Brow Beat

The Week in Culture, “Kill the Thank You Ticker” Edition

Chris Rock.
Host Chris Rock at the 88th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre, Feb. 28, 2016, in Hollywood, California.

Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Even though the Academy Awards righted the injustice of Leonardo DiCaprio’s Best Actor losing streak and we all should have transcended our earthly bodies the moment it happened, somehow we’re all still here, living in the Oscars hangover. It was actually a great show this year, Willa Paskin writes, fueled by Chris Rock’s energetic response to #OscarsSoWhite. Still, there was plenty to boo: offensive Asian jokes, men in the audience’s response to a costume designer’s win, a Sam Smith brain fart, and an awkward thank you ticker. At least there will always be the dresses to cheer for—even when what we’re cheering for is how hideous they used to be.

But out with the old, in with the new movies and TV and culture: There’s a new Terrence Malick film out this week, and Slate’s David Ehrlich tells us that Knight of Cups is what the director might have come up with if he had directed an episode of Entourage. Maybe you’d prefer Zootopia, a vibrant kids’ movie with a surprisingly political message. And then there’s new TV too! New seasons of House of Cardssoapier and more confident than ever—and The Americansshowing slight signs of wear but still hard to look away from—will be here soon, plus Sundance’s Hap and Leonard, which might have been better as a movie, shrug. But the real pro move may be to take this weekend to revisit each and every time Jay Pharoah did his impression of Ben Carson on Saturday Night Live, one of the show’s best performances and surely the best thing to come up Carson’s presidential run. The choice is yours.

More highs and lows from the week in culture:

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