Books & Culture – American Greatness

Richard M. Weaver’s ‘Ideas Have Consequences’ at 75

Roger Kimball — Sun, 03 Dec 2023 10:00:09 +0000

Last week, I particpated in a conference on the work of the Southern writer Richard M. Weaver hosted by The Buckley Institute in New Haven. The […]

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‘The Democrat Party Hates America’ is a Brutal Indictment of The Left

Carpe Diem — Fri, 29 Sep 2023 10:00:20 +0000

Anyone who is a regular listener of Mark Levin’s radio show or watches him on Fox News is aware that no one is better equipped […]

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Sir Walter Scott’s ‘Waverley’ Inverse to Hollywood’s ‘Barbie’

Anthony Esolen — Mon, 21 Aug 2023 09:45:25 +0000

I don’t suppose it’s a surprise to anyone that Hollywood has made a movie about a plastic doll named Barbie. Hollywood these days is in […]

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‘Anna Karenina’ Reveals Leo Tolstoy As a Great Thinker, First and Foremost

John Tamny — Fri, 07 Jul 2023 14:07:08 +0000

Some things you can’t take back, or unsay. Many years ago I told the wife of a friend that I really wanted to read Leo […]

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A Trilogy of Meditations on AI and Art (Part Three)

Thaddeus G. McCotter — Sat, 01 Jul 2023 16:20:57 +0000

The prior two installments of this trilogy of meditations on artificial intelligence (AI) and art mused upon the contrast between AI and artists’ imaginations, and […]

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Katharine Hepburn, the Marble Goddess?

Emina Melonic — Wed, 28 Jun 2023 03:04:13 +0000

Few actors’ names are more synonymous with the Golden Age of Hollywood than Katharine Hepburn. Her looks, charm, and verve contributed to many, now classic […]

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Artificial Intelligence vs. Artists’ Works

Thaddeus G. McCotter — Sun, 25 Jun 2023 03:01:43 +0000

The first of this trilogy of meditations on artificial intelligence (AI) and art pondered the contrast between AI and the imaginations of artists. In essence, […]

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No God, No Culture

Anthony Esolen — Sat, 24 Jun 2023 02:59:16 +0000

What was the inflection point for Western civilization in general, and American culture in particular, after which teachers took it upon themselves to ignore their […]

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The Empty Indifference of ‘Black Mirror’

Emina Melonic — Fri, 23 Jun 2023 03:00:05 +0000

After a four-year break, the British series “Black Mirror” has returned with five new episodes now streaming on Netflix. The show touts itself as an […]

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‘Catch a Crayfish, Count the Stars’: Steven Rinella’s First Children’s Book Is a Treasure for the Ages

Salena Zito — Tue, 20 Jun 2023 03:02:36 +0000

Within moments of unpacking the family’s copy of Catch a Crayfish, Count the Stars, “MeatEater” host Steven Rinella’s first children’s book, my granddaughter Nora was […]

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A Trilogy of Meditations on AI and Art (Part One)

Thaddeus G. McCotter — Sun, 18 Jun 2023 03:01:09 +0000

Originating in late 18th century England, Luddism was a populist movement by middle-class, skilled workers in response to the burgeoning Industrial Revolution’s supplanting of their […]

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The Ghosts of Postwar America

Emina Melonic — Wed, 14 Jun 2023 03:03:15 +0000

Ronald Reagan was not a brooding man. Whatever existential unease he may have had, he didn’t show it, especially in public. As an actor in […]

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A North Korean Perspective on Woke America

Auguste Meyrat — Wed, 14 Jun 2023 03:02:34 +0000

It’s difficult to conceive of a worse place in the world than North Korea. In fact, conditions in the country are so horrific—amounting to a […]

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Sixty Years On, Why the Kennedy Assassination Still Matters

Michael Wilkerson — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 03:04:29 +0000

June 10, 2023 marks the 60th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s famous commencement address at Washington, D.C.’s American University. This speech—among JFK’s finest—laid out […]

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The Voice of Ronald Reagan

Emina Melonic — Wed, 07 Jun 2023 03:03:14 +0000

After the United States entered World War II, everything changed. So did the movie business. During the war, but especially afterward, Hollywood made hundreds of […]

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IMDb Is Rigging Reviews for ‘The Little Mermaid’

Tim Young — Thu, 01 Jun 2023 03:03:17 +0000

The box office numbers and audience reviews for “woke” movies have been tanking—and efforts to negate that problem are clearly part of the Hollywood machine’s […]

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Return to the Story

Emina Melonic — Thu, 01 Jun 2023 03:01:23 +0000

If, as the sometimes trite-sounding refrain has it, “life is a journey,” we are forced to ask ourselves to define what we mean by journey. […]

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Life of Python

Lloyd Billingsley — Thu, 01 Jun 2023 03:00:12 +0000

John Cleese has been planning a stage production of “Life of Brian,” and in a reading of the latest script, several American actors advised him […]

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The Right Sound of Glenn Miller and James Stewart

Emina Melonic — Wed, 24 May 2023 03:04:21 +0000

James Stewart’s essence is captivating. Even in his darker roles, such as “Scottie” in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1958 “Vertigo,” we can’t help but feel some measure […]

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‘Indiana Jones 5’ Will Be Disney’s Latest Bomb

Tim Young — Wed, 24 May 2023 03:01:47 +0000

Very rarely does a movie designed to take my money for empty entertainment lose me with a 60-second clip. But Disney pulled it off using […]

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Revisiting Richard M. Ketchum’s Saratoga

James Patrick Riley — Sun, 21 May 2023 03:04:51 +0000

Yale educated New York publisher and Vermont sheep farmer, Richard M. Ketchum, who commanded a sub-chaser in World War II and wrote an engaging series […]

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Cary Grant’s Search for Lost Youth

Emina Melonic — Wed, 17 May 2023 03:04:40 +0000

Howard Hawks’ 1952 “Monkey Business” was the last collaboration between the director and Cary Grant. Unfortunately, neither Hawks nor Grant liked the film very much. […]

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How Christian Popular Culture’s Revival Cast Out the Money Changers

Maggie MacFarland Phillips — Sun, 14 May 2023 03:04:48 +0000

“Jesus Revolution” and “The Chosen” are not just Christian dramas but part of a revolution in faith entertainment. The former—a feel-good movie about hippies who […]

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The Frenetic Noise of ‘His Girl Friday’

Emina Melonic — Wed, 10 May 2023 03:03:39 +0000

Cary Grant personifies charm and elegance. As the notoriously caustic film critic, Pauline Kael, put it, for women, Cary Grant was a “dream date—not sexless […]

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Lifting the Mask of the Antiracist Cult

Matthew Boose — Tue, 09 May 2023 03:01:51 +0000

People far removed from the insular world of academia sense there is something hostile brewing in the ivory tower, but today’s “woke” ideologues dismiss these […]

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An Inhuman Ugliness

Anthony Esolen — Mon, 08 May 2023 03:04:53 +0000

Imagine someone manning a loaded machine gun at the back of the House chamber in the Capitol Building. He is following the proceedings with what […]

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Courage in the Air

Emina Melonic — Thu, 04 May 2023 02:58:17 +0000

Every Cary Grant fan can identify either a favorite role or a favorite aspect of Grant’s persona accentuated on film. Charm, humor, and elegance are […]

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Jerry Springer Is Dead. Long Live Jerry Springer!

Jay Whig — Fri, 28 Apr 2023 03:04:57 +0000

Jerry Springer shuffled off his mortal coil on Thursday. We should all throw a chair in his honor. Springer was a protean figure. Among other […]

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A Once-Controversial Story Now Appears Conservative

Mark Judge — Fri, 28 Apr 2023 03:01:23 +0000

In his review of the new film “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret,” Daily Beast critic Fletcher Peters writes that the film “will appeal […]

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Revolutionary Movie Milestone

Lloyd Billingsley — Wed, 26 Apr 2023 03:04:14 +0000

“Jesus Revolution,” released on February 24 and reviewed here on March 10, has now earned $50 million in box-office receipts, a milestone for any movie. […]

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Tucker Carlson Had One Hell of a Run

Carpe Diem — Wed, 26 Apr 2023 03:03:48 +0000

The stunning announcement on Monday that Fox News and Tucker Carlson have parted ways was about as shocking and unexpected as Michael Jordan’s first retirement. […]

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Academia’s Woke Groomers

Bruce Oliver Newsome — Wed, 26 Apr 2023 03:01:40 +0000

Exposing woke academia is both infuriating and amusing. Stanley K. Ridgley, a professor of management at Drexel University, has a knack for unearthing the horror […]

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How To Ruin Your Kids

Christopher Gage — Tue, 25 Apr 2023 03:01:18 +0000

My father drank. On those rare occasions when he was sober, he’d often dispense what alcoholics call a moment of clarity. I say “rare,” he […]

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The Coronation and Dr. Jill

Jane Guenther Parent — Thu, 20 Apr 2023 03:03:35 +0000

The coronation of King Charles III is set to occur at Westminster Abbey in London on May 6. Like the coronation of his mother Queen […]

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The Manliness of Screwball Comedy

Emina Melonic — Wed, 19 Apr 2023 03:03:33 +0000

There’s something about Cary Grant that will always evoke charm, elegance, and intensity. Yet it’s also because of his humor that Grant solidified a persona. […]

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Celebrating the Great Emancipator of America’s Pastime

A.J. Rice — Mon, 17 Apr 2023 03:03:20 +0000

On Saturday, Major League Baseball celebrated Jackie Robinson Day. But there should be another celebration in the MLB: Branch Rickey Day. It was Rickey who […]

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What’s the Deal With Women With Mustaches?

Tim Young — Mon, 17 Apr 2023 03:01:40 +0000

At this point, if you’ve watched any video or content online, you’ve surely encountered Amazon’s new commercial featuring a bizarre new angle on wokeness, women […]

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We Can’t Have Nice Things

Roger Kimball — Mon, 17 Apr 2023 03:00:12 +0000

I thought about organizing this column around Kingsley Amis’ seemingly simple remark. How much forgotten wisdom is contained in those seven short words? And what […]

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‘Mario Bros.’ Success Should Teach Hollywood a Lesson, But It Won’t

Tim Young — Fri, 14 Apr 2023 03:03:20 +0000

The almost un-woke “Super Mario Bros. Movie” made $377 million globally in its opening weekend, showing people just want to have a good time and […]

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An Idealistic and Imperfect American Love Story

Emina Melonic — Wed, 12 Apr 2023 03:04:36 +0000

When things go bad, one has to pick oneself up, dust off, and keep on moving. Americans used to believe and embody that philosophy in […]

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Our Mundane Comedy

Vincent McCaffrey — Tue, 11 Apr 2023 03:04:51 +0000

Those more secularly minded out here often miss the wisdom of the ages staring back at us from the farce of our shenanigans. Dante’s Divine […]

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Write the Other Way

Lloyd Billingsley — Fri, 07 Apr 2023 03:02:51 +0000

Agatha Christie, Ian Fleming, Roald Dahl, and Dr. Seuss, all deceased, are being targeted by woke mutilators. Ray Bradbury (1920-2012), author of more than 30 […]

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‘Nefarious’ Sets a New Standard for the Right’s Culture War

Tim Young — Fri, 07 Apr 2023 03:01:34 +0000

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I attended the world premiere of Chuck Konzelman and Cary Solomon’s “Nefarious” earlier this week. I’m glad I […]

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Fahrenheit 2023

Lloyd Billingsley — Mon, 03 Apr 2023 03:03:10 +0000

“Best-selling author Agatha Christie’s books have reportedly become the latest target of sensitivity readers reworking or removing original passages in the new editions of Poirot […]

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I’m a Trans

D. B. Wells — Sat, 01 Apr 2023 03:01:17 +0000

To the tune of “I’m a Man,” by the Spencer Davis Group. Well, I got to send a message, so where to begin? […]

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Authentic and Inauthentic Love in ‘Laura’

Emina Melonic — Wed, 29 Mar 2023 03:04:21 +0000

Otto Preminger’s 1944 noir masterpiece, “Laura,” seems to begin out of nowhere. We are immediately thrust into a room with a large portrait of a […]

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Films on Film Get Into Your Soul in a Way Digital Movies Don’t

Mark Judge — Sun, 26 Mar 2023 03:04:52 +0000

John Boorman is right. The director of masterworks such as “Hope and Glory” and “Excalibur” wrote recently in the Guardian that films should not be […]

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The War on Humor

Christopher Gage — Thu, 23 Mar 2023 03:03:45 +0000

One of Jonathan Swift’s most endearing and successful practical jokes came at the expense of a wildly popular fortune-teller. Swift circulated a prophecy of John […]

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An Uneasy Victory Over Human Folly Along the ‘Santa Fe Trail’

Emina Melonic — Wed, 22 Mar 2023 03:04:41 +0000

“The past is never dead. It’s not even past,” wrote William Faulkner in his 1951 novel, Requiem for a Nun. It’s an overused quote but […]

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Emily Brontë: This Year’s Coolest Superhero?

Mark Judge — Fri, 17 Mar 2023 03:02:56 +0000

The best superhero film of 2023 has been released. It’s “Emily,” a biopic about the 19th-century British writer Emily Brontë. Forget Marvel and DC, whose […]

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