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The end of the television antihero
Breaking up with the bad boy
Many are calling this a Golden Age of Television, with a plethora of dramas examining morally complex antiheroes. How complex are they, really, though?
Articles
5 minute read
The art of the Kimmel Center
You call this a welcome?
Originally, the Kimmel Center had aspirations of becoming the Center City “meet and greet” location for all cultural-minded urbanites from Philadelphia and beyond. That hasn't happened — and the off-putting car crash ("The Slow and Inevitable Death of American Muscle") currently on display does nothing to help.
Articles
3 minute read
A memory of Anne Sexton
Cleft
Poetry didn't move the young Bob Levin, until Anne Sexton left him wobbling, dizzied — but exposed, somehow, through pain to hope.
When an artist's vision is compromised
Living in a mirrored diptych
“The eyes are an artist's best assets.” What does this really mean? And what happens when these assets are compromised?
Articles
5 minute read
Evan Mandery’s 'A Wild Justice'
The Nine Lives of Capital Punishment
Opponents are more optimistic than they have been in almost 50 years that the death penalty is a dying institution. But such hopes have been dashed before, as Evan J. Mandery’s Wild Justice points out.
Articles
5 minute read
The return of Lucille Ball
I Hate Lucy
With a new live show and colorization, Lucy is back. Her message was damaging enough the first time — do we really need to revisit it?
Articles
3 minute read
Downton Abbey’s Secret Feminist
Are you ready for season four?
Even the politically progressive can get sucked in by the delightful soapiness of Downton Abbey, despite the show's troubling politico-economic subtext. Who'da thunk the only feminist of the lot was below stairs, though?
Articles
5 minute read
The secret behind Beethoven’s Ninth
What Beethoven dreamed in his inner ear
From Berlin to Beijing, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony has become a universal symbol of hope. It’s also recognized as the ideal fusion of music and poetry. How on Earth did a composer who was deaf and dying manage such an awesome achievement?
Articles
4 minute read
Eric Schlosser’s ‘Command and Control’
Nuclear roulette: Nothing can go wrong, go wrong….
Relax: We made it through the Cold War without a nuclear attack. Don’t relax: The U.S. still holds 4,500 nukes, all vulnerable to the mishaps and malfunctions that plague every complex human endeavor.
Articles
4 minute read
Julie Taymor’s ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’
A dream for all ages
Julie Taymor draws upon multiple theatrical traditions to create minimalist, multidimensional magic.
Articles
5 minute read