Culture

Our curated articles offering new takes on the big themes and questions in our culture. Plus reviews of books, film, media and experiences. Culture is one of four key themes covered by Seen & Unseen.

Article
  1. Character
  2. Culture
Frankstein stares our from his covered face.

We need a sense of shame - but need mercy even more

Belle Tindall
Shame may be necessary, but only if it can be defeated
6min read
Review
  1. Culture
  2. Film & TV
A child and E.T. ride a BMX bike across a moon lit sky.

Here's why E.T. is in my list of top Halloween films

Yaroslav Walker
What Halloween films reveal about our fears, our families, and our fondness for the ridiculous
8min read
Review
  1. Culture
  2. Film & TV
Dressed in Victorian clothes, two brothers raise their arms together.

Wanted, not wasted: the older brother who couldn’t lead

Will Fagan
In Peaky Blinders and House of Guinness, Steven Knight shows being needed—not being perfect—transforms
10min read
Review
  1. Community
  2. Culture
K-Popm Demon Hunters lean forward wielding weapons

I came for the demon-fighting pop stars and stayed for the existential crisis

Harry Gibbins
A Netflix kids’ film made me rethink shame, friendship, and my Spotify algorithm
7min read
Article
  1. AI - Artificial Intelligence
  2. Community
A cyborg like figure opens the door to a classroom.

Artificial Intelligence needs these school lessons to avoid a Frankenstein fail

Joel Pierce
To learn and to learn to care are inseparable
5min read
Article
  1. Culture
  2. Suffering
Blue evil eye charms hang among a jewellery display

Protection from evil shouldn’t rely on a blue glass bead

Becky Ruth
Faith goes beyond culture in my beloved Türkiye
5min read
Review
  1. Culture
  2. Digital
A film character talks to an angel in the street who has wings on the back of his coat.

Heaven can wait: the gig economy can’t

Giles Gough
Good Fortune skewers modern work culture with a celestial twist
5min read
Review
  1. Awe and wonder
  2. Culture
A musician wearing black sits on a chair in a desert holding her guitar.

Natalie Bergman brings grief and joy to Union Chapel

Jonathan Evens
A soul-soaked set turned personal tragedy into communal celebration
4min read
Review
  1. Culture
  2. Film & TV
A couple hold each others hands as they face each other.

From wheatfield to vineyard, can an ancient love story survive a replanting?

Giles Gough
Ruth & Boaz finds new soil in rural Tennessee but struggles to grow
4min read
Review
  1. Culture
  2. Film & TV
A player holding a finger to his lips stands in front of an indoor American football pitch.

Horror turns pro: when greatness demands blood

Yaroslav Walker
The pursuit of sporting glory turns into a fever-dream of sacrifice, madness, and mythic violence
5min read
Review
  1. Art
  2. Culture
Taylor Swift, dressed as a showgirl, sips from a glass.

Taylor Swift’s new album is fine, and that might be the problem

Belle Tindall
Ego, art, and the quiet tragedy of getting everything you ever wanted
5min read
Article
  1. AI - Artificial Intelligence
  2. Culture
A multiple exposure image shows a womans head and shoulders looking ahead, to the sides and above.

Am I a project or a person?

Nathan Mladin
What we lose when we AI tempts us to refuse our limits
3min read