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.
10 Standout Indie Movies to Watch for This Year
A documentary about cement and an anxiety-ridden sex comedy were among the Sundance Film Festival’s highlights.
Rod Dreher Thinks the Enlightenment Was a Mistake
The influential author derides secularism and the modern world. Conservatives—including the vice president—are joining him on a march back to the Middle Ages.
James Van Der Beek’s Greatest Trick
In a short-lived sitcom, he gamely mocked his role in Dawson’s Creek—and found freedom.
The Multibillion-Dollar Foundation That Controls the Humanities
Is the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation the last best hope for American arts and letters—or is it killing them?
What Happened to the Great American Protest Concert?
The war in Gaza has inspired lots of angry activism, but not in music.
The Indie-Cinema Dilemma
The Sundance Film Festival, which once helped turn small movies into blockbusters, is losing its Hollywood pull.
The Grim Paradox of the Nancy Guthrie Case
What happens when private pain, public compassion, and the risk of exploitation blur
The Poet Laureate of Madness
Why Alfred, Lord Tennyson feels so modern
The Novel as Extended Op-Ed
If anyone could write good fiction about immigration, it would probably be Lionel Shriver. Instead, her latest book goes off the rails.