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.
Cloud Pantoum
A poem for Sunday
Starbucks’ Most Beloved Offering Is Disappearing
It’s the end of free bathrooms—and of a particular fantasy.
In This Horror Movie, You Can Look, but Not Touch
Presence locks its monster—and the viewer—behind the camera.
This Movie Understands Difficult People
Hard Truths takes an astonishingly sensitive approach in telling the story of a bitter housewife.
What the Fires Revealed About Los Angeles Culture
The blazes reflect—and exacerbate—the disparities embedded in the most mundane tenets of city life.
The Oscars Have Left the Mainstream Moviegoer Behind
The Academy found its nominees on the international film-festival circuit, not at the movie theater.
America Is Divided. It Makes for Tremendous Content.
Jubilee Media mines the nation’s deepest disagreements for rowdy viral videos. But is all the arguing changing anyone’s mind?
David Lynch, My Neighbor
The late director made beguiling movies about Los Angeles; he also loved his Scion xB.
David Lynch Captured the Appeal of the Unknown
The late director’s most successful work kept viewers in the dark.
My Sad, Sad Friend Talks Only About Herself
I want to be there for her. But it’s exhausting.