Articles
6207 results
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The end of the television antihero
Breaking up with the bad boy
Many are calling this a Golden Age of Television, with a plethora of dramas examining morally complex antiheroes. How complex are they, really, though?
Articles
5 minute read
The art of the Kimmel Center
You call this a welcome?
Originally, the Kimmel Center had aspirations of becoming the Center City “meet and greet” location for all cultural-minded urbanites from Philadelphia and beyond. That hasn't happened — and the off-putting car crash ("The Slow and Inevitable Death of American Muscle") currently on display does nothing to help.
Articles
3 minute read
A memory of Anne Sexton
Cleft
Poetry didn't move the young Bob Levin, until Anne Sexton left him wobbling, dizzied — but exposed, somehow, through pain to hope.
When an artist's vision is compromised
Living in a mirrored diptych
“The eyes are an artist's best assets.” What does this really mean? And what happens when these assets are compromised?
Articles
5 minute read
Evan Mandery’s 'A Wild Justice'
The Nine Lives of Capital Punishment
Opponents are more optimistic than they have been in almost 50 years that the death penalty is a dying institution. But such hopes have been dashed before, as Evan J. Mandery’s Wild Justice points out.
Articles
5 minute read
The return of Lucille Ball
I Hate Lucy
With a new live show and colorization, Lucy is back. Her message was damaging enough the first time — do we really need to revisit it?
Articles
3 minute read
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Downton Abbey’s Secret Feminist
Are you ready for season four?
Even the politically progressive can get sucked in by the delightful soapiness of Downton Abbey, despite the show's troubling politico-economic subtext. Who'da thunk the only feminist of the lot was below stairs, though?
Articles
5 minute read
The secret behind Beethoven’s Ninth
What Beethoven dreamed in his inner ear
From Berlin to Beijing, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony has become a universal symbol of hope. It’s also recognized as the ideal fusion of music and poetry. How on Earth did a composer who was deaf and dying manage such an awesome achievement?
Articles
4 minute read
Eric Schlosser’s ‘Command and Control’
Nuclear roulette: Nothing can go wrong, go wrong….
Relax: We made it through the Cold War without a nuclear attack. Don’t relax: The U.S. still holds 4,500 nukes, all vulnerable to the mishaps and malfunctions that plague every complex human endeavor.
Articles
4 minute read
Julie Taymor’s ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’
A dream for all ages
Julie Taymor draws upon multiple theatrical traditions to create minimalist, multidimensional magic.
Articles
5 minute read