The Rise of CliffsNotes Cinema
Oversimplified literary remakes miss the point of the works they are adapting.
Culture
Why Justin Bieber Played YouTube Onstage for Thousands of People
The pop star transformed the normal act of browsing your laptop into something interesting—and unsettling.
The New Age of Performance Anxiety
With the rise of screen culture, all the world has stage fright.
Where Did ‘Let Them’ Come From?
Years before Mel Robbins published her best-selling self-help book, a struggling writer posted a poem with a similar message.
The Richard Linklater Movie That Serves as a Warning
His 2011 film, Bernie, understands the dangers of despising people who are not like you.
The Next Great American Mega-Genre
Men with guitars are back in fashion—and categorizing their sound isn’t easy.
What to Read When You Have Only Half an Hour
A short story has velocity and verve, and the best ones create an immediate, instinctual bond between the reader and the characters.
The Shyamalan Secret to Scariness
Ishana Night Shyamalan’s debut film, The Watchers, finds a careful balance between the freaky and the mundane.
This Show Understands the Absurdity of Modern Existence
The mesmerizing new HBO series Fantasmas isn’t exactly funny—but it is entirely relatable.
When the Culture Wars Came for the Theater
A new book sees the reactionary response to a New Deal–era arts initiative as a precursor to today’s cultural divisions.
Stop Trying to Understand Kafka
His parables aren’t supposed to make sense.
Nine Books About Aging, Growing, and Changing
Moments of great physical upheaval can be accompanied by great revelations.
This Is Going to Be a Weird Summer for Movies
Don’t expect another Barbenheimer.