Don’t just watch a movie; understand it. Don’t just hear a song; consider what it has to say. On The Review, writers and guests discuss how we entertain ourselves, and how that defines the way we see the world. Join The Atlantic’s writers as they break down a work of pop culture each week, exploring the big questions that great art can provoke, making some recommendations for you, and having a little fun along the way.
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Don’t just watch a movie; understand it. Don’t just hear a song; consider what it has to say. On The Review, writers and guests discuss how we entertain ourselves, and how that defines the way we see the world. Join The Atlantic’s writers as they break down a work of pop culture each week, exploring the big questions that great art can provoke, making some recommendations for you, and having a little fun along the way.
Sophie Gilbert, Spencer Kornhaber, and Shirley Li discuss the Hulu series about “the greatest love story ever sold” and ask: Is Pam & Tommy just repeating the exploitation it depicts? Or is its retelling of internet history revealing something new about our current culture?
The sex tape at the core of the show is effectively the first instance of revenge porn online. It opened up questions of celebrity and privacy that we’re still grappling today. Now, shows like Pam & Tommy (with which Pamela Anderson was not involved) similarly raise questions about where the line is with telling a public person’s private story.
The series also falls into a familiar category these days of the modern reconsideration of 90s culture: Framing Britney Spears, several American Crime Story iterations, even Girls5Eva and Yellowjackets. What is it about this era that’s drawing us to it?
[Note: Spoilers through episode 6 of Pam & Tommy.]
Further reading: Sophie Gilbert’s review: Pam & Tommy and the Curse of the '90s Bombshell
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The Review
Don’t just watch a movie; understand it. Don’t just hear a song; consider what it has to say. On The Review, writers and guests discuss how we entertain ourselves, and how that defines the way we see the world. Join The Atlantic’s writers as they break down a work of pop culture each week, exploring the big questions that great art can provoke, making some recommendations for you, and having a little fun along the way.
