Arts & Culture
Exploitation in Storytelling: The Conditions of Manga Artists in Japan
Anime and Manga are popular forms of storytelling from Japan that are becoming more and more popular in the West. Here we observe the labor conditions of Manga authors themselves as well as the general labor conditions in Japan.
Carmin Maffea
August 14, 2023
Over 11,000 TV and Film Writers Go on Strike Across the Country
The WGA strike has the potential to deal a blow to systemic hyper-exploitation in entertainment, and establish workers as a fighting force within the industry.
Enid Brain
May 2, 2023
Five Years after Ursula K. Le Guin’s Death, We Need Her More Than Ever
Ursula K. Le Guin tended the embers of revolt in a new age of imperialism and counterrevolution. She tasked us with stoking them into a blaze.
Jason Koslowski
January 22, 2023
Move to Unionize Waitress Tour Could Rewrite How the Theater Industry Operates
Actors’ Equity Association is trying to unionize a workplace for the first time in 20 years. It’s one of the most progressive developments in theater in a long time, and has the potential to rewrite the way the industry operates.
Enid Brain
April 15, 2022
Why Was a Ukrainian Filmmaker Censured for ‘Denying the Russians’ Collective Responsibility?’
The Ukrainian Film Academy has expelled a director for saying he does not consider all Russian people enemies. Right-wing nationalism is not the solution to the invasion.
Daniel Werst
April 8, 2022
This 50-Year-Old Film from East Germany Shows the Last Days of Karl Liebknecht
Karl Liebknecht was murdered 103 years ago. The East German biopic "In Spite of Everything" premiered 50 years ago today and shows his final days.
Nathaniel Flakin
January 14, 2022
‘Don’t Look Up’: Why the Climate Crisis Isn’t a Comet, and Why That Matters
'Don’t Look Up' presents an opportunity to reignite the climate movement. That means we have to look beyond its creators’ calls for individual action.
Emma Lee
January 1, 2022
“Squid Game” Is an Allegory for Capitalist Society
In the hit Korean show “Squid Game,” working-class contestants are given a gruesome chance to win millions, or die trying. An allegory for capitalism, the show’s “game” can only exist because of the structural poverty produced under our exploitative system.
Luis Velázquez
October 4, 2021
May the 4th (International) Be With You
Today, May 4th, is Star Wars Appreciation Day. For leftists, Rogue One within the Star Wars canon is a favorite: it shows a political and revolutionary approach to fighting the Empire.
Julia Wallace
May 4, 2021
Tony Award-Winning Producer Scott Rudin Is a Monster to His Workers
One of the most powerful men in show business routinely physically attacks his staff.
Enid Brain
April 9, 2021