Looking Back on Downton Abbey
Five years ago, audiences were introduced to the sprawling country estate of Downton Abbey at the turning point of a century of turmoil: The RMS Titanic had just sunk, taking the heirs of the estate...
Category: Arts & Literature
2015: The Year in Books
2015 has been an interesting and sometimes controversial year in the world of literature in English. (I am not equipped to comment on the rich and varied non-English-language literary scene, so this...
Five Shows to Look Forward to in 2016
New year, new TV! Old standards are returning from their midseason break, but more importantly, there’s a fresh crop of television including midseason pickups and, of course, fall shows — while...
The State of TV Today
As 2015 draws to a close, television is falling into a bit of a lull, between shows taking their midseason breaks or wrapping up their short seasons. In January, programming will resume with crowd...
How Star Wars Can Avoid Becoming Dude Wars: A Feminist Wish List
Well, friends, it is December of 2015. And, in the midst of the shrieking, writhing, hyperbole-spewing horror show that is the Internet (expressed any opinions about the US election lately? No? Good...
Review: “The Secret Chord” by Geraldine Brooks
Geraldine Brooks’ latest novel, an account of the life of King David told by his prophet, Nathan (Natan), takes its title from Leonard Cohen’s beloved and much-covered song, Hallelujah. Although...
Global Comment Advent Calendar 10: “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” by Dean Martin
Dean Martin’s Let It Snow is a Christmas classic for all the right reasons. It has a nice pace and beautiful instrumental flourishes and best of all, it’s easy to sing along to (even I can hit...
Director David Holbrooke Discusses “The Diplomat”
With both the fight against ISIS and the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris on American’s minds both at home and abroad, a doc doesn’t deliver much more timely lessons than those of David...
Beautiful Ugly? Amy Schumer’s Pirelli Shot Is No Risk At All
Feminist media darling Amy Schumer is in the news again this week for her feature in 2016’s Pirelli Calendar — the world-famous borderline pornographic calendar distributed to distinguished...
Grown-up Comics: Netflix’s Jessica Jones Reflects on Female Trauma
Netflix dropped Marvel’s Jessica Jones on Friday and the internet hasn’t been able to shut up about it since, particularly when it comes to a corner of the internet that tends to be particularly...