5 culture things to know

“Barbenheimer” dominates Golden Globe nominations

Greta Gerwig’s hit movie Barbie is dominating the Golden Globe Awards nominations with nine nods, including Best Picture Musical or Comedy, followed closely by its meme companion, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, which scored eight nominations. The 81st edition on Jan. 7, 2024 will be the second show after it was boycotted by stars and studios in 2022 to protest the lack of diversity among the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

In memoriam

Award-winning South African pop singer Bulelwa Mkutukana, popularly known as Zahara, 36, died, reportedly from liver complications; U.S. actor Andre Braugher, known for his roles in Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Homicide: Life on the Street, died at 61 following a brief illness; Antiguan singer Ricardo Drue, a star in the world of soca music, died aged 38.

Netflix data shows users spent 812 million hours watching The Night Agent

For the first time, Netflix has released viewer data on 99% of its catalog with a biannual report covering six months of streaming habits on the platform. According to the “What We Watched: A Netflix Engagement Report,” users around the world watched political thriller The Night Agent for 812 million hours from January to June, followed by season 2 of comedy-drama Ginny & Georgia and season one of South Korea’s The Glory.

UK’s National Theatre appoints first woman director

Indhu Rubasingham has been selected as the next director of the National Theatre, thus becoming the first woman and person of color to lead the major British institution. The artistic director of the Kiln theater will take over from Rufus Norris in spring 2025.

Painting sparks row at French school over nudity

Teachers at a school in Issou refused to work after some students complained when a painting by a Renaissance master containing several nude women was shown during a class. Students say the teacher made racist comments, which the school denies. Teachers said this was the “final straw,” citing repeated complaints by parents about coursework and punishments and “lack of support” from management.