Warshow (1917-55) was among the inventors of “the criticism of popular culture,” Mr. Denby writes. If Warshow wrung a sizable ...

When I was growing up, a critic was a jerk, a crank, a spoilsport. I figured that was the whole idea. My favorite characters on “The Muppet Show” were Statler and Waldorf, the two geezers who sat in ...