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Yes and no. There is no Patreon or any type of membership required. Just like other types of consumer goods and services that are certified, the only thing required from the consumers is the understanding of Newtown, what it stands for and what it means when you'll see it on a cultural product. Imagine being kosher. If you are shopping in a food store and are interested in a product you look at the label, and, if you see the kosher certification logo on it, you are good to go. Newtown is the same.

Well, she is Newtown. She is designed in such way that you are free to project onto her what you want. She doesn't come out of nowhere and is significant, that is why every details about her are loaded with symbolism and you are free to interpret them as you see fit. That being said, we consider her to be our muse and guardian, as she stands guard in front of Newtown, looking towards the past, making sure that the bad ideas of the past remain there.

Will the sun rise tomorrow?

Creators want to certify their work because they believe in Newtown's mission and want to reach out to an audience that will appreciate their work. That being said, Newtown is not an obligation. Pepsi is under no obligation to certify their products kosher. They do it because they want to cater to that portion of the consumer base. It's the same for Newtown.

Newtown believes in culture and its power to educate our emotions, to expand our minds and to guide us in life through experiences where we can see ourselves reflected in them. When a creator only pours their own ideology into their work it ceases to be culture and become propaganda. Countless pieces of culture are deeply political and yet remained neutral because they are skillfuly done, balanced and doesn't serve as mere mouthpiece for its creator ideologies. If the above criterias are met, which frankly is what the minimum threshold should be, then this piece of culture will be certified, because the interpretation of the work will rest in the eye of the beholder.

Although the most important pillar in Newtown's foundation is freedom of expression, Newtown is not about absolute freedom. We draw the line where common decency does. For example, if an author comes to us with a novel with a clear overall intent to promote hate-mongering in any form, then we will thank the author for their interest and invite them to look elsewhere. There is a difference between a character in a novel that tries to promote hate versus the intent of the novel itself. It is a case by case basis but we believe that instances like those will be quite rare, not to mention that hateful culture has its own fanbase, with their own distribution and promotion channels, and frankly, they don't need Newtown anyway.

Absolutely! Before we dig in though, you must understand that Newtown is not about gate-keeping. Our verification process for artists and institutions are not witch hunts and we won't be looking five years into someone's social media presence to find the presence of wokeness. Corporate/Institution level This level is for larger entities such book publishers, film studios, music labels and more, that offer multiple releases in any given year. Certifying the entity itself means that every release within a year-period is instantly certified. The initial certification process takes longer but the time saved on not having to certify every release more than make up for it. The certification is renewed yearly, and at a significant discount after the initial year. Mainstream Creators & Independent Artists Similarly to the institutional certification, artists who receive this certification have their entire output automatically certified upon release, but this time, for a period a 2 years. Since both type use the certification the independent artists will be able to leverage the recognizability of Newtown from the top down. Newtown considers an artists to not be an independent one once they reach a level of recognizability that goes beyond the local or regional level, win important awards or have grown a significant following. The only difference between the two is we encourage the mainstream artists to make a tax-deductible donation to Newtown

It all depends on the complexity of the work. A role-playing video game that takes 40+ hours to complete will take more time than a 25-page illustrated book that teaches numbers to toddlers. The following scale is a good rule of thumb to start. The process itself isn't that long, the current scale is made to compensate for the backlog. As Newtown grows and volunteers join in, the shorter the processing time will become. Less than a month Literature Music Stage Educational Material 1-2 Months Movies Games Television We suggest you plan ahead and submit your application at least three months before its release.

Newtown is about culture that has reached a level such that it can have a significant impact on our society and can be purchased by the consumers. Any culture created by professional creators, or independent artists with great talent, can have that impact. Certification is not about taste, but merit, which in art, is fairly objective. To illustrate, a book from an author who seeks certification can be disliked by the people who are task to read it within Newtown, perhaps with a passion. That being said, if they all recognize that its approach, structure and style is well-made and can stand shoulder to shoulder with the majority of authors out there, then this book or artist will be certified, provided it passes the other step in the process.

Newtown is about culture, not information, and we consider discussion or debate on culture to be part of the information space as well and not a cultural experience. However, if you strongly believe in Newtown and want to help spread the word, we do offer a supporter certification which anyone can include along their work to show their colors. Think of it as planting the Newtown flag on your turf. We play loose with the supporter certification and giving it to you doesn't equal any form of affiliation between your effort and Newtown. If you are interested, contact us and let's talk.

As previously discussed in the last question, Newtown is about culture, not information. As such, the following are off-limit, even if the topic is culture: Non-fiction literature Documentaries Any form of "reality" content Articles, podcasts, current affair programs Say you are a novelist and for your next book you wish to step into non-fiction territory. You will remain certified but this new book cannot bear the certification. ------- Newtown is about a level of culture which can have an impact on the audience at large. If you are an independent artist you can certify yourself but your work need to be available for purchase. Similarly to the above, if your work cannot be marketed you can remain certified as an artist, and your output will become certified once it can enter the market. ------- For the moment short-form or episodic offerings are off-limit but may be eligible in the future, albeit under strict criteria. This includes: Short films Music singles Web series Games released in chapters or episodes ------- Any exceptions? Yes, two of them. If your short form work becomes recognized as a unique advancement of the craft, whether because it introduces a new technique, is a result of technological breakthrough or your work is simply too unique, we will gladly welcome it. After all, Newtown is about meritocracy. Secondly, if your work teaches people to become better artists. For instances, you may offer a set of DVD's where you teach advanced techniques for acoustic guitar. In cases like this, even though the nature of the work is educational, the result may very well lead to cultural production, not to mention of a higher caliber, and this is something we all benefit from.

Although both forms are highly creative and require refined technical skills to achieve mastery, only a handful of pieces enter the popular culture and thus doesn't really have an impact on society at large which is what Newtown is about. In time, we may consider including collections of fine art from an individual artist or group but not at the moment. Artists in those areas who connect with Newtown's mission are encouraged to get certified themselves, and take advantage of Newtown's recognizability as it grows, but the certification cannot be applied to work described below. For Newtown, fine art is: -Paintings -Sculptures -Photography For Newtown, we define craft as: -Fashion -Jewelry -Ceramic, glass and pottery -Material carving (wood, metal, leather, etc.) -Needlework and textile crafts -Paper, stone, wood and metal crafts

If you are an artists with many talents, you can certify yourself. That being said, only the portion of your work which can be sold to the consumers at large will be certified. For instance if you are a poet, painter and musician, only your poetry books, and musical albums can bear the Newtown certification, while your paintings cannot. When registering for certification you must decide which of your talents you wish to have certified so we can classify you properly. Feel free to get in touch for more details.

Yes. Although we believe that such cases will be extremely rare, the ground for revocation is simple. If an applicant lied, withheld critical information or deceived Newtown in the application process, we will summarily revoke the certification without a refund. This can be done by supplying referrals who are just "yes" man, manipulating the books so it looks like the funding came from an heterodox source but didn't, change the product after receiving the certification to a degree that it can be considered woke and more. Lastly, if down the line, the work becomes part of a catalog that is sold wholesale to another entity which is woke, then the certification will be revoked. Newtown encourage artists to retain the full rights to their work as much as they can. We believe that artists who wish to join Newtown do so because they will be free to create as they see fit and enjoy a direct connection to a large heterodox audience. If an artists approaches Newtown with the intent to deceive it, they will be found out and lose their money as the certification fee is non-refundable.

Newtown is about the present and the future of culture. Your work must've been released in 2020 or later.