Art and Civic Duty: A Conversation with José Darío Gutierrez
The great challenge is to fully recognize the value of the other. If I don’t recognize the value of the other, I will never be part of the solution, I will always be part of the problem.
Culture
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“Hamilton” Wasn’t the First Time Lin Manuel Miranda Rose to New Heights
Through these characters, Miranda guides his audience through an exploration of what home means for them through the lives of the residents of Washington Heights.
The “Top Dawg” Effect: What Kendrick Lamar Tells Us About the Future of Urban Revitalization
American inner-cities are marginalized and troubled, yet deeply creative and vibrant. Kendrick Lamar and Top Dawg Entertainment have capitalized on Los Angeles’ cultural vitality and are transforming their communities in the process.
Scholastique Mukasonga and Life in Rwanda
Mukasonga makes no profound declarations about the impacts of conflict or sweeping statements about the loss of tradition or lifestyle. Rather, she shows us these phenomena through speaking to the subtle erosion of positions in carefully curated systems and how the properties of these systems begin to diminish as circumstance alters livelihoods.
Lights Out on the Film and TV Industries
COVID-19 has changed the world, that is clear to see. As many of us use this time to catch up on our favorite shows, we must not forget that this industry is one that has been greatly affected by the pandemic.
“Pachinko” and the Search for Love
Through fiction, not only do we learn about external circumstances and power differentials that shape the paths of groups of people, we learn about an individual’s internal calculus and instantaneous decision-making in ways that they often cannot communicate to even their family members.
Chloe x Halle Explore New Galaxies of Pop Music on the Stellar “Ungodly Hour”
Ungodly Hour is an exciting, innovative, and daring album. Chloe and Halle meld generations of black music—house, R&B, soul—with their signature intergalactic stylings to create a record unlike any other.
The Tangible Effects of Political Realities: Fiction in the Time of Trujillo’s Regime
Vargas Llosa and Alvarez’s usage of the fictional format emboldens them to catalog the mindset of an array of individuals during this period and record how living under an authoritarian regime fundamentally changes people’s psychological realities, decision-making processes, and relationships.