We live in the best of times in which we are able to learn about the world and its incredible diversity of cultures/beings/places/perspectives in a way never historically possible. We live in the worst of times when we are able to isolate ourselves completely from anything different from our own narrow view/conception of the world/reality. The choice is yours!
---. "What is the Point of Equality?"Ethics 109.2 (1999): 287 - 337. ["What has gone wrong here? I shall argue that these problems stem from a flawed understanding of the point of equality. Recent egalitarian writing has come to be dominated by the view that the fundamental aim of equality is to compensate people for undeserved bad luck-being born with poor native endowments, bad parents, and disagreeable personalities, suffering from accidents and illness, and so forth. I shall argue that in focusing on correcting a supposed cosmic injustice, recent egalitarian writing has lost sight of the distinctively political aims of egalitarianism. The proper negative aim of egalitarian justice is not to eliminate the impact of brute luck from human affairs, but to end oppression, which by definition is socially imposed. Its proper positive aim is not to ensure that everyone gets what they morally deserve, but to create a community in which people stand in relations of equality to others."]
Heller, Nathan. "The Philosopher Redefining Equality."The New Yorker (January 7, 2019) ["Elizabeth Anderson thinks we’ve misunderstood the basis of a free and fair society."]
Ford, Phil and J.F. Martel. "On Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut."Weird Studies #30 (October 14, 2018) ["No dream is ever just a dream. Or so Tom Cruises tells Nicole Kidman at the end of Eyes Wide Shut. In this episode, Phil and JF expound some of the key themes of Kubrick's film, a masterpiece of cinematic chamber music that demonstrates, with painstaking attention to detail, Zen Master Dōgen's utterance that when one side of the world is illuminated, the other side is dark. Treading a winding path between wakefulness and dream, love and sex, life and art, your paranoid hosts make boldly for that secret spot where the rainbow ends, and the masks come off."]
"Orson Welles, Part One."Director's Club #137 (October 22, 2017) ["In this episode the Director's Club tries to grasp the enormity of the works of Orson Welles. It's an extended look at the creative audacity that led to so much artistic triumph and career tragedy, and to make sense of it we include a look at his pre-film life and the many cinema endeavors that sadly never made it to the film screen. In part 1 we look at his start working for the movie studios, from his epic "Citizen Kane" through his take on Shakespeare's "Macbeth"."]
"Orson Welles, Part Two."Director's Club #138 (November 7, 2017) ["The Director's Club finish our epic look at epic auteur Orson Welles, who managed to continue creating some amazing film moments despite becoming mostly exiled from the Hollywood studio system. In Part II we look from his takes on Shakespeare with "Othello" and "Chimes At Midnight", through his acidic noir "Touch of Evil", to his 'deconstructumentary' film "F for Fake", and along the way talk about his many unfinished films (one of which may see the light of day yet). His work proved so inspiring we not only looked to compare them to the efforts of Jacques Tati and Alfred Hitchcock, but had to invent words to describe some characters and even hairstyles in his movies! Hope we were able to bring across the brazenly enthusiastic creativity to be found in Orson Welles' films!"]
"Sofia Coppola."Director's Club (August 20, 2017) ["In this episode, the Director's Club looks at the films of Sofia Coppola (a.k.a., "The Good One"), whose movies had a dreamlike feeling of melancholy isolation, level of visual composition, and focus on young womanhood that was evident from the start of her career. We're joined in our journey through her film work (that takes us from L.A. to Tokyo to Versailles to the Civil War South) by Rebecca Martin, an ultra-promoter of film appreciation in the Chicago area and host of Now Playing Network's "Fresh Perspective.""]
Normally when teaching this class in person I would wax poetic on the philosophical nature of cinema and the way it can open up greater understandings of the multiplicities of ways humans perceive (seeing) reality (the world) & the multitudinous possibilities for humans to express and live their identities (being in the world). This is why I appreciate and love cinema (cinephilia - I am a cinephile).
So, I don't want to bury you in just written texts, lets also delve into cinema as cinema, through cinematic criticism that works like film/movies. In that spirit I am putting together an ongoing archive of 'video essays' on film/filmmaking/film viewing/film criticism. I am also including some key documentaries available online free-of-charge and key publications/podcasts.
I want you to watch films that you will enjoy and it is also my hope that you will also choose films that will challenge you. What we are doing is exercising our mind, but just as importantly we are exercising our imaginations, and with anything at first it can be awkward, or even painful, but as we engage in the art/practice we become more accomplished and our world expands and we find great joy in doing it.
This is an ongoing conversation about cinema and we will become a part of that discussion.
Accented Cinema. "How Tony Leung Acts With His Eyes." (Posted on Youtube: August 12, 2021) ["It's truly a shame that Tony Leung isn't more popular in the mainstream western audience. It's not everyday you get an actor who's both an acting legend, and a sex icon. Today, I want to take a brief look at some of Tony Leung's starring roles, and help you appreciate his craft of acting."]
Acidemic [The film criticism blog of Erich Kuersten. Has a focus on the wild & surreal. Essential: The CinemArchetypes links on the right hand side.]
Adam Nayman (Toronto-based, writes for The Ringer and Cinema, and teaches Cinema Studies at University of Toronto and Ryerson University)
Ajram, Sofia. "Monstrum Montreal Time-Loop Lecture." Personal Website (November 2019) [On the Time-Loop genre through the films of Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead.]
The Alliance of Women Film Journalists ["The Alliance of Women Film Journalists, Inc. (AWFJ), was founded in 2006 by Jennifer Merin, Maitland McDonagh, Joanna Langfield and Jenny Halper. We were incorporated as a not-for-profit charitable organization in New York State in October, 2006. Our members are highly qualified professional female movie critics, reporters and feature writers working in print, broadcast and online media. Members are required to meet AWFJ membership criteria. Our purpose is to amplify the voices of women critics, provide a platform for the expression of women’s perspectives on film and support work by and about women – both in front of and behind the cameras – through intra-group promotional activities, outreach programs and by presenting the annual EDA Awards in recognition of outstanding accomplishments (the best and worst) by and about women in the movies."]
American Cinematographer [American Society of Cinematographers and American Cinematographer website.]
American Nightmare(USA: Adam Simon, 2000: 71 mins)[Amy Lynn on Amazon: "This is a documentary about horror films and their impact on the world between 1968-1979. We get to hear the points of views of the directors of some of the most frightening classic horror films ever made. ... Tobe Hooper, John Carpenter, David Cronenberg, John Landis, Wes Craven, George Romero and more. We get an in depth look at the politics and upheaval of the 60's and 70's and how they influenced ... the horror genre..."]
Angelica Jade Bastién. [Chicago based critic, self described on her twitter profile: "critic, @vulture. madwoman. southern broad. one hell of a dame. she/her."]
Animus [London: "Animus is a magazine with a specific idea of what cinema could and should be, one that is rooted in an engagement with cinema as an art of form, ideas, and imagination — therefore as an art which, while building on its past and in a state of constant becoming, is always turned towards the future. As long as it can be imagined, cinema will never end." - Elena Laszic."]
Another Gaze [Feminist film journal founded in 2016]
Artforum: Film [Film criticism from the art publication]
Artifice [Stockholm, Sweden: "The Artifice is an online magazine that covers a wide spectrum of art forms. It operates independently with the writers collaboratively building and maintaining the platform. Instead of recycling the same entertainment news stories or publishing commonplace editorials, The Artifice focuses on unique topics that are intellectually stimulating and meaningful."]
A.S. Hamrah [Brooklyn film critic and writer for The Baffler]
---. "The Sensual World of Claire Denis."Little White Lies (April 15, 2019) ["Filtering the cinematic landscape of this master filmmaker through the five senses."]
---. "The Role of the Film Experience in Embodied Writing." Sensing, Moving, Thinking & Writing. Kendall Hunt, 2015: 61 - 89. [I have a PDF of this, if you are interested - just ask.]
Beyond the Screenplay [Podcast: “Lessons from the Screenplay” creator Michael Tucker and the LFTS team do deeper dives into the storytelling of individual movies and chat with the creatives behind those films."]
Bloody Women [UK: "Bloody Women is a horror film journal committed to platforming viewpoints on horror cinema, TV and culture by women and non-binary writers."]
Bright Wall/Dark Room ["Bright Wall/Dark Room offers a different lens on film & television: no hot takes, no clickbait, no “content,” no ads. We’re an online magazine devoted to exploring the relationship between movies and the business of being alive."]
Caligari [Los Angeles: "A periodical of cinema, arts, and letters."]
Caméra Stylo [University of Toronto: "Our goal is to curate a selection of exemplary undergraduate student work that contributes to the study of cinema and visual media, and encourage a variety of academic submissions in the form of either visual or text-based argument."]
Changing Reels ["Changing Reels is a bi-weekly podcast that celebrates diversity and representation in cinema. In each episode, host Courtney Small and a guest take a deep dive into a film and discuss its cultural significance."]
Cinephilia and Beyond [Croatian-based independent website dedicated to the world of film. One of the great in-depth film resources online.]
Cineuropa ["Cineuropa is the first European portal dedicated to cinema and audiovisual in 4 languages. With daily news, interviews, data bases, in-depth investigations into the audiovisual industry, Cineuropa aims at promoting the European film industry throughout the world."]
Clothes on Film [Christopher Laverty's website devoted to the art of costume design in film and television.]
Colins, K. Austin, et al. "Families on Film."The Film Comment Podcast (November 21, 2018) ["In marketing parlance, a “family film” has tended to mean an anodyne product, something that all could enjoy and that couldn’t possibly offend anyone. For our latest Film Comment Podcast, we’re taking our cue instead from movies actually about families, with all of the love, mundanity, and cringing horror left intact. That includes not only Shoplifters—a new release from that auteur of the comforts and complications of home, Hirokazu Kore-eda—but also the likes of Jodie Foster’s Home for the Holidays, Orson Welles’s The Magnificent Ambersons, Yasujiro Ozu’s Equinox Flower, and a couple more that may surprise you. Film Comment’s Michael Koresky was joined for this discussion by K. Austin Collins of Vanity Fair; Aliza Ma, head programmer of Metrograph; and Farihah Zaman, filmmaker and FC contributor."]
ContraPoints. "J.K. Rowling." (Posted on Youtube: January 26, 2021)
Criterion Confessions ["A survey of the Criterion Collection on DVD by Jamie S. Rich."]
Criterion Reflections [Podcast: David Blakeslee and guests view and discuss Criterion releases.]
Critics at Large ["Critics at Large publishes daily thought-provoking, independent criticism on all aspects of popular culture by an international group of writers. ... In an era when arts journalism is increasingly driven by careerism and conformity, we appeal to voyeurs of the arts rather than mere consumers."]
The Current [Online magazine attached to the Criterion Collection and the Criterion Channel]
De Fren, Allison. "Fembot in a Red Dress." (Posted on Vimeo: 2016) ["This video essay examines the cultural trope of the “lady in red” as it evolved from the genre of film noir to science fiction and from the human to the artificial female in a variety of film and television texts."]
Director's Club [Podcast: "Director's Club is a movie podcast with many bonus episodes, that centers around the work of one movie director per show."]
The Directors Cut [Director's Guild of America (DGA): "The Director's Cut will bring you the behind-the-scenes stories of today's most talked about films. Each episode features a different director interviewed by one of their peers, leading to revealing conversations about the grueling, but rewarding process of bringing their films to life."]
The Directors Series ["THE DIRECTORS SERIES is a podcast dedicated to appreciating and deconstructing the work of contemporary and classic film directors. In the show, we breakdown the careers of film directors like Christopher Nolan, Stanley Kubrick, Quentin Tarantino, David Fincher, The Coen Brothers, and Paul Thomas Anderson just to name a few. From their early works and short films to their blockbuster achievements and Oscar glory. The goal of the show to give the listener an insight into the film director's process and educate the next generation of filmmakers coming up. Hosted by Cameron Beyl."]
Dirty Movies ["Our mission is to create a platform to exhibit, to discuss and to promote courageous, audacious and innovative cinema made in all corners of the planet as broadly as possible, helping movies to inspire and bring about individual and social change to cinema professionals, cinema lovers and their respective communities. ... A ‘dirty movie’ is no ordinary movie: it challenges and breaks conventions. At DMovies, we believe that cinema stings, jars and provokes the viewer. Some films are gut-wrenching, leaving the audiences speechless and breathless. They experience pain and gratification at once. These films can also incur wrath, twist the viewer’s mind and even change the way they perceive and engage with the world. In short, some movies make people think. We call them dirty movies. These films challenge the perception that cinema is a mere entertainment tool. They make audiences face their own fears and demons, and the outcome isn’t always rosy. It often leaves audiences shaky and scarred, with a rancid taste in the mouth and a rank and offensive odour everywhere. It’s like a spiritual cleansing, an exorcism of the senses. You become a dirty person."]
Electric Ghost [United Kingdom: "Electric ghost is an independent online film publication dedicated to promoting film art wherever it’s found. We publish discerning analysis, undaunted polemics, personal meditations, and insightful interviews with talent across the breadth of moving-image creation and appreciation. Value is assigned based on our editorial principles and a shared belief
in serious, selective cultural criticism absent of dogma, cliché, market interests, or philistinism."]
Enelow, Shonni. "The Great Recession: Restrained but resilient, a style of acting has taken hold that speaks to an era’s anxieties."Film Quarterly (September-October 2016) ["This is another way to read the emotional withdrawal or refusal in these performances: as a response to a violent or chaotic environment, one that doesn’t offer an alternate vision of an open and embracing future. For even when representing an alienating or unfeeling world, actors of earlier eras generally appealed to the camera and their audiences to receive their feelings and implicitly trusted them to respond generously, either through vicarious sentiment or humanist compassion. Expressive acting—of which Method acting is one dominant form—is built on the conviction that audiences want an actor’s emotions to be in some way available to them. There’s a basic optimism in that conviction: the optimism that the world would be better if we all told each other the truth about what we feel. In contrast, many of today’s most lauded American film actors give performances that evince no such optimism about emotional expression. Returning to Winter’s Bone, for example, it’s clear that within the fiction of the film, Ree doesn’t trust the world to care about her well-being. But rather than contrast her character’s suspicion with an appeal to the (presumably) sympathetic film audience, Lawrence maintains her wariness throughout. Likewise, Mara doesn’t cut Lisbeth’s lowered gaze and near-inaudible, clipped speech with any revelation or outburst that would make us think she could be—or really is, deep down—other than she appears. There aren’t hidden motivations in these performances, and in fact, close to no subtext (the idea of subtext, with its inherently psychological schema, is parodied in Carol by a would-be writer who takes notes on the difference between what characters in movies say and what they really feel)."]
The Evolution of Horror ["The Evolution of Horror is a movie discussion podcast that covers scary movies old and new, from Universal Monsters to Exploitation, from Hitchcock to Ti West. Mike the host will be joined by different guest hosts each week, and will be covering anything and everything horror related, be looking at the way horror films have changed and evolved over the last hundred years."]
Faculty of Horror ["Tackling all things horror with a slash of analysis and research, horror journalists and occasional academics Andrea Subissati and Alexandra West are your hosts for brain-plumping discussions on all things that go bump in the night. Produced independently in Toronto, Ontario The Faculty of Horror is your best source for classic and contemporary horror film discussions that will haunt the libraries of your mind!"]
Father Son Holy Gore [St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada: "Overanalysing film since 2014."]
FilmNew Books Network [Podcast with authors discussing their new books on film and film culture]
Film Analysis 2.0 ["The Film Analysis Guide was developed to meet the needs of faculty and students at Yale University who are interested in becoming familiar with the vocabulary of film studies and the techniques of cinema. The user can either read the complete document or search out a particular topic of interest. — Related links within the Guide are provided as appropriate, as are links to film clips illustrating the topic or term in question."]
Film at Lincoln Center Podcast ["Film at Lincoln Center Podcast is our free weekly podcast that features in-depth conversations with filmmakers, actors, critics, and more. "]
Film Comment [New York City: "Founded in 1962, Film Comment has been the home of independent film journalism for over 50 years, publishing in-depth interviews, critical analysis, and feature coverage of mainstream, art-house, and avant-garde filmmaking from around the world. Today a bimonthly print magazine and a website published by Film at Lincoln Center, Film Comment is a nonprofit publication that relies on the support of readers. Its activities supporting film culture also include The Film Comment Podcast and regular events and talks at Film at Lincoln Center and beyond."]
The Film Comment Podcast ["The Film Comment Podcast is a weekly space for critical conversation about film, with a look at topical issues, new releases, and the big picture."]
Film Criticism [Michigan/Allegheny College in Meadville, PA: "Film Criticism is a peer-reviewed, online publication whose aim is to bring together scholarship in the field of cinema and media studies in order to present the finest work in this area, foregrounding textual criticism as a primary value. Our readership is academic, although we strive to publish material that is both accessible to undergraduates and engaging to established scholars. With over 40 years of continuous publication, Film Criticism is the third oldest academic film journal in the United States. We have published work by such international scholars as Dudley Andrew, David Bordwell, David Cook, Andrew Horton, Ann Kaplan, Marcia Landy, Peter Lehman, Janet Staiger, and Robin Wood. Equally important, FC continues to present work from emerging generations of film and media scholars representing multiple critical, cultural and theoretical perspectives. Film Criticism is an open access academic journal that allows readers to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, and link to the full texts of articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose except where otherwise noted."]
Film Freedonia [Roderick Heath - "I am a writer and live in New South Wales, Australia. My desire in film criticism has always been to celebrate the cinema in its diversity, to explore the pleasures and mystique of good movies, and to tackle the cultural resonance of film as both an art form and a vehicle of entertainment. I love to look for signs of creativity and commitment in even the most demeaned genres, and also dig as deeply as I can into the meaning and method behind cinema’s most important works."]
Filmmaker [A respected print and online magazine.]
Film Matters [I'm an editor for this journal. Talk to me if you are interested in working to get published. "Film Matters is an exciting film magazine, celebrating the work of undergraduate film scholars. It is published three times a year, by students and for students, and each issue contains feature articles, as well as a healthy reviews section. In addition, with an undergraduate audience in mind, Film Matters will include occasional service-oriented pieces, such as profiles of film studies departments, articles that engage the undergraduate film studies community and prepare students for graduate study in this field, and resources and opportunities that undergraduate scholars can pursue."]
Film of the Week [Catherine Bray and Guy Lodge: "Films we cover may be on general release in cinemas (although not so much at the moment). They might be newly available via streamers like Amazon Prime, BFI Player, Mubi and Netflix. They might be coming up on TV and/or available via traditional broadcasters like the BBC, Channel 4 or ITV and their online platforms, or non-traditional broadcasters like YouTube. We would love to cover more Blu-Ray releases. In short, we’re platform-neutral right now. Post-pandemic, we might focus a little more on cinema releases, but we’re aware that a lot of really great cinema reaches people via smaller screens and want to reflect that. We’re also genre-neutral. Films selected will be some or all of the following: films we thought were noteworthy, enjoyable, worth watching, talking points, entertaining, significant, films we’d recommend you see. They don’t have to be perfect, they don’t have to be masterpieces, and not only can they be from any genre, but we’ll actively be trying to represent a range of genres, since good cinema is always varied. We will be avoiding hate-watching and panning films. There’s a very valid place for negative critique in film journalism, especially for sites which comprehensively review everything, but with this site, we’re trying to highlight what we personally found worthwhile. Not every film will be a new release. We will tend to focus on new releases, but restorations or special screenings of older films we love are absolutely eligible."]
Filmosophy ["Our names are Jack and Paulina. We live in Scotland. We met through a love of the movies, and decided that we needed to share that with other people, and encourage more people to love movies too. Filmosophy is designed to do just that. To cultivate a love of cinema and engage with everyone we can, we knew we needed a platform other than our own Facebook profiles to do so. We knew we needed a dedicated site that could organically grow, change, and evolve with time. Filmosophy, therefore, is part blog, part academic resource, part fansite, part review hub, part community project, and all passion. Our writing about cinema is a reflection of this; each and every piece we post is for others to enjoy and hopefully to engage with. Discussion and differences of opinion are essential to life, and to appreciation of art. As such, our readers are the heart of this project, and always will be. ... On our site, for instance, you can find reviews of movies new and old, long-read articles that explore ideas and theories behind the films we watch, video essays about cinema, documentaries that we have made and produced, and up-to-date news about all things film."]
Film Quarterly ["Combining the best of scholarship and journalism since 1959, Film Quarterly publishes in-depth articles, reviews, and interviews on all aspects of cinema, media, and society—from film classics to emergent technologies. Film Quarterly is committed to advancing timely and intersectional approaches to the criticism and analysis of visual culture through exploring new perspectives on issues of diversity, race, gender, sexuality, and transnationalism."]
Film School Radio [Mike Kaspar's Southern California podcast: "Since 2006 showcasing the best in documentary, foreign and independent film. Listen to more than 1,500 interviews."]
Filmsite ["Tim Dirks created the popular filmsite.org website, aka Greatest Films, in mid-1996, and soon, it will celebrate its landmark 25th anniversary in 2021. He has been writing about and reviewing films on the site ever since. Tim originated Filmsite and has remained its sole contributor, manager, and editor - he adds significant content to the site spanning all the years of cinematic history, often writes blogs and other film-related articles, and has engaged in a number of on-camera interviews about film. ... The site includes rich reference material including Academy Awards history, film genres, film terms, film history by decade, trivia, and lots of lists of 'best' films, stars, scenes, quotes, resources, posters, etc."]
The Film Stage ["The Film Stage is your spotlight on cinema: a leading resource for independent and international cinema, including extensive film festival coverage, reviews, features, interviews, and podcasts, as well as the most essential, up-to-date news and trailers. The Film Stage was created by editor-in-chief Jordan Raup and managing editor Daniel Mecca in the fall of 2008 at University of Buffalo. We have since expanded with a home base now in New York City, and a team of writers from around the globe, covering premier festivals such as Cannes, Berlin, Venice, TIFF, Sundance, NYFF, Locarno, SXSW, and beyond year-round."]
Final Girls [Podcast for the collective: "The Final Girls are a UK based film collective exploring the intersections of horror film and feminism through curated screenings, programmes, zines and a podcast."]
Fipresci [The international federation of film critics.]
Flight, Thomas. "This is Atlanta - How Donald Glover Creates Social Commentary." (Posted on Youtube: May 22, 2018) ["An exploration of techniques Donald Glover and Hiro Murai use in the Childish Gambino music video "This is America" and TV show Atlanta to create unique social commentary."]
Foreign Correspondents: Deeper Into Hitchcock ["Two cinephiles and film scholars, Michał Oleszczyk and Sebastian Smoliński, engage in an in-depth discussion of every single Alfred Hitchcock movie in chronological order."]
Frameland [Netherlands: "Launched in 2017, Frameland set out to provide a podium for the cinematic roads less traveled. Where writers can turn in a piece about any subject from any era, with quality of writing being our only requirement. We believe film doesn’t stop at the classics or the modern masterpieces, and that as critics and creators we have an obligation to expand horizons, ours as well as yours. Though obscurity (either in hypothesis or film) is not a necessity, it is our preference. Our goal to maintain this level of autonomy comes at a price. Or the lack thereof. We keep our website clean from outside interference, we pay server costs out of our own pockets and allocate our dwindling spare time to update the site once a month, like a magazine. We run Frameland for the love of it and we hope it shows."]
Framing Media (formerly The Cinephiliacs) [Peter Labuza's podcast "Framing Media highlights new and innovative research in the field of moving image and sound studies. The name comes from Martin Scorsese's famous phrase, "Cinema is a matter of what's in the frame and what's out." We take this not just to be an issue of aesthetics, but technology, ideology, race, gender, and culture. Episodes focus on how media images—whether film, television, radio, new media, or beyond—are framed: the design and craft of what audiences see, the hidden stories of the labor and talent obscured outside it, and the histories of how frames are made, distributed, and exhibited."]
Gardener, Caden Mark, et al. "Trans Cinema Roundtable."The Film Comment Podcast (April 20, 2021) ["“A film that centers on a transgender person or storyline enters the culture like any other movie. The difference lies in the discourse around it.” So writes Caden Mark Gardner in a recent essay in the Criterion Collection’s online publication, the Current. “Trans people in movies are written and talked about as if they were abstract concepts, anomalies. For years, it’s been clear that very little attention is being paid (by filmmakers, critics, or marketers) to the ways in which a trans audience might see and react to these attempts at putting their lives in front of the camera, and the cisgender majority continues to control the conversation.” On this week’s episode, Film Comment editors Devika Girish and Clinton Krute brought together a roundtable of writers and artists who are reframing this conversation: critics Caden and Willow Maclay, and filmmakers Isabel Sandoval and Jessica Dunn Rovinelli. We asked the panel to respond to a number of excellent questions submitted by the Film Comment community, including: How does one define trans cinema? Are visibility and representation important, or should questions of labor be foregrounded? And which classic movies do our panelists consider to be “covertly” trans? The rich and wide-ranging conversation touched upon a number of movies—see below for links!"]
Hellbent for Horror ["S.A. Bradley is the host of the popular podcast Hellbent For Horror, exploring all things horror across books, film, comics, and music. Bradley has loved being scared by over 1,600 horror films."]
High on Films ["Cinema is the flickering light of entertainment that pierce through gloomy banality of life, an ounce of hope that pacifies the pain, a dropper full of dream that transcends deadening dimension of reality. Cinema has the power to make you high, but in the most positive and powerful way. In a way, where you get high but enlightened. ... HOF will not just review popular great films, but we will be also showcasing lesser known/almost unknown titles from across the globe from time to time. Our Lists will be elaborate, so if we list something as a good film, take it as a recommendation. High on Films is basically about film writing, so if there is anything in the world of movies worth writing about, we will definitely write it. High on Films is going to make sure that your cinematic ecstasy does not leave your system ever. Watch Movies. Get High. Tell us about it."]
Homos on Haunted Hill ["Join queer horror hosts Kevin and Chris for weekly film discussions celebrating outcasts and underdogs."]
Horror Pod Class ["Come meet Mike and Tyler, two high school teachers who absolutely love to talk and write about the horror genre! We also own and write for a website named Signal Horizon, where you can get the latest news, reviews, and analysis of works from the horror and dark science fiction genres!"]
IndieWire ["Since launching on July 15, 1996, IndieWire has grown into the leading news, information and networking site for independent-minded filmmakers, the industry and moviegoers alike. Originally conceived as an online forum and newsletter for filmmakers and festivals, IndieWire has grown over the last two decades into a preeminent source for film and television news, reviews, interviews, global festival coverage and more. Our mission has always been to create a platform to deliver news, information and other resources to creators and movie lovers, while facilitating a greater appreciation of independent filmmaking to the masses."]
InSession Film ["We are movie cinephiles and this website is dedicated to our love of art and film. Regardless of type or genre, art house or mainstream, whatever it may be, we love discussing and analyzing everything that is movies and film. You can hear us discuss a variety of topics on the InSession Film Podcast, whether it be reviews, lists or other film-related discussions. We also feature written reviews and other content throughout the site as well that we hope you enjoy as well."]
Ion Cinema ["IONCINEMA.COM aims at providing a critical, analytic approach to film journalism, and we are dedicated to providing a site that is rich in information, sharp in its dissection of the works discussed on the site and we hope to give “electrical charges” to the films and filmmakers that we feel you should include in your appreciation of the 7th art."]
Journal of Religion & Film ["The Journal of Religion & Film is a peer reviewed journal which is committed to the study of connections between the medium of film and the phenomena of religion, however those are defined. We encourage multiple approaches to the study of religion and film, including (but not limited to) the analysis of how religious traditions are portrayed in films; exploration of the religious concepts that may be found or utilized in the interpretation of films; study of how the religious ideals and background of the filmmakers may have influenced them; and analysis of how films themselves may operate “religiously” for viewers. We seek to create better understandings of both religion and film through the study of their mutual encounter and interactions."]
Kinoscope ["Kinoscope is an online platform dedicated to presenting films by established and emerging filmmakers. It praises a broad variety of cinematic works through curated streaming/VOD exhibition, live screenings and publications. Kinoscope aims to enhance the appreciation and understanding of film as an art form globally among diverse audiences."]
Larsen on Film ["Josh is the co-host of the radio show and podcast Filmspotting, author of Movies Are Prayers, and editor/producer for Think Christian, a website and podcast exploring faith and pop culture. He’s been writing and speaking about movies professionally since 1994."]
The Last Thing I Saw ["Writer-editor Nicolas Rapold talks with guests about the movies they've been watching. It's as simple as that. From home viewing to the latest from festivals. Named one of the 10 Best Film Podcasts by Sight & Sound magazine."]
---. "Explosive Paradox: On Platoon."The Cine-Files #15 (Fall 2020) ["The most mentioned video essay in the Best Video Essays of 2020 Survey conducted by Sight & Sound Magazine" - it is a reflection of his experiences watching Oliver Stone's 1986 movie Platoon in the theater with his family."]
---. "Annihilation: The Act of Creation." (Posted on Youtube: December 30, 2018) ["Every genre brings with it a set of expectations that shapes the kinds of stories it can tell and the themes it can explore, and science fiction is perhaps the best genre to openly explore fundamental ideas of existence. So in this video, we investigate how Annihilation takes biological, existential concepts and translates them into narrative elements. We explore how these are expressed in every element of the story, from the characters, to the environment, to the monsters that inhabit it. And we examine how subverting one of the fundamental elements of character creates an experience that is truly alien."]
---. "Get Out - A New Perspective in Horror." (Posted on Youtube: February 27, 2018) ["Get Out takes a situation that is universally relatable and adds a specific and unfamiliar protagonist. In doing so, the film unlocks new ways of creating tension and establishing trust."]
---. "Gone Girl: Don't Underestimate the Screenwriter." (Posted on Youtube: June 8, 2016) ["Gone Girl uses classic screenwriting techniques to tell its twisty, modern noir story. This video examines three of the techniques used by screenwriter Gillian Flynn to see how and why they work so well."]
---. "The Before Trilogy: Performing a Real Relationship." (Posted on Youtube: November 10, 2017) [I would easily include this trilogy in my best of cinema. The first time I saw Before Sunrise I was floored because I had never seen a film that captured the magic, mystery and mood of unplanned romance (I won't ruin the end for those that haven't seen it) in such a realistic way. The second and third film, made 9 years later each time, continues to defy the Hollywood/Hallmark co-optation of our romantic ideas. The collaboration of Richard Linklater (director/writer), Kim Krizan (co-writer), Ethan Hawke (actor/collaborator), and Julie Delpy (actor/collaborator), is a major achievement in collaborative filmmaking and escapes the stunt feel of the later unrelated Linklater film Boyhood. I've been dreaming of my film class next semester and how I could explore B. Ruby Rich's call to move past Hollywood's/America's singular focus on individualistic experience and maybe this could be the start from a masterpiece on an evolving dyad experience that avoids privileging one perspective and moving outward to more fully collective depictions. "A video essay exploring how Richard Linklater created one of the most unique portrayals of a real relationship in his Before Trilogy; consisting of Before Sunrise, Before Sunset and Before Midnight."]
---. "Fight Club: How (Not) to Become a Space Monkey." (Posted on Youtube: November 16, 2019) ["Video essay on Fight Club; examining how charismatic leaders like Tyler Durden turn men into Space Monkeys." Ernest Becker book The Denial of Death is used to formulate the critique/interpretation.]
---. "How Ken Burns Changed the Way We Look at History." (Posted on Youtube: September 15, 2017) ["An exploration of the academic validity and public value of the work of renowned documentarian Ken Burns. Content: 0:00 Introduction; 1:34 What is History?; 4:57 The Ken Burns Approach; 9:22 Bringing History to Life."Uses two books in its analysis: Ways of Knowing by Jonathan W. Moses and Torbjorn L. Knutsen, and What is History? by E.H. Carr.]
---. "The Myth of Heroic Masculine Purpose." (Posted on Youtube: February 28, 2022) ["A critical analysis of the myth of heroic masculine purpose, and its effect on men’s perception of manhood, and on their connection to others and to the world."]
---. "The New World: The Lost Art of Grief." (Posted on Youtube: September 29, 2017) ["An examination of sorrow and grief in Terrence Malick’s The New World based on Francis Weller’ The Wild Edge of Sorrow: Rituals of Renewal and the Sacred Work of Grief. North Atlantic Books: "The work of the mature person is to carry grief in one hand and gratitude in the other and be stretched large by them. Noted psychotherapist Francis Weller provides an essential guide for navigating the deep waters of sorrow and loss in this lyrical yet practical handbook for mastering the art of grieving. Describing how Western patterns of amnesia and anesthesia affect our capacity to cope with personal and collective sorrows, Weller reveals the new vitality we may encounter when we welcome, rather than fear, the pain of loss. Through moving personal stories, poetry, and insightful reflections he leads us into the central energy of sorrow, and to the profound healing and heightened communion with each other and our planet that reside alongside it. The Wild Edge of Sorrow explains that grief has always been communal and illustrates how we need the healing touch of others, an atmosphere of compassion, and the comfort of ritual in order to fully metabolize our grief. Weller describes how we often hide our pain from the world, wrapping it in a secret mantle of shame. This causes sorrow to linger unexpressed in our bodies, weighing us down and pulling us into the territory of depression and death. We have come to fear grief and feel too alone to face an encounter with the powerful energies of sorrow. Those who work with people in grief, who have experienced the loss of a loved one, who mourn the ongoing destruction of our planet, or who suffer the accumulated traumas of a lifetime will appreciate the discussion of obstacles to successful grief work such as privatized pain, lack of communal rituals, a pervasive feeling of fear, and a culturally restrictive range of emotion. Weller highlights the intimate bond between grief and gratitude, sorrow and intimacy. In addition to showing us that the greatest gifts are often hidden in the things we avoid, he offers powerful tools and rituals and a list of resources to help us transform grief into a force that allows us to live and love more fully."]
---. "The Perilous Journey of a Truly Beautiful Soul – Hacksaw Ridge." (Posted on Youtube: October 15, 2018) ["In the 19th century, Dostoevsky wrote The Idiot to explore the perilous journey of the truly beautiful soul. With Hacksaw Ridge, Mel Gibson set out to portray a similar journey; that of Desmond Doss, the first conscientious objector to win a medal of honor. This video dives deeper into this incredible story, examines its narrative structure, the qualities of its main character and reflects on the place of goodness and innocence in a violent world. Sources: K.M. Weiland – Creating Character Arcs"]
---. "The Philosophy of The Fountain – Escaping Our Mental Prisons." (Posted on Youtube: November 28, 2018) ["Revisiting The Fountain; this video essay pushes beyond the various interpretations of the plot to explore the deeper themes at the heart of Darren Aronofsky’s ambitious film." Books discussed: Ernest Becker – The Denial of Death; Eckhart Tolle – The Power of Now.]
---. "The Problem of Other Minds – How Cinema Explores Consciousness." (Posted on Youtube: May 31, 2018) ["How have films engaged the problem of other minds? In this video essay, I discuss cinematic explorations into consciousness in the context of the cognitive revolution that has challenged many of the basic assumptions about what was for a long time believed to be a uniquely human trait." Uses Frans de Waal's book Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?: "Hailed as a classic, Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? explores the oddities and complexities of animal cognition--in crows, dolphins, parrots, sheep, wasps, bats, chimpanzees, and bonobos--to reveal how smart animals really are, and how we've underestimated their abilities for too long. Did you know that octopuses use coconut shells as tools, that elephants classify humans by gender and language, and that there is a young male chimpanzee at Kyoto University whose flash memory puts that of humans to shame? Fascinating, entertaining, and deeply informed, de Waal's landmark work will convince you to rethink everything you thought you knew about animal--and human--intelligence."]
---. "Prometheus & Covenant: Building a Mythos of Savage Creation." (Posted on Youtube: October 27, 2017) ["On the road towards Alien: Awakening; this in-depth analysis explores how Prometheus and Covenant built a mythos of savage creation around one of the most iconic movie monsters."]
---. "What Makes a Great King? Exploring the Archetype of the King in Movies and Television." (Posted on Youtube: August 18, 2017) [MB: I think this has a great message about the leader role/archetype (not comfortable with the king thing, but I recognize it is an archetype) and only wish that it wasn't limited to just a discussion of masculine archetypes. Easily beats the ocean of facile business leadership books.From the author: "... Robert Moore and Douglas Gillette’s archetypes" in their book King, Warrior, Magician, Lover: Rediscovering the Archetypes of the Mature Masculine "are a very interesting way to analyze media and provide personal insights, similarly to Joseph Campbell’s related concept of the Hero’s Journey."]
The Magic Lantern ["Welcome to The Magic Lantern film podcast! We are your hosts, Ericca Long and Cole Roulain, and our show is devoted to sharing our enduring cinematic memories. Join us for an ongoing, informal discussion of the classic and contemporary films we love and what we love about them. If you've been looking for a podcast to explore old and new favorites with fellow film lovers, you've come to the right place."]
MAI: Feminism and Visual Culture ["MAI provides a free open-access publication forum for feminist scholars, writers, artists and activists who address visual culture at large. Our authors operate under the assumption that female experiences are never uniform. Just like in everyday life, in art and media multiple other markers of social difference always influence expressions of female, agency, perspective and identity."]
Matt Zoller Seitz [Archive of the film critics work on the Roger Ebert website.]
McGoff, Jessica. "My Mulholland: On Mulholland Drive."The Cine-Files #15 (Fall 2020) ["The second-most mentioned video essay in the Best Video Essays of 2020 Survey conducted by Sight & Sound Magazine" - it is a reflection on the impact David Lynch's 2001 movie Mulholland Drive had on the author at 13 and now.]
Mediático [School of Media, Arts and Humanities at the University of Sussex in Brighton, England: "Mediático is a collectively authored media and film studies blog, which showcases a diverse array of research, news, views and perspectives on Latin(o/a/x) American, Spanish and Portuguese media cultures. The site offers timely reactions to new media works and current developments as well as analysis of past works, while also reflecting on larger issues in television, film, radio, music, the Internet, print and any other media, always with a Latin American or Latino/a focus. Mediático’s open access ethos allows us to publish and curate original internationally produced research and make it available for free to a global audience with an immediacy rarely afforded by more traditional academic publishing avenues."]
Metrograph Journal [NYC, NY: Journal for "Metrograph is the ultimate place for movie enthusiasts to experience prestigious film and content. Metrograph represents a special, curated world of cinema, harkening back to the great New York movie theaters of the 1920s and the Commissaries of Hollywood Studio back lots, a world inhabited by movie professionals screening their work, taking meetings, watching films, and collaborating together."]
Michael Koresky [The film critic's archive of his column "Queer & Now & Then" and other writings at Filmmaker.]
Movie: A Journal of Film Criticism ["Movie: A Journal of Film Criticism is a refereed open access publication whose aim is to create a forum for the range of analysis, debate and discussion that only a journal devoted to a detailed film criticism can adequately provide. We are committed to publishing rigorous but accessible critical writing, at a variety of lengths, that is responsive to the detailed texture and artistry of film and television, old and new. We also welcome articles that illuminate concepts, analytical methods and questions in film aesthetics that are of significance to film criticism. The journal is published annually. Movie: A Journal of Film Criticism is a joint venture between the Universities of Warwick, Reading, and Oxford."]
The Next Picture Show ["A biweekly roundtable by the former editorial team of The Dissolve examining how classic films inspire and inform modern movies. Episodes take a deep dive into a classic film and its legacy in the first half, then compare and contrast that film with a modern successor in the second. Hosted and produced by Genevieve Koski, Keith Phipps, Tasha Robinson and Scott Tobias. Part of the Filmspotting family of podcasts."]
Notebook [Hosted by the streaming site MUBI: "Notebook is a daily, international film publication. Our mission is to guide film lovers searching, lost or adrift in an overwhelming sea of content. We offer text, images, sounds and video as critical maps."]
Nwonka, Clive James. "The Politics of Race in American Film."LSEUS Centre (Spring 2021) ["The Politics of Race in American Film is a limited podcast series from the LSE US Centre, hosted by Dr Clive James Nwonka, and released in the spring of 2021. Over five episodes this podcast explores what makes film such a powerful lens for understanding race, politics & society."]
Observations on Film Art [Website for the work of film critics David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson]
Offscreen ["Offscreen has been online since 1997, along with its French language sister journal Hors Champ. Based in Montréal, Offscreen is a wide-ranging film journal that covers film festivals, retrospectives, film forums, and both popular and more academic events. Part of our mandate is to cover the Montreal film scene, but within an international context. The scope of its content, and the type of material featured and promoted in Offscreen can be summarized as follows: 1) personal and independent film above big budget, formulaic film; 2) the under-represented (young, up and coming filmmakers); 3) films with creative design and broad social commitment; 4) local and Canadian films/filmmakers; 5) Asian and alternative cinemas (horror, exploitation, esoteric, experimental, documentary, etc.). Unlike most online journals that offer the brief review format, Offscreen features extensive interviews, in-depth festival coverage, and lengthy, well-researched essays. The latter is in line with the guiding editorial policy at Offscreen, which is to allow for the flexibility to feature rigorous, well-researched texts alongside material that does not fit into traditional scholarly formats (director interviews, film festival reports, DVD reviews, etc.). In short, our goal is to produce intelligent, thoughtful, and combative film criticism, analysis, discussion, and theory. We are driven to this end because we feel strongly that, within today’s image saturated info-entertainment landscape, cinema needs to be rigorously discussed in order to continue being an important voice of cultural and artistic expression well into the 21st century."]
One Hundred Years of Cinema. "1935: Triumph of the Will - The Power of Propaganda." (Posted on Youtube: January 21, 2018) ["Triumph of the Will is regarded as one of the most powerful propaganda pieces ever made, but how did the film advance the racist and anti-Semitic ideology of the Nazi party? What is the history of cinema as a tool of propaganda? Triumph of the Will is one of the most famous propaganda movies ever made. The films is a semi-documentary take on sixth annual National Socialist conference in Nuremberg in 1934, by director Leni Riefenstahl. It covers 4 days worth of speeches, parades and city wide celebration. It’s edited together out of hundreds of hours of footage, and it unveils the core message of the conference without commentary or inter title. Although it’s often praised as revolutionising the art of film propaganda, it actually adds very few techniques of its own, instead drawing on the decades of development in propaganda that came before. So lets take a look at the history of the propaganda film and how theses techniques were used by Riefenstahl to advance the Nazi Ideology."]
Open Culture [This site has regular posts on films and film culture. "Open Culture brings together high-quality cultural & educational media for the worldwide lifelong learning community. Web 2.0 has given us great amounts of intelligent audio and video. It’s all free. It’s all enriching. But it’s also scattered across the web, and not easy to find. Our whole mission is to centralize this content, curate it, and give you access to this high quality content whenever and wherever you want it."]
Performing ArtsNew Books Network (Ongoing Archive of interviews with authors on this subject)
Petkova, Savina. "Notebook Primer: Mermaid Cinema."Notebook (April 15, 2021) ["An introduction, via the aquatic creature's form, to the many films that feature mermaids."]
Philosophy in Film ["Philosophy seeks to address some of the most pressing questions in the fields of metaphysics, ethics, logic, mathematics, and aesthetics, among others. It is a subject of study that is both far-reaching and vitally important for our society. We turn to philosophy to contemplate our existence, purpose, and methods and practices for conducting our daily lives. Philosophy is also particularly applicable to film, as film can operate as a reflection or reproduction of humanity, or a visual story crafted with the intention of addressing philosophical questions. Philosophical theory and film theory are also intrinsically linked, as they both assess their respective subjects at the most fundamental levels. Philosophy in Film was created to merge these two subjects, and apply philosophical theories and methodology to the study and interpretation of individual films, directors, genres, film viewership, and the history of film production."]
Photogénie [Brussels, Belgium: "Photogénie combines a sense of wonderment with keen analyses. The connecting principle is the intense perception of cinema. The articles on this website – on films old and new, cinema past and present – don’t try and force this perception to fit preconceived frameworks, but endeavor to make the reader/viewer receptive to what films can make us see, in an attempt to put the allure of cinema into words."]
The Projection Booth [Mike White's podcast is consistently one of the best film podcasts and at 500+ episodes filled with long form, in-depth analysis of a impressively wide range of films, featuring guest critics and the actual filmmakers, this is a must listen for any cinephile.]
Projections ["Welcome to the Projections podcast - a dialogue about film and psychoanalysis, hosted by Sarah Kathryn Cleaver and Mary Wild. We focus on cinematic representations of the psyche - the inner life state that is difficult to express relying on language alone, but uniquely captured on film. The disciplines of psychoanalysis and cinema have long been explored side by side, and were formally established in the same year: 1895, when the Lumière brothers held their first film screening in a Paris Hotel, whilst Sigmund Freud and Joseph Breuer published ‘Studies in Hysteria’ in Vienna. Our favourite auteurs are Haneke, von Trier, Campion, Lynch, Kubrick, Arnold, Preminger, Cavani, Coppola and Polanski. We're obsessed with a variety of genres such as melodrama, documentary, horror, noir, biopics, cult and science fiction. We want to analyse movies relating to identity, philosophy, gender, surrealism, fashion, power, dreams, desire and sexuality. Film is a means to unlock the mysteries of the human mind... subscribe and follow our cinematic adventures into the unconscious..."]
Rappaport, Mark. "The Empty Screen or the Metaphysics of Movies." (Posted on Youtube: February 6, 2017) ["The screen is a neutral element in the film-going experience. Or is it? It projects dreams but is also the receptacle of our dreams. It’s the vehicle for delivering the image to an audience — but does it also watch the audience at the same time? Is it a complicitous membrane which audience members can penetrate and which interacts with the spectators, despite its seeming passivity? Maybe — to all of the above …"]
Reverse Shot ["Reverse Shot is a publication of the Museum of the Moving Image. The magazine was first formed in 2003 and was run independently by editors Michael Koresky and Jeff Reichert until September 2014, when they partnered with the Museum."]
Roger Ebert [Website run by Roger's widow Chaz and a collection of movie critics.]
Schonig, Jordan. "The Other Side of Digital Cinema: Tangerine and Digital Realism." (Posted on Youtube: September 6, 2021) ["This video essay examines what Nicholas Rombes's" in his book Cinema in the Digital Age "calls the "double logic of digital cinema," an emerging trend toward realism in a medium that is often associated with fantasy. The video examines the Dogme 95 movement as well as the film Tangerine (Baker, 2015)."]
---. "Speed Racer (2008), Cel Animation, and Animetism." (Posted on Youtube: July 28, 2021) ["Speed Racer (Wachowskis, 2008) isn't just a "cartoony" movie; it's also about cartoons. This video essay examines how the visual design of Speed Racer reflects on the technological processes behind the illusion of motion and cel animation. Specifically, the video looks at how Speed Racer's visual design reproduces what Thomas Lamarre calls "animetism," a style of representing motion specific to anime." Books discussed: Thomas Lamarre's The Anime Machine: A Media Theory of Animation.]
Scout Tafoya [Astoria, Queens, NY based film critic's video essay website.]
ScreenAnarchy ["Founded in September of 2004 with a great plan to write about the international, independent and cult film beloved by founder Todd Brown, but largely neglected by the online film community of the time, ScreenAnarchy has gone on to become an industry's leading resource for films from around the globe. ScreenAnarchy is one of the most read film websites in the entire world and has become daily reading for festival programmers, film producers, film buyers, and tens of thousands of fans every day who share Mr. Brown's belief that there's no point in talking about the same five films that every other site in the world is talking about."]
Screened. "What is an Allegorical Movie?" (Posted on Youtube: April 9, 2021) ["In our second Film Club theme we wanted to dive into the niche world of cinematic allegories. This literary device is a great tool to explore serval concepts in a more approachable manner. We will show how they are made and why by analyzing the following movies: Snowpiercer (2013) by Bong Joon-ho, The Lobster (2015) by Yorgos Lanthimos, and The Seventh Seal (1957) by Ingmar Bergman."]
Screening the Past [Australia: Screening the Past is concerned with: the history of photography, film, television and multimedia; the representation of history on/in these media; the role of these media in social history; the history and development of critical and theoretical analysis in these areas. It publishes material of interest to historians of film and media, to film and media scholars, to social historians interested in the place of film and media within general history, to film makers interested in the history of their craft or in representing history through their productions, to film and media librarians and archivists."]
See Hear [The hosts are in Australia, UK and Hong Kong: "See Hear is a monthly podcast dedicated to the discussion of musically themed films - narratives or documentaries."]
Senses of Cinema ["Senses of Cinema is an online journal devoted to the serious and eclectic discussion of cinema. We believe cinema is an art that can take many forms, from the industrially-produced blockbuster to the hand-crafted experimental work; we also aim to encourage awareness of the histories of such diverse forms. As an Australian-based journal, we have a special commitment to the regular, wide-ranging analysis and critique of Australian cinema, past and present. Senses of Cinema is primarily concerned with ideas about particular films or bodies of work, but also with the regimes (ideological, economic and so forth) under which films are produced and viewed, and with the more abstract theoretical and philosophical issues raised by film study. As well, we believe that a cinephilic understanding of the moving image provides the necessary basis for a radical critique of other media and of the global “image culture”. We are open to a range of critical approaches (auteurist, formalist, psychoanalytic, humanist…) and encourage contributors to experiment with different forms of writing (personal memoir, academic essay, journalistic report, poetic evocation…)."]
Seventh Row [Canadian podcast: "Visit Seventh Row to revel in the afterglow of outstanding, under-the-radar cinema. Through in-depth interviews and well-researched essays, we demystify the myriad technical choices behind films we love. Every three months, we release an ebook bringing together thoughtful criticism about a film, filmmaker or topic. There are no prerequisites to loving movies. We write for curious newcomers and experienced cinephiles, alike."]
Sheila O'Malley [Archive of her film criticism at Film Comment.]
"Special Dossier on Ema (PABLO LARRAÍN 2019)."Mediático (October 26, 2020) ["... we are delighted to publish an extensive and much-needed special dossier on Pablo Larraín’s Ema (2019), guest edited by Dunja Fehimović, that fills the critical lacunae left by English language press summations of the film. In six excellent and thought provoking posts that range from an exploration of the film’s political engagement and resonances in Larraín’s contemporary Chile and across Latin America, to Cuban audience reactions to its foregrounding of reggaeton, the authors of this special dossier situate Ema firmly within the very specific context of its cultural production."]
StudioBinder. "Denis Villeneuve & His Cinema of Ambiguity — Directing Styles Explained." (Posted on Youtube: April 6, 2020) ["Denis Villeneuve movies are made to confuse you. At every opportunity — in the story, in the cinematography, editing, and music, Villeneuve wants to keep you guessing. Watching Denis Villeneuve movies is to be placed in an environment of uncertainty. And that’s what makes them so interesting. In films like Enemy, Prisoners, Polytechnique, Blade Runner 2049, and Arrival, Villeneuve consistently creates awe and wonder with images and sounds we’ve never seen before. In Enemy, Adam (Jake Gyllenhaal) must confront the possibility that he is more than a single person. In Sicario, Kate (Emily Blunt) is pushed into the world of drug cartels by a tight-lipped company man (Josh Brolin) and a near-silent assassin (Benicio Del Toro). In Prisoners, Keller (Hugh Jackman) ventures into murky moral territory to find his kidnapped daughter. In Arrival, Louise (Amy Adams) and Ian (Jeremy Renner) are tasked with bridging the communication gap between beings from another dimension. In all these movies, the characters find themselves in new worlds without answers. In this video, we’ve cracked the code on Villeneuve’s love of ambiguity and we explain how his directing style works across 7 areas of focus including sound, color, production design, and more. Villeneuve creates movies that can be enigmatic but there’s no denying that he is a film artist in complete control of his medium. If you’re studying directing, cinematography, editing, or pursuing ANY career in filmmaking, there are a ton of lessons to be learned from Denis Villeneuve. This is the ultimate breakdown of Denis Villeneuve’s directing style."]
Supporting Characters [Podcast that features long conversations with those involved in the critical culture surrounding film culture.]
Tafoya, Scout. "The Unloved, Pt. 93: The Empty Man."Roger Ebert (September 1, 2021) ["Whatever else is true of David Prior, "The Empty Man" is one of the most promising debuts in the last several years of American cinema. I greatly look forward to what he concocts next, whether I agree with its thesis or not. I enjoyed that while watching "The Empty Man" I was guessing the entire time what would happen next, and in every case I was proven wrong. That is rare enough without factoring in his considerable formal abilities. I like this movie a lot, and I’m ready for Halloween to get here so we can all kvetch about our shared need to be scared by the unreal instead of the very real."]
The Take. "The Asexual Asian Man - End the Undesirable Stereotype." (Posted on Youtube: August 12, 2021) ["Asian male characters in film and TV have long been sidelined, emasculated, and denied the chance to have romantic or sexual relationships -- that’s when they’re not openly mocked. In an inverse of the trend of fetishizing Asian women through the “lotus blossom” trope, Asian men are consistently desexualized onscreen. This has directly led to the damaging, widespread perception in US society that Asian men are less masculine or sexually desirable, so it’s more important than ever to move past it."]
---. "A History of Black Stereotypes." (July 21, 2020) ["The grotesque racist caricatures that were used to justify slavery and the systemic mistreatment of black people found their way into our earliest blockbuster movies, and they remained popular onscreen for decades. In large part, this is because—while black characters have always been a part of American films—black filmmakers and performers tended to be excluded from their creation. If we look closer, many caricatures like the Mammy, Uncle Tom, Sapphire, Jezebel, and Magical Negro have persevered, in some form, to this day across our modern films and TV. Here’s our Take on the history of black stereotypes on screen and how they still influence our society—more than you might think."]
---. "The Crazy Woman Trope, Explained." (Posted on Youtube: April 23, 2020) ["Our screens are full of “Crazy Women” - but are they actually crazy? Are these women legitimate threats to themselves and others, or do they deserve more empathy than they’re given credit for? In this video we delve into the different types of “Crazy” Women and what’s problematic about Hollywood’s depiction of mental illness."]
---. "The Gay Best Friend - How It Became a Stereotype." (Posted on Youtube: Aptil 1, 2021) ["In the history of mainstream cinema, LGBT characters have mostly existed in the margins. They've been the supporting characters, rarely the lead, and for a long time they weren’t even allowed to exist openly. Nothing exemplifies this marginalization better than the trope of the Gay Best Friend. As increasingly nuanced queer characters have emerged, the Gay Best Friend looks more and more like the product of a different era. Here’s our Take on the history of the Gay Best Friend, and why we need to expect more for this character in the 21st century."]
---. "The Lotus Blossom Stereotype - Dangers of the Asian Fetish." (Posted on Youtube: June 2, 2021) ["Asian women are highly fetishized in our society, especially by white men, and one of the roots of this problem is the “lotus blossom” stereotype -- also known as “china doll” or “Geisha Girl.” The Lotus Blossom trope portrays Asian women onscreen as objects of desire, but ones which are disposable. They’re lusted after only as long as they continue to project traits like obedience, subservience, and a baby-like lack of agency or individuality. Here’s our Take on how the Lotus Blossom trope fetishizes Asian women -- with dangerous real-world consequences."]
---. "The Magical Minority Trope is Still a Problem." (Posted on Youtube: August 5, 2021) ["The Magical Minority trope has been widely condemned for its racist undertones and problematic takeaways -- yet to this day it’s strangely difficult to get rid of. It involves a person of color existing in a film or TV show seemingly just to serve the heroic endeavors of the white protagonist. The Magical Minority uses a special “gift” they possess, whether it's mystical connection to the supernatural, hyper-intelligence in a specific area, or an exceptional talent. And they apparently expect little to nothing in return besides the satisfaction of helping the white person find themselves. The Magical Minority actually stems from fake progressivism and a surface attempt to create “positive” media representation of people of color. But given the realities of race in America, this trope is a white writer’s fantasy. It soothes white guilt by providing white audiences with sympathetic white protagonists to see themselves in, without having to shift focus away from the white character’s experience. And it depicts people of color as helpers or servers, instead of as whole, autonomous people with their own dreams and goals."]
---. "The Redhead Onscreen | How We Respond To Difference." (Posted on Youtube: July 29, 2021) ["Redheads onscreen have long fallen into two camps: fetishized or ostracized. Typically, this dividing line comes down to gender. Redheaded women, like Jessica Rabbit, are portrayed as hyper-sexual vixens; while redheaded men, like Napoleon Dynamite, are presented as undesirable outcasts. These narrow portrayals put redhead characters into limiting boxes that can be othering and even dehumanizing. Because red is the rarest hair color, the redhead has historically been used as a visual symbol of differentness. Digging deeper into onscreen portrayals of redheads, we can better understand our culture’s responses to difference in general. Moreover, this ostracization-and-fetishization dichotomy exposes how our prejudices can manifest in media."]
Talkhouse: Film ["Talkhouse is a media company and outlet for musicians, actors, filmmakers, and others in their respective fields. Artists write essays and criticism from firsthand perspectives, speak one-on-one with their peers via the Talkhouse Podcast and Talkhouse Live events, and offer readers and listeners unique insight into creative work of all genres and generations. In short— Talkhouse is writing and conversations about music and film, from the people who make them."]
Torchin, Leshu. "Themed Playlist: The Female Gaze."Screen Culture (April 8, 2020) ["... a female gaze. This is a term often used as counterpoint to the male gaze, a term introduced by Laura Mulvey but which has enjoyed considerable escape velocity into popular culture. Whilst the male gaze centres a male spectator to identify with an active male protagonist in stories that speak to him, and which render female figures little more than an object or narrative device, a female gaze intervenes and expands and shatters this framework. A female gaze centres women and their desires. A female gaze can wilfully displace the male gaze that derives pleasure from but refuses the agency of women on screen."]
The Video Essay [Will DiGravio's "monthly (sometimes twice a month) show dedicated to discussion of the theory and practice of videographic criticism. Most episodes features a one-on-one interview with leading practitioners of the form, including critics, scholars, and filmmakers."]
What's So Great About That? "Phantom You [Tube]: Fighting Our Digital Doubles." (Posted on Youtube: March 14, 2019) ["With our online and offline lives becoming increasingly connected, to what extent do we create our own other? And to what effect? Since the 1990s, horror and sci-fi have considered how we might create our own worst enemy - and the friendly face of this dystopian future is yours."]
Wiggins, Steven A. "Nightmares with the Bible: The Good Book and Cinematic Demons (Horror and Scripture, 2020)."New Books in Biblical Studies (April 27, 2022) ["Nightmares with the Bible: The Good Book and Cinematic Demons (2021) published by Fortress Academic views demons through two lenses: that of western religion and that of cinema. Sketching out the long fear of demons in western history, including the Bible, Steve A. Wiggins moves on to analyze how popular movies inform our beliefs about demonic forces. Beginning with the idea of possession, he explores the portrayal of demons from ancient Mesopotamia and the biblical world (including in select extra-biblical texts), and then examines the portrayal of demons in popular horror franchises The Conjuring, The Amityville Horror, and Paranormal Activity. In the final chapter, Wiggins looks at movies that followed The Exorcist and offers new perspectives for viewing possession and exorcism. Written in non-technical language, this book is intended for anyone interested in how demons are perceived and how popular culture informs those perceptions."]
Zoom Out [Montreal, Canada based Francophone online magazine: "Zoom Out is a film platform conceived as an extension of its sister sites Hors champ and Offscreen, which will nurture the confluence of artistic and critical practice in the shape of new forms of film criticism (audio-visual essays, podcasts, sound projects, cine-concerts, interviews, etc.). Alongside these new forms of film criticism which continue to be shaped by evolving digital technology and image & sound manipulation software, Zoom Out aims to explore and promote the vast potential for research creation in the Montreal/Quebec/Canada sector by showcasing forms of film expression which have the most to gain from the continuing democratization of filmmaking, distribution and exhibition (short films, experimental cinema, essay film, documentary, video essays, cine-concerts)."]
