mic

Jews must speak out against Islamophobia: Standing with our Muslim brothers and sisters is critical

Sep 14, 2016 | Jewish Experiences, mic, Race and Racism, Religion and Religious Issues

Published: Salon (September 14, 2016) When news first broke earlier this week that a mosque in Orlando had been set on fire, presumably because it had been attended by Omar Mateen, the man who in June shot 49 people to death at the nightclub Pulse, I immediately thought of Alaa Basatneh. Three weeks earlier I’d interviewed the Syrian-American journalist and activist and had been struck by her...

We must defeat Trump regardless of Clinton’s health problems

Sep 13, 2016 | Elections, Elections - Presidential (2016), mic

Published: The Good Men Project (September 13, 2016) It seems gauche to say this, but the argument has to be made: Even if the worst rumors about Hillary Clinton's health are true, she still needs to win this election. This is a critically important observation, and yet it seems to have been lost amidst the conjectures as to the deeper meaning of her health scare at a 9/11 commemoration earlier...

My Tribute to “Leprechaun 4: In Space”

Sep 12, 2016 | Arts and Entertainment, mic

Published: The Good Men Project (September 6, 2016) If I’m ever asked to name my favorite movie, I’ll usually select Paddy Chayefsky’s brilliant 1976 satire “Network.” Certainly that movie has shaped me as much as any film I’ve watched; it is a sharply insightful look at how corporations and corporatist logic govern our modern world, although it’s best remembered today for prophesying the...

How the “Sausage Party” gets made: Why Seth Rogen’s talking-food cartoon’s labor controversy matters

Sep 6, 2016 | Arts and Entertainment, Class Issues, mic

Published: Salon (September 2, 2016) “Sausage Party” is a surprisingly smart, visually creative comedy that has been rightfully praised for its satirical take on organized religion. This makes it all the more unfortunate that the movie is currently wrapped up in a labor controversy that, if it is grounded in fact, could convince potential viewers to pause before spending their money on the film....

The Age of Tangents

Aug 30, 2016 | History, mic

Published: The Good Men Project (August 30, 2016) When I wrote this article on my personal blog almost six years ago, I had no idea that it would remain so prescient today. There is very little that I would change from that post, so I’m publishing it unchanged here. John Kenneth Galbraith, an influential liberal economist who served under four Democratic presidents, once made this observation...

The online trial of Nate Parker

Aug 25, 2016 | Arts and Entertainment, Gender and Sexism, mic, Race and Racism, Scandals

Published: The Daily Dot (August 25, 2016) Is it OK to separate the moral flaws of an artist from the quality of their art? The answer is yes—so long as you understand the consequences. It’s become an American trending topic that we can’t ignore across our Facebook feeds. When we find out that Mel Gibson said anti-Semitic things, and Michael Richards used the N-word, or that Johnny Depp is...

Review for “Hell or High Water”

Aug 24, 2016 | Arts and Entertainment, Liskula Cohen, mic

Published: The Good Men Project (August 23, 2016) co-author Liskula Cohen 2016 has been an especially political year when it comes to the movies. It seems like each of the major presidential candidates has had a major cinematic release to accompany the themes of their campaign: The unapologetically feminist“Ghostbusters” is linked to the same cultural zeitgeist fueling Hillary Clinton’s...

About my positive review for “Suicide Squad”

Aug 16, 2016 | Arts and Entertainment, Internet Culture, mic

Published: The Daily Dot (August 16, 2016) It’s a strange feeling, having written one of the few positive articles about Suicide Squad. If the Internet community can learn anything from “Suicide Squad,” it is that online culture breeds a specific kind of overly-informed and excessively quantifying approach to the art of criticism. This has become apparent in several ways just with the Internet’s...

From Gamergate to “Ghostbusters” to Suicide Squad: The Problem of Fan Entitlement

Aug 9, 2016 | Animals and Animal Rights, Gender and Sexism, Internet Culture, mic, Millennials, Race and Racism

Published: Salon (August 9, 2016) It’s easy to roll your eyes at the “Suicide Squad” petition. In case you’ve been lucky enough to miss the news, fans of the new movie “Suicide Squad” have created an online movement to shut down aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes for posting predominantly negative reviews of their beloved film. Cue the inevitable jokes about how nerds need to get a life. Is it...

The sneaky politics of “Suicide Squad”

Aug 5, 2016 | Arts and Entertainment, Criminal Justice/Prison-Industrial Complex, mic

Published: Salon (August 5, 2016) [Note: The end of this essay contains spoilers for the ending of “Suicide Squad.”] If the critics at RottenTomatoes are to be believed, Suicide Squad is a terrible movie with “a muddled plot, thinly written characters, and choppy directing.” (Salon’s ownAndrew O’Hehir calls it “profoundly second-rate … at every level of conception and execution.”) This puts me...

« Older Entries

Next Entries »