‘The Wordhord’ Collects Fragments of the Oldest English
Medievalist Hana Videen’s The Wordhord relies on remaining fragments of documented Old English to conjure the daily life of Anglo-Saxons.
history
Hollywood Is a Helluva Drug in Damien Chazelle’s ‘Babylon’
Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt’s characters burn the candle at both ends in Damien Chazelle’s rollicking and ridiculous epic cautionary tale, Babylon.
‘The Silent Enemy’ Raises Issues of Native American Identity
The gorgeously shot 1930 ethnography, ‘The Silent Enemy’, depicts the life of an Ojibway tribe long before the advent of European explorers and settlers.
Director Leah Purcell on Reimagining ‘The Legend of Molly Johnson’
Indigenous Australian writer, director, and actress Leah Purcell talks about reimagining Henry Lawson’s short story and inserting her family history into The Legend of Molly Johnson.
It Better Rhyme: ‘The Stasi Poetry Circle’
When historian Philip Oltermann is handed the Stasi file for Uwe Berger, leader of the Stasi Poetry Circle, he gives the GDR’s dark history a poetic twist.
On Ireland’s Painful Emergence into the Modern World
Fintan O’Toole’s lucid history of Ireland, We Don’t Know Ourselves, is a vivid telling of how his country’s culture of silence and repression was broken open.
Sylvain Cypel’s ‘The State of Israel vs. the Jews’ Addresses Burning Questions
Cypel’s The State of Israel vs. the Jews addresses the prejudices embedded in Israeli policies toward Palestinians and their implications for Jews worldwide.
Is Louis Menand Right About the Death of Art and Thought in America?
For intellectual historian Louis Menand, the Cold War gave rise to prospects and paradoxes in America, and Art was given status through essential criticism.
‘Beirut 2020’ Portends What Awaits America
Majdalani’s Beirut 2020 warns that unwillingness to enforce rules and due process lies at the heart of the problems plaguing both Lebanon and America.
Director Agnieszka Holland on Cancel Culture and Its Effects on ‘Charlatan’
Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Holland says Cancel Culture takes many forms that suffocate Art, including the oversimplification of truth and judgmental attitudes.
In TV Comedy ‘Rutherford Falls’ History Is Personal
As viewers have come to expect from co-creator Michael Schur, Rutherford Falls uses sly humor and flawed, lovable characters to tackle serious issues.
