'Sticks & Stones', and the cultural discussion around it means that we get to once again act out an irritating, tiresome cultural two-step, one marked by bad faith, straw-manning, and a complete misunderstanding of social media outrage, how it works, and its ultimate effects.
Two major cultural happenings, at least not related to COVID-19, have taken place in the first half of July 2020: 'Hamilton' debuted on Disney+, and a massive culture-wide debate has been had over "cancel culture." So naturally, the two have intersected.
The epic feud between Variety and actress Carey Mulligan has now passed its one-year anniversary, and it would be a shame if this were to go down as the main thing that's remembered about 'Promising Young Woman.'
In recent times, there's been a separate category of boycott that's become quite ubiquitous. It comes as part of the never-ending backlash against "wokeness," and while its been loud and numerous, it hasn't been very effective.
30 years ago, Oliver Stone delivered 'JFK', one of the best edited movies in history, that on the one hand is almost wholly untrue while on the other hand hugely entertaining.
Will the arguments never end about Mel Brooks' 'Blazing Saddles'? Brooks' 1974 comedy classic might be the most argued-about older movie of all-time, mostly stemming from whether it could be made today or not.
In what's pretty clearly the stand-up comedy event of the year, Chris Rock debuted his new special, 'Selective Outrage,' and as expected there's been the same old tired reactions from both sides of the aisle.
We got a chance to talk to the country's leading comedy historian, Kliph Nesteroff, about his latest book 'Outrageous: A History of Showbiz and the Culture Wars.'
After being fired by SNL and sparking a mini-culture war, Shane Gillis made his triumphant return... but it was fairly unremarkable.
There has been an unprecedented reckoning about policing in America, and its one that's begun to trickle down into popular culture. Now, it appears 'Paw Patrol' is facing the wrath of the cancel culture... or is it?
Once in awhile, a story comes along that represents a confluence of just about everything bad going on in culture at the same time.
Lil Nas X has found himself at the center of the latest great American culture war skirmish (in a 2021 full of them), but Madonna beat him to it by about 30 years and he certainly won't be the last in a seemingly never-ending cycle of outrage.
Making a name for yourself is no longer limited to making it big in Hollywood, but rather utilizing social media to share your talent and make a living from the comfort of your home.
As much as we may try to deny it, the fact of the matter is that we actually love a good controversy; so let’s examine 4 circumstances where bad publicity have ironically helped properties achieve higher levels of success.
Cancel culture has been a constant topic in comedy these days, so let's take a look back at that Kevin Hart Oscars incident and see what cancellation looks like.
'The French Connection' is widely considered an all-time classic and when someone noticed several seconds missing on Criterion it led to widespread concern about censorship and unanswered questions.
Part 2 of our chat with the country's leading comedy historian, Kliph Nesteroff, about his latest book 'Outrageous: A History of Showbiz and the Culture Wars.'