| New year, new books. No Images? Click here   2017, ahoy! These are the books ― among others! ― that we can’t wait to read. Feminist adult filmmaker Erika Lust thinks it’s imperative that women tell their own story of sex.   A photo of civil rights advocates picketing next to the American Nazi Party puts our country’s current politics into sharp relief.   Titus Kaphar’s latest body of work explores images’ ability to validate, celebrate, erase, convict and condemn.   Some directors are pushing against rape as a plot device. But movies like “Elle” handle the sensitive topic with care.   One of indie music’s best singer-songwriters explains her role in this year’s surprise sci-fi thriller.  Every Friday, HuffPost's Culture Shift newsletter tells you which books you should read, art you should check out, movies you should watch and music should listen to. Like what you see? Share with a friend. Can't get enough? Here are two other newsletters you'll love: HuffPost's Entertainment newsletter and HuffPost Must Reads.
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33 new books you should read in 2017
16 ballerinas invite you inside their NYC bedrooms
| How Belle laid the groundwork for today’s badass No Images? Click here   Take a peek at where dancers live across Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and New Jersey.  “I feel as though there is a need for women of color to make images of women of color where we can literally see ourselves.”   Yet every year, we read lists of perfect Christmas movies that begin with “Love Actually” and end with “The Holiday." None of these movies are the best Christmas movie. Neither is “Elf,” or “A Christmas Story,” or “It’s a Wonderful Life.” It’s definitely not “White Christmas” or “The Santa Clause.” The best Christmas movie is “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.”   “La La Land” and its ilk are fun reflections on the Golden Age of film. But there are great movies being made today, too.   Fredrik Lerneryd spent the last year and a half photographing ballet dancers in the Kibera neighborhood of Nairobi.  Every Friday, HuffPost's Culture Shift newsletter tells you which books you should read, art you should check out, movies you should watch and music should listen to. Like what you see? Share with a friend. Can't get enough? Here are two other newsletters you'll love: HuffPost's Entertainment newsletter and HuffPost Must Reads.
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Street artist perfectly captures what it means to be American
| “America is black. It is Native. It wears a hijab ... “ No Images? Click here   The piece, by street artist Tatyana Fazlalizadeh, pays homage to black Americans, Muslim Americans, American women, Latino Americans, and American immigrants ― all the populations deemed “other” and so loudly forsaken by the dangerous rhetoric of Trump’s camp. Patrick Haggerty reaches new listeners, thanks to a documentary called “These C*cksucking Tears.”   His staggering paintings use the language of Western art history to paint the black experience in America.   Based on Rory’s character arc, which seems to be spiraling down rather than growing in the traditional direction, here are a few pitches for scenes from a second season of “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life.”   Garth Greenwell, Jade Sharma and Rebecca Schiff on tackling the taboo, just in time for the Bad Sex Awards.   Whatever Happened To Interracial Love by Kathleen Collins burrows deep into the minds of its characters, mostly black women, and brings to life their daily joys and persistent anxieties.  Every Friday, HuffPost's Culture Shift newsletter tells you which books you should read, art you should check out, movies you should watch and music should listen to. Like what you see? Share with a friend. Can't get enough? Here are two other newsletters you'll love: HuffPost's Entertainment newsletter and HuffPost Must Reads.
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