• Home
  • popular
  • Events
  • Submit New Event
  • Subscribe
  • About
  • News
  • Restaurants + Bars
  • City Life
  • Entertainment
  • Travel
  • Real Estate
  • Arts
  • Society
  • Home + Design
  • Fashion + Beauty
  • Innovation
  • Sports
  • Charity Guide
  • children
  • education
  • health
  • veterans
  • SOCIAL SERVICES
  • ARTS + CULTURE
  • animals
  • lgbtq
  • New Charity
  • Series
  • Delivery Limited
  • DTX Giveaway 2012
  • DTX Ski Magic
  • dtx woodford reserve manhattans
  • Your Home in the Sky
  • DTX Best of 2013
  • DTX Trailblazers
  • Tastemakers Dallas 2017
  • Healthy Perspectives
  • Neighborhood Eats 2015
  • The Art of Making Whiskey
  • DTX International Film Festival
  • DTX Tatum Brown
  • Tastemaker Awards 2016 Dallas
  • DTX McCurley 2014
  • DTX Cars in Lifestyle
  • DTX Beyond presents Party Perfect
  • DTX Texas Health Resources
  • DART 2018
  • Alexan Central
  • State Fair 2018
  • Formula 1 Giveaway
  • Zatar
  • CityLine
  • Vision Veritas
  • Okay to Say
  • Hearts on the Trinity
  • DFW Auto Show 2015
  • Northpark 50
  • Anteks Curated
  • Red Bull Cliff Diving
  • Maggie Louise Confections Dallas
  • Gaia
  • Red Bull Global Rally Cross
  • NorthPark Holiday 2015
  • Ethan's View Dallas
  • DTX City Centre 2013
  • Galleria Dallas
  • Briggs Freeman Sotheby's International Realty Luxury Homes in Dallas Texas
  • DTX Island Time
  • Simpson Property Group SkyHouse
  • DIFFA
  • Lotus Shop
  • Holiday Pop Up Shop Dallas
  • Clothes Circuit
  • DTX Tastemakers 2014
  • Elite Dental
  • Elan City Lights
  • Dallas Charity Guide
  • DTX Music Scene 2013
  • One Arts Party at the Plaza
  • J.R. Ewing
  • AMLI Design District Vibrant Living
  • Crest at Oak Park
  • Braun Enterprises Dallas
  • NorthPark
  • Victory Park
  • DTX Common Desk
  • DTX Osborne Advisors
  • DTX Comforts of Home 2012
  • DFW Showcase Tour of Homes
  • DTX Neighborhood Eats
  • DTX Comforts of Home 2013
  • DTX Auto Awards
  • Cottonwood Art Festival 2017
  • Nasher Store
  • Guardian of The Glenlivet
  • Zyn22
  • Dallas Rx
  • Yellow Rose Gala
  • Opendoor
  • DTX Sun and Ski
  • Crow Collection
  • DTX Tastes of the Season
  • Skye of Turtle Creek Dallas
  • Cottonwood Art Festival
  • DTX Charity Challenge
  • DTX Culture Motive
  • DTX Good Eats 2012
  • DTX_15Winks
  • St. Bernard Sports
  • Jose
  • DTX SMU 2014
  • DTX Up to Speed
  • st bernard
  • Ardan West Village
  • DTX New York Fashion Week spring 2016
  • Taste the Difference
  • Parktoberfest 2016
  • Bob's Steak and Chop House
  • DTX Smart Luxury
  • DTX Earth Day
  • DTX_Gaylord_Promoted_Series
  • IIDA Lavish
  • Huffhines Art Trails 2017
  • Red Bull Flying Bach Dallas
  • Y+A Real Estate
  • Beauty Basics
  • DTX Pet of the Week
  • Long Cove
  • Charity Challenge 2014
  • Legacy West
  • Wildflower
  • Stillwater Capital
  • Tulum
  • DTX Texas Traveler
  • Dallas DART
  • Soldiers' Angels
  • Alexan Riveredge
  • Ebby Halliday Realtors
  • Zephyr Gin
  • Sixty Five Hundred Scene
  • Christy Berry
  • Entertainment Destination
  • Dallas Art Fair 2015
  • St. Bernard Sports Duck Head
  • Jameson DTX
  • Alara Uptown Dallas
  • Cottonwood Art Festival fall 2017
  • DTX Tastemakers 2015
  • Cottonwood Arts Festival
  • The Taylor
  • Decks in the Park
  • Alexan Henderson
  • Gallery at Turtle Creek
  • Omni Hotel DTX
  • Red on the Runway
  • Whole Foods Dallas 2018
  • Artizone Essential Eats
  • Galleria Dallas Runway Revue
  • State Fair 2016 Promoted
  • Trigger's Toys Ultimate Cocktail Experience
  • Dean's Texas Cuisine
  • Real Weddings Dallas
  • Real Housewives of Dallas
  • Jan Barboglio
  • Wildflower Arts and Music Festival
  • Hearts for Hounds
  • Okay to Say Dallas
  • Indochino Dallas
  • Old Forester Dallas
  • Dallas Apartment Locators
  • Dallas Summer Musicals
  • PSW Real Estate Dallas
  • Paintzen
  • DTX Dave Perry-Miller
  • DTX Reliant
  • Get in the Spirit
  • Bachendorf's
  • Holiday Wonder
  • Village on the Parkway
  • City Lifestyle
  • opportunity knox villa-o restaurant
  • Nasher Summer Sale
  • Simpson Property Group
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2017 Dallas
  • Carlisle & Vine
  • DTX New Beginnings
  • Get in the Game
  • Red Bull Air Race
  • Dallas DanceFest
  • 2015 Dallas Stylemaker
  • Youth With Faces
  • Energy Ogre
  • DTX Renewable You
  • Galleria Dallas Decadence
  • Bella MD
  • Tractorbeam
  • Young Texans Against Cancer
  • Fresh Start Dallas
  • Dallas Farmers Market
  • Soldier's Angels Dallas
  • Shipt
  • Elite Dental
  • Texas Restaurant Association 2017
  • State Fair 2017
  • Scottish Rite
  • Brooklyn Brewery
  • DTX_Stylemakers
  • Alexan Crossings
  • Ascent Victory Park
  • Top Texans Under 30 Dallas
  • Discover Downtown Dallas
  • San Luis Resort Dallas
  • Greystar The Collection
  • FIG Finale
  • Greystar M Line Tower
  • Lincoln Motor Company
  • The Shelby
  • Jonathan Goldwater Events
  • Windrose Tower
  • Gift Guide 2016
  • State Fair of Texas 2016
  • Choctaw Dallas
  • TodayTix Dallas promoted
  • Whole Foods
  • Unbranded 2014
  • Frisco Square
  • Unbranded 2016
  • Circuit of the Americas 2018
  • The Katy
  • Snap Kitchen
  • Partners Card
  • Omni Hotels Dallas
  • Landmark on Lovers
  • Harwood Herd
  • Galveston.com Dallas
  • Holiday Happenings Dallas 2018
  • TenantBase
  • Cottonwood Art Festival 2018
  • Hawkins-Welwood Homes
  • The Inner Circle Dallas
  • Eating in Season Dallas
  • ATTPAC Behind the Curtain
  • TodayTix Dallas
  • The Alexan
  • Toyota Music Factory
  • Nosh Box Eatery
  • Wildflower 2018
  • Society Style Dallas 2018
  • Texas Scottish Rite Hospital 2018
  • 5 Mockingbird
  • 4110 Fairmount
  • Visit Taos
  • Allegro Addison
  • Dallas Tastemakers 2018
  • The Village apartments
  • City of Burleson Dallas

    Movie Review

    Passing shines a light on parts of racial identity that are more than skin deep

    Alex Bentley
    Nov 10, 2021 | 12:40 pm
    Passing shines a light on parts of racial identity that are more than skin deep
    play icon

    It is a part of human nature to want to fit in with others around you. However, fitting in comes a lot easier for some than others, thanks to ingrained prejudices. The idea of “passing” as someone you are not is something that has a long history in communities of color, one that is artfully explored in the new film, Passing.

    The film focuses on Irene (Tessa Thompson), whose carefully crafted world in 1920s Harlem is shaken up when she meets an old friend, Clare (Ruth Negga), whose entire life is about passing as a white woman. Both women have light skin, affording them privileges not enjoyed by their darker-skinned friends or family. Irene has gone one direction in life – she’s married to Brian (André Holland), a Black doctor – while Clare has gone another, marrying John (Alexander Skarsgård), a white man who believes she is white as well.

    After their chance meeting, Clare starts to insinuate herself into Irene’s life, attending many parties with her and Brian. Clare’s ability to go back-and-forth with ease between her “white” life and her “Black” life starts to bother Irene. The more she shows up, the more jealous Irene becomes, despite Irene’s high status in her own social circle.

    Written and directed by Rebecca Hall, an actor making her debut as a filmmaker, the film walks a fine line in characterization. Both women appear to live upscale lifestyles, with Irene even having a Black housekeeper. But their socialization has a distinct limit, with the parties they attend filled with mostly Black people, save for enlightened souls like Irene’s friend Hugh (Bill Camp). And Brian spares no details when telling their sons about the dangers that face Black people in the world at large.

    Hall purposefully films the movie in black and white, perhaps as a way of de-emphasizing the actors’ skin color, thereby accentuating the idea that they could pass as white. However, it becomes a bit difficult to fully buy into the conceit when both actors have such strong existing Black identities. Among other characters, Negga has played singer Shirley Bassey and one half of an interracial couple in Loving, and Thompson has had parts in Black-focused projects like Dear White People, Selma, and Sorry to Bother You.

    But whether the actors could truly pass as white is a small quibble, especially considering the debate going on within the Black community between light-skinned and dark-skinned people. More important for the film is the way Hall — herself the daughter of a white father and Black mother — tells the story, which is often confusing. The true nature of the plot takes some time to develop, and when it does, it’s a left turn from where the film seemed to be heading.

    Thompson and Negga are both very strong actors who sell every inch of Irene and Clare’s fraught relationship. The two characters’ situations are similar yet very different, and seeing how the actors approach their evolving arcs is highly engaging. Holland puts in a strong supporting performance, as does Camp in limited screen time. Skarsgård’s character only has one purpose and few scenes, which limits his impact.

    Passing is an interesting idea for a movie that perhaps could have used a bit more fine-tuning in the story department. The actors bring the movie to life, though, making it a worthwhile watch just to see them work.

    ---

    Passing is now screening on Netflix.

    Ruth Negga and Tessa Thompson in Passing.

    Ruth Negga and Tessa Thompson in Passing
      
    Photo courtesy of Netflix
    Ruth Negga and Tessa Thompson in Passing.
    movies
    news/entertainment

    Drinking News

    Meow Wolf in Grapevine to open new interactive bar experience

    Alex Bentley
    May 20, 2025 | 4:28 pm
    Drink at bar in Meow Wolf Grapevine
    Photo by Imani Thomas
    The new Prime Materia at Meow Wolf Grapevine offers special drinks and a deeper level of storytelling

    Immersive art museum Meow Wolf Grapevine is adding some high-tech sips via Prime Materia, a new in-house bar with drinks, snacks, and interactive art.

    Set to open on Friday, June 20, Prime Materia will be equal parts cocktail bar, snack station, and interactive installation, bringing together those in search of a drink with those in search of an art experience, to uncover secrets through custom drink recipes, environmental details, and conversations with mixologists.

    This new space will operate within the facility's current installation The Real Unreal, blending one-of-a-kind drinks and immersive art. Designed for all ages, it offers a new way to explore and interact at Meow Wolf Grapevine, says general manager Jamie Weaver-Garia.

    "Introducing our first in-exhibition bar allows us to expand how guests engage with The Real Unreal while offering something truly unique to the Dallas-Fort Worth area," Weaver-Garia says.

    The new area will be in the tucked-away zone of Lamp Shop Alley within the Meow Wolf Grapevine exhibition. Cocktails and non-alcoholic elixirs will feature names like the Overclocked Margarita, Elderberry Gin Potion, and Cold Brew Tincture.

    Light bites will include pretzel bits and popcorn in the varieties of Popped Pixels and colorful Kernel Panic, provided by local vendors, with special souvenir gifts for guests who want their drinks with extra flair.

    The space will allow visitors to enjoy a deeper layer of storytelling with lore-infused elixirs, snackable curiosities, and a cast of high-tech bartenders known as the Gizmo_Mancers — alchemical technologists who have mastered the art of brewing drinks from digital code.

    While Prime Materia features a menu of cocktails for those 21 and up, the bar is also stocked with non-alcoholic mocktails, snacks, and interactive art elements for guests of all ages.

    Access to Prime Materia is only available with admission to The Real Unreal. Tickets for Meow Wolf Grapevine are available at meowwolf.com/tickets.

    cocktailstheaterfood-drink
    news/entertainment
    Loading...