The War Documentary That Never Was
John Huston's 1945 movie The Battle of San Pietro presents itself as a war documentary, but contains staged scenes. What should we make of it?
Wait, Why Are the Parthenon Marbles in London?
Lord Elgin went beyond his original mandate, amassing a vast store of treasures, one scholar notes.
The Lumpy Pearls That Enchanted the Medicis
There’s a specific term for these irregular pearls: “baroque,” from the Portuguese barroco.
How Local TV Made “Bad” Movies a Thing
Weekly shows on local TV stations helped make the ironic viewing of bad movies into a national pastime.
The Incredibly True Story of Fake Headlines
Are you still reading? Editors frequently use this space to include important contextual information about a news story.
Walter Benn Michaels: What’s His Deal?
The literary critic Walter Benn Michaels challenges the prevailing trends of postmodernist theory.
How Linguists Are Using Urban Dictionary
Urban Dictionary continues a long history of recording low-brow language. It’s also a repository of a specific kind of internet immaturity.