Updike’s Panther: Rabbit Redux at Fifty
“Say what you see.” That was Roy Walker’s advice to contestants on the UK quiz show Catchphrase. We are attracted to other people’s observations—it is one of the reasons we…
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Culture & Media
273 posts
Beating Them at their Own Game: Why Manga is Overtaking American Comics
These days, it’s taken for granted that the comics industry has become a media juggernaut in the western world—as evidenced by the myriad movies based on comic-book heroes that have…
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In Defence of Virtue Signalling
O fons Bandusiae, splendidior vitro … cras donaberis haedo, the ancient Roman poet Horace declares in Odes III.13. (“O Bandusian spring, clearer than glass … tomorrow you shall be offered…
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The Historical Revisionism of DMX’s Woodstock ’99 Performance
The documentary Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, and Rage recently dropped on HBO and select streaming platforms. It covers the disappointing second sequel (after ’94) to the 1969 Woodstock music festival,…
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Why Don’t We Have a Spotify Model for News?
I’ve never really needed to pay for my news. When I was a teenager, I’d buy magazines to learn about the latest in gaming, but by the time I reached…
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“The Great American Race Game.” Film Review
In its struggle against left-liberalism, one of the conundrums faced by the Anglo-American right in all its hues is how to shake off its longstanding image as a shady coterie…
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The Flat Earth Movement and the Problem with Scepticism
In May 2018, three men went on the British ITV programme This Morning to explain why they believed the earth was flat. “I think it’s right to be sceptical about…
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Masochistic Nationalism by Göran Adamson. Review.
The Swedish sociologist Göran Adamson’s latest book, Masochistic Nationalism: Multicultural Self-Hatred and the Infatuation with the Exotic (2021), identifies two forms of nationalism in contemporary society (white supremacist and anti-white)…
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Sensitive Masters and Wheelchair Accessible Torture Chambers: Dungeons & Dragons in the Culture War Era
In recent years, the culture wars have come for roleplaying games such as Dungeons and Dragons. Role-playing communities are split on whether their game platforms are becoming what is often…
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Black America: Is There Truth in Advertising?
If you’ve seen any American television advertising of late, you might easily conclude that the nation has undergone an astonishing demographic shift: there are no more white people. All right,…
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Where’s My Jetpack! How Future-Oriented Thinking Could Revolutionise Tourism
In Where’s My Jetpack?, Daniel H. Wilson takes a satirical look at the futuristic technologies that science fiction has optimistically imagined, but that have thus far not been invented, such…
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The Mathematics of Twitter Mobs
Twitter is not real life, but, since it was launched in 2006, the platform’s influence has steadily spread. The platform now boasts 330 million active users worldwide. That sounds like…
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Crescent Capitalism: Islam and the Birth of the Free Market
Islamists, leftists and conservatives have long debated whether Islam is compatible with western liberal capitalism. Many have framed the history of capitalism as beginning in medieval Genoa and Venice, and…
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Good News Is No News
How many upbeat articles have you come across since the COVID-19 pandemic emerged? Not many, probably. While the pandemic hasn’t exactly been a cheerful time, consider what should have been…
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Culture Wars in a Galaxy Very, Very Nearby
Since the 1977 cinema premiere of A New Hope, the Star Wars franchise has left an indelible mark on popular culture across the globe. It’s attracted a following comparable only…
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Perverse Incentives in Academic Publishing
In summing up the problems with academic publishing, I’d choose two words: perverse incentives. Of course, academics must show that we’re using grant money to produce useful research. But academic…
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Patrick Leigh Fermor and the Tensions of Travel
A great writer’s legacy demands constant renewal. Books left on a shelf, whether they are Tolstoyan or trash, gather dust. They look dog-eared, old-fashioned and uninviting. A critic’s task, sometimes,…
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Returning the Benin Bronzes
The year 1897 was not a particularly eventful year in Britain. Queen Victoria celebrated her diamond jubilee. The Tate Gallery was inaugurated in London. Oscar Wilde was released from prison.…
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