Gen X’s Death By the Point of the Stiletto
David Frankel’s satire The Devil Wears Prada rendered Gen X’s smarter-than-everyone, holier-than-thou attitude of perpetual disaffection obsolete.
Culture
Satire Is No Longer Critical; It’s Inspirational
Satire meant to critique corporate greed and the dark side of masculinity has instead inspired a new kind of performance identity.
Why Tokyo Has So Many Record Stores
In a country where curation itself has long carried economic value, the identities of Tokyo’s record stores are inseparable from the owners’ personal obsessions.
Meme Culture’s Corrosive Effect on the American Heart
Over time, particularly since the 2016 U.S. presidential election, meme culture has shifted into a series of thought-terminating clichés that eat through our democratic identity like battery acid.
Staging Cultural Erasure in Ukraine’s Borderland
Journalist James Verini resurfaces the stories of those who sheltered from Putin’s war in the iconic Ukrainian theater, peeling back layers on a microcosm of the country’s struggle for cultural survival.
William Lessard on Vibe Coding Poetry in Our Era of AI
Pre-Musk Twitter drew writer/visual artist William Lessard back to poetry. He adapts to current AI tech with his latest “vibe coding” project, /face.
The Curious Connection of the Beatles and Nixon at Disney World
The story of how the radically different historical figures the Beatles, Richard Nixon, and Disney World intertwine is one of fascinating coincidence.
“Paul McCartney Is Dead”: The Hoax That Just Won’t Die
The “Paul McCartney Is Dead” hoax is so familiar to the public that it is taught in psychology courses to illustrate confirmation bias. Why won’t it just die, already?
Bad Bunny and the Joyful Perreo Resistance
Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl LX half-time show is much more than a choreographic display; it’s a manifesto of political autonomy and joyful visual sovereignty.
Gorillaz at 25 Are a Cultural Force for the Good
Assuming personal stability is necessary for collective betterment, it’s high time that Gorillaz share their newest, loving, bizarre journey with the rest of the world.
The Queer Comfort of Liminal Space
Recognizing ourselves within liminal spaces suggests that the self is liminal, fluid, and shifting; contradictory, and resistant to classification.
What Gen X Thinks of Millennial Metalheads
One of the strangest things about being a Millennial in heavy music is realizing that you are basically Gen X’s baby goth.