Tom Holland's performance of Spider-Man in Brand New Day marks a return to the moral philosophy that defines the character (Sony Pictures, 2026) The canon event of every Spider-Man starts in the same place. And no , it’s not when a radioactive spider gives him a life changing bite. Peter Parker had yet to discover his true identity, using his newfound powers to showboat his superior strength and earn money off a series of wrestling matches. Spider-Man was born in an alleywa

Exhausted travelers gather by their makeshift mobile homes, carving out a moment of peace in a landscape of hidden mines. Oliver Laxe’s Sirat is a survival story about several unlikely traveling companions making their way through the Sahara Desert. In a world that is falling apart, the film follows a group of Europeans who treat a dangerous landscape as a playground for spiritual and sensory liberation. By weaving together the energies of a desert rave with the religious sy

Attack on Titan Season 4 promotional poster. Credit: SlashFilm. Warning: Spoilers for Season 4 of Attack on Titan. With the cultural shift toward right wing ideas and aesthetics since the beginning of the 2020s, many have been examining the “alt-right pipeline” and what has led young developing teens and adults to adopt far-right rhetoric. A primary subject of this discussion has been anime, or animated Japanese media, which gained mainstream popularity in the United States b

It was Just an Accident Still What would you do if you met your torturer? A voice that has haunted your mind for years, an aura that sends a chill down your spine, with skin that you can feel even in your nightmares. Jafar Panahi’s 2025 film, It was Just an Accident, confronts the hard truths of what a victim would do in the company of their enemy. How would they treat the one who has inflicted fear and pain on their mind and body if they happened to cross paths? Set in Ira

The 1985 edition hardcover of Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card (Wikipedia). The government lies to us. It’s reprehensible. It’s more blatant than ever. You know it. Your friends know it. Everyone knows it—Americans’ trust in the government is at a historic low, with just 17% who trust the federal government a majority of the time . With the conflicts surrounding Israel-Palestine, ICE, transgender rights, and—most recently—Iran, our president sits at a paltry 33% approval rat

The common consensus regarding American elections is one of apparent clarity and simplicity: two parties, two opposing ideologies, two candidates competing for control of the policy agenda. But this commonly held belief is a complete and utter fallacy. Sometimes, the most influential and impactful voices are the ones who never even had a chance of winning. This article explores how third-party candidates can lose elections while winning the war of ideas. Third-party candidat

Our perception of characters is deeply influenced by filmmakers’ unique choices in lighting, costumes, and plot. In recent years, there has been a push for the inclusion of female characters with depth. Analyzing older films can help us understand how on-screen portrayals of women have historically reflected attitudes towards female agency. The latter half of Hollywood’s “Golden Years” is an ideal era to explore first. One of the most notable films noir made during this peri

For decades, American discourse on climate change has been politically color-coded. Since the early 1990s, climate change has devolved from an urgent challenge into a polarized standoff, reduced to talking points divided along ideological lines. On one side, progressives view the issue through a "green" lens, prioritizing environmental sustainability and the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. This focus necessitates immediate, large-scale e

Picture of a fracking rig. Photo by iStock A couple of days ago, while I was perusing my YouTube recommended section, I came across a video titled “The Brainwashing of America’s Children”. Now, after hearing a title like that, I assumed that this video discusses a topic like the book bans that have been passed in several states or the encroachment of religious doctrines into public school curriculums. However, the video actually has nothing to do with either of those issues.

Between fragmentation, high subscription costs, and content takedowns, media piracy is experiencing a resurgence. Even as far back as 2019, it was seen as a major problem. (Credit: u/CORPZDUDE) Let’s go back in time to 2007. Chances are, your household growing up had a television. If you were at least middle class, you probably had cable. Most of us who grew up around that time have memories of watching our favorite cartoons on Saturdays, bowls of cereal in our laps, or gathe

Ben Shabad was crowned winner in Chicago’s Jeremy Alan White lookalike competition November 2024 Lookalike competitions have grown in popularity online for the better part of the last two years; hundreds of people gather in a park or other public space and cheer and boo over the supposed doppelgangers of a given celebrity. While the trend was most popular in 2024 and Summer 2025 it has continued worldwide with the release of new media like Heated Rivalry in the past few mon

Donald Trump’s War in Iran is the latest of myriad politically divisive topics for his coalition of libertarian nationalists, right-wing populists, and disaffected working-class voters Since Donald Trump’s re-election in the 2024 Presidential Race and the Republican party obtaining a trifecta in the federal government allied with a Supreme Court sympathetic to their cause it seems as though the American right has dominated all of politics. Barely a year and a half into his p

Global demand for Femtech results in the rapid growth of the industry A typical interaction with today’s most popular period tracking apps often begins with a notification. Once clicked in, the software is characterized by pastels or cutesy iconography, prompting you to rate your current emotional state on a scale from 1 to 10. For many women, these digital prompts, ranging from lifestyle tips or symptom predictions, represent a broader misalignment between the realities of f

When examining the factors that drive U.S. Latin American foreign policy, a clear distinction can be found between public justification and private motives. These two, in fact, complement and enable each other across decades of U.S. history. Intervention in Latin America is often influenced by corporate lobbying, which can swiftly and quietly translate private sector profit motives into complex and elaborate national security narratives. As new economic interests emerge, corr

American author James Baldwin “This world is white no longer, and it will never be white again.” James Baldwin, “Stranger in the Village,” 1953. James Baldwin’s time in exile, as he refers to it, validated for him the uniqueness of the American people. Away from his home country, Baldwin offered a unique perspective from his new position of clarity, writing from the outside looking in. In Europe, he found a new type of white people — white people who had rarely, if ever, met

The Cover of Babel “Translation means doing violence upon the original, means warping and distorting it for foreign, unintended eyes. So then where does that leave us? How can we conclude, except by acknowledging that an act of translation is then necessarily always an act of betrayal?” -R. F. Kuang, Babel In her 2022 epic historical fantasy novel Babel, or The Necessity of Violence , R. F. Kuang explores the intersection of colonialism, language, translation, and racism, amo

The original cover of 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher The majority of high school counselors are not licensed psychiatrists, but are mandated reporters. While some students may feel comfortable sharing with a counselor, getting the help they need is not guaranteed and can make matters worse. Reaching out for help is not easy when the problem is depression or suicidal ideation. Parents and educators would rather push toxic positivity, religion, and self-reliance than consider givi

Still from I 'm Still Here In I'm Still Here , director Walter Salles examines the intimate impact of dictatorship on one family in 1970s Brazil, following Eunice Paiva (played by Fernanda Torres) as she confronts the disappearance of her husband, former congressman Rubens Paiva (played by Selton Mello). Based on Marcelo Rubens Paiva’s 2015 memoir Ainda Estou Aqui, the film portrays the deep remembrance of the past and the journey to uncover the truth amid a world of polit

Radiohead members Ed O'Brien, Jonny Greenwood, Colin Greenwood, Thom Yorke, and Phil Selway (Britannica, 2008) In 1987, a young musician survived the wreckage of a serious car crash . His girlfriend was injured. But he walked away, unscathed. From the twisted metal and suspended moment emerged the image he would later immortalize: a “jackknifed juggernaut, born again.” Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke stood outside the aftermath of folded metal and broken glass. Though he had be

Club Penguin , during the golden age of the kid web, holds the record for the most popular child-oriented MMO game in history, with over 200 million registered users by 2013. (Credit: Club Penguin Legacy ) The year is 2008. You have just arrived home after a long day of elementary school. You enter your home, drop your backpack to the ground, and rush over to the family computer (located, of course, in the family computer room). There, you log on to your favorite website, whe