title: African-American music

text: The 1950s also saw increased popularity of hard blues in the style from the earliest part of the century, both in the United States and United Kingdom. The 1950s also saw doo-wop style become popular. Doo-wop had been developed through vocal group harmony with the musical qualities of different vocal parts, nonsense syllables, little or no instrumentation, and simple lyrics. It usually involved ensemble single artists appearing with a backing group. Solo billing was given to lead singers who were more prominent in the musical arrangement. A secularized form of American gospel music called soul also developed in the mid-1950s, with pioneers such as Ray Charles, Jackie Wilson and Sam Cooke leading the wave. Soul and R&B became a major influence on surf, as well as the chart-topping girl groups including The Angels and The Shangri-Las, only some of whom were white. In 1959, Hank Ballard releases a song for the new dance style "The Twist", which became the new dance crave from the early 60's into the 70's.


title: African-American music

text: In 1959, Berry Gordy founded Motown Records, the first record label to primarily feature African-American artists aimed at achieving crossover success. The label developed an innovative—and commercially successful—style of soul music with distinctive pop elements. Its early roster included The Miracles, Martha and the Vandellas, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, The Supremes, and others. Black divas such as Aretha Franklin became '60s crossover stars. In the UK, British blues became a gradually mainstream phenomenon, returning to the U.S. in the form of the British Invasion, a group of bands led by The Beatles and The Rolling Stones who performed blues and R&B-inspired pop, with both traditional and modernized aspects. WGIV in Charlotte, North Carolina was amongst a few radio stations dedicated to African-American music that started during this period.


title: African-American music

text: The British Invasion knocked many black artists off the US pop charts, although some, among them Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett and Aretha Franklin and a number of Motown artists, continued to do well. Soul music, however, remained popular among black people through highly evolved forms such as funk, developed out of the innovations of James Brown. In 1961, a young boy named Stevland Hardaway Morris recorded his first record under Motown's Tamla record at the age of 11 as Stevie Wonder and that was the start of his great career.


title: African-American music

text: In 1964, the Civil Rights Act outlawed major forms of discrimination towards African Americans and women. As tensions started to die down, more African-American musicians crossed over into mainstream taste. Some artists who successfully crossed over were Aretha Franklin, James Brown, and Ella Fitzgerald in the pop and jazz worlds, and Leontyne Price and Kathleen Battle in the realm of the classical music.


title: African-American music

text: By the end of the decade, Black people were part of the psychedelia and early heavy metal trends, particularly by way of the ubiquitous Beatles' influence and the electric guitar innovations of Jimi Hendrix. Hendrix was among the first guitarists to use audio feedback, fuzz, and other effects pedals such as the wah wah pedal to create a unique guitar solo sound. Psychedelic soul, a mix of psychedelic rock and soul began to flourish with the 1960s culture. Even more popular among Black people, and with more crossover appeal, was album-oriented soul in the late 1960s and early 1970s, which revolutionized African-American music. The genre's intelligent and introspective lyrics, often with a socially aware tone, were created by artists such as Marvin Gaye in "What's Going On", and Stevie Wonder in "Songs in the Key of Life".


title: African-American music

text: The 1970s was a great decade for Black bands playing melodic music. Album-oriented soul continued its popularity, while musicians such as Smokey Robinson helped turn it into Quiet Storm music. Funk evolved into two strands, one a pop-soul-jazz-bass fusion pioneered by Sly & the Family Stone, and the other a more psychedelic fusion epitomized by George Clinton and his P-Funk ensemble. The sound of Disco evolved from black musicians creating Soul music with an up-tempo melody. Isaac Hayes, Barry White, Donna Summer and among others helped popularized disco music. However, this music was integrated into popular music achieving mainstream success.


title: African-American music

text: Black musicians achieved some mainstream success, though some African-American artists including The Jackson 5, Roberta Flack, Teddy Pendergrass, Dionne Warwick, Stevie Wonder, The O'Jays, Gladys Knight & the Pips, and Earth,Wind & Fire found crossover audiences. White listeners preferred country rock, singer-songwriters, stadium rock, soft rock, glam rock, and, in some subcultures, heavy metal and punk rock.


title: African-American music

text: During the 1970s, The Dozens, an urban African-American tradition of using playful rhyming ridicule, developed into street jive in the early '70s, which in turn inspired a new form of music by the late 1970s: hip-hop. Spoken-word artists such as The Watts Prophets, The Last Poets, Gil Scott-Heron and Melvin Van Peebles are also cited as the major innovators in early hip-hop. Beginning at block parties in The Bronx, hip-hop music arose as one facet of a large subculture with rebellious and progressive elements. Many youths in the Bronx used hip-hop to talk about how unfair it was to be a minority during this time. DJS spun records, most typically funk, while MCs introduced tracks to the dancing audience. Over time, DJs, particularly Jamaican immigrant DJ Kool Herc for instance, began isolating and repeating the percussion breaks, producing a constant, eminently danceable beat, which they or MCs began rapping over, through rhymes and eventually sustained lyrics. Hip-hop would become a multicultural movement in young black America, led by artists such as Kurtis Blow and Run-DMC.


title: African-American music

text: One of the most recognizable artists of the 1980s, Michael Jackson had record-breaking success with his albums "Off the Wall", "Bad", and "Thriller" – the latter remaining the best-selling album of all time. He transformed popular music and united races, ages and genders. Jackson would eventually lead to successful crossover black solo artists, including Prince, Lionel Richie, Luther Vandross, Tina Turner, Whitney Houston, and Janet Jackson. Pop and dance-soul of this era inspired new jack swing by the end of the decade.


title: African-American music

text: Hip-hop spread across the country and diversified. Techno, Dance, Miami bass, post-disco, Chicago house, Los Angeles hardcore and Washington, D.C. Go-go developed during this period, with only Miami bass achieving mainstream success. But, before long, Miami bass was relegated primarily to the Southeastern US, while Chicago house had made strong headways on college campuses and dance arenas (i.e. the warehouse sound, the rave). DC's Go-go garnered modest national attention with songs like E.U.'s Da Butt, but it proved mostly to be a regional phenomena. Chicago house sound had expanded into the Detroit music environment and mutated into more electronic and industrial sounds creating Detroit techno, acid, jungle. Mating these experimental, usually DJ-oriented, sounds with the prevalence of the multi-ethnic New York City disco sound from the 1970s and 1980s created a brand of music that was most appreciated in the huge discothèques that are located in cities like Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Detroit, Boston, etc. Eventually, European audiences embraced this kind of electronic dance music with more enthusiasm than their North American counterparts. These variable sounds let the listeners prioritize their exposure to new music and rhythms while enjoying a gigantic dancing experience.


title: African-American music

text: In the latter half of the decade, from about 1986, rap took off into the mainstream with Run-D.M.C.'s "Raising Hell", and the Beastie Boys' "Licensed to Ill", the latter becoming the first rap album to enter the No.1 Spot on the "Billboard 200" and helping break down the doors for white performers to do rap. Both of these groups mixed rap and rock together, which appealed to rock and rap audiences. Hip-hop took off from its roots and the golden age hip hop flourished, with artists such as Eric B. & Rakim, Public Enemy, LL Cool J, Queen Latifah, Big Daddy Kane, and Salt-N-Pepa. Hip-hop became popular in America until the late 1990s, when it went worldwide. The golden age scene would die out by the early 1990s as gangsta rap and g-funk took over, with west-coast artists Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Warren G and Ice Cube, east-coast artists Notorious B.I.G., Wu-Tang Clan, and Mobb Deep, and the sounds of urban black male bravado, compassion, and social awareness best represented by the rapper Tupac Shakur.


title: African-American music

text: While heavy metal music was almost exclusively created by white performers in the 1970s and 1980s, there were a few exceptions. In 1988, all-black heavy metal band Living Colour achieved mainstream success with their début album "Vivid", peaking at No. 6 on the "Billboard 200", thanks to their Top 20 single "Cult of Personality". The band's music contained lyrics that attack what they perceived as the Eurocentrism and racism of America. A decade later, more black artists like Lenny Kravitz, Body Count, Ben Harper, and countless others would start playing rock again.


title: African-American music

text: Contemporary R&B, as in the post-disco version of soul music, remained popular throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Male vocal groups in the style of soul groups such as The Temptations and The O'Jays were particularly popular, including New Edition, Boyz II Men, Jodeci, Dru Hill, Blackstreet, and Jagged Edge. Girl groups, including TLC, Destiny's Child, SWV and En Vogue, were also highly successful.


title: African-American music

text: Singer-songwriters such as R. Kelly, Mariah Carey, Montell Jordan, D'Angelo, Aaliyah and Raphael Saadiq of Tony! Toni! Toné! were also significantly popular during the 1990s, and artists including Mary J. Blige, Faith Evans, and BLACKstreet popularized a fusion blend known as hip-hop soul. The neo soul movement of the 1990s looked back on more classical soul influences and was popularized in the late 1990s/early 2000s by such artists as D'Angelo, Erykah Badu, Maxwell, Lauryn Hill, India.Arie, Alicia Keys, Jill Scott, Angie Stone, Bilal and Musiq Soulchild. According to one music writer, D'Angelo's critically acclaimed album "Voodoo" (2000) "represents African American music at a crossroads ... To simply call [it] neo-classical soul ... would be [to] ignore the elements of vaudeville jazz, Memphis horns, ragtime blues, funk and bass grooves, not to mention hip-hop, that slip out of every pore of these haunted songs." Blue-eyed soul is an influence of African-American music performed by white artists, including Michael McDonald, Christina Aguilera, Amy Winehouse, Robin Thicke, Michael Bolton, Jon B., Lisa Stansfield, Teena Marie, Justin Timberlake, Joss Stone, George Michael, and Anastacia.


title: African-American music

text: Along with the Singer-songwriters influence in hip-hop and R&B, there was an increase in creativity and expression through Rap music. Musical artists such as Tupac, The Notorious B.I.G (Biggie), N.W.A (Niggas With Attitude), Lil Kim, Snoop Dog and Nas broke into the music industry and left a lasting remark on Rap music. 90's Rap music introduced many different sub genres within Rap including Gangsta Rap, Conscious Rap and Pop Rap. Gangsta Rap today is what we understand as simply being 90s rap. Gangsta Rap was were we saw rappers like Snoop Dog, Dr. Dre and Tupac shine. Gangsta rap songs focused on gang violence, drug dealing and poverty. Gangsta Rap was also a major player in the East Coast vs West Coast beef that many 90s rappers participated in. Main players in this East Coast vs West Coast beef were rappers Tupac and Suge Knight on the West Coast and The Notorious B.I.G. and Puff Daddy on the East Coast.


title: African-American music

text: By the first decade of the 21st century, R&B had shifted towards an emphasis on solo artists with pop appeal, with Usher, Rihanna, and Beyoncé being the most prominent examples. Furthermore, the music was accompanied by aesthetically creative and unique music videos. Examples of these types of music videos include but are not limited to: Beyoncé's "Crazy in Love", Rihanna's "Pon de Replay", and Usher's "Caught Up". These music videos helped R&B become more profitable and more popular than it had been in the 1990s. The line between hip-hop, R&B and pop was significantly blurred by producers such as Timbaland and Lil Jon and artists such as Missy Elliott, T-Pain, Nelly, Akon and OutKast.


title: African-American music

text: It may appear as though hip-hop (called urban music) is race-neutral today; but it still remains a genre of music created by African-Americans. In the early years of hip-hop, the lyrics spoke of the hardships of being black in America. White owned record label companies controlled how hip-hop was marketed. This resulted in changes in the lyrics, culture and marketing of hip-hop to suit white audiences. Scholars of hip-hop and African-American hip-hop creators noticed a change in hip-hop over the years as white owned record label companies controlled how hip-hop is marketed to whites. Hip-hop is used to sell cars, cell phones, and other merchandise.


title: African-American music

text: The hip-hop movement has become increasingly mainstream as the music industry has taken control of it. Essentially, "from the moment 'Rapper's Delight' went platinum, hiphop the folk culture became hiphop the American entertainment-industry sideshow."


title: African-American music

text: In June 2009, Michael Jackson died unexpectedly from a cardiac arrest, triggering a global outpouring of grief. Within a year of his death, his estate had generated $1.4 billion in revenues. A documentary film consisting of rehearsal footage for Jackson's scheduled "This Is It" tour, entitled "Michael Jackson's This Is It", was released on October 28, 2009, and became the highest-grossing concert film in history.


title: African-American music

text: In 2013, no African-American musician had a "Billboard" Hot 100 number one. This was the first time there was no number one in a year by an African American in the chart's 55-year history. J. Cole, Beyonce, Drake, and Jay Z were all top selling music artists this year, yet none were on the "Billboard" Hot 100 number one. This caused a lot of debate.


title: African-American music

text: Plans for a Smithsonian-affiliated Museum of African-American music to be built in Newark, New Jersey, and an R&B museum/hall of fame have been discussed.


title: African-American music

text: Black protest music went mainstream in the 2010s. Beyoncé, Solange, Kanye West, Frank Ocean, and Rihanna released black protest albums during Donald Trump's candidacy. Beyoncé released her first black protest album "Lemonade" in 2016.


title: African-American music

text: In the late 2010s, mumble rap which originated from African-American Vernacular English became popular with artists like Playboi Carti, Young Thug and Lil Baby. Mumble rap's intent is to make the emotion in a song more dramatic. By focusing more on the melody of the song rather than on the lyrics themselves, and allowing a big instrumental base, this effect is given. While talking with HipHopDx, one of the most notorious mumble rappers, Future said: "When I freestyle I know there are bits you don’t really understand, but that’s what you like it for – that's what its all about to me, that's art."


title: African-American music

text: Since its roots, African American music has and continues to impact American culture. Through the hybridization of African, European, and Native American cultural elements, African American music has made itself "a distinctly American phenomenon".


title: African-American music

text: During this time in history, African American men and women in the South utilized the songs and sounds of African American music to get through this time. The music made and the songs sung during the Jim Crow and Civil Rights era awakened "the passion and purposefulness of the Souhern Civil Rights Movement" that "provided a stirring musical accompaniment to the campaign for raial justice and equality". African American men, women, and children from across the nation came together in social settings such as marches, mass meetings, churches, and even jails and "conveyed the moral urgency of the freedom struggle". Also during this time, African American music served to keep uplift the spirits and hearts of those fighting for the cause. Guy Carawan referred to the Civil Rights Movement as "the greatest singing movement this country has experienced".


title: African-American music

text: Often revered as "the anthem of the Civil Rights Movement", "We Shall Overcome" started off as a hymn from the 19th-century that ended up being used as a protest labor song in a labor strike against American Tobacco in Charleston, South Carolina during 1945-1946. Overheard by Zilhpia Horton in a Tennessee tobacco field on a picket line in 1946, a worker by the name of Lucille Simmons changed the original wording of "I Wil Overcome" to "We Will Overcome", which ultimately made it more powerful for such a mass movement as the Civil Rights Movement.


title: African-American music

text: In 1947, Horton added some verses to the song and taught Pete Seeger her version. Seeger also revised the song from "We will" to "We shall". In April 1960 at Raleigh, North Carolina, folk singer Guy Carawan sang the new and revised version of the sang at the founding convention of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), ushering its quick spread throughout the Civil Rights Movement. Seeger, Carawan, and Frank Hamilton then copyrighted the song to prevent it from becoming a "commercialized pop song".


title: African-American music

text: "We Shall Overcome" continued to spread rapidly as the Civil Rights Movement gained more supporters and momentum. Protestors across the nation sang the song as they marched for rights, we beat up and attacked by poice dogs, and sent to jail for breaking segregation laws. "We Shall Overcome" and many other protest songs during the Civil Rights movement became its soundtrack. Outside of the U.S., the song has been used in freedom movements around the world. In India, the song is known as "Hum Honge Kaamyaab", which is a song that most school kids in India know by heart.


title: African-American music

text: The Harlem Cultural Festival was a series of music concerts held in Harlem's Mount Morris Park in Manhattan, New York City. This festival "celebrated African American music and culture and promoted the continued politics of Black pride".


title: African-American music

text: At 3 PM on Sundays from June 29, 1969 to August 24, 1969, a variety of artists would perform on-stage from different genres amongst tens of thousands of people. Such artists that performed were Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, B.B. King, Sly and the Family Stone, The 5th Dimension, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Mahalia Jackson, and many others.


title: African-American music

text: Record stores played a vital role in African-American communities for many decades. In the 1960s and 1970s, between 500 and 1,000 black-owned record stores operated in the American South, and probably twice as many in the United States as a whole. According to The Political Economy of Black Music By Norman Kelley, it says "Black music exists in a neo-colonial relationship with the $12 billion music industry, which consist of six record companies." These companies are Warner Elektra Atlantic (WEA), Polygram, MCA Music Entertainment, BMG Distribution, Sony Music Entertainment, and CEMA/UNI Distribution. African-American entrepreneurs embraced record stores as key vehicles for economic empowerment and critical public spaces for black consumers at a time that many black-owned businesses were closing amid desegregation. In addition, countless African Americans have earned livings as musical performers, club owners, radio deejays, concert promoters, and record label owners. Many consumer companies use African-American music to sell their products. Companies like; Coca-Cola, Nike, and Pepsi have used artists to sell to the youth and other followers of the genres. A prime example of the economic impact that African-American music is the way the NFL exposes new and old music with its super bowl halftime show.


title: African-American music

text: The genres of Jazz and Hip-Hop spread around the world. These genres traveled to Africa and Asia and influenced other genres of African and Asian Music. Many state that without African-American music, there would be no American music. The songs and tunes that African's came to America with created a fundamental foundation for American music. The textural styles, slang language and African American Vernacular English influenced American pop culture and global culture. The way African-Americans dress in hip-hop videos and how African-Americans talk is copied for style and profit in the American market and the global market. Blues, jazz, and hip-hop were created in African-American neighborhoods despite African-Americans are marginalized in American society on an economic and social level, the music created by African-Americans had a global impact due to marketing and media. With the advent of the internet, African-American music and culture has become consumed more rapidly around the world on a daily basis. The internet resulted in the mass consumption and appropriation and sometimes mocking of black culture by whites and non-blacks in social media.


title: African-American music

text: Afrobeat is a West African genre of music created by Nigerian artist Fela Kuti. The history of Afrobeat music began during the early twentieth century when artists from Ghana and West Africa combined their music with Western calypso and jazz. During the interwar period (1918-1939), because traders were looking to expand their networks, sailors were crewing the enormous ships run by European lines, and other Africans were looking for work, the interwar years were a particularly fertile time for the formation of pan-West African urban musical traditions Kuti created Afrobeat fusing traditional West African music with African-American music of Jazz, R&B, and other genres of West African and African-American music. West African musicians fused African-American music with their traditional West African music creating new genres of music. In addition, funk music also influenced Afrobeat. James Brown's Funk music, Brown's dance style and African-American drumming influenced Afrobeat. In London, Kuti joined jazz and rock bands, and when he returned to Nigeria the creation of Afrobeat began in the country by fusing African-American and traditional Yoruba music. In 1969, Kuti toured the United States. Through his travels, Kuti became inspired by the political activism of African Americans. Kuti studied the life of Malcolm X and was inspired by his pro-black speeches. This resulted in a change in Kuti's message in Afrobeat as it became more political discussing the political issues in Africa and Nigeria. Despite having a name that sounds similar to the Afrobeat music made known by Fela Kuti in the 1970s, Afrobeats is a name to generalize large range of genres popular all over Africa and most popularly Music of West Africa. Music referred to as Afrobeats, in contrast to Kuti, is frequently upbeat, digitally generated, and sung in English, West African, and pidgin languages. Kuti's music was characterized by its political content and orchestral style whereas Afrobeats adopts many musical themes found in R&B and Hip-Hop/Rap (Love, sex, drugs, money, hard times, fame).


title: African-American music

text: Hip-hop came to Korea in the 1990s and developed into Korean Hip-Hop and Korean K-pop music. Some Korean artists are known to appropriate African-American vernacular and other aspects of Black culture. Groups like the girl group MAMAMOO have been known to dress up in blackface, and others speak in "blaccents" and wear their hair in ethnic styles. Artist Zico has used the n-word in his music, and has claimed in his music that he has a "black soul." As of 2020, within "K-pop, blackface, mouthing or saying racial slurs, and purely aesthetic uses of Black culture and hairstyles" were still common, without necessarily understanding, honoring or crediting their African American roots. According to sources cited in a 2020 Guardian article, many K-pop artists show lack of support when it comes to African American social justice issues. Additionally, "many international fans are waiting for the industry to develop a more sensitive, globalized understanding of race." Additionally, in the Korean language there are phrases that have been misconstrued to sound like the a racial slur. Some include the connector phrase "because of" represented by the characters 니까 pronounced 'nikka'. Another is the word "you" or "you're" represented by the characters 니가, which is pronounced 'neega'.


title: Isolationism

text: Isolationism is a political philosophy advocating a national foreign policy that opposes involvement in the political affairs, and especially the wars, of other countries. Thus, isolationism fundamentally advocates neutrality and opposes entanglement in military alliances and mutual defense pacts. In its purest form, isolationism opposes all commitments to foreign countries including treaties and trade agreements. This distinguishes isolationism from non-interventionism, which also advocates military neutrality but does not necessarily oppose international commitments and treaties in general.


title: Isolationism

text: Before 1999, Bhutan had banned television and the Internet in order to preserve its culture, environment, and identity. Eventually, Jigme Singye Wangchuck lifted the ban on television and the Internet. His son, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, was elected Druk Gyalpo of Bhutan, which helped forge the Bhutanese democracy. Bhutan has subsequently undergone a transition from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy multi-party democracy. The development of "Bhutanese democracy" has been marked by the active encouragement and participation of the reigning Bhutanese monarchs since the 1950s, beginning with legal reforms, and culminating in the enactment of Bhutan's Constitution.


title: Isolationism

text: From 1431 to 1863, the Kingdom of Cambodia enforced a isolationist policy. The policy prohibited foreign contact with most outside countries.


title: Isolationism

text: After Zheng He's voyages in the 15th century, the foreign policy of the Ming dynasty in China became increasingly isolationist. The Hongwu Emperor was not the first to propose the policy to ban all maritime shipping in 1390. The Qing dynasty that came after the Ming dynasty often continued the Ming dynasty's isolationist policies. Wokou, which literally translates to "Japanese pirates" or "dwarf pirates", were pirates who raided the coastlines of China, Japan, and Korea, and were one of the key primary concerns, although the maritime ban was not without some control.


title: Isolationism

text: In the winter of 1757, the Qianlong Emperor declared that—effective the next year—Guangzhou was to be the only Chinese port permitted to foreign traders, beginning the Canton System.


title: Isolationism

text: Since the division of the territory following the Chinese Civil War in 1949, China is divided into two regimes with the People's Republic of China solidified control on mainland China while the existing Republic of China was confined to the island of Taiwan as both governments lay claim to each other's sovereignty. While the PRC is recognized by the United Nations, European Union, and the majority of the world's states, the ROC remains diplomatically isolated although 15 states recognize it as "China" with some countries maintain unofficial diplomatic relations through trade offices.


title: Isolationism

text: From 1641 to 1853, the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan enforced a policy called "kaikin". The policy prohibited foreign contact with most outside countries. The commonly held idea that Japan was entirely closed, however, is misleading. In fact, Japan maintained limited-scale trade and diplomatic relations with China, Korea and Ryukyu Islands, as well as the Dutch Republic as the only Western trading partner of Japan for much of the period.


title: Isolationism

text: The culture of Japan developed with limited influence from the outside world and had one of the longest stretches of peace in history. During this period, Japan developed thriving cities, castle towns, increasing commodification of agriculture and domestic trade, wage labor, increasing literacy and concomitant print culture, laying the groundwork for modernization even as the shogunate itself grew weak.


title: Isolationism

text: In 1863, Emperor Gojong took the throne of the Joseon Dynasty when he was a child. His father, Regent Heungseon Daewongun, ruled for him until Gojong reached adulthood. During the mid-1860s he was the main proponent of isolationism and the principal instrument of the persecution of both native and foreign Catholics.


title: Isolationism

text: Following the division of the peninsula after independence from Japan in 1945–48, Kim Il-sung inaugurated an isolationist nationalist regime in the North, which has been continued by his son and grandson following his death in 1994.


title: Isolationism

text: In 1814, three years after it gained its independence on May 14, 1811, Paraguay was taken over by the dictator José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia. During his rule which lasted from 1814 until his death in 1840, he closed Paraguay's borders and prohibited trade or any relationship between Paraguay and the outside world. The Spanish settlers who had arrived in Paraguay just before it gained its independence were required to marry old colonists or the native Guarani in order to create a single Paraguayan people.


title: Isolationism

text: Francia had a particular dislike of foreigners, and those foreigners who came to Paraguay during his rule, which was very difficult, were not allowed to leave the country for the rest of their lives. An independent character, he hated European influences and the Catholic Church and in order to try to keep foreigners at bay, he turned church courtyards into artillery parks and turned confession boxes into border sentry posts.


title: Isolationism

text: Some scholars, such as Robert J. Art, believe that the United States had an isolationist history, but other scholars dispute that claim by describing the United States as following a strategy of unilateralism or non-interventionism rather than a strategy of isolationism. Robert Art makes his argument in "A Grand Strategy for America" (2003). Books that have made the argument that the United States followed unilaterism instead of isolationism include Walter A. McDougall's "Promised Land, Crusader State" (1997), John Lewis Gaddis's "Surprise, Security, and the American Experience" (2004), and Bradley F. Podliska's "Acting Alone" (2010). Both sides claim policy prescriptions from George Washington's Farewell Address as evidence for their argument. Bear F. Braumoeller argues that even the best case for isolationism, the United States in the interwar period, has been widely misunderstood and that Americans proved willing to fight as soon as they believed a genuine threat existed.


title: Isolationism

text: Events during and after the Revolution related to the treaty of alliance with France, as well as difficulties arising over the neutrality policy pursued during the French revolutionary wars and the Napoleonic wars, encouraged another perspective. A desire for separateness and unilateral freedom of action merged with national pride and a sense of continental safety to foster the policy of isolation. Although the United States maintained diplomatic relations and economic contacts abroad, it sought to restrict these as narrowly as possible in order to retain its independence. The Department of State continually rejected proposals for joint cooperation, a policy made explicit in the Monroe Doctrine's emphasis on unilateral action. Not until 1863 did an American delegate attend an international conference.


title: Isolationism

text: Isolationism has been criticized for the lack of aiding nations with major troubles. One notable example is that of American isolationism, which Benjamin Schwartz described as a "tragedy" inspired by Puritanism.


title: Wedding Season

text: Wedding Season is a 2022 American romantic comedy film directed by Tom Dey from a screenplay by Shiwani Srivastava. The film stars Suraj Sharma, Pallavi Sharda, Rizwan Manji, Veena Sood, Ari Afsar, Sean Kleier, and Manoj Sood.


title: Wedding Season

text: Asha is an economist working in microfinance who has recently broken off her engagement and left a Wall Street banking career behind to work for a microfinance startup in New Jersey. Asha's mother Suneeta, concerned for her future and against the advice of her husband Vijay, sets up a dating profile through which Asha meets Ravi. Though their first date goes badly, Asha eventually convinces Ravi to pretend that that they are dating at various weddings throughout the summer in order to ease the pressure to get married. Asha and Ravi slowly become interested in each other, and Asha learns that Ravi is secretly a wealthy DJ called DJ Spellbound.


title: Wedding Season

text: Ravi encourages Asha when she needs to make sure the pitch goes successfully, and Asha is recruited for an executive position in London. Suneeta mistakes Asha's text to her sister Priya about the big news as news of her engagement to Ravi. The families plan a surprise lunch, during which Asha confesses their deception and Ravi admits that he dropped out of MIT and has no intention of getting a socially acceptable career. Ravi also admits to paying for catering orders from his father's restaurant in the name of his financial trust, the same trust that invested in Asha's pitch. Enraged, Asha ends their relationship. Later, Ravi argues with his parents about their disappointment in him.


title: Wedding Season

text: Priya gets cold feet during her wedding. Asha encourages her, realizing in turn that she truly loves Ravi. She goes to his family's restaurant to see him with another woman, and gives a speech about what a great guy he is. Priya and Nick marry and introduce DJ Spellbound at the reception. Ravi and his parents reconcile, he admits his job to the community, and gets back together with Asha.


title: Wedding Season

text: In 2018, Shiwani Srivastava's script, "Wedding Season," placed in multiple screenwriting competitions, including the Academy Nicholl Fellowship, Final Draft's Big Break, and the ScreenCraft Comedy Competition. After winning the ScreenCraft Comedy Competition, the ScreenCraft team introduced her to an executive at Netflix, as well as her literary manager at Affirmative Entertainment. As a direct result of those introductions, "Wedding Season" was sold to Netflix.


title: Wedding Season

text: In March 2021, was announced that Suraj Sharma and Pallavi Sharda would star in an upcoming romantic comedy film titled "Wedding Season", written by Shiwani Srivastava and directed by Tom Dey for Netflix. Later the same month Rizwan Manji and Ari Afsar joined to the cast. On April 15, 2021 Sean Kleier also was set to star.


title: Wedding Season

text: Principal photography began on April 19 and concluded on May 31, 2021, in Toronto, Canada. The film included outdoor and restaurant scenes shot in the Gerrard India Bazaar area of Toronto and the Lahore Tikka House restaurant.


title: Double Impact

text: Double Impact is a 1991 American action film written and directed by Sheldon Lettich, and written, produced by and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme as Chad and Alex Wagner. The film marks Van Damme's third collaboration with director Sheldon Lettich (who wrote "Bloodsport" and directed "Lionheart") and second collaboration with Bolo Yeung (the first being "Bloodsport" in 1988). "Double Impact" was released in the United States on August 9, 1991.


title: Double Impact

text: In Hong Kong during the year 1966, business partners Paul Wagner and Nigel Griffith open the Victoria Harbour Tunnel. Paul attends with his wife Katherine and their identical twin infant sons, Chad and Alex. After the celebration, the family is followed home by their bodyguard, Frank Avery, whom they dismiss. Once he leaves, a Triad hit squad follows them. A shootout ensues, in which Paul is killed. Katherine begs the Triads to spare the twins but is killed by Moon, the top henchman. Their maid is able to escape with Alex and Frank eventually saves Chad; the maid leaves Alex at a Hong Kong orphanage and Frank raises Chad in France.


title: Double Impact

text: 25 years later in 1991, Chad and Frank are running a successful martial arts dojo in Los Angeles when Frank tells a surprised Chad about a new "business" in Hong Kong. The two go to a mahjong parlor and a woman, mistaking Chad for Alex, takes him back to Alex's room. When Alex arrives, he knocks out Chad for being with his girlfriend, Danielle Wilde.


title: Double Impact

text: Frank tells them they are identical twin brothers and they need to join together to take down Griffith and get their part of the royalties from the tunnel, but Chad and Alex initially do not get along with each other. Alex takes them out on his boat to sell smuggled Mercedes and cigarettes to some Chinese buyers, but the Hong Kong Police arrive and Chad dumps the cars to escape the cops faster. Back in Hong Kong, some thugs kidnap and beat up Chad (mistaking him for Alex) when he refuses to work for their leader, Raymond Zhang. Danielle, who works for Griffith, begins checking his private files for information, but she is being watched closely by Griffith's bodyguard, Kara.


title: Double Impact

text: Alex takes Chad and Frank to an abandoned hotel on an island to conduct their operations. With intelligence from Danielle, they attack a drug operation and blow it up. Next, they attack a club frequented by Zhang by pretending to bring him Cognac smuggled from France, which is actually just crates of bombs, although they fail to kill Zhang. Danielle continues to search for information but is caught and sexually molested by Kara. Danielle later calls the hideout revealing she has found something, but her phone is tapped by Griffith. Unable to find Alex and Frank who are out gathering firewood, Chad takes the boat to rescue Danielle by himself. However, Alex becomes paranoid and begins drinking heavily while imagining Chad and Danielle having sex. Chad brings Danielle home, but Kara follows them in a helicopter and discovers their hideout. When they return, Alex attacks Chad in a drunken rage before the brothers angrily part ways for the night.


title: Double Impact

text: The next morning Chad and Alex awaken to see Triads landing on the beach and, although they kill several, Frank and Danielle are captured. They capture one Triad who reveals that Frank and Danielle have been taken to Zhang's boat at a pier. Chad and Alex board and fight their way through the ship; Chad kills Moon (who beat him when he was kidnapped earlier) and he and Alex rescue Frank and Danielle. Afterwards, the twin brothers split up: Chad pursues Griffith and Alex chases Zhang. Alex eventually kills Zhang when he falls to his death from atop a crane. Chad and Danielle are chased through a maze of shipping containers until Griffith threatens to crush Chad with a forklift holding a container. Chad jumps into the water, sneaks around into the forklift, and drops the container on Griffith, killing him. Alex, Chad, Danielle and Frank reunite after the ordeal and appear to set aside their differences.


title: Double Impact

text: Van Damme was reportedly paid $600,000 for the movie. Wanting to breakaway from the martial arts movie genre he had become so popularly known for, he hoped playing the dual role of Chad/Alex would change his image and help him do just that. "[Alex] is violent and [Chad] is not, so audiences [will] see the contrast in my work." Prior to the film's release, he had told the "Los Angeles Times": "If I stay in martial arts pictures people will get tired of my films." Van Damme felt "Double Impact"'s love scene would appeal to a wider audience. Seeing Jeremy Irons portray a dual role in "Dead Ringers" allegedly influenced Van Damme's decision.


title: Double Impact

text: Director Sheldon Lettich co-wrote the script with Van Damme. Inspiration was taken from Alexandre Dumas' "The Corsican Brothers"; an 1844 novella about twins separated at birth, who find each other in adulthood. Lettich later recalled the concept of Van Damme playing twins "was so successful that other producers wanted him to repeat it." ("Timecop, Maximum Risk, Replicant") "Even though it meant a lot more work for Jean-Claude, he enjoyed the challenge of playing two distinctly different characters, showcasing a dark and a more light-hearted side in the same movie."


title: Double Impact

text: Filming of the movie took place in Los Angeles, Santa Clarita (Dojo scene) and most of the scenes in Hong Kong. Most of the Hong Kong scenes were filmed at the Lippo centre (Nigel Griffith's headquarters), Tsing Yi Container Processing Terminal (Raymond Zhang & Triad scene) and the Star Ferry port (escape scene). The hideout used by Alex & Chad was filmed at Mong Tung Wan at the Chi Ma Wan trail on Lantau Island.


title: Double Impact

text: The score by Arthur Kempel was released as the "Double Impact Original Soundtrack Recordings" in 1993 by Silva America. The soundtrack was released on CD contained twelve tracks with a runtime of 40 minutes.


title: Double Impact

text: "Double Impact" was a modest success opening at No. 2 at the US box office; grossing $7.5 million in its opening weekend. By August 20, 1991; 11 days after the initial release, this increased to $15.3 million. According to Box Office Mojo, US receipts totaled $30.1 million by the end of the film's theatrical run.


title: Double Impact

text: Calling the plot "minimal" at best, Chris Hicks, of Deseret News, gave a negative review. He went on to say: "the story makes no sense and is often more laughable than exciting." Whilst adding that this "probably won't deter fans," Hicks noted "more gunplay here than in most Van Damme efforts, which may or may not be an improvement." "Van Damme's idea of a love scene is a soft-lens, soft-core moment as he and newcomer Alonna Shaw roll around nude in a paranoid fantasy sequence. So much for romance."


title: Double Impact

text: Caryn James, of "The New York Times" , said: "there is plenty of gunfire and karate kicks and explosives set off by remote control. Chad gets bomped in the head more often than Alex. There are some Van Damme-style showdowns with various villains, with whirls and tricks that seem to owe something to the Three Stooges. There are golden oldies like smashing someone in the head with a whisky bottle and kicking him in the crotch. As it turns out, two Jean-Claude Van Damme's are pretty much the same as one. Fans who like their action unadultered by story, character or acting know where to find it."


title: Double Impact

text: Renowned critic Roger Ebert awarded the film two stars, saying: "it has a budget and production values of a lesser James Bond movie." However, Ebert gave credit for the "slick product values" and "few clever lines." He went on to compare Van Damme to fellow martial artist and actor Steven Seagal; in that they "are always at the center of their plots. [This] will hurt their careers in the long run, since martial arts movies are limited by their formulas, and the heroes are supplied with almost ritualistic plot patterns." Ebert believed both would make "splendid villains in more ambitious movies."


title: Double Impact

text: Despite calling the plot "elementary but serviceable", Kevin Thomas, of the "Los Angeles Times", gave a positive review, saying: "["Double Impact"] offers two Jean-Claude Van Dammes for the price of one, and for fans of the Belgian-born martial arts star, it delivers the goods. It's a solid, fast-moving action-adventure set largely in Hong Kong, which is dynamically photographed by Richard Kline.


title: Double Impact

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the review aggregator, "Double Impact" has an approval rating of 33% based on 21 reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.


title: Double Impact

text: Van Damme and Lettich had been discussing a potential sequel for "many years." Whilst promoting "The Expendables 2" in 2012, Van Damme confirmed a sequel was in the works. That same year, Lettich completed a treatment based on a story by Van Damme; "along with 25 pages of screenplay." "Double Impact 2" was envisioned by Van Damme to be more serious in tone than the original.


title: Double Impact

text: Plans for a sequel fell through as far back as 2015. The sequel was "ambitious" and would have been expensive to produce. Lettich said "there were a lot of logistical problems. Mostly around who owned the rights." It turned out that "MGM owned the majority of the rights" and "acquiring them was not going to be cheap." Furthermore, "the studio had to be included as a co-partner with any producing entity", which allegedly made the "process even more difficult and complicated" given MGM's apparent unwillingness to financially back the sequel.


title: Double Impact

text: In 2019, a restored 35mm film-version of "Double Impact" was screened at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Austin, Texas. Lettich reaffirmed the cancellation and told fans during the Q&A that "perhaps the biggest reason [a sequel] didn't happen was in fact due to the [original] film's success."


title: Adhir Kalyan

text: Adhir Kalyan (born 4 August 1983) is a South African actor noted for his role as Timmy in the CBS sitcom "Rules of Engagement" and as Awalmir Karimi/'Al' in "United States of Al".


title: Adhir Kalyan

text: Kalyan was born in Durban, South Africa, to an Indian South African family. His mother, Santosh Vinita "Sandy" Kalyan, was a member of Parliament in the South African National Assembly, where she represented the Democratic Alliance.


title: Adhir Kalyan

text: Kalyan completed his schooling at Marklands in Durban. Prior to moving abroad, he performed in a number of productions in South Africa, including theatrical adaptations of Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist" and "A Christmas Carol", an adaptation of Salman Rushdie's "The Ground Beneath Her Feet", and the classical Shakespearean play "Macbeth".


title: Adhir Kalyan

text: In 2005, Kalyan moved to London to pursue his acting career where he gained roles in the BBC series "Holby City" (series 8) as Arjmand Younis, in "Spooks" (series 5), and on the Irish network RTÉ One in "Fair City" as Ramal Kirmani. Kalyan also appeared in a number of independent films.


title: Adhir Kalyan

text: Kalyan starred in the short-lived American CW Television Network sitcom "Aliens in America", as a foreign exchange student from Pakistan living with a Wisconsin family. He portrayed recurring characters in the fifth season of the cable show "Nip/Tuck", and in the third season of the CBS sitcom "Rules of Engagement", becoming a series regular in the latter's fourth season.


title: Adhir Kalyan

text: In 2009, Kalyan appeared in the film "" as Pahud, a teenager who admired his girlfriend Parisa, in "Up in the Air" as a fired employee, and in the cheerleader comedy "Fired Up". In 2010, he appeared in "Youth in Revolt", and in 2011, he appeared in a minor role in "No Strings Attached".


title: Adhir Kalyan

text: In December 2019, Kalyan was cast to portray Afghan interpreter Awalmir Karimi ("Al"), the main protagonist in the CBS sitcom "United States of Al". The sitcom premiered on April 1, 2021, surrounded with controversy. Released to mostly negative reviews, the show and its makers were criticized for the show's humor, use of antiquated tropes, and in particular, critics called out the casting of a South-African-born Indian actor to play an Afghan lead and his use of an inauthentic accent.


title: Adhir Kalyan

text: In March 2015, he became engaged to actress Emily Wilson of "General Hospital". He and Wilson married on October 1, 2016, at Colony 29 in Palm Springs, CA.


title: Byzantine architecture

text: The Byzantine era is usually dated from 330 AD, when Constantine the Great moved the Roman capital to Byzantium, which became Constantinople, until the fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453. However, there was initially no hard line between the Byzantine and Roman empires, and early Byzantine architecture is stylistically and structurally indistinguishable from earlier Roman architecture. This terminology was introduced by modern historians to designate the medieval Roman Empire as it evolved as a distinct artistic and cultural entity centered on the new capital of Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) rather than the city of Rome and its environs.


title: Byzantine architecture

text: Its architecture dramatically influenced the later medieval architecture throughout Europe and the Near East, and became the primary progenitor of the Renaissance and Ottoman architectural traditions that followed its collapse.


title: Byzantine architecture

text: When the Roman Empire became Christian (after having extended eastwards) with its new capital at Constantinople, its architecture became more sensuous and ambitious. This new style with exotic domes and richer mosaics would come to be known as "Byzantine" before it traveled west to Ravenna and Venice and as far north as Moscow. Most of the churches and basilicas have high-riding domes, which created vast open spaces at the centers of churches, thereby heightening the light. The round arch is a fundamental of Byzantine style. Magnificent golden mosaics with their graphic simplicity brought light and warmth into the heart of churches. Byzantine capitals break away from the Classical conventions of ancient Greece and Rome with sinuous lines and naturalistic forms, which are precursors to the Gothic style.


title: Byzantine architecture

text: The richest interiors were finished with thin plates of marble or stone. Some of the columns were also made of marble. Other widely used materials were bricks and stone. Mosaics made of stone or glass tesserae were also elements of interior architecture. Precious wood furniture, like beds, chairs, stools, tables, bookshelves and silver or golden cups with beautiful reliefs, decorated Byzantine interiors.


title: Byzantine architecture

text: In the same way the Parthenon is the most impressive monument for Classical religion, Hagia Sophia remained the iconic church for Christianity. The temples of these two religions differ substantially from the point of view of their interiors and exteriors. For Classical temples, only the exterior was important, because only the priests entered the interior, where the statue of the deity to whom the temple was dedicated was kept. The ceremonies were held outside, in front of the temple. Instead, Christian liturgies were held inside the churches.


title: Byzantine architecture

text: Byzantine columns are quite varied, mostly developing from the classical Corinthian, but tending to have an even surface level, with the ornamentation undercut with drills. The block of stone was left rough as it came from the quarry, and the sculptor evolved new designs to his own fancy, so that one rarely meets with many repetitions of the same design. One of the most remarkable designs features leaves carved as if blown by the wind; the finest example being at the 7th-century Hagia Sophia (Thessaloniki). Those in the Cathedral of Saint Mark, Venice (1071) specially attracted John Ruskin's fancy. Others appear in Sant'Apollinare in Classe, Ravenna (549).


title: Byzantine architecture

text: The column in San Vitale, Ravenna (547) shows above it the dosseret required to carry the arch, the springing of which was much wider than the abacus of the column. On eastern columns the eagle, the lion and the lamb are occasionally carved, but treated conventionally.


title: Byzantine architecture

text: There are two types of columns used at Hagia Sophia: Composite and Ionic. The Composite column that emerged during the Late Byzantine Empire, mainly in Rome, combines the Corinthian with the Ionic. Composite columns line the principal space of the nave. Ionic columns are used behind them in the side spaces, in a mirror position relative to the Corinthian or Composite orders (as was their fate well into the 19th century, when buildings were designed for the first time with a monumental Ionic order). At Hagia Sophia, though, these are not the standard imperial statements. The columns are filled with foliage in all sorts of variations. In some, the small, lush leaves appear to be caught up in the spinning of the scrolls – clearly, a different, nonclassical sensibility has taken over the design.


title: Byzantine architecture

text: The columns at Basilica of San Vitale show wavy and delicate floral patterns similar to decorations found on belt buckles and dagger blades. Their inverted pyramidal form has the look of a basket.


title: Byzantine architecture

text: Early Byzantine architecture drew upon earlier elements of Greco-Roman architecture. Stylistic drift, technological advancement, and political and territorial changes meant that a distinct style gradually resulted in the Greek cross plan in church architecture.


title: Byzantine architecture

text: Buildings increased in geometric complexity, brick and plaster were used in addition to stone in the decoration of important public structures, classical orders were used more freely, mosaics replaced carved decoration, complex domes rested upon massive piers, and windows filtered light through thin sheets of alabaster to softly illuminate interiors. Most of the surviving structures are sacred, with secular buildings having been destroyed.


title: Byzantine architecture

text: Prime examples of early Byzantine architecture date from the Emperor Justinian I's reign and survive in Ravenna and Istanbul, as well as in Sofia (the Church of St Sophia). One of the great breakthroughs in the history of Western architecture occurred when Justinian's architects invented a complex system providing for a smooth transition from a square plan of the church to a circular dome (or domes) by means of pendentives.


title: Byzantine architecture

text: In Ravenna, the longitudinal basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, and the octagonal, centralized structure of the church of San Vitale, commissioned by Emperor Justinian but never seen by him, was built. Justinian's monuments in Istanbul include the domed churches of Hagia Sophia and Hagia Irene, but there is also an earlier, smaller church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus (locally referred to as "Little Hagia Sophia"), which might have served as a model for both in that it combined the elements of a longitudinal basilica with those of a centralized building.


title: Byzantine architecture

text: Other structures include the ruins of the Great Palace of Constantinople, the innovative walls of Constantinople (with 192 towers) and Basilica Cistern (with hundreds of recycled classical columns). A frieze in the Ostrogothic palace in Ravenna depicts an early Byzantine palace.


title: Byzantine architecture

text: Hagios Demetrios in Thessaloniki, Saint Catherine's Monastery on Mount Sinai, Jvari Monastery in present-day Georgia, and three Armenian churches of Echmiadzin all date primarily from the 7th century and provide a glimpse on architectural developments in the Byzantine provinces following the age of Justinian.


title: Byzantine architecture

text: Remarkable engineering feats include the 430 m long Sangarius Bridge and the pointed arch of Karamagara Bridge.


title: Byzantine architecture

text: The period of the Macedonian dynasty, traditionally considered the epitome of Byzantine art, has not left a lasting legacy in architecture. It is presumed that Basil I's votive church of the Theotokos of the Pharos and the "Nea Ekklesia" (both no longer existent) served as a model for most cross-in-square sanctuaries of the period, including the Cattolica di Stilo in southern Italy (9th century), the monastery church of Hosios Lukas in Greece (c. 1000), Nea Moni of Chios (a pet project of Constantine IX), and the Daphni Monastery near Athens (c. 1050).


title: Byzantine architecture

text: The Hagia Sophia church in Ochrid (present-day North Macedonia), built in the time of Boris I of Bulgaria, and the eponymous cathedral in Kiev (present-day Ukraine) testify to a vogue for multiple subsidiary domes set on drums, which would gain in height and narrowness with the progress of time.


title: Byzantine architecture

text: In Istanbul and Asia Minor the architecture of the Komnenian period is almost non-existent, with the notable exceptions of the Elmali Kilise and other rock sanctuaries of Cappadocia, and of the Churches of the Pantokrator and of the Theotokos Kyriotissa in Istanbul. Most examples of this architectural style and many of the other older Byzantine styles only survive on the outskirts of the Byzantine world, as most significant and ancient churches and buildings were in Asia Minor. During World War I, almost all churches that ended up within the Turkish borders were destroyed or converted into mosques. Some were abandoned as a result of the Greek and Christian genocides from 1915 to 1923. Similar styles can be found in countries such as North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, Russia and other Slavic lands, as well as in Sicily (Cappella Palatina) and Veneto (St Mark's Basilica, Torcello Cathedral).


title: Byzantine architecture

text: The Paleologan period is well represented in a dozen former churches in Istanbul, notably St Saviour at Chora and St Mary Pammakaristos. Unlike their Slavic counterparts, the Paleologan architects never accented the vertical thrust of structures. As a result, the late medieval architecture of Byzantium (barring the Hagia Sophia of Trebizond) is less prominent in height.


title: Byzantine architecture

text: The Church of the Holy Apostles (Thessaloniki) is cited as an archetypal structure of the late period with its exterior walls intricately decorated with complex brickwork patterns or with glazed ceramics. Other churches from the years immediately predating the fall of Constantinople survive on Mount Athos and in Mistra (e.g. Brontochion Monastery). In Middle Byzantine architecture "cloisonné masonry" refers to walls built with a regular mix of stone and brick, often with more of the latter. The 11th or 12th-century Pammakaristos Church in Istanbul is an example.


title: Byzantine architecture

text: As early as the building of Constantine's churches in Palestine there were two chief types of plan in use: the basilican, or axial, type, represented by the basilica at the Holy Sepulchre, and the circular, or central, type, represented by the great octagonal church once at Antioch.


title: Byzantine architecture

text: Those of the latter type we must suppose were nearly always vaulted, for a central dome would seem to furnish their very purpose. The central space was sometimes surrounded by a very thick wall, in which deep recesses, to the interior, were formed, as at Church of St. George, Sofia, built by the Romans in the 4th century as a cylindrical domed structure built on a square base, and the noble Church of Saint George, Thessaloniki (5th century), or by a vaulted aisle, as at Santa Costanza, Rome (4th century); or annexes were thrown out from the central space in such a way as to form a cross, in which these additions helped to counterpoise the central vault, as at the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Ravenna (5th century). The most famous church of this type was that of the Holy Apostles, Constantinople. Vaults appear to have been early applied to the basilican type of plan; for instance, at Hagia Irene, Constantinople (6th century), the long body of the church is covered by two domes.


title: Byzantine architecture

text: At Saint Sergius, Constantinople, and San Vitale, Ravenna, churches of the central type, the space under the dome was enlarged by having apsidal additions made to the octagon. Finally, at Hagia Sophia (6th century) a combination was made which is perhaps the most remarkable piece of planning ever contrived. A central space of 100 ft (30 m) square is increased to 200 ft (60 m) in length by adding two hemicycles to it to the east and the west; these are again extended by pushing out three minor apses eastward, and two others, one on either side of a straight extension, to the west. This unbroken area, about 260 ft (80 m) long, the larger part of which is over 100 ft (30 m) wide, is entirely covered by a system of domical surfaces. Above the conchs of the small apses rise the two great semi-domes which cover the hemicycles, and between these bursts out the vast dome over the central square. On the two sides, to the north and south of the dome, it is supported by vaulted aisles in two stories which bring the exterior form to a general square.


title: Byzantine architecture

text: At the Holy Apostles (6th century) five domes were applied to a cruciform plan; the central dome was the highest. After the 6th century there were no churches built which in any way competed in scale with these great works of Justinian, and the plans more or less tended to approximate to one type. The central area covered by the dome was included in a considerably larger square, of which the four divisions, to the east, west, north and south, were carried up higher in the vaulting and roof system than the four corners, forming in this way a sort of nave and transepts. Sometimes the central space was square, sometimes octagonal, or at least there were eight piers supporting the dome instead of four, and the nave and transepts were narrower in proportion.


title: Byzantine architecture

text: If we draw a square and divide each side into three so that the middle parts are greater than the others, and then divide the area into nine from these points, we approximate to the typical setting out of a plan of this time. Now add three apses on the east side opening from the three divisions, and opposite to the west put a narrow entrance porch running right across the front. Still in front put a square court. The court is the atrium and usually has a fountain in the middle under a canopy resting on pillars. The entrance porch is the "narthex". Directly under the center of the dome is the "ambo", from which the Scriptures were proclaimed, and beneath the ambo at floor level was the place for the choir of singers. Across the eastern side of the central square was a screen which divided off the "bema", where the altar was situated, from the body of the church; this screen, bearing images, is the "iconostasis". The altar was protected by a canopy or "ciborium" resting on pillars. Rows of rising seats around the curve of the apse with the patriarch's throne at the middle eastern point formed the synthronon. The two smaller compartments and apses at the sides of the bema were sacristies, the "diaconicon" and "prothesis". The ambo and bema were connected by the "solea", a raised walkway enclosed by a railing or low wall.


title: Byzantine architecture

text: The continuous influence from the East is strangely shown in the fashion of decorating external brick walls of churches built about the 12th century, in which bricks roughly carved into form are set up so as to make bands of ornamentation which it is quite clear are imitated from Cufic writing. This fashion was associated with the disposition of the exterior brick and stone work generally into many varieties of pattern, zig-zags, key-patterns etc.; and, as similar decoration is found in many Persian buildings, it is probable that this custom also was derived from the East. The domes and vaults to the exterior were covered with lead or with tiling of the Roman variety. The window and door frames were of marble. The interior surfaces were adorned all over by mosaics or frescoes in the higher parts of the edifice, and below with incrustations of marble slabs, which were frequently of very beautiful varieties, and disposed so that, although in one surface, the coloring formed a series of large panels. The better marbles were opened out so that the two surfaces produced by the division formed a symmetrical pattern.


title: Byzantine architecture

text: Ultimately, Byzantine architecture in the West gave way to Carolingian, Romanesque, and Gothic architecture. But a great part of current Italy used to belong to the Byzantine Empire before that. Great examples of Byzantine architecture are still visible in Ravenna (for example Basilica di San Vitale which architecture influenced the Palatine Chapel of Charlemagne).


title: Byzantine architecture

text: As for the East, Byzantine architectural tradition exerted a profound influence on early Islamic architecture, particularly Umayyad architecture. During the Umayyad Caliphate era (661-750), as far as the Byzantine impact on early Islamic architecture is concerned, the Byzantine arts formed a fundamental source to the new Muslim artistic heritage, especially in Syria. There are considerable Byzantine influences which can be detected in the distinctive early Islamic monuments in Syria (709–715). While these give clear reference in plan - and somewhat in decoration - to Byzantine art, the plan of the Umayyad Mosque has also a remarkable similarity with 6th- and 7th-century Christian basilicas, but it has been modified and expanded on the transversal axis and not on the normal longitudinal axis as in the Christian basilicas. The tile work, geometric patterns, multiple arches, domes, and polychrome brick and stone work that characterize Muslim and Moorish architecture were influenced heavily by Byzantine architecture.


title: Byzantine architecture

text: In Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Serbia, Romania, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia, Ukraine, Russia and other Orthodox countries the Byzantine architecture persisted even longer, from the 16th up to the 18th centuries, giving birth to local post-Byzantine schools of architecture.


title: Byzantine architecture

text: Neo-Byzantine architecture was followed in the wake of the 19th-century Gothic revival, resulting in such jewels as Westminster Cathedral in London, and in Bristol from about 1850 to 1880 a related style known as Bristol Byzantine was popular for industrial buildings which combined elements of the Byzantine style with Moorish architecture. It was developed on a wide-scale basis in Russia during the reign of Alexander II by Grigory Gagarin and his followers who designed St Volodymyr's Cathedral in Kiev, in Kronstadt, Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia, Saint Mark's church in Belgrade and the New Athos Monastery in New Athos near Sukhumi. The largest Neo-Byzantine project of the 20th century was the Church of Saint Sava in Belgrade.


title: Byzantine architecture

text: One of the less famous Byzantine churches is Hagia Irene. This church served as a model church for the more famous church, Hagia Sophia. Construction on the church began in the 4th century. This was the first church that was built in Constantinople, but due to its location, it was severely damaged by earthquakes and the Nika riots, and required repair several times. The Hagia Irene is defined by its large atrium, and is in fact the only surviving building of the Byzantine Empire to have such a feature.


title: Byzantine architecture

text: Hagia Irene is composed mainly of three materials: stone, brick, and mortar. Bricks 70 cm x 35 cm x 5 cm were used, and these bricks were glued together using mortar approximately 5 cm thick. The building materials chosen for the construction of the church had to be lightweight, durable, and strong. Volcanic materials were chosen for this purpose, as volcanic concrete is very light and durable. Perhaps the most definite feature of the Hagia Irene is the strict contrast between the interior and exterior design. While the plain outside composed of stone and brick favors functionality, the interior is decorated in elaborate mosaics, decorative marble, and, in some places, covered in plaster. Another important characteristic of the church include two domes that follow one behind another, the first being a lower oval, and the second being a higher semi-circle.


title: Byzantine architecture

text: Throughout history Hagia Irene has undergone several changes. There were multiple repairs due to the Nika riots and earthquakes. When the Ottomans took over Hagia Irene they repurposed it and made a few changes, but none as drastic as what was done to Hagia Sophia. Today, Hagia Irene is still standing and open to visitors as a museum. It is open everyday, except for Tuesdays.


title: Byzantine architecture

text: The most famous example of Byzantine architecture is the Hagia Sophia, and it has been described as "holding a unique position in the Christian world", and as an architectural and cultural icon of Byzantine and Eastern Orthodox civilization. The Hagia Sophia held the title of largest church in the world until the Ottoman Empire sieged the Byzantine capital. After the fall of Constantinople, the church was used by the Muslims for their religious services until 1931, when it was reopened as a museum in 1935. Translated from Greek, the name Hagia Sophia means "Holy Wisdom".


title: Byzantine architecture

text: The construction is a combination of longitudinal and central structures. This church was a part of a larger complex of buildings created by Emperor Justinian. This style influenced the construction of several other buildings, such as St. Peter's Basilica. Hagia Sophia should have been built to withstand earthquakes, but since the construction of Hagia Sophia was rushed this technology was not implemented in the design, which is why the building has had to be repaired so many times due to damages from the earthquakes. The dome is the key feature of Hagia Sophia as the domed basilica is representative of Byzantine architecture. Both of the domes collapsed at different times throughout history due to earthquakes and had to be rebuilt.


title: Byzantine architecture

text: The original construction of Hagia Sophia was possibly ordered by Constantine, but ultimately carried out by his son Constantius II in 360. Constantine's building of churches, specifically the Hagia Sophia, was considered an incredibly significant component in his shift of the centralization of power from Rome in the west to Constantinople in the east, and was considered the high-point of religious and political celebration. The construction of the final version of the Hagia Sophia, which still stands today, was overseen by Emperor Justinian. Between the rule of these two Emperors, Hagia Sophia was destroyed and rebuilt twice. Following its reconstruction, Hagia Sophia was considered the center of Orthodox Christianity for 900 years, until the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans.


title: Olivia Pope

text: Olivia Carolyn Pope is a fictional character created by Shonda Rhimes for the political drama television series "Scandal". This character also played a small role in the series "How to Get Away with Murder" on its 4th season produced by Shonda Rhimes: where she plays a crisis manager who helped Annalise get her class-action case heard by the Supreme Court. The character is partially based on American lawyer, manager and author Judy Smith. In the series, Pope is played as an adult by Kerry Washington and as a child by Yara Shahidi.


title: Olivia Pope

text: Pope is a Washington, D.C.-based crisis manager who runs her own firm, Olivia Pope & Associates (OPA), that specializes in "fixing" political situations and scandals. The character has become a widely watched fashion and style trendsetter.


title: Olivia Pope

text: Pope is loosely based on Judy Smith, who served as George H. W. Bush's Deputy Press Secretary and represented Monica Lewinsky during the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal. On "Scandal", she is a revered fixer who helped United States President Fitzgerald Grant (played by Tony Goldwyn) win office. Pope is a former lawyer and White House aide. Pope "thinks fast and effectively". Among her secrets is her affair with President Grant. Some of her employees have law degrees, but do not serve as lawyers. Instead, they are "gladiators in suits" who mollify or avert a wide array of crises.


title: Olivia Pope

text: The role is regarded as groundbreaking. According to Felicia Lee of "The New York Times", Pope is the only dramatic protagonist role played by a black woman on American network television since 1974, when Teresa Graves starred as Christie Love in "Get Christie Love!" for one series. Among her prominent comedic predecessors, Diahann Carroll played the title role in "Julia" from 1968 to 1971. Pope is regarded as a post-racial character, yet possibly the most complex black female lead in television history. Although the show does not touch upon race that often, regarding her much publicized affair with Grant, Pope once said "I'm feeling a little, I don't know, Sally Hemings-Thomas Jefferson about all this." Pope has given Washington a role as a standard bearer for middle-class and upper middle-class, educated black women.


title: Olivia Pope

text: Among women of all races, Washington's Pope is in the stark minority as a female protagonist of a television series who are "emotionally strong, professionally powerful, and personally complicated". Her leadership of a hodge podge crew is compared to that of Brenda Leigh Johnson of "The Closer". Pope's "intensity" infuses her team with a "sense of urgency" that gives the show its pace. Her strong, professional, and feminine leadership style is accentuated by her fashion.


title: Olivia Pope

text: Pope's wardrobe is designed by "Scandal" costume designer Lyn Paolo (known for costume design on "The West Wing", "ER" and "Shameless"), and it has caught the attention of the "Vogue" staff. In 2014, Washington's portrayal of Pope and her promotion of Pope's style earned her acclaim as a style influencer from the Accessories Council. Paolo attempted to make Pope stand apart from the black, gray and dark blue colors of DC by outfitting her in "chic pastels" going so far as to put her in pink pants or Louboutin shoes at times. Some of her most respected wardrobe pieces are from notable fashion houses such as Ferragamo, Burberry, Gucci, Armani, Prada, Valentino, Tory Burch, and Michael Kors. The Valentino was saved for the season 1 finale. In addition to the luxurious elements of her wardrobe that are on loan from designers, Pope wears modest elements that Paolo picks up from Nordstrom Rack, Bloomingdale's and Loehmann's. The Pope character has become somewhat of a style icon. "Harper's Bazaar" and "Glamour" analyze her wardrobe every week in a dedicated fashion watch columns. "Time" describes her as "a real-world lifestyle tastemaker", pointing out that the Crate & Barrel wine glasses that she drinks from on the show sold out at the store. Washington and Paolo curated a Saks Fifth Avenue installation of Pope fashions in October 2013. That season, Pope's attire was part of a special collection at Saks Fifth Avenue. In September 2014, an Olivia Pope Scandal collection was set to debut at The Limited, in what was publicized as "the first design collaboration between a national retailer and a top-rated network TV show, its costume designer and star". The collaboration included "tops, pants, jackets and outerwear" and incorporated items priced as low as $49. The collaboration includes 42 pieces. "Vulture" dedicated a feature to presenting every outfit Pope wore during season 2. When her wardrobe changed to more colorful and asymmetric looks in season 3, "The Huffington Post" dedicated a feature to this issue. During season 3, "Entertainment Weekly" ranked Pope's ten best outfits. Because Pope's wardrobe is pricey, there are features and websites dedicated to cheap alternatives to the exact wardrobe elements. Paolo suggests that the Pope style be purchased at Zara and Ann Taylor. In terms of jewelry, Pope wears long necklaces and exclusively wears Movado watches. She also generally uses one of her modest collection of Prada purses.


title: Olivia Pope

text: When the Obama administration needed a spokesman for its Affordable Care Act, it had Jennifer Hudson spoof Pope.


title: Olivia Pope

text: Season 1 introduces Olivia Pope, her "iron-clad rules", and her demands of loyalty. Pope works with her battalion of misfits that she has rescued from assorted affairs of varying amounts of unsavory elements. Episode six, "The Trail", showed the evolution of the affair between Pope and President Grant. However, the entire first season is strung together by Olivia's management of the Amanda Tanner case about "a former White House staffer who claims she’s had a relationship with the President and is carrying his baby". This season presents the beginnings of Beene's constant attempts to manipulate Grant into dumping Pope. The season ends as Pope's and Grant's shared dream of happiness is shattered.


title: Olivia Pope

text: During season 2, it is revealed that Pope had been involved in an electoral fraud scheme that had ensured Fitz's election. During a break in her relationship with Fitz, Pope develops an emotional and physical attachment to Fitz's Navy colleague Jake Ballard (Scott Foley). Fitz' affair with Pope caused him to become estranged from his wife, Mellie (Bellamy Young), and led to his romantic gesture to move Pope into the White House. However, the season ended with Pope telling Fitz he should go back to his wife and run for reelection after Fitz and Pope were driven apart by White House Chief of Staff Cyrus Beene (Jeff Perry). The season ends with a mysterious relationship with her father, Rowan Pope (Joe Morton), coming to the surface.


title: Olivia Pope

text: The season begins with Rowan attempting to fix Olivia's personal life and Olivia teaming with Mellie and Fitz for a press conference to reveal the truth about her and Fitz. Olivia and Rowan disagree about the purpose of B613, which Rowan currently heads. Olivia has an emotional history with Huck. She teams with Jake and Huck to expose Operation Remington. Olivia's mother, Maya Lewis (Khandi Alexander), is introduced both in the present day and in flashbacks. Olivia comes to believe that her father had made the decision to kill her mother, which was very different than her prior beliefs about her mother's death. Believing that her father and Fitz conspired to shoot down a plane with her mother on board, Olivia becomes the client of her own firm. It is later revealed that her mother is alive and has been held prisoner by her father in a maximum security prison for 20 years for national security reasons. Lewis escapes. The midseason hiatus from mid-December to late-February left off with Olivia sending her mother abroad. However, Olivia realizes that her mother is a terrorist who married her father for his access to high level intelligence.


title: Olivia Pope

text: "Olivia Pope has the messiest personal life of any character in prime time. And that’s why you’ll probably fall in love with her..." wrote Mark Perigard of "The Boston Herald" of Pope's character. "Time" ranked her second on their list of the 11 most influential fictional characters in 2013.


title: Olivia Pope

text: Maureen Ryan of "The Huffington Post" wrote "Washington does a good job of carrying every story along in her energetic wake, and even if "Scandal" isn't quite as instantly addictive as "Grey's Anatomy"..." Washington's simultaneous "emotionally and intellectually acute" presentations are usually showcased in a "fast-talking...eloquent, pointed ... ultimatum (or two) to a client or a nemesis balking over a deal." in each episode.


title: Olivia Pope

text: Stanley says her voice patterns are reminiscent of a salesman in "Glengarry Glen Ross". According to "Los Angeles Times" television critic Mary McNamara, saying the supernaturally empowered Pope is based on Smith is "like saying Willie Wonka [sic] is based on Milton Hershey". McNamara also says "Olivia Pope is not just the ultimate fixer, she also manages to work only on the side of the angels," although she has the sole flaw of loving the married president.


title: Olivia Pope

text: "Slate" critic Troy Patterson describes her as intellectually comparable to contemporary protagonists Adrian Monk and Gregory House due to her genius powers of intuition, which enable her to judge guilt and veracity by scales in her gut. However, Patterson compares her emotionally to Roy Lichtenstein's romantic subjects such as "Drowning Girl" despite her angelic swagger and chutzpah.


title: Olivia Pope

text: Staff writer David Hiltbrand of "The Philadelphia Inquirer", calls Pope "one of the strongest (in every sense) female characters to hit prime time in recent memory". "The Washington Post" Hank Stuever says Pope is a "much-feared" character delivered with a watchability that is "coldhearted but complex".


title: Olivia Pope

text: David Dennis of "The Guardian" stated that Pope was "a home wrecker" and expressed disdain for the character's lack of morals. He went on to say that Pope's actions were so destructive that she was "barely an anti-hero, much less a hero." Writer Meghan Gallagher of "The Artifice" considered Pope to be groundbreaking for being among the "first female antiheroes to grace primetime television." She also compared Pope to Tony Soprano, and stated of the character's strengths and weaknesses: "[S]he is a powerful and brilliant woman whose own scheming ambitions get the better of her."


title: Olivia Pope

text: Washington's portrayal of Olivia Pope has garnered mostly positive reviews as well as a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series nomination at both the 65th and 66th Primetime Emmy Awards. The role has also earned Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama and Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series nominations. Washington's performance as Pope also won an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series and a BET Award for Best Actress (also for Broomhilda von Shaft in "Django Unchained").


title: Planet Earth (2006 TV series)

text: Planet Earth is a 2006 British television series produced by the BBC Natural History Unit. Five years in the making, it was the most expensive nature documentary series ever commissioned by the BBC and also the first to be filmed in high definition. The series received multiple awards, including four Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award, and an award from the Royal Television Society.


title: Planet Earth (2006 TV series)

text: "Planet Earth" premiered on 5 March 2006 in the United Kingdom on BBC One, and by June 2007 had been shown in 130 countries. The original version was narrated by David Attenborough, whilst some international versions used alternative narrators.


title: Planet Earth (2006 TV series)

text: The series has eleven episodes, each of which features a global overview of a different biome or habitat on Earth. At the end of each fifty-minute episode, a ten-minute featurette takes a behind-the-scenes look at the challenges of filming the series.


title: Planet Earth (2006 TV series)

text: Ten years later, the BBC announced a six-part sequel had been commissioned, titled "Planet Earth II", the first television series produced by the BBC in ultra-high-definition (4K). David Attenborough returned as narrator and presenter. A second sequel, "Planet Earth III" is currently announced and planned to air in 2022.


title: Planet Earth (2006 TV series)

text: In 2001 the BBC broadcast "The Blue Planet", a series on the natural history of the world's oceans. It received critical acclaim, high viewing figures, audience appreciation ratings, and many awards. It also became a hugely profitable global brand, eventually being sold to 150 countries worldwide. Feedback showed that audiences particularly liked the epic scale, the scenes of new and unusual species and the cinematic quality of the series. Programme commissioners were keen for a follow-up, so Alastair Fothergill decided that the Natural History Unit should repeat the formula with a series looking at the whole planet. The idea for "Planet Earth" was born, and the series was commissioned by Lorraine Heggessey, then Controller of BBC One, in January 2002.


title: Planet Earth (2006 TV series)

text: A feature film version of "Planet Earth" was commissioned alongside the television series, repeating the successful model established with "The Blue Planet" and its companion film, "Deep Blue". "Earth" was released around the world from 2007 to 2009. There was also another accompanying television series, "", which looked at the environmental problems facing some of the species and habitats featured in the main series in more detail.


title: Planet Earth (2006 TV series)

text: "Planet Earth" premiered on BBC One on 5 March 2006 in the United Kingdom. On the same day or in the subsequent weeks or months, the series also began airing in several other countries.


title: Planet Earth (2006 TV series)

text: International broadcasters carrying Planet Earth include Australia on ABC and GEM, Canada on CBC and CTV, New Zealand on Prime, the Philippines on GMA Network and GMA News TV, the U.S. on Discovery Channel, Velocity, Science, Animal Planet, Destination America and BBC America.


title: Planet Earth (2006 TV series)

text: The episodes are each an hour in length, comprising the main programme and a 10-minute featurette called "Planet Earth Diaries", which details the filming of a particular event. In the UK, "Planet Earth" was split into two parts, broadcast in spring and autumn 2006. The first five episodes premiered on BBC One at 9:00 pm on Sundays, beginning on 5 March 2006. The programmes were repeated the following Saturday in an early evening slot on BBC Two. Along with its 2005 dramatisation of "Bleak House", the BBC selected "Planet Earth" for its trial of high-definition broadcasts. The opening episode was its first-ever scheduled programme in the format, shown 27 May 2006 on the BBC HD channel.


title: Planet Earth (2006 TV series)

text: The first episode in the autumn series, "Great Plains", received its first public showing at the Edinburgh International Television Festival on 26 August 2006. It was shown on a giant screen in Conference Square. The remaining episodes were broadcast from 5 November 2006 in the same primetime BBC One slot, following a further repeat run of the spring programmes on BBC Four. The autumn episodes were broadcast simultaneously on BBC HD and were repeated on BBC Four the following week.


title: Planet Earth (2006 TV series)

text: Besides being BBC One's featured "One to Watch" programme of the day, "Planet Earth" was heavily trailed on the BBC's television and radio channels both before and during its run. The music that was featured in the BBC trailers for the series is the track "Hoppípolla" from the album "Takk..." by Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós. Following the advertisements, interest was so widespread that the single was re-released. In the United States, the series was promoted using "The Time Has Come" from trailer music company Epic Score, composed by Gabriel Shadid and Tobias Marberger. The Australian trailers initially used "Jupiter: The Bringer of Jollity" from Gustav Holst's orchestral suite "The Planets", but later reverted to "Hoppípolla".


title: Planet Earth (2006 TV series)

text: The BBC pre-sold the series to several overseas broadcasters, including the Discovery Channel for the United States, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, China Central Television, WDR for Germany, Discovery Channel for India, Prime Television for New Zealand, and C1R for Russian broadcasts. The series was eventually sold to 130 countries.


title: Planet Earth (2006 TV series)

text: On 25 March 2007, the series began its run on American television on the Discovery network, premiering on the Discovery Channel and Discovery HD Theater. There were a number of revisions to the original British programme. Actress and conservationist Sigourney Weaver was brought in to replace David Attenborough as narrator, as it was thought her familiarity to American audiences would attract more viewers. The Discovery programmes also used a slightly different script to the British original. The series was broadcast on Sundays in one 3-hour block followed by four 2-hour blocks. The "Planet Earth Diaries" segments were not shown immediately after each episode, but collectively in "Planet Earth: The Filmmakers' Story", a two-hour special which was broadcast after the series had finished its initial network run. Edited versions were later broadcast on The Science Channel, Animal Planet, and Planet Green.


title: Planet Earth (2006 TV series)

text: In Canada, the series did not air on the Canadian Discovery Channel, as it is owned by CTV and the Canadian rights were exclusively sold to the CBC.


title: Planet Earth (2006 TV series)

text: The latter episodes were supplemented by "Planet Earth: The Future", a series of three 60-minute films that highlight the conservation issues surrounding some of the featured species and environments. The programmes are narrated by Simon Poland and the series producer was Fergus Beeley. The series began transmission on BBC Four after the ninth episode, "Shallow Seas".


title: Planet Earth (2006 TV series)

text: Alongside the commissioning of the television series, BBC Worldwide and GreenLight Media secured financing for a US$15 million film version of "Planet Earth". This followed the earlier success of "Deep Blue", the BBC's 2003 theatrical nature documentary which used re-edited footage from "The Blue Planet". The film was co-directed by Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield and produced by Alix Tidmarsh and Sophokles Tasioulis. Only 30% of the footage shown in "Earth" is new, with the remainder being reworked from the television series to suit the narrative of the film. David Attenborough was replaced as narrator by high-profile actors: Patrick Stewart for the UK market and James Earl Jones for the United States.


title: Planet Earth (2006 TV series)

text: "Earth" had its worldwide premiere in September 2007 at the San Sebastián International Film Festival in San Sebastián, Spain, in Basque Country. Lionsgate released the film in several international markets over the following year. In the United States, it became the first film to be released by Disneynature, the Walt Disney Company's new nature documentary arm. When released on Earth Day 2009 it set the record for the highest opening weekend gross for a nature documentary, and went on to become the third highest grossing documentary of all time. It has grossed more than $108 million worldwide; in the nature documentary genre, only "March of the Penguins" has achieved greater box-office success.


title: Planet Earth (2006 TV series)

text: "Planet Earth" received widespread critical acclaim. On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the miniseries has an approval rating of 95% based on 22 reviews, with an average rating of 9/10. The critical consensus reads "Planet Earth weaves innovative camera techniques and patient observation to deliver viewers an astounding glimpse of the world's perils and wonders, capturing jaw-dropping scenery and animals on both an epic and intimate scale." "Time" magazine's James Poniewozik named it one of the Top 10 New TV Series of 2007, ranking it at No. 4. In 2019, "Planet Earth" and its sequel were ranked 72nd on "The Guardian"'s list of the 100 best TV shows of the 21st century.


title: Planet Earth (2006 TV series)

text: "Planet Earth: From Pole to Pole" won the Science and Natural History award at the Royal Television Society Programme Awards in 2007. The RTS also awarded it a Judge's Award and a Photography Award at its Craft and Design Awards. The series picked up two awards from the Broadcasting Press Guild for Best Documentary Series and Innovation in Broadcasting, and won Best Documentary Series at the 2007 Broadcast Awards. At the 2007 BAFTA Television Awards, "Planet Earth" was nominated in the Specialist Factual and Pioneer Audience Award categories, but lost out to "Nuremberg: Goering's Last Stand" and "Life on Mars" respectively. It received three nominations at the BAFTA Television Craft Awards later the same year. George Fenton's original score won him Soundtrack Composer of the Year at the 2007 Classical BRIT Awards. Planet Earth was also nominated for the NTA for Most popular Factual program but lost to "Top Gear" ("Supernanny" and "Bad Lad's Army: Officer Class" were also nominated).


title: Planet Earth (2006 TV series)

text: "Planet Earth" was recognised by the American television industry, collecting the award for Nonfiction Series at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards in September 2007 and winning a further three prizes in technical categories at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards. It also collected two awards from the Television Critics Association in Los Angeles in July 2007 and a Peabody Award in April 2008.


title: Planet Earth (2006 TV series)

text: The series was also fêted at wildlife film festivals around the globe, collected multiple prizes at the Wildscreen Festival 2006, the International Wildlife Film Festival 2007 and the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival 2007.


title: Planet Earth (2006 TV series)

text: The credentials of the filmmakers, the size of the production, a high-profile marketing campaign and a primetime BBC One timeslot all resulted in "Planet Earth" attracting large audiences when it debuted in the UK in March 2006. The first episode, "From Pole to Pole", was watched by more people than any natural history programme since Attenborough and Fothergill's previous series, "The Blue Planet", in 2001. The first five episodes drew an average audience of 11.4 million viewers, including the early evening repeats, outperforming even "The Blue Planet". When the series returned to British screens after a six-month break, it remained popular but viewing figures did not reach the same levels. The final six episodes attracted an average audience of 6.8 million viewers, appreciably lower than the spring episodes, but still higher than BBC One's average for the timeslot. The BBC's 2007 Annual Report revealed that the series "received the highest audience appreciation score of any British programme on TV this year".


title: Planet Earth (2006 TV series)

text: In the United States, "Planet Earth" drew equally impressive ratings when it premiered on Discovery and Discovery HD Theater on 25 March 2007. The first three episodes (screened back to back) averaged 5.72 million viewers with a peak of 6.07 million viewers, giving the network its third highest audience ever. It was also the most watched Discovery programme since "The Flight That Fought Back" in 2005.


title: Planet Earth (2006 TV series)

text: In February 2016, the BBC announced a six-part sequel had been commissioned, titled "Planet Earth II", for release in late 2016, with Sir David Attenborough returning as narrator and presenter. As with the 2006 series, the trailer features the track 'Hoppipolla' by Icelandic group Sigur Ros.


title: Planet Earth (2006 TV series)

text: The popularity of the television series around the world translated into strong sales of associated "Planet Earth" merchandise. In the United States, it became the fastest and bestselling documentary DVD in Discovery Channel's history, and the high-definition (HD) discs generated US$3.2 million in sales in just two months. By the end of 2007, U.S. sales had topped 3 million units, making it the highest-grossing HD title and one of the top ten DVD titles of the year.


title: Planet Earth (2006 TV series)

text: In addition, the brand was licensed to other companies to produce children's books, calendars, a board game, jigsaws, stationery, cards, and more.


title: Planet Earth (2006 TV series)

text: A five-disc DVD box set of the complete series (BBCDVD1883) was released in the UK for Regions 2 and 4 (PAL) on 27 November 2006 by 2 entertain. It is presented in 5.1-channel Dolby Digital surround sound and video. The bonus features include "Planet Earth Diaries" (presented immediately after each episode as for the original TV broadcast) and "". In the United States, two versions of the same five-disc set were released as a Region 1 (NTSC) DVD on 24 April 2007. The BBC Warner release retained David Attenborough's narration from the original British television broadcasts, but the Discovery Channel edition used the alternative Sigourney Weaver voice-over. Even in the United States the Attenborough version was much the better for sales.


title: Planet Earth (2006 TV series)

text: Except for a small amount of extremely hard-to-obtain footage, "Planet Earth" was filmed entirely in high-definition, and consequently became one of the first television series to take advantage of the new HD disc formats.


title: Planet Earth (2006 TV series)

text: The series was released in both Blu-ray and HD DVD formats as a five-disc Region B box set on 12 November 2007. On the fifth disc, the bonus features from the standard-definition DVD set were replaced by two episodes from the BBC's "Natural World" series, "Desert Lions" and "Snow Leopard: Beyond the Myth", both also presented in high-definition.


title: Planet Earth (2006 TV series)

text: In the United States, the series was released as a four-disc set in both high-definition formats, the Blu-ray version on single-layer BD-25 discs and the HD DVD set on dual-layer HD DVD-30 discs. The first U.S. high-definition releases omitted the extra disc of bonus features from the standard-definition boxed set, though these extras were included with new material in a special-edition Blu-ray released in 2011.


title: Planet Earth (2006 TV series)

text: On 20 November 2006, a two-disc soundtrack CD was released with a compilation of the incidental music specially commissioned for "Planet Earth". The award-winning score was composed by George Fenton and performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra and has been performed during "Planet Earth Live" events in the United States and the United Kingdom.