The Culture Gabfest “Do Androids Dream of Joaquin Phoenix?” Edition
Slate’s Culture Gabfest on Her, Isaac Asimov’s predictions for 2014, and the pretense of anonymity in restaurant criticism.
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On this week’s episode, the critics discuss Her, Spike Jonze’s futuristic film about a man’s love affair with his sentient operating system. Starring Joaquin Phoenix and the voice of Scarlett Johansson, the film has received near-universal praise from critics, but does it merit the hype? Next the gabbers turn to a 1964 essay by science-fiction demigod Isaac Asimov, outlining his predictions for 2014. Then the critics take stabs at envisioning the cultural landscape 50 years from now. Finally New York magazine restaurant reviewer Adam Platt joins the Gabfest to discuss the pretense of anonymity among food critics.
Links to some of the things we discussed this week follow:
- Dana’s review of Her on Slate.
- Dana’s list of the 10 best movies of 2013.
- Culturefest intern Anna Shechtman’s criticism of Her on Slate.
- Woody Allen’s Annie Hall.
- Isaac Asimov’s 1964 vision of 2014 in the New York Times.
- The Jetsons.
- I, Robot by Isaac Asimov.
- Adam Platt reveals his identity in New York magazine.
- Ruth Reichl reviews Le Cirque in disguise for the New York Times.
- Grubstreet.com, New York magazine’s food blog.
Endorsements:
Dana: Comfort Me With Apples, the second volume of Ruth Reichl’s autobiography.
Julia: Looking out airplane windows and using the Wi-Fi–enhanced flying experience to identify features like the Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project, with its tower of molten salt.
Steve: Deb Perelman’s granola bar recipe at smittenkitchen.com and Joe Strummer’s “letter of recommendation” for Bruce Springsteen, republished in the Guardian.
Outro: “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” by Bruce Springsteen.
You can email us at culturefest@slate.com.
This podcast was produced by Ann Heppermann. Our intern is Anna Shechtman.
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