Television
Even the TV Characters Know It’s Time to Riot
The rise of radical politics in shows like “Andor” offer me a surprising source of hope.
Learning to Take Risks Like the Queer Pirates in ‘Our Flag Means Death’
Love and connection require emotional risk. After the harrowing nature of the last three years, I needed ‘Our Flag Means Death’ to remind me.
What “The Mindy Project” Did (and Didn’t Do) for Brown Girls on TV
The critiques Mindy Kaling received shaped the representation we see on-screen today as much as her successes did.
Wednesday Addams Is the Ultimate Outcast
Wednesday Addams does not want to play with you.
TV Recaps Taught Me How to Write Criticism
They provided a blueprint by showing the critical apparatus in a container transparent enough that I could see the inner workings.
Chris Farley Taught Me to Laugh and to Grieve
Only now, with my adult eyes, am I able to perceive the pathos in his performances and the potential he never had the chance to fulfill.
Why Pop Culture Loves the Toxic Drama Teacher Trope
There is a great tradition of depicting the archetype of the unbridled, emotionally exploitative acting teacher.
‘Bad Sisters’ Captures the Intensity of Having and Being a Sister
My sister is not my best friend. She is my sister. Those are fundamentally different relationships.
Is Everything Really Copy? Let’s Talk About Memoir and Reality TV
Nora Ephron said, “Everything is copy.” But in a memoir, much like in reality TV, art cannot represent life exactly. People are characters, snapshots of their “real” selves.
The One With the Offensive Joke About Intersex People
Like any sitcom created before the mid-aughts—around the time Hollywood started doing the bare minimum to give space to marginalized people—‘Friends’ has not aged well.