsbø. Sundsbø originally created the image that would later be used as the cover art of "A Rush of Blood to the Head" for the fashion magazine "Dazed and Confused", in the late 1990s. As with the album's other singles, "The Scientist"'s cover art features a black and white 3D scan of one of the band members, in this case drummer Will Champion.


title: The Scientist (song)

text: "The Scientist" received widespread critical acclaim. Rob Sheffield of "Rolling Stone Magazine", in his review of the album, wrote: "The fantastic piano ballad 'The Scientist' ... [has] a cataclysmic falsetto finale that could raise every hair on the back of your neck." Nick Southall of "Stylus" magazine wrote: "The piano that chimes through 'The Scientist' is captured perfectly, the warm depression of each individual key caught rather than a shrill ringing as is so often the case." Ian Watson of "NME" wrote: "'The Scientist' is a song inexorably linked with the endless night sky and the secret hopes and regrets of a hundred thousand strangers." In October 2011, "NME" placed it at number 37 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years". In 2009, "Rolling Stone" ranked it number 54 on its "100 Best Songs of the Decade" list. In 2018, the same magazine placed the track at #50 in their "100 Greatest Songs of the Century" list. In 2019, "Billboard" ranked the song number five on their list of the 50 greatest Coldplay songs, and in 2021, "American Songwriter" ranked the song number six on their list of the 10 greatest Coldplay songs.


title: The Scientist (song)

text: "The Scientist" has been featured on two of Coldplay's live albums, "Live 2003" (2003) and "Live in Buenos Aires" (2018). The song was covered live by Aimee Mann and released on a special edition of her album "Lost in Space". Natasha Bedingfield, Alex Band, Eamon, and Avril Lavigne covered the song on Jo Whiley's "Live Lounge" radio show. Also, Belinda Carlisle did a live rendition on the ITV1 reality show "Hit Me Baby One More Time". The British female quartet All Angels did a choral arrangement of the song on their album "Into Paradise" which was released in 2007. The chords to this song are replicated by Sum 41 in their song "Pieces." In addition, the American television show "MADtv" did a parody of the video, called "The Narcissist." Coldplay's original version plus a cover of the track performed by Johnette Napolitano and Danny Lohner were featured in the 2004 film "Wicker Park". Allison Iraheta and Kris Allen performed an acoustic duet of the song at Oprah Winfrey's "No Phone Zone" rally in Los Angeles.


title: The Scientist (song)

text: In 2011, Willie Nelson covered the song for a Chipotle Mexican Grill-sponsored short film titled "Back to the Start", highlighting the problems of concentrated animal feeding operations. It also appears as the final track on his 2012 album "Heroes". Nelson's version plays during the closing credits of the 2014 film "The Judge". The song was used on 23 May 2011 episode of "WWE Raw" in a tribute video to wrestler "Macho Man" Randy Savage who had died three days earlier. The song was performed in the "Glee" episode "The Break Up" on 4 October 2012 by Cory Monteith, Darren Criss, Naya Rivera, Matthew Morrison, Lea Michele, Chris Colfer, Heather Morris and Jayma Mays. In 2014, Miley Cyrus covered the song at selected stops of her Bangerz Tour. Corinne Bailey Rae covered "The Scientist" for the to the 2017 film "Fifty Shades Darker". Conor Maynard covers a few verses of the song in the acoustic rendition of "Are You Sure?", with Kris Kross Amsterdam and Ty Dolla Sign. The bluegrass group The Petersens covered the song in 2020. In 2021 Zucchero Fornaciari covered the song for his first cover album "Discover".


title: The Scientist (song)

text: The music video for "The Scientist" was notable for its distinctive reverse narrative, which employed reverse motion. The same concept had been previously used for Spike Jonze's 1995 music video for The Pharcyde's "Drop". The reverse-motion style had first been seen in 1989 for the video for the song "The Second Summer of Love" by Scottish band Danny Wilson. In order for Martin to appear to be singing the lyrics in the reversed footage, he had to learn to sing the song backwards, which took him a month. The video was filmed at various locations, including London and at Bourne Woods in Surrey, before the first leg of the "A Rush of Blood to the Head" tour. It was directed by Jamie Thraves. The video was shot between 30 September and 3 October 2002, premiering on 14 October.


title: The Scientist (song)

text: The video opens on Martin lying on a mattress. Martin is shown, in reverse motion, wandering through a variety of locations before falling on the mattress. After the second chorus, Martin is shown getting out of his car in the woods and an unconscious woman is shown, and it is revealed that Martin and the woman were involved in a car accident; the passenger went flying through the windshield because she was not wearing her seatbelt. Irish actress Elaine Cassidy portrays the female passenger.


title: The Scientist (song)

text: In 2003, "The Scientist" won multiple MTV Video Music Awards for Best Group Video, Best Direction, and Breakthrough Video. It was also nominated at the 2004 Grammy Awards for Best Short Form Music Video but lost to Johnny Cash's video for "Hurt".


title: The Scientist (song)

text: On the 20th anniversary of A Rush of Blood to the Head, the band released a new version of the video in 4K resolution, which was restored and re-graded from the original 35 mm film.


title: Siemens Charger

text: The Siemens Charger is a family of diesel-electric passenger locomotives designed and manufactured by Siemens Mobility for the North American market.


title: Siemens Charger

text: There are five variants of the Charger, tailored for different operators and types of service: ALC-42 for Amtrak long-distance service, ALC-42E dual mode for Amtrak inter-city and long-distance routes that serve the Northeast Corridor, SC-44 for Amtrak state-supported inter-city service or commuter rail operators, SCB-40 for Brightline inter-city service and SCV-42 for VIA Rail inter-city service.


title: Siemens Charger

text: The first production Charger, an SC-44, was unveiled on March 26, 2016, and entered revenue service on August 24, 2017. It was followed by the SCB-40, which inaugurated Brightline service on January 13, 2018. The first ALC-42 was delivered to Amtrak on June 17, 2021 and entered revenue service on February 8, 2022 on the "Empire Builder".


title: Siemens Charger

text: The Charger is powered by a Cummins 16-cylinder QSK95 4-stroke high speed diesel engine, which meets EPA Tier IV emissions standards that took effect in 2015. Power output varies by model: the SCB-40 produces , the SC-44 produces , and both the SCV-42 and ALC-42 produce . The maximum speed in service is .


title: Siemens Charger

text: The locomotive shares much of its overall design with the Siemens Vectron diesel and electric locomotives used in Europe and the Siemens ACS-64 electric locomotive built for Amtrak.


title: Siemens Charger

text: Four Insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) power inverters carry electric current to each of the four AC traction motors. A static inverter off of the main prime mover supplies head-end power (HEP). The locomotive also features dynamic braking with regenerative capability, allowing the locomotive to divert power generated by dynamic braking away from the resistor grids to HEP and onboard locomotive auxiliary power demands.


title: Siemens Charger

text: In response to a 2013 Request for Information from Metro-North Railroad, Siemens said they would be capable of producing a dual-mode variant of the Charger with onboard energy storage for use by Metro-North and the Long Island Rail Road, as well as intercity service on Amtrak's Empire Corridor.


title: Siemens Charger

text: California's SC-44s have aerodynamic "spoilers" on the rear of their roofs that match the height of bi-level California and Surfliner cars.


title: Siemens Charger

text: The first production SC-44 unit was unveiled on March 26, 2016. The first two Charger locomotives to leave Siemens' factory in Florin, California were transported to the Transportation Technology Center (TTC) in Pueblo, Colorado in June 2016 and underwent testing of performance metrics such as acceleration and braking. The first Brightline SCB-40 locomotives were delivered in December 2016 to undergo testing in Florida.


title: Siemens Charger

text: In February 2017, Amtrak and WSDOT began testing one of the Midwest-bound locomotives for federal certification along the "Cascades" corridor in the Pacific Northwest. Test runs were conducted on the Midwest and Northern California routes in April and May. Testing at up to at TTCI, on the corridors, and on the Northeast Corridor in September 2016 resulted in a federal certification for operations.


title: Siemens Charger

text: Revenue testing on the "Capitol Corridor" and "San Joaquins" routes in Northern California began on May 25, 2017. During these tests, the trains operated with a second locomotive in case of failure. The Northern California units were formally accepted and approved for solo service on October 23, 2017. The SC-44 entered revenue testing on the Midwest routes in July 2017, with solo revenue service beginning on a "Hiawatha Service" train on August 24, 2017. Revenue service on the "Cascades" route began in November 2017.


title: Siemens Charger

text: On December 18, 2017, Washington state SC-44 #1402 was wrecked in a derailment of a "Cascades" train on the Point Defiance Bypass.


title: Siemens Charger

text: Brightline began revenue operations with its SCB-40 locomotives on January 13, 2018. The first Chargers for MARC began testing that month, and revenue service began on April 5, 2018. Pre-revenue testing began on the "Pacific Surfliner" in October 2018; revenue service began later that year.


title: Siemens Charger

text: The first ALC-42 for Amtrak's long distance trains was put into service on the westbound "Empire Builder" on February 8, 2022 after extensive testing in the Midwest and on the "Empire Builder" route. Of the 2 units on the inaugural service, one was Amtrak's "Day One" heritage unit #301.


title: Siemens Charger

text: California regional commuter line Altamont Corridor Express ordered four SC-44 locomotives in April 2018, with deliveries beginning in December 2019. They entered revenue service in 2020.


title: Siemens Charger

text: On December 21, 2018, Amtrak ordered 75 ALC-42 locomotives with options for additional 100. The first locomotive was expected to enter service in 2021 with the last by 2024.


title: Siemens Charger

text: Compared with the SC-44, changes were made to the ALC-42 to make it more suitable for long-distance service: additional positive train control systems for nationwide service, a larger diesel fuel tank (instead of ), a larger diesel exhaust fluid tank, a larger sand tank, a more powerful 1,000-kilowatt head-end power generator (instead of 600 kw), an extended nose section with remodeled headlights for ease of repair in the event of minor front-end collision, and a prime mover de-rated to to lengthen maintenance intervals.


title: Siemens Charger

text: Assembly of the first ALC-42 began in March 2020. On August 5, 2020, Amtrak announced that one of the first six locomotives will be painted in a replica of the "Day 1" livery to commemorate 50 years of Amtrak service, while the other five will feature a preliminary "Phase VI" paint scheme. The remainder of the fleet will introduce a new "Phase VII" livery. By February 2021, 12 units had begun production, with the first locomotive, AMTK 300, delivered to Amtrak on June 17. The first ALC-42 locomotives entered revenue service on the "Empire Builder" on February 8, 2022. On the same day, Amtrak announced that they had ordered an additional 50 ALC-42s, bringing the total number of locomotives ordered to 125.


title: Siemens Charger

text: Amtrak plans to purchase at least 65 intercity trainsets with dual-mode ALC-42E locomotives from Siemens. The trainsets will be used primarily on routes that operate over both electrified and non-electrified track, which currently require costly and lengthy locomotive swaps when transitioning between electrified and non-electrified territory.


title: Siemens Charger

text: In diesel mode, the ALC-42E will work like a typical diesel–electric locomotive, using its diesel engine to generate electricity for its motors. Each ALC-42E will be paired with a special trailer car that will have equipment to support electric mode on the end closest to the locomotive, and a passenger seating area on the other. There are two types of trailer cars:


title: Siemens Charger

text: The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), in conjunction with its counterparts in California, Michigan, Missouri and Washington, purchased 32 SC-44 locomotives for state-supported corridor services, operated by Amtrak under contract.


title: Siemens Charger

text: The $225 million order placed in March 2014 included options for an additional 75 corridor-configured locomotives In 2015, IDOT ordered 12 additional units for use on the upgraded "Lincoln Service" corridor. California ordered 14 additional units in November 2015 for use on the "Pacific Surfliner" beginning in 2018, plus two more units in 2016 for the Northern California services. Washington state ordered an additional unit to replaced the one lost in the 2017 Point Defiant Bypass derailment.


title: Siemens Charger

text: A total of 64 locomotives (32 base and 32 options) were ordered for Amtrak state corridors in this contract: 22 for California, 9 for Washington state, and 33 for the Midwest states. Another 8 options were exercised by MARC, bringing total contract orders to 72.


title: Siemens Charger

text: In September 2014, Brightline purchased ten SCB-40 locomotives with options for an additional eleven. The locomotives are used in pairs, bookending four passenger cars (expandable to seven) on Brightline's Miami–West Palm Beach service. The SCB-40s have a streamlined front end that conceals the front coupler behind a removable nose cone and produce a maximum of instead of the on the SC-44. Brightline later ordered five additional trainsets and one extra locomotive (eleven locomotives total) for use on the extension to Orlando, with delivery between September 2021 and 2023.