Recent Politics Features

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Friday, October 30 2009

Agonies of an ‘Antichrist’: Lars von Trier in the Forest of Unreason

By Stephen Rylance

Despite the efforts of some to dismiss it as a prank, Antichrist is a serious film and its disturbing extremes speak of broad and deeply felt moral, social, and ultimately, political anxieties.

Friday, August 7 2009

“And Now Your Moment of Zen”: The Cultural Significance of ‘The Daily Show’

By Jeremy Griffin

The Daily Show is an intellectual respite from the self-aggrandizing sensationalism of traditional news sources, and as such, one can’t help but cringe a little at the idea that it, too, may have begun to take itself a bit too seriously.

Friday, June 12 2009

Love Your Big Brother: What Orwell’s ‘1984’ Tells Us About 2009

By Nav Purewal

George Orwell’s seminal book can equip its readers with the intellectual apparatus necessary to see through the routine mendacity and stupefying barrage of euphemism that plagues contemporary political life.

Monday, April 13 2009

India Shining?: America’s Indian Moment

By Derik Smith

Perhaps Slumdog Millionaire is an elaborate, cinematic version of Bobby Jindal. Perhaps Western audiences have so deeply appreciated Boyle's film because it subtly reiterates a symbolic order that is as familiar as colonial conquest.

Sunday, February 1 2009

Max & Jason

By PopMatters Staff

Al 'Gore’s Boys’ and Current TV producers and hosts Max Lugavere and Jason Silva chat with PopMatters 20 Questions about enthusiasm-inducing people and things.

Monday, January 26 2009

The Big Shoulders Ball: Celebrating the Inauguration, Chicago Style

By Mehan Jayasuriya

A busload of Chicago's best and brightest independent musicians storm the nation's capital on the eve of the Presidential inauguration and a former Chicagoan turned Washingtonian discovers that maybe you can transport the spirit of the Windy City -- if only for one night.

Thursday, December 4 2008

Rambo: In All His Glory

By Marco Lanzagorta

Rambo is constantly portrayed as judge, jury, and executioner in the national and international spheres.

Tuesday, November 4 2008

Raging in the Streets

By Alexander Billet

With America rejecting conservative politics, the time is ripe for Rage Against the Machine's return. The band has rediscovered creative and political confidence that fits these tumultuous times perfectly.

Monday, November 3 2008

Are We the Rockstars We’ve Been Waiting For?

By Aaron McKain

Barack Obama may be Radiohead and Sarah Palin a riot grrl punk, but they aren't rockstars. The reason why is that the rockstar is dead.

Tom Morello: The Nightwatchman

By PopMatters Staff

Tom Morello is as passionate about politics as he is about music. With the US Presidential elections looming, Morello chats with PopMatters 20 Questions about those who inspire him and the range of cultural and political genres they represent.

Friday, October 3 2008

The Olbermann Effect

By Susan Burris

Keith Olbermann has transformed news into entertainment. Countdown viewers no longer expect the facts; they expect to laugh and to think. Thank goodness.

Thursday, July 17 2008

International Lampoon: (Don’t Be) Mad (At The) Magazine

By David Swerdlick

The New Yorker may have outsmarted itself. Its core readership is left of center and they care about the things that Obama cares about. But the cartoon may have the effect of encouraging Obama's opponents to step up their mythmaking because they've been provided with "cover" by a respected liberal magazine.

Tuesday, July 8 2008

Pleased to Meet Me: A Pre-Post Racial Tribute to Barack Obama

By David Swerdlick

Maybe the Obama phenomenon is neither the beginning nor the end of the national conversation on race. Maybe it's half-time.

Thursday, June 5 2008

Sister Christian: An Open Letter to Hillary Clinton’s Disenchanted Supporters

By David Swerdlick

Obama has, with his résumé, his upbeat tone, and even his nondescript "even Steven" haircut, positioned himself as the metaphorical love child of Al Gore and Will Smith -- the perfect brew of debonair and nerdy that is the only formula possible for a black man trying to win the US Presidency.

Friday, May 9 2008

Out of Africa: Barack Obama in Pan-African Music

By Drew Hinshaw

While Barack Obama's candidacy has sparked new political interest within the United States, perhaps the best indication of his foreign policy advantage may be found in the music praising Obama coming from other countries around the world.

Wednesday, February 13 2008

Yes Wii Can vs. R3ady

By Ross McGowan

How the ongoing video game console war parallels the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries.

Tuesday, January 8 2008

Mike Huckabee’s Family Guy Values

By Aaron McKain

The bass-playing presidential hopeful from Arkansas loves pop culture and Chuck Norris. Has Huckabee made irony the stalking horse for social conservatism?

Monday, October 9 2006

My Own Private Enron

By Ryan Smith

How many more corporate scandals are out there? A former employee at film-ratings firm Veritasiti tells of the day he and his co-workers were let go without warning, amid reports of SEC investigations and bouncing paychecks.

Friday, October 6 2006

Here’s My Autograph… Now How ‘Bout Your Vote? On Confusing Celebrity for Credibility

By Kevin Fullam

No matter one's ideological leanings, it seems US voters are most interested in supporting those candidates who will ultimately provide them with the most entertainment for their political dollar. It's quite telling that our country's most viable celebrity politicians have come primarily from one of two categories: action-film heroes and sports stars.

Tuesday, January 18 2005

Red, White and Purple: The Downfall of a Toothless Democratic Party

By J. Lee

Alas, the Democratic Party is lost. The reason it's lost is because it sucks at being the minority party.

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