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
201
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
202
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
203
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
204
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
205
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
206
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
207
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
208
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
209
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
210
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
211
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
212
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
213
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
214
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
215
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
216
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
217
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
218
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
219
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
220
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
221
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
222
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
223
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
224
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
225
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