Nonfiction
Unpacking White Lotus Season 3: Gorgeous Scenes and Frustratingly Familiar Tropes
For the last eight weeks, my morning routine has been to get up, make coffee, and mentally get ready for the upcoming episode of HBO's The White Lotus. It has evolved into a weekly immersion in opulence, dysfunction, and mortality rather than merely a viewing experience. I was optimistic, high, caftan-clad, sun-kissed aspirations about the upcoming show.
By Hridya Sharma11 months ago in Critique
Measuring Civilization: A Dialogue Between Modern Ideals and Tribal Traditions
Introduction: What Truly Defines Progress? Civilization is often measured through progress—technological, intellectual, moral. But what exactly does progress look like? Is it modern infrastructure and access to education, or a community that protects honor, loyalty, and social bonds?
By Numan Shah11 months ago in Critique
5 Shocking Insights on the Supreme Court Deportation Decision
The Supreme Court deportation decision on Texas's controversial deportation of immigrants has created much discussion. A stay of execution was granted to that ruling under the Alien Enemies Act, a law passed in 1798 allowing the government to deport aliens at war, but mainly collecting dust. This was an outcome of charges from several immigrants who have alleged that their removal was not warranted under the last administration. The ruling thus opens questions about individuals' rights toward national security interests.
By Dunia Zakaria11 months ago in Critique
Why is the iPhone so popular all over the world?
Year after year, Apple Inc., one of the most valuable tech companies in the world, maintains its dominance in the smartphone market. Apple iPhones continue to top customer wish lists despite the market's plethora of competitors, and with good reason. However, what precisely makes Apple phones so popular, and why do they frequently cause internet rushes and long lines with each new release?
By jakir hossain11 months ago in Critique
Capitalism in Intensive Care: Notes from a World Too Busy Buying Itself
The global economy today sits like an aging monarch in a glass ICU, draped in silk hospital gowns woven from speculation and denial. Tubes of liquidity drip-feed borrowed time into a system allergic to introspection, while its caretakers—central banks, financial institutions, and think tanks—applaud the twitching of GDP as if it were a sign of vitality rather than convulsion. The prognosis? Complicated. The diagnosis? A civilization obsessed with consumption, terminally ill with its own success.
By Andra Hikmal11 months ago in Critique
Snow White 2025: Balancing Woke Themes with Classic Storytelling – A Review
The 2025 version of Snow White, to be fair, Disney's live-action remake of its first animated picture, has received mixed reviews from the audience. The remake tried its best to be accepted as a feminist film and one that promotes woman empowerment while balancing the old and the new. I watched the film with a grain of salt and kept my logical mind aside—at least, I tried to! However, I could only fathom the discourse of its nurture to a certain extent. In this review, I go deeper into the intricacies of empowerment, fantasy and the performances the film encompasses.
By Hridya Sharma11 months ago in Critique
Few Words Lead Me Home
“I cannot sever myself from what I’ve been taught. Pencil fades over time, so I always use a pen to write on the backs of photographs. The secret to good penmanship is going slowly. There’s a place for everything, and everything in its place.”
By Justin Black12 months ago in Critique
Stripped Journaling. Content Warning.
Forgiveness: a conscious and deliberate decision to release feelings of resentment towards someone who hurt you. Why is forgive and forget so hard? Something done by someone I’ve yet to see again haunts my reality as if it happened yesterday. Like a scar that is deeper than the ones carved by my hand. A person unknown to me, yet forever tied to my soul through one terrible night. The fear of feeling powerless again lingers with me, paranoid, afraid of my own shadow. Am I safe anywhere? Will I be hurt again by another insignificant person who can decide if I am prey? Someone so hungry that they don’t care about their actions. Someone who could easily overpower me and enjoy watching the struggle.
By Emmie Falbo12 months ago in Critique
On a fateful November night
(I was writing this for the "Self-Editing Epiphany"-Challenge, only to in the end realize in the end that there was a 1.500 words limit to it, and this has more like 3.800 words. Since today is my birthday and I won't have time to shorten it, I'll just publish it anyway now. I hope you like it!)
By Niklas Baumgärtler12 months ago in Critique
The Diplomat (2025) Movie Ending Explained – John Abraham’s Spy Thriller Breakdown
There are still many questions in The Diplomat movie which have been smartly left in the movie and have not been fully explained, such as Tahir traps Uzma and takes her to Pakistan, but what was the strong reason behind luring Uzma and taking her to Pakistan, which was not explored properly in the movie.
By Ayush Verma12 months ago in Critique
