Dave Chappelle’s Comedy of Bitterness 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.
Nov 9, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Stephen Kearse
What “Passing” Can Still Teach Us About Identity What “Passing” Can Still Teach Us About Identity
A film adaptation of Nella Larsen’s novel dramatizes the mercurial and sometimes dangerous consequences of a person's performance of self in the public.
Nov 4, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Elias Rodriques
On Film, a Window Into Haiti On Film, a Window Into Haiti
Gessica Généus discusses Freda, the first movie by a female Haitian director to be nominated for an award at Cannes.
Nov 3, 2021 / Q&A / Clair MacDougall
Why Mike Nichols Was the Egalitarian Auteur Why Mike Nichols Was the Egalitarian Auteur
Mark Harris’s biography of the filmmaker shows that one cannot be an auteur without some help.
Nov 3, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Lindsay Zoladz
Which Version of Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme” Reigns Supreme? Which Version of Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme” Reigns Supreme?
Is the latest posthumous addition to his canon released today the Holy Grail?
Oct 22, 2021 / Column / Ethan Iverson
“Squid Game”’s Capitalist Parables “Squid Game”’s Capitalist Parables
Netflix’s breakout series depicts a world of violent and macabre individualism and desperation.
Oct 20, 2021 / Books & the Arts / E. Tammy Kim
“Gossip Girl” and the Demented Culture of Fame “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.
Oct 19, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Erin Schwartz
We Came Here to Get Away From You We Came Here to Get Away From You
Port Townsend, Washington Downhill, a skeleton of an orca suspended: a female beached; belly full, at that time, of seal and fish; the seal and fish full, at that time of poison. T…
Oct 19, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Donika Kelly
In the New Year In the New Year
Sun on my face and the train slips into the tunnel. Dim reflection confronts. Perhaps I am lacking in something substantial like iron, or virtue. How easy it is to hurt someone, ho…
Oct 19, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Natasha Rao
Art at the Border of Power and Ecology Art at the Border of Power and Ecology
Miguel Fernández de Castro’s multimedia works reveal the ties between money, migration, and environmental disaster.