Cultural Criticism and Analysis

‘Survivor’ and the Strange Thrill of Late Capitalism’s Reality TV

‘Survivor’ and the Strange Thrill of Late Capitalism’s Reality TV ‘Survivor’ and the Strange Thrill of Late Capitalism’s Reality TV

The show fabricates a society to study how power is distributed within it, and in doing so, magnifies the demands that capitalism makes of ordinary people.

Dec 18, 2018 / Erin Schwartz

The Marxist Pop-Culture Theorist Who Influenced a Generation

The Marxist Pop-Culture Theorist Who Influenced a Generation The Marxist Pop-Culture Theorist Who Influenced a Generation

Through his blog, k-punk, Mark Fisher pioneered a different kind of cultural criticism.

Dec 14, 2018 / Rob Arcand

Why A.S. Hamrah’s Anti-Capitalist Film Criticism Is Essential Reading

Why A.S. Hamrah’s Anti-Capitalist Film Criticism Is Essential Reading Why A.S. Hamrah’s Anti-Capitalist Film Criticism Is Essential Reading

The Earth Dies Streaming makes the case that Hamrah is one of his generation's most astute and sharp-tongued film critics.

Nov 29, 2018 / Max Nelson

How Furious Women Shaped Our History: A Q&A With Rebecca Traister

How Furious Women Shaped Our History: A Q&A With Rebecca Traister How Furious Women Shaped Our History: A Q&A With Rebecca Traister

The author and New York magazine writer on anger as a catalyst for change.

Oct 22, 2018 / Books & the Arts / Leah Rosenzweig

Nate Chinen’s Daring New History of Modern Jazz

Nate Chinen’s Daring New History of Modern Jazz Nate Chinen’s Daring New History of Modern Jazz

Nate Chinen’s new book confronts the contemporary jazz moment with clarity and authority.

Oct 6, 2018 / Books & the Arts / David Hajdu

straight-white-men

Young Jean Lee’s Domestic Surrealism Young Jean Lee’s Domestic Surrealism

In her newest play, Lee offers us a look at the straight white man as a specimen.

Sep 11, 2018 / Alisa Solomon

Svetlana Alexievich

Svetlana Alexievich: ‘Freedom Is Long and Hard Work’ Svetlana Alexievich: ‘Freedom Is Long and Hard Work’

The Nobel Prize laureate in literature believes a new generation in the countries of the former USSR will make the dreams of 1991 a reality.

Aug 30, 2018 / Nadezhda Azhgikhina

BlaKkKlansman’s Leap Into the Present

BlaKkKlansman’s Leap Into the Present BlaKkKlansman’s Leap Into the Present

And in Josephine Decker’s Madeline’s Madeline, we find a protagonist plunged so deeply into her own mind that there really is no outside.

Aug 16, 2018 / Stuart Klawans

William Parker’s Late-Career Bloom

William Parker’s Late-Career Bloom William Parker’s Late-Career Bloom

After a 45-year-long career, the jazz bassist is still creating experimental music pulsing with humanity.

Aug 16, 2018 / Books & the Arts / David Hajdu

Can Charles Mills Save Liberal Philosophy From Itself?

Can Charles Mills Save Liberal Philosophy From Itself? Can Charles Mills Save Liberal Philosophy From Itself?

In his new book, the philosopher argues that political theory has obscured the history of racism in liberal societies.

Jul 18, 2018 / Books & the Arts / Christopher Lebron

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