Tony Bennett: The Model Italian-American (Or At Least Less Affronting Than Most)
As a second generation Italian-American (with his mother, Anna Suraci, born right after his grandmother arrived in the U.S.), Tony Bennett had the potential to [Read More…]
“Mind Your Business” Has the “Piece of Me” Tone That Keeps Britney Spears Firmly Associated With the 00s
For those who were worried that the 2000s might never come back authentically (instead having to settle for ersatz imitations like the makeup aesthetic on [Read More…]
Blow Up the Patriarchy, Or: The Barbenheimer Experience
Perhaps what they don’t warn you about with regard to “the Barbenheimer experience” is just how jarring it actually is. Certainly, that’s the entire “point” [Read More…]
In Barbie, As In Life, Patriarchy Is the Insidious Force Turning Women’s Lives Upside Down
It’s among the few mononyms that invoke an immediate visceral reaction—whether reverent or contemptuous—within people. God. Madonna. Barbie. And, like the aforementioned Italian-American pop star, [Read More…]
The Preeminent Question Presented By No Hard Feelings: “Doesn’t Anyone FUCK Anymore?!”
Perhaps if there is one key aim of No Hard Feelings (apart from being 2023’s answer to a “sex” comedy), it’s to highlight the flaccidity [Read More…]
“El Flow No Está a la Venta”: Karol G’s “S91”
Having previously worked with Pedro Artola on videos like “Cairo” and “Provenza,” Karol G reteams with the director to bring us the surreal stylings of [Read More…]
From “Barbie’s Perspective,” Billie Eilish Asks the Question Even the “Dumbest Blonde” Must: “What Was I Made For?”
Although there might have been a time when Billie Eilish was considered the “anti-Barbie,” her blonde, “clean” aesthetic in the wake of Happier Than Ever [Read More…]
Asteroid City: Wes Anderson’s “Sci-Fi” Movie Is About A Collective and Resigned Sense of Doom More Than It Is 50s Americana
A palpable shift has occurred in Wes Anderson’s style and tone since the release of 2021’s The French Dispatch. One doesn’t want to use a [Read More…]
Wham!—The Music Duo and the Documentary—Reminds That Pop Music Was Never Frivolous
It’s easy to write Wham! off, even to this day, as another “embarrassing” 80s pop group. Their preppy, often neon attire, combined with Hair As [Read More…]
What Should Come Across As Carnal Is Only Creepy and Unsettling in Taylor Swift’s “I Can See You” Video
It’s appropriate that Taylor Swift should feel comfortable, only now, with releasing “I Can See You” from “the vault” of her Speak Now era. For, [Read More…]
