Trying! logo
Trying!
What Is 'Trying!' Anyway?Who Writes This Thing?Trying! The BookWhat’s With the AI Images?
Subscribe
  • Trying!
  • Topics
  • Pop Culture

Pop Culture

SisyphusResistanceStar WarsPoetryWritingTravelBooksQuittingTrendsAIThanksgivingSesame StreetAwardsPop CultureFoodMemoryAngerInterviewsThe InternetFashionHousekeepingDrinkingFriendship
WritingWriting
+2+2
We all have a place on the Wheel of Fate
May 27, 2025

We all have a place on the Wheel of Fate

A Q&A with 'Andor' writer Tom Bissell on narrative structure, quick deaths, and getting T-boned by Star Wars history.

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
Pop CulturePop Culture
+1+1
I went to a concert
May 06, 2025

I went to a concert

This musician not only changed my life—she defined it.

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
Star WarsStar Wars
+1+1
The emperor has no pose
May 05, 2025

The emperor has no pose

Fascist autocracies are bad enough, and the worst have no ambition but eternal control.

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
Pop CulturePop Culture
Do we still need superheroes?
Apr 14, 2025

Do we still need superheroes?

Tales of the ultra-powerful may have run their course, leaving us to confront the challenge of surviving a multiverse we cannot transcend.

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
Pop CulturePop Culture
All About 'All About Lily Chou-Chou'
Mar 27, 2025

All About 'All About Lily Chou-Chou'

This Japanese movie from 2001 virtually vanished after its release, but now, finally, it's connecting with a brand-new audience.

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
Pop CulturePop Culture
Is 'Daredevil: Born Again' the only TV show really taking on the Trump era?
Mar 24, 2025

Is 'Daredevil: Born Again' the only TV show really taking on the Trump era?

Unless you're a dork like me, you're probably not watching it.

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
WritingWriting
+1+1
The Sex Robot Murder Comedy
Feb 07, 2025

The Sex Robot Murder Comedy

On falling in love with a tossed-off phrase, and what that says about writing—my own and everyone else's.

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
Pop CulturePop Culture
Rewind, Kind Be
Jan 23, 2025

Rewind, Kind Be

What does it mean when we consume culture—movies, TV, books—out of sequence?

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
Pop CulturePop Culture
Spoiler Alert: Ending Explained
Jan 14, 2025

Spoiler Alert: Ending Explained

I'm addicted to finales—in life as well as art.

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
Pop CulturePop Culture
3,617 Words About Luke Skywalker
Nov 25, 2024

3,617 Words About Luke Skywalker

Who was the human being behind the legend?

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
Pop CulturePop Culture
The Way People Judge Things Is Bad and I Hate It
Nov 21, 2024

The Way People Judge Things Is Bad and I Hate It

Surprise! I've got a better approach, just for you.

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
Pop CulturePop Culture
Applecore: The TV Aesthetic That Captures the Vibes of Today
Nov 17, 2024

Applecore: The TV Aesthetic That Captures the Vibes of Today

It touches on a very specific but meaningful vein of technological nostalgia.

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
Funny, weird, thought-provoking, and occasionally insightful essays and reportage, brought to you almost daily, by Matt Gross

Trying!

Funny, weird, thought-provoking, and occasionally insightful essays and reportage, brought to you almost daily, by Matt Gross

Home

Posts

Newsletters

Account

Upgrade

What Is Trying!?

What Is 'Trying!' Anyway?

© 2025 Trying! by Matt Gross.

Privacy policy

Terms of use

Powered by beehiiv