Brando’s name was shorthand for great acting. Nobody was better. Until, suddenly, a whole bunch of actors were.

There is a strong temptation to see the present as woebegone and hopeless, while looking back on the past with rose-tinted glasses.

MISTER ACT BY GRAHAM DASELER 34THPARALLEL MAGAZINE ISSUE 38

A few months ago, skimming through the pages of The Atlantic Monthly, I happened upon an article by Terrence Rafferty with a rather provocative title, The Decline of…