Alissa Wilkinson
@alissawilkinson.bsky.social
23K followers 760 following 2.2K posts
Critic @nytimes.com. Author AFTERGLOW (forthcoming), WE TELL OURSELVES STORIES (Liveright) and SALTY (Broadleaf). Teaching writing and criticism (Whitworth MFA, NYU XE).
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alissawilkinson.bsky.social
THRILLED to be back at @liveright.bsky.social with @giaquinta.bsky.social for my next book! I'm convinced that if we're to retain our humanity in the face of mounting technocracies and forces that want to make us into little atomized profit units, we've got to re-engage with big, bold, communal art.
alissawilkinson.bsky.social
I have, by the way, managed to confirm my hunch about the screenplay
alissawilkinson.bsky.social
My intrusive thought while watching TRON: ARES was: why don’t we see movies about AI harming humans the way it is actually harming humans?
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/09/m...
‘Tron: Ares’ Review: Who Needs Logic When You Have Neon?
www.nytimes.com
alissawilkinson.bsky.social
Yeah, and if you take pictures with your iPhone there’s a very good chance you’re using AI.

It would just be a good idea to do the ol’ journalistic “what do you mean by that” follow up, but I guess I should know better.
alissawilkinson.bsky.social
IMHO the real issue with guys like Jason Blum saying that “AI is inevitable” is nobody seems to bother defining what they mean by “AI”
alissawilkinson.bsky.social
The shiver that ran up my spine when I saw this in my mentions
Reposted by Alissa Wilkinson
stevemullis.net
The documentary "Stripped for Parts: American Journalism on the Brink," about how Hedge fund Alden Global Capital is gobbling up newspapers across America and gutting them, is available to watch on PBS.
Stripped for Parts: American Journalism on the Brink
A handful of journalists rebel against a hedge fund that is gutting newspapers nationwide.
www.pbs.org
alissawilkinson.bsky.social
Gorgeous essay *and* gorgeous photography of gorgeous Fra Angelico work at Palazzo Strozzi and Museo di San Marco in Florence:

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/07/a...
Fra Angelico and the Miracle of Faith Made Visible
www.nytimes.com
alissawilkinson.bsky.social
I am very confident these choices have cut severely into my follower/engagement numbers and to that I say THANK THE GOOD LORD
alissawilkinson.bsky.social
I am of course judging everybody. But in my mind. And my group chats.
alissawilkinson.bsky.social
Oh, I do respond to most emails from readers provided they aren’t like, longer than the original article and/or contain death threats
alissawilkinson.bsky.social
I haven’t argued with people in years on any site; my version is I just “mute conversation” pretty much the instant I realize it’s gone beyond escape velocity. Recommended. (I reply to some comments on articles directly.)
rincewind.run
the single best decision I’ve made about how I use this website is that I do not argue in my replies

I ignore it or I block people, nothing good ever comes of it

and I am just some guy and not the sin eater for every moderation decision
Reposted by Alissa Wilkinson
pbsnews.org
Thirty paintings created by the bushy-haired, soft-spoken Bob Ross will soon be up for auction to defray the costs of programming for small and rural public television stations suffering under cuts in federal funding. https://to.pbs.org/4nEQMrw
Bob Ross paintings to be auctioned to support public TV stations after federal funding cuts
All profits will help public TV stations with licensing fees for popular programs that include "The Best of Joy of Painting" and "America's Test Kitchen."
www.pbs.org
alissawilkinson.bsky.social
I am thinking about this a *lot* because every blockbuster genre movie is about AI (I have written a teeny bit about it, forthcoming shortly)
Reposted by Alissa Wilkinson
guylodge.bsky.social
He wrote an Instagram post shrugging off the box office and saying he’s proud of the film. I’m not sure that’s the same as “issuing a statement”.
ign.com
IGN @ign.com · 2d
Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson has issued a statement after The Smashing Machine became the Hollywood star's worst box office opening ever.
'You Can't Control Box Office Results' — Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson Responds to The Smashing Machine's Disappointing Launch
bit.ly
Reposted by Alissa Wilkinson
aatishb.bsky.social
The number of international students arriving in the U.S. in August fell by 19 percent this year compared with last year — the largest decline on record outside of the pandemic.
Nearly 20 Percent Fewer International Students Traveled to the U.S. in August (Gift Article)
The data shows the steepest decline in August international student arrivals since the pandemic.
www.nytimes.com
alissawilkinson.bsky.social
(if only because the "Joan Didion" celebrity of the 21st century is definitely distinct from the "Joan Didion" of immediate post-White Album fame -- if only because with the latter, the fans seemed to originate from reading her)
alissawilkinson.bsky.social
I think there's a good chance it's apples and oranges between the eras at this point, now that I think about it
alissawilkinson.bsky.social
I don't even know what to compare it to anymore, All Fours seems like maybe sort of it?