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.
276
The Stay-at-Home vs Working Mom Binary Has Stop...
The stay-at-home versus the working mom. For too long women have been pigeonholed into these caricature-ish, loaded ideas of identity that prioritize capital and a social order over humanity and nuance.
12 min
277
Austin Butler and Why Women Don't Get to be "Me...
Sure, Austin Butler has been mocked on social media for retaining Elvis' drawl for years after filming wrapped... but he's also still getting awards & puff piece after puff piece. The fact that woman could never get away with this style of method acting exposes a bigger double standard in Hollywood.
15 min
278
How We Fail to Count Women: The Female Informat...
Gender gaps – we see them across the world, in almost every industry and aspect of our lives. But did you know that there’s a gap between men and women in information itself?
10 min
279
Why Sex No Longer Sells in Hollywood
They say that ‘sex sells’, but if that’s true, why has it practically disappeared from modern Hollywood filmmaking?
12 min
280
Why Your Favorite Show is Getting Canceled Soon
The streaming revolution has given audiences immediate access to a larger catalog of shows than ever before, but what good is that if they keep getting canceled midway through narrative arcs?
12 min
281
The Toxic Male: Why We’ll Never Really Escape Him
The era of outrage over toxic masculinity is truly dead – and Hollywood and social media have doubled down to put the toxic male back on top and at the center of our stories.
12 min
282
The “Industry Plant” Problem: Harry Styles is n...
Ever since going solo post-One Direction, Harry has been on a mission to establish himself as a unique, creative voice. But has he done enough to really stand out as an original artist? And how does he fit into the larger conversation of the problem with industry plants and how hard it is for original artistic voices to break through?
10 min
283
Prince Harry’s Spare: What He’s Really Looking ...
Between Prince Harry's book Spare, the Netflix docuseries, and countless interviews, it feels like we finally got an inside look at the Duke of Sussex’s private life... so why does it still feel so unclear what Prince Harry really wants?
10 min
284
You S4, Explained: Everything you need to know....
Don't miss our new video on the first half of You's fourth season, how Joe’s new European surroundings becomes its sharpest-ever critique of class, and how the show keeps getting us to empathize with this serial killer.
10 min
285
Couples Therapy's Growing Problem: Weaponized T...
Couples therapy is on the rise – and that’s mostly a good thing. But is there a darker side of those seemingly good intentions that may be hiding something not-so-good?
8 min
286
Star-Crossed Lovers: Why Their Stories Must End...
Some of the best love stories of all time are tales of star-crossed lovers... is part of the reason we are so drawn to these stories is because there is something cathartic about seeing when things don’t work out?
11 min
287
How Magic Mike Complicated the Male Bombshell |...
Seductive, sensual and scintillating, Channing Tatum’s titular character, Magic Mike, is the epitome of the modern male sex symbol… so what’s the legacy and impact of the Magic Mike trilogy, as it finishes up with Magic Mike’s Last Dance?
10 min
288
Why Young Celebs Look Old and Old Celebs Look Y...
Older celebrities are looking younger, younger celebrities are looking older…it seems like no one wants to actually look their own age. In our heavily filtered, face-tuned world, are we all in danger of trying to reach for some idea of perfection that forces everyone to turn away from their natural looks?
11 min
289
Sex Work Onscreen: Old Tropes & Stigmas That Ar...
Sex work is slowly being de-stigmatized with more nuanced on-screen depictions that show what the reality of the industry is like — and it’s about time.
14 min
290
How Millennials Outgrew These Tired Tropes
Millennials in the real world are full-fledged adults now, so why does millennial representation on screen often feel like a caricature rather than the real thing?
12 min
291
Wakanda Forever: Shuri's Amazing Transformation
In Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Shuri's evolution shows us the power of grief as her losses compound, one on top of another, and she’s forced to make a choice between what will feel good and what will be good.
9 min
292
Prince Harry’s Spare: The Conflicting Way He Pa...
With Prince Harry’s autobiography, Spare, we’re finally getting a look at their relationship from the inside... So does Harry’s loving account of Meghan humanize her more, or does it inadvertently throw fuel on the fire thanks to feeling like it has an agenda?
10 min
293
The Nepo Baby Rage Trend: It's All Worse Than Y...
These days, it seems like the only thing more common than nepotism babies, is people hating nepotism babies. In today's video we're looking at why the nepo baby rage is so intense this time around, and how the nepotism plaguing Hollywood is a symptom of a much larger issue.
11 min
294
Infidelity Onscreen: Why We Just Love Watching ...
Infidelity is one of the most traumatic, heartbreaking experiences someone in a romantic partnership can go through, so why does it often get glamorized on screen?
10 min
295
The Modern Feminist is a GIRL'S GIRL | FEMINISM
The “Girls’ Girl”: She believes in uplifting other women, has a strong group of girlfriends, and always abides by the girl code. And her modern version is a reaction to our current feminism in crisis.
11 min
296
Why Megan Thee Stallion’s Win is Huge For Hip-Hop
What’s happened to Megan Thee Stallion has exposed another layer of deep-seeded misogyny within our culture and serves as an indictment of how women in rap and hip-hop are treated as a whole.
9 min
297
The Fashionista Trope - Why She’s So Perfectly ...
The fashionista: Vapid and cruel, but oh-so beautifully dressed, they're one of film’s most reviled characters. But what's beneath that perfect veneer?
12 min
298
Why "Perfect-on-Paper" Love Interests Always Co...
That love interest that *seems* like the perfect choice, but just isn't *the one*... What exactly makes for a perfect-on-paper love interest, and how do these qualities differ between the male and female versions of those characters?
12 min
299
The Last of Us Ep 1: Does It Live Up to the Game?
The Last of Us is one of the most beloved video game franchises of all time, and it's HBO series might just be the first great video game adaptation. Here's how TLoU is breaking the adaptation curse.
9 min
300
The Dangers of Making Infamous People TV Antihe...
Everyone loves a story with a juicy villain—but what happens when those compelling, cinematic monsters are based on real people?
13 min