The Take

This is the Take. It's where you come to understand more about your favorite movies, shows and culture. Our video essays make the story worlds you enter richer and deeper. Think: Endings Explained, Character Studies, Hidden Messages and Symbols Revealed, Actor and Director Profiles, and more.


We want to share our love of visual culture with the world. So here's our Take.

Film Reviews
TV Reviews
TV & Film
226
And Just Like That’s Fashion-Forward Season 2 -...
Here’s our take on how the fashion of the first episodes of Season two of And Just Like That reflects the characters’ emotional journeys, including Carrie getting her groove back, through fashion.
9 min
227
How Sitcom Wives Shook Up Family Dynamics In Ev...
The sitcom wife has been portrayed as many stereotypes, from a nagging nay-sayer to a stern and strict wet blanket to a trophy wife. But with societal norms shifting over the years, it’s led to more creative freedom in the depiction of a wife on television.
16 min
228
Inside Rita Hayworth’s Tumultuous Rise to Fame:...
Rita Hayworth is one of Old Hollywood’s greatest stars, but while her roles have remained iconic, many important facts about her life have been forgotten. Join us in a deep dive on Rita's often less-than-glamorous real life story.
11 min
229
Sex and the City: If Samantha Was the Star…
Samantha Jones was one of the best parts of Sex and the City, and we all can’t help but wonder... what if Samantha had been the star of the original show?
14 min
230
Essential Reality TV Tropes: Analyzing How TV B...
In the past 30 years, reality tv has become its own genre, filled with its own cliches & character types. The best reality TV is made from the same ingredients, from the lies to the villains to the drama. Today we're breaking down the most essential tropes & characters in reality TV.
15 min
231
How Modern Family’s Phil Made The “Uncool Dad” ...
Modern Family's Phil Dunphy may not be cool, but he is a cool dad. Here are Phil's seven lessons on how to ace parenting.
11 min
232
Black Mirror, Joan Is Awful Explained - Did Net...
Black Mirror's “Joan Is Awful” suggests Netflix’s style of content is making people today… kind of miserable. So, how, exactly?
11 min
233
Goodbye "Friend Zone," Hello Platonic BFFS
It seems like we’re finally moving out of the “friend zone” tropes of the past and seeing more positive platonic relationships between men and women on screen.
16 min
234
The Most Unrealistic Things About Portrayals of...
What are the worst and weirdest movie and TV tropes about careers? Here are the most commonly misrepresented professions in TV and movies – and why they’re so off-base.
14 min
235
Succession’s Real Inspirations: What’s the Same...
Succession has a knack for finding Shakespearean drama & dark hilarity in an honest reflection of today’s billionaires & media ecosystems. But how much of it is directly inspired by specific facts?
14 min
236
Euphoria’s Jules: More Than a Manic Pixie Dream...
Jules Vaughn is just one of the many magnetic characters in HBO’s Euphoria – so why does everyone seem to be obsessed with her?
9 min
237
Ted Lasso’s Disappointing Downfall: How The Ser...
Did Ted Lasso lose its way? And is the problem that it changed... or we did?
17 min
238
Barry, Ending Explained: The Misguided Quest fo...
Barry’s harrowing final season was a bleak genre-defying story that was ultimately about how the stories we tell ourselves matter.
20 min
239
The Wide-Eyed Girl Trope: How Baby Faces Lure U...
You may have noticed a look being celebrated among many female characters and actors in movies and TV––the “wide-eyed girl” look. And it’s not just you; people have been doting on the look for ages. I
9 min
240
The Wire’s Marlo: An Iconic Villain with a Terr...
Looking back on The Wire now, we can see how Marlo Stanfield’s ability to make a very bad state of affairs even worse conveys an important, timeless message: just because things feel like they can’t get worse, doesn’t mean that’s true.
14 min
241
Anna Nicole Smith’s True Story & Why The Netfli...
Anna Nicole Smith is getting the Marilyn and Pamela treatment – the once-vilified voluptuous blonde is now getting reframed to embody the 'glamorous yet tragic' arc. But, why do we keep repeating this tragic revolution, and is there any lesson in Anna Nicole's story about how to stop the deja vu?
11 min
242
Queen Charlotte: What's Fiction & What's Surpri...
Netflix’s Bridgerton and spin-off Queen Charlotte blend of fact and fiction to tell an engaging story about then and now... So what’s the real history behind the fascinating Queen Charlotte and how does it line up with the series?
10 min
243
Succession’s Pre-Finale Recap: Kendall v. Shiv ...
Succession's final showdown is coming into sight: it’s Kendall versus Shiv for the crown, while Roman completes his spectacular self-destructive fall.
14 min
244
The Little Mermaid Remake vs Classic: Most Impo...
Rob Marshall’s 2023 The Little Mermaid has been met with resistance from audiences who complain of an uneasy “uncanny valley” feeling from watching too-realistic CGI sea creatures singing and dancing, and dark cinematography that’s hard to see... However, The Little Mermaid has also sparked positive buzz due to its casting charismatic actors like Halle Bailey as Ariel, Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, Daveed Diggs as Sebastian, Jacob Tremblay as Flounder, and Awkwafina as Scuttle. So, looking closer at the details, what’s different between these two stories of Ariel?
15 min
245
TV and Movies Are Too DARK - Why Is this Happen...
No, it’s not just you. TV and movies are getting darker. So…why?
12 min
246
Nepo Boyfriends and Girlfriends: The Latest Hol...
Nepotism doesn’t always flow from parent to child – there are nepo parents, nepo partners, even nepo friends. While we’re quick to point out nepotism, are we forgetting about the importance of collaboration, & the inspiration that creators derive from their close ones?
10 min
247
Unforgiven’s Legacy and the Evolution Of The We...
At first, Unforgiven might just look like another old-school Western, but it also challenges the genre of the Western and the black-and-white idea of a Western hero. Even if you haven’t seen the movie, you’ve probably seen modern neo-Westerns that stand on the shoulders of the revival this movie kicked off.
13 min
248
Why Rich People Dress Broke And Broke People Dr...
Fashion today is veering in one of two directions: on one end of the spectrum is "hobocore," and on the other is the "old money" aesthetic. Here’s why these class-crossing fashion trends are so in right now, what their histories are, and their biggest problems.
10 min
249
Why Everyone's So Obsessed With #Scandoval | CO...
Scandoval: It’s got fan theories. It’s got lawsuits. It’s got brawls. And it’s got everyone’s attention. What makes this Vanderpump Rules scandal different from the endless reality tv gossip flooding social media?
9 min
250
Netflix’s Queen Cleopatra: Conspiracy Docuserie...
In our post-truth age, have conspiracy theories got more power than ever? Here’s our take on the current climate of conspiracy theories, how the lines between fact and fiction have become more blurred than ever, and the danger of living in a culture where trust is hard to come by.
13 min