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Close Reads

  1. close reads
    24 Is Back to Make You Fear Muslim Terrorists AgainIts arrival at this moment in American history highlights an awkward tension inherent to TV reboots.
    By Gazelle Emami
  2. close reads
    The Dangerous Beauty of Jude LawLaw is the ne plus ultra of actors who innately understand how beauty can add complexity to a role.
    By Angelica Jade Bastién
  3. close reads
    A Beginner’s Guide to The Young Pope’s Italian Filmmaker Paolo SorrentinoIf you want to understand The Young Pope, start here.
    By Scott Tobias
  4. case studies
    One Day at a Time Is the Exact Opposite of WestworldLooking at two diametrically opposed approaches to television.
    By Kathryn VanArendonk
  5. kudos
    The Good Place Pulled Off a Forking Great Twist EndingHoly shirt, that was mind-blowing.
    By Jen Chaney
  6. close reads
    Silence’s Theological Adviser on the Movie’s Controversial Ending“This isn’t the fake spirituality of ‘If you believe in God, everything turns out great.’”
    By Hunter Harris
  7. close reads
    How Trumpish Is The Young Pope?On the parallels between Jude Law’s Pope Pius XIII and our president-elect.
    By Jen Chaney
  8. close reads
    Patriots Day Is Actually Very PoliticalDespite its stars’ protestations, the Boston bombing film is an unchecked embrace of vigilantism.
    By Hunter Harris
  9. close reads
    La La Land Is Clueless About What’s Actually Happening in JazzThe genre has already reckoned with and resolved the debate over the sanctity of jazz.
    By Seve Chambers
  10. close reads
    One Day at a Time’s Coming-Out Story Is So GoodWhen kids come out on TV, parents rarely get their stories told.
    By E. Alex Jung
  11. close reads
    How Reality TV Builds Narrative Is Crucial to Understanding TrumpReading America’s Next Top President.
    By Kathryn VanArendonk
  12. close reads
    In Praise of Black-ish’s Extraordinary Election EpisodeThe ABC sitcom captures the mood in pre–President Trump America in a way that feels historic.
    By Jen Chaney
  13. close reads
    Pop Culture Can’t Escape Donald TrumpOn seeing the political climate in everything.
    By Jen Chaney
  14. close reads
    The New Schneider on One Day at a Time Is BetterSchneider No. 1 would not have worked in 2017.
    By Jen Chaney
  15. close reads
    How Mozart in the Jungle Gets Classical MusicOur classical-music critic on a show he didn’t expect to love.
    By Justin Davidson
  16. close reads
    Why One Day at a Time’s Old-School Format Makes It Feel More ModernThe multi-camera structure makes One Day at a Time feel especially pointed toward this moment in American life.
    By Kathryn VanArendonk
  17. A Close Read of The OA’s Controversial EndingThe show’s unsettling climax doesn’t work for everyone, but it serves an important narrative purpose.
    By Jen Chaney
  18. close reads
    This Dark Comedy From Germany Has the Best Nude Scene of the YearNo movie exploits our discomfort with nudity for comedic effect better than Maren Ade’s Toni Erdmann.
    By Samantha Rollins
  19. close reads
    What DWTS Taught Us About Rick Perry“People are probably watching this going, ‘What a dumbass.’”
    By Jordan Crucchiola
  20. close reads
    The Gay Subtext of Rudolph the Red-Nosed ReindeerIt’s the gayest thing about Christmas.
    By Brian Moylan
  21. close reads
    The Fascism of The Walking DeadOne of TV’s most prominent franchises has a fundamental and frightening ethical flaw that has been left to fester.
    By Sean T. Collins
  22. close reads
    Why Search Party Is Unusually Good at Mixing Two Genres The combination of self-aware satire and engrossing mystery renders both of those categories into something alchemically new. 
    By Kathryn VanArendonk
  23. close reads
    The Safe Progressivism of This Is UsThis Is Us deals with socially significant issues. But, at its midpoint, it’s still taking the easy road too often.
    By Jen Chaney
  24. close reads
    There Are Two WestworldsWhich one are you watching?
    By Kathryn VanArendonk
  25. close reads
    Why Westworld Actually Isn’t Like LostTwo words: character studies.
    By Jen Chaney
  26. close reads
    On the Heightened Sense of Privilege in Gilmore Girls: A Year in the LifeGilmore Girls was always a show about mostly white people living mostly comfortably. But the Netflix reboot takes that to a new level.
    By Jen Chaney
  27. close reads
    Gilmore Girls Is Better As a Drama Than a ComedySilliness and fantasy run joyfully around the outside, but the core is straight drama. 
    By Kathryn VanArendonk
  28. vulture compendiums
    Every Single Modern Reference in Gilmore Girls: A Year in the LifeFrom Vine and Batfleck to Uber and Jennifer Lawrence.
    By Jackson McHenry
  29. close reads
    What Do Movies Like Bleed for This Owe Our Athletes?The film’s outright dismissal of reasonable medical advice is disheartening.
    By Andrew Lapin
  30. close reads
    The Limitations of Westworld’s Surprise TwistA twist like this only works a few times before it becomes almost completely meaningless.
    By Kathryn VanArendonk
  31. close reads
    The Crown and How TV Changed Our View of LeadershipWhile Elizabeth works endlessly, tirelessly, to represent her country, Margaret is the one the press loves. 
    By Kathryn VanArendonk
  32. close reads
    Westworld, and When TV Uses Pop Music to Do Its Emotional Heavy LiftingRather than let the power of this scene emerge on its own, Westworld leans on a preexisting work of art to doing the heavy lifting for it.
    By Sean T. Collins
  33. close reads
    Westworld Is Better When It Starts Having FunHooray for Thandie Newton and Tessa Thompson!
    By Jackson McHenry
  34. close reads
    On Atlanta and Its ‘Fake It Til You Make It’ Brand of EconomicsThe first season explored the idea that perceived status is just as important as actual status and real wealth.
    By Jen Chaney
  35. close reads
    Why Atlanta’s Police-Shooting Scene Was More Effective Than Others on TVNo one could have predicted that the show to finally get it right would be a surrealist comedy. 
    By Joshua Alston
  36. way too close reads
    Milo Ventimiglia’s Body Is This Is Us’s Biggest AnachronismCould a 1980s father really be that swole?
    By Jackson McHenry
  37. close reads
    Moonlight and the Desire to See Men Kiss OnscreenWhat the film gives us (and doesn’t) in its ending.
    By Kyle Buchanan
  38. close reads
    The Hidden Significance of Moonlight’s ‘Chiron’It has both mythological and astrological resonance.
    By E. Alex Jung
  39. close reads
    The Empty Violence of The Walking DeadViolence is the point — everything else is an intellectual fig leaf.
    By Matt Zoller Seitz
  40. close reads
    Westworld’s Man in Black Is a Classic Bad GamerBut how are we supposed to feel about him?
    By Kathryn VanArendonk
  41. close reads
    Let’s Break Down the Logan TrailerSay hello to Wolverine’s little friend.
    By Abraham Riesman
  42. close reads
    A Close Read of the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 TrailerLet’s look at it shot by shot.
    By Kyle Buchanan
  43. close reads
    Why Alfre Woodard’s Mariah Is Luke Cage’s Secret WeaponAll hail the queenpin.
    By Angelica Jade Bastién
  44. anniversaries
    An Ode to the Great Pumpkin’s Harsh RealitiesDoes anything good happen to Linus? No. But maybe that’s why this 50-year-old Halloween special perseveres.
    By Jen Chaney
  45. close reads
    Netflix’s The Ranch Is More Interesting Than You Might ThinkThe Ranch is not very funny, but that doesn’t mean it’s not valuable.
    By Kathryn VanArendonk
  46. close reads
    Divorce, Insecure, and the Stagnant Relationship on TVOn the two new HBO series, as well as several other comedies, women are breaking away from men holding them back.
    By Jen Chaney
  47. close reads
    Nate Parker Failed the Women of Birth of a NationThe film’s female characters serve only as stock victims. 
    By Dee Lockett
  48. close reads
    Halt and Catch Fire Is the Best It’s Ever Been in Season 3The season-three numbers are down from the already low season two, but holy crap, has this season ever been great.
    By Kathryn VanArendonk
  49. close reads
    Why Westworld’s Violence Doesn’t Feel GratuitousThe amusement park in Westworld is steeped in stereotypical male fantasies. But its female characters may be the key to its game.
    By Jen Chaney
  50. close reads
    Marvel’s Netflix Shows Avoid Superhero SamenessMost of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s offerings blend into one another. The Netflix shows are different.
    By Abraham Riesman
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