Storytelling
Why Damien Chazelle’s First Man Feels So Empty
Why, despite some stellar filmmaking, does First Man fail to satisfy?
Business Advice
11 Surprising Facts About How Movie Box Office Works
How Hollywood and America went crazy over box office reports… and why the numbers aren’t always what they seem.
Armchair Sociology
The Popularity Paradox: Why Do We Hate Pop Culture?
I don’t know anybody who loves pop radio. I know people who listen to it ironically, as though they’re not comfortable admitting they don’t entirely hate Lady Gaga. And I know people who admit to liking just Lady Gaga, or just Usher, but still insist they “hate the radio.” But Read more…
Armchair Sociology
Do You Want Them to Remember You Tomorrow?
When I was in art school, we had one English class. Our instructor wasn’t used to teaching art students, and she was confused by our habit of rewatching the same movies over and over again. “I don’t get why anybody would watch the same movie twice,” she told us. For Read more…
Armchair Sociology
The Death of Fun
Remember the ’80s? Those were my formative years, so their influence is hard to shake, but I can’t help but feel like the ’80s were the last time in Western culture when fun was generally acceptable. I grew up reading comic books like Batman and Spider-Man, and watching cartoons like Read more…