‘World of Giants’ Is Cold War Sci-Fi Espionage with a Small Difference
World of Giants is catnip and dog-nip and gopher-nip for connoisseurs of classic sci-fi TV ’50s style, aka, the art of really short half-hour storytelling.
1950s
The Rise of Rock ‘n’ Roll Nation and the Far Right Reaction
American anxieties about the rise of rock ‘n’ roll nation were exploited by the far right, relating the music’s lyrics, sounds, dances, and subcultures to ubiquitous worries about communism and the developing civil rights movement.
‘The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet’ and the Nerve-Wracking Nature of Nothingness in 1950s White America
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet impresses me not for its alleged blandness but for its ingenious minimalism, its meta-structure, and its nerve-wracking nature of nothingness.
Why We Still Love Lucy After All These Years
The I Love Lucy cast insisted that the show didn’t intend to take on world-changing progressive issues, but it was far more subversive than they let on.
Identity, Geography, and an Overload of Nostalgia in My Mother’s Son
My Mother's Son could have been an unforgettable and evocative portrait of a lost era.