Culture

Sanction: A Word with Two Faces
Word of the weekSanction: A Word with Two Faces

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the word sanctions dominated headlines for months. Western governments imposed sweeping economic sanctions targeting banks, state companies, oligarchs and energy sectors – efforts meant to isolate Moscow diplomatically and financially. In parallel, targeted sanctions have also become common ...

'Emily in Paris' Resumes Filming After Assistant Director’s Death
Spotlight'Emily in Paris' Resumes Filming After Assistant Director’s Death

A beloved crew member’s sudden death has shaken the usually effervescent world of Emily in Paris. The assistant director, whose dedication and behind-the-scenes work helped shape the series’ distinct energy, collapsed unexpectedly during a recent shoot. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, but sadly could not be revived, sending shockwaves ...

Netflix Takes Center Stage at the Venice Film Festival
SpotlightNetflix Takes Center Stage at the Venice Film Festival

For several years, Venice has served as the discreet yet decisive battleground between traditional cinema and streaming giants. In 2025, Netflix makes a striking return to the Lido, shaking up the hierarchy of studios and auteurs alike. Three high-profile world premieres in official competition, carefully crafted productions and a calculated ...

Cracker Barrel Logo Change Sparks Cultural Backlash Across U.S.
Cracker Barrel Logo Change Sparks Cultural Backlash Across U.S.

Cracker Barrel has a special place in the hearts of many Americans, offering homestyle American cuisine in a folksy "Old Country Store" setting complete with rocking chairs and occasional country music performances. But an attempt to rebrand the storied US chain has sparked a firestorm of opposition online and opened a new front in the culture ...

'KPop Demon Hunters' breaks Netflix records and hits theaters
'KPop Demon Hunters' breaks Netflix records and hits theaters

After shattering viewership records on Netflix and climbing to the top of global music charts, the animated musical KPop Demon Hunters is now making its big-screen debut. This summer hit follows a trio of young Korean pop stars who battle demons using high-energy songs and synchronized dance moves. Since its Netflix release on June 20, the film ...

With 'Mother', Mitevska Restores Mother Teresa’s Humanity
ChronicleWith 'Mother', Mitevska Restores Mother Teresa’s Humanity

Who was the real Mother Teresa? In Mother, Macedonian director Teona Strugar Mitevska reexamines the legend to reveal a woman far beyond the clichés. Premiering in the Orizzonti section at the 2025 Venice Film Festival, the movie focuses on seven pivotal days in 1948 that forever changed Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, the woman who would become Mother ...

Norma Nolan, First Miss Universe from Argentina, Has Passed Away
Norma Nolan, First Miss Universe from Argentina, Has Passed Away

A discreet yet iconic figure has passed away in Miami, Florida, at the age of 87: Norma Nolan, the first and only Argentine woman ever to win the Miss Universe crown in 1962, leaves behind a legacy of grace, determination, and inspiration for generations of young women. Born in Venado Tuerto, Argentina, on April 22, 1938, Norma Beatriz Nolan was ...

US R&B Singer Joins Russia’s Intervision Revival in Moscow
US R&B Singer Joins Russia’s Intervision Revival in Moscow

An American R&B artist will take part in Russia's revival of a song contest billed as a rival to Eurovision, which has excluded Russian singers since the Ukraine offensive, organizers said Thursday. Brandon Howard, known professionally as B. Howard, is mostly famous for his resemblance to Michael Jackson—sparking media speculation in the past ...

Adidas Apologizes for Cultural Misstep Over Mexican Sandals
Adidas Apologizes for Cultural Misstep Over Mexican Sandals

Sportswear giant Adidas apologized to an Indigenous community in Mexico Thursday for using their traditional sandals as inspiration for a new design, after an outcry by officials and President Claudia Sheinbaum. Local authorities had complained that the Oaxaca Slip-On sandals were a reinterpretation of huarache sandals, particularly one found ...

Agnès Varda’s Paris: Intimacy, Poetry, and Eternal Street Life
SpotlightAgnès Varda’s Paris: Intimacy, Poetry, and Eternal Street Life

Paris’s backdrop transformed into a mirror, a playground, and a living studio for Agnès Varda, where life and art were inseparable. The exhibition Le Paris d’Agnès Varda, de-ci, de-là reveals Varda as a photographer, far from the film set yet already shaped by the eye that made her one of cinema’s boldest pioneers. At the heart of this ...

Vienna Artists Cool Heatwaves With Asphalt Painted Colors
Vienna Artists Cool Heatwaves With Asphalt Painted Colors

Equipped with an infrared thermometer, Austrian artist Jonas Griessler measures the sweltering heat in an inner courtyard in the center of Vienna. Thanks to his collective's artwork covering the black asphalt with a multitude of bright colors, the ground temperature has dropped from 31°C to 20°C. Initiated by the museum showing the private ...

Neither Man nor Woman? Psychoanalysis and the New Faces of Gender
SpotlightNeither Man nor Woman? Psychoanalysis and the New Faces of Gender

For centuries, gender identity was regarded as self-evident. To be a man or a woman seemed obvious. Biological sex was expected to dictate one’s role, tastes, gestures, clothing, and even destiny. One was born a girl or a boy, and society vigilantly preserved this division. Early psychoanalysis did not escape this binary logic. Freud himself ...