Gene Seymour - Cultural critic
Gene Seymour
Cultural critic
Gene Seymour is a cultural critic who writes frequently for CNN Opinion.
Latest
Opinion: O.J. Simpson was never who we thought
Apr 12, 2024
O.J. Simpson remains an enigma, even in death, argues Gene Seymour, who says that Simpson was a blank space onto whom people projected their own feelings and views.
Opinion: Reformed Golden Globes made for everything but a better show
Jan 8, 2024
The 81st Golden Globes fulfilled its annual mandate to provide added giddyap to the movie awards season, but in essence also rebooted the whole picture-making business, whether on big or small screens, writes Gene Seymour.
Opinion: The slow burns in this movie are a wonder to behold
Dec 15, 2023
Cord Jefferson’s latest film, “American Fiction,” deals with the core tension between a Black author’s successful peddling to a White publishing industry, and the poignant interpersonal relationships of that writer’s personal life, writes Gene Seymour.
Opinion: Norman Lear’s Archie Bunker was brilliant — and dangerous
Dec 7, 2023
Gene Seymour reflects on how Norman Lear’s mastery of the sit-com enabled him to put radioactive topics in America’s living rooms.
Opinion: Why Jann Wenner got kicked out of the hall of fame he helped create
Sep 18, 2023
Jann Wenner’s expulsion from the board of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation feels like a moment of reckoning, writes Gene Seymour.
Opinion: Tina Turner, a voice that can never be stilled
May 26, 2023
It’s hard to believe that, after all Tina Turner overcame, death would, or even could, stop her, writes Gene Seymour. But she hasn’t stopped, really. Somewhere, somehow, that raspy, thunderous voice will persist as one of the most distinctive in pop music history, he says.
Opinion: I’m betting on Cousin Greg. But I’m not a serious person
Apr 12, 2023
Ever since the bombshell revealed in the third episode of “Succession“‘s final season, fans have shared their mixed feelings about the series’ central character, writes Gene Seymour. He admires Brian Cox, the actor who plays media tycoon Logan Roy, but has no affinity for Roy himself. And the big question for the HBO series: what is next?
Opinion: The Super Bowl’s best ad also holds the best advice
Feb 13, 2023
Philadelphia may not want to hear this right now, but their guys played with as much tenacity, boldness, and grit as Kansas City. The Eagles have, in short, nothing to be ashamed of, writes Gene Seymour.
Opinion: Why I don’t want to hear the GOAT chants for LeBron James
Feb 8, 2023
On the occasion of LeBron James surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in total points scored in the NBA, critic Gene Seymour calls a halt on debate over the Greatest of All Time. Not because it’s King James or Michael Jordan or anyone else, but because, he says, he’s done with this acronym for good.
Don’t look up: Close encounters of the disaster movie kind
Sep 25, 2022
Gene Seymour calls NASA’s DART mission admirable but says it feels a little deflating after what he calls “Chicken Little” movies such as “Armageddon” and “Deep Impact” that require drastic measures to ward off cosmic clutter.
Opinion: I’ve lived in Philadelphia for decades. This TV show is the city’s love song
Sep 22, 2022
‘Abbott Elementary’ isn’t just a show about teaching, but one that teaches you, writes Gene Seymour. And after the acclaim it’s earned and the flashy premiere of its second season, Seymour says the series has become a landmark of its city of origin that’s earned its stature, and then some.
Opinion: What happens next to Brittney Griner is beyond our control
Aug 9, 2022
Brittney Griner’s situation in Russia is exasperating and heartbreaking for her family, friends and WNBA colleagues, Gene Seymour writes. Whatever happens isn’t in our control, he says, but in the hands of lawyers, diplomats and others like them.
Opinion: Nichelle Nichols of ‘Star Trek’ opened the door to the future, inspiring generations
Aug 1, 2022
The changes that “Star Trek” brought about to the global village sometimes seem as vast and multidimensional as that “final frontier” where several iterations of the Starship Enterprise have boldly gone for more than half a century now.
Opinion: Saying goodbye to a generation of movie tough guys
Jul 26, 2022
From Paul Sorvino to Tony Sirico, James Caan to David Warner and Ray Liotta, the deaths of so many actors whose portrayals of on-screen tough guys made them icons are a moment to reflect on what it really means to be a ‘bad’ man in the best sense, writes Gene Seymour.
Opinion: What I’ll miss even more than Ray Liotta’s laugh
May 27, 2022
The unexpected death of Ray Liotta, at 67, while filming in the Dominican Republic set off more than the customary shockwaves over social media. People spoke of Liotta as though they lost somebody they knew intimately from their old neighborhoods or school days, writes Gene Seymour.
About
Gene Seymour is a cultural critic who writes frequently for CNN Opinion. He has written about music, movies and culture for The New York Times, Newsday, Entertainment Weekly and The Washington Post.