Benton, Michael. Around the World in 15 Films (14) Dialogic Cinephilia (Future Course Plan)
Dale, Austin. "The Metrograph Interview: Todd Haynes." Metrograph (November 15, 2019)
Edelstein, David. "The Horror Is Real in the Syrian Doc For Sama." Vulture (July 26, 2019)
Hudson, David. "Accolades for Marriage Story and Laura Dern." Current (December 3, 2019)
Immerwahr, Daniel. "'United States' to Imperial America." Empire Files (August 19, 2019) ["The global expanse of US military bases is well-known; but it's actual territorial empire is largely hidden. The true map of America is not taught in our schools. Abby Martin interviews history Professor Daniel Immerwahr about his new book, 'How To Hide An Empire,' where he documents the story of our "Greater United States.""]
Labuza, Peter. "4 ways a new Justice Department decision may radically reshape moviegoing." Polygon (November 20, 2019)
Empty Metal TRAILER #1 from Adam Khalil on Vimeo.
Piper-Burkett, Emma. "Final Cut: Empty Metal." Reverse Shot (December 17, 2019)
Tallerico, Brian. "The Best Films of the 2010s: Moonlight." Roger Ebert (November 6, 2019)
Tobin, Vera, et al. "Spoiler Alert! The Psychology Of Surprise Endings." Hidden Brain (December 3, 2018)
Tram, Jamie. "Digital Disquietude in the Screencast Film." Senses of Cinema #92 (October 2019)
Tuesday, December 31, 2019
Monday, December 30, 2019
Dialogic Cinephilia - December 30, 2019
"47TH Annie Award Nominations Announced (for animation)" ASIFA Hollywood (December 2, 2019)
Cooper, Anderson. "Psilocybin Sessions: Psychedelics could help people with addiction and anxiety." 60 Minutes (December 29, 2019)
Hoberman, J. "The Godfather: How the mafia film came to supplant the Hollywood Western as Oval Office favorite and symbol of American power." Tablet (November 21, 2019)
Hudson, David. "Greta Gerwig's Little Women." Current (November 26, 2019)
LaPook, Jonathan. "Could gene therapy cure sickle cell anemia?" 60 Minutes (December 29, 2019) ["An NIH clinical trial is ushering in a genetic revolution as an innovative type of gene therapy is used to attempt to cure sickle cell anemia."]
Roma (Mexico/USA: Alfonso Cuarón, 2018) Dialogic Cinephilia (Ongoing Archive)
Stahl, Lesley. "How the NYU School of Medicine is going tuition-free." 60 Minutes (December 29, 2019)
Woodhead, Hannah. "Why The Piano is the Greatest Film Directed by a Woman." BBC Culture (November 26, 2019)
BLACK SNAKE KILLAZ - A #NoDAPL Story’ Documentary Trailer [2017] from Unicorn Riot on Vimeo.
Cooper, Anderson. "Psilocybin Sessions: Psychedelics could help people with addiction and anxiety." 60 Minutes (December 29, 2019)
Hoberman, J. "The Godfather: How the mafia film came to supplant the Hollywood Western as Oval Office favorite and symbol of American power." Tablet (November 21, 2019)
Hudson, David. "Greta Gerwig's Little Women." Current (November 26, 2019)
LaPook, Jonathan. "Could gene therapy cure sickle cell anemia?" 60 Minutes (December 29, 2019) ["An NIH clinical trial is ushering in a genetic revolution as an innovative type of gene therapy is used to attempt to cure sickle cell anemia."]
Roma (Mexico/USA: Alfonso Cuarón, 2018) Dialogic Cinephilia (Ongoing Archive)
Stahl, Lesley. "How the NYU School of Medicine is going tuition-free." 60 Minutes (December 29, 2019)
Woodhead, Hannah. "Why The Piano is the Greatest Film Directed by a Woman." BBC Culture (November 26, 2019)
Saturday, December 28, 2019
Roma (Mexico/USA: Alfonso Cuarón, 2018)
Roma (Mexico/USA: Alfonso Cuarón, 2018: 135 mins)
Biénzobas, Pamela. "Cinema in Awe: Roma." Fipresci (December 2019) [Fipresci Grand Prix - Best Film of the Year 2019 award winner]
Cuarón, Alfonso and Kent Jones. "Roma." The Close-Up #215 (February 20, 2019)
Dorfman, Ariel. "Can Roma Teach Trump's America the Value of Compassion?" Counterpunch (February 6, 2019)
Hastie, Amelie. "The Vulnerable Spectator–An Act of Will, a Testimony of Love: Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma." Film Quarterly 72.4 (Summer 2019)
Jenkins, David. "Roma." Little White Lies (November 30, 2018)
Kogonada. "Nothing at Stake." Current (February 11, 2020)
Krauze, Enrique. "The Layers of Roma." Current (February 11, 2020)
Larsen, Josh. "Roma." Larsen on Film (ND)
Larsen, Josh. "Roma." Larsen on Film (ND)
Luisella, Valeria. "Roma, or the Art of Making Ruins." Criterion (February 12, 2020)
Marcantonio, Carla. "Roma: Silence, Language, and the Ambiguous Power of Affect." Film Quarterly 72.4 (Summer 2019)
Mora, Sergio de la. "Roma: Repatriation vs. Exploitation." Film Quarterly 72.4 (Summer 2019)
Marcantonio, Carla. "Roma: Silence, Language, and the Ambiguous Power of Affect." Film Quarterly 72.4 (Summer 2019)
Mora, Sergio de la. "Roma: Repatriation vs. Exploitation." Film Quarterly 72.4 (Summer 2019)
Dialogic Cinephilia - December 28, 2019
Benton, Michael. "Around the World in 15 Films (13)." Letterboxd (2019)
---. "Favorite First-Run Films Seen in a Theater in 2019." Letterboxd (2019)
Biénzobas, Pamela. "Cinema in Awe: Roma." Fipresci (December 2019) [Fipresci Grand Prix - Best Film of the Year 2019 award winner]
Binney, Bill. "NSA Whistleblower – Government Collects Everything You Do." The Real News (April 17, 2019) ["Abby Martin interviews former Technical Director of the National Security Agency, Bill Binney, who blew the whistle on warrantless spying years before Edward Snowden released the evidence. They discuss the US empire's mass surveillance program and dangers of the Intelligence Industrial Complex."]
Cullors, Patrisse and Ken Rosenberg. "Bedlam: Film Shows How Decades of Healthcare Underfunding Made Jails 'De Facto Mental Asylums.'" Democracy Now (December 27, 2019) ["Are prisons and jails America’s “new asylums”? A new documentary looks at how a disproportionate number of underserved people facing mental health challenges have been swept into the criminal justice system, where they lack adequate treatment. Nearly 15% of men and more than 30% of women in jails have a serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia, major depression or bipolar disorder. For many of them, jail is their first point of entry into mental health treatment. The documentary “Bedlam” was filmed over five years in Los Angeles County’s overwhelmed and vastly under-resourced Emergency Psychiatry Services, a jail warehousing thousands of psychiatric patients, and the homes — and homeless encampments — of people who are living with severe mental illness. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and will air on PBS “Independent Lens” this April. The film features many people, including Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors, who share their personal experiences with family members’ chronic psychiatric conditions that have pushed them into the path of police officers, ER doctors and nurses, lawyers and prison guards. We speak with Cullors, who shares her experience with seeking help for her brother Monte, who has lived with schizoaffective disorder since he was a teenager, and director Ken Rosenberg, an addiction psychiatrist affiliated with Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City whose own sister struggled with schizophrenia."]
Jenkins, David. "Little Women." Little White Lies (November 25, 2019)
Seitz, Matt Zoller. "The Films of the 2010s: The Tree of Life." Roger Ebert (November 6, 2019)
Shultz, Christopher. "The Best Horror Novels of the Decade." LitReactor (December 6, 2019)
Temple, Emily. "The 20 Best Works of Nonfiction of the Decade." Literary Hub (November 5, 2019)
The Tree of Life (USA: Terence Malick, 2011) Dialogic Cinephilia (Ongoing Archive)
---. "Favorite First-Run Films Seen in a Theater in 2019." Letterboxd (2019)
Biénzobas, Pamela. "Cinema in Awe: Roma." Fipresci (December 2019) [Fipresci Grand Prix - Best Film of the Year 2019 award winner]
Binney, Bill. "NSA Whistleblower – Government Collects Everything You Do." The Real News (April 17, 2019) ["Abby Martin interviews former Technical Director of the National Security Agency, Bill Binney, who blew the whistle on warrantless spying years before Edward Snowden released the evidence. They discuss the US empire's mass surveillance program and dangers of the Intelligence Industrial Complex."]
Cullors, Patrisse and Ken Rosenberg. "Bedlam: Film Shows How Decades of Healthcare Underfunding Made Jails 'De Facto Mental Asylums.'" Democracy Now (December 27, 2019) ["Are prisons and jails America’s “new asylums”? A new documentary looks at how a disproportionate number of underserved people facing mental health challenges have been swept into the criminal justice system, where they lack adequate treatment. Nearly 15% of men and more than 30% of women in jails have a serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia, major depression or bipolar disorder. For many of them, jail is their first point of entry into mental health treatment. The documentary “Bedlam” was filmed over five years in Los Angeles County’s overwhelmed and vastly under-resourced Emergency Psychiatry Services, a jail warehousing thousands of psychiatric patients, and the homes — and homeless encampments — of people who are living with severe mental illness. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and will air on PBS “Independent Lens” this April. The film features many people, including Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors, who share their personal experiences with family members’ chronic psychiatric conditions that have pushed them into the path of police officers, ER doctors and nurses, lawyers and prison guards. We speak with Cullors, who shares her experience with seeking help for her brother Monte, who has lived with schizoaffective disorder since he was a teenager, and director Ken Rosenberg, an addiction psychiatrist affiliated with Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City whose own sister struggled with schizophrenia."]
Jenkins, David. "Little Women." Little White Lies (November 25, 2019)
Seitz, Matt Zoller. "The Films of the 2010s: The Tree of Life." Roger Ebert (November 6, 2019)
Shultz, Christopher. "The Best Horror Novels of the Decade." LitReactor (December 6, 2019)
Temple, Emily. "The 20 Best Works of Nonfiction of the Decade." Literary Hub (November 5, 2019)
The Tree of Life (USA: Terence Malick, 2011) Dialogic Cinephilia (Ongoing Archive)
The Tree of Life (USA: Terence Malick, 2011)
The Tree of Life (USA: Terence Malick, 2011: 138 mins)
Bellamy, Jason and Ed Howard. "Conversations: Terrence Malick, Part One. The House Next Door (May 28, 2011)
---. "The Conversations: Terrence Malick, Part 2: The Tree of Life." The House Next Door (June 22, 2011)
Elias, Christopher Michael. "Sons of God: Postwar Gender and Spirituality in Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life." Film Criticism 44. 1 (January 2020)
Gleiser, Marcello. "'The Tree Of Life': Need We Choose Between Grace And Nature?" NPR (August 17, 2011)
Greydanus, Stephen D. "Tale of Grace vs. Nature: The Tree of Life Asks Life’s Important Questions." National Catholic Register (June 10, 2011)
"Jessica Chastain Discusses Her Acting Process In Recent One-Hour Conversation." The Film Stage (March 24, 2015)
Kara, Selmin. "Beasts of the Digital Wild: Primordigital Cinema and the Question of Origins." Sequence 1.4 (2014)
Koresky, Michael. The Tree of Life: Design for Living." Reverse Shot #29 (2011)
O'Brien, Geoffrey. "The Variety of Movie Experience." The New York Times Book Review (July 14, 2011)
O'Neil, Phelim. "The genius of Douglas Trumbull: He blew minds with SFX work in Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, and he's doing it again in Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life. In a rare interview, we catch up with a true visionary." Guardian (July 9, 2011)
Richards, Peter. "Terrence Malick (Part One)." Director's Club #130 (June 24, 2017)
---. "Terrence Malick (Part Two)." Director's Club #131 (July 9, 2017)
Seitz, Matt Zoller. "All Things Shining, Pt. 5: The Tree of Life." Moving Image Source (October 24, 2011)
---. "The Films of the 2010s: The Tree of Life." Roger Ebert (November 6, 2019)
Vishnevetsky, Ignatiy. "The Tree of Life: A Malickiad." MUBI (May 26, 2011)
Wisniewski, Chris. "Known Unknowns: Tree of Life." Reverse Shot #29 (2011)
Terrence Malick: The Art of Voiceover from Kevin B. Lee on Vimeo.
Monday, December 16, 2019
Dialogic Cinephilia - December 16, 2019
MB upon waking up from a fever dream state: In order to better understand present struggles, I visit with the ghosts of various pasts and learning from them I envision possible futures. These visions of pasts and futures intertwine around my present self like two great dragons whispering in my ears.
Barber, William, II, et al. "Amazing Aretha." Open Source (May 2, 2019) ["Aretha Franklin made you believe you were hearing both heaven and earth. Her voice was not of this world: it was “a gift of God,” people have said. She was the reason women want to sing, said Mary J. Blige, who covered Aretha hits. James Baldwin said the way Aretha sings is “the way I want to write.” Our guest Ed Pavlić calls her voice a Hubble telescope, taking us back to the origin of time and truth."]
"Mitch Part 1: 'Win This Thing.'" Embedded 7.1 (May 30, 2019) ["Mitch McConnell has been described as "opaque," "drab," and even "dull." He is one of the least popular - and most polarizing - politicians in the country. So how did he win eight consecutive elections? And what does it tell us about how he operates?"]
"Mitch Part 2: 'Money Money Money.'" Embedded 7.2 (June 6, 2019) ["A lot of us don't pay much attention to money in politics. But Mitch McConnell does. And unlike most politicians, he speaks bluntly in favor of more political spending, not less. That stance led to a long battle with one Senator, who fought McConnell harder than just about anyone else."]
"Mitch Part 3: Darth Vader Has Arrived." Embedded 7.3 (June 13, 2019) ["Mitch McConnell continues his rivalry with John McCain, and dramatically changes the role of money in American politics."]
"Mitch Part 4: Not a Happy Choice." Embedded 7.4 (June 20, 2019) ["Mitch McConnell says he never expected Donald Trump to become president. During the campaign, he was openly critical of Trump's rhetoric. So how are these two very different men working together now? And how are they changing the country?"]
"Mitch Part 5: 9 and 0." Embedded 7.5 (June 27, 2019) ["Mitch McConnell knows that he is not popular. But, he says, the only judgment that really matters is on election day. And of the people who have challenged him, he says, "so far, there have been nine losers.""]
Moore, Sam. "Is Hans Gruber the ultimate cinematic embodiment of capitalism?" Little White Lies (December 14, 2019) ["Alan Rickman’s iconic baddie is a faux-revolutionary motivated purely by financial gain."]
Sutherland, Rory. "Alchemy." EconTalk (November 11, 2019) ["Author and Advertising Executive Rory Sutherland of Ogilvy talks about his book Alchemy with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Sutherland makes the case for the magic (yes, magic!) of advertising and branding in helping markets work well. This is a wide-ranging conversation on consumer choice, public policy, travel, real estate, and corporate decision-making using insights from behavioral economics and decades of experience in the world of advertising."]
Woodward, Adam. "The Irishman." Little White Lies (November 3, 2019) ["A de-aged Robert De Niro takes centre stage in Martin Scorsese’s muscular, melancholy mob drama."]
We do not grow absolutely, chronologically. We grow sometimes in one dimension, and not in another; unevenly. We grow partially. We are relative. We are mature in one realm, childish in another. The past, present, and future mingle and pull us backward, forward, or fix us in the present. We are made up of layers, cells, constellations.
-- Anaïs Nin, The Diary of Anaïs Nin Vol. 4 (1971)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Barber, William, II, et al. "Amazing Aretha." Open Source (May 2, 2019) ["Aretha Franklin made you believe you were hearing both heaven and earth. Her voice was not of this world: it was “a gift of God,” people have said. She was the reason women want to sing, said Mary J. Blige, who covered Aretha hits. James Baldwin said the way Aretha sings is “the way I want to write.” Our guest Ed Pavlić calls her voice a Hubble telescope, taking us back to the origin of time and truth."]
"Mitch Part 1: 'Win This Thing.'" Embedded 7.1 (May 30, 2019) ["Mitch McConnell has been described as "opaque," "drab," and even "dull." He is one of the least popular - and most polarizing - politicians in the country. So how did he win eight consecutive elections? And what does it tell us about how he operates?"]
"Mitch Part 2: 'Money Money Money.'" Embedded 7.2 (June 6, 2019) ["A lot of us don't pay much attention to money in politics. But Mitch McConnell does. And unlike most politicians, he speaks bluntly in favor of more political spending, not less. That stance led to a long battle with one Senator, who fought McConnell harder than just about anyone else."]
"Mitch Part 3: Darth Vader Has Arrived." Embedded 7.3 (June 13, 2019) ["Mitch McConnell continues his rivalry with John McCain, and dramatically changes the role of money in American politics."]
"Mitch Part 4: Not a Happy Choice." Embedded 7.4 (June 20, 2019) ["Mitch McConnell says he never expected Donald Trump to become president. During the campaign, he was openly critical of Trump's rhetoric. So how are these two very different men working together now? And how are they changing the country?"]
"Mitch Part 5: 9 and 0." Embedded 7.5 (June 27, 2019) ["Mitch McConnell knows that he is not popular. But, he says, the only judgment that really matters is on election day. And of the people who have challenged him, he says, "so far, there have been nine losers.""]
Moore, Sam. "Is Hans Gruber the ultimate cinematic embodiment of capitalism?" Little White Lies (December 14, 2019) ["Alan Rickman’s iconic baddie is a faux-revolutionary motivated purely by financial gain."]
Sutherland, Rory. "Alchemy." EconTalk (November 11, 2019) ["Author and Advertising Executive Rory Sutherland of Ogilvy talks about his book Alchemy with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Sutherland makes the case for the magic (yes, magic!) of advertising and branding in helping markets work well. This is a wide-ranging conversation on consumer choice, public policy, travel, real estate, and corporate decision-making using insights from behavioral economics and decades of experience in the world of advertising."]
Woodward, Adam. "The Irishman." Little White Lies (November 3, 2019) ["A de-aged Robert De Niro takes centre stage in Martin Scorsese’s muscular, melancholy mob drama."]
Sunday, December 15, 2019
Dialogic Cinephilia - December 15, 2019
"And Unto Dust We Shall Return: On Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman." Cinephilia and Beyond (ND)
Crawford, Neta C. "United States Budgetary Costs and Obligations of Post-9/11 Wars through FY2020: $6.4 Trillion." Costs of War (November 13, 2019) ["Since late 2001, the United States has appropriated and is obligated to spend an estimated $6.4 Trillion through Fiscal Year 2020 in budgetary costs related to and caused by the post-9/11 wars—an estimated $5.4 Trillion in appropriations in current dollars and an additional minimum of $1 Trillion for US obligations to care for the veterans of these wars through the next several decades. 2 The mission of the post-9/11 wars, as originally defined, was to defend the United States against future terrorist threats from al Qaeda and affiliated organizations. Since 2001, the wars have expanded from the fighting in Afghanistan, to wars and smaller operations elsewhere, in more than 80 countries — becoming a truly “global war on terror.” Further, the Department of Homeland Security was created in part to coordinate the defense of the homeland against terrorist attacks. These wars, and the domestic counterterror mobilization, have entailed significant expenses, paid for by deficit spending. Thus, even if the United States withdraws completely from the major war zones by the end of FY2020 and halts its other Global War on Terror operations, in the Philippines and Africa for example, the total budgetary burden of the post-9/11 wars will continue to rise as the US pays the on-going costs of veterans’ care and for interest on borrowing to pay for the wars. Moreover, the increases in the Pentagon base budget associated with the wars are likely to remain, inflating the military budget over the long run."]
DeVega, Chauncey. "Joker: A harsh indictment of neoliberalism and gangster capitalism." Salon (October 9, 2019)
Hunt, Aaron. "'Something With Your Therapist': Noah Baumbach on Marriage Story." Filmmaker (December 13, 2019)
Kris, Sam. "American aphanisis: in search of Donald Trump." Idiot Joy Showland (January 21, 2016)
Pinkerton, Nick. "Things We Lost in the Fire: A Hidden Life and the Films of Terrence Malick." Metrograph (December 13, 2019)
Sanneh, Kalefa. "The Safdie Brothers Full Immersion Filmmaking." The New Yorker (December 9, 2019)
"Top 25 Censored News Stories of 2018 - 2019." Project Censored (2019) ["The presentation of the Top 25 stories of 2018-2019 extends the tradition originated by Professor Carl Jensen and his Sonoma State University students in 1976, while reflecting how the expansion of the Project to include affiliate faculty and students from campuses across North America has made the Project even more diverse and robust. During this year’s cycle, Project Censored reviewed over 300 Validated Independent News stories (VINs) representing the collective efforts of 283 college students and 24 professors from 15 college and university campuses that participated in the Project’s Campus Affiliates Program during the past year."]
West, Cornel. "Maintaining Hope in the Time of Struggle and Darkness that is the Age of Trump." The Chauncey DeVega Show #258 (October 31, 2019) ["Cornel West is one of the United States’ and the world’s leading public intellectuals and truth-tellers. He is Professor of the Practice of Public Philosophy at Harvard University and holds the title of Professor Emeritus at Princeton University. He has also taught at Union Theological Seminary, Yale, Harvard, and the University of Paris. Cornel West is the author of several bestselling books including Race Matters, Democracy Matters, and his memoir, Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud. He is also a frequent guest on CNN, C-Span and Democracy Now. Cornel West explains why hope must be kept alive in times of darkness and struggle, the power of the Black Freedom Struggle and blues sensibility to sustain and improve American democracy, and why neoliberal gangster capitalism’s assault on our humanity must be resisted. He also reflects on his support of Bernie Sanders and why Dave Chappelle is an example of the artist as truth-teller and essential provocateur."]
Zimbardo, Philip. "The Psychology of Evil Inside of Trump's Concentration Camps." The Chauncey DeVega Show #255 (October 10, 2019) ["Philip Zimbardo is one of the world's leading authorities on the psychology of cruelty, groupthink, and evil. Most famous for the 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment, Dr. Zimbardo has written dozens of books and articles including the powerful and disturbing book The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil.
Dr. Zimbardo explains how America under Donald Trump is fully devolving into a state of violence, authoritarianism, and cruelty and the many ways that the Trump regime encourages thuggery against nonwhite immigrants, migrants, and refugees by law enforcement and others. Dr. Zimbardo also highlights the connections between his infamous Stanford Prison Experiment and the evil taking place inside of Donald Trump’s concentration camps. Chauncey tells some harsh truth about how the American corporate news media, many members of the Democratic Party, and too many average Americans were in denial for too long about the fascist white supremacist threat embodied by the Trump regime – and which is now fully obvious and naked in the president’s and his handlers’ recent declaration that he is a king who is above the law and cannot be impeached for any reason. Chauncey also shares his thoughts about politics of the great new film Joker and its damning indictment of neoliberalism, the culture of cruelty, and gangster capitalism."]
Crawford, Neta C. "United States Budgetary Costs and Obligations of Post-9/11 Wars through FY2020: $6.4 Trillion." Costs of War (November 13, 2019) ["Since late 2001, the United States has appropriated and is obligated to spend an estimated $6.4 Trillion through Fiscal Year 2020 in budgetary costs related to and caused by the post-9/11 wars—an estimated $5.4 Trillion in appropriations in current dollars and an additional minimum of $1 Trillion for US obligations to care for the veterans of these wars through the next several decades. 2 The mission of the post-9/11 wars, as originally defined, was to defend the United States against future terrorist threats from al Qaeda and affiliated organizations. Since 2001, the wars have expanded from the fighting in Afghanistan, to wars and smaller operations elsewhere, in more than 80 countries — becoming a truly “global war on terror.” Further, the Department of Homeland Security was created in part to coordinate the defense of the homeland against terrorist attacks. These wars, and the domestic counterterror mobilization, have entailed significant expenses, paid for by deficit spending. Thus, even if the United States withdraws completely from the major war zones by the end of FY2020 and halts its other Global War on Terror operations, in the Philippines and Africa for example, the total budgetary burden of the post-9/11 wars will continue to rise as the US pays the on-going costs of veterans’ care and for interest on borrowing to pay for the wars. Moreover, the increases in the Pentagon base budget associated with the wars are likely to remain, inflating the military budget over the long run."]
DeVega, Chauncey. "Joker: A harsh indictment of neoliberalism and gangster capitalism." Salon (October 9, 2019)
Hunt, Aaron. "'Something With Your Therapist': Noah Baumbach on Marriage Story." Filmmaker (December 13, 2019)
Kris, Sam. "American aphanisis: in search of Donald Trump." Idiot Joy Showland (January 21, 2016)
Pinkerton, Nick. "Things We Lost in the Fire: A Hidden Life and the Films of Terrence Malick." Metrograph (December 13, 2019)
Sanneh, Kalefa. "The Safdie Brothers Full Immersion Filmmaking." The New Yorker (December 9, 2019)
"Top 25 Censored News Stories of 2018 - 2019." Project Censored (2019) ["The presentation of the Top 25 stories of 2018-2019 extends the tradition originated by Professor Carl Jensen and his Sonoma State University students in 1976, while reflecting how the expansion of the Project to include affiliate faculty and students from campuses across North America has made the Project even more diverse and robust. During this year’s cycle, Project Censored reviewed over 300 Validated Independent News stories (VINs) representing the collective efforts of 283 college students and 24 professors from 15 college and university campuses that participated in the Project’s Campus Affiliates Program during the past year."]
West, Cornel. "Maintaining Hope in the Time of Struggle and Darkness that is the Age of Trump." The Chauncey DeVega Show #258 (October 31, 2019) ["Cornel West is one of the United States’ and the world’s leading public intellectuals and truth-tellers. He is Professor of the Practice of Public Philosophy at Harvard University and holds the title of Professor Emeritus at Princeton University. He has also taught at Union Theological Seminary, Yale, Harvard, and the University of Paris. Cornel West is the author of several bestselling books including Race Matters, Democracy Matters, and his memoir, Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud. He is also a frequent guest on CNN, C-Span and Democracy Now. Cornel West explains why hope must be kept alive in times of darkness and struggle, the power of the Black Freedom Struggle and blues sensibility to sustain and improve American democracy, and why neoliberal gangster capitalism’s assault on our humanity must be resisted. He also reflects on his support of Bernie Sanders and why Dave Chappelle is an example of the artist as truth-teller and essential provocateur."]
Zimbardo, Philip. "The Psychology of Evil Inside of Trump's Concentration Camps." The Chauncey DeVega Show #255 (October 10, 2019) ["Philip Zimbardo is one of the world's leading authorities on the psychology of cruelty, groupthink, and evil. Most famous for the 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment, Dr. Zimbardo has written dozens of books and articles including the powerful and disturbing book The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil.
Dr. Zimbardo explains how America under Donald Trump is fully devolving into a state of violence, authoritarianism, and cruelty and the many ways that the Trump regime encourages thuggery against nonwhite immigrants, migrants, and refugees by law enforcement and others. Dr. Zimbardo also highlights the connections between his infamous Stanford Prison Experiment and the evil taking place inside of Donald Trump’s concentration camps. Chauncey tells some harsh truth about how the American corporate news media, many members of the Democratic Party, and too many average Americans were in denial for too long about the fascist white supremacist threat embodied by the Trump regime – and which is now fully obvious and naked in the president’s and his handlers’ recent declaration that he is a king who is above the law and cannot be impeached for any reason. Chauncey also shares his thoughts about politics of the great new film Joker and its damning indictment of neoliberalism, the culture of cruelty, and gangster capitalism."]
Friday, December 13, 2019
Dialogic Cinephilia - December 13, 2019
Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp Dialogic Cinephilia (Ongoing Archive)
Hunt, Jennifer, et al. "Are They Really Taking Our Jobs (The Economics of Immigration)." The Best of the Left #1268 (April 30, 2019) ["Today we take a look at just the economic side of immigration including the effects from low-skilled immigrants and high-skilled immigrants and then look at an alternative vision for how we should debate the issue from the left."]
Lennard, Natasha. "How the Prosecution of Animal Rights Activists As Terrorists Foretold Today’s Criminalization of Dissent." The Intercept (December 12, 2019)
Prashad, Vijay. "Afghanistan Papers an eerie reminder of Vietnam." Asia Times (December 11, 2019)
---. "The political tide sweeping South America won’t accept predatory capitalism." Monthly Review (November 6, 2019)
Thunberg, Greta. "Greta Thunberg Slams COP25, Says Response to Climate Crisis Is 'Clever Accounting and Creative PR.'" Democracy Now (December 12, 2019) ["At the U.N. climate summit in Madrid, 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg addressed world leaders Wednesday, hours after she was named Time magazine’s Person of the Year. Thunberg came to the talks after a trip to meet with climate leaders across North America in anticipation of the scheduled climate conference in Santiago, Chile, before the talks were abruptly moved to the Spanish capital. In her address, Thunberg warned that the planet’s carbon budget is down to just eight years, and urged bold action. “I still believe that the biggest danger is not inaction. The real danger is when politicians and CEOs are making it look like real action is happening when in fact almost nothing is being done apart from clever accounting and creative PR,” Thunberg said."]
Whitlock, Craig. "The 'Pentagon Papers' Of Our Time." On the Media (December 11, 2019) ["On Monday, the Washington Post released the fruits of a three-year investigative effort: the "Afghanistan Papers," a once-secret internal government history of a deadly, costly, and ultimately futile entanglement. The hundreds of frank, explosive interviews — along with a new tranche of memos written by the former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld — revealed the extent to which American leaders misled the public on their efforts to hunt down Osama Bin Laden, rout the Taliban, expel Al Qaeda, install democracy, and undo corruption. In this podcast extra, investigative reporter Craig Whitlock tells Bob about the monumental story that the Post uncovered — and the extraordinary effort it took to report it out. "]
Hunt, Jennifer, et al. "Are They Really Taking Our Jobs (The Economics of Immigration)." The Best of the Left #1268 (April 30, 2019) ["Today we take a look at just the economic side of immigration including the effects from low-skilled immigrants and high-skilled immigrants and then look at an alternative vision for how we should debate the issue from the left."]
Lennard, Natasha. "How the Prosecution of Animal Rights Activists As Terrorists Foretold Today’s Criminalization of Dissent." The Intercept (December 12, 2019)
Prashad, Vijay. "Afghanistan Papers an eerie reminder of Vietnam." Asia Times (December 11, 2019)
---. "The political tide sweeping South America won’t accept predatory capitalism." Monthly Review (November 6, 2019)
Thunberg, Greta. "Greta Thunberg Slams COP25, Says Response to Climate Crisis Is 'Clever Accounting and Creative PR.'" Democracy Now (December 12, 2019) ["At the U.N. climate summit in Madrid, 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg addressed world leaders Wednesday, hours after she was named Time magazine’s Person of the Year. Thunberg came to the talks after a trip to meet with climate leaders across North America in anticipation of the scheduled climate conference in Santiago, Chile, before the talks were abruptly moved to the Spanish capital. In her address, Thunberg warned that the planet’s carbon budget is down to just eight years, and urged bold action. “I still believe that the biggest danger is not inaction. The real danger is when politicians and CEOs are making it look like real action is happening when in fact almost nothing is being done apart from clever accounting and creative PR,” Thunberg said."]
Whitlock, Craig. "The 'Pentagon Papers' Of Our Time." On the Media (December 11, 2019) ["On Monday, the Washington Post released the fruits of a three-year investigative effort: the "Afghanistan Papers," a once-secret internal government history of a deadly, costly, and ultimately futile entanglement. The hundreds of frank, explosive interviews — along with a new tranche of memos written by the former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld — revealed the extent to which American leaders misled the public on their efforts to hunt down Osama Bin Laden, rout the Taliban, expel Al Qaeda, install democracy, and undo corruption. In this podcast extra, investigative reporter Craig Whitlock tells Bob about the monumental story that the Post uncovered — and the extraordinary effort it took to report it out. "]
Tuesday, December 10, 2019
Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp (Ongoing Archive)
"60 Words." Radiolab (April 18, 2014) ["This hour we pull apart one sentence, written in the hours after September 11th, 2001, that has led to the longest war in U.S. history. We examine how just 60 words of legal language have blurred the line between war and peace. In the hours after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, a lawyer sat down in front of a computer and started writing a legal justification for taking action against those responsible. The language that he drafted and that President George W. Bush signed into law - called the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) - has at its heart one single sentence, 60 words long. Over the last decade, those 60 words have become the legal foundation for the "war on terror." In this collaboration with BuzzFeed, reporter Gregory Johnsen tells us the story of how this has come to be one of the most important, confusing, troubling sentences of the past 12 years. We go into the meetings that took place in the chaotic days just after 9/11, speak with Congresswoman Barbara Lee and former Congressman Ron Dellums about the vote on the AUMF. We hear from former White House and State Department lawyers John Bellinger & Harold Koh. We learn how this legal language unleashed Guantanamo, Navy Seal raids and drone strikes. And we speak with journalist Daniel Klaidman, legal expert Benjamin Wittes and Virginia Senator Tim Kaine about how these words came to be interpreted, and what they mean for the future of war and peace."]
Bradley Manning Support Network. "What Bradley Manning Revealed?" Counterpunch (August 21, 2013)
Bravin, Jess. The Terror Courts: Rough Justice at Guantanamo Bay. Yale University Press, 2013.
Denbaux, Mark P. and Jonathan Hafetz, ed. The Guantánamo Lawyers: Inside a Prison Outside the Law. New York University Press, 2009.
Fallon, Mark. Unjustifiable Means: The Inside Story of How the C.I.A., Pentagon, and U.S. Government Conspired to Torture. Simon and Schuster, 2017.
Fletcher, Laurel E., et al. Guantánamo and Its Aftermath: U.S. detention and interrogation practices and their impact on former detainees. Human Rights Center, International Human Rights Law Center and Center For Constitutional Rights, 2008.
Hansen, Jonathan. "Guantanamo: An American History." Book TV (January 12, 2012)
"Issues: Guantanamo." Center for Constitutional Rights (Ongoing Archive)
"Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp." ACLU (2019)
"Guantanamo: Facts and Figures." Human Rights Watch (March 30, 2017)
---. "The Torture Doctors." Harpers (November 4, 2013) [An expert panel concludes that the Pentagon and the CIA ordered physicians to violate the Hippocratic Oath.]
Hussain, Murtaza. "In Guantánamo Case, U.S. Government Says It Can Indefinitely Detain Anyone - Even U.S. Citizens." The Intercept (June 21, 2019)
Jayyousi, Sara. "What I Lost (and Can Never Get Back) When My Father Was in Guantanamo North." Common Dreams (May 10, 2019)
Jindia, Shilpa. "Psychologists Vote Not to Return to Guantanamo Amid Heated Debate Over Torture Legacy." The Intercept (August 9, 2018)
Kelly, Kathy. "Forty-One Hearts are Still Beating in Guantanamo." The Progressive (January 11, 2018)
Margulies, Joseph. Guantánamo and the Abuse of Presidential Power. Simon and Schuster, 2006.
Mayer, Jane. The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How a War on Terror Turned Into a War On Ideals. Anchor Books, 2009.
McGovern, Ray. "Excusing Torture, Again." Antiwar (January 8, 2013)
The Power of Nightmares (BBC: Adam Curtis, 3 part documentary series, 2004: 157 mins)
---. "Ten Years after 9/11: War, Operation American Condor (Guantanamo) , Civil Liberties and Hope." Law and Disorder Radio (July 25, 2011)
Ridley, Yvonne. "Bush Convicted of War Crimes in Absentia." Foreign Policy Journal (May 12, 2012)
Slahi, Mohamedo Ould. Guantánamo Diary. Hachette, 2015.
Sorkin, Amy Davidson. "Another 9/11 Anniversary at Guantanamo, Amid Hurricane Irma." The New Yorker (September 1, 2017)
Stallone, Dana. "Will US Officials Face Charges for Afghan War Crimes?" The Crime Report (August 2, 2019)
Taub, Ben. "Guantánamo's Darkest Secret." The New Yorker (April 15, 2019) ["The U.S. military prison’s leadership considered Mohamedou Salahi to be its highest-value detainee. But his guard suspected otherwise."]
Tomorrow, Tom. "Does Guantanamo Exist?" The Nation (April 30, 2013)
Warren, Vincent. "Accounting for a Decade of Global War." TruthOut (March 13, 2014)
---. "Will Trump’s AG Pick William Barr Face Questions over Gitmo, Mass Incarceration & NSA Surveillance?" Democracy Now (January 15, 2019)
"Who's Still Held at Guantanamo?" Miami Herald (August 24, 2016)
Williams, Margot. "At Guantanamo Bay, Torture Apologists Take Refuge in Empty Code Words and Euphemisms." The Intercept (January 29, 2020)
Worthington, Andy. "Author of The Guantanamo Files; The Stories of the 774 Detainees in America's Illegal Prison." KBOO (May 29, 2008)
---. The Guantanamo Files The Stories of the 774 Detainees in America's Illegal Prison. Pluto Press, 2007.
Monday, December 9, 2019
Dialogic Cinephilia - December 9, 2019
Abofum, Pablo, et al. "Taking to the Streets in Chile and Around the World to Protest Neoliberalism." Best of the Left #1317 (November 5, 2019) ["Today we take a look at the many protests ongoing around the world with a very strong through-line of demands to reverse austerity, lessen inequality, and improve public services, all hallmarks of neoliberal economic policies."]
Benton, Michael. 20th Century World Cinema (3) Letterboxd (Future Course Plan)
---. "Ideological Becoming (An Introduction)." Ideological Becoming (December 3, 2019)
---. "Navigating the New World." North of Center (December 4, 2019)
Deighan, Sam and Kat Ellinger. "I Saw What You Did: The Latter Films of William Castle." Daughters of Darkness #28 (December 17, 2018) ["Kat and Samm are back at long last to discuss the final films of beloved producer and director William Castle. Though he’s generally celebrated for gimmicky horror classics like The Tingler (1959) and House on Haunted Hill (1959), in this episode, they’re going to explore some of his underrated later titles and recurring themes. This includes films like The Night Walker (1964), a surreal affair starring screen legend Barbara Stanwyck, and the subject of Castle’s collaborations with renowned actresses like Stanwyck and Joan Crawford. Other topics include his children’s thrillers like I Saw What You Did (1965), and Castle’s sensitive use of teenage girl protagonists, and the brilliant and sadly neglected Shanks (1974). This beautiful, thoroughly creepy film was Castle’s final directorial effort and is a rare collaboration with the great Marcel Marceau, so it gets some long overdue love in this episode."]
Golden, Janet, et al. "Winning the messaging war for a just, moral health care system." Best of the Left #1316 (November 1, 2019)
Hasan, Mehdi. "The Noam Chomsky Interview." Deconstructed (October 31, 2019) ["Legendary linguist, activist, and political theorist Noam Chomsky has been speaking out against U.S. interventionism from Vietnam to Latin America to the Middle East since the 1960s. He’s the most cited author alive, but you won’t see him on the nightly news or in the pages of most major newspapers. On this week’s Deconstructed, Chomsky sits down with Mehdi Hasan to discuss the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump, the 2020 Democratic field, and why he opposed Trump’s Syria troop withdrawal."]
Koski, Genevieve, et al. "Twisty Mysteries, Pt. 1 - Chinatown." The Next Picture Show #174 (April 30, 2019) ["In David Robert Mitchell’s new UNDER THE SILVER LAKE, every clue leads deeper down a rabbit hole toward an endpoint that doesn’t seem to have anything to do with the beginning point. In a film as referential as Mitchell’s, that structure seems purposefully lifted from Roman Polanski’s 1974 classic CHINATOWN, another sunlit noir about a private investigator who starts with a simple philandering case and winds up peeking into a secret battle for control of the city. In this half of our pairing of the two films, we dig into CHINATOWN’s legacy and how to reconcile it with the Polanski Problem, examine how its story and performances diverge from the noir tradition, and consider whether its twisty mystery ultimately lands in a satisfying place."]
---. "Twisty Mysteries, Pt. 2 - Under the Silver Lake." The Next Picture Show #175 (May 7, 2019) ["David Robert Mitchell’s wandering, shaggy, endlessly referential UNDER THE SILVER LAKE isn’t nearly as tightly plotted as Roman Polanski’s CHINATOWN, one of its many cinematic reference points, but it’s just as stark and cynical about both human nature and its Los Angeles setting. In this half of our pairing of twisty, paranoid LA mysteries, we dig into whether UNDER THE SILVER LAKE is a movie that can be solved, or a movie that mocks attempts to solve it, before bringing in CHINATOWN to see how these two films approach conspiracies and paranoia, L.A. as a setting and symbol, and women and their would-be saviors."]
Benton, Michael. 20th Century World Cinema (3) Letterboxd (Future Course Plan)
---. "Ideological Becoming (An Introduction)." Ideological Becoming (December 3, 2019)
---. "Navigating the New World." North of Center (December 4, 2019)
Deighan, Sam and Kat Ellinger. "I Saw What You Did: The Latter Films of William Castle." Daughters of Darkness #28 (December 17, 2018) ["Kat and Samm are back at long last to discuss the final films of beloved producer and director William Castle. Though he’s generally celebrated for gimmicky horror classics like The Tingler (1959) and House on Haunted Hill (1959), in this episode, they’re going to explore some of his underrated later titles and recurring themes. This includes films like The Night Walker (1964), a surreal affair starring screen legend Barbara Stanwyck, and the subject of Castle’s collaborations with renowned actresses like Stanwyck and Joan Crawford. Other topics include his children’s thrillers like I Saw What You Did (1965), and Castle’s sensitive use of teenage girl protagonists, and the brilliant and sadly neglected Shanks (1974). This beautiful, thoroughly creepy film was Castle’s final directorial effort and is a rare collaboration with the great Marcel Marceau, so it gets some long overdue love in this episode."]
Golden, Janet, et al. "Winning the messaging war for a just, moral health care system." Best of the Left #1316 (November 1, 2019)
Hasan, Mehdi. "The Noam Chomsky Interview." Deconstructed (October 31, 2019) ["Legendary linguist, activist, and political theorist Noam Chomsky has been speaking out against U.S. interventionism from Vietnam to Latin America to the Middle East since the 1960s. He’s the most cited author alive, but you won’t see him on the nightly news or in the pages of most major newspapers. On this week’s Deconstructed, Chomsky sits down with Mehdi Hasan to discuss the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump, the 2020 Democratic field, and why he opposed Trump’s Syria troop withdrawal."]
Koski, Genevieve, et al. "Twisty Mysteries, Pt. 1 - Chinatown." The Next Picture Show #174 (April 30, 2019) ["In David Robert Mitchell’s new UNDER THE SILVER LAKE, every clue leads deeper down a rabbit hole toward an endpoint that doesn’t seem to have anything to do with the beginning point. In a film as referential as Mitchell’s, that structure seems purposefully lifted from Roman Polanski’s 1974 classic CHINATOWN, another sunlit noir about a private investigator who starts with a simple philandering case and winds up peeking into a secret battle for control of the city. In this half of our pairing of the two films, we dig into CHINATOWN’s legacy and how to reconcile it with the Polanski Problem, examine how its story and performances diverge from the noir tradition, and consider whether its twisty mystery ultimately lands in a satisfying place."]
---. "Twisty Mysteries, Pt. 2 - Under the Silver Lake." The Next Picture Show #175 (May 7, 2019) ["David Robert Mitchell’s wandering, shaggy, endlessly referential UNDER THE SILVER LAKE isn’t nearly as tightly plotted as Roman Polanski’s CHINATOWN, one of its many cinematic reference points, but it’s just as stark and cynical about both human nature and its Los Angeles setting. In this half of our pairing of twisty, paranoid LA mysteries, we dig into whether UNDER THE SILVER LAKE is a movie that can be solved, or a movie that mocks attempts to solve it, before bringing in CHINATOWN to see how these two films approach conspiracies and paranoia, L.A. as a setting and symbol, and women and their would-be saviors."]
Sunday, December 8, 2019
Slurring Bee #30
Also need 15 absurd/quirky warm up questions
1st Round: warm-up question followed by a word
2nd Round: 3 words in succession for each contestant
3rd Round: Round-robin until we have a winner (keep track of last three - the order they come in)
3 mispelled words and a contestant is out
Pronouncer Information 1. Read carefully the Judges, Recorders, Spellers and Audiences information that is included in the Scripps pronouncers’ guide. 2. Familiarize yourself with all words on the confidential word list. Pronunciation is important. A meeting with the judges to insure pronunciation of words and procedures will be scheduled prior to the Bee beginning. 3. Speak clearly for contestants, judges and audience alike. Grant all requests to repeat a word until the judges agree that the word has been made reasonably clear to the speller. You may request the speller to speak more clearly or louder. 4. “Pace” yourself. You need time to focus attention on the pronunciation of the new word and the judges need a few moments between each contestant to do their tasks.
1st Round: warm-up question followed by a word
2nd Round: 3 words in succession for each contestant
3rd Round: Round-robin until we have a winner (keep track of last three - the order they come in)
3 mispelled words and a contestant is out
Pronouncer Information 1. Read carefully the Judges, Recorders, Spellers and Audiences information that is included in the Scripps pronouncers’ guide. 2. Familiarize yourself with all words on the confidential word list. Pronunciation is important. A meeting with the judges to insure pronunciation of words and procedures will be scheduled prior to the Bee beginning. 3. Speak clearly for contestants, judges and audience alike. Grant all requests to repeat a word until the judges agree that the word has been made reasonably clear to the speller. You may request the speller to speak more clearly or louder. 4. “Pace” yourself. You need time to focus attention on the pronunciation of the new word and the judges need a few moments between each contestant to do their tasks.
Speller’s Information 1. Each speller needs to focus on the Pronouncer, to aid his or her hearing and understanding of the context of the word. A speller may ask for the word to be repeated, for its use in a sentence, for a definition, for the part of speech, and for the language of origin. 2. Each speller should pronounce the word before and after spelling it. If the speller fails to pronounce the word after spelling it, the judge may ask if they are finished. If they say yes, the judge will remind the speller to remember to repeat the word the next time. (No speller will be eliminated for failing to pronounce a word.) 3. When a speller is at the podium spelling, the next speller should be standing at a marked location ready to proceed to the podium.
618) predicament
619) concurrent
620) inequity
621) repartee
622) mediterranean
623) nuance
624) officious
625) loquacious
626) carouse
627) technocratic
628) hyperbole
629) contentious
630) incarceration
631) troglodyte
632) numen
633) acquiesce
634) asparagus
635) vexillogy
636)
More:
Slurring Bee #2
618) predicament
619) concurrent
620) inequity
621) repartee
622) mediterranean
623) nuance
624) officious
625) loquacious
626) carouse
627) technocratic
628) hyperbole
629) contentious
630) incarceration
631) troglodyte
632) numen
633) acquiesce
634) asparagus
635) vexillogy
636)
More:
Slurring Bee #2
Saturday, November 30, 2019
Dialogic Cinephilia - November 30, 2019
Baker-White, Emily. "Police Attitudes in Plain View." Criminal Injustice #106 (September 3, 2019) ["Many people make their social media posts public. Everyone can see them, like a signed billboard visible anywhere in the world. So, what should we think when we learn that *some* police officers, in some departments, have been posting racist messages or memes endorsing violence, visible to anyone on the Internet? "]
Benton, Michael.
The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee NewitzMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Daughters of Harriet (after anti-slavery abolitionist and political activist Harriet Tubman) are time-traveling scholars who are engaged in an edit-war (in which small edits in the timeline can change the direction of the future) with the reactionary, misogynistic Comstockers (after the odious, self-righteous, anti-vice activist Anthony Comstock) who seek the total subjugation or erasure of that which is different. A rip-roaring, fun read that literally spans the history of multiple timelines that is sure to provoke reflection on the nature of history, the importance of what we think & do as individuals, the power of collective action (and thought), and the reverberations of seemingly minor events.
View all my reviews
Estes, Nick. "Our History Is the Future: Lakota Historian Nick Estes on Thanksgiving & Indigenous Resistance." Democracy Now (November 28, 2019)
Harris, David A. "The Attack on Elected District Attorneys." Criminal Injustice (September 7, 2019) ["As reform-minded elected prosecutors gain power across the U.S., they’re increasingly coming under fire from their federal counterparts — most recently, an anti-democratic tirade by U.S. Attorney Bill Barr, who attacked progressive district attorneys for doing what voters elected them to do."]
---. "Progressive Prosecutors Slapped Again." Criminal Injustice (September 24, 2019) ["A crime summit held recently in St. Louis was a virtual who's-who of high ranking city and state government officials. Conspicuously absent from the gathering were the progressive, African American district attorneys of St. Louis and Kansas City, who were excluded despite having been elected to the top law enforcement post in Missouri's two largest cities. We look at the latest in a trend of anti-democratic attacks on reformist elected prosecutors."]
West, Stephen. "John Dewey and Walter Lippman on Democracy." Philosophize This #130 (May 23, 2019)
Zha, Carl, et al. "Hong Kong Protests (Where Colonialism meets Neoliberalism)." Best of the Left #1314 (October 25, 2019) ["Today we take a look at the complicated range of forces driving the protests in Hong Kong that span the ideological spectrum."]
Tuesday, November 26, 2019
Dialogic Cinephilia - November 26, 2019
Adkins, Ashleigh. "The Joker: “When Laughter and Medicine Fail the Psyche." Letterboxd (October 25, 2019)
Antoon, Sinan. "Anti-Government Protests Have Led to “Reclaiming of Iraqi Identity.”" Democracy Now (November 26, 2019) ["In Iraq, more than 340 people have died since anti-government protests began in early October. More than 15,000 Iraqis have been injured. Tires were set on fire Monday and main roads and bridges were blocked in the cities of Basra and Nassiriya. Over the weekend, security forces opened fire on civilians in Baghdad and other cities. Demonstrators are protesting corruption and lack of jobs and basic services, including clean water and electricity. In Baghdad, many university students are taking part in the demonstrations. To talk more about the protests in Iraq we are joined by the Iraqi poet, novelist, translator, and scholar Sinan Antoon. He was born and raised in Baghdad and his most recent novel is titled, “The Book of Collateral Damage.” “What’s really important is the reclaiming of Iraqi identity and a new sense of Iraqi nationalism that transcends the sectarian discourse that was institutionalized by the United States in 2003,” Antoon says."]
Benton, Michael Dean. Around the World in 15 Films (11) Letterboxd (Future Film Course Plan)
Blackmon, Douglas A., et al. "Mass Incarceration." Throughline (August 15, 2019) ["The United States imprisons more people than any other country in the world, and a disproportionate number of those prisoners are Black. What are the origins of the U.S. criminal justice system and how did racism shape it? From the creation of the first penitentiaries in the 1800s, to the "tough-on-crime" prosecutors of the 1990s, how America created a culture of mass incarceration."]
Douglas A. Blackmon: Journalist/History/Slavery/Mass Incarceration Dialogic Cinephilia (Ongoing Archive)
Gino, Francesca. "You 2.0: Rebel with a Cause." Hidden Brain (August 9, 2019) ["This week, we'll follow Gino on her mission to understand the minds of successful rule breakers. What are their secrets? And how can we discover our own rebel talent? "I think we really need to shift our thinking," says Gino. "Rebels are people who break rules that should be broken. They break rules that hold them and others back, and their way of rule breaking is constructive rather than destructive. It creates positive change.""]
Grandin, Greg. "The Border Patrol Has Been a Cult of Brutality Since 1924." The Intercept (January 12, 2019)
Antoon, Sinan. "Anti-Government Protests Have Led to “Reclaiming of Iraqi Identity.”" Democracy Now (November 26, 2019) ["In Iraq, more than 340 people have died since anti-government protests began in early October. More than 15,000 Iraqis have been injured. Tires were set on fire Monday and main roads and bridges were blocked in the cities of Basra and Nassiriya. Over the weekend, security forces opened fire on civilians in Baghdad and other cities. Demonstrators are protesting corruption and lack of jobs and basic services, including clean water and electricity. In Baghdad, many university students are taking part in the demonstrations. To talk more about the protests in Iraq we are joined by the Iraqi poet, novelist, translator, and scholar Sinan Antoon. He was born and raised in Baghdad and his most recent novel is titled, “The Book of Collateral Damage.” “What’s really important is the reclaiming of Iraqi identity and a new sense of Iraqi nationalism that transcends the sectarian discourse that was institutionalized by the United States in 2003,” Antoon says."]
Benton, Michael Dean. Around the World in 15 Films (11) Letterboxd (Future Film Course Plan)
Blackmon, Douglas A., et al. "Mass Incarceration." Throughline (August 15, 2019) ["The United States imprisons more people than any other country in the world, and a disproportionate number of those prisoners are Black. What are the origins of the U.S. criminal justice system and how did racism shape it? From the creation of the first penitentiaries in the 1800s, to the "tough-on-crime" prosecutors of the 1990s, how America created a culture of mass incarceration."]
Douglas A. Blackmon: Journalist/History/Slavery/Mass Incarceration Dialogic Cinephilia (Ongoing Archive)
Gino, Francesca. "You 2.0: Rebel with a Cause." Hidden Brain (August 9, 2019) ["This week, we'll follow Gino on her mission to understand the minds of successful rule breakers. What are their secrets? And how can we discover our own rebel talent? "I think we really need to shift our thinking," says Gino. "Rebels are people who break rules that should be broken. They break rules that hold them and others back, and their way of rule breaking is constructive rather than destructive. It creates positive change.""]
Grandin, Greg. "The Border Patrol Has Been a Cult of Brutality Since 1924." The Intercept (January 12, 2019)
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Dialogic Cinephilia - November 20, 2019
Benton, Michael Dean. " Even the Rain / También la lluvia directed by Icíar Bollaín." #Crucial21DbW (August 7, 2019)
Berryhill, Katarina. "Normality is a Modern Fallacy." Dialogic Cinephilia (November 18, 2019)
Estes, Nick. "Standing Rock and the History of Indigenous Resistance in America." BackStory (September 6, 2019) ["In 2016, protests broke out at Standing Rock – a reservation in North and South Dakota – to block the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. Indigenous peoples and other activists opposed the pipeline because they believed it violated sacred sites and threatened to contaminate the Missouri River, a major source of drinking water in the region. Taking social media by storm, the #noDAPL movement quickly became an international headline. On this episode, Nathan sits down with historian and activist Nick Estes to talk about his experience at Standing Rock, the history of Indigenous resistance, and the current state of the Dakota Access Pipeline. Estes’ new book is called Our History is the Future: Standing Rock versus the Dakota Access Pipeline and the Long Tradition of Indigenous Resistance."]
Frank, Justin. "Dr. Justin Frank Explains the Real Reason that Donald Trump Hates the Ukraine Scandal Whistleblower." The Chauncey DeVega Show #254 (October 2, 2019) ["Dr. Justin Frank is a former clinical professor of psychiatry at the George Washington University Medical Center and a physician with more than 40 years of experience in psychoanalysis. He is the author of the bestselling books Bush on the Couch and Obama on the Couch. His newest book is Trump on the Couch. Dr. Frank's work has appeared in Time magazine and the Daily Beast and he has appeared as an expert commentator and guest on MSNBC, CNN, PBS and other outlets. Dr. Justin Frank explains what does Donald Trump's behavior in response to the Ukraine Scandal and his likely impeachment reveal about the president's core character and psyche? He also explores if there are any limits on what Donald Trump could potentially do in response to his feeling threatened and afraid by the House Democrats' impeachment investigation and the possibility that -- however slim -- he may be removed from office by the United States Senate? And what are the real reasons why Donald Trump hates and wants to destroy the Ukraine whistleblower?"]
Serwer, Adam. "Trump's White Nationalist Vanguard." The Atlantic (November 18, 2019) ["The emails of a key presidential aide show an extremist ideology influencing policy in the White House."]
"Access to healthcare is a spiritual issue, deeply rooted in a compassionate world view. Currently, in America, more than 40 million people are uninsured and millions more have insurance with such a high deductible that they cannot afford to use it. It is estimated that 22,000 Americans die prematurely every year because of a lack of access to healthcare. Why can't we cover everyone? Why do we spend twice as much as every other western democracy while getting less than France, Belgium, England, etc.? Why are politicians on both sides of the political spectrum seemingly in the pocket of healthcare insurance and pharmaceutical companies . . . and why are most churches silent about this travesty?"
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
Katarina Berryhill: Normality is a Modern Fallacy
Katarina Berryhill
Professor Michael Benton
English 102
16 October 2019
Normality is a Modern Fallacy
Trying to define normal or normality, may seem a simple enough task. The Webster dictionary defines normal as “conforming to a type, standard, or regular pattern” or “according with, constituting, or not deviating from a norm, rule, or principle” (“Normal”). However, upon further inspection of the word, it becomes clear just how vague this definition really is. That’s just speaking in terms of the dictionary definition of normal, but society also has a definition of what normal is. Picture the ideal American life; heterosexuality, college education, a neurotypical mind, able-bodied, marriage, Judeo Christianity, kids, a nine to five job, and most likely being white is thrown in there as well. Seems like this is the most often portrayal of normal, as proposed by the media and society at least. Then where does that leave everyone else, everyone else who for one reason or another doesn’t tick the box on one or maybe even all of these societal concepts of normal. In fact, the argument could be made that the vast majority of Americans, don’t fit this model of normal at all. Thus, causing the majority of people to be considered, in some way at least, abnormal. By that ideology then, what society presses as normal is actually abnormal, or so it would seem. To better understand normal though, it’s important to look at and understand where the concept itself truly comes from and how American society has come to perceive normal as it now does. In Peter Cryle and Elizabeth Stephens book Normality: A Critical Genealogy, the authors do just that, by exploring the origin of the term normal and its transformation from its initial emergence in society as a scientific term to what the modern-day conception of the term means and how it has come to be used. It is also important to understand just how harmful the idea of normal can be to the modern-day person. By examining where the term normal comes from, understanding that normal means something different for everyone, addressing the outdated use of the term normal and its negative effects on people, realizing that most people aren’t normal by society's standards, and showcasing that if people did not deviate from the norm we wouldn’t have a progression of society, then one can deduce how the concept of normality is a modern-day fallacy.
The history of the term normal, although not a very long history, is an interesting one. Though this is not the focus of the argument being presented, it is important to take a look at and to understand where exactly this term normal comes from. The origins of the term normal and it’s first emergence can be found in the mid-eighteenth century as a mathematical term used solely in geometry (Cryle and Stephens 3). It is important to remember, that this use of the word normal, has no connection to how the term is used in the modern-day. Even at this point, the term normal was only used as a not so common alternative expression for a perpendicular line (Cryle and Stephens 3). Somewhere around a hundred years after its initial emergence, the term normal begins to surface again, but this time in the world of science. This next place of emergence is seen around 1820 in French anatomy, around this time the term normal somewhat begins to take on its more modern-day meaning (Cryle and Stephens 3). Roughly ten years later the term normal begins to emerge in the field of physiology as well, and we see the use of the term normal state (Cryle and Stephens 26). It’s important to understand that, although the term normal is coming into use during this time, it is still not considered a commonplace term, it’s usage is very much confined to the scientific fields and not until 1848 is the term normal even added to the Oxford English Dictionary (Cryle and Stephens 4). As Cryle and Stephens further explore the history surrounding the term normal through the fields of science, a change begins to occur in how the term is used and its commonality. There comes an important moment in the history of normal where the shift from the use of normal, or normality, as a specifically scientific term makes its way into the social world. Francis Galton, the founder of the study of eugenics, used his statistical findings to apply the idea of normal, not only to the biological but also to the social (Mooney). This shift gave way to the more modern-day concept we have of what it means to be normal, as this, more socially focused concept of what it means to be normal came about in the twentieth century. Now that a brief history of where society even got its concept of normal has been touched on, the focus can now turn to the effects it has had on society.
Even as society began to cultivate its ideas about what it meant to be normal, there was still evidence that even those who may be perceived as normal, weren’t as normal as they seemed. As studies of human sexuality began to emerge and hold a place in society, it became very apparent that sexual deviance was more commonplace than many may have been willing to admit. Sigmund Freud highlighted this point in his research on sexology and even himself pointed out that it really wasn’t possible for anyone to be completely normal (Cryle and Stephens 275). “The Typical American: Male and Female” created by the artist Henry Kitson and Theodora Ruggles in 1893, based on taking the average measurements of physical dimensions from the general population thus generating this “ideal” male and female form (Cryle and Stephens 294). These statues which were meant to exemplify what the ideal human body should be wasn’t even universally accepted as ideal. Not to mention, these figures presented the ideal as a white male and female, excluding the very real and present demographic of Americans that were not white. This idea of excluding nonwhite Americans from the studies of what was normal isn’t a radical proposition and in fact, something that many twentieth-century cultural researchers purposefully excluded, as many researchers felt including nonwhite Americans would muddy the outcomes of their findings (Cryle and Stephens 306). It is apparent that even in its early stages of conceptual development, that the idea of normal can be argued against. There is no possible way that a society can hold an idea of normal for its population when the idea itself isn’t even achievable. When normality became the “ideal”, whether that be for the physical, mental, or social standard people were being held to, it seems society forgot that the ideal wasn’t anything humans were capable of achieving. These ideas of normal that began to sink their teeth into everyday life and arguably began to have lasting negative effects on those who did not conform to its ideals.
Throughout the history of the term normal and its eventual presence in modern culture, the negative effects it has had on people can be seen. As previously, discussed the erasure of nonwhite groups from cultural studies and presenting an ideal body that wasn’t even achievable are just a few instances of the ways these present ideas have harmed people. To understand that more, it’s necessary to look at the rise of Galton’s study of eugenics, of which the goal is to eradicate any abnormalities within the human race and ultimately create the ideal person. These ideas were targeted at anyone who was not mentally, physically or ethically sound by the standards of those who believed they knew what normal or the ideal really was (Cryle and Stephens 312). Now, this point is not meant to say that every person who believes in the idea of normality wants to do away with anyone who doesn’t fit this ideal person, but it is important to understand how it plays a role in what society believes to be normal. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, roughly 4.6 million adults in America lived with a form of mental illness in the year 2017 (“Mental Health”). That isn’t even factoring in the number of Americans that live with some form of a physical disability, which according to The United States Census Bureau, roughly 56.7 million people suffered from some form of disability in 2010 (US Census Bureau). That then brings up the idea of what it means to be ethically sound, or morally sound, in the context of eugenics this would most likely refer to an old belief that criminal traits are inherently biological and can be passed down genetically from parents to children (Cryle and Stephens 312). Roughly 2.3 million Americans are currently incarcerated in the United States and about 3.6 million are on probation according to Prison Policy (Sawyer and Wagner). When you add all the numbers up of the people who are mentally ill, physically disabled, and have "deviant" criminal behaviors that gives you roughly 67.2 million Americans that according to eugenics, are unfit for society and in a sense should be eradicated. It’s easy to see how damaging this idea of normal, as proposed by eugenics, has affected American society as a whole. In order to create the ideal race, people must be done away with or hidden in the shadows out of the public eye. In fact, it was in the 1920’s that the Supreme Court ruled to allow people to forcibly be sterilized against their will if they had been deemed unfit by either their caregivers or the institution they were held at, a ruling which to this day has not been overturned by the Supreme Court (Kielty et al). The argument can be made that some people do not have the capacity to take care of themselves and therefore do not have the capacity to take care of a child, and that argument has some standing in truth, however, what a slippery slope it is, because for some their fear isn’t that people are incapable, rather, it is a fear that if they procreate, it will bring more people like them into the world. It becomes clear how the introduction of eugenics into society has helped shape the idea of what we consider to be normal, and just how damaging and harmful that idea can be for the people who for one reason or another do not fit into the concept of normal.
While many eugenicists took their inspiration from Charles Darwin, who was Francis Galton’s cousin, it seems many of them missed one of Darwin’s major points in his "theory of evolution." That the beauty of humanity and human evolution lies within the variation of the species (Kielty et al). When society attempts to put everyone into a small confined box and exclude the people it doesn’t deem good enough, it begins eliminating the idea of variation. Imagine life if everyone you met was the exact same, no differentiation in physical appearance between male and female, all from the exact same background, no difference in sexuality and no difference in opinion or world view. Society at that point would be at a standstill, there would be no moving forward and no emergence of new ideas or thought processes. What a miserable existence that would be. Societal ideas of normality, even from their beginnings have been outdated and aren’t applicable to what humanity is truly made of.
Ultimately, this idea of normality that has become so commonplace in the day to day lives of many people in American society, isn’t even an idea that has much foundation to stand upon. From its initial conception in the realm of geometry to its progression into the realms of science and later into society, the concept of normal has been questioned and argued against. Being normal isn’t something humans were meant to be and its not even a thing we can achieve. By adopting these ideas of normal and accepting them as gospel truths, society starts out casting and alienating people from the one thing every human belongs to, humanity. Variety and abnormality are what gives people their humanness, and to presume that these are inherently wrong traits based on an essential made-up concept, does nothing to promote human evolution and growth. Maybe some people do fit into this idea, and that isn’t inherently wrong, but society must rewire the way it sees normality and begin to understand that there truly is no such thing as a normal person, even if someone may appear so on the outside. All of these points help to conclude that the idea of normality, is, in fact, a modern-day fallacy.
Works Cited
Cryle, Peter Maxwell, et al. Normality: A Critical Genealogy. The University of Chicago Press, 2017
Foucault, Michel, (2004) 'Je suis un artificier'. In Roger-Pol Droit (ed.), Michel Foucault, entretiens. Paris: Odile Jacob, p. 95. (Interview conducted in 1975. This passage trans. Clare O'Farrell).
Kielty, Matt, et al. “Radiolab.” Radiolab, WNYC Studios, 17 July 2019, https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/articles/g-unfit.
“Mental Illness.” National Institute of Mental Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/mental-illness.shtml.
Mooney, Jonathan. “How, Exactly, Did We Come Up with What Counts As 'Normal'?” Literary Hub, 12 Aug. 2019, https://lithub.com/how-exactly-did-we-come-up-with-what-counts-as-normal/.
\
“Normal.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/normal.
Sawyer, Wendy, and Peter Wagner. “Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2019.” Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2019 | Prison Policy Initiative, 19 Mar. 2019, https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2019.html.
US Census Bureau Public Information Office. “Nearly 1 in 5 People Have a Disability in the U.S." U.S. Census Bureau, 19 May 2016: https://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/miscellaneous/cb12-134.html
Professor Michael Benton
English 102
16 October 2019
Normality is a Modern Fallacy
“...if you are not like everybody else, then you are abnormal, if you are abnormal, then you are sick. These three categories, not being like everybody else, not being normal and being sick are in fact very different but have been reduced to the same thing”
― Michel Foucault
Trying to define normal or normality, may seem a simple enough task. The Webster dictionary defines normal as “conforming to a type, standard, or regular pattern” or “according with, constituting, or not deviating from a norm, rule, or principle” (“Normal”). However, upon further inspection of the word, it becomes clear just how vague this definition really is. That’s just speaking in terms of the dictionary definition of normal, but society also has a definition of what normal is. Picture the ideal American life; heterosexuality, college education, a neurotypical mind, able-bodied, marriage, Judeo Christianity, kids, a nine to five job, and most likely being white is thrown in there as well. Seems like this is the most often portrayal of normal, as proposed by the media and society at least. Then where does that leave everyone else, everyone else who for one reason or another doesn’t tick the box on one or maybe even all of these societal concepts of normal. In fact, the argument could be made that the vast majority of Americans, don’t fit this model of normal at all. Thus, causing the majority of people to be considered, in some way at least, abnormal. By that ideology then, what society presses as normal is actually abnormal, or so it would seem. To better understand normal though, it’s important to look at and understand where the concept itself truly comes from and how American society has come to perceive normal as it now does. In Peter Cryle and Elizabeth Stephens book Normality: A Critical Genealogy, the authors do just that, by exploring the origin of the term normal and its transformation from its initial emergence in society as a scientific term to what the modern-day conception of the term means and how it has come to be used. It is also important to understand just how harmful the idea of normal can be to the modern-day person. By examining where the term normal comes from, understanding that normal means something different for everyone, addressing the outdated use of the term normal and its negative effects on people, realizing that most people aren’t normal by society's standards, and showcasing that if people did not deviate from the norm we wouldn’t have a progression of society, then one can deduce how the concept of normality is a modern-day fallacy.
The history of the term normal, although not a very long history, is an interesting one. Though this is not the focus of the argument being presented, it is important to take a look at and to understand where exactly this term normal comes from. The origins of the term normal and it’s first emergence can be found in the mid-eighteenth century as a mathematical term used solely in geometry (Cryle and Stephens 3). It is important to remember, that this use of the word normal, has no connection to how the term is used in the modern-day. Even at this point, the term normal was only used as a not so common alternative expression for a perpendicular line (Cryle and Stephens 3). Somewhere around a hundred years after its initial emergence, the term normal begins to surface again, but this time in the world of science. This next place of emergence is seen around 1820 in French anatomy, around this time the term normal somewhat begins to take on its more modern-day meaning (Cryle and Stephens 3). Roughly ten years later the term normal begins to emerge in the field of physiology as well, and we see the use of the term normal state (Cryle and Stephens 26). It’s important to understand that, although the term normal is coming into use during this time, it is still not considered a commonplace term, it’s usage is very much confined to the scientific fields and not until 1848 is the term normal even added to the Oxford English Dictionary (Cryle and Stephens 4). As Cryle and Stephens further explore the history surrounding the term normal through the fields of science, a change begins to occur in how the term is used and its commonality. There comes an important moment in the history of normal where the shift from the use of normal, or normality, as a specifically scientific term makes its way into the social world. Francis Galton, the founder of the study of eugenics, used his statistical findings to apply the idea of normal, not only to the biological but also to the social (Mooney). This shift gave way to the more modern-day concept we have of what it means to be normal, as this, more socially focused concept of what it means to be normal came about in the twentieth century. Now that a brief history of where society even got its concept of normal has been touched on, the focus can now turn to the effects it has had on society.
Even as society began to cultivate its ideas about what it meant to be normal, there was still evidence that even those who may be perceived as normal, weren’t as normal as they seemed. As studies of human sexuality began to emerge and hold a place in society, it became very apparent that sexual deviance was more commonplace than many may have been willing to admit. Sigmund Freud highlighted this point in his research on sexology and even himself pointed out that it really wasn’t possible for anyone to be completely normal (Cryle and Stephens 275). “The Typical American: Male and Female” created by the artist Henry Kitson and Theodora Ruggles in 1893, based on taking the average measurements of physical dimensions from the general population thus generating this “ideal” male and female form (Cryle and Stephens 294). These statues which were meant to exemplify what the ideal human body should be wasn’t even universally accepted as ideal. Not to mention, these figures presented the ideal as a white male and female, excluding the very real and present demographic of Americans that were not white. This idea of excluding nonwhite Americans from the studies of what was normal isn’t a radical proposition and in fact, something that many twentieth-century cultural researchers purposefully excluded, as many researchers felt including nonwhite Americans would muddy the outcomes of their findings (Cryle and Stephens 306). It is apparent that even in its early stages of conceptual development, that the idea of normal can be argued against. There is no possible way that a society can hold an idea of normal for its population when the idea itself isn’t even achievable. When normality became the “ideal”, whether that be for the physical, mental, or social standard people were being held to, it seems society forgot that the ideal wasn’t anything humans were capable of achieving. These ideas of normal that began to sink their teeth into everyday life and arguably began to have lasting negative effects on those who did not conform to its ideals.
Throughout the history of the term normal and its eventual presence in modern culture, the negative effects it has had on people can be seen. As previously, discussed the erasure of nonwhite groups from cultural studies and presenting an ideal body that wasn’t even achievable are just a few instances of the ways these present ideas have harmed people. To understand that more, it’s necessary to look at the rise of Galton’s study of eugenics, of which the goal is to eradicate any abnormalities within the human race and ultimately create the ideal person. These ideas were targeted at anyone who was not mentally, physically or ethically sound by the standards of those who believed they knew what normal or the ideal really was (Cryle and Stephens 312). Now, this point is not meant to say that every person who believes in the idea of normality wants to do away with anyone who doesn’t fit this ideal person, but it is important to understand how it plays a role in what society believes to be normal. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, roughly 4.6 million adults in America lived with a form of mental illness in the year 2017 (“Mental Health”). That isn’t even factoring in the number of Americans that live with some form of a physical disability, which according to The United States Census Bureau, roughly 56.7 million people suffered from some form of disability in 2010 (US Census Bureau). That then brings up the idea of what it means to be ethically sound, or morally sound, in the context of eugenics this would most likely refer to an old belief that criminal traits are inherently biological and can be passed down genetically from parents to children (Cryle and Stephens 312). Roughly 2.3 million Americans are currently incarcerated in the United States and about 3.6 million are on probation according to Prison Policy (Sawyer and Wagner). When you add all the numbers up of the people who are mentally ill, physically disabled, and have "deviant" criminal behaviors that gives you roughly 67.2 million Americans that according to eugenics, are unfit for society and in a sense should be eradicated. It’s easy to see how damaging this idea of normal, as proposed by eugenics, has affected American society as a whole. In order to create the ideal race, people must be done away with or hidden in the shadows out of the public eye. In fact, it was in the 1920’s that the Supreme Court ruled to allow people to forcibly be sterilized against their will if they had been deemed unfit by either their caregivers or the institution they were held at, a ruling which to this day has not been overturned by the Supreme Court (Kielty et al). The argument can be made that some people do not have the capacity to take care of themselves and therefore do not have the capacity to take care of a child, and that argument has some standing in truth, however, what a slippery slope it is, because for some their fear isn’t that people are incapable, rather, it is a fear that if they procreate, it will bring more people like them into the world. It becomes clear how the introduction of eugenics into society has helped shape the idea of what we consider to be normal, and just how damaging and harmful that idea can be for the people who for one reason or another do not fit into the concept of normal.
While many eugenicists took their inspiration from Charles Darwin, who was Francis Galton’s cousin, it seems many of them missed one of Darwin’s major points in his "theory of evolution." That the beauty of humanity and human evolution lies within the variation of the species (Kielty et al). When society attempts to put everyone into a small confined box and exclude the people it doesn’t deem good enough, it begins eliminating the idea of variation. Imagine life if everyone you met was the exact same, no differentiation in physical appearance between male and female, all from the exact same background, no difference in sexuality and no difference in opinion or world view. Society at that point would be at a standstill, there would be no moving forward and no emergence of new ideas or thought processes. What a miserable existence that would be. Societal ideas of normality, even from their beginnings have been outdated and aren’t applicable to what humanity is truly made of.
Ultimately, this idea of normality that has become so commonplace in the day to day lives of many people in American society, isn’t even an idea that has much foundation to stand upon. From its initial conception in the realm of geometry to its progression into the realms of science and later into society, the concept of normal has been questioned and argued against. Being normal isn’t something humans were meant to be and its not even a thing we can achieve. By adopting these ideas of normal and accepting them as gospel truths, society starts out casting and alienating people from the one thing every human belongs to, humanity. Variety and abnormality are what gives people their humanness, and to presume that these are inherently wrong traits based on an essential made-up concept, does nothing to promote human evolution and growth. Maybe some people do fit into this idea, and that isn’t inherently wrong, but society must rewire the way it sees normality and begin to understand that there truly is no such thing as a normal person, even if someone may appear so on the outside. All of these points help to conclude that the idea of normality, is, in fact, a modern-day fallacy.
Works Cited
Cryle, Peter Maxwell, et al. Normality: A Critical Genealogy. The University of Chicago Press, 2017
Foucault, Michel, (2004) 'Je suis un artificier'. In Roger-Pol Droit (ed.), Michel Foucault, entretiens. Paris: Odile Jacob, p. 95. (Interview conducted in 1975. This passage trans. Clare O'Farrell).
Kielty, Matt, et al. “Radiolab.” Radiolab, WNYC Studios, 17 July 2019, https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/articles/g-unfit.
“Mental Illness.” National Institute of Mental Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/mental-illness.shtml.
Mooney, Jonathan. “How, Exactly, Did We Come Up with What Counts As 'Normal'?” Literary Hub, 12 Aug. 2019, https://lithub.com/how-exactly-did-we-come-up-with-what-counts-as-normal/.
\
“Normal.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/normal.
Sawyer, Wendy, and Peter Wagner. “Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2019.” Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2019 | Prison Policy Initiative, 19 Mar. 2019, https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2019.html.
US Census Bureau Public Information Office. “Nearly 1 in 5 People Have a Disability in the U.S." U.S. Census Bureau, 19 May 2016: https://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/miscellaneous/cb12-134.html
Wednesday, November 13, 2019
Dialogic Cinephilia - November 13, 2019
Anania, Billy. "The Cop-Attacking Chilean Dog Who Became a Worldwide Symbol of Protest." Hyperallergic (November 5, 2019) ["The recent uprising in Chile is full of references to the beloved Negro Matapacos, who accompanied protestors for many years. As his legend spreads, so too do images of the good boy."]
Gibson, Bradley. "Snowflake." Film Threat (January 24, 2019)
Howard, Ted and Marjorie Kelly. "The Making of a Democratic Economy." Building Bridges (October 1, 2019) ["The Making of a Democratic Economy with Ted Howard, co-founder of the Democracy Collaborative, and Marjorie Kelly, author of The Divine Right of Capital, and Owning our Future have teamed up to co-author The Making of a Democratic Economy, a clarion call for a movement ready to get serious about transforming our economic system. The authors illuminate the principles of a democratic economy through the stories of on-the-ground community wealth builders and their unlikely accomplices in the halls of institutional power. Their book is a must read for everyone concerned with how we win the fight for an economy that’s equitable, not extractive."]
Teachout, Zephyr. "America's Lost Anti-Corruption History." On the Media (April 26, 2019) ["This week, the Treasury Department missed a second deadline to hand over the president’s tax returns to House Democrats. The White House directed its former head of personnel security to not adhere to a congressional subpoena to answer questions about the administration’s handling of security clearances. And on Monday the commander-in-chief sued his own accounting firm and Elijah Cummings, the Democratic chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, to block the committee from accessing his past financial records. As the Washington Post reported earlier this week, the lawsuit “amounts to Trump — the leader of the executive branch of government — asking the judicial branch to stop the legislative branch from investigating his past.” But so much lies in Trump’s past, and the nation’s. According to Zephyr Teachout, author of Corruption in America, this was never what America's founders envisioned when they set out to fight corruption. In 2017, a few weeks after the inauguration, Brooke spoke with Teachout about the overwhelming passion for anti-corruption present at the founding of the nation, the "bright line" rules it inspired, and how we have drifted so far from our original understanding of the concept."]
"We Need to Talk About Rape." Language: A Feminist Guide (October 25, 2019)
West, Stephen. "Dewey and Lippman on Democracy. Philosophize This #130 (May 23, 2019)
Wildridge, Cam. "The Dangers of Categorizing Trans Desire." Lady Science (September 25, 2019)
Gibson, Bradley. "Snowflake." Film Threat (January 24, 2019)
Howard, Ted and Marjorie Kelly. "The Making of a Democratic Economy." Building Bridges (October 1, 2019) ["The Making of a Democratic Economy with Ted Howard, co-founder of the Democracy Collaborative, and Marjorie Kelly, author of The Divine Right of Capital, and Owning our Future have teamed up to co-author The Making of a Democratic Economy, a clarion call for a movement ready to get serious about transforming our economic system. The authors illuminate the principles of a democratic economy through the stories of on-the-ground community wealth builders and their unlikely accomplices in the halls of institutional power. Their book is a must read for everyone concerned with how we win the fight for an economy that’s equitable, not extractive."]
Teachout, Zephyr. "America's Lost Anti-Corruption History." On the Media (April 26, 2019) ["This week, the Treasury Department missed a second deadline to hand over the president’s tax returns to House Democrats. The White House directed its former head of personnel security to not adhere to a congressional subpoena to answer questions about the administration’s handling of security clearances. And on Monday the commander-in-chief sued his own accounting firm and Elijah Cummings, the Democratic chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, to block the committee from accessing his past financial records. As the Washington Post reported earlier this week, the lawsuit “amounts to Trump — the leader of the executive branch of government — asking the judicial branch to stop the legislative branch from investigating his past.” But so much lies in Trump’s past, and the nation’s. According to Zephyr Teachout, author of Corruption in America, this was never what America's founders envisioned when they set out to fight corruption. In 2017, a few weeks after the inauguration, Brooke spoke with Teachout about the overwhelming passion for anti-corruption present at the founding of the nation, the "bright line" rules it inspired, and how we have drifted so far from our original understanding of the concept."]
"We Need to Talk About Rape." Language: A Feminist Guide (October 25, 2019)
West, Stephen. "Dewey and Lippman on Democracy. Philosophize This #130 (May 23, 2019)
Wildridge, Cam. "The Dangers of Categorizing Trans Desire." Lady Science (September 25, 2019)
Sunday, November 10, 2019
Slurring Bee #29
Also need 15 absurd/quirky warm up questions
1st Round: warm-up question followed by a word
2nd Round: 3 words in succession for each contestant
3rd Round: Round-robin until we have a winner (keep track of last three - the order they come in)
3 mispelled words and a contestant is out
Pronouncer Information 1. Read carefully the Judges, Recorders, Spellers and Audiences information that is included in the Scripps pronouncers’ guide. 2. Familiarize yourself with all words on the confidential word list. Pronunciation is important. A meeting with the judges to insure pronunciation of words and procedures will be scheduled prior to the Bee beginning. 3. Speak clearly for contestants, judges and audience alike. Grant all requests to repeat a word until the judges agree that the word has been made reasonably clear to the speller. You may request the speller to speak more clearly or louder. 4. “Pace” yourself. You need time to focus attention on the pronunciation of the new word and the judges need a few moments between each contestant to do their tasks.
1st Round: warm-up question followed by a word
2nd Round: 3 words in succession for each contestant
3rd Round: Round-robin until we have a winner (keep track of last three - the order they come in)
3 mispelled words and a contestant is out
Pronouncer Information 1. Read carefully the Judges, Recorders, Spellers and Audiences information that is included in the Scripps pronouncers’ guide. 2. Familiarize yourself with all words on the confidential word list. Pronunciation is important. A meeting with the judges to insure pronunciation of words and procedures will be scheduled prior to the Bee beginning. 3. Speak clearly for contestants, judges and audience alike. Grant all requests to repeat a word until the judges agree that the word has been made reasonably clear to the speller. You may request the speller to speak more clearly or louder. 4. “Pace” yourself. You need time to focus attention on the pronunciation of the new word and the judges need a few moments between each contestant to do their tasks.
Speller’s Information 1. Each speller needs to focus on the Pronouncer, to aid his or her hearing and understanding of the context of the word. A speller may ask for the word to be repeated, for its use in a sentence, for a definition, for the part of speech, and for the language of origin. 2. Each speller should pronounce the word before and after spelling it. If the speller fails to pronounce the word after spelling it, the judge may ask if they are finished. If they say yes, the judge will remind the speller to remember to repeat the word the next time. (No speller will be eliminated for failing to pronounce a word.) 3. When a speller is at the podium spelling, the next speller should be standing at a marked location ready to proceed to the podium.
609) gelato
610) undulate
611) fraught
612) aphorism
613) oligarchy
614) algorithm
615) morass
616) conspicuous
617) locus
618)
610) undulate
611) fraught
612) aphorism
613) oligarchy
614) algorithm
615) morass
616) conspicuous
617) locus
618)
Extra: Slurring Bee #24
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