The End of Humanism The End of Humanism
Like a guest at a potlatch, laughing to see his host's worldly goods go up in flames, I roared at The Matrix--roared and at the same time was humbled, knowing Warner Bros.
Apr 8, 1999 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans
Better Ed Than Dead Better Ed Than Dead
Like the telephone before it, television has been an instrument for overcoming American loneliness.
Apr 1, 1999 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans
The Jazz Singer The Jazz Singer
Most Americans don't like instrumental music.
Apr 1, 1999 / Books & the Arts / Gene Santoro
Shud He Have Been a Contendah? Shud He Have Been a Contendah?
The inevitable controversy--presenting name-naming film director Elia Kazan with a Lifetime Achievement Award--has unfolded like an accident waiting to happen, aggravating the A...
Mar 18, 1999 / Books & the Arts / Cliff Rothman
American Graffiti American Graffiti
It's true--and a cliché--that Hollywood films hold up a mirror to American society. It's equally true--and equally a cliché--that Hollywood films fail to reflect Am...
Mar 18, 1999 / Books & the Arts / Susie Linfield
On Movies, Money & Politics On Movies, Money & Politics
The Nation asked six politically active members of the entertainment community to comment on recent developments in the realms of politics and popular culture.
Mar 18, 1999 / Books & the Arts / Peter Biskind
Part of Our Time, Too Part of Our Time, Too
Given the late Dalton Trumbo's various claims to verbal fame--highest-paid screenwriter of his day, most vocal member of the Hollywood Ten, polemicist extraordinaire, winner und...
Mar 18, 1999 / Books & the Arts / Dalton Trumbo and Murray Kempton
Red Fox? Red Fox?
The contracts are signed, the treatment is being written and Fox Television plans to fast-track production on a ten- to twelve-hour miniseries based on lefty historian Howard Zin...
Mar 18, 1999 / Books & the Arts / Tom Gogola
When Worlds Collide When Worlds Collide
When those in my modest circle of acquaintances learned that I was editing a Hollywood issue of The Nation, they found it either risible or irritating.
Mar 18, 1999 / Books & the Arts / Peter Biskind