Home | PopMatters

Sorry, you have Javascript Disabled! To see this page as it is meant to appear, please enable your Javascript!

Essaying the pop culture that matters since 1999

All Featured: Top of Home Page Features Film Television

Nurse Ratched vs. Nurse Ratched

By Ellen Muller / 1 March 2021

Each portrayal of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’s infamous Nurse Ratched reflects what has changed in American society’s attitudes toward women — and what has not.

Featured: Top of Home Page Features Lists Music Music Features

The 10 Key Albums of Arab Strap

By Nick Soulsby / 1 March 2021

PopMatters takes a rapid-fire tour of the ten key releases that every Arab Strap fan should have in hand.

Books Featured: Top of Home Page Features Interviews

Author/Director Sandi Tan Discusses Exorcism and Other Battles in Her Art

By John A. Riley / 1 March 2021

Sandi Tan on how she battles demons and performs exorcisms in her new book, Lurkers, and elsewhere in her art.

Featured: Top of Home Page Features Music Music Features Visual Arts

The Artwork of Arab Strap

By Nick Soulsby / 26 February 2021

The distinct identity of Arab Strap, as an instrumental and lyrical unit, is matched by the visual aspect. The band’s artwork walks a sure-footed tightrope of casual appearance to deliberate effect.

Culture Featured: Top of Home Page Features Film Games Internet Lists Media Music SAVE/ IGNORE: popular Television

5 Negative Effects of Fandom Nostalgia and How to Overcome Them

By Jessica Haight-Angelo / 9 November 2020

Fandom, powered by nostalgia, is gigantic, uncloseted and, unfortunately, argumentative. It's so powerful it has driven creators away from their creations. How do we control that rabid drive to "own" someone else's works?

Books Comics Featured: Top of Home Page Features

Neil Gaiman’s Faustian Bargain with William Shakespeare

By A. J. Rocca / 9 December 2020

What kind of relationship do Gaiman and Shakespeare have? Is one a parasite on the other?

All Featured: Top of Home Page Features Film Television

Nurse Ratched vs. Nurse Ratched

By Ellen Muller / 1 March 2021

Featured: Top of Home Page Features Lists Music Music Features

The 10 Key Albums of Arab Strap

By Nick Soulsby / 1 March 2021

Music Music Reviews PopMatters Picks Reviews

Arab Strap Brighten the Nights with Hope, Humor, and Songcraft on ‘As Days Get Dark’

By Nick Soulsby / 1 March 2021

Music Music Reviews PopMatters Picks Reviews

Charley Crockett Honors Honky-Tonker James Hand on ’10 For Slim’

By Steve Horowitz / 1 March 2021

Music Music Reviews Reviews

Black Nash’s Self-Titled Album Is Weird, Catchy Psych-Pop

By Chris Ingalls / 1 March 2021

All Books Reviews

A Motley Crew of Eccentric Characters Lurk in Sandi Tan’s ‘Lurkers’

By John A. Riley / 1 March 2021

All Featured: Top of Home Page Features Film PopMatters Picks

Bing Liu’s Skateboarding Documentary, ‘Minding the Gap’, Is a Manifesto of Youth Delivered by the Young

By Colin Fitzgerald / 1 March 2021

Books Featured: Top of Home Page Features Interviews

Author/Director Sandi Tan Discusses Exorcism and Other Battles in Her Art

By John A. Riley / 1 March 2021

Music Music Reviews PopMatters Picks Reviews

Cloud Nothings’ ‘The Shadow I Remember’ Is a Life-Affirming and Defiant Statement

By Rod Waterman / 26 February 2021

Mixed Media Premieres

Palm Ghosts Deliver Dark, Danceable Single “The Dead Inside” (premiere)

By Jedd Beaudoin / 26 February 2021