Critic’s Notebook
The Cruel Abstraction of “Beast Games”
On a competition show made by the YouTube sensation MrBeast, the people are faceless and the challenges are vicious.
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Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni, and the Collapse of the Hollywood #MeToo Era
The reportage that thrived in the late twenty-tens cannot break through on today’s volatile Internet, where information is misinformation and victims are offenders.
Refinding James Baldwin
We commonly associate the writer with the land of his birth—America—and with the land of his expatriation, France. But a fascinating new exhibit focusses on Baldwin’s years in Turkey, the country that, in his words, saved his life.
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“Babygirl” Never Really Makes a Mess
The relationship at the heart of a new erotic thriller, starring Nicole Kidman, doesn’t explode power struggles; it exists within them.
How “Nickel Boys” Critiques the Camera in American Cinema
RaMell Ross’s drama—a remarkable one, about institutions, Black male friendship, social mimicry, and the Black political dream—feels shot through with the history of American image-making.
The Animals That Made It All Worth It
This year, it was hard to feel good about humans. Moo Deng, Crumbs, and Pilaf kept us sane.
Conner O’Malley Is the Bard of the Manosphere
The comedian’s absurd, poignant work captures the lives of the kind of frustrated young men who helped Donald Trump win the election.
Documentaries of Dissent
“No Other Land” and “Union” are films that Hollywood and corporate America don’t want you to see.
Into the Phones of Teens
“Social Studies,” a documentary series by Lauren Greenfield, follows a group of young people, and screen-records their phones, to capture how social media has reshaped their lives.
The Divided Soul of “Bad Kreyòl”
Dominique Morisseau meditates on identity, and on the possibilities of language, in her new play, set in Haiti.