Mike Pilewski writes about life, politics and culture in the United States
Of all the e-mail I’ve received, this was the strangest. It read: “Hello, Mr. Pilewski. Would you like to order a pizza?” I was half expecting the sender to be a Nigerian pizza chef who needed help smuggling lots of dough out of his country. But instead, it was an old college acquaintance. Years and entire continents had separated us … >>
Poland, 1990: Ten years after demonstrations by the Solidarity trade union, political reform had arrived. Poland was finally a democracy. But my friend from Gdańsk wasn’t happy — and it was my fault. “You had the chance,” Tadeusz said. “Solidarity was gaining power. The food shortages frightened Prime Minister Jaruzelski. Public pressure would have forced him to resign. But instead, … >>
It was the darkest movie I’d ever seen. A relentless killer stalked a young woman in Los Angeles. No matter what she did, she wasn’t safe. He was fully armed, he was unstoppable and he’d find her. He was the Terminator, in a movie filmed in 1984. My friends and I thought the film was good, but extremely violent — … >>
On the day this article goes online, I won’t be at work. Nor will most Europeans, because it’s the Christian feast of the Ascension. Americans, on the other hand, will celebrate Memorial Day this same weekend (on Monday, May 25), a secular holiday remembering those who died in military service. In this respect, the two sides of the Atlantic could … >>
Ever since 1933, when Franklin Delano Roosevelt pushed through important elements of his ambitious program of reforms in his first three and a half months in office, the first 100 days of a president’s term have been a benchmark for his overall success. By many accounts, President Obama has done at least as much to reverse the course set by … >>
Going to the movies this weekend will take us back 40 years, and ahead 240 years, in the new, “reimagined” Star Trek film. In 1969, poor ratings caused the demise of the original television series. But the Star Trek franchise gained so much momentum over the years that it’s now unstoppable. Why is it so popular? One word: optimism. Unlike … >>
I remember the swine flu. It came around in 1976, when I was a kid. We were all going to die. The parallels to the 1918 influenza, which killed between 20 and 100 million people, did not go unnoticed. Soldiers fell ill at a military base. The virus attacked young people. The symptoms were particularly severe. If the flu spread, … >>
“In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes,” wrote one of America’s great philosophers, Benjamin Franklin, in 1789. In our time, conservative populists have often tried to prove him wrong. It’s an easy way to get votes: tell people their government is stealing from them and needs to be replaced. “It’s your money” is … >>
This year represents a personal milestone: I have lived as long in Germany as in the United States (not counting my years as a baby). Inside, I’m now half American, half German, and I feel a strong attachment to, and appreciation of, both countries. I thought about this last weekend when two friends — one American, one German — sent … >>
Holiday weekends like Easter are also Hollywood weekends in America. It’s when whole families drive to their local multiplex to see the latest movies. Before they go, many of them turn to their favorite oracle for advice. Roger Ebert has been reviewing films for the Chicago Sun-Times since 1967, when he was only 25. In 1975, he teamed up with … >>