Books and Entertainment The problem with Tom Cruise's new thriller, Valkyrie, is that the conspirators who plan to kill Hitler are a lot like the dictator himself.
January 8, 2009 Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino is a confused attempt to come to grips with America's changing ethnic landscape.
January 8, 2009 The Mormon Church played an instrumental role in getting California's Prop 8 passed. But the church has faced opposition in the past--from athletes.
January 6, 2009 The American Catholic Church faces the abyss in John Patrick Shanley's new film Doubt.
January 5, 2009 : Anthony Arnove Harold Pinter, who died in December, will be remembered not only for his path-breaking theater, but his outspoken dissent against war and oppression.
January 2, 2009 What's easier for an African American male: Becoming president of the United States or an NCAA Division I football coach?
December 19, 2008 : Nicole Colson A new book explains how access to healthy food--something that should be a basic human right--is instead used as a tool for profit.
December 18, 2008 : Scott Johnson If you're tempted to go see the remade The Day the Earth Stood Still, think again--you're better off renting the 1951 classic.
December 18, 2008 The opulence, poverty and bigotry of the "new" India is exposed in Danny Boyle's hit film Slumdog Millionaire.
December 11, 2008 : Alexander Billet Like all great rock albums, The Cross of My Calling reminds us that rebellion isn't just necessary, but perfectly natural.
December 11, 2008 : Alexander Billet The singer and activist Odetta, dubbed by Martin Luther King Jr. as "the queen of American folk music," has died.
December 8, 2008 There's nothing like an NFL player shooting a hole in his own leg in a packed nightclub to become our latest walking, talking weapon of mass distraction.
December 8, 2008 Looking for left gift ideas? Our columnists recommend some of their favorite books, movies and music.
December 5, 2008 Farnaz Fassihi's book Waiting for an Ordinary Day is a unique and much-needed contribution to documenting the horrors of the Iraq war.
December 4, 2008 James Bond unexpectedly fights the CIA and various corporate conspiracies in the latest film from the long-running series.
December 4, 2008 : Sherry Wolf The film Milk, chronicling the life of murdered gay political leader Harvey Milk, comes at an important time for the movement for LGBT rights.
December 3, 2008 Aravind Adiga's The White Tiger tells the story of "two Indias"--the world of the rich and the world of the poor.
November 26, 2008 The controversial owner of the Dallas Mavericks is in trouble with the SEC--maybe because of his conflation of populism with personal profit.
November 25, 2008 : Bob Quellos There's a myth that hip-hop no longer produces relevant social commentary. Son of Nun and DJ Mentos put that claim to rest.
November 21, 2008 One sports columnist's thesis that Black athletes are responsible for Barack Obama's success is embarrassingly wrong.
November 19, 2008 : Adam Turl What do George Romero's classic zombie movies like Night of the Living Dead have to say about U.S. society?
November 13, 2008 NFL great Jim Brown transcended the spotlight of sports and entertainment, devoting his political life to empowerment in the Black community.
November 12, 2008 Denver Broncos player Brandon Marshall was ready to join the euphoria over the election of the first Black president--but his teammates stopped him.
November 10, 2008 : Alexander Billet Rage Against the Machine is back, and the band has rediscovered creative and political confidence that fits these tumultuous times.
November 7, 2008 An important story of Los Angeles Police Department corruption and incompetence has been rescued from obscurity in Clint Eastwood's film, Changeling.
November 6, 2008 : Anthony Arnove Studs Terkel, who died last week at the age of 96, used his interviews to amplify working-class voices that some preferred not to hear.
November 3, 2008 : Alan Maass For anyone who spent the last eight years hating the Bush regime, Oliver Stone's movie W. is a lot of laughs. But is that enough?
October 30, 2008 While his father Henry was demanding $700 billion to bail out the banks, Merritt Paulson asked for $85 million from taxpayers for a new sports complex.
October 27, 2008 With its obsessive attention to detail, the TV show Mad Men recreates the chilling world of the early 1960s office workplace.
October 23, 2008 : Alexander Billet The mission of the newly founded Featured Artists Coalition is to win music artists more control over their music and a fairer share of the profits in the digital age.
October 23, 2008 The image of Tommie Smith and John Carlos, their black-gloved fists raised at the Mexico City Olympics, has grown in power over the last 40 years.
October 21, 2008 The problem with Life on Mars is that it portrays the police as "better" now--more sophisticated, less brutal--than in the distant past of the 1970s.
October 16, 2008 The best documentaries seek out fascinating subjects. Comedian Bill Maher, star of Religulous, thinks he's found one of those subjects--himself.
October 16, 2008 Sarah Palin’s attempt to score political points with hockey fans missed the mark by a wide margin.
October 14, 2008 The book Illegal People explains how guest-worker programs help provide U.S. employers with a low-wage, flexible and largely silenced workforce.
October 9, 2008 Sports has become a foolproof way for politicians to show voters that they are "salt-of-the-turf" Americans.
October 9, 2008 Spike Lee's new epic film Miracle at St. Anna puts Black soldiers back into the story of the Second World War.
October 2, 2008 In a high-pressure sport like football, where contracts aren't guaranteed, and any play can be your last, depression lurks like a blindside linebacker.
October 2, 2008 : Dave Zirin Muhammad Ali was a giant in the sports world--and his impact on American society was likewise immense, as one part of a new book chronicles.
September 29, 2008 Battle in Seattle uses video footage of the 1999 protests and an all-star cast to recall a high point in the anti-globalization struggle.
September 25, 2008 A billion people live without access to safe and sufficient amounts of water. The documentary FLOW (For Love of Water) explains why.
September 25, 2008 Dallas Mavericks All-Star Josh Howard is being raked over the coals for daring to say what more than a few athletes think.
September 22, 2008 The death of Don Haskins would make news throughout the sports world, even if all he ever did was coach college basketball.
September 18, 2008 When the Prisoners Ran Walpole is the story of an uprising that put inmates in charge and shook the Massachusetts criminal justice system.
September 11, 2008 A new book provides a detailed account of how political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal was framed for murder.
September 11, 2008 So much discussion of sports is about sanding off, beautifying or simply obliterating anything that might be seen as political.
September 10, 2008 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 : Snehal Shingavi 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 : Son of Nun 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 : Mike Marqusee "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 : Randy Childs 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 : Alexander Billet 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 : Jen Roesch 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 : Joe Allen 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 : Jeffrey St. Clair 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 : Steve Earle 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
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