Ghosting Needs to Die
There is a coldness to ghosting, a refusal to acknowledge the other person’s need to understand. Any sudden and mysterious death—whether of a person or a relationship—begs for closure.
Dispatches
“Dolemite is My Name” a Gentle Raunch
For years there were questions about where Eddie Murphy went. It is true that, apart from his Shrek work, and a movie called Mr. Church, in 2016, Murphy has not done much for a long decade. His fans have wondered when his “comeback” might occur. It…
Richard Serra at the Pulitzer
The Pulitzer Arts Foundation in St. Louis had special programming on Saturday, but there was time before it began to look at the exhibits and stroll the grounds. Joe, evidently named for Joseph Pulitzer, Jr., sits in a courtyard down a flight of stairs. The sculpture,…
Take Five: Doc Filmmaker Lynn Novick Talks About “College Behind Bars”
Director Lynn Novick (far left), During PBS’ “College Behind Bars” session at the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour in Beverly Hills, July 2019. (Credit: Rahoul Ghose/PBS) After co-directing a succession of award-winning documentaries with Ken Burns, Lynn Novick stepped forward to direct one on her own, with Sarah…
Why Cancel Culture Is Worse Than We Think
Cancel culture seemed, for a while, to be a reaction to celebrity culture. Like mortals scaling Mount Olympus to steal a thunderbolt or two, we had grown weary of blind worship. Determined to take back a little power, we watched closely, and whenever one of our gods proved unworthy of…
How We Get Along
It is one thing to live within a system you cannot admire, and another to do something about it. Those who vowed to move to Canada after the re-election of George W. Bush know this, as do those who vow civil war if Trump is impeached. Not feeling good about…
The Truth Is Out There
A giant white speech balloon is tethered at the foot of the grand limestone steps of the St. Louis Central Library. Passersby pause, some thinking of comic strips, some of texts. One guy misses the little tail pointing out at the bottom of the bubble and reads it as a…
Peter Matthiessen and the Scale of the World
Peter Matthiessen’s The Cloud Forest: A Chronicle of the South American Wilderness was the same book in the 1980s, when I first read it, as it was on publication in 1961. In the 25-year interval forces had changed the Amazon, but their effects were not as apparent as they have…
Did Superstition Win the World Series?
“I’m not watching,” my husband announced at the start of Game Five. I twisted on the sofa to stare at him. Andrew has been a staunch, unabashed Nationals fan since 2005, and the last time Washington won the World Series was as the Senators in 1924. “Every time I watch,…
Native Americans Apply the Methods of Sacha Baron Cohen
Coyote Mick Tomi leads the audience in the Black Snake Dance, part of the Indigenous Pipeline Council Presentation. The video seems legit, with its corporate-sounding platitudes and scenes of pretty families. “Everyone deserves energy,” it begins. “Energy fuels our favorite moments. But lately, the pathway to prosperity has been blocked.