Film & TV
October 27, 2023
The Horror Sequel That Made All of Texas Out to Be Insane
Tobe Hooper’s ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2’ satirizes yuppie greed by painting the entire state with a broad and bloody brush.
Playing Texan
Film & TV
October 11, 2023
The Movie That Shattered the Dallas Cowboys Myth
‘North Dallas Forty’ revealed the ugly truths behind America’s Team. But nearly 45 years later, it inspires more nostalgia than outrage.
Film & TV
June 28, 2023
‘Dazed and Confused’ at 30: Wooderson Gets Older, but His Philosophy Stays the Same Age
Richard Linklater didn’t set out to make a Texas film, but Matthew McConaughey’s iconic character feels like somebody every Texan knows.
Film & TV
May 12, 2023
Tami Taylor, Mother of Texas
Connie Britton’s tough yet compassionate Friday Night Lights character remains one of our most inspirational depictions of Texas womanhood.
Film & TV
April 11, 2023
How ‘Hud’ Began Texas’s Love Affair With the Bastard
Paul Newman plays a brutish, morally repugnant monster in the classic anti-western. So why do Texans admire him anyway?
Film & TV
March 7, 2023
When Texas Took Over the Oscars
Forty years ago, a crop of films led by ‘Terms of Endearment’ and ‘Tender Mercies’ reimagined the way we see Texas.
White Hats
November 16, 2022
Walkers and Lone Rangers: How Pop Culture Shaped the Texas Rangers Mythology
Texas’s elite police force has long played the hero in film and television, although the reality is far more complex.
Film & TV
September 27, 2022
The Film That Set the Standard on How Not to Portray Texas
A Larry McMurtry adaptation directed by Sidney Lumet and filmed entirely in Bastrop—what could go wrong? For ‘Lovin’ Molly,’ it began with the boots.
Film & TV
May 12, 2022
‘The Simpsons” Rich Texan Is How the World Sees Us, for Better or Worse
The pistol-packing cartoon villain represents every ugly stereotype about our state, but there’s a strange power in embracing him.
Film & TV
April 11, 2022
The Most Authentically Texan Movie You’ve Never Heard Of
Eagle Pennell’s ‘The Whole Shootin’ Match’ sets the standard for showing Texans who they are instead of who they’re supposed to be.