Comedy Series ‘The Afterparty’ Is Among the Last of Its Kind
The second season of Apple TV’s funny, inventive, and self-indulgent comedy whodunnit The Afterparty is utterly unnecessary in the best way.
Television
Lenny Bruce vs. Lenny Bruce: The Real and the Imagined
There are two Lenny Bruces: 1. the real-life subject of thoughtful documentaries and biographies, and 2. the TV/movie hip mentor and accidental deity.
Communitas and Comfort Television
Through the glow of comfort television, we experience communitas – that feeling of “the lost heaven” of the collective – and, for a time, we are relieved of our existential alienation.
Pee-wee Herman: The Existentialist at Play
Pee-wee Herman forever lives in a cosmos without a supernatural giver of laws. In such an existentialist world, Nietzsche says, we must be like children and invent a world of meaning, lest we be consumed by the great void.
Drama, Desire, and Diplomacy: The Rise of Turkish Television in India
Netflix represents an opportunity to internationalize and escape the pressures of a volatile domestic market in Turkish television. It has forced Turkish producers to tell Turkish stories in a globally compelling way.
Does Representation Really Matter?
I don’t need to see my likeness reflected in the world because I am already both “represented” by and reflected in the richness of humanity, and more importantly, I actively “represent” a potential for others too.
What ‘The White Lotus’ Conveys About the Fraudulence of Perception
Through its storytelling method of glances, we see The White Lotus‘ critique of our tendency to extrapolate that which we do not understand, and to fill gaps in our knowledge with ideologies, mythologies, learned stereotypes, and meme-logic.
Will Hollywood Finally Recognize the East Asian Male?
When Hollywood franchises need East Asian male characters for diversity purposes, their roles are limited to sidekicks or unlikeable men.
Shane Warne Biopic ‘Warnie’ Is Not Quite Scorsese-Like
Although it imitates some Scorsese methods, rather than giving us an insight into the real Shane Warne, Warnie instead gives us a series of showreels of the controversies in his life.
‘The Crowded Room’ Has Too Many Angles Crammed Into It
The Crowded Room tries to be a psychological drama, a coming-of-age story, and a law procedural culminating in courtroom maneuvers and meltdowns – all angles that crowd its premise.
Top 10 Forgotten TV Sitcoms You Wish You Had Seen
You’ve heard about them, seen snippets from them, and wondered about them: The Top 10 Forgotten TV Sitcoms You Wish You Had Seen.
Ken Burns on the Heartbreak and Hope of ‘The American Buffalo’
Ken Burns talks about his forthcoming PBS documentary The American Buffalo, the near extinction of the majestic beasts, and their respectful return to their rightful homeland.