Staff Picks: Inauguration Edition 2021
It’s almost the end of the first month of 2021, and just over a week since the U.S. saw a new president take office. In light of the occasion, some of us highlighted our favorite political films below!

When Cora stops by to check on her elderly mother, she discovers her in the bathtub, dressed for a party and refusing to budge. Familiar with her mother’s dramatic antics, Cora attempts to reason with her, only to find herself drawn into a deeper confrontation that reveals the vulnerabilities hidden beneath her mother’s irascible facade, forcing Cora to confront painful truths.
It’s almost the end of the first month of 2021, and just over a week since the U.S. saw a new president take office. In light of the occasion, some of us highlighted our favorite political films below!
Disney has hopefully learned some lessons since 1994. Are those lessons reflected in the 2019 remake of "The Lion King?"
When the world lost Chadwick Boseman on August 28, 2020, we all saw the impact of representation in film. Boseman was not only a Black superhero leading a Black cast in one of the most successful films in history; but his successes paved the way for more, long-overdue diversity in Hollywood.
Presenting a bold and unapologetic narrative focused on strong Muslim female characters, the show beautifully incorporates punk rock as a feminist movement in their lives.
Outer Banks (2020-) knows its audience: young adults in a country that can’t stop romanticizing good ole’ treasure hunts. Add a little of Riverdale’s (2017-) sex appeal, and no one can look away. Forty years after The Goonies (1985) America’s consciousness hasn’t strayed from the same tropes: treasure hunts, a vulnerable white male lead, and the whitewashing of a racially segregated setting.
At first glance, “The Good Liar” is a respectable piece of fiction, starring Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren. But underneath everything, the film expertly hones the unpredictability of deceit.