Le Weekend: “Black Paris” Exhibition, Netflix Swindler, Claw Machine Cheating

⬇️  STARTER 

Trump, the arsonist — reviving the archetype of destroyer as shaper of history

Once upon a time, Herostratus picked up a torch and set to work. His infamous act of arson destroyed the greatest temple of the Greek world, one of the Seven Wonders, a masterpiece of technical and artistic brilliance built in honor of the goddess Artemis, the twin sister of Apollo.

By setting fire to the temple, he destroyed a pinnacle of human skill and a symbol of human humility before the divine. Just like that. Simply because he wanted to and because he could. No one stopped him. His arson made him famous. Later, under torture, he confessed his motive: He wanted fame at any cost and saw no other way to achieve it.

Herostratus was a nameless man with no past and no future, no history and no significance. And yet, neither his act nor the official attempt to erase him — a decree forbidding his name from being recorded in history books — could prevent his notoriety, nor stop him from achieving his goal. Destruction, after all, is a way of violently carving oneself into time, stamping the present with one’s own mark and making it an era that bears one's name.

Herostratus’ name has become synonymous with those who destroy for the sake of notoriety. It's a forgotten name, perhaps, but one that defines a whole type of character, one worth dusting off and applying to the present-day situation in the United States.

For months, words of destruction have shaped political discourse — at first in fearful but still incredulous anticipation after U.S. President Donald Trump’s reelection, and now, week by week, with growing certainty.

The political rhetoric of recent weeks speaks of an 80-year-old transatlantic alliance being torn apart, entire components of the U.S. government are being hacked away with a metaphorical chainsaw: research university budgets are being slashed, trust eroded, the hopes of Ukrainians crushed, and the dignity of a sovereign state undermined.

The list could go on endlessly, fueled by the daily news. The world looks on — shocked, appalled, yet in some quarters, strangely fascinated — by the emergence of a destroyer on the global stage. But why? [...]

— Read the full article by Susan Richter for Die Zeit, translated from German by Worldcrunch.

🎲  OUR WEEKLY NEWS QUIZ

What do you remember from the news this week?

1. Which country voted for a 500 billion euro infrastructure fund that could reshape European defense?

2. The opposition mayor of which major city was arrested just days before becoming presidential candidate?

3. The CEO of which food brand said he was fired by its parent company, Unilever, over his political activism?

4. What did Mexico lawmakers ban, prompting both fury and celebration?
Alcohol-free tequila / Mariachi bands playing after midnight / Violent bullfighting / Importing Levi’s jeans

[Answers at the bottom of this newsletter]

#️⃣  TRENDING

A young chef from Kuwait, called Ahmed al-Zamel shared a “lazy cat cake” recipe on Instagram that went viral in Morocco for all the wrong reasons. The cake consists of store-bought chocolate cake, topped by chocolate milk and layers of whipped cream — and then some more chocolate, all under a blanket of crunchy chocolate rice cereal. On Moroccan social networks, the recipe became a trend, jokingly called “the cake of he who shall not be named” or “the bad name cake.” Why so? The chef’s last name “Zamel” is actually also a derogatory slur word in Morocco, used essentially against homosexual men or men that are perceived to “lack masculinity.”

🎭  5 CULTURE THINGS TO KNOW

• Joker and The Matrix movie producer files for bankruptcy. Village Roadshow Entertainment Group, the renowned film producer and financier that backed The Matrix, Ocean’s Eleven, Joker and The Lego Movie franchises, has filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S., according to a filing in a Delaware court. The U.S. company has blamed its financial troubles on a legal battle with its former longstanding partner Warner Bros. (WB) over The Matrix Resurrections, as well as a “failed and costly endeavour” into the production of independent films and TV shows.

• Paris’ Pompidou Center celebrates 150 artists of African descent in new exhibition. The “Black Paris” exhibition running from March 19 to June 30 at the Pompidou Center explores the presence and influence of Black artists in the French capital city from the 1950s to 2000. The event, which is one of the museum’s final shows before it closes for a five-year renovation later this year, features the works of about 150 major artists of African descent, many of whom have never or rarely been displayed in France before.

• Hollywood director arrested for defrauding Netflix of $11 million. Carl Erik Rinsch, who directed the 2013 film 47 Ronin, was arrested this week on charges that he swindled $11 million from Netflix for a sci-fi show that never aired, instead using the money for cryptocurrency investments and lavish purchases such as a fleet of Rolls-Royces and a Ferrari. Prosecutors said the U.S. streaming giant paid about $44 million to purchase an unfinished show called White Horse from Rinsch but eventually paid another $11 million after the director said he needed the additional cash to complete the show.

• Australian bestselling children’s author gets eight-figure deal for seven new books. Australian actor turned writer Aaron Blabey, known for The Bad Guys series and Thelma The Unicorn which were adapted for film, signed an eight-figure deal with the UK, U.S. and Australian arms of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group to produce seven new titles across two new series. The first, a fantasy series titled Game of Pets, is expected to debut in 2026. Blabey’s books have sold about 55 million copies over the past decade, making him a New York Times-bestselling author.

• Garifuna musician Aurelio Martínez Suazo among 12 killed in Honduras plane crash. Aurelio Martínez Suazo, a musician and member of the Garifuna ethnic group, died along with 11 other people in the crash of a small commercial plane off the coast of Honduras en route to the mainland city of La Ceiba. A member of Los Gatos Bravos before forming his own group, Lita Ariran, the 55-year-old artist was known as “the ambassador of Garifuna culture” on the worldwide stage.

🚁🕹️ SMILE OF THE WEEK

You might have tried sticking your hand up in a claw machine when you were a kid. But this man from Toronto took it to the next level, putting a drone in a claw machine to blow the plush toys into the prize chute. An efficient hack, but also a great way to get kicked out of an arcade — or lose your drone.

📰 IN OTHER NEWS

💥 For three days, war has raged once again in Gaza, leaving hundreds of Palestinians dead. Yet a segment of Israeli society is pushing back against the justifications put forth by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Backed by Trump, Netanyahu carries on his brutal policy.
— FRANCE INTER

🇪🇬 Israel has upended the ceasefire in Gaza, resuming war amid propaganda of continuing negotiations under fire. Can Egypt spearhead a "semi-permanent" solution to end the conflict and prevent further escalation?
— AL-MANASSA

👶 This past year, 2024, was the first where zero foreign adoptions from Russia were recorded, as Moscow has moved to clamp down on international placements.
— VAZHNYYE ISTORII/IMPORTANT STORIES

💻 Voters used to reward good governance, but not anymore. From Brazil to the United States to the UK, a new political reality is unfolding, where incumbents struggle for reelection regardless of their performance. Our addiction to digital platforms may help explain this shift?
— AGÊNCIA PÚBLICA

☕ Coffee can be good for you, and not just for waking you up. A series of recent scientific studies show drinking a good brew can prevent heart disease and dementia and help you live longer. Even four cups a day? But roast, preparation and timing are all important.
— DIE ZEIT

🤖🌊 BRIGHT IDEA

Urban cyclists have long faced bike thieves, with a French bicyclist organization estimating that as many as 400,000 bikes are swiped in France each year. That is what led Aïko, a 22-year-old student from Lyon, to invent the CactUs Lock, a bike lock that spews a putrid-smelling gas on anyone who tries to cut it open. The anti-theft mechanism is nontoxic, but the chemical spray is made up of putrescine, a molecule found in composing bodies, and is designed to last multiple days to deter thieves from nicking your wheels.

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⏩  LOOKING AHEAD

• On Monday, Ukrainian and Russian officials are set to resume separate talks with U.S. officials in Saudi Arabia over a proposal for a partial ceasefire in Ukraine. On Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron is set to host another European summit to discuss Ukraine and security in Europe.

• Next Thursday is Opening Day for Major League Baseball in the U.S. and Canada, with 26 of 30 teams playing their first games of the season. Two teams technically started their season a bit early this year: The Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers faced off in a two-game series in Tokyo, Japan, in mid-March.

• A trailer for American director Paul Thomas Anderson’s next film, One Battle Over Another, will premiere next week. Inspired by Thomas Pynchon‘s 1990 novel Vineland, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Benicio Del Toro alongside Alana Haim and Sean Penn, who co-starred in Anderson’s last film, Licorice Pizza.

News quiz answers:

1. Germany voted in favor of a huge increase in defence and infrastructure spending. The law will exempt spending on defence and security from Germany's strict debt rules, and create a 500 billion euro ($547 billion) infrastructure fund.

2. Istanbul mayor and opposition politician Ekrem İmamoğlu was detained on Wednesday by Turkish Police on charges of corruption and bribery, along with 105 more people. The allegations are widely perceived as politically motivated against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's main rival.

3. Ben & Jerry's is accusing parent company Unilever of ousting its CEO in retaliation for its social media activism. The Vermont-based company originally sued Unilever in November 2024, alleging it had silenced B&J’s attempts to show public support for Palestinian refugees, among other causes.

4. Mexico City's local congress voted 61-1 to ban violent bullfighting, prohibiting the killing of bulls and use of sharp objects during events.

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*Photo: SOPA Images/ZUMA