commerce
Mass-Marketing Good Taste

The Reebok shoe company has announced that it has signed young actress Scarlett Johansson ...

movies
Shyamalan Out of His Depth?

The critics have largely savaged M. Night Shyamalan's new film, The Lady in the Water. Man...

books
Charlie Chan, Bourgeois Detective

Those who have an interest in the meanings behind the Charlie Chan films are cordially inv...

movies
The Politics of Charlie Chan

My current piece on National Review Online is about "The Business End of Ethnic Polit...

music
Beach Boys Credit War

In a comment on my SMiLE post at the Reform Club, blogger Tom Van Dyke points out that Bea...

music
Music to Make You SMiLE

During the dog days of summer, all real Americans enjoy a bit of a pep-up by listening to ...

books
The Puzzles of The Closer

The Closer, on TNT Monday nights at 9 EDT, is an unacknowledged Americanization of the lon...

mysteries
Psych Up

The new USA Network mystery-comedy series Psych, which runs Friday nights at 10 EDT, is st...

mysteries
Monk and Religion

In my view, Monk is one of the best programs on television: it's funny, always has strong ...

mysteries
Touching Evil USA

Although the USA Network program Psych has its faults at present, it at least has a good c...

movies
Does the World Really Need Superman Returns?

Having cleared the decks of a few things, I finally got around to seeing Superman Returns....

books
The Case for Mickey Spillane

Mickey Spillane, who died earlier this week, was a much better writer than the mainstream ...

commerce
Disney Returns to the Family

The Walt Disney Company is returning to its roots as a purveyor of family-oriented enterta...

books
Hollywood and Religion

The relationship between religious believers and Hollywood has always been a tense thing, ...

uncategorized
Welcome!

Hello, and welcome to Karnick on Culture. My writings on popular culture and other related...