Arts & Culture

Superficially, Barbie was made to look cheerful, bright, and cute, but beneath the appealing facade, the movie is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. It’s a shame that this movie appears to purposely stir up division where the potential was for something universally uplifting.

Although its vision for the future is sometimes imperfect, Star Trek has, with its unabashed optimism, celebration of science and technology, and exploration of philosophic and moral questions, inspired countless people to achieve wonderful things.

Richard Mitchell (1929–2002), also known as “the underground grammarian,” was a champion of clarity in thought and communication.

Including works by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, D. H. Lawrence, Edgar Guest, Arthur Hugh Clough, James Oppenheim, Langston Hughes, William Stanley Braithwaite, and Will Allen Dromgoole.

George Lucas says that selfishness puts one on the dark side, but it’s really the other way around. Selfishness, properly understood, is the rational concern for one’s own interests. It is the light.

One Hundred Above the Park has something to teach us about the history of skyscraper design, the future of apartment design, and the philosophy behind great new architecture.

Oppenheimer was a key mind behind the invention and development of the bombs that ended World War II. He was also haunted by the question of whether producing these bombs was the right thing to do. This question runs throughout Christopher Nolan’s recent biopic, Oppenheimer, hailed by some as “the most epic WWII film yet."

Although Sound of Freedom is emotionally straining at times, it is nonetheless an excellent and important film about heroic, inspiring people—and a film that hopefully will have a positive impact on real-life efforts to fight child trafficking.

What’s Love Got to Do With It? is a well-written and refreshingly thoughtful film that shows the crucial importance of honesty and independent thinking in achieving happiness. It is a sensitive yet incisive study of the clash between Islamic and Western cultures—and between collectivism and individualism.

First and foremost a magnificent novel, George Orwell’s 1984 is also a terrifyingly prescient political commentary. Written by an Englishman in 1949, it substantially mirrors the trajectory of American politics today.