Aisha Harris
NPR
Oakland, CA, United States
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Past articles by Aisha:
What's making us happy: A guide to your weekend listening, viewing and reading
Each week, the guests and hosts on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour share what's bringing them joy. This week: Midwest Modern Twitter account, Unclear and Present Danger podcast, Gemini Rights and more. → Read More
'The Fabelmans' is Steven Spielberg's love letter to his family, and the movies
The Fabelmans is Steven Spielberg's semi-autobiographical and deeply personal film about a Jewish American boy who dreams of making movies. Growing up he learns to tell stories through his 8mm camera while life-altering events within his family's household significantly affect how he views the world. The cast includes Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, and Judd Hirsch. → Read More
Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'The Godfather' and the limits of on-screen representation
From our friends at Pop Culture Happy Hour, a deep dive on The Godfather – and why the classic film was not universally loved by the Italian-American community that it portrayed. This episode is part one of the new three-part podcast series Screening Ourselves, which is all about the complicated relationships between on-screen characters and the people they aim to represent. → Read More
They're in love and they eat people, in 'Bones and All'
Luca Guadagnino's weirdly beautiful romance Bones and All is a familiar road trip tale of young, angsty lovers drifting from state to state against the backdrop of breathtaking wide-open vistas. But the kicker is that the couple, played by Timothée Chalamet and Taylor Russell, are — wait for it — cannibals. And they're on the lookout for their next feeding. → Read More
Screening Ourselves: The art and archive of feeling unseen on screen
The debates over on-screen representation and filmmaking's blind spots predate digital outrage. The new podcast Screening Ourselves digs into three Hollywood classics, The Godfather, The Color Purple and Basic Instinct, and how they each portrayed, and ignited, historically misrepresented groups. → Read More
Revisiting 'The Color Purple' wars
In the final chapter of our special documentary series Screening Ourselves, host Aisha Harris recounts the debates ignited by Steven Spielberg's The Color Purple. The 1985 film is remembered as a fan-favorite centering Black women's lives, but the acclaimed adaptation of Alice Walker's novel was received quite differently among female viewers and male viewers. → Read More
Donald Glover seems mad at us, but we (mostly) embrace 'Atlanta' anyway
When the FX series Atlanta arrived six years ago, it was unlike anything else on TV. It depicted its namesake city as a surreal landscape rich with offbeat characters. And it turned its creator and star Donald Glover from a niche comedic actor and rapper into an A-list Hollywood auteur. Atlanta recently concluded its fourth and final season, and it remained dark and weird until the very end. But… → Read More
Queer villains, erotic noir, 90s pulp. 'Basic Instinct' and the backlash, rewound
In the second chapter of our special documentary series, Screening Ourselves, host Aisha Harris revisits the politics and legacy of Basic Instinct. Paul Verhoeven's 1992 thriller is a sexy and violent cult classic. But the film was also a problematic mainstream portrayal of queer women at a time of great political crisis for LGBTQ politics and representation. → Read More
We proposed to 'Love Is Blind' sight unseen, then watched
The reality dating show Love Is Blind is built around a simple premise: Couples date without meeting face to face, fall in love with each other's personalities, and don't meet in person until after they've gotten engaged. Viewers are bound to have strong opinions on the couples. The Netflix show just wrapped its third season, and we're going to unpack what happened. → Read More
Chadwick Boseman's Essential Performances
Chadwick Boseman was a gifted actor who was probably best known for his role as T'Challa in Black Panther and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We'll be talking about the film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever later this week, but today we're revisiting our episode looking back at some of Chadwick Boseman's essential performances. → Read More
'The Godfather' and the limitations of representation
Today we debut Screening Ourselves, a new documentary series hosted by Aisha Harris. The Godfather is considered an American film classic with an enduring legacy that still shows up in TV, hip hop, and even Muppet culture. But the film also sparked a complicated relationship with the real-life Italian-American community about how they were seen and screened. In this episode, Aisha looks into the… → Read More
'Till' finds joy and restraint in a historic tragedy
When 14-year-old Emmett Till was murdered by two white men in 1955, his mother Mamie Till-Mobley became a voice of the civil rights movement. And now, the events surrounding his death have been dramatized in the new movie Till. Danielle Deadwyler's performance as Mamie is the focal point and standout, as she taps into the depths of a mother's grief. → Read More
Can an old school rom-com be a 'Ticket to Paradise'?
In the film Ticket to Paradise, George Clooney and Julia Roberts play divorced parents determined to stop the wedding of their adult daughter. It's part romantic comedy, part wacky adventure, and part gorgeous travel movie. Clooney and Roberts star alongside Kaitlyn Dever, Maxime Bouttier and Billie Lourd. → Read More
We celebrate Carly Rae Jepsen's 'The Loneliest Time,' together
Carly Rae Jepsen is back with a new album called The Loneliest Time. The Canadian singer first broke through with the inescapable banger "Call Me Maybe." But in these last few years Jepsen has become a full-blown pop star, thanks to well-received albums like Emotion and Dedicated. Her new album mixes hard-driving pop jams with breezy ballads. → Read More
Murder is lost in translation in 'Decision to Leave'
In Decision to Leave, a man is found dead and the prime suspect is his widow. Things become complicated when the detective assigned to the case becomes enamored with her. This is the latest movie from South Korean director Park Chan-wook, who made Oldboy and The Handmaiden. → Read More
However you feel about Lena Dunham, 'Catherine Called Birdy' is a delight
Catherine Called Birdy is a novel beloved by many who grew up in the '90s. One millennial in particular who remembers the book fondly is writer and director Lena Dunham. She's translated the novel into a wry coming-of-age movie starring Bella Ramsey as Catherine, a smart and spirited teen living in medieval England. When her parents set out to match her with a suitor, she finds increasingly… → Read More
'Amsterdam' has as many ideas as it does stars
The film Amsterdam is a screwball comedy very loosely based on a real historical event from the 1930s. Christian Bale, John David Washington, and Margot Robbie play friends who get caught up in a political conspiracy. Written and directed by David O. Russell, the movie's sprawling ensemble also includes Robert De Niro, Rami Malek, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Zoe Saldana. → Read More
'Blonde' finds all the ways to punish Marilyn Monroe
In the Netflix movie Blonde, Ana de Armas steps into the billowing white dress of one of the most iconic figures of the 21st century: Marilyn Monroe. It was written and directed by Andrew Dominik and is an adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates' novel of the same name, which took extensive creative liberties with Monroe's life. → Read More
What's making us happy: A guide to your weekend reading, listening and viewing
Each week, the guests and hosts on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour share what's bringing them joy. This week: Lizzo playing James Madison's flute, Usher's thirst traps, and more. → Read More
Billy Eichner's 'Bros' is a gay rom-com aimed at the masses
In the grand tradition of the modern rom-com, stories about queer couples are still few and far between. Which is part of what makes the new movie Bros so special: Billy Eichner stars as a lanky intellectual who boasts a proud aversion to romance until he has a meet-cute with his polar opposite, a hyper-masculine gym rat played by Luke Macfarlane. Eichner co-wrote the movie, and Judd Apatow is a… → Read More