J. Clarke articles

From the outside, being a writer looks suspiciously glamorous. Quiet cafés, late-night breakthroughs, and the intoxicating idea that your thoughts might someday matter to strangers. These movies are here to gently—and sometimes brutally—correct that fantasy. They show writers who spiral, stall, self-sabotage, sell out, burn out, or discover that the act of writing is far messier than the dream that led them to the keyboard in the first place.

Somewhere along the way, teacher movies stopped being about “kids behaving badly” and started being about everything else—identity, confidence, ambition, class, race, grief, hope, and that one teacher who makes you feel like you’re not doomed. These films didn’t just show classrooms. They made school look like the place where your whole future gets decided in a single speech, a single lesson, or a single moment when someone finally says, “I see you”.

For a stretch in the late 90s, Shania Twain didn’t just dominate country music—she bent pop culture around her will. Then, almost without warning, that voice vanished. Tours stopped, albums stalled, and one of the most powerful vocalists of her generation disappeared from public view. To fans, it felt mysterious. To Shania, it felt terrifying.

Television’s power to entertain is one thing–but when shows tap into cultural nerves, they can set off political debates, public outrage, and even policy questions. These 20 shows didn’t just draw viewers–they sparked discussions that stretched far beyond the screen. From dramas that reshaped how we think about war and justice to reality series that ignited ethical firestorms, here’s how TV crossed the line and found itself in the middle of serious political controversy.

Ray Charles didn’t politely “blend genres.” He kicked the door down and dragged gospel feeling straight into pop, R&B, and soul like, “Yeah, this belongs here now”. It made his music feel electric—big emotions, big grooves, no apologies. But while the world was calling him a genius, he was fighting a private battle that could’ve taken it all away.

Some historical movies treat real events like a vibe—close enough, toss in a speech, throw on a costume, roll credits. But these films? These are the ones that clearly had someone on set going, Actually, that button didn’t exist yet. The result is a lineup of movies that didn’t just aim for “inspired by”. They went all-in on getting the details right, even when that meant making things harder, slower, or less conventionally “Hollywood”. If you love when a film feels like it actually stepped out of a time machine, you’re in the right place.

Streaming was supposed to free us from appointment television, endless reruns, and whatever random procedural happened to be on at 9pm. Instead, it’s given us something arguably worse: shows that look prestige-y, sound expensive, and somehow still feel like background noise you didn’t ask for. Cable at least knew what it was. These shows? They often aim high, miss wildly, and leave viewers nostalgic for the days when changing the channel was easier than committing to eight disappointing episodes.

Millennial women may have jobs, responsibilities, and a concerning number of browser tabs open at all times—but emotionally, many of us are still exactly who we were the first time a girl group chorus hit just right. The 2000s weren’t just a great era for girl groups; they were a full-on personality-forming experience. These songs taught confidence, heartbreak, friendship, independence, and how to dramatically stare out a car window like you were in a music video.

At one point, Mick Fleetwood had everything a rock star was supposed to want: sold-out tours, iconic albums, and a band whose name was permanently etched into music history. And yet, right in the middle of all that success, he did the unthinkable: he went bankrupt. Not quietly struggling, not “cash poor”—fully broke. It was a moment that pulled the curtain back on rock stardom and showed just how messy, reckless, and unsustainable the excess of that era had become.