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.
What Hollywood Gets Wrong About Springsteen
The new Boss biopic robs his music of its mythic American qualities.
Jeremy Strong Is Ready to Let Go, Just a Little Bit
The famously intense actor found relief in his latest film, after a spate of heavy roles.
The Worst Art Thief in America
The Mastermind is far more successful as a character study than as a heist movie.
Why I Run
I took up the sport to be like my father. I kept going because he stopped.
Philip Pullman’s Anti-Escapist Fantasy
In his fiction, the author of The Golden Compass tells us how to love this world. It isn’t easy.
A Novel That Understands Where Romance Is Going
Claire-Louise Bennett’s new novel trades romantic fatalism for something odder and pricklier.
When One Word Changes an Entire Film
After the Hunt seems to reckon with cancel culture, before revealing where its true interest lies.
It’s Not Enough to Read Orwell
A new film argues that, in an era of rising authoritarianism, audiences have become too numb to the speculative force of 1984.
The Great Ghosting Paradox
Is there a social phenomenon that’s as infuriating—and as commonplace?
The Unexpected Profundity of a Movie About Bird-Watching
Listers understands how technology can corrupt our leisure activities.