UNBELIEVABLE: 2 - The Untold Story

Arcadian: Nicolas Cage’s post-apocalyptic pastoral is a beautiful mess

In her 1965 essay, The Imagination of Disaster, critic Susan Sontag wrote that: “The science fiction film … is concerned with the aesthetics of destruction, with the peculiar beauties to be found in wreaking havoc, making a mess.” There is certainly beauty in director Benjamin Brewer’s new movie, Arcadian –…

The Conversation · Jun 13, 2024

All Eyes on Rafah: sharing images of war comes with a moral responsibility. What can we make of this AI-generated anomaly?

Over the past few days, one image has been shared at least 45 million times on Instagram. It shows an aerial landscape with hundreds of thousands of tents, pitched in rows, on red earth. In the centre, the tents align to form the slogan “All Eyes on Rafah”.

The Conversation · May 31, 2024

‘He was a born member of the underground’: how Peter Hujar captured the New York demimonde

He only published one book – and it was hardly noticed. Now his portraits of drag queens, poets and artists are seen as vital documents of a vanished world. As they go on show, the photographer’s favourite subjects recall his genius

The Guardian - UK · Apr 15, 2024

Age cannot wither her – and now, for just £495 a month, it won’t wrinkle her

It’s no wonder 30,000 women are awaiting a cream that claims to make skin actually younger

The Guardian - UK · Jul 2, 2023

Capturing the Moment: a Journey Through Painting and Photography at Tate Modern - all killer, no filler

Sure, the substance of this show is a little lightweight, but with banger after banger it’s totally forgiveable

Evening Standard · Jun 12, 2023

On Women by Susan Sontag review – some sister she was…

This new collection of 70s journalism exposes a sexist and wrongheaded essayist with an unwarranted reputation

The Guardian - UK · Jun 5, 2023

On Women by Susan Sontag review – the reluctant feminist

Susan Sontag’s mixed feelings towards the movement that propelled her career

The Guardian - UK · May 25, 2023

Is Eurovision finally cool? That depends on your definition – 'cool theory' expert explains

With an aesthetic dependent on novelty and spectacle, and a structure that’s both disjointed and drawn-out, Eurovision – for some – cannot fail to fail. In its “failed seriousness” (the phrase writer Susan Sontag used to describe “camp”), the song contest has all the exaggerated expressiveness that audiences associate with…

The Conversation · May 12, 2023

Top 10 badly behaved biographies

Life writing is usually a conventional business, but these writers take on the job by discarding the rules, with thrilling results

The Guardian - UK · Apr 12, 2023

What currently brings me joy: Roadside Americana

A giant gorilla holding a Volkswagen … the World’s Largest Chest of Drawers … US highways bristle with idiosyncratic wonders

The Guardian - US · Mar 21, 2023