Late Friday, as the sun set on another bonkers week on the internet, kids began walking out of school to protest gun violence, while adults complained about marijuana legalization on unofficial weed day. And all that happened in just the span of a few hours. Elsewhere, Kanye West returned to Twitter and announced he has […]
Last weekend Avengers: Infinity War made more than $640 million at the global box office—and at least $258 million of that came from domestic theaters, a number that easily bests previous record holder Star Wars: The Force Awakens. This is relevant for two reasons: One, holy crap that’s a lot of money. Two, it means […]
Another week, another tale of tumult on the internet. Whether it's Fox News host Laura Ingraham being forced to apologize after mocking one of the Parkland students or the growing pushback against FOSTA/SESTA, everything last week felt fraught. And those are just two of the stories that had people talking on social media. Want to […]
It’s an understatement to say that romance took a beating this year. From the inauguration of a president who has confessed on tape to sexual predation, to the explosion of harassment and assault allegations that began this fall, women’s confidence in men has reached unprecedented lows—which poses a not-insignificant issue among those who date them. […]
If you sat through the end of Black Panther waiting for the post-credits scene, you know how many people it took to bring T'Challa's world to life. From kinetic energy suits to Wakandan weapons, Marvel's blockbuster was packed with wonderful visuals. Related Stories "It's amazing—the tools and technology and the artistry that we have available […]
First off, let's get one thing straight: The "console wars" don't exist. The idea that Sony's PlayStation and Microsoft's Xbox are engaged in some kind of dogged winner-take-all battle is both outdated and toxic. It lets fans indulge in the idea that they're noble partisans, which in turn gives them an excuse to say offensive […]
There was just something about her. Maybe it was the plaid flannels. Or the Doc Martens. Or her frequent indifference to her boyfriend, David. Whatever it was, something about Darlene spoke to queer women. For nine seasons, the character played by Sara Gilbert on ABC's Roseanne was, however subtly, a role model for people who […]
In the long, obtuse history of Things That Became Memes, there are some obvious ones—Nyan Cat, say, or maybe Doge—and some less obvious ones. (Did anyone see “covfefe” coming?) Today’s entry falls squarely in the latter category. In the last few days, as the European Union has been ramping up to roll out the European […]
On the windy afternoon of March 17, 2017, I opened my mailbox and saw a white envelope from the San Francisco Unified School District. The envelope contained a letter assigning my younger daughter to a middle school. This letter was a big deal; San Francisco’s public schools range from excellent to among the worst in […]
Before a storm, the calm; after the storm, a hail of conspiracy theories. The urge to seek truth among unconnected dots is nothing new, but social media has supercharged that urge, ratcheting up the speed and spread of the resulting theories. As soon as a scrap of news hits Twitter, thousands upon thousands of users […]