Sinead O'Connor Began Singing Her Black Lives Matter Anthem in 1990 Sinead O'Connor Began Singing Her Black Lives Matter Anthem in 1990
Sinéad O’Connor explained the point of her career in her 2021 memoir: “Everyone wants a pop star. See? But I am a protest singer.” And her protests were epic. After O’Connor’s deat…
Jul 28, 2023 / John Nichols
The Double Bind of Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” The Double Bind of Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie”
The message of Barbie is that girls can be anything, but you still have to be gorgeous while you’re doing it.
Jul 28, 2023 / Katha Pollitt
How Stan Lee Became the Face of an Exploitative Industry How Stan Lee Became the Face of an Exploitative Industry
The Marvel editor became a Hollywood icon by claiming credit for other people’s creations.
Jul 28, 2023 / Jeet Heer
The Muddled Feminism of Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” The Muddled Feminism of Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie”
In trying to say too much, the film winds up not saying much at all.
Jul 27, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Tarpley Hitt
This “Barbie” Is in Crisis This “Barbie” Is in Crisis
Greta Gerwig tackles philosophical questions that are more daunting than a film based on a children’s toy can handle. It results in a strange, uneven, but beautiful movie.
Jul 26, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Erin Schwartz
What Happened to Peter Handke? What Happened to Peter Handke?
How an artist obsessed with interiority and language become a literary pariah.
Jul 26, 2023 / Books & the Arts / David Schurman Wallace
SAG-AFTRA Can Agree on One Thing: It’s Time to Crush the Big Studios SAG-AFTRA Can Agree on One Thing: It’s Time to Crush the Big Studios
How do you bring a woefully divided union together? You go on strike.
Jul 26, 2023 / Piper French
The Psychic Theater of Boots Riley The Psychic Theater of Boots Riley
Absurdist, darkly funny, I’m a Virgo tells a story of first love, capitalism’s surreal excesses, the contradictions of Black life, and how much politics a work of art can bear.
Jul 25, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Jorge Cotte
The Monumental Improvisations of Sonny Rollins The Monumental Improvisations of Sonny Rollins
Though his life had its ups and downs, Rollins never wavered in his determination to get things right, and often that meant reinventing himself and, along the way, jazz as well.
Jul 24, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Gene Seymour