TV

Battle Cry: Sailor Moon the Supersensitive Superhero

An ode to Sailor Moon’s power of emotional vulnerability on the show’s 30th anniversary.

Magical Medicine : 6 Fictional Healers Who Eased Our Pain

Whether their abilities are innate, learned, or thrust upon them, fictional healers have long been a staple of fantasy. These six healers use physical touch, chaos magic, and even their own saliva to mend wounds and restore health.   Read more »

From Mrs. Maisel to Rory, Amy Sherman-Palladino Relies on Flimsy Anti-Heroines

With “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” Amy Sherman-Palladino finally had the opportunity to lean into the anti-heroine—but she didn’t take it. Read more »

“Yellowjackets” and the Disturbing Reality of Social Contract

With Yellowjackets, the so-called “puzzle-box show” achieves a kind of maturity by doing away with the conspiratorially furrowed brow of the masculine heroes who are obsessed with, and eventually resolve, whatever metaphysical conundrum that has made life unlivable. Read more »

13 Shows and Movies We Loved in 2021

From the unexpected buzz around Squid Game’s horrifying meditation on the problem of debt in South Korea to the catharsis of Mayday’s feminist revenge. Read more »

9 Shows and Movies We Hated in 2021

These are some of the biggest disappointments we saw this year. Read more »

“Harlem” Could’ve Offered Escapism. Instead, its Black Characters Are Woefully Unoriginal

The new show makes confusing choices that deliver woefully unoriginal Black characters.  Read more »

White Christmas: Can Holiday Movies Add Diversity and Ignore Politics?

The challenge of diversifying holiday movies is about more than representation.  Read more »

Double Down: "King Richard" Is an Ode to the Power of Believing in Black Girls

“King Richard” succeeds in drawing us to root for the Williams family to beat the odds against them—the specter of both genteel and bloody racism, the gang violence that threatens their neighborhood. Read more »

Rare Delight: : "Sort Of" Is a Refreshingly Complex Take on Nonbinary Life

What makes Sort Of work is its exploration of a nesting series of communities; one is diverse and queer, featuring people of a variety of genders and sexualities who move fluidly through each other’s lives in a way that highlights the rapid diversification of the LGBQT community... Read more »

Crimeless Victims: What Is the True-Crime Takeover Doing to Us?

 The emergence of “highbrow” true crime allows listeners to recast spectatorship as objective critical analysis. Read more »

Pages

Tina Belcher's Sexual Revolution

Tina Belcher breaks all the rules of network sitcoms. That's why she's wonderful.  Read more »

What I Learned About Gender and Power from Sailor Moon

My life began in 1995 — the year I turned eight and became a divorced kid.    Read more »

Films and TV Portray Abortion as More Dangerous Than It Is

Films and television shows tend to present a skewed portrayal of abortion—when fictional movies and TV shows include a plotline about abortion... Read more »