This week's cultural calendar across Europe offers a mix of nostalgia and unease. In London, Tate Britain looks back at the unbridled creativity of the 1990s, while cinemas screen a dramatisation of one of the most consequential tech scandals of the past decade. Berlin, meanwhile, pays tribute to a provocateur whose work still feels startlingly current.
Exhibitions: The 90s and a German provocateur
At Tate Britain, The 90s: Art and Fashion (running from 8 October 2026 to 14 February 2027) explores a decade that now seems impossibly distant. Curated by Edward Enninful, former editor-in-chief of British Vogue, the show brings together iconic photographs, paintings, and clothing from the era. It highlights the Young British Artists movement—Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin and others—whose irreverent energy reshaped contemporary art. Designers like Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen turned runways into theatrical spaces of subversion, and the exhibition captures how that spirit fed into the wider culture. For many visitors, it will be a reminder of a time before smartphones and social media rewired daily life.
In Berlin, the Gropius Bau is hosting Christoph Schlingensief: It’s not my problem anymore, deal with your own shit (9 October 2026 – 17 January 2027). Schlingensief, who died in 2010, was a master of provocation—his works ranged from satirical gore-films to political performance art that challenged German society and beyond. The exhibition includes his large-scale installation Kaprow City, originally created in 2006 for a rotating, labyrinthine room. Sixteen years on, his critiques of media, migration, and nationalism remain uncomfortably relevant.
Film: The Social Reckoning and a medieval uprising
Aaron Sorkin, who wrote The Social Network in 2010, returns with The Social Reckoning, out in cinemas on 9 October. The film dramatises the 2021 whistleblower case of Frances Haugen, a former Facebook employee who leaked internal documents to the Wall Street Journal, revealing how the company prioritised profits over user safety. Starring Mikey Madison, Jeremy Strong, and Jeremy Allen White, the movie arrives amid growing public concern over social media’s effects on democracy and mental health—a debate that has prompted EU-wide proposals for stricter age limits and parental consent rules, as recent policy moves show.
For those seeking a different kind of rebellion, Andrew Garfield stars in The Uprising, a drama about the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381. It opens in UK cinemas on 9 October, with a staggered release across the rest of Europe.
TV: Carrie gets a modern reimagining
Mike Flanagan, known for his supernatural series and Stephen King adaptations, has turned his attention to Carrie—King’s 1974 novel about a bullied teenager with telekinetic powers. The series, which premieres on Prime Video on 7 October, stars Summer H. Howell as Carrie and Samantha Sloyan as her mother. Unlike the 1976 and 2013 films, Flanagan’s version reportedly expands the story, setting it in the present day and fleshing out character backstories. It’s a fitting pick for the spooky season.
Also worth noting: a TV adaptation of John Steinbeck’s East of Eden is now on Netflix, starring Florence Pugh and Mike Faist.
Music: Sheryl Crow’s 90s optimism
Sheryl Crow, whose 90s hits like “If It Makes You Happy” defined an era of Americana rock, releases her 13th studio album Pick You Up on 9 October. The record leans into her signature warm sound, offering a dose of optimism in anxious times. With seven new tracks, Crow aims to rekindle a sense of communal support—a message that resonates across a continent grappling with political polarisation and economic uncertainty.
Whether you’re in London, Berlin, or watching from a sofa in Paris, this week’s offerings provide both escape and reflection. And as Europe debates the future of digital spaces, public opinion seems to be shifting—making The Social Reckoning all the more timely.
