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January 31, 2022
Muhammad Ali Was Our Last Great American Hero
The American dream may be coming apart at the seams, but the glory of The Greatest is in full flower and still growing. Why?
Robert Lipsyte
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January 31, 2022
Theater Kids and the End Times in “Station Eleven”
The HBO adaptation of Emily St. Mandel’s postapocalyptic pandemic novel examines, with mixed results, the endurance of art after society collapses.
Vikram Murthi
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December 22, 2021
Soul Train and the Desire for Black Power
Don Cornelius’s faith that Black culture would attract a mass audience—and his devout belief that Black culture should be in the hands of Black people—make the program he created a radical touchstone 50 years after its debut.
Mark Anthony Neal
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November 18, 2021
Inside the Hell That Is “The Many Saints of Newark”
All of the things that worked in The Sopranos make its prequel a remarkable slog of a film.
Erin Schwartz
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November 10, 2021
“Succession”’s Repetition Compulsion
In Succession’s moral universe, no one can ever get what they want or what they deserve.
Sam Adler-Bell
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November 9, 2021
Dave Chappelle’s Comedy of Bitterness
In his recent special The Closer, and his response to critics of it, he outlines a strange version of identity politics where comedians are always the victims.
Stephen Kearse
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October 20, 2021
“Squid Game”’s Capitalist Parables
Netflix’s breakout series depicts a world of violent and macabre individualism and desperation.
E. Tammy Kim
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October 19, 2021
“Gossip Girl” and the Demented Culture of Fame
HBO’s reboot of the teen drama explores how the rich and famous make their lives consumable for the rest of us.
Erin Schwartz
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September 15, 2021
Who’s to Blame in “The White Lotus”?
In the weeks since the release of Mike White’s latest HBO series, debate has centered on the show’s politics. Is it liberal satire or spectacle?
Vikram Murthi
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July 14, 2021
The Collective Trauma in ‘Mare of Easttown’
Unlike a standard true crime show, the HBO series focuses less on the mystery at its center and more on the community that must bear its consequences.
Erin Schwartz