For one night only, catch a special screening of the I Didn’t See You There (2022) in the presence of director Reid Davenport. The award-winning disabled documentarian will attend the 6 PM screening of his film tonight at the Gene Siskel Film Center (164 N. State) and participate in a discussion moderated by disabled artist […]
Author Archives: Taryn Allen
Posted inStaff notes
A fall edition
These preview issues always remind me that things are happening in our city. … creating this jam-packed issue, which teases film screenings, book releases, art exhibitions, and more, I’m in no hurry to hunker down indoors and wait for winter—Chicago is calling.
Posted inFilm
Welcome to the skate park
“When we go to a skate park, we take up space, and then all of a sudden you don’t see a bunch of guys trying to tell you to move out the way, ’cause we’re the majority now,” says Lid Madrid. “And we’re taking up space, and just changing the way that skate parks traditionally […]
Posted inStaff notes
This cover is for you
In this issue, you’ll find stories about trans creatives, LGBTQ+ community spaces, and drag performers; but you’ll also find an investigation and interview about electronic monitoring in policing. (Remember, the first Pride marches celebrated the Stonewall riots, a response to a violent police raid.) I want the colors on the cover of this Pride Issue to inspire people as they move through this month of June and promote true liberation.
Posted inFilm
The Schoolmaster Games feels like wasted potential
If you’re looking for something to watch this Pride Month, there are better queer movies—and probably better gay porn—than can be found here.
Posted inArts & Culture
Skateboarding as social practice
An average spectator might observe a skateboarder as nothing but a person on wheels; they see an athlete—or a delinquent, maybe—pushing and coasting and jumping (“How does the board stick to the bottom of their feet?”), there one minute and gone the next. But from the rider’s perspective, the world is transforming around them. Minute […]
Posted inArts & Culture
True biz? There’s a lot to learn in Sara Nović’s new book.
“Eyeth—get it? In the Deaf storytelling tradition, utopia is called Eyeth because it’s a society that centers the eye, not the ear, like here on Earth.” That’s the opener to “Ear vs. Eye: Deaf Mythology,” one of the many brief lessons sprinkled between the chapters of Sara Nović’s realistic fiction novel True Biz, released March […]
Posted inColumns & Opinion
A note on this week’s cover story
Are pigeons beautiful? Katie Prout thinks they might be, but she rarely stops to look.
Posted inFilm
Death on the Nile
It’s important to honor the classics, but I left the theater wondering what this $90 million project brought to the table compared to an inventive and contemporary whodunnit like 2019’s Knives Out.
Posted inFilm
The French Dispatch
It has everything that we’ve come to expect from Wes Anderson—carefully crafted aesthetics, perfect color palettes, and intricate tableaux of actors.
Posted inCity Life
Like Tinder in print
A look back at the love stories that started in the pages of the Reader, no swiping necessary
Posted inCity Life
Long live the classifieds!
A young person’s dive into the history of the once lucrative section and its humble future.
Posted inFilm
Corey Hawkins comes full circle with In the Heights
The actor’s role in the onscreen adaptation hearkens back to his introduction to musical theater and time spent in New York City.
Posted inFilm
It’s officially summer with In the Heights
After a delayed release, the vibrant film adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical couldn’t be more welcome.