Culture

An abstract expressionist and master of collage, an intellectual and outspoken activist, Bearden evolved as much as his times did.

Eighty years ago, MGM’s sparkly pink rendering of Glinda expanded American pop culture’s definition of free-flying women.

Looking to Louisa May Alcott's heroine for inspiration.

Far from wallowing in nostalgia, Tarantino is using alternative history to critique conventional Hollywood endings.

What the author of "If—" learned about empire from the United States

Created in New York by Jewish immigrants, the first comic book superheroes were mythic saviors who could combat the Nazi threat.

A review of Casey Cep's new book on Harper Lee's never written true crime book, "The Reverend."

It also inspired my own scholarship on the national anthem.

Maybelle Carter witnessed the dawn of the recording era and helped create country music as one of the genre's biggest acts.

These maps drawn by Indigenous artists depict a union of visual traditions during the 16th century.

One of the most indispensable guitarists of all time, Carter was a quiet revolutionary.

When the counterculture optimism receded, things got ugly.

For over 100 years, the bubbly beverage has gone in and out of vogue as a wellness tonic.

It lets us avoid harder questions about our culture.

In their time, “Jaws” and “Nashville” were regarded as Watergate films, and both were in production as the Watergate disaster played its final act.

Was Davy Crockett a sellout? And does it matter?

It became the first and only X-rated movie to win a best picture Oscar.

Contending with the orientalist fears and fantasies of a young nation.

For Herman Melville, the color white could be horrifyingly bleak.

With ‘Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood,’ Tarantino slakes his thirst for nostalgia while playing with another piece of history.

In the 50s and 60s, steamy novels about lesbian relationships, marketed to men, gave closeted women needed representation.

Margret and Hans A. Rey, the reluctant parents of a cartoon ape-child, always yearned to leave children’s literature behind.

People have passionate feelings about the oddball punctuation. Here are some things you probably didn't know about it.

We might say that these books are recording a life with music, and that they are worth listening to.

Barnum called himself the “Prince of Humbugs,” which left open the possibility that one day there would arise a king.

A schoolteacher created the popular board game, which celebrates its 70th anniversary this year, for quarantined children.

For a century, we’ve loved our cars. They haven’t loved us back.

The novelist drew on far-flung voyages to create his masterpiece. But he could finish it only at his beloved Berkshire farm.

The battle for the integration of Major League Baseball started long before Jackie Robinson.

The great showman taught us to love hyperbole, fake news, and a good hoax. A century and a half later, the show has escaped the tent.