Interview With Marty Kaplan, Founding Director of The Norman Lear Center at USC
The Norman Lear Center, founded and directed by professor Marty Kaplan, is based out of the USC Annenberg School for Communication. The Center is named after benefactor Norman Lear, who has been an iconic social activist and television producer in the entertainment industry for years.
Launched in January of 2000, the Center’s mission has been to champion research, public policy, and educational programs that examine the entertainment landscape. The Lear Center's Entertainment Goes Global project looks at the implications of entertainment on society, and includes initiatives like Hollywood, Health and Society—which provides film and TV professionals with healthcare, and Journeys in Films—which educates school-age children by incorporating compelling cultural films into classroom curricula.
The Norman Lear Center is committed to scholarship, research, fellowship programs, and taking a serious look at the many issues facing the entertainment industry—whether it’s global expansion, legal practices, or the political, technological, and cultural impacts of entertainment on society.
The Credits sat down with Norman Lear Center director Marty Kaplan to discuss the importance of entertainment and to learn more about some of the Center's most exciting projects.
For more information, please visit the Norman Lear Center website.
And for more information about Norman Lear, check out The Hollywood Reporter's recent article, "A Convertible, Nicki Minaj, and Lunch in Beverly Hills: A Day With Norman Lear At 90."
Video by Amado Stachenfeld.
