Books and Entertainment

HBO's miniseries Generation Kill, about the early days of the Iraq war, was written by the same team that created The Wire. September 4, 2008

On paper, The Other Boleyn Girl had everything going for it: stellar cast, fine director, gorgeous sets, juicy story. So how did it manage to be so dull? September 4, 2008

Witness the massive padlock, hugging the doors of the Superdome. That will tell you all you need to know about Hurricane Gustav and the federal government's response. September 3, 2008

It's the 25th anniversary of War Games, a movie gem with an all-too-relevant take on the arms race. August 28, 2008

The moment they stepped on China's soil, the U.S. media made a choice about what questions wouldn't be investigated, or even asked. August 27, 2008

There's the beauty of the Olympic Games, and there's the ugly pervasive undercurrent that can leave you queasy. Both things are especially true of women's gymnastics. August 22, 2008

Joseph Nevins' new book traces the economic and political developments that have compelled so many Mexicans to migrate to the U.S. and have made the journey so dangerous. August 21, 2008

Mahmoud Darwish, who passed away August 9, was perhaps the poet most commonly associated with the cause of Palestinian self-determination. August 15, 2008

A new book examines how the era of No Child Left Behind has ushered in a period of massive cutbacks in public education in the U.S.--and how the assault is international. August 14, 2008

The audacious gesture of Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Olympics still holds the power to upset all the right people. August 13, 2008

A lot has happened since Nas' album Hip-Hop Is Dead--Jena, Sean Bell, and other high-profile incidents of racist injustice--and the rapper's new album shows it. August 7, 2008

Stewart O'Nan's novella The Last Night at the Lobster takes a moving and much-needed look at the working day. August 7, 2008

A public relations catastrophe could be in the making if dissenters manage to break through the media blockade surrounding the Olympics. August 6, 2008

SleptOn.com talks to hip hop artist Son of Nun about the politics in his music and his commitment to the struggle. August 1, 2008

The Batman franchise is one of the most popular in U.S. history. Is the latest version propping up the war on terror? July 31, 2008

The exhibit A Declaration of Immigration, on display at a Chicago museum, reflects the powerful impact of the immigrant rights movement. July 31, 2008

After 9/11, U.S. society went a little bit nuts--that's the starting point of Nick Mamatas' satirical novel Under My Roof. July 24, 2008

In classified reports on anti-death penalty activism compiled by the Maryland State Police and Department of Homeland Security, I am known as "Dave Z." July 21, 2008

The Home Run Derby at the All-Star Game looked like it was out of 1946, before Jackie Robinson integrated the game. July 18, 2008

A former NASCAR inspection official has filed a $225 million lawsuit alleging "racial and sexual harassment and wrongful termination. July 15, 2008

Mike Marqusee's new book powerfully strips Zionism of its claim to represent and speak for all Jews around the world. July 10, 2008

A new book gathers snapshots of resistance taking place where the conventional wisdom says it's not supposed to--in the "red states." July 10, 2008

Two corporate raiders and NBA Commissioner David Stern have teamed up to throw an elbow at Seattle basketball fans. July 9, 2008

"The Scream," one of the world's best-known and widely reproduced painted images--is back on display at a museum in Norway. July 3, 2008

The Incredible Hulk captures the amoral and villainous nature of the military's hierarchal food chain, while providing plenty of thrills. July 3, 2008

Don Imus has made another obnoxious bigoted comment, but he's trying to hang onto his job by claiming he's a misunderstood anti-racist. July 1, 2008

With his death, comedian George Carlin left behind a wealth of hilarious observations on human behavior--and razor-sharp barbs aimed at the U.S. government. June 27, 2008

With the release of his third album, hip-hop artist Immortal Technique continues his scathing indictment of U.S. society, from gentrification to the music industry. June 26, 2008

A new exhibit of photos of the civil rights movement on display at Atlanta's High Museum of Art vividly brings to life the fight for freedom in the South. June 26, 2008

The music of Bo Diddley, who died this month, opened up our ideas about music, race and culture, and the echo of it can be heard every time you turn on the radio. June 12, 2008

The celebrated socialist science fiction writer China Miéville has written his first book for younger readers, Un Lun Dun. June 12, 2008

There is an important and overlooked tide of condemnation of the recent xenophobic attacks in South Africa coming from that most global of sports, soccer. June 11, 2008

The mother of football player and casualty of war Pat Tillman talks about her family’s long road to learn the grim truth about Pat’s death in Afghanistan. June 6, 2008

You might think the fact that a female-driven movie, Sex and the City, topped the box office charts would be cause for celebration. Until you see the movie. June 5, 2008

If Tiger Woods is, as his defenders claim, an "agent for change," why is his foundation in a partnership with oil giant Chevron? June 4, 2008

The HBO movie Recount makes it seem as if the Bush team simply outmaneuvered Gore, rather than stole the 2000 election outright through racism and fraud. June 3, 2008

A new book by a SocialistWorker.org columnist examines the lessons of the Vietnam War, with an eye to their importance 40 years ago--and today. May 30, 2008

George Lucas' Indiana Jones series aimed to pay homage to the serials of the 1930s and '40s--many of which were filled with offensive stereotypes. May 29, 2008

A new book documenting the war on the environment pulls no punches in its critiques of corporations and "institutionalized environmentalist" groups alike. May 29, 2008

A People's History of American Empire is the first attempt to recreate Howard Zinn's history in a new form--the graphic novel. May 29, 2008

When NFL player-turned-Army Ranger Pat Tillman was killed in Afghanistan, U.S. officials lied about how he died. When will his mother get the whole truth? May 22, 2008

The documentary Body of War shows the transformation of one veteran from gung-ho warrior to antiwar activist. May 16, 2008

A new book has collected writings from throughout Noam Chomsky's life as one of the world's most respected and influential thinkers. May 15, 2008

Barry Bonds broke the most hallowed record in sports, surpassing Henry Aaron's home run record, yet he's being erased from baseball history. May 15, 2008

On their new album, Rising Down, the Roots give an unflinching view of the world we live in. May 15, 2008

What does a popular television quiz show have to say about what's wrong with America's schools? May 15, 2008

With few exceptions, white working-class people are presented on TV via the same stereotypes that pervade American culture. May 14, 2008

A movie based on a right-wing Marvel Comic book series makes a bitter critique of the war profiteers. May 9, 2008

The Freedom Archives has released a CD of singer, actor and communist Paul Robeson's speeches and interviews. May 8, 2008

The poet, playwright and revolutionary Aimé Césaire died after a life spent participating in some of the 20th century's most important moments. May 6, 2008

A new book recalls the 1997 Teamsters strike against UPS--and how it was covered in the corporate media. May 2, 2008

Olympic officials are trying to make sure that athletes are seen, but not heard, in Beijing. May 1, 2008

The journey of the Olympic torch has been a public relations apocalypse--with protesters holding up a light to the hypocrisy of the Games. April 25, 2008

Without a critique of the war, the film Stop-Loss concludes with a supportive tone in the guise of duty to one's brothers in arms. April 25, 2008

One of the most explicitly political musicians around talks about his views on music, politics and the struggle for justice. April 11, 2008

In the film Under the Same Moon, director Patricia Riggen gives a human face to the immigration issue. April 11, 2008

White Light Black Rain reveals a far darker portrait of the August 1945 bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki than the conventional one. April 11, 2008

Zaragosa Vargas' book Labor Rights Are Civil Rights tells the hidden history of Mexican-American workers. April 4, 2008

It's an election year, and that means we're being treated to the lame misappropriation of popular music as campaign "theme songs." March 28, 2008

Black August, a film about prison activist George Jackson released on DVD, presents a prodigious indictment of the U.S. judicial system. March 28, 2008

Persepolis is a welcome break from the steady diet of alienated, computer-generated special effects films served up by Hollywood. March 21, 2008

Unnatural Causes is a provocative and eye-opening documentary that provides irrefutable evidence that race and class impact health. March 21, 2008

David Cay Johnston crunches the numbers and names the names--and what he exposes in his new book is enough to make anyone's blood boil. March 14, 2008

With New Amerykah Part One (4th World War), the Dallas-born soul singer Erykah Badu seems to be making up for lost time. March 14, 2008

For those of us who watch the Oscars for the moment when a winner tells the truth about the real world, the recent ceremonies were a big disappointment. March 7, 2008

The Albany Park Theater Project's revival of the award-winning Aquí Estoy (which means "I am here" in Spanish) is quite timely. March 7, 2008

The overall effect of No Country for Old Men is to prop up some of the more problematic formulations hawked on conservative AM radio. February 22, 2008

A new book provides readers with a basic political framework to dispel common myths about immigration put forward by the media. February 22, 2008

The film There Will Be Blood and the book it's based on, Upton Sinclair's Oil! share a revulsion at how capitalism crushes what's most human out of people. February 15, 2008

In a new book of essays, Noam Chomsky explains what the Bush administration viewed as "opportunities" after September 11. February 15, 2008

After scoring in his team's victory against Sudan, Mohamed Aboutreika lifted his jersey to reveal a T-shirt that read "Sympathize with Gaza." February 8, 2008

Director John Sayles sets the birth of rock and its intersection with the blues at the heart of his new film, Honeydripper. February 8, 2008

Real women have abortions--but not in the movies, to judge from several popular and critically acclaimed recent films. February 1, 2008

Brian De Palma thinks the savagery of the war in Iraq has been redacted by the media, and his attempt to correct led to a hornets' nest of controversy. February 1, 2008

Charlie Wilson's War is well made--which is why it's important to say that this is a thoroughly reactionary film from beginning to end. January 25, 2008

The Nanny Diaries is filled with many pleasant surprises, the most important being that it's a Hollywood comedy that's actually funny. January 25, 2008

This Common Secret tells in a straightforward way why abortion should be viewed as a fundamental right for all women. January 18, 2008

The Wire began airing its fifth and final season on HBO this January. You should be watching. January 18, 2008

I have yet to meet anyone who has read Philip Pullman's trilogy of "children's books" that includes The Magic Compass, and doesn't love them. January 11, 2008

One could be forgiven for assuming The Great Debaters is simply a formulaic, feel-good movie. But the movie is much more powerful. January 11, 2008