As long as wars have been fought, wars have needed to be sold. And just like with weapons, the US armed forces have long been on the cutting edge of propaganda.
Articles
Posted inFilm
Ryūsuke Hamaguchi’s Unusual Approach to Filmmaking
The Japanese filmmaker’s international profile has skyrocketed over the past year thanks to his new films Drive My Car and Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy, both of which are now hitting theaters.
Posted inArt
The San Francisco Opera and San Quentin Prison Team Up to Showcase Incarcerated Artists
An exhibition at the San Francisco Opera House pairs the work of incarcerated artists with Beethoven’s story of unjust imprisonment.
Posted inFilm
Why Do People Keep Finding Their Lives Onscreen Without Their Consent?
A man says Blue Bayou took details of his life without his permission. Several women who appear in the documentary Sabaya say they did not consent to be filmed. How can filmmakers avoid these ethical pitfalls?
Posted inArt
A Final Show Honors the Legacy of a Bay Area Art Legend
Hung Liu, an artist who “defied the stereotype that’s thrust on Asian women.”
Posted inFilm
Don’t Miss These Experimental Works at the New York Film Festival
With films touching on protest in France, China’s one-child policy, and Indigenous life in Canada, the 2021 Currents program stays both culturally and politically forward-thinking.
Posted inFilm
20 Years After the September 11th Attacks, What Does “Never Forget” Mean?
Much of what the media deems important coverage of the attacks is in fact retraumatizing gawking or empty nationalism.
Posted inOpinion
Fortnite Turns Martin Luther King Jr.’s Dream Into a Sci-fi Nightmare
“March Through Time,” an interactive educational experience inside the popular online game, recreates the March on Washington, with embarrassing results.
Posted inHistory
The Photographers Who Captured Russia on the Eve of Its Revolution
Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky and Maxim Dmitriev documented drastically different facets of Russia in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Posted inFilm
How Do the Right Thing Recreated Greek Tragedy in Bed-Stuy
Spike Lee’s landmark film is often remembered for its still-relevant social commentary, but its formal brilliance should not go overlooked.
Posted inFilm
What Has Become of Film and TV’s Many Attempts to Dissect Hitler?
After decades of works about the Nazi dictator, “Who was Hitler?” becomes a less interesting question than “Why do we care so much?”
Posted inFilm
The Three Versions of The Jazz Singer and the Sinister Bargain of Jewish Whiteness
For scholars, weighing the context of the classic film’s use of blackface is a valuable thought exercise. For a Jew, it is an exorcism.