Florals, for Spring? The Met Gala 2024 Red Carpet
The incongruity of looks on the red carpet at this year’s Met Gala created a diverse showing of cartoonish creativity, the hallmark of fashion’s biggest night.
Culture
Patric Gagne Calls for Empathy in ‘Sociopath: A Memoir’
Sociopath author Patric Gagne asks readers to reconsider their perceptions of sociopathy, arguing that people who struggle to feel empathy still deserve to receive it.
1000xResist’s Magnificent Operatic Heterotopia
Set in the politically significant year of 2046, sci-fi game 1000xResist evokes Michel van der Aa’s operatic music and Hou Hsiao-hsien’s heterotopia-like films.
Is the ‘Barbie’ Movie Performative Subversion or Meaningful Rebellion?
Is the Barbie movie, like the Barbie dolls, a superficial attempt to co-opt feminist discourse? Or does it offer something substantial?
Zionism, Belonging, and George Eliot’s ‘Daniel Deronda’
George Eliot was not Jewish, but her 1876 novel Daniel Deronda took on the “Jewish question” and brought forth the concept of Zionism with knowledge and grace.
Pabllo Vittar’s ‘Batidão Tropical Vol. 2’ Is Brazilian History You Can Dance To
Pabllo Vittar’s music echoes cultural movements and carries layers of Brazilian history in a package that requires no explanation to enjoy listening and dancing to.
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‘Free Party’ Director Aaron Trinder on Fighting for the Right to Party
When the New Age travelers and the newly emerging ravers met in the English countryside, they had to fight for the right to party together for free. They still do.
‘The Sympathizer’ Fractures Identity into a Knockout Kaleidoscopic Tale
The mini-series adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s kaleidoscopic tale The Sympathizer is a knockout account of colonialism, war, and (the loss of) identity.
Son of Freedom: Dissident Iranian Rapper Toomaj Salehi
Dissident Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi – an heir to the legacies of Persian rap’s founders – carries a torch for Women, Life, Freedom as death looms.
Gaming the O.J. Simpson Murder Trial
Did gaming the O.J. Simpson murder trial allow for deeper conversations about our most hidden emotions, ugliest prejudices, and disturbing desires?
The Abortion Discord Sewn into Faded ‘Blue Denim’
Today’s discord and desperation over abortion in America has roots in Philip Dunne’s faded Blue Denim, one of the first Hollywood films to address the issue.
‘Dirty Dancing’ in Pre-Roe v. Wade America
Andrea Warner’s book on Dirty Dancing in pre- Roe v. Wade America, The Time of My Life, is the deep dive into the film we need in these times.