Culture

The Enduring Power of the Rules of the Game

The Enduring Power of the Rules of the Game 1

Save this storySave this storySave this storySave this story Even if Mozart’s name and the quotation from Beaumarchais’s play The Marriage of Figaro had not appeared in the credits of The Rules of the Game, Jean Renoir’s 1939 film would…

Teaching People Who Will Never Get Out of Prison

Teaching People Who Will Never Get Out of Prison 3

Save this storySave this storySave this storySave this story The year is 2018. I am in a classroom for the first time at Great Meadow Correctional Facility in Comstock, New York, a maximum-security prison for men. There are sixteen students…

Worlds in rooms

Worlds in rooms 5

Save this storySave this storySave this storySave this story I believe that sometimes, when we look at works of art, we long to recapture lost moments of the past – a golden age when we experienced a profound and unforgettable…

How Tom Lehrer Avoided the Fleetingness of Satire

How Tom Lehrer Avoided the Fleetingness of Satire 8

Save this storySave this storySave this storySave this story Satire, as George S. Kaufman aptly observed, is what closes on Saturday night. This implies that its circulation is limited because of its low initial interest. Another principle might be added:…

The New Boringness of a Young Parisian Chef

The New Boringness of a Young Parisian Chef 14

Save this storySave this storySave this storyYou’re reading Food Scene, Helen Rosner’s guide to what, where and how to eat. Sign up to get it sent to your inbox. One of the most appealing things about Le Chêne, the new,…

The Extravagant Look of Charles Frederick Worth

The Extravagant Look of Charles Frederick Worth 21

Save this storySave this storySave this storySave this story Charles Frederick Worth, the 19th-century fashion designer widely considered the founder of haute couture, was not a modest man. “Madame, who advised you to come to me?” he wondered, addressing a…

Summer is the time for off-Broadway comedy

Summer is the time for off-Broadway comedy 24

Save this storySave this storySave this storyYou’re reading the Goings On newsletter, a guide to what we’re watching, listening to and doing this week. Sign up to get it sent to your inbox. When political activist, comedian, and performance artist…