The Politics of Cinema

Summer of Sixties - Kick Off with Black Panthers (68) & Burn! (69)

As we kick off our Summer of Sixties, we start with an overview of the decade and highlight two films in particular. Agnes Varda's Black Panthers (1968) Gillo Pontecorvo's Burn! (1969)

First Reformed - Transcendence Thru Cinema

We start off with a discussion of the current uprising in the United States. Settle (settler colonialism) - Five Fingers for Marseilles (France), Utu (New Zealand), The Proposition (Australia). Aaron - Activists Docs Whose Streets? (also mentioned: Pickaxe & The Miami Model) Feature Presentation - First Reformed (2017) Here's the link to a brief overview of Transcendental Style in Film as we discussed on this episode.  Coming Attractions - on the next episode we'll be kicking off our Summer of Sixties with Agnes Varda's Black Panthers (1968) documentary and Gillo Pontecorvo's Burn! (1969).

Captain America - Winter Soldier: Hijacking Geekdom for Capitalist Profits and Scorsese vs Marvel

On this episode, we start off with some Genre Hunting - Seventies Political Thrillers. Isaac's Picks: Blow Out (1981) Aaron's Pick: The Day of the Jackal (1973) Feature Presentation - Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014) Coming Attractions - on the next episode, we'll be discussing First Reformed (2017)  Here's the link to Siddhant Adlakha's site that Isaac referenced during the episode. Martin Scorsese's Marvel Op Ed In case you want a point of reference of the MCU while listening.  

Wanda: Second Wave Feminism and 1970's Industrial Spaces

On this episode, we start off with some Genre Hunting - Hong Kong Kung Fu Films.   Isaac's Picks: The One-Armed Swordsman (1967) & The Fearless Hyena (1979) Aaron's Pick: The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978) Feature Presentation - Wanda (1970) Barbara Loden's one and only feature film as a director (and actor and screenwriter and a little of everything).   Coming Attractions - on the next episode, we'll be discussing Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) as well as the Marvel machine.

The Present and Future of Film: Corona Comfort Cinema Vol. 3

As we hunker down and self-isolate, we also retreat to some of our favorite films and favorite film genres.  On this episode Aaron and Isaac discuss what films they've been gravitating towards while on lock-down and how they select the films they've been watching.  From long forgotten Spaghetti Westerns, Kung-Fu Blaxploitation, Italian Colosseum films to British Military dramas...it's an eclectic selection of titles. In the second half of the episode, they discuss the potential future of motion picture theatres by looking at the trend of film festivals moving to streaming platforms, studios versus multiplexes chains, the art house theatre circuit and when will people feel safe at a theatre.

Film Noir: Corona Comfort Cinema Vol. 2

As we hunker down and self-isolate, we also retreat to some of our favorite films and favorite film genres.  On this episode Aaron and Isaac took a look at the Film Noir genre.  In particular they choose two very different Post WWII societies, United Kingdom and Japan.  They discuss just what those films have to say about their respective societies in the wake of unimaginable global destruction. I Became a Criminal (aka They Made Me a Fugitive) (1947) Drunken Angel (1948)

Night Comes for Us: Corona Comfort Cinema Vol. 1

As we hunker down and self-isolate, we also retreat to some of our favorite films.  Isaac has been impatiently waiting for Aaron to watch The Night Comes for Us (2018), Timo Tjahjanto's Indonesian action opus that also features fellow Raid/Raid 2 alums Iko Uwais, Joe Taslim & Julie Estelle.  We discuss the surprising level of heart, overlapping character arcs, some of the bloodiest fight sequences ever filmed and the current state of Indonesian cinema.

American Factory: Hyper-Exploitation, Lean Production and the Village People

It's time for another Double Feature!  This time we broke up the films into two separate episodes - and this is part 2. On this episode, we’re watching Julia Reichart & Steve Bognar’s Oscar winning documentary - American Factory (2019). We discuss the history of documentary sequels, Julia Reichart's Oscar speech, the parallel story structure, hyper-exploitation of workers, automation myths vs realities, Lean Production methods and how much fun it really is to stay at the Y.M.C.A. Don't forget to check out Part 1 of this Double Feature - our episode on Julia Reichert & Steven Bognar's Oscar nominated The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant (2009).

The Last Truck - Closing of a GM Plant: Direct Cinema, Obama's Trade Legacy and the Inefficiency of Capitalism

It's time for another Double Feature!  This time we broke up the films into two separate episodes.   In Part 1, we dive into Julia Reichert & Steven Bognar's Oscar nominated The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant (2009).  This documentary takes a Direct Cinema approach to...well the closing of a GM plant near Dayton, Ohio and what that means to the employees and the local economy. We also discuss the state of documentary films over the last few years on the Art House circuit, the boom of true crime docs on streaming platforms and the entire catalogue of Citizens United Productions. Join us for Part 2, when we will be taking a deep dive into Julia Reichert & Steven Bognar's Oscar winning American Factory (2019).

Invasion U.S.A. & Wolf Warrior 2: American Blue Jean Masculinity versus Chinese Elite Forces Hypermasculinity

It's Double Feature Time!  Isaac has an uncanny ability to come up with thematic cinema pairings and this episode is the first case we make to the public that displays this power. In 1985, Chuck Norris and Cannon Films gave America the blue jean clad one man army it needed to fight off Russian invaders.  Invasion U.S.A. typified the rouge individualist mentality of a Reagan/Bush America and came out at the height of Mr. Norris' box office powers. One year after Missing in Action and one year before Delta Force. In 2017, Wu Jing produced, starred, wrote and directed Wolf Warrior 2.  While most viewers in the USA are unaware of this film, it made more at the worldwide box office than Thor: Ragnarock, Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 and Wonder Woman.  Wu's special forces soldier in exile gave the world a hypermasculine Chinese action hero unlike anything we've seen before.