Koodiyattam is a performance tradition from Kerala in southern India that combines ancient Sanskrit theatre with koothu, an art form already mentioned in Sangam-era Tamil literature. It was traditionally staged in temple theatres called koothambalams, and UNESCO recognises it as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. Performances are famously long, running from about 12 to 150 hours spread over several nights, and some can take up to forty days to finish. The main actor is a Chakyar, while female roles are played by women of the Nangyaramma community. It is the only surviving tradition that keeps drama from the ancient Sanskrit stage alive.

In 1909 D. W. Griffith made a 14-minute film about a speculator who corners the wheat market and doubles the price of bread. A farmer sows his field while a 'Wheat King' gambles in the Chicago wheat pit; bakers raise the loaf from five cents to ten and the poor line up for bread. Griffith cut back and forth between the farm, the feast and the breadline, a technique called parallel editing, so audiences saw both ends of the economy at once. The film drew on Frank Norris's stories and on a real scheme: months earlier Chicago financier James Patten had cornered wheat, sent bread prices up and made about $5 million, roughly $185 million today.