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
251
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
252
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
253
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
254
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
255
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
256
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
257
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
258
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
259
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
260
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
261
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
262
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
263
How Daniel Radcliffe Grew Out of Harry Potter A...
Daniel Radcliffe has pretty much defied all expectations people had for him as a child star. He's grown into a mature dad and respected actor by embracing his weird side.
8 min
264
Harry & Meghan: From Heroes to Villains - What’...
In the aftermath of the Coronation, do Harry and Meghan need to repair their relationship with the Royals, go full Hollywood, or take an Entrepreneur route?
11 min
265
The MCU’s Dark Truths: Have Marvel’s Secrets Ca...
For nearly two decades the seemingly invincible MCU has dominated the cinematic release schedule, but some cracks are showing in their audience response... So what's really going on?
10 min
266
Celebrities Are Trying to Get More Private, Her...
Are our standards for celebrity-privacy that low, that we’re shocked if a celebrity has *anything* in their life they're not broadcasting to the paparazzi? Today we’re so primed to expect famous people to share everything, we get blindsided when they still have secrets. But a striking celebrity “trend” today is the subtle clawing back of privacy.
10 min
267
Dune: Part Two’s Trailer Reveals Paul Atreides’...
Has splitting Dune into two parts potentially confused the message of the sci-fi epic? Paul Atreides checks many of the boxes of the noble protagonist chosen to lead. But some of Paul’s prescient visions of the future hint at future disaster. So what’s the effect of director Denis Villeneuve dividing this narrative in two, and what hints do we get about what’s to come from the trailer?
11 min
268
Succession’s Kendall - How The “Tribute Band” B...
The final season of Succession is the ultimate test for Kendall Roy: now that his father is finally out of the picture, can he become the killer his father doubted he could be?
19 min
269
Twilight's Suckiest Messages: This romance is w...
Was Twilight really the fairytale many took it for? And what views on love and relationship did Twilight actually teach its fans?
9 min
270
Emily Ratajkowski’s Radical Evolution: The Stru...
Our take on Emily Ratajkowski, how she evolved from being "the Blurred Lines girl" into an inspirational icon, reminding us that only we should get to define ourselves, and that there’s power in examining the countless assumptions we take for granted about our bodies and how we exist in the world.
11 min
271
Celebrity Dinner Party: What Food Reveals About...
Food-focused celeb interviews show a different side to celebrities than the more formal press junkets of years past. Today we're looking at how this niche content has blown up online, & what it's shown us about our favorite celebs
10 min
272
Do WAGs Take Up Too Much Space In Sports? (Why ...
There’s something about WAGs that just gets people annoyed. But is this all a way of demanding that women in the public eye be a little… quieter, and not get too dominant in sports?
11 min
273
Catherine, Princess of Wales: From Public Enemy...
These days Kate Middleton seems to be constantly plagued by rumors and scandalous news stories - so who’s really behind it all?
8 min
274
Romy & Michelle: Why We *Still* Relate To Them ...
Romy & Michele’s High School Reunion was ahead of it's time - it managed to anticipate many of the anxieties about status& self-image that drive people in the age of social media (despite being released at a time when most people were still going on the internet through AOL)
9 min
275
How Society Invented the AGING CRISIS (& How To...
Our culture spends a lot of time fearing aging, trying to hide all signs of it, even attempting to eliminate it all together – but what if we stopped assuming it's all bad? If we face our fears, then the joys of getting older can come to the surface.
10 min