PolicyMic's Culture Round-Up: August, the Culture Section Is Ready For You

Happy August PolicyMic-ers! We had a really exciting July with awesome original interviews, great reporting, and some really insightful cultural analysis. I can’t wait to see what our writers cook up this month. 

A few orders of business: The culture section is hiring! We are looking for a publishing editor, for more details on the positions see here. Please e-mail me with any questions.

Also! We are in the final days of taking submissions for the Summer Reading Series. We have featured some really awesome submissions this summer. Please e-mail me if you would like to write on your favorite book!

Shout Outs of the Week:

Shout out to our culture intern Hannah Loewentheil whose last day is today! Hannah has been a vital member of the team for the past eight weeks and wrote a whopping 127 articles for the site, (including one of my personal faves, this little number on FOMO).

What Have You Been Up To?

Let me know what you’re up to! In the weekly newsletter I share our illustrious pundits fantastic writing achievements as well as highlighting news about what we’re all doing offline. If you have anything you’d like me to include (accomplishments, publications, that awesome play you’re in), about yourself or a fellow PolicyMic-er, please send it my way! 

Culture Section Must-Reads of the Week: 

Robin Thick Album Review: Blurred and Boring (Thomas Barnes, @HotChiliGumbo) – The “Blurred Lines” music video has been entertainment news’ favorite talking point for the last 6 weeks or so. Now the album is here and we have 11 vaguely rapey anthems instead of just 1.

Let’s Make Movies Like It’s 1999 Again (Stephen Roper) – From 'Fight Club' to 'The Iron Giant', 1999 saw Hollywood finding a balance between quality, quantity, and versatility in its releases. 2013, and beyond, could learn a few things.

Why Julia Child Would Have Never Made it to The Finale Of ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ (Sam Stryker, @sbstryker) – Julia Child was a master chef who demystified the kitchen, but she wouldn't stand a chance on the thrill-a-minute reality cooking competitions that we watch today.

Read This Poem and You’ll Never Laugh At a Rape Joke Again (Brian Polk, @clemenko) – It's not very often that something so emotionally naked, devastatingly honest and skillfully crafted gets our attention, and starts to change minds.

‘The Act Of Killing’ Movie Review: The Most Disturbing, Gripping Documentary Of the Year (Kanyakrit Vongkiatkajorn, @yukvon) – Joshua Oppenheimer's film about Indonesian death squads is an enthralling fever dream that's unlike anything else in theaters.

The Dinner Party: Judy Chicago and Jane Gerhard at the Brooklyn Museum (William Simmons, @WJ_Simmons) – Second-wave feminism and feminist art still have much to say — and many questions to raise — about the history they created.

7 Famous Books That Were Passed Over By Publishers (Rijul Asri) – Imagine if the Harry Potter series did not make it past publishers. In honor of J.K. Rowling's birthday on Wednesday, we are paying homage to 7 other famous books that just barely made it.

Why Is Stripping Down a Rite Of Passage For Female Child Stars? (Julianne Ross, @JulianneRoss) – Why, for women, does feeling like a grown up so often mean feeling like a sex object?

Please send your feedback! Elena@policymic.com