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Film
fromIndieWire
1 day ago

Praying 'Sinners' Wins Best Picture? Try the Hypnotic Vampire Classic 'Ganja & Hess' While You Wait

Black horror cinema predates 2017; 'Ganja & Hess' (1973) used vampire mythology to explore Black identity decades before contemporary films like 'Sinners.'
Film
fromVulture
1 day ago

Boots Riley Is Back

Boots Riley's I Love Boosters is an anti-capitalist comedy about female shoplifters redistributing designer goods to the poor, combining absurdist humor with social commentary on wealth inequality and systemic change.
US politics
fromConsequence
1 day ago

Neil Young: New Album Inspired by "Worst President in the History of our Country"

Neil Young channels political distress into a new studio album with Chrome Hearts, featuring eight songs that explore feelings of life and love.
fromThe Atlantic
1 day ago

The 'Logic of Brazil,' in 160 Minutes

The sad-eyed research scientist might be, as the title suggests, some kind of spy, perhaps working to undermine the U.S.-backed military regime that governed Brazil from 1964 to 1985. The film's amber light and ample bell-bottoms situate it firmly in the late 1970s, a time of repressive dictatorships and jittery paranoia, triggered by political malfeasance and instability across the world.
Film
fromThe Nation
1 day ago

Who Will Win Big at the Oscars?

From its opening scene-a shakedown of Armando Solimões (Wagner Moura) by local authorities at a rural gas station-Kleber Mendonça Filho immerses viewers in a world of casual corruption and clandestine violence endemic to authoritarian rule.
Film
#comedy
Television
fromIndependent
4 days ago

Louis Theroux peeks into the rage-filled manosphere of men with abandonment issues and their coterie of OnlyFans girls

A Netflix documentary examines the manosphere, revealing contradictions between members' stated traditional values and their actual behaviors and relationships with women.
Music
fromPitchfork
4 days ago

Johnny Blue Skies / Sturgill Simpson: Mutiny After Midnight

Johnny Blue Skies released an album using sex as a metaphor for political revolution and social change in response to declining sexual frequency among Americans.
Television
fromVulture
4 days ago

The Beauty's Most and Least Sensical Transformations, Ranked

The Beauty explores how insecurity about appearance drives people to pursue a transformative virus, examining vanity, body horror, and the disconnect between external appearance and internal identity.
#wealth-inequality
fromwww.theguardian.com
4 days ago
US politics

It's shock and awe as Trump's granddaughter does her bit for the war effort. All hail Kai Trump, the shopper-in-chief | Marina Hyde

fromwww.theguardian.com
4 days ago
US politics

It's shock and awe as Trump's granddaughter does her bit for the war effort. All hail Kai Trump, the shopper-in-chief | Marina Hyde

Film
fromwww.theguardian.com
5 days ago

Why One Battle After Another should win the best picture Oscar

Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another is a politically charged Hollywood film adapting Thomas Pynchon's Vineland, following a burnt-out activist whose daughter is captured, exploring contemporary American divisions through volatile comedy and serious social commentary.
Books
fromwww.theguardian.com
6 days ago

Look What You Made Me Do by John Lanchester review a battle between millennials and boomers

John Lanchester's latest novel explores generational conflict between affluent boomers and millennials through a story of a married couple discovering their private life depicted in a TV show.
Arts
fromwww.theguardian.com
6 days ago

The smell wasn't healthy': the artist who wore 24 nappies to highlight sewage pollution and fell ill

Performance artist zack mennell uses their body and the Thames to confront societal issues including sewage pollution, benefit stigma, and shame through visceral live art.
Arts
fromRemodelista
1 week ago

Quick Takes With: Diana Weymar of Tiny Pricks Project - Remodelista

Diana Weymar transforms political and social commentary into hand-stitched embroidery art, creating a powerful medium for witnessing and remembering through handmade textile work.
NYC music
fromAtwood Magazine
1 week ago

NYC's Dogpark Break Down Industry Pressure and the World Behind 'Corporate Pudding' - Atwood Magazine

Dogpark uses satire in their EP 'Corporate Pudding' to critique modern society's obsession with wealth, internet culture, and isolation among young adults.
Miscellaneous
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 week ago

Having 36 dancers waiting for me fills me with dread': choreographer Crystal Pite on her seminal productions

Crystal Pite creates emotionally intelligent contemporary choreography that explores humanity, relationships, and contemporary crises through innovative movement and experimental use of text.
Arts
fromwww.npr.org
1 week ago

If you loved 'The Secret Agent,' here's what to watch next

A 1977-set thriller follows an ordinary man navigating Brazil's military dictatorship, capturing its daily brutalities and absurdities through smart, often darkly comedic storytelling.
Arts
fromColossal
1 week ago

In Cardboard and Gold, Narsiso Martinez Highlights the Workers of American Agriculture

Narsiso Martinez uses discarded produce boxes as artistic canvases to highlight the invisible labor and devalued workers sustaining American agriculture and food systems.
Paris food
fromThe New Yorker
2 weeks ago

Martin Parr's Eye for Human Folly

Martin Parr's photography combines visual humor with conceptual intelligence, using ironic juxtapositions to critique human behavior and cultural contradictions across diverse settings.
SF LGBT
fromQueerty
2 weeks ago

Tim Gunn's 43-year celibacy, Heated Rivalry's cottage & the hookup "thank you" debate - Queerty

Queerty's team discusses Tim Gunn's 43-year celibacy, the Heated Rivalry cottage on Airbnb, and post-hookup etiquette norms.
Fashion & style
fromKALTBLUT Magazine
2 weeks ago

Reflections of Pain - Carousel: A Fashion Performance Experience - KALTBLUT Magazine

CAROUSEL, a sustainable fashion collective, presented 'Reflections of Pain' featuring four designers exploring anguish and resilience through immersive fashion performance and storytelling.
NYC politics
fromComic Sands
2 weeks ago

Blizzard Reporter Caught Off Guard When Interview Snowballs Into Rant About Predatory Landlords In NYC

A New York resident interrupted a nostalgic snow day interview to criticize hedge funds and private equity ownership of residential property, highlighting housing instability amid the Northeast blizzard.
NYC music
fromKALTBLUT Magazine
2 weeks ago

Confronting Identity and Ambition: Orrin's Bold EP FILTH - KALTBLUT Magazine

Orrin's rap-rock EP FILTH blends early-2000s alternative rock with contemporary rap to examine Black identity and survival in America.
fromdesignboom | architecture & design magazine
2 weeks ago

robotic bird by korean artist duo erases its own footprints as social commentary

A robotic bird leaves footprints over sand while another machine follows behind to erase the tracks with a toothbrush, along with a thin wire rake that smooths the sand. Finally, soft bristles flatten the surface to complete the tracks' erasure.
Arts
#contemporary-art
fromdesignyoutrust.com
1 month ago
Arts

This Artist Blends Javanese Tradition With Contemporary Painting, Turning Patterned Fabrics And Figures Into Quietly Surreal Scenes

A broad collection of visual art and cultural artifacts spanning murals, illustration, photography, sculpture, and design across diverse styles, periods, and themes.
fromdesignyoutrust.com
2 months ago
Graphic design

With Elegant Penwork And Calm, Fashionforward Characters, This Artist Reimagines Classic Japanese Ghost Stories As Contemporary Iconography

A diverse collection of contemporary visual artworks showcases surreal sculptures, street art, digital illustrations, and socially engaged pieces reimagining pop culture and everyday life.
fromdesignyoutrust.com
1 month ago
Arts

This Artist Blends Javanese Tradition With Contemporary Painting, Turning Patterned Fabrics And Figures Into Quietly Surreal Scenes

fromdesignyoutrust.com
2 months ago
Graphic design

With Elegant Penwork And Calm, Fashionforward Characters, This Artist Reimagines Classic Japanese Ghost Stories As Contemporary Iconography

#illustration
#visual-art
fromdesignyoutrust.com
3 months ago
Graphic design

Illustrator Creates Cozy Grunling Worlds With Anthropomorphic Fruits And Vegetables Turning Everyday Nature Into Pastel Storylands

fromdesignyoutrust.com
3 months ago
Graphic design

Illustrator Creates Cozy Grunling Worlds With Anthropomorphic Fruits And Vegetables Turning Everyday Nature Into Pastel Storylands

Music
fromPitchfork
1 month ago

Lucinda Williams: World's Gone Wrong

Lucinda Williams's World's Gone Wrong blends topical social chaos themes with blues tradition, communal guest performances, and a soulful, gritty rock-blues band sound.
#art
fromJuxtapoz
8 months ago
Artificial intelligence

Juxtapoz Magazine - Matt Bollinger's "Homecoming" Comes to Francois Ghebaly, Los Angeles

fromtime.com
8 months ago
NYC politics

Meet Rama Duwaji, the Illustrator Who Met Zohran Mamdani on Hingeand May Become NYC's First Lady

fromJuxtapoz
8 months ago
Artificial intelligence

Juxtapoz Magazine - Matt Bollinger's "Homecoming" Comes to Francois Ghebaly, Los Angeles

fromtime.com
8 months ago
NYC politics

Meet Rama Duwaji, the Illustrator Who Met Zohran Mamdani on Hingeand May Become NYC's First Lady

Music
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

Sleaford Mods: The Demise of Planet X review vulnerability and versatility widen potty-mouthed appeal

Sleaford Mods combine caustic, bleak social commentary with evolving production and surprising vulnerability to broaden their appeal on their 13th album.
Music
fromConsequence
2 months ago

Mon Rovia Releases Moving Debut Album Bloodline: Stream

Mon Rovîa released debut album Bloodline featuring warm Afro-Appalachian folk and intimate social commentary on gun violence, incarceration, identity, and resilience.
fromMetro Silicon Valley | Silicon Valley's Leading Weekly
2 months ago

Christopher Titus in Sunnyvale | Metro Silicon Valley | Silicon Valley's Leading Weekly

Christopher Titus is a powerful weapon for the forces of progress and humanity. He's genuine, sincere, incredibly funny and boy has he been through it. His everyman, working class image allows him to deliver sharp material about bigotry being idiotic (all forms of bigotry, he gets into details), in a way that those who most need to hear it are likely to hear it without jamming their fingers in their ears while yelling "OH NO! THE WOKE!!!"
Humor
Graphic design
fromdesignyoutrust.com
2 months ago

Denis Zhbankov Blends Russian Folklore With Dark Fantasy, Summoning ComedyHorror Creatures That Feel Like They Moved Into Your Village And Never Left

A diverse group of digital and traditional artists use Photoshop, illustration, AI, and satire on social platforms to provoke, entertain, and raise awareness.
Marketing
fromFast Company
2 months ago

These were the best ads of 2025

Select 2025 commercials stood out for creative risk, technical difficulty, and entertainment, turning forgettable advertising into memorable, provocative, and hilarious brand work.
#photography
Music
fromConsequence
3 months ago

Flea Confirms New Solo Album Album, Releases "A Plea" As First Single

Flea released "A Plea," a trumpet-led single urging humanity and love amid societal divisiveness, backed by a dream band and a video, with an album due in 2026.
#horror
Film
fromFilmmaker Magazine
4 months ago

Greenlight Coverage Celebrates Gotham Week Partnership and Recognizes Top Three Projects (Sponsored Post)

Three screenplays—The Ballad of Tita and the Machines, The Poem, and The Camford Experiment—received top marks for storytelling, originality, and thematic depth.
Arts
fromBOOOOOOOM!
5 months ago

"27 Schoolteachers and a Volcano" by Artist Pat Perry

Teachers persistently create and maintain meaning through daily, intentional work despite overwhelming, uncontrollable forces.
Film
fromInverse
6 months ago

38 Years Later, One Dystopian Thriller Has The Perfect Balance Of Camp And Action

The 1987 film The Running Man uniquely blends earnest social commentary with campy spectacle, aging well and remaining distinct from Edgar Wright's forthcoming reboot.
Film
fromThe New Yorker
6 months ago

The Photographer Who Looked Past the Idea of Italy

Gianni Berengo Gardin photographed Italy's everyday life, blending American documentary conscience and French photoreportage aesthetics to reveal social realities and subtle ironies.
Arts
fromstupidDOPE | Est. 2008
6 months ago

Ben Tolman's Control Brings Darkly Comical Dystopias to Paris | stupidDOPE | Est. 2008

Ben Tolman’s intricate ink drawings depict faceless crowds trapped in labyrinthine structures, critiquing conformity, technological submission, and social disconnection.
Books
fromwww.npr.org
6 months ago

Two genre novels offer entertainment and plenty of wry social commentary

Genre fiction can deliver sly, wry, intelligent social commentary while entertaining, and contemporary espionage novels demonstrate that capability.
London music
fromTime Out London
6 months ago

Five things The Real Housewives gets hilariously wrong about London

'The Real Housewives of London' displays a superficial and glamorous portrayal of London high society, marred by snobbery and trivial conflicts.
Chicago
fromCreative Bloq
6 months ago

People are still saying there's a man trapped inside the Chicago bean

A group claims a baby was trapped inside Cloud Gate for 21 years, sparking humor and protest.
Film
fromPitchfork
6 months ago

Highest 2 Lowest Review: Spike Lee's Attempt to Grapple With Rap's New Gen

Spike Lee critiques rap music, expressing concern that some forms perpetuate negative stereotypes and harm the Black community.
LGBT
fromAdvocate.com
6 months ago

Daily newsletter 8/14

A trans volleyball player, Emma Morquecho, is suing after the Cal Pac Conference revoked her scholarship despite her relocation for it.
#music
#film
US politics
fromwww.mercurynews.com
7 months ago

To Woody Allen, Epstein was Dracula serviced by young female vampires'

Woody Allen humorously celebrated Jeffrey Epstein's birthday in a letter that also revealed their frequent friendship and interactions.
fromKotaku
7 months ago

MrBeast Wants To Recreate Hunger Games In Real Life

"I think that would absolutely crush because yes, we recreated, but we also rebuilt Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. I have a chocolate company, and we gave golden tickets and brought people out, and people loved it."
Film
fromDefector
7 months ago

Ari Aster Wants You To Take The Bait | Defector

Ari Aster's new film Eddington positions itself as both an exaggeration and a riposte of the collective skittishness and amnesia about 2020. It keeps its focus on a sliver of the state in which Aster grew up, showing the foolish exploits of Sheriff Joe Cross running for mayor.
Film
fromBoston.com
7 months ago

Tom Lehrer, song satirist, Harvard mathematician, dies at 97

"Lehrer was often likened to contemporaries such as Allen Sherman and Stan Freberg for his comic riffs on culture and politics and was cited by Randy Newman as an influence."
US news
fromBuzzFeed
7 months ago

Rihanna Has Inadvertently Divided Parents After Saying That Her Kids Won't Be "Tablet Babies"

Parents have been making these judgy comments to each other forever--in the '90s it was about too much tv. And it's especially gross coming from a billionaire with a gaggle of nannies. Keeping kids engaged in activities and/or responding to 'I'm bored' 24/7 sounds exhausting when you don't have hired help to do it for you, and there's nothing wrong with a reasonable amount of screen time.
Parenting
fromSlate Magazine
7 months ago

I Wrote a Book About Being a Dad. Pro-Israel Protesters Showed Up to Object. I Asked Them Why.

The book, 'Becoming Baba', chronicles the experience of having Muslim parents and raising Muslim children in a frequently hostile environment, reflecting the author’s personal heartbreak over incidents in Gaza.
Social justice
fromwww.theguardian.com
7 months ago

You think God didn't make gay men?' Comedian Leslie Jones on religion, grief and getting famous at 47

"I'm the type of person who, if I'm happy, everybody in the room is going to be happy, and if I'm sad, it's going to be very quiet and tense. I'm a temperature guider in the room."
Humor
fromIndependent
7 months ago

Ksenia Samotiy: Memes that gloat over the demise of CEOs are not funny - they are unadulterated cruelty

The 'Coldplay couple' incident at a concert led to a flurry of memes online, merging humor with unintentional social commentary on public perception and embarrassment.
Social media marketing
Film
fromThe New Yorker
7 months ago

"Eddington" Is a Lethally Self-Satisfied COVID Satire

Eddington explores the void of meaning and misinformation post-COVID-19, reflecting America's current social isolation and polarization.
Music
fromIndependent
8 months ago

Damien Dempsey: 'You get a lot of put downs when you're trying to do something different'

Damien Dempsey's music resonates deeply by voicing unheard struggles in Ireland.
Fashion & style
fromwww.theguardian.com
8 months ago

Demna bows out at Balenciaga with star-studded final show in Paris

Demna's final show at Balenciaga challenged and conformed to couture norms while incorporating social commentary and diverse body representation.
fromInverse
8 months ago

Netflix's Latest Zombie Movie Is The Next Plausible Step For The Genre

In near-future Thailand, food is scarce, but federal propaganda assures us that life is worse elsewhere. Purposefully isolated from the outside world, Thai society is still more or less functional, thanks in part to the efforts of a wealthy entrepreneur named Mr Vasu, who popularized a new type of food made from processed insects.
Film
Film
fromwww.theguardian.com
8 months ago

Noughts & Crosses review Malorie Blackman's thought experiment confronts the audience anew

The play challenges racism by reversing societal roles, showcasing the experiences of marginalized groups.
Film
fromwww.theguardian.com
8 months ago

Suit Hung. Tied Tongue review rabble-rousing revenge drama takes aim at the 1%

The film explores the radicalization of brothers Sean and Freddie Halpin through a mockumentary lens that critiques societal injustices.
fromPolygon
8 months ago

Gachiakuta goes places I've never seen in an anime series, and that's an instant win

Gachiakuta follows the familiar shonen formula but introduces a unique setting in the floating city of Sphere, making it feel fresh amidst a crowded genre.
Film
Television
fromKotaku
8 months ago

Squid Game Creator Says Some Of The Show's Worst People Remind Him Of Elon Musk

The series comments on social and economic inequalities, reflecting real-life bad characters alongside its fictional ones.
Film
fromRoger Ebert
8 months ago

The Unloved, Part 138: Rebel Moon | MZS | Roger Ebert

Zack Snyder's "Rebel Moon" transforms traditional superhero narratives, presenting flawed heroes who inspire change and reflect deeper societal issues.
Film
fromVulture
8 months ago

The Gilded Age Recap: The Return of Hector

Dynamic character interactions in period dramas enhance drama and intrigue.
fromKALTBLUT Magazine
8 months ago

Shape of Consumption - KALTBLUT Magazine

For Noam Welz, fashion is a physical form of commentary, a surface for emotion, provocation, and social reflection.
Fashion & style
Film
fromVulture
8 months ago

Sorry, Baby Has a Hard Time Talking About the Things We Can't Talk About

Sorry, Baby illustrates the absurdities and inadequacies in discussing and addressing the trauma of sexual assault.
Television
fromtime.com
8 months ago

The Real-Life Inspirations Behind Squid Game's VIPs in Season 3

The VIPs in Squid Game symbolize the moral decay of capitalism and the exploitation of the working class.
Independent films
fromDaily Kos
8 months ago

'2073' is a film some people really don't want you to see. You should watch it

The film 2073 offers a dystopian warning about America's future, deeply reflecting current trends in society.
US Elections
fromenglish.elpais.com
8 months ago

Two billionaires, two very different weddings: Soros and Abedin vs Bezos and Sanchez

Weddings reflect diverse cultural unions and human curiosity, especially those of the wealthy.
The stark contrast between humble weddings and those of billionaires like Soros and Bezos illustrates societal disparities.
fromFuncheap
8 months ago

San Francisco Mime Troupe's "Disruption" (Live Oak Park)

DISRUPTION - A Musical Farce asks the political question: as the United States slides towards authoritarianism will San Francisco become a center of resistance, or just a corporate suburb of Silicon Valley?
San Francisco
#theater
fromwww.theguardian.com
8 months ago

Move on from a bad workplace | Brief letters

Shame I had to leave the job I loved, but better that than working for dickheads. If they're not interested in you, it is not worth trying to change them from within.
UK news
NYC LGBT
fromConsequence
8 months ago

The 10 Biggest Most Loser-ish Moments of the Year So Far

The Biggest Loser concept should be reclaimed to challenge societal absurdities and highlight loserdom.
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