Richard Goldstein

Richard Goldstein writes about the connections between pop culture, politics and sexuality.

Letters

December 13, 2006
The Tao of Borat

November 2, 2006

What are we laughing at when we laugh at Borat?
Death Trip

October 5, 2006

Philip Roth and Joan Didion have each written compellingly about death, but their insights about dying and mourning signify a retreat from the world rather than an embrace of the forces by which we all live and die.
Satellite Dylan

April 27, 2006

As a satellite radio DJ, Bob Dylan is reaching a new generation of fans, who admire his music but, unlike earlier admirers, do not see him as a prophet.
The Erotics of Resistance

March 30, 2006

With spring come glimmerings of new social attitudes: The popularity of V for Vendetta proves films with a social conscience resonate; Kanye West's challenge to rap homophobia shows gangsta style is not the only option.
Of Queers and Kong

January 5, 2006

From Brokeback Mountain's closeted cowboys to King Kong's embrace of Anne Darrow, Hollywood has queered cherished icons of masculinity. But the two films paint a bleak picture: Love that falls outside the norm must struggle to be something more than self-destructive.

2005

President Thelma

November 17, 2005

Is Commander-in-Chief softening up the country for President Hillary? Americans may not not be ready to put a woman in the White House, but they may have calmed down enough to contemplate the pleasures of female power.
Spectacle

August 11, 2005

Recent movies including War of the Worlds and Land of the Dead reflect today's political landscape.
Spectacle

June 2, 2005

The progressive and regressive politics of Star Wars.
It's Easter: He Is Recut

March 24, 2005
Letters

March 16, 2005
Cartoon Wars

February 3, 2005
Hail-to-the-Chief Show

January 27, 2005

Red Sluts, Blue Sluts

December 16, 2004

Desperate Housewives is liberal on the surface but conservative at the core.
Butching up for Victory

January 8, 2004

Bush projects macho, but it looks forced. Could Howard Dean be the "it" candidate?

Hors de Combat

April 9, 2003

Irony is the new Communism, which is why an artist like Madonna can't get her message across.
Neo-Macho Man

March 6, 2003

There is an uneasy similarity between Eminem and President Bush.

Right & Gay & Like It That Way?

August 1, 2002
Clarification

June 25, 2002
Fighting the Gay Right

June 13, 2002

Homocons pose as free thinkers fighting the orthodoxies of the left and right. In fact, they are neither independent nor individualistic.