The Atlantic’s Week in Culture

A roundup of our recent writing on arts and entertainment

A still from Raw (Focus World)

Don’t Miss

Why Female Cannibals Frighten and FascinateKate Robertson analyzes the danger and appeal of insatiable women in Raw, Santa Clarita Diet, and The Lure.


Disney

Film

Beauty and the Beast: A Tale as Old as Time, Told WorseDavid Sims bemoans the live-action remake of the 1991 Disney masterpiece.

The Future Cult Classics at South by SouthwestDavid Sims investigates some of the movies making waves at this year’s festival in Austin.

The Summer-Blockbuster Season Has Already BegunDavid Sims looks at how films like Logan and Kong: Skull Island are mainstays of a month that was usually left to broad comedies and family films.

Song to Song Is a Dizzying Romance With Little to SayDavid Sims reviews the master auteur Terrence Malick’s latest film, which boasts an all-star cast.


Wikimedia Commons

Books

What’s So ‘American’ About John Milton’s Lucifer?Edward Simon shows how the fallen archangel and antagonist of the epic poem Paradise Lost was a self-made, individualistic iconoclast.

The Case Against the Grammar ScoldsMegan Garber argues that the lexicographer Kory Stamper’s new book Word by Word is an eloquent defense of a “live and let live” approach to English.


HBO

Television

Is Girls Heading Toward a Conventional Happy Ending?Sophie Gilbert wonders where the HBO show is going after an unexpected twist.

Saturday Night Live Makes the Case That Ivanka Is ‘Complicit’Megan Garber recaps the sketch show’s latest parody of the president’s daughter.

Trial and Error Wackily Spoofs the True-Crime CrazeSophie Gilbert watches the new NBC series starring John Lithgow.

Saying Goodbye to Andy Daly’s Bizarre ReviewDavid Sims discusses the cult Comedy Central series as it enters its final season.

Stephen Colbert, Anxiety TranslatorSophie Gilbert explains how the CBS host found the line between tragedy and comedy on Monday night.

The Bachelor: Fame Conquers AllMegan Garber weighs in on the reality show’s Season 21 finale.

Marvel’s Iron Fist Is Desperately Seeking a HeroSophie Gilbert laments the blank, unsympathetic, and entitled central character of the new Netflix show.

The Best Live-Action Beauty and the Beast Is 1987’s TV-Procedural VersionMegan Garber revisits an unusual retelling of the classic story that was set in New York City and co-written by George R. R. Martin.


Zackery Michael

Music

Spoon’s Hot Thoughts Is a Triumphant ExperimentSpencer Kornhaber reviews the indie rockers’ ninth album.

Snoop Dogg’s Anti-Trump Video Becomes a Pro-Trump PropSpencer Kornhaber weighs in on the criticism of the L.A. rapper for firing a toy gun at a presidential lookalike.


Ten Speed Press

Food

Remembering the Italian Baking Expert Carol FieldCorby Kummer looks back on the life and career of the prolific cookbook author, who introduced ciabatta bread to Americans.


Manuel Balce Ceneta / AP

Art

The Real Cost of Abolishing the National Endowment for the ArtsSophie Gilbert investigates the disproportionate impact of Trump’s proposed budget cuts on organizations in rural and underserved communities.


Jessica Hill / AP

Sports

The UConn Huskies Make Perfection a Thrill to WatchRobert O’Connell praises the unparalleled University Of Connecticut women’s basketball team, who are hoping to claim their fifth consecutive NCAA championship.