Kathleen Hanna wrote the Riot Grrrl Manifesto in 1991, in the process helping to spark a DIY subculture of angry, inspirational girl music and a feminist movement that fought to undo the silencing of women’s thoughts and opinions on sexual assault, politics, creativity, and anything else they wanted to talk (or write or sing or scream) about. Hanna’s manifesto overflowed with messages of love and support toward other women, but its language was hardly warm and fuzzy: “We must take over the means of production in order to create our own meanings,” she wrote....

Carey Primeau Movieoke Looking for something to do today? Agenda‘s got you covered. For more on these events and others, check out the Reader‘s daily Agenda page.

Courtesy Hyde Park Art Center Artist Rendering of The Beast by John Preus Looking for something to do today? Agenda‘s got you covered. For more on these events and others, check out the Reader‘s daily Agenda page.

COURTESY THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF ARCHIVES AND HISTORY Professor Ernst Borinski at Tougaloo College, circa 1960 Looking for something to do today? Agenda‘s got you covered. For more on these events and others, check out the Reader‘s daily Agenda page.

Jim Mickle’s violent black comedy Cold in July begins with a suburban family man (Michael C. Hall) confronting and then fatally shooting a burglar who’s broken into his home. The movie takes place in 1989 in east Texas, and the local sheriff who investigates the shooting writes it off as self-defense. Unfortunately for the man who pulled the trigger, Richard Dane, the burglar’s father is a hotheaded killer just released from prison; after getting word of the incident, ex-con Ben Russel comes to town and starts terrorizing Dane’s family....

Chicago Opera Theater cocommissioned this new opera by prolific composer Stewart Copeland, best known as cofounder and drummer of genre-bending rock band the Police. Based on the 1940 science-fiction novel La Invención de Morel, by Argentinian writer Adolfo Bioy Casares, it’s the mysterious story of a fugitive who takes refuge on a remote island only to find that his hideout’s also occupied by an extremely strange group of tourists. The novel also purportedly inspired Alain Resnais’s enigmatic 1961 French New Wave film Last Year at Marienbad....

In a recent post urging the media to pull up their socks and take on Donald Trump, I made an example of a Brazilian journalist who’s defied greater danger in his country than I thought Trump could pose in ours. “Journalism in Brazil is a high-risk profession,” says Amorim. “We are among the most threatening countries in the world for reporters, videographers, and electronic media communicators. The picture is worse in the country and poor areas, where there are strong social and political conflicts....

Did you ever wonder about earwax, and exactly why you shouldn’t dig it out of your ear canal with a cotton swab? Or about the Nazis’ failed attempts to infiltrate American society during World War II, and the pretty boneheaded ways in which they were found out? Josh Clark and Charles W. “Chuck” Bryant, hosts of the Stuff You Should Know podcast, are here for you. Since 2008 it’s been their job to research and report on topics that range from the seemingly—and dreadfully—mundane (“How Moss Works”) to the bygone and faddish (“A Podcast on Zoot Suits?...

A10 Chef Matthias Merges offers a four-course prix fixe; reservations recommended. $85, $135 with wine pairings. 1462 E. 53rd, 773-288-1010, a10hydepark.com. Read about four of Chicago’s most outstanding couples, as chosen by our readers. Cicchetti Five-course menu from chef Michael Sheerin with the theme “Lucchetti dell’Amore” (“locks of love”); a craft cocktail and house-made blood orange “‘cello” are included. A vegetarian option is available. $150 per couple. 671 N. Saint Clair, 312-642-1800, cicchettirestaurant....

Lana Turner (left) in A Life of Her Own, a likely influence on Roommates “It’s hard to believe there was a time when such progressive politics could be expressed in a drive-in movie,” Dave Kehr wrote of Stephanie Rothman’s Terminal Island (1973), “but yes, Virginia, there was an early 70s.” I’d argue that the era of subversive exploitation cinema continued after the Nixon presidency, as evidenced by such works as George Romero’s Martin (1978), Abel Ferrara’s The Driller Killer (1979), and Chuck Vincent’s Roommates (1981), which screens on 35-millimeter tomorrow at 7 PM at Doc Films....

The Master For a certain generation of moviegoers, Philip Seymour Hoffman was considered one of Hollywood’s great actors, known for bringing his towering presence to the smallest of roles. His sudden passing creates a gaping hole in the American film landscape, but the performances he left behind will stand forever. I won’t waste time rehearsing the tragic details of his death, as so many other eulogies and “dedications” have—what matters most is his legacy....

Every fall, to give music lovers a few gift ideas during this jolliest time of the year, I review a pile of recent box sets. Releases like this are rarely geared to the casual listener, and it’s hard to gauge their success using commercial metrics—as sales of physical media continue to decline, expensive multidisc collections become increasingly niche ­oriented. I’ve tried to cast a broad net here, including not only folkloric compilations whose musicians are by and large known only to their friends and relatives but also a giant set by long-­running hit makers the Isley Brothers....

With the exception of West Side Story, I’ve never been able to stomach show tunes, musical theater, or Broadway shows. For me, music and theater work best apart. I know many people will find that idiotic or narrow-minded, and I don’t have a good response—I’ve simply never liked that sort of stuff, even though many songs written for musicals or shows have become staples of the jazz repertoire. (I have no beef with them in that context....

In early August, the Growing Concerns Poet­ry Collective played two back-to-back sold-out shows at Steppenwolf’s 80-seat 1700 Theatre to celebrate the release of their self-released debut album, We Here: Thank You for Noticing. Two months earlier, the members of this Chicago trio—beat maker Jeffrey Michael Austin, poet McKenzie Chinn, and rapper Mykele Deville—had hosted a house-show fund-raiser in Pilsen to help pay for the recording. After the second Steppenwolf gig, they knew it had been worth the effort....

It’s hard not to compare Surly Darkness—the rare and much-loved Russian imperial stout released once a year by Minnesota’s Surly Brewing—to Dark Lord, the rare and much-loved Russian imperial stout released once a year by Three Floyds Brewing. Each has an annual festival to celebrate its release, and both festivals consistently draw thousands of craft beer geeks from around the country. One major difference—aside from the taste, which I’ll get to later—is that while Dark Lord Day is your only chance to buy that beer, Darkness is also available after Darkness Day....

Today the organizers of the Silver Room Block Party announced the full lineup for their 15th blowout. Its three outdoor stages will present the likes of foundational Chicago hip-hop producer the Twilite Tone, classic-house veteran Ron Trent, hip-hop icon Bobbito Garcia (of beloved 90s New York radio program The Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show), and singular singer, producer, and polymath Georgia Ann Muldrow. Eight indoor venues, including the Silver Room and the Promontory, will also play host to live performances....

New York City’s Big Ups are in town this weekend, playing tonight in the Subterranean’s downstairs bar and Saturday afternoon at Wicker Park Fest. This spazzy foursome plays straight-ahead, no-frills punk rock, channelling all the greats with the unhinged, desperate vocals of Minor Threat, the melodic sense of the Adolescents, and the fuck-it-all frustration of the Suicidal Tendencies. Today’s 12 O’Clock Track, “Goes Black,” off the band’s 2014 LP, Eighteen Hours of Static, builds from subdued, down-and-out introspection into a full-blown hardcore roar within a brief two minutes and 20 seconds....

Surfrider Chicago is looking to relaunch its federal lawsuit against U.S. Steel, which it says sickened surfers when it dumped toxic hexavalent chromium in a waterway connected to Lake Michigan in northwest Indiana. U.S. Steel did not respond to a request for comment. Mitch McNeil, chairman of Surfrider Chicago, said that he hopes that a revised settlement between U.S. Steel and the EPA will “serve as a statement that this is serious and [that] we’re watching....

Q: I’m a queer girl living with a male partner. This weekend, we found ourselves in an after-hours club, made some new friends, and ended up at a house with two other guys and a girl. Things were pretty playful with everyone except for one of the guys. We all wanted him gone, but he wouldn’t take the hint. He bought the booze for the afterparty, so we were a little unsure of the etiquette of asking him to leave....