Culture

Cosplaying Jane Austen

Two hundred years after the novelist’s death, people still bond over her works. Sometimes, costumes are involved.

• Ted Scheinman
• 6:00 AM ET

The Atlantic's Week in Culture

A roundup of our recent writing on arts and entertainment

• The Editors
• Jul 21, 2017

The Classic Queer Paradox of Tyler, the Creator

On Flower Boy the rapper suggests he’s not straight—and struggles with a stigma he helped propagate.

• Spencer Kornhaber
• Jul 21, 2017

Ozark: Netflix's Grim Foray Into Flyover Country

The new 10-hour drama follows a Chicago financial adviser forced to move to Missouri to launder money for a cartel.

• Sophie Gilbert
• Jul 21, 2017

Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk Is a Masterpiece

Epic yet intimate, the director's new war film is boldly experimental and visually stunning.

• Christopher Orr
• Jul 21, 2017

Queering the Work of Jane Austen Is Nothing New

Starting in the Victorian era, stage performers and writers have been subverting the novelist’s reputation as the go-to author for conventional, heterosexual love.

• Devoney Looser
• Jul 21, 2017

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets Is a One-of-a-Kind Space Odyssey

Luc Besson’s new sci-fi epic is a visual sensation that deserves to be seen on the biggest screen possible.

• David Sims
• Jul 20, 2017

How Jon Batiste Made 'Battle Hymn' Bittersweet

The jazz musician talks about putting the “pain and struggle” of American history into the patriotic classic published by The Atlantic in 1862.

• Spencer Kornhaber
• Jul 20, 2017

Making Peace With Jane Austen’s Marriage Plots

Her work has done more than any other author’s to influence what “happily ever after” means in culture.

• Sophie Gilbert
• Jul 20, 2017

How 'I Do' Became Performance Art

Thirty years ago, with the help of a massive coffee table book, the American wedding theatrical complex was born.

• Megan Garber
• Jul 20, 2017

How The Fifth Element Subverted Sci-Fi Movies

Twenty years ago, Luc Besson’s visually stunning film hinged its story not on action or violence, but on love.

• David Sims
• Jul 19, 2017

Jane Austen and the Redemption of Gawkiness

The novelist had a soft spot for awkward talkers and stumbling lovers—which was an immense relief for me growing up as a shy person.

• Rosa Inocencio Smith
• Jul 19, 2017

'On the Wrong Side of Five-and-Thirty': How Jane Austen Grew Up

As a teen writing a draft of the book that would become Sense and Sensibility, the novelist poked fun at her older characters. By the time it was published, she was their age.

• Matt Thompson
• Jul 18, 2017

A Wrinkle in Time Defies Disney’s Sequel-Filled Future

Ava DuVernay’s adaptation of Madeleine L’Engle’s book is one of the studio’s only upcoming movies that’s not a follow-up or a remake.

• David Sims
• Jul 18, 2017

R. Kelly's Alleged Sex 'Cult' and the Shield of Fame

A chilling BuzzFeed report says the R&B star has at least six women living under his near-total control.

• Spencer Kornhaber
• Jul 17, 2017

Colin Firth's Shirt: Jane Austen and the Rise of the Female Gaze

She died 200 years ago. But her writing fits perfectly into the culture of the current moment.

• Megan Garber
• Jul 17, 2017

Federer’s Wimbledon Win Was Anything but Nostalgic

In a throwback 2017 season, the Swiss tennis legend has shown he’s still full of surprises.

• Arnav Adhikari
• Jul 17, 2017

Game of Thrones: About That Cameo

Wait, is that—?

• Megan Garber
• Jul 17, 2017

Game of Thrones Gears Up for the Wars Still to Come

Three Atlantic staffers discuss “Dragonstone,” the first episode of the seventh season.

• David Sims, Lenika Cruz, and Spencer Kornhaber
• Jul 16, 2017

MTV News and Stand-Up Comedy: The Week in Pop-Culture Writing

Highlights from seven days of reading about arts and entertainment

• The Editors
• Jul 15, 2017