Adele’s new album 30 is a cinematic exploration of “divorce, babe, divorce,” but it caps a year rich with breakup anthems. From Kacey Musgraves Star-Crossed to Taylor Swift’s reissued Red (Taylor’s Version), pop music has seemed like a months-long opera of celebrity splits, all beginning of course with Olivia Rodrigo’s world-conquering “Driver’s License” in January.
Why was 2021 the year of the breakup album? Shirley Li, Spencer Kornhaber, and Sophie Gilbert discuss Adele, Taylor, and more—plus they share what makes a good heartbreak record (and what their own all-time favorite breakup music is).
Further reading:
The Dazzling Ambition of Adele's '30'
Olivia Rodrigo's 'Sour' Demystifies the Breakup Album
Why Taylor Swift's Nostalgia Play Works
Billie Eilish and Pop's Sad Girls Are Making Happy M
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Passing (Bonus from The Experiment)
We’re off this week for the holiday, so here’s a special bonus from The Experiment, a podcast from The Atlantic and WNYC about the conflicts and contradictions that make America.
Hollywood has a long history of “passing movies”—films in which Black characters pass for white—usually starring white actors. Even as these films have attempted to depict the devastating effect of racism in America, they have trafficked in tired tropes about Blackness. But a new movie from actor-writer-director Rebecca Hall takes the problematic conventions of this uniquely American genre and turns them on their head. Hall tells the story of how her movie came to life, and how making the film helped her grapple with her own family’s secrets around race and identity.
A transcript of this episode is available.
For further reading, Shirley Li’: “Netflix’s ‘Passing’ Is an Unusually Gentle Movie About a Brutal Subject”
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No Time to Die
James Bond now spans 25 movies, six actors, and six decades—not to mention the books, video games, and imitations. Over the years, the character has evolved from the stoic, womanizing emblem of British empire to Daniel Craig’s emotionally driven interpretation. But with the Craig era ending, where does Bond go from here?
Atlantic staff writers Sophie Gilbert, David Sims, and Shirley Li discuss No Time to Die, as well as Bond’s future and past. The trio also shares their favorite Bond theme songs, why Q is Shirley’s underrated Bond king, and why David considers Bond films “the most influential action movies ever made.”
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Ted Lasso
David Sims, Megan Garber, and Sophie Gilbert examine the unlikely success that is Ted Lasso, and ask what the show’s much-discussed second season has to say about the merits (and the limits) of American optimism. Visit theatlantic.com/thereview for more about the show.
And check out Megan’s pieces on Ted Lasso and on how comedy is reckoning with American decline.
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Introducing: The Review
On The Review, The Atlantic's writers and guests discuss how we entertain ourselves and how that shapes the way we understand the world.
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Don’t just watch a movie; understand it. Don’t just hear a song; consider what it has to say. On The Review, writers and guests discuss how we entertain ourselves, and how that defines the way we see the world. Join The Atlantic’s writers as they break down a work of pop culture each week, exploring the big questions that great art can provoke, making some recommendations for you, and having a little fun along the way.
Brasil