There was a point in late December 2018 when it seemed like the entire way we watch TV was going to change. Black Mirror: Bandersnatch was abruptly released by Netflix, which announced it the day before and practically dared people to avoid discussing it. That week, millions of viewers sat in front of their screens, clicking on cereal boxes and making therapy decisions while genuinely not knowing what kind of experience they had just gone through. It was thrilling. It was strange. And looking back now, it was probably the peak. Bandersnatch was more than just a movie. It was…
Author: Sam Allcock
For nearly a century, the U.S. military and Hollywood operated on an unspoken arrangement that benefited both sides. The Pentagon got favorable portrayals on the big screen. Studios got helicopters, aircraft carriers, and access to bases that no production budget could easily replicate. It looked like a perfect partnership — until, slowly, it didn’t. Most people are unaware of how long the relationship has existed. The 1927 silent film Wings, about World War I fighter pilots, was made with direct Army support and won the very first Academy Award for Best Picture. That established a mood. With military approval, Patton…
There was a time, not too long ago, when a struggling Hollywood blockbuster could count on China to save it. A soft domestic opening was worrying but manageable. China would emerge. In the same way that investors once saw emerging market growth as a permanent condition, studio executives held this belief with a sort of quiet confidence. The end of that era was not a quiet one. For a long time, the math seemed convincing. In 2012, China’s box office receipts increased by 36% to $2.7 billion, and the trend continued to rise. China agreed to import at least 34…
There used to be a time when you knew exactly where your bank was. It sat at a familiar corner on the high street, a solid, slightly imposing building with a counter queue and a security guard who nodded at regulars. The statistics make it difficult to dispute the fact that that world has virtually vanished. In 2010, there were more than 10,000 bank and building society branches in the UK. Less than 5,000 were left by 2023. The slide hasn’t stopped, according to most counts. You’ll see the gaps if you stroll through a mid-sized British town today. Former…
There’s a specific kind of silence that follows a viral moment. Not peaceful quiet — the other kind. The kind where you check your phone and find nothing where, three days ago, there were thousands of notifications per hour. For many who have experienced it, the silence is more difficult to comprehend than the noise ever was. Viral fame is usually discussed in terms of opportunity. Fortunate break. The algorithm finally working in your favor. And for a short while, it can truly feel that way—the surge of widespread attention, the requests for sponsorship, the feeling that something has changed…
There is something quietly strange about paying a monthly subscription fee to watch a show that aired its final episode before you finished high school. Millions of people nevertheless do it without much thought. Friends left NBC in 2004. 1998 saw the end of Seinfeld. 2013 saw the conclusion of The Office. At different times, all three have been among the most streamed programs worldwide; this isn’t due to new episodes, but rather to the fact that the older ones continue to captivate viewers. The question of why is worthwhile. Not in a cynical way, but genuinely. What is it…
On a Christmas night in 1986, half of the United Kingdom gathered in a pub to witness a man deliver divorce papers to his wife. Not in a metaphorical sense. In fact, 32.5 million viewers of EastEnders watched as “Dirty” Den Watts handed those documents to Angie across the Queen Vic bar. The nation essentially came to a standstill. Given how fragmented viewing has become and how drastically the cultural significance of British soap operas has changed, it seems nearly impossible to imagine that kind of television moment today. On a good week, those figures are currently close to 10…
Photographs never fully capture the essence of Alexi Lalas. He didn’t look like a typical professional soccer player, standing six feet one inch tall with a frame designed for contact and a mane of red hair that extended well past his shoulders. On a Friday night, he appeared to be someone who might lead a rock band, and on a Sunday afternoon, he would stealthily destroy opposing forwards. Because of his size, strength, and unique silhouette that no other player on the field could match, he became one of the most iconic figures in American soccer history. Born in Birmingham,…
The fact that Sylvia Rhone’s career started with a secretary’s salary and ended, at least temporarily, at the top of one of the most well-known record labels in the world is almost poetic. After holding the positions of Chairwoman and CEO at Epic Records since 2019, she left the company in 2025. Her estimated net worth was $20 million at the time of her departure. For someone who started filing papers at Buddah Records in 1974, that number reflects something more than money. It shows a degree of perseverance that is seldom rewarded in the music business, particularly for Black…
There is something quietly devastating about Robb Stark. Not in the dramatic, sword-wielding sense, but rather in the way his narrative plays out, like witnessing someone meticulously construct something sturdy only to have it crumble due to a single error in judgment. The world demanded everything of him when he was seventeen. By most measures, he delivered. After the Red Wedding, everything became irrelevant. Robb was born at Riverrun and raised at Winterfell, the eldest son of Eddard Stark, Lord of the North, and Lady Catelyn of House Tully. His childhood, as far as we can piece it together, looked…