Posts in TV and Movies
Serial’s Success Inspired Tons of New True Crime Docs—But How Do They Hold Up in 2022?
Serial’s Success Inspired Tons of New True Crime Docs—But How Do They Hold Up in 2022?

True crime was already popular when “Serial” premiered in 2014, but the podcast definitely helped the genre go mainstream. Unfortunately, some of the most notable post-Serial shows and podcasts have many of the same problems as their inspiration.

Read More
Media, TV and MoviesRuth YoungSerial, Adnan Syed, Sarah Koenig, Making a Murderer, The Staircase, American Murder: The Family Next Door, My Favorite Murder, Tiger King
‘Fire Island’ Doesn’t Need to Pass the Bechdel Test to Be Great
‘Fire Island’ Doesn’t Need to Pass the Bechdel Test to Be Great

Joel Kim Booster’s Pride and Prejudice-inspired rom-com celebrates (and subverts) rom-com tropes to tell a story that’s both sweet and sharp. For one white journalist, that was a problem.

Read More
TV and MoviesStacy Lee KongColin Firth, Matthew Macfadyen, Keira Knightley, Martin Henderson, Gurinder Chadha, Bowen Yang, Joel Kim Booster, Tomas Matos, Matt Rogers, Torian Miller, Margaret Cho, Kelly Clarkson, James Scully, Conrad Ricamora, Nick Adams, Hanna Rosin, Alison Bechdel, Johnny Depp, Amber Heard
The Aesthetic Representation of Indian Culture in 'Bridgerton' Is Amazing—But It's Not Enough
The Aesthetic Representation of Indian Culture in 'Bridgerton' Is Amazing—But It's Not Enough

The historical romance appeals because it's aesthetically pleasing, deliciously subversive and both sex-obsessed and sexy. But its approach to race doesn't make sense.

Read More
TV and MoviesStacy Lee KongBridgerton, Golda Rosheuvel, Adjoa Andoh, Simone Ashley, Charithra Chandran, Jonathan Bailey, Rege-Jean Page, Phoebe Dynevor, Shonda Rhimes, Chris Van Dusen, Vanessa Riley, America's Next Top Model, Angelea Preston
We Need to Talk About How We're Talking About That Slap
We Need to Talk About How We're Talking About That Slap

This week, much of the valid analysis about Will Smith, Chris Rock and that slap was overshadowed by an increasingly racist discourse. We should probably talk about it, huh?

Read More
Celebrity, TV and MoviesStacy Lee KongWill Smith, Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett Smith, Questlove, Denzel Washington, Tyler Perry, Bradley Cooper, P. Diddy, RIchard Williams, Jaden Smith, Willow Smith, Roxane Gay, Judd Apatow, Amy Schumer, Mia Farrow, John Wayne, Sacheen Littlefeather, Adrien Brody, Halle Berry, Roman Polanski, Woody Allen, Dylan Farrow, S.E. Cupp, Krista Vernoff, E. Jean Carroll, Harvey Weinstein, Bridgerton, Bruce Willis, Nicolas Cage, Sean Penn
Did You Hear? Only Stories About White People Can Be Relatable
Did You Hear? Only Stories About White People Can Be Relatable

According to a recent review by CinemaBlend’s Sean O’Connell, "Turning Red" is limited, unrealistic and difficult to connect with. Not because of the panda thing, mind you. Because it's about a Chinese-Canadian girl.

Read More
Media, TV and MoviesStacy Lee KongVolodymyr Zelensky, Vladimir Putin, Sean O'Connell, Domee Shi, Julia Cho, Michael J. Fox, Rosalie Chiang, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Michelle Alyssa Go, Christina Yuna Lee, Kim Kardashian, Brittney Griner, Chelsea Hart, Lance Tsosie, Gigi Hadid
Oh Good, We’re Still Talking About the “Sanctity of Comedy” 🙄
Oh Good, We’re Still Talking About the “Sanctity of Comedy” 🙄

From Dave Chappelle to David Zucker, the writer and director of Airplane!, there’s been a lot of mansplaining about comedy this week, and I’m just going to spend this newsletter shutting it down, if that’s okay.

Read More
Celebrity, TV and MoviesStacy Lee KongDave Chappelle, David Zucker, Hannah Gadsby, George Carlin, Lenny Bruce, Roxane Gay, Christopher Hitchens, Eddie Murphy, Katt Williams, Hasan Minhaj, Ali Wong, Nicole Byer, Ronny Chieng, Cameron Esposito, Ryan Ken, Zainab Johnson, Ziwe, Miles Teller, Edward Rogers, Masai Ujiri