Arts & Culture
The Rise of the Reboot: Why We Can’t Escape Nostalgia
I’ve wondered if I, too, have become a member of a generation reluctant to move past adolescence.
Unlearning the Colonial Gaze in Southeast Asian Art
Southeast Asia is a colonial construct, a modern concoction brewed from the dregs of centuries-long imperial conquest.
The Naive “Post-Racial” Future of ‘Horizon Zero Dawn’
‘Horizon Zero Dawn’ is naïve in its progressivism, and to sing its uncritical praises is to underestimate the ability of video games to tell better stories.
The Mess of Millennial Womanhood and the Myth of ‘Having It All’
I turned to my friend and asked, “What if I don’t want it all?”
When Pop Music Lets Women of Color Express Their Rage
Artists like Olivia Rodrigo validated my suppressed anger—and gave me space to be petty—by helping to create a world that validates feminine fury.
The Comfort of Time Loops in the Age of Climate Crisis
Unlike these stories, we don’t have decades of do-overs—especially on the West Coast, where the droughts are real and the big earthquake could shake things loose anytime.
South Indian Filter Coffee Tastes Like Home and Empire
For me, longing for filter coffee and missing my father are one and the same.
We Need the All-American Diner
Diners are affordable, accessible, and a staple of our national imagination. They’re also disappearing—and we need them now more than ever.
Why Create Art When No One Will See It?
Fritz Kistel was a reclusive artist who produced a body of work so fabulously unproductive—in the capitalist sense—that I can’t help but admire him: He created for himself.
How Yams Helped My Family Survive Postwar Vietnam
To my family, yams are more than just a root vegetable.