Resources for January 11, 2016

Abbott, Lisa and Richard Becker. "Protests Erupt in Kentucky After GOP Supermajority Passes Extreme Anti-Choice, Anti-Union Bills." Democracy Now (January 9, 2017) ["In Kentucky, hundreds of demonstrators packed into the Capitol building Saturday to protest the state Legislature’s passage of a slew of controversial bills, including an anti-union "right-to-work" law and extreme anti-choice legislation that bans abortions after 20 weeks and requires a woman to have an ultrasound before having an abortion. The surprise emergency legislative session Saturday came after Republicans seized a supermajority in the House of Representatives, giving the Republicans control of the House, the Senate and the governorship for the first time in Kentucky state history. On Saturday, the Legislature also repealed a law that had guaranteed higher wages for workers on publicly financed construction projects. We go to Louisville, Kentucky, for an update from Richard Becker, a union organizer with Service Employees International Union, and we speak with Lisa Abbott, a community organizer with Kentuckians for the Commonwealth."]

Bell, Nicholas and Erik McClanahan. "Female Prisoner Scorpion." The Playlist (August 26, 2016)

Betancourt, Michael. "Pablo Ferro’s Title Montage for Bullitt (1968): The Criminality Beneath the Surface of Civil Society." Bright Lights Film Journal (April 29, 2014)

Conrath, Ryan. "Interview: Editor Joe Walker on 12 Years a Slave, Hunger, Shame, and More." Bright Lights Film Journal (April 30, 2014)

Laczkowski, Jim and Sergio Mims. "Nicholas Ray." Director's Club #115 (August 27, 2014)

Schnelbach, Leah. "Looking Back at Princess Mononoke after 20 Years." Tor (January 9, 2017)

Talbot, Margaret. "The Attorney Fighting Revenge Porn." The New Yorker (December 5, 2016) ["Carrie Goldberg is a pioneer in the field of sexual privacy, using the law to defend victims of hacking, leaking, and other online assaults."]

Warne, Jude. "Authenticity in Many Forms: 20th Century Women." Film International (January 4, 2017)






The Nativist from Milad Tangshir on Vimeo.

ENG 102: Spring 2017 Resources

"7 Google Tips to Search Like a Boss." Teach Thought (October 10, 2013)

Archives of Individual Films Dialogic Cinephilia (Ongoing Archive)

Archives of the Films, By Decade, That Do Not Have an Individual Post Dialogic Cinephilia (Ongoing Archive)

BCTC Lib Guides

Benton, Michael. Letterboxd Profile (Ongoing film viewing diary)

Dialogic Cinephilia (Website)

ENG 102: Books and Writers

ENG 102: Essay 2 - Ethical Reasoning

ENG 102 Essay Examples

Friedlander, John. "Abstract, Concrete, General and Specific Terms." Guide to Grammar & Writing (ND)

Grammarist (Website)

The Stories We Tell: Quote File Dialogic Cinephilia (Ongoing Archive)

Video Essays Dialogic Cinephilia (Ongoing Archive)

Words and Phrases Grammarist (Ongoing Archive)

Wordy Phrases Grammarist (Ongoing Archive)

The Manchurian Candidate (USA: John Frankenheimer, 1962)

The Manchurian Candidate (USA: John Frankenheimer, 1962: 126 mins)

Bowie, Stephen. "Great Directors: John Frankenheimer." Senses of Cinema (November 2006)

Cobb, Paul, Mark Hurne and Aaron West. "The Manchurian Candidate." Criterion Close-Up #38 (May 28, 2016)

D'Angelo, Mike. "The Manchurian Candidate (1962)." A.V. Club (October 12, 2009)

Ebert, Roger. "Great Movie: The Manchurian Candidate." Chicago Sun-Times (December 7, 2003)

Eggert, Brian. "The Manchurian Candidate (1962)." Deep Focus (July 4, 2013)

French, Phillip. "The Manchurian Candidate review – Philip French on John Frankenheimer’s near-perfect conspiracy thriller." The Guardian (March 8, 2015)

Hampton, Howard. "The Manchurian Candidate: Dread Center." Current (March 15, 2016)

Lansbury, Angela. "On the Importance of the Imagination." Current (March 17, 2016)

LoBrutto, Vincent. "The Political Thriller: The Manchurian Candidate." Becoming Film Literate: The Art and Craft of Motion Pictures. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2005: 183-189. [BCTC Library: PN1994 L595 2005]

The Manchurian Candidate Critics Round Up (Ongoing Archive)

Menand, Louis. "Brainwashed: Where The Manchurian Candidate Came From." The New Yorker (September 15, 2003)

Ratcliff, Travis Lee. "The Legacy of Paranoid Thrillers." (Posted on Vimeo: June 2017) ["Paranoid thrillers are constant in cinema's history, but at any given moment they reflect our specific anxieties back to us and reveal how we feel about our institutions. Here, I explore how paranoid thrillers crystalized as a genre in American cinema and examine the possibility of a contemporary renaissance in conspiracy fiction."]

Weston, Hillary. "Talking with Evans Frankenheimer about The Manchurian Candidate." Current (April 14, 2016)

Resources for January 9, 2017

Branch, Ashanti, et al. "Man Up." To the Best of Our Knowledge (January 8, 2017) ["Be strong, be tough, don’t cry – boys are bombarded with messages about being a man and the “male code” beginning around five or six years old. By high school, it’s second nature. But it can also be toxic. Because boys in America today aren’t doing so well. Compared to girls, they’re more likely to get diagnosed with a behavior disorder, drop out of school, binge drink, commit a violent crime, even kill themselves. So is that what it means to “man up”? "]

El Goro. "Le Samourai (1967) and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999)." Talk Without Rhythm (January 1, 2017) ["two flicks featuring western interpretations of the Samurai code of Bushido"]

Hart, David and Chris Maynard. "Evil Dead (2013) and Acute Withdrawal." Pop Culture Case Study #167 (August 25, 2016) ["... Dave talks about acute withdrawal from drugs, particularly focusing on opioid dependence. We tie this topic in with Fede Alvarez's 2013 film, EVIL DEAD. This is just in time for his latest release, DON'T BREATHE. Dave is joined by Chris Maynard of Following Films to talk about a number of topics, including drug addiction, horror movies, remakes, and overdoing the gore!"]

Howard, Brian and Rich Moore. "Zootopia." The Treatment (December 28, 2016) ["Directors Byron Howard and Rich Moore have taken a socially relevant approach with the newest Walt Disney Studios animated feature Zootopia. In the film, rabbit Judy Hopps tries to break out of her animal stereotype when she realizes it's not so easy to escape nature. Today, Howard and Moore discuss researching societal biases and racial stigmas to create the metropolitan city of Zootopia, as well as reflecting on the technological limitations in animation in recent years versus the impressive capabilities of today."]

Kaufmann, Anthony. "It's Happening Here: Trump's America and Totalitarian Dystopias." Keyframe (November 17, 2016)

Older, Malka. "Infomocracy." Midnight in Karachi #60 (August 25, 2016)

Pollard, Sam, et al. "The Handsome Family / Sam Pollard." WTF (December 1, 2016) ["Gothic folk duo The Handsome Family meet up with Marc while he's in Albuquerque to talk about American roots music, carnival sideshows, meeting your heroes, and dealing with bipolarity. But first, documentary filmmaker Sam Pollard joins Marc in the garage to talk about his new film Two Trains Runnin', a look at the summer of 1964, as history converged in unexpected ways."]

Zaborski, Artur. "War Zones are Like Corporations." Keyframe (November 17, 2016) ["Sonia Kennebeck talks about her disturbing new drone-warfare doc, NATIONAL BIRD."]





Two Trains Runnin' trailer from Avalon Films on Vimeo.

Resources for January 7, 2017

Arroyo, Joseph, Neil Fox and Dario Llinares. "Broken Embraces." The Cinematologists #29b (August 24, 2016)

Bromley, Patrick, et al. "Special Report: The Thing." The Projection Booth (December 23, 2016)
["Initially lambasted by critics, John Carpenter's The Thing (1982) was a brilliant adaptation of John W. Campbell's novella Who Goes There?. The film tells the story of a dozen men in Antarctica who are infiltrated by an alien shapeshifter. Interviews include authors John Kenneth Muir (The Films of John Carpenter), Jez Conolly (Devil’s Advocates: The Thing), actors Joel Polis (Fuchs), Thomas G. Waites (Windows), and cinematographer Dean Cundey."]

Cargill, Robert C. and Brian Salisbury. "One Junky Summer: The Fly." Junk Food Cinema (August 24, 2016)

Herzog, Amy. "Star Vehicle: Labor and Corporeal Traffic in Under the Skin." Jump Cut #57 (Fall 2016)

Hurne, Mark and Aaron West. "Downhill Racer and the Olympics." Criterion Close-Up #47 (August 25, 2016) ["Mark and Aaron celebrate the Summer Olympics by exploring Downhill Racer, an independent film about the Winter Olympics. We draw parallels to what is portrayed in the Michael Ritchie with the actual sporting events that take place today, including the thrills of victory and the agony of defeat. We discuss the groundbreaking cinematography, the nature of winning in an individual sport and the the enduring legacy of Sundance that began with this film."]

Nero, Dominick. "Why Do Action Heroines Do This? A signature fight move, as dubious as it is ubiquitous." Keyframe (January 5, 2017)

Olson, Dan. "The Art of Editing and Suicide Squad." Folding Ideas (Posted on Youtube: December 31, 2016)

Pattison, Michael. "A Journey to Nosferatu's Origins." Keyframe (April 29, 2014)

Williams, Terry Tempest. "The Hour of the Land." Radio West (June 1, 2016) ["... writer and naturalist Terry Tempest Williams joins Doug to discuss her latest book, The Hour of Land. It’s a paean to America’s natural parks. The parks are, Williams says, fundamental to our national identity, despite our complicated relationship with them. To mark the centennial of the National Parks Service, Williams visited 12 national parks. She wanted to better understand their relevance in the 21st century. She also wondered if they might serve to help unite our fractured country."]

Resources for January 6, 2016

"Annette Bening." WTF #769 (December 18, 2016) ["Annette Bening attributes her longevity in acting to stopping when she wanted. She talks with Marc about being able to put the brakes on her career when dealing with the responsibilities of parenting. They also talk about privacy, winning (or not winning) awards, Warren Beatty, and the many influential people Annette worked with who are no longer with us, including Garry Shandling, Mike Nichols, John Candy, and Robin Williams."]

Buder, Emily. "The 14 Most Unforgettable Scenes in 2016 Movies." No Film School (January 6, 2017)

Gores, Jared and Joe Pudas. "Rogue One." Reel Fanatics #445 (December 30, 2016)

Greenwald, Glenn. "WashPost Is Richly Rewarded for False News About Russia Threat While Public Is Deceived." The Intercept (January 4, 2017)

Jennings, Tom and Mike White. "Pickup on South Street." Masters of Cinema Cast #56 (December 28, 2016) ["Samuel Fuller's sensational film noir casts a steely eye at America in the dawn of the Cold War, and brings 1950s New York City alive on the screen in a manner rarely equaled in the annals of film. In one of his greatest roles, Richard Widmark plays Skip McCoy, a seasoned pickpocket who unknowingly filches some radioactive loot: microfilm of top-secret government documents. Soon after, Skip finds himself mixed up with federal agents, Commie agents, and a professional stool pigeon by the name of Moe (played by Thelma Ritter in her finest role this side of Rear Window). With its complex ideology, outrageous dialogue, and electric action sequences, Pickup on South Street crackles in a way that only a Sam Fuller movie can, and is widely considered one of the director's finest achievements."]

Richardson, Vanessa and Carter Roy. "Edward Teach 'Blackbeard.'" Remarkable Lives. Tragic Deaths. (January 3, 2017) ["Edward Teach or Edward Thatch, better known as Blackbeard, was a legendary pirate whose fearsome image has been romanticized since his death. Most likely born in Bristol, England, he plundered ships traveling to and from the American colonies as well as ships in the Caribbean. Although his reign of terror only lasted two years, he has become the inspiration for countless movies and books."]

Tragos, Tracy Droz. "Abortion: Stories Women Tell." Film School (August 11, 2016)  ["In 1973 the U.S. Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade recognized the right of every woman in the United States to have an abortion. Since 2011, over half the states in the nation have significantly restricted access to abortions. In 2016, abortion remains one of the most divisive issues in America, especially in Missouri, where only one abortion clinic remains open, patients and their doctors must navigate a 72-hour waiting period, and each year sees more restrictions. Awarding-winning director and Missouri native Tracy Droz Tragossheds new light on the contentious issue with a focus not on the debate, but rather on the women themselves – those struggling with unplanned pregnancies, the providers who show up at clinics to give medical care, as well as the activists on both sides of the issue hoping to sway decisions and lives. Tragos’ illuminating documentary Abortion: Stories Women Tell offers an intimate window into the lives of these women through their personal stories. Some are heartbreaking and tender some are bleak and frightening; some women, on both sides of the issue, find the choice easy to make due to their own circumstances and beliefs, while others simply inform us of the strength and capacity of women to overcome and persevere through complicated and unexpected circumstances. Director and producer Tracy Droz Tragos joins us for a conversation on one of the most contentious and intractable issues facing women and her beautifully balanced, heart wrenching and moving documentary."]

"When push comes to shove." The Grammarist (January 3, 2016)

Resources for January 3, 2016

Bordwell, David. "Fantasy, flashbacks, and what-ifs: 2016 pays off the past." Observations on Film Art (January 2, 2017)

Gorfinkel, Elena. "Sex, Sensation and Non-Human Interiority in Under the Skin." Jump Cut #57 (Fall 2016)

Greenwald, Glenn. "Russia Hysteria Infects WashPost Again: False Story About Hacking U.S. Electric Grid." The Intercept (December 31, 2016)

Hancock, James and Marcus Pinn. "The Best of 2016." Wrong Reel #217 (December 2016)

Kempenaar, Adam, et al. "Top Ten Films of 2016 (Pt. 1)." Filmspotting #616 (December 21, 2016)

---. "Top Ten Films of 2016 (Pt. 2)." Filmspotting #617 (December 21, 2016)

Kohagen, Axel, Geoff Todd and Mike White. "The Lone Wolf and Cub Saga." The Projection Booth #303 (December 31, 2016) ["The Lone Wolf & Cub Films (also known as the Babycart Films, the Kozure Okami Films, the Shogun Assassin series and more) are six movies released from 1972-1974 starring Tomisaburo Wakayama as Ogami Itto, the Shogun's decapitator. After he's framed by the villainous Yagyu clan, he travels the countryside with his young son in a tricked-out baby cart as an assassin and son for hire. Adapted from the manga by author Kazuo Koike, the films are both gorgeously contemplative and gory bloodbaths. Geoff Todd and Axel Kohagen join Mike to discuss the original manga, the television adaptations, the 1989 follow-up film, the 1992 reboot, and a handful of influences that the films have had on American popular culture."]

Mills, Mike. "On Filmmaking." The Close-Up (December 29, 2016)

Minto, Robert. "A Smuggling Operation: John Berger's Theory of Art." Los Angeles Review of Books (January 2, 2017)

Resources for December 28, 2016

Boone, Christopher. "The Ten Most Inventive Original Screenplays of 2016." No Film School (December 26, 2016)

Carradine, Robert, et al. "Massacre at Central High." The Projection Booth #285 (August 23, 2016) ["Rene Daalder's Massacre at Central High is the story of David (Derrel Maury), a new kid at school, who falls in with his old friend Mark (Andrew Stevens), where he finds that the so-called cool kids are running the school with an iron fist. Mark is seemingly the level-headed one amongst the quartet of bullies who intimidate everyone else. As Spoony says, the scene around here is a real bummer. The episode includes interviews with Derrel Maury, Robert Carradine, Andrew Stevens, Rex Sikes, and Jeffrey Winner. Doug Tilley and Heather Drain join Mike to discuss this fascinating take on Lord of the Flies."]

Ehrlich, David. "20th Century Women Review: Annette Bening, Greta Gerwig, and Elle Fanning Star In Mike Mills’ Best Film." IndieWire (October 7, 2016)

Hilderbrand, Lucas.  "On the Matter of Blackness in Under the Skin." Jump Cut #57 (Fall 2016)

Koski, Genevieve, et al. "Pete's Dragon / The Black Stallion Pt. 1." The Next Picture Show #41 (August 23, 2016)  ["The director of the new Disney live-action remake PETE’S DRAGON, David Lowery, recently cited as inspiration Carroll Ballard’s 1979 film THE BLACK STALLION, noting the older film’s careful merging of art and the mainstream. Following Lowery’s example, we look back this week at THE BLACK STALLION’s wondrous beauty and split structure, and try to ascertain what makes the film unique among films aimed at children."]

---. "Pete's Dragon / The Black Stallion, Pt. 2." The Next Picture Show #42 (August 25, 2016) ["Continuing the legacy of Carroll Ballard's THE BLACK STALLION, David Lowery's new Disney live-action remake of PETE'S DRAGON treats kids' films, kid audiences, and the emotional lives of children with respect and intelligence. In this half of the discussion, we talk over the two films' use of stories within stories, cinematography, child actors, and our relationship with animals and the natural world"]

López, Cristina Álvarez and Adrian Martin. "Screen and Surface, Soft and Hard: The Cinema of Leos Carax." Transit (March 2013)

Macfarlane, Steve and David M. Mullen. "The Love Witch." American Cinemtographer #74 (2016) ["Cinematographer M. David Mullen, ASC speaks with journalist Steve Macfarlane to discuss his work in The Love Witch, a stylish feminist homage to 1950s horror films."]

López, Cristina Álvarez and Adrian Martin. "Screen and Surface, Soft and Hard: The Cinema of Leos Carax." Transit (March 2013)

Bluegrass Film Society: Spring 2017 Schedule

Includes BFS events and other select film events in the region:

January 3: The Lobster (Greece/Ireland/Netherlands/UK/France: Yorgos Lanthimos, 2015: 119 mins)

January 6: Harry Benson: Shoot First (USA: Justin Bare and Matthew Miele, 2016: 87 mins)

January 9: Tekkonkinkreet (Japan: Michael Arias, 2007: 111 mins)

January 11: 20th Century Women (USA: Mike Mills, 2016: 118 mins)

January 18: 8 1/2 (Italy/France: Federico Fellini, 1963: 138 mins)

January 23: The Fits (USA: Anna Rose Holmer, 2015: 72 mins)
The Fits (USA: Anna Rose 
January 25: Hell or High Water (USA: David Mackenzie, 2016: 102 mins)

January 26: Playtime (France/Italy: Jacques Tati, 1967: 115 mins)

January 27: Pickpocket (France: Robert Bresson, 1959: 79 mins)

January 30: Of Freaks and Men (Russia: Aleksey Balabanov, 1998: 93 mins)

February 6: Millennium Mambo (Taiwan/France: Hou Hsiao-hsien, 2001: 119 mins)

February 12: Elevator to the Gallows (France: Louis Malle, 1958: 91 mins)

February 13: Vampyr (Germany/France: Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1932: 75 mins)

February 26: I Am Not Your Negro (France/USA: Raoul Peck, 2016: 95 mins)

February 27: Hunt for the Wilderpeople (New Zealand: Taika Waititi, 2016: 101 mins)

March 6:  L'Amour Braque (France: Andrzej Zulawski, 1985: 101 mins)

March 14: The Garden (USA: Scott Hamilton Kennedy, 2008)

March 17: The Salesman (Iran/France: Asghar Farhadi, 2016: 125 mins)

March 20: Boogie Nights (USA: Paul Thomas Anderson, 1997: 155 mins)

March 27: Cria Cuervos (Spain: Carlos Saura, 1976: 105 mins)

April 3:  Elle (France/Germany/Belgium: Paul Verhoeven, 2016: 130 mins)

April 10: Moonlight (USA: Barry Jenkins, 2016: 111 mins)

April 17: 2046 (Hong Kong/China: Wong Kar-Wai, 2004: 129 mins)

April 24: Paterson (USA/France/Germany: Jim Jarmusch, 2016: 118 mins)

April 26: Silence (USA/Taiwan/Mexico: Martin Scorsese, 2016: 161 mins)

April 28: The Lure (Poland: Agnieszka Smoczynska, 2015: 92 mins)

May 1: Girl Asleep (Australia: Rosemary Myers, 2015: 77 mins)

Bringing Out the Dead (USA: Martin Scorsese, 1999)

Bringing Out the Dead (USA: Martin Scorsese, 1999: 121 mins)

Cleary, Fearghas. "Ambulance Chaser: Is Bringing Out The Dead Scorsese's Last Great Film? " The Quietus (October 24, 2014)

Ebert, Roger. "Bringing Out the Dead." Chicago Sun-Times (October 22, 1999)

---. "Bringing Out Scorsese." Chicago Sun-Times (October 21, 1999)

Hamilton, John R. "Paul Schrader." Senses of Cinema #56 (2010)

 Juan, Eric San. "The Films of Martin Scorsese: Gangsters, Greed, and Guilt (ROWMAN AND LITTLEFIELD 2020)." New Books in Film (October 20, 2020) ["Few mainstream filmmakers have as pronounced a disregard for the supposed rules of filmmaking as Martin Scorsese. His inventiveness displays a reaction against the “right” way to make a movie, frequently eschewing traditional cinematic language in favor of something flashy, unexpected and contrary to the way “proper” films are done. Yet despite this, he’s become one of the most influential directors of the last fifty years, a critical darling (though rarely a box office titan), and a fan favorite. In this book, Eric San Juan guides readers through the crooks, the mobsters, the loners, the moguls, and the nobodies of Scorsese's 26-movie filmography. The Films of Martin Scorsese: Gangsters, Greed, and Guilt (Rowman and Littlefield, 2020) examines the techniques that have made him one of the most innovative directors in history. The book further looks at the themes that are the engine driving all of this, including themes of self-sabotage, alienation, faith, and guilt. Eric San Juan has written a number of books, including one on Akira Kurosawa and co-authored two books on the films of Alfred Hitchcock."]

Raymond, Marc. "Great Directors: Martin Scorsese." Senses of Cinema #20 (May 2002)

Reinert, Cristina Degli-Esposti. "Martin Scorsese's Invisible City in Bringing Out the Dead." Film-Philosophy 4.12 (May 2000)

"Scorsese in the Red." Film Scalpel (ND)

Tafoya, Scout. "The Post-Punk Cinema Manifesto." Keyframe (September 10, 2015)

---. "The Unloved: Bringing Out the Dead." Roger Ebert (Posted on Vimeo: November 14, 2014)

Zenner, M.C. "Martin Scorsese's Bringing Out the Dead." Senses of Cinema #7 (June 2000)






Martin Scorsese - The Art of Silence from Tony Zhou on Vimeo.

Resources for December 13, 2016

Buddicom, Jacintha, et al. "The Orwell Tapes, Pt. 1." Ideas (December 1, 2016) ["He was a brilliant, eccentric, complicated man; a colonial policeman, a critic and journalist, a dishwasher, a fighter in the Spanish civil war, a teacher and a shopkeeper - and one of the most influential writers of our time. His name was Eric Blair, better known as George Orwell. Who was the man who gave us 'big brother', 'thoughtcrime', 'doublethink', whose name looms so large in this era of mass surveillance? Steve Wadhams delves into recordings he made with the people who knew Orwell from his earliest days to his final moments."]

"The Cable Guy (1996)." How Is This Movie? (August 16, 2016)

Cassidy, Brendan, J.D. Duran and Vince Leo. "Dheepan; Things to Come." In Session Film (December 10, 2016)

Franklin, Ruth, et al. "Shirley Jackson." To the Best of Our Knowledge (December 11, 2016) ["On the centennial of Shirley Jackson's birth, we explore the great literary work that she left for us -- the stories and novels that continue to resonate in our culture."]

Garrett, Daniel. "Innocent Laughter, Intellectual Legacy: Margarethe von Trotta’s film Hannah Arendt." Offscreen 20.8 (September 2016)

Hudson, David. "Martin Scorsese's Silence." Keyframe (December 11. 2016)

Longworth, Karina. "Six Degrees of Joan Crawford: The Flapper and Douglas Fairbanks Jr." You Must Remember This (August 15, 2016) ["Joan Crawford’s early years in Hollywood were like -- well, like a pre-code Joan Crawford movie: a highly ambitious beauty of low birth does what she has to do (whatever she has to do) to transform herself into a well-respected glamour gal at the top of the food chain. Her romance with Douglas Fairbanks Jr -- the scion of the actor/producer who had been considered the King of Hollywood since the early days of the feature film -- began almost simultaneous to Crawford’s breakout hit, Our Dancing Daughters. But the gum-snapping dame with the bad reputation would soon rise far above her well-born husband, cranking out a string of indelible performances in pre-code talkies before hitting an early career peak in the Best Picture-winning Grand Hotel."]

Stone, Rob. "Between Sunrise and Sunless." Film Studies for Free (February 10, 2014)

Swanson, David. "The CIA Never Ever Lies." Counterpunch (December 12, 2016)

Resources for December 10, 2016

Boeve, May and Wenonah Hauter. "The End of the EPA? Trump Taps Climate Change Denier & Fossil Fuel Ally Scott Pruitt to Head Agency." Democracy Now (December 8, 2016)

Carlsson, Chris and Susan Rosenthal. "Nowtopia and DIY Activism (Power and Powerlessness #1).  Unwelcome Guests #424 (August 17, 20008)  ["Susan Rosenthal, a physician and psychotherapist who reached the conclusion after decades of research, observation and activism that social power is necessary for human health. We'll also hear, in a similar vein, an interview with writer and DIY activist Chris Carlsson about his new book "Nowtopia"."]

Cribbs, John, James Hancock and Leanne Kubicz. "The Cinema of Paul Verhoeven." Wrong Reel #200 (November 2016)

Greenwald, Glenn. "Anonymous Leaks to the WashPost About the CIA’s Russia Beliefs Are No Substitute for Evidence." The Intercept (December 10, 2016)

Henry, Mary Kay. "Trump's Labor Pick, Fast-Food CEO Andrew Puzder, Opposes Minimum Wage Increase & Paid Sick Leave." Democracy Now (December 9, 2016) ["

Liptak, Andrew, Peter Rubin and Carli Velocci. "Stranger Things." Geek's Guide to the Galaxy #216 (August 13, 2016)

Lobosco, Katie. "There's a Hunger Problem on America's College Campuses." CNN Money (December 6, 2016)

Toobin, Jeffrey. "American Heiress." Radio West (September 8, 2016) ["Jeffrey Toobin, who’s written a book about the 1974 kidnapping of Patty Hearst. Hearst was 19 and heir to her family’s fortune when the “Symbionese Liberation Army” took her, and it soon seemed that she had adopted their incoherent, revolutionary cause. We’ll explore the controversy over Hearst’s involvement in their crimes, the atmosphere that gave birth to the SLA, and why Toobin says the story sheds light on a time when America was on the brink of a nervous breakdown."]

Gabe Goforth: Hunting for the Witch in Modern Society (ENG 102)

Gabe Goforth

ENG 102

Professor Michael Benton

Hunting for the Witch in Modern Society

Racism, misogyny, religious persecution, the act of committing hate crimes; these flawed mindsets and practices that are embarrassingly still prevalent in modern society can be viewed through the lens of a singular emotion, fear. The fear of the unknown, the fear of change, the fear of being confronted with something that challenges one’s own personal beliefs and ideals have historically caused seemingly rational people to erupt in irrational violence. Not that being fearful is in any way an excuse to carry out prejudicial violence of any kind, but it does however begin to explain the violent actions that follow such a volatile frame of thought.

The actions of which can lead in either two directions: that of a witch-hunt, in the figurative sense where an individual, group, or an entire social class can be viewed as different or less than in regards to the traditional societal standards. Deeming them the supposed cause of any given social plight, allowing the denial of the rights and privileges that are held by a civilized society. Or as the full blown literal act of the accusations, convictions, and brutal executions of many people (primarily women) in communities where they have perhaps lived for many years, experiencing the ultimate betrayal in being accused by their neighbors, friends, and even family members of practicing witchcraft in the attempt to cause harm to an individual or to their community as a whole.

The latter of which could be simply viewed as a past occurrence committed most notably in the fifteenth through the nineteenth centuries of Europe and North America, most notoriously in Salem, Massachusetts. However, strikingly these actions are still being committed to this day, in rural regions of the world, such as in Papa New Guinea where it is estimated that 150 tortures and executions of accused witches continues to happen every year throughout the developing island nation (Russell).

I intend to discuss the history of the early witch-hunts in Europe and North America, the possible mindsets and factors that are thought to have fueled the fire of persecution, and the murderous events that followed. As well as how these events parallel with the brutal attitude and activities that are continuing to threaten the safety of women in Papa New Guinea to this day. How the mindset of a witch-hunt can also be seen figuratively across present day North America, within the attitudes and actions of people that lead to the persecution of people in regards to their race, and religious practices; and how we as a nation can put and end to this backwards mindset. 

We begin to look at the history of witch-hunting by discussing an event that occurred in the late 1400’s, in Southwest Germany: two Catholic priests by the names of Heinrich Kramer, and his colleague Jakob Sprenger began their work on crafting their famous book, the Malleus Maleficarum, translated as The Hammer of Witches (Demos, 62-63). This infamous piece of skewed literature, contained a “bull” (official statement) by the newly installed Pope, Innocent VIII, which in itself attributed to being a license to carry out unlimited witch-hunting; this book was the official guide to all witch related activities, and offered a comprehensive model of responses for judges and inquisitors in dealing with such matters for centuries to come (Demos, 63). The responses enacted by these political and judicial officials were primarily against women who were living in low-income and widowed.

According to Emily Oster, “Between the thirteenth and nineteenth centuries, as many as one million individuals were executed for the crime of witchcraft” (1). Oster continues to state that the majority of the victims were women who were poor and widowed, and that the trials and executions occurred primarily in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In one town located in Germany, 400 people were executed for witchcraft in a single day (1). These numbers are staggering, and just how does this sort of femicide even begin to be explained? The answer may rest partly on the changes of weather. The Malleus Maleficarum contains a chapter titled “How They Raise and Stir up Hailstorms and Tempests, to Blast Both Man and Beasts”. This leads into the viewpoint that witches are capable of controlling the weather, a possibility of a direct concern for the people of the seventeenth century, that were themselves in the midst of a little ice age due to drastic climate change, effecting food production (Oster, 2). The people of this time period with their limited understanding of the concept of climate change and the causes of weather, could understandably fall into the belief that a sinister force was causing the devastation to their daily lives, and with that said, seek out to destroy the source of said sinister force. However, weather wasn’t the only force of nature that the Europeans and early Americans believed that the witch was capable of controlling. Kinetic energy could also be viewed as a tool for a witch to manipulate for the purpose of causing harm or death.

This belief of the manipulation of kinetic energy can be discussed in and example of an event that occurred in the year 1654, in Windsor, Connecticut. A woman by the name of Lydia Gilbert was accused of being a witch, and using witchcraft to curb the bullet fired from a mishandled musket during a drill conducted by the local militia, to in fact murder a man named Henry Stiles for the reason of not repaying the debt owed to her family (Demos, 73-77). Lydia Gilbert was executed shortly after her indictment. Lydia was hung by the neck in the midst of her neighbors happily cheering at the destruction of evil. How Lydia must have felt during the entire ordeal of accusations, throughout her trial, and especially during the few short moments that remained of her life when she was able to look out onto the cheering crowd of people that she knew, right before she dropped to an agonizing death, no one could ever know. As for the crowd however, chances are that it contained cheering women that at some point would be hanging from a rope in the very same gallows where Lydia currently was. The emotions felt by the crowd were possibly a combination of fear, confusion, and hate for something not entirely understood. John Demos suggests that perhaps the reason lies in the fact that these early Americans came from Europe in the time of the great European witch craze, during the early seventeenth century (80-81). The fact of being secluded in the wilderness on relatively unknown land, with the existence of witches and witchcraft very much a part of daily life, leaves it no surprise that witch-hunting became so quickly prevalent in the new land, and would soon turn to also be viewed through the lens of racism and religious persecution.

Demos suggests that the prejudice in these accusations, in the form of racism and religious persecution began widely against the new arrivals in their colonies beginning in 1616, the Africans slaves. The newly integrating Africans carried their own religions that incorporated the belief in magic, which for the white colonists posed a certain threat. The colonists believed that their new slaves could make them sick, and destroy crops with the practice of witchcraft. However, they still believed that the most direct means of threat came from their own race (85-87). Witch-hunting in early Europe and North America generally faded away towards the nineteenth century. However, these same parallels can be seen occurring currently in literal form in rural regions of the world, predominantly in the Highlands of the island nation of Papa New Guinea.

Papa New Guinea occupies the eastern part of the world’s second largest island and is prey to volcanic activity, earthquakes and tidal waves (BBC.com). Papa New Guinea is also home to a population where 80% of the people live in rural areas with few or no facilities of modern life (BBC.com). Kent Russell, who spent time in this region investigating the witch-hunts, spoke with a woman named Monica who was accused of witchcraft, but luckily had escaped her accusers. She currently assists other women accused of being witches, to escape the same fate that she herself had nearly been dealt. Monica speaks of the fact that everyone in Papa New Guinea believes in the existence of witches, from the Prime Minister, to the chief of police, and that there was and actual sorcery conference the year prior to discuss witch activity (Russell). This wide spread belief in the existence of witches, in combination with the great negative activity contributed by the weather and natural disasters, coupled with the fact that a large majority of people live secluded in the wilderness; is not far off from the way of life for the early settlers in North America previously discussed. This makes it somewhat easier to understand that when the people of Papa New Guinea experience something bad in one of their communities that cannot be explained, in their minds it must be the sinister actions of a witch. It is also believed that any death that isn’t due to old age is believed to have a malevolent force behind it (Russell).

This is linked to a case in which a young boy died from an illness, and instead of having the knowledge that the illness was most likely caused by a virus, a young mother unrelated to the child was accused of using witchcraft in the of murder him. Russell describes the aftermath of that accusation:

A group of 50 or more of the dead boy’s relatives apprehended the young mother, stripped her, tortured her and burned her alive in the settlement’s landfill, just outside the city of Mount Hagen. A number of bystanders were uniformed police officers who helped turn back a fire engine when it whined to the scene (Russell).

This statement also speaks of the corruption of local officials, such as the police force in allowing and even participating first hand in such despicable acts. This is all occurring in light of a new law that was passed in Papa New Guinea in 2013, which makes the act of murdering accused witches illegal.

Another reason for an accusation may stem from simple jealousy, Russell states that jealousy, pronounced “jelasy”, is often a motivating factor in the Highland region for the accuser, knowing that the supposed witch will be murdered or exiled from the community, leaving her house and possessions up for grabs (Russell). This attribute of jealousy as being the motivation for accusations also coincides with the motivations for accusers in the early witch-hunts of North America: in the case Sarah Bridgman accusing Mary Parsons of practicing witchcraft, possibly out of jealousy; John Demos states that witchcraft was typically thought to involve envy (132-137).  

Modern day North America however, not engaging in the practice of literal witch-hunting, is however guilty of the act in a figurative sense by the means of scapegoating individuals and or certain groups there of. Scapegoating, “a person or group made to bear the blame for others or suffer in their place” (dictionary.com). This act of placing blame on an individual or group can be seen throughout American history. Thomas Schoeneman states that scapegoating along with witch-hunts, occur in times of social change and upheaval (531). Schoeneman classifies a cultural change as a “revitalization”, stating it is a “deliberate, organized, conscious effort by members of a society to construct a more satisfying culture” (531). An example of this revitalization can been seen beginning in the south during the 1960’s. The civil rights movement began from the desire of a more satisfying culture for the African-American community, and the elimination of the Jim Crow mentality that was so detrimental to our country and the freedoms that we represent. Racial segregation made it so that African-Americans were not seen as equals in our culture, and therefore didn’t deserve to be treated as such. Aldon Morris states that “The Jim Crow system went to great lengths to impress on the blacks that they were a subordinate population” (518). During the civil rights movement many activists were thrown in jail, physically and verbally assaulted, and at times murdered, not unlike the accused witches of the early witch-hunts. These disgraceful acts were motivated by the fear of cultural change in society, scapegoating the civil rights activists as the cause for social upheaval and disorder, when in actuality the reasons for social upheaval was the disorder of the laws that kept a whole ethnic race down in society, and not treating them with the respect as an equal citizen.

The act of scapegoating can be seen in recent times as well, such as the fact that an entire class of people who practice the religion of Islam are being viewed as the enemy. This has lead to acts of violence against Muslim individuals in our own country, placing our fear and anger against a foreign enemy on our own citizens. This fear has also led to the proposed ban of any Muslims entering our country of supposed freedom. These despicable acts against Muslim individuals happening currently in our society, and against the black community of the Jim Crow era can be viewed as racism, it can be viewed as the scapegoating of an entire class of people, and it can most definitely be viewed as a figurative modern day witch-hunt where we as a country are attempting to stamp out the supposed “evil” that so threatens our way of life.

Fear is powerful. The unknown, the inevitable change, the possibility of being confronted with something that challenges one’s own personal beliefs and ideals is something that is understandably scary. However, we as a nation can accept the challenge of the unknown, we can accept the challenge of inevitable change, we can find value in the challenge of being confronted by something that goes against our personal beliefs and ideals; not living in fear the way that our ancestors did in early America. We can say no to inept political officials who promote that backward way of thinking. Most importantly, we can ultimately be the example to the rest of the world that the equality in race, gender, and religion are, together, stronger than fear. That modern day witch-hunts in the forms of racism, misogyny, religious persecution, and the act of committing hate crimes, can no longer be a way of life in any developing or developed nation.

Work Cited

Demos, John. The Enemy Within: 2,000 Years of Witch-Hunting in the Western World              

The Penguin Group, 2008.

Kent, Russell, “They Burn Witches Here”. Huffington Post. (2015)

           http://highline.huffingtonpost.com/articles/en/they-burn-witches-here/

Morris, Aldon. “A Retrospective on the Civil Rights Movement: Political and Intellectual

           Landmarks” Annual Review of Sociology Vol. 25 (1999).

Oster, Emily. “Witchcraft, Weather and Economic Growth in Renaissance Europe” The

           Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 18, No 1 (Winter, 2004).

“Papa New Guinea: Country Profile” BBC.com. 28 April 2016

           http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-15436981

“Scapegoat”. Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 1 Dec. 2016

           http://www.dictionary.com/browse/scapegoat

Schoeneman, Thomas. “The Witch Hunt as a Culture Change Phenomenon” Ethos Vol. 3,

           No. 4 (Winter, 1975).

Resources for December 8, 2016

"I am a psychological and historical structure. Along with existence, I received a way of existing, or a style. All of my actions and thoughts are related to this structure, and even a philosopher's thought is merely a way of making explicit his hold upon the world, which is all he is. And yet, I am free, not in spite of or beneath these motivations, but rather by their means. For that meaningful life, that particular signification of nature and history that I am, does not restrict my access to the world; it is rather my communication with it." -- Maurice Merlau-Ponty, The Phenomenology of Perception: quoted by Sarah Bakewell in At the Existentialist Cafe, 229.

Belafonte, Harry and Noam Chomsky. "Noam Chomsky & Harry Belafonte in Conversation on Trump, Sanders, the KKK, Rebellious Hearts & More." Democracy Now (December 7, 2016) ["On Monday, over 2,000 people packed into Riverside Church in Manhattan to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Democracy Now! It was an historic occasion in part because it marked the first time Noam Chomsky and Harry Belafonte appeared on stage together in conversation. The two have been longtime champions of social justice. Chomsky is a world-renowned political dissident, linguist and author who gained fame in the 1960s for his critique of the Vietnam War and U.S. imperialism. He is institute professor emeritus at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he has taught for more than 50 years. Harry Belafonte is a longtime civil rights activist who was an immensely popular singer and actor. He was one of Martin Luther King’s closest confidants and helped organize the March on Washington in 1963."]

Cargill, Robert C. and Brian Salisbury. "One Crazy Summer." Junk Food Cinema (August 11, 2016)

Dotson, Jared and David Hart. "Match Point and Classism." Pop Culture Case Study #163 (August 11, 2016)

Emmons, Alex. "Breakfast of Torturers: A Former CIA Psychologist Promotes His Memoir." Democracy Now (December 6, 2016)

Robb, David. "The Trial Of Haskell Wexler: Before His Death, The Great Cinematographer Stood Accused By His Union." Deadline (December 7, 2016)

Reigler, Susan. "Vanishing Acts: What's Missing from Bourbon Labels." LEO Weekly (September 7, 2016)

Williams, Jumaane. "Housing Advocate: It's Scary That Trump HUD Secretary Pick Ben Carson Thinks Poverty is a Choice." Democracy Now (December 7, 2016) ["Donald Trump has picked retired neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson to serve as secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD. Trump picked Carson even though the doctor has no experience in housing or urban policy. Last month, Carson told The Washington Post, "Having me as a federal bureaucrat would be like a fish out of water, quite frankly." For more, we speak with Jumaane Williams, New York city councilmember for District 45 and chair of the city’s Housing and Buildings Committee. He has spent much of his career fighting for affordable housing."]

Resources for December 7, 2016

Anderson, Ariston. "Last Tango in Paris Cinematographer: Nothing Happened During the Shooting.'" The Hollywood Reporter (December 6, 2016)

Beauvoir, Simon de. The Second Sex. Trans. Constance Borde. Vintage, 2011.

Chen, Adrian. "The Propaganda About Russian Propaganda." The New Yorker (December 1, 2016)

Dimaggio, Anthony. "Post-Fact Politics: Reviewing the History of Fake News and Propaganda." Counterpunch (December 6, 2016)

Frezza, L.J. "What Does Blue Sound Like?" Keyframe (Posted on Vimeo: July 2016)

Jancovic, Jovana. "Strange Things Happen When You Get Too Rich." Movie Mezzanine (December 5, 2016)

Woolf, Nicky. "Portland to vote on taxing companies if CEO earns 100 times more than staff." The Guardian (December 5, 2016)

Young, Iris Marion. On Female Body Experience: Throwing Like a Girl and Other Essays. Oxford University Press, 2005.


Steve McQueen and Dr. Cornel West on Paul Robeson, Art, and Politics from Whitney Museum of American Art on Vimeo.

Blue (UK: Derek Jarman, 1993)

Blue (UK: Derek Jarman, 1993: 79 mins)

Blue Critics Round Up (Ongoing Archive)

Clark, Jim. "Blue." Jim's Reviews (June 24, 2008)

Fowler, Darren. "Step Into a Blue Funk: Transversal Color and Derek Jarman 's Blue." Scholar Works @ Georgia State University (August 12, 2014)

Frezza, L.J. "What Does Blue Sound Like?" Keyframe (Posted on Vimeo: July 2016)

Hoyle, Brian. "Great Directors: Derek Jarman." Senses of Cinema #43 (May 2007)

Leaver-Yap, Isa. "Notes from the Interior: Moyra Davey’s Notes on Blue." Crosscuts (June 1, 2015)

Risselada, Brian, Josh Ryan and Max Slobodin. "Queer Cinema." Syndromes and a Cinema #5 (May 17, 2013)

Sobchack, Vivian. "Fleshing out the image: Phenomenology, Pedagogy, and Derek Jarman's Blue." CINEMA: Journal of Philosophy and the Moving Image #3 (2012)

Sowell, Adam. "The Problematic Reception of Sound And Vision in Derek Jarman’s Blue." Celluloid Wicker Man (June 6, 2013)

Stuebner, Anton. "Derek Jarman: Super 8." Art Practical (April 9, 2015)

Tafoya, Scout. "The Post-Punk Cinema Manifesto." Keyframe (September 10, 2015)

Resources for December 6, 2016

"I know by own experience how, from a stranger met by chance, there may come an irresistible appeal which overturns the habitual perspective just as a gust of wind might tumble down the panels of a stage set - what had seemed near becomes infinitely remote and what had seemed distant seems to be close." - Gabriel Marcel, "On the Ontological Mystery" quoted by Sarah Bakewell in At the Existentialist Cafe: 132.

Denniss, Richard and Julie Nelson. "It's the Economists, Stupid." Ideas (November 28, 2016) ["Interest rates. Unemployment. GDP. Markets. Austerity measures. Economists tell us what we, as societies, can and can't afford. But how do they decide? What values are at play? IDEAS producer Mary O'Connell speaks with two economists about how modern mantras on the economy limit our choices and shut down civic debate."]

Edwards, David. "Fake News about 'Fake News': The Media Performance Pyramid." Media Lens (December 5, 2016)

Koski, Genevieve, et al. "Suicide Squad / The Dirty Dozen, Pt. 1." The Next Picture Show #39 (August 9, 2016) ["David Ayer has characterized his new entry in the DC Expanded Universe, SUICIDE SQUAD, as a modern take on Robert Aldrich's THE DIRTY DOZEN, a 1967 war/heist film that set the standard for movies about a band of criminals teaming up to take on a greater evil. In this half of the conversation, we put THE DIRTY DOZEN's violence and attitude toward war in historical context, and tangle with the film's difficult morality."]

---. "Suicide Squad / The Dirty Dozen, Pt. 2." The Next Picture Show #40 (August 11, 2016) ["Our comparison of bad-guys-doing-good films continues with THE DIRTY DOZEN’s ultra-modern, ultra-messy progeny, the new DC Extended Universe entry SUICIDE SQUAD. We try to make sense of the many issues plaguing the newer film, and decipher how the two films each come down on the ideas of villainy and leadership."]

Mandelbaum, Randel F. "The 9 Best Reactions to the House Science Committee’s Breitbart Tweet." Scientific American (December 2, 2016)

Peabody, Fred. "All Governments Lie: Truth, Deception, and the Spirit of I.F. Stone." Film School (November 4, 2016) ["ALL GOVERNMENTS LIE: Truth, Deception, and the Spirit of I.F. Stone is a timely documentary for audiences who are increasingly seeking alternatives to news media owned by large corporations. News events and journalistic trailblazers stretching over many decades are linked together to tell this important story. This film will resonate with audiences in the US and worldwide, as news media ownership increasingly falls into the hands of a few giant corporations."]

Yancy, George. "I Am a Dangerous Professor." The New York Times (November 30, 2016)

Yates, Michael. "Vietnam: The War That Won't Go Away." Counterpunch (December 5, 2016)

ALL GOVERNMENTS LIE: Truth, Deception, and the Spirit of I.F. Stone (Trailer) from WhitePinePictures on Vimeo.

Resources for December 4, 2016

"'True philosophy needs communion to come into existence,' he wrote and added, 'Uncommunicativeness in a philosopher is virtually a criterion of the untruth of his thinking.'" -- The Philosopher Karl Jaspers quoted by Sarah Bakewell in At the Existentialist Cafe : 83.

"Army will not grant easement for Dakota Access Pipeline crossing." US Army (December 4, 2016)

"Bureaucratic hairsplitting on pipeline plan endangers public, environment." Lexington Herald-Leader (November 29, 2016)

Bush, John. "Teach Your Children Wild Edible and Medicinal Plants with this Creative Board Game." The Homestead Guru (December 2016)

D'anna, Becky, James Hancock and Jacob Rivera. "Woody." Wrong Reel #205 (November 2016) ["Wide ranging discussion of his comedies prefaced by some clear analysis of his personal controversies"]

Fleur, Nicholas St. "Four New Names Officially Added to the Periodic Table." The New York Times (December 1, 2016)

Fox, Jeremy C. "Un Maricon Brillante: The Films of Pedro Almodovar." Pajiba (July 12, 2006)

Hauck, Dennis. "Too Late." The Treatment (August 10, 2016) ["Director Dennis Hauck joins Elvis Mitchell to discuss the importance of Techniscope and the 1962 film Carnival of Souls in his directorial debut Too Late."]

Koski, Genevieve, et al. "Contact / Arrival. Pt. 1." The Next Picture Show (November 29, 2016) ["This week, we look to the skies to consider two films about the difficulty of communication between worlds, and the inward journeys involved in looking to the stars. Inspired by Denis Villeneuve’s new ARRIVAL, we begin with an in-depth discussion of an earlier film with which it shares many thematic and narrative elements: Robert Zemeckis' 1997 Carl Sagan adaptation CONTACT. We consider the film’s ambition, dissect its blockbuster qualities, and try to determine what makes this unwieldy, emotional movie work so well, almost despite itself. (Spoiler: It’s mostly Jodie Foster.)"]

---. "Contact / Arrival, Pt. 2." The Next Picture Show (December 1, 2016) ["Our conversation about movies about talking to aliens moves to the present with Denis Villeneuve’s new ARRIVAL, which hits many of the same narrative points as CONTACT, but points them in a different emotional direction. We talk about our reactions to the newer film, and how its ideas about science, communication, and emotion compare with CONTACT’s."]

Resources for December 2, 2016

"The 10 Best Books of 2016." The New York Times (December 1, 2016)

Bruggers, James. "Green River Dam at Mammoth Cave Parks Fails." Courier-Journal (November 30, 2016)

Hayes, Harry. "You Better Take Cover." See Hear #31 (August 7, 2016)

Kilpatrick, Connor. "Everybody Hates Cornel West." Jacobin #23 (November 2016)

Monbiot, George. "Frightened by Donald Trump? You don’t know the half of it." The Guardian (November 30, 2016)

O'Falt, Chris. "How Drunk Astrophysicists Inspired Arrival Scribe Eric Heisserer to Become a Screenwriter." Filmmaker Toolkit (November 21, 2016)

Prasad, Sonali, et al. "Obama's Dirty Secret: The Fossil Fuel Projects the US Littered Around the World." The Guardian (December 1, 2016)

Puschak, Evan. "Donald Trump: Magician-In-Chief." (Posted on Youtube: November 30, 2016)

Taibbi, Matt. "The 'Washington Post' 'Blacklist' Story Is Shameful and Disgusting." Rolling Stone (November 29, 2016)

"We just got the first real evidence of a strange quantum distortion in empty space." Science Alert (December 1, 2016)

Resources for November 30, 2016

Ayer, David and David Hart. "Fury and Justice." Pop Culture Case Study #161 (August 4, 2016) ["In 
this episode, Dave discusses Justice in its many forms, both in normal society and in the military. More importantly, he is joined by Berook of the Cinema Bun Podcast to talk about David Ayer's opus, FURY ..."]

Braier, Natasha. "'I'm Like a Flare Hunter': On The Neon Demon." Filmmaker (November 30, 2016)

Cargill, C. Robert and Brian Salisbury. "One Junky Summer: Manhunter." Junk Food Cinema (August 4, 2016)

Cassidy, Brendan, J.D. Duran and Vince Leo. Captain Fantastic, Hunt for the Wilderpeople." InSession Film (August 5, 2016)

Gooley, Tristan. "The Lost Art of Natural Navigation." Radio West (November 23, 2016)  ["Nowadays, there are all kinds of devices to help us find our way through the world. But before all that stuff, before even cartography, humankind was navigating with nature as the guide. The adventurer Tristan Gooley is committed to recovering and teaching the lost arts natural navigation. Rocks, trees, grass, ducks, puddles, clouds, and the wind are all compass hands to him. Gooley joins us Wednesday to share what he’s learned about natural navigation and the joys of learning nature’s subtle signs. Tristan Gooley is the author of several books about natural navigation, including The Lost Art of Reading Nature’s Signs and his newest, How to Read Water. He is the only living person to have piloted small aircraft and sailed single-handedly across the Atlantic, and he’s a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Navigation and the Royal Geographical Society."]

Hans, Simran. "Mike Drop – How Channing Tatum and President Obama redrew the template for masculinity." Little White Lies (November 6, 2016)

Powers, John. "Movie Monsters, Monster Movies And Why 'Godzilla' Endures." Fresh Air (May 2, 2014)

Rizov, Vadim. "Under the Skin and the Problem with the Adjective Kubrickian." Filmmaker (April 28, 2014)

McCabe & Mrs. Miller (USA: Robert Altman, 1971)

McCabe & Mrs. Miller (USA: Robert Altman, 1971: 120 mins)

Auberjonis, René and Joan Tewkesbury. "The Star Power of Warren Beatty and Julie Christie." Current (October 11, 2016)

Boyer, Thomas. "McCabe & Mrs. Miller: Genre, Voice, and Virtual History." Kino 5.1 (2014)

Christgau, Robert. "Stranger Songs: The Music of Leonard Cohen in McCabe & Mrs. Miller." Current (October 5, 2016)

Danks, Adrian. "Just Some Jesus Looking for a Manger: McCabe & Mrs. Miller." Senses of Cinema #9 (September 2000)

Ebert, Roger. "Great Movie: McCabe & Mrs. Miller." Chicago Sun-Times (November 14, 1999)

Hancock, James and Bill Teck. "Warren Beatty and the New Hollywood." Wrong Reel #265 (May 2017)

McGee, Patrick. From Shane to Kill Bill: Rethinking the Western. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2007.[Professor has copy]

McKnight, Brent. "On Robert Altman's Subversive Anti-Western, McCabe & Mrs. Miller." Pop Matters (November 21, 2016)

Phipps, Keith and Scott Tobias. "McCabe & Mrs. Miller: Profound Pessimism and Leonard Cohen Kindness." The Dissolve (September 30, 2014)

Rebanal, Jaime. "McCabe and Mrs. Miller." (Posted on Letterboxd: January 3, 2016)

"Remembering Leonard Cohen." Current (November 11, 2016)

Rich, Nathaniel. "McCabe & Mrs. Miller: Showdowns." Current (October 13, 2016)

Santos, Steven. "McCabe & Mrs. Miller: A Video Essay." (Posted on Vimeo: 2010)

Self, Robert. "Great Directors: Robert Altman." Senses of Cinema #34 (February 2005)

Suave, Zico. "McCabe & Mrs. Miller: The Conflicted 60s/70s Culture." The Artifice (May 23, 2014)

Tafoya, Scout. "The Post-Punk Cinema Manifesto." Keyframe (September 10, 2015)

Wessels, Chelsea. "McCabe & Mrs. Miller." Library of Congress (ND)

Resources for November 28, 2016

Alwan, Wes, et al. "Alexis de Tocqueville on Democracy in America." The Partially Examined Life #152 (November 21, 2016) ["Democracy is in peril! So said Tocqueville in 1835 and 1840 when Democracy is America was published, and so would he likely say now. Democracy is always just one demagogue away from stripping us of our liberties, though certain structural and cultural features can make that more or less likely. Tocqueville liked our spirit of volunteerism, our civic activeness, our energy and inventiveness and competitiveness, and the pervasiveness of religion (at the time) in American culture. But he didn't like our groupthink, our tendencies toward materialism and caring only about our own small circle (what he called "individualism"), our lack of philosophical curiosity, and was in favor of a strong separation between church and state. He thought that people in a democracy value equality over freedom, and that in the absence of a strong spiritual countervailing force, we'd spend more energy pursuing material comfort and so would be more likely to allow a tyrant who promises this to us to take control. He also feared the rise of a new aristocracy out of the business world, with bosses becoming the new de facto lords. Then again, he also feared a race war and thought for sure that if the South tried to secede, the federal government would be too weak to prevent this, so there's that."]

Buckler, Dana. "Point Break (1991)." H.I.T.M? (August 9, 2016)

Eggert, Brian. "Moonlight (2016)." Deep Focus Review (November 20, 2016)

Emmons, Alex. "Newly-Released Documents Confirm Bureau of Prisons Visit to CIA Torture Site in Afghanistan." The Intercept (November 25, 2016)

Kayyali, Dia. "Getting Started with Digital Security: Tips and Resources for Activists." Witness (November 2016)

Koski, Genvieve, et al. "In the Mood for Love / Moonlight, Part 1." The Next Picture Show #51 (November 22, 2016) ["Inspired by one of the year’s biggest indie sensations, Barry Jenkins’ MOONLIGHT, we’re looking at another highly romanticized tale of unrequited love: Wong Kar-wai’s beautiful 2000 film IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE. In this half, we talk about how affecting LOVE’s central non-love-story is - and why - and consider how the film reflects Wong’s improvisational methods and his desire to create a dreamlike return to the Hong Kong of his childhood."]

---. "In the Mood for Love / Moonlight, Part 2." The Next Picture Show #52 (November 24, 2016) ["Our discussion of lyrical portraits of unrequited love turns its attention to Barry Jenkins’ MOONLIGHT, the look and feel of which—the final third in particular—recalls the bittersweet tone of Wong Kar-Wai’s IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE. We share our reactions to MOONLIGHT, and consider the two films’ shared qualities, including their use of unusual framing and the thematic importance placed on food."]

Orr, Christopher. "Love Actually Is the Least Romantic Film of All Time." The Atlantic (December 6, 2013)

Perlstein, Rick, et al. "Ghosts." On the Media (November 25, 2016) ["A special hour on memory, both historical and personal, and how what we remember shapes our world."]

Schamus, James. "Indignation." The Treatment (August 3, 2016)  ["As the former CEO of Focus Features, James Schamus has been instrumental behind the scenes launching films like Brokeback Mountain and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, often involving his long-time screenwriting partner Ang Lee. He has now tried his hand at directing in his debut Indignation, the adaptation of Philip Roth's book of the same name. Schamus visits The Treatment to discuss his first time working directly with the camera and actors as well as going to great lengths in properly reflecting the essence of the 1950's."]