Science fiction rarely predicts the future accurately, but it is excellent at exploring possibilities and their consequences. Some books also look ahead using real research. Classics of science fiction Modern science fiction Nonfiction about the future Why read about the future? Science fiction gives us words and images for debates about technology, surveillance, climate and … Read more
Music affects our mood, memories and identity, yet it is hard to put into words. These books manage it: some explain the science, others tell the history, and the best memoirs show what music means to the people who make it. The science of music History Memoirs by musicians Fiction inspired by music Listening while … Read more
The best love stories are rarely simple. They put obstacles between two people: class, distance, timing, illness, pride. That is what makes us laugh, cry and keep turning pages. Classics Modern love stories Books about the complexity of relationships Some novels look less at romance than at how relationships actually work over time: Why heartbreak … Read more
Travel is not the only way to see the world from another point of view. Novels, memoirs and travel writing let you live inside other places and times. Here are books that many readers credit with changing how they see a culture. Novels from around the world Historical fiction Good historical fiction brings past societies … Read more
Editing is sometimes called the invisible art. When it works, viewers do not notice the cuts; they simply feel the story move. Yet the editor decides what the audience sees, in what order and for how long, which can completely change a scene. Continuity editing Most mainstream films use continuity editing, a set of conventions … Read more
For many people, films are the main way they encounter historical events: wars, revolutions, famous lives. That gives filmmakers enormous influence over how the past is remembered, for better and for worse. The power of historical films A vivid film can make distant events feel real. Saving Private Ryan (1998) changed how many viewers imagined … Read more
Audiences rarely notice good sound, but they immediately notice bad sound. Sound design covers everything you hear in a film apart from music: dialogue, effects, footsteps, wind, the hum of a room. It makes images feel real and directs attention. The layers of film sound Famous examples Ben Burtt created many of the sounds of … Read more
Film noir, “black film” in French, describes a group of dark American crime films made mainly in the 1940s and 1950s. Its shadows, cynical detectives and dangerous femmes fatales have influenced filmmakers ever since. Where the term comes from French critics coined the term after World War II, when Hollywood films that had not been … Read more
Films let you spend two hours inside someone else’s life, often in a place you may never visit. World cinema shows daily routines, family structures, humor and conflicts that news reports and travel guides rarely capture. “The one-inch barrier of subtitles” When Parasite won the Golden Globe for best foreign-language film in 2020, director Bong … Read more
Film is a visual medium, and screenwriters are taught to “show, don’t tell”. Yet great dialogue can define a film: lines that reveal character, raise the stakes and stay with audiences for decades. Subtext The best dialogue rarely says exactly what characters feel. People avoid, deflect and hide things, and the audience enjoys reading between … Read more
