cultural criticism

Queer Capitalism: A Street-Level, #LGBTQ Response to Life in the Times of Trumpism

Queer Capitalism: A Street-Level, #LGBTQ Response to Life in the Times of Trumpism

Legislation, the vehicle of idealists, is bereft of ideas in the times of Trumpism. We are left to fend for ourselves.

Combustible Hope: Critics Simon Reynolds and Darren Ambrose on Mark Fisher’s Works and Philosophy

Combustible Hope: Critics Simon Reynolds and Darren Ambrose on Mark Fisher’s Works and Philosophy

Critic Mark Fisher never stooped to suckle the masses; nor did he fluff the pillows of academics. Colleagues Simon Reynolds and Darren Ambrose provide insight into Fisher’s posthumous book, k-punk, and his intriguing legacy.

How Is It That Agnès Varda Is So Well Known — Yet So Unknown?

How Is It That Agnès Varda Is So Well Known — Yet So Unknown?

Our pop culture landscape is controlled by capitalistic saturation and a deeply-entrenched machismo ethic. It might not be powerful enough to erase Agnès Varda's genius, but it is shameless enough to eliminate her from the common discourse.

‘Out of Our Minds’ Considers Freedom and Force, Coercion and Custom

‘Out of Our Minds’ Considers Freedom and Force, Coercion and Custom

In Out of Our Minds, Fernández-Armesto encourages readers to distrust visionaries who promise perfection.

Jia Tolentino’s ‘Trick Mirror’ Is a Studied Index of Contemporary Ills

Jia Tolentino’s ‘Trick Mirror’ Is a Studied Index of Contemporary Ills

Jia Tolentino's first collection of essays, Trick Mirror, expertly navigates how the byproducts of capitalism and the Internet permeate culture, values, politics, and the daily lives of people worldwide.

Absurdism and Power: Robert Altman’s ‘Brewster McCloud’ in Today’s America

Absurdism and Power: Robert Altman’s ‘Brewster McCloud’ in Today’s America

As in the America of the 1970s -- with its political corruption, war, economic straits, and fatalism -- Robert Altman's Brewster McCloud resonates loudly in these times. Shall we join the circus freaks dancing on the grave of an absurd and unjust society?

Do Canadians Think They’re Morally Superior to Everyone Else?

Do Canadians Think They’re Morally Superior to Everyone Else?

Yves Engler's Left, Right: Marching to the Beat of Imperial Canada debunks the myth of Canada the good.

When You Speak to Your Muse, Does It Answer? It Does in ‘Boss Broad’

When You Speak to Your Muse, Does It Answer? It Does in ‘Boss Broad’

Wild rebellion and reckless combat are increasingly less valued than ethical wit and spiritual sustenance in Megan Volpert's entertaining and insightful Boss Broad.

‘Garage’: A Visually and Intellectually Rich Study of a Seemingly Blank Space

‘Garage’: A Visually and Intellectually Rich Study of a Seemingly Blank Space

Olivia Erlanger and Luis Ortega Govela's Garage challenges the beguiling, energizing, and yet limiting power of the garage in America as a symbol of escape and reinvention.

Eula Biss’s Reissued ‘Notes from No Man’s Land’ Resonates

Eula Biss’s Reissued ‘Notes from No Man’s Land’ Resonates

Eula Biss's essay collection remains compelling not only for its elegant prose that melds politics and personal essay but because its subject matter may be even more relevant today.

Saving Acid Communism: The Essential Leftist Critic Mark Fisher

Saving Acid Communism: The Essential Leftist Critic Mark Fisher

Mark Fisher’s posthumous k-punk showcases the depth of his critiques, insight he brought to the humanities, and a glimpse into where he was going with the unfinished work, Acid Communism.

When Sexually Frustrated Angry White Men (Mis)Read the Classics

When Sexually Frustrated Angry White Men (Mis)Read the Classics

Donna Zuckerberg's Not All Dead White Men is a powerful study of the ways the alt-right distorts the understanding of ancient Greek and Roman literature to serve hateful interests today.