The two lives of Steve McQueen

Someone once said of Steve McQueen (1930–80) that his range as an actor was deep but not very broad. All right, I admit it—I said it in my 2001 biography of the all-American star who still looms over Hollywood like a sort of male equivalent of the Statue of Liberty, more than 40 years after his untimely death. Continue Reading...

Planes, Trains, and Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a distinctively American holiday, unlike Christmas, and yet we have very few popular movies about it. Maybe this is a good thing—it’s a family affair, not necessarily a public spectacle. Continue Reading...

Entertainment as leisure

Americans on average spend 470 minutes, or 7.83 hours, a day with digital media. For example, people watched “The Office” for over 57 billion minutes in 2020, and another favorite, “Grey’s Anatomy” held viewership for over 39 billion minutes in 2020. Continue Reading...

Slavery, Shmi Skywalker, and Star Wars

As the final installment of the final trilogy of the Star Wars saga opens today, it’s worth thinking about where this blockbuster franchise and cultural phenomenon started. And by that I mean where the story of Anakin Skywalker started in Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Continue Reading...

On being wrapped up in books

Last night I gave an address at The Grand Castle in Grandville, Michigan on the occasioning of its library opening. I spoke on the importance of books and libraries. As the Librarian and a Research Associate at the Acton Institute it is a topic of professional interest but is also an abiding private passion. Continue Reading...