All Culture
- 'We the Animals' continually wafts away into artiness
The movie, which focuses on a trio of brothers, is all nuance with no clear sense of place.
- First Look'Plant-based' replaces 'v-words' to appeal to carnivores
As companies try to get Americans to eat fewer animal products, “plant-based” is replacing “vegan” and “vegetarian” because of the unappetizing and polarizing associations the v-words might have.
- First Look'Let's go surfing now:' surfing is now California's official sport
Surfing has long been entwined with California culture and now Gov. Jerry Brown has inked the relationship into law. Although Hawaii is the sport's birthplace, Californians helped to modernize and popularize the art of riding waves.
- Top Picks: Tony Molina's 'Kill the Lights,' PBS's 'Ancient Invisible Cities,' and more
A new National Geographic video explores the biggest wholesale market in the world, Marvel’s various heroes join together to fight a powerful foe in 'Avengers: Infinity War,' and more top picks.
- What are you watching? Readers recommend 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,' 'Antiques Roadshow'
Monitor TV and movie fans share what they've been watching lately.
- First LookFueled by #MeToo, women get behind the TV camera
Nearly a year after the start of #MeToo, networks are requiring women in the director's chair, studios are running mentoring programs, and actresses are taking on producing roles to ensure more creative control. Still, industry players say Hollywood has a long way to go.
- First LookAretha Franklin stirred America's soul
At a time of rebellion and division in the 1960s, Aretha Franklin's hit records were a musical union of the church and the secular, man and woman, black and white, North and South, East and West. Ms. Franklin's legacy spans a half century and dozens of hits showing her sophisticated and eccentric taste.
- In a WordThe many ways ‘-ing’ makes a word
A reader recently asked why a building is called a building. The answer has to do with the great variety of functions that '-ing' performs in modern English.
- Can ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ help redefine how Hollywood portrays Asians?
Historically, Hollywood has misrepresented Asians. Understanding how offers lessons on more authentically portraying minorities, eventually making movies like ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ expected rather than exceptions.
- Notes to my garden denizens
Feeding birds, planting asparagus – even sleeping at night – are hardly routine.
- In MoviePass morass, lessons about risks, opportunities of industry change
MoviePass hoped to fundamentally change the moviegoing experience. A series of problems has put the company in jeopardy, but its bold experiment may help disrupt the movie theater industry.
- Landmark cast, high expectations for 'Crazy Rich Asians'
The film, which opens Aug. 15, is an extreme rarity – the first movie from a major Hollywood studio with Asian-Americans at its center since “The Joy Luck Club” in 1993. According to a study released by the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism, 4.8 percent of speaking characters in Hollywood films in 2017 were Asian.
- First LookFans, artists advocate against sexual misconduct at festivals
The #MeToo movement has emboldened music fans and artists to voice their concerns about sexual harassment and groping at music festivals. With increased attention but little data on the issue, they are pushing the industry to make real change.
- 'BlacKkKlansman' tells a truth-is-stranger-than-fiction story about the KKK
In the early 1970s, African-American police officer Ron Stallworth (John David Washington) joins the Ku Klux Klan, with fellow officer Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver), who is white and Jewish, impersonating Ron.
- ‘What Will People Say’ presents a cultural divide with urgency
Nisha (Maria Mozhdah) is a 16-year-old girl who lives on the outskirts of Oslo with her tightknit Pakistani immigrant family until her misbehavior causes her father to take her to live in Pakistan.
- Top Picks: John Coltrane's 'Both Directions at Once: The Lost Album,' 'The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society' on Netflix, and more top picks
Astronaut Drew Feustel has been posting fun updates via Twitter about plants that fellow astronaut Ricky Arnold has been growing on the International Space Station, director Steven Spielberg helmed the adaptation of Ernest Cline’s bestselling novel 'Ready Player One,' which is available on DVD and Blu-ray, and more top picks.
- What are you watching? Readers recommend 'Parks and Recreation,' 'NewsRadio'
Monitor TV and movie fans share what they've been watching lately.
- In a WordWhy can’t the English ... speak as we do?
Differences between British English and American English can often be worked out from context and are unlikely to offend. Some, however, have the potential to embarrass.
- First LookOscar's new popular film category sparks backlash
Facing declining viewership, the Academy of Motions Pictures Arts and Sciences has created a popular film award category. The move led questions over the category well-reviewed blockbusters such as "Black Panther" would fall under.
- First LookLittle, free pantries feed the food-insecure in Wyoming community
Tiny food pantries, operating similarly to little free libraries for book sharing, are up and running in a community in Wyoming. The effort aims to help struggling families in emergency situations and increase the visibility of food insecurity.