Friday, August 10, 2018

Dialogic Cinephilia - August 10, 2018

"For me, it started with a very early fascination I had for playing with light as a kid. Today, I can say cinematography has become a way of experiencing the world. It’s much more than a job, a craft or your artistic expression; it’s a way of life. It’s a way of participating in society, choosing responsibly the kind of stories I want to tell and from where I position my point of view to tell them. I’m not so sure I believe in a ‘female gaze.’ I believe in the individual gaze. Each person is a unique collection of life experiences. Yes, you could say my gaze has something feminine, for sure, but it also has something from being a South American that emigrated to Europe when I was 18; the influence of having been raised by two Freudian shrinks; of having lived in four different countries and immersed myself in different cultures. My gaze has the experience of living in the jungle with shamans, and it contains traces of every single one of my broken hearts." -- Natasha Braier, cinematographer of The Neon Demon (2016) and The Milk of Sorrow (2009)





Bro, Susan and A.C. Thompson. "Mother of Heather Heyer, Killed 1 Year Ago: Everyone Needs to Pick Up the Baton & Stand Against Hate." Democracy Now (August 7, 2018) ["It has been nearly a year since anti-racist activist Heather Heyer died in Charlottesville, Virginia, when white supremacist James Alex Fields drove his Dodge Charger into a crowd of counter demonstrators. As white supremacists plan to mark the first anniversary of Charlottesville by holding another “Unite the Right” rally in Washington, D.C., we speak with Heyer’s mother Susan Bro about Heather Heyer’s legacy and what activists can do to combat racism."]








Deighan, Samm and Kat Ellinger. "Sex Without Shame: The Telephone Book (1971) and Elle (2016)." Daughters of Darkness #27 (March 19, 2018) ["Kat and Samm return from a lengthy hiatus with this personal, boisterous episode that explores desire, consent, and sexuality by comparing two very different films: Nelson Lyon’s forgotten erotic classic, The Telephone Book (1971), and Paul Verhoeven’s challenging rape-revenge drama, Elle (2016). Made early in the porno chic period, before mainstream titles like Deep Throat (1972), The Telephone Book follows a young woman who becomes the target of an obscene caller. Instead of feeling victimized, she’s excited by the encounter and goes on a ribald odyssey through New York City to find her loquacious love. And though Elle’s approach is quite different, Kat and Samm discuss how it serves as an important counter example to the idea that such films can’t be made in recent years. Marking Verhoeven’s return to filmmaking in a decade, Elle stars the great Isabelle Huppert as Michele Leblanc, an unconventional business executive who is raped in her home by a masked attacker. Refusing to see herself as a victim, Michele becomes determined to learn her rapist’s identity and uncover his potential motivations. Hovering somewhere between domestic drama, rape revenge film, and black comedy, Elle explores complicated notions of power, consent, and intimacy."]

Kelso, Benjamin. "Black and Blue: On Being a Black Policeman in Today's America." Cura Caos (April 2018) ["This conversation was really a rollercoaster. Many in the audience had a very personal & emotional connection to the subject matter, which made it even more important to talk through these important issues with heart & compassion. This is not an easy subject to navigate, and Lt. Kelso handled the questions with grace and sensitivity. It was an honor having him and I hope more policemen of color are given a platform to share their stories. 'In a time when communities of color & the police are experiencing such publicized & painful conflict, Lieutenant Benjamin Kelso has to balance both parts of his identity. Stories like his are more important than ever to listen to, and we are honored to have Mr. Kelso as a guest. Getting to know a real human is different than seeing policemen on TV, and I think coming together to listen to different points of view is a very worthwhile endeavor. Questions of race, identity, tension, and how to best move forward as a culture are never easy, but exploring them with a community of people who care about asking them is essential to building something better.'"]

Ricard, Matthieu. "Happiness as Human Flourishing." On Being (2017) ["A French-born Tibetan Buddhist monk and a central figure in the Dalai Lama's dialogue with scientists, Matthieu Ricard was dubbed "The Happiest Man in the World" after his brain was imaged. But he resists this label. In his writing and in his life, he explores happiness not as a pleasurable feeling but as a way of being that gives you the resources to deal with the ups and downs of life and that encompasses many emotional states, including sadness. We take in Matthieu Ricard's practical teachings for cultivating inner strength, joy, and direction." Krista Tippett's introduction "Compassion is a Skill to be Developed."]

Thompson, A.C. "Documenting Hate: New Doc Lays Bare the Violent White Supremacy that Exploded in Charlottesville." Democracy Now (August 7, 2018) ["This week marks one year since white supremacists and neo-Nazis descended on Charlottesville, Virginia, in the deadly “Unite the Right” rally to protest the city’s decision to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from a downtown park. It became the biggest and deadliest white supremacist rally in the United States in decades. We look back at the deadly rally in Charlottesville with a new documentary by Frontline PBS and ProPublica titled “Documenting Hate: Charlottesville.” We speak with A.C. Thompson, the reporter who produced the investigation, which premieres tonight on PBS."]

---. "New Charlottesville Doc Exposes Neo-Nazi Leaders & Their Ties to U.S. Military & Weapons Contractors." Democracy Now (August 7, 2018) ["When hundreds of white supremacists arrived in Charlottesville, Virginia, for a deadly “Unite the Right” protest last August, local authorities were unprepared for the violence that terrorized the city, largely standing back during bloody encounters between white supremacists and counterprotesters. One year later, we speak with investigative reporter A.C. Thompson on his work to track down and identify white supremacists from Charlottesville and other extremist rallies across the country."]

---. "Portland Protest Shows New Far-Right Trend: Multi-ethnic Groups with Fascist Heroes Like Pinochet." Democracy Now (August 7, 2018) ["We continue our interview with A.C. Thompson, correspondent for Frontline PBS and reporter for ProPublica. His new investigation is titled “Documenting Hate: Charlottesville.” He discusses how he was there in Portland, Oregon, when anti-racist, anti-fascist protesters faced off against members of the far-right-wing group “Patriot Prayer” during a protest and counter protest Saturday. Hours into the competing protests, police officers attacked the left-wing, anti-fascist counter protesters with pepper spray and stun grenades. Portland’s police chief has ordered a review of the use of force at the protest."]






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