The Dance of Polarities
Culture wars come to Central Europe, Éric Zemmour stokes racism in France, a cinema killer learns intimacy, and more
November 4, 2021
Culture Wars
Zora Hesová investigates central Europe’s growing disagreement over same-sex marriage, abortion rights, and immigration. “In contrast to a historical dispute or an ideological debate, culture wars truly polarize—they push their own participants towards extreme positions on the opinion spectrum, while completely ruling out the possibility to reach a compromise.” (November 2, 2021)
The Most Dangerous Man in France
“Zemmour’s message eerily echoes the anti-Semitic rhetoric of the far-right under Vichy; it’s as if he had repurposed the most virulent speeches of the Collaboration and simply replaced the word ‘Jew’ with ‘Muslim.’” Mitchell Abidor and Miguel Lago on Éric Zemmour, the far-right author transforming French politics. (October 29, 2021)
How to Think About a Plague
Janet Roitman asks what it means to call COVID-19 a “crisis”—and how doing so conceals the fact that our public health norms that never worked in the first place. (November 3, 2021)
A Psychopath Finds Love
“Could I love you still, naked and vomiting black in my bed? Could I love you at the very edge of yourself?” Melinda Freudenberger discovers tenderness and freedom amidst the violence of Titane, winner of Cannes Film Festival’s 2021 Palme d’Or. (November 3, 2021)
For the (Public) Record
It’s a troubled time for Mark Zuckerberg. Claire Potter has a suggestion: “Don’t kill Facebook—reform it.” (November 1, 2021)
In Tennessee, a legislative loophole allows corporations like Ford to withhold wheelings and dealings from the public record. Pat Garofalo unpacks the problem. (November 1, 2021)