MEMETERIA by Thomas May

Arts & Culture Stories from NPR

• Documentary Scours Our Noisy Globe 'In Search Of Silence'
  Director Patrick Shen features plenty of talking heads opining about our essential need for quiet and solitude, but this film works best when he captures moments of pristine, meditative stillness.
• A Wounded Union Soldier In A House Of Southern Women: 'The Beguiled'
  Sofia Coppola's lush visual aesthetic infuses this study in sublimated lust with just enough sly, Southern-Gothic bodice-ripping to intrigue and satisfy.
• 'The Big Sick' Is A Tonic For What Ails You
  Critic Andrew Lapin praises the "unique, understated comic irony" of this largely autobiographical rom-com about a couple whose young relationship gets tested by matters cultural — and medical.
• 'From The Ashes' Documents Rise And Fall Of Coal In America
  After President Trump pulled out of the Paris Climate Agreement, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg pledged to lead a group of mayors, governors and CEOs in cutting emissions according to the Paris framework. And now Bloomberg also has a film out documenting coal's rise and fall in America, From the Ashes.
• 'GLOW' And 'Prime Suspect': Two TV Series You Won't Want To Miss
  In both of these period pieces — one set in the 1970s, the other in the 1980s — women have it tough, whether they're wrestling with their demons, or actually wrestling.
• Shades Of Gray Turn Sumptuous In 'Chain Letter'
  In Chain Letter, cartoonist Farel Dalrymple returns to The City, the mysterious metropolis at the heart of his early 2000s series Pop Gun War. It's a weird, complicated and charming place.
• Updating Frankenstein For The Age of Black Lives Matter
  The classic tale of the Monster resurrected from the dead gets a new treatment in Victor LaValle's new limited-series comic.
• Before Her Teacher's Murder, This 'Keepers' Witness Was Already Living A Nightmare
  In the docuseries The Keepers, Jean Wehner shares her story of being abused by her high school chaplain. She says the teacher she confided in may have been killed for knowing too much.
• 'Epicurious' Editor Goes Inside The Home To Find Greatest Chefs
  NPR's Audie Cornish talks with David Tamarkin, editor of the website Epicurious, about his recent project compiling a list of "The 100 Greatest Home Cooks of All Time."
• 'The Big Sick' Is A Wonderful Movie And An Imperfect Milestone
  Comedian Kumail Nanjiani steps into the leading role in a semi-autobiographical love story. It's a quietly groundbreaking crowd-pleaser, though some characters aren't as fully dimensional as others.