Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now
Alissa Wilkinson

Alissa Wilkinson

Former Senior Correspondent + Critic

Alissa Wilkinson covered movies and culture for Vox. Since 2006, her work has appeared in Rolling Stone, Bon Appétit, the Washington Post, Vulture, RogerEbert.com, the Atlantic, Books & Culture, the Los Angeles Review of Books, Paste, Pacific Standard, and others. Alissa is a member of the New York Film Critics Circle and the National Society of Film Critics, and was a 2017-18 Art of Nonfiction writing fellow with the Sundance Institute. Before joining Vox, she was the chief film critic at Christianity Today.

Alissa’s book We Tell Ourselves Stories is forthcoming from Liveright, and her book Salty: Lessons on Eating, Drinking, and Living from Revolutionary Women (Broadleaf) was released in June 2022. She is also the co-author, with Robert Joustra, of How to Survive the Apocalypse: Zombies, Cylons, Faith, and Politics at the End of the World (Eerdmans, 2016). Alissa holds an MA in humanities and social thought from New York University and an MFA in creative nonfiction writing from Seattle Pacific University, and is currently earning an MS in Computer Science from Georgia Tech.

Culture coverage may include stories about companies that invest in Vox Media. This does not in any way affect the editorial independence of our coverage, and this information will be disclosed clearly when relevant. See Vox’s ethics and guidelines for more.

Latest articles by Alissa Wilkinson

Your guide to the 2024 Oscars
The movies to watch for this fallThe movies to watch for this fall
Your guide to the 2024 Oscars

It’s a great time to be at the movies.

By Alissa Wilkinson
Your guide to the 2024 Oscars
The year’s scariest horror film is The Zone of InterestThe year’s scariest horror film is The Zone of Interest
Your guide to the 2024 Oscars

Jonathan Glazer’s new film dismantles simple cliches about the banality of evil.

By Alissa Wilkinson
Culture
Priscilla and Sofia Coppola’s lonely girlsPriscilla and Sofia Coppola’s lonely girls
Culture

Solitude and wisdom at the movies.

By Alissa Wilkinson
Culture
The long, long Hollywood strikes have endedThe long, long Hollywood strikes have ended
Culture

SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP have reached a tentative agreement.

By Alissa Wilkinson
Culture
Hollywood is missing the big picture on the opioid crisisHollywood is missing the big picture on the opioid crisis
Culture

From Pain Hustlers to Dopesick to The Fall of the House of Usher, filmmakers are fascinated by the epidemic. But what are they saying?

By Alissa Wilkinson
Culture
The Curse is a fully bizarre and brilliant maze of a showThe Curse is a fully bizarre and brilliant maze of a show
Culture

What to know about the new collaboration between Nathan Fielder, Benny Safdie, and Emma Stone.

By Alissa Wilkinson
Culture
The surprising science that explains why we love thrillersThe surprising science that explains why we love thrillers
Culture

Entertainment isn’t frivolous. Walter Hickey’s new book You Are What You Watch explains why.

By Alissa Wilkinson
Your guide to the 2024 Oscars
What the end of Killers of the Flower Moon meansWhat the end of Killers of the Flower Moon means
Your guide to the 2024 Oscars

The final scenes of Martin Scorsese’s recent films are part of a larger project.

By Alissa Wilkinson
Your guide to the 2024 Oscars
The wisest choice in Killers of the Flower MoonThe wisest choice in Killers of the Flower Moon
Your guide to the 2024 Oscars

Martin Scorsese knows that who gets to tell the story matters as much as the story that gets told.

By Alissa Wilkinson
Culture
The actors strike negotiations have broken downThe actors strike negotiations have broken down
Culture

The two big sticking points between SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP, explained.

By Alissa Wilkinson