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.
All’s Fair Is an Atrocity
Ryan Murphy’s new series is essentially the world inside your phone, made into a TV show.
What I Learned From Sammy Davis Jr.
The showman never stopped pleasing audiences—and confounding expectations.
A Conservative Rejoinder to the Manosphere
A new book argues that America would benefit if more men adopted the values of vulnerability and mutual care that are usually attributed to women.
Parenting Is the Least of Her Worries
In Die My Love, a struggling new mom loves her child—but can’t stand anyone else.
American Suburbs Have a Financial Secret
Municipal bonds have become an unavoidable part of local governance—and their costs divide rich towns from poor ones.
No, Women Aren’t the Problem
America is rapidly becoming the manosphere, but sure, let’s go after the “feminization” of culture.
The Age of Anti-Social Media Is Here
The social-media era is over. What’s coming will be much worse.
Two Unlikely Biopics About Unlikable People
One of Hollywood’s most affable directors finds something to relate to in famously prickly artists.
Dear James: When It’s Time to Say Goodbye
A reader keeps having to leave unsupportive support groups. And James Parker bids farewell to his column.
The Man Who Rescued Faulkner
How the critic Malcolm Cowley made American literature into its own great tradition