One track on Taylor Swift’s new album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” honors a long-celebrated, oft-miscast heroine of American feminism: actress Clara Bow. As historians of the 1920s, we’ve studied Bow’s fame and…
Tag: Film
Bradley Cooper, Cillian Murphy and the myths of Method acting
Should actors and actresses who go to extremes to prepare for their roles get more love from Oscars voters? This year, best actor nominees Cillian Murphy, who played nuclear physicist J. Robert…
How non-English language cinema is reshaping the Oscars landscape
Over the past few years, the Oscars have taken a decidedly international turn. This year, of the 10 films nominated for an Academy Award for best picture, three of them – “Anatomy…
From rebel to retail − inside Bob Marley’s posthumous musical and merchandising empire
The long-awaited Bob Marley biopic “One Love” will highlight important moments in the musician’s life – his adolescence in Trench Town, his spiritual growth, the attempt on his life. But as a…
How TV shows have grappled with a post-Dobbs America
Two doctors sit, despondent, on the side of a busy road as they watch an EMT zip up the body of their patient into a body bag. The patient died as a…
Conservatives’ ‘anti-woke’ alternative to Disney has finally arrived
As fanfare blares, female sprinters at the starting line suspiciously eye a man in a wig. A hulking, goateed wrestler slams a woman half his size to the mat. An ominous voice-over…
The exploitation of Hollywood’s writers is just another symptom of digital feudalism
The current Hollywood writers strike has drawn international attention to the plight of TV and film writers in the streaming era. Much has been made of television’s golden age, during which streaming…
‘Barbie’ is, at its core, a movie about the messy contradictions of motherhood
Editor’s note: This article contains plot spoilers for “Barbie.” The wildly popular “Barbie” movie has been touted for its celebration – and critique – of femininity. As a mother and a media…
The fight for 2% − how residuals became a sticking point for striking actors
Streaming disrupted the entire entertainment industry, upending the DVD-purchasing, film-renting, moviegoing model of decades past. That shift has also changed how actors get paid. And some of the gains actors made through…