Culture

The narratives we tell ourselves about the past are hardly set in stone. It’s in this ambiguity where Tancredi Di Carcaci finds inspiration. Through his practice, the British artist contemplates, and sometimes perpetuates, the blurring of straightforward histories, especially that of art, as traditionally passed down. His sculptures – a mix of ceramic works and assemblages combining cast bronze, ceramic and hunks of marble and stone sourced from Siena, Egypt and elsewhere – have aesthetic and thematic roots spanning the Renaissance, neoclassical revival, Romantic painting and 20th-century modernism.“For me, with art, I don't try and restrict myself.

In the 1950s, witch hunts were stoked by pamphlets identifying supposed communists in the media. Screenwriter Dalton Trumbo fell victim to this vicious whispering campaign. He was blacklisted by Hollywood and only given full credit for his work after his death. Today, witch hunts happen on Twitter – with the speed and ferocity of lightning. Kevin Spacey was struck by just such a bolt when he was accused of various sexual assaults on social media and then formally accused in courts in the US and UK – where he was cleared. And now, in trying to recover his life and his reputation after being scorched by the #MeToo movement, the double Oscar-winner has recognized that there is nothing new about his experience.

On paper, last weekend shouldn’t have been any great shakes for movie theater attendance. Audiences were offered, respectively, the second weekend of an African American-targeted horror picture; the fourth weekend of a video game spin-off; the re-release of the final George Lucas Star Wars picture, Revenge of the Sith, which has somehow turned 20 this year; and the major new release of the week, the sequel to the Ben Affleck vehicle The Accountant, which was only modestly successful upon its original release in 2016. None of these should have been particularly notable, and the weekend might have been expected to be another grim disappointment.  Well, this has not happened.

The Met Gala, hosted by the almighty Anna Wintour, will see the world’s most fashionable float up the red carpet on May 5 in New York City. The throngs of designers, models, influencers and celebrities who manage to get the golden-ticket invitation must dress in a style inspired by the theme “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.” This theme is inspired from Monica Miller’s 2009 book, “Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity.” Dandyism, we’re told, has its origins in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade in the 18th century when slaves were dressed up in an extravagant fashion to please their master’s aesthetic.

For too long derision of the Disney Adult has gone on unchecked. The world has been all too eager to sneer at the oblivious saccharine happiness of the woman – for it is always a woman – who dares to freely enjoy the most magical place on earth. It's easy to place the blame for the ills of modernity on this mouse-ear-bedecked scapegoat, for she embodies all the cringing mannerisms of the aging millennial, from their too-insistent sincerity to their generational refusal to put away childish things long after childhood has passed them by. Despite sharing their normative age and sex, I too have always counted myself among the haters, defining myself against type. “Not like other girls,” I said. “Not like other millennials.” Until this week.

When Tucker Carlson claimed to have been “physically mauled” by a demon in his sleep late last year, it was something of a bellwether: a sign that America’s cultural Right, now in the ascendancy, has persuaded itself to take a symbolic stand against the Enlightenment and the scientific worldview. Looking back on the 2010s and early 2020s, much of the American right now sees an era of secular hubris. The problems of the previous 15 years were put down to a naive faith in human reason; which was then confronted by dark and atavistic forces it couldn’t assimilate. The result had been all sorts of premodern terrors come again: plague, war, popular mania, social order overthrown.  The answer would have to be some sort of return of the spiritual.

We’re in the throes of a full-blown moral panic, but this time it’s Nazis instead of Dungeons & Dragons. Nazis are everywhere in the United States. There are signs of them everywhere. Their influence is unmistakable, from beverages to hobbies to views on the nuclear family. It’s eleven o’clock. Do you know where your Nazis are? At least, that's the current state of America, according to the same industry that attempts every year to convince you that someone may sneak high-grade narcotics into your child’s Halloween candy. This week, our brilliant commentariat convinced itself that billionaire tech tycoon Elon Musk had performed two "Sieg Heils" during President Trump’s inauguration festivities.

WNBA star Caitlin Clark has thrown out practically all of the goodwill she earned among new women’s basketball fans and conservatives who otherwise defended her as she was subjected to blatant racism after joining the league. Clark became a lightning rod in her rookie season as her black opponents flagrantly fouled her on multiple occasions and refused to give her flowers for growing the game after a stellar college career at the University of Iowa. Clark was chosen as TIME’s Athlete of the Year last week, a well-deserved recognition of her impact on her sport and the massive celebrity she gained in such a short amount of time.

The Supreme Court today is hearing arguments against Tennessee’s statewide ban on prescribing puberty blockers and hormone replacement therapy for minors with gender dysphoria. The challenge to the state law is being led by the Biden administration and the American Civil Liberties Union and is brought on behalf of three teens with gender dysphoria, their parents and a doctor. Their lawyer is also transgender. The Tennessee law came about during a period of very fraught debate over how to treat children who suffer from gender dysphoria.

Homemaker extraordinaire Martha Stewart has a fascinating new documentary about her life out on Netflix. The nearly two-hour film features narration from Martha herself about her childhood, her rise to fame, her marriage and the insider trading case that nearly destroyed her career. It’s worth a watch if you’re trying to get inspired ahead of your Thanksgiving celebrations tomorrow or if you just want to better understand the mindset of the perfection-driven television, magazine and homeware mogul. As I watched the documentary, though, I was mostly surprised at the parallels between the societal perception of Martha’s homemaking skills at the height or her popularity and the modern discourse about “tradwives.