Yes, the Emmys Were a Literal Trash Fire
During Sept. 20’s surreal, socially distanced Primetime Emmy Awards, Jennifer Aniston tried to douse a flaming envelope on stage with a fire extinguisher. It did not quite go as planned. It was, in a way, a fitting metaphor for what this Emmys telecast represented. For anyone hoping for the Emmys to honor a great […]
Digitally Dodging Schoolwork
We all know—and many parents know all too well—that school’s back in session. But this fall is unlike any we’ve seen in our lifetime, and parents, teachers and students alike are dealing with some all-new challenges. So-called Zoombombers (people who hijack Zoom meetings and sometimes flood it with unwanted images or dialogue) are still at […]
The Plugged In Show, Episode 42: The Coronavirus’s Legacy for Families’ Entertainment and Technology Habits
Back in March, many of us hoped that the coronavirus would be a blip on our personal landscapes. We assumed that with a few weeks of high-intensity safeguards, the COVID-19 virus would slink away, like a vampire at sunrise. Alas, the virus has not been cooperative. Measures we thought might last just a short time […]
The Plugged In Show, Episode 41: Entertainment’s Sexualization of Young Girls
Just from the name, Netflix’s Cuties would sound like it’d be … cute, right? Cute is what we call babies. Puppies. Maybe the occasional small orange. But Cuties, a French coming-of-age film about an 11-year-old girl who joins a preteen dance troupe, stirred a not-so-cute controversy well ahead of its Sept. 9 Netflix airdate. The […]
Bill and Ted Face the New Mutants
Sure, the movie biz isn’t quite as lively as it used to be. But as movie theaters slowly pry their doors back open, the cinematic box office is showing signs of a pulse. The New Mutants, a kinda-sorta X-Men flick that feels, frankly, more like a horror movie, scored the highest box-office take in the […]
Are You Ready to Go Back To the Movies?
Don’t look now, but that dusty, deserted, possibly haunted multiplex near you may be getting set to open again. According to Entertainment Weekly, AMC is still on target to open about 100 of its theaters this week. Regal hopes to do so, as well. Comscore—the firm that tracks box-office numbers—is planning to resume its work […]
Boys State Shows Us Democracy in Action—For Better and Worse
As you hop across your channels and streaming services, looking for something (anything?) new to watch, you might cross paths with Boys State, a documentary that just hit Apple TV+ today. It’s a fascinating, depressing and oddly inspiring look at politics in America—if it was driven by high school guys. A little background: The Boys […]
What We Get—and Lose—by Turning History Into Entertainment
History, they say, is written by the victors. We might also say that history’s written by the entertainers. That’s not necessarily a bad thing—but it does bring its share of asterisks to the party. Take Hamilton, the smash Broadway hit that became another smash on Disney+ this year. The musical comes with some issues that […]
Listen to Our Newest Podcast and Hear About Non-Screen Activities to Do With Your Kids
You can spend too much time with screens. OK, so this isn’t exactly breaking news. Plugged In’s been saying this for years. But with so many of us still semi-sequestered in our homes during this strange, strange time, many of us are beginning to feel the truth of those words. You can only binge so […]
Emmy Noms Confirm: It’s a Streaming World (and Not Too Friendly for Families)
The Emmys, television’s annual awards derby, just unveiled its 2020 nominations yesterday. (The awards will be handed out Sept. 20.) And when you look over the list, one thing is quite clear: Streaming services currently rule the roost. Oh, sure, traditional television stalwarts still had their day. Perennial Emmy juggernaut HBO pulled down 107 nominations, […]