Thursday, December 31, 2009

Noam Chomsky: Philosophies of Language & Politics

Noam Chomsky: Philosophies of Language & Politics
Interviewed by Larry Bensky
FORA TV

Noam Chomsky has been pushing change in language, politics and culture for decades. The controversial expert on modern language explains why "the smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum."

To Listen/Watch

Michael Berube: Discipline and Theory

Berube, Michael. “Discipline and Theory.” Public Access: Literary Theory and American Cultural Politics. NY: Verso, 1994: 43-58.

In Bakhtin’s model {“Discourse in the Novel” from The Dialogic Imagination}, narrative isn’t a question of how much a narrator ‘knows’ or who sees what from what ‘point of view’. Bakhtin starts, instead, from the position that language is a profoundly social phenomenon, that our social lives are composed of myriad, competing dialects and idiolects, and that a language’s or a word’s meaning is radically dependent on its social context and social use—not on a presumably straightforward relation between ‘words’ and ‘reality’.

... he defined the novel—a genre notoriously resistant to ‘definition’—not in terms of the elements all novels have in common (for there are no such common elements), but in terms of the novel’s linguistic voraciousness, its very willingness to ‘raid’ other, more stable genres in the process of composing new and complex multigeneric molecules. (48)

... Ludwig Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Investigations ... position that genera of objects—novels, games, nations, races, genders, classes, tables, chairs—are constituted by ‘family resemblances’ rather than their common ‘essences’. Wittgenstein’s analogy is this: think of a cord of many overlapping fibers in which no one fiber runs the whole length of the cord. Now think of objects many of which have a number of significant features in common, but not all of which possess all the ‘significant features’ under discussion. That’s more or less what ‘family resemblances’ look like in Wittgenstein’s family. (48)

My second Bakhtinian liberation was this: Bakhtin’s emphasis on narrative discourse (as distinct from narrative epistemology) manages to combine narratology’s emphasis on narrative minutiae with a sophisticated account of the social contexts in which different forms of language operate. According to Bakhtin, then, the same word—oh, let’s take a good big one, like ‘liberty’—gets rearticulated, refashioned and redefined by diverse social groups, and these groups' struggles over the meaning of words (think of ‘peace through strength’) constitutes the social life of narrative forms. This position, too, I wound up glossing with the help of Wittgenstein, who maintains that ‘the meaning of a word is its use in the language’. Sounds commonsensical enough—until you realize how thoroughly anti-Platonic a position it is, how much it goes against our sense that words refer to something. But what do words like ‘however’ and ‘actually’ refer to? And why do we think that we can look up words’ meanings on a reference-table, absent the social context in which they are used? As for words like ‘table’, which are, as we know, less subject to social contestation than words like ‘terrorist’, their meaning, too, resides in their use in the language, not in any linguistic essence; it’s just that most people tend not to see any need to argue about their use. (48-49) {This leads to Berube’s anti-essentialist philosophy. It is a well-reasoned and supported stance that I am sympathetic to in regards to its fight against labeling and blanket-grouping—and thus its contestation of common sense. This is also a focus of Zygmunt Bauman’s Freedom and Richard Harvey Brown’s Society as Text. Also refer to Holloway/Kneale (1999).}

In my next close encounter of the 1980s, I came up against Thomas Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, and ... Richard Rorty. From that point on I’ve been an ‘anti-foundationalist’ as well. Thanks to Kuhn’s refusal to believe that science ‘progresses’ in some linear, incremental way, and Rorty’s refusal to believe that philosophy is the ‘foundation’ of human knowledge, I’ve come to believe and argue that our social practices and identities are ‘contingent’ rather than ‘grounded’—that there are no final, universal, transhistorical standards for the production or value of human knowledge and understanding. (49)

It’s been a mild shock to me to discover how disturbing this position is to many traditionalists in the humanities. Scientists, by contrast, seem largely untroubled by it. Kuhn himself draws most of his examples from the ‘foundational’ sciences of chemistry and physics, both of which have taken stock of Kuhn’s account of ‘normal science’ and have kept right on conducting normal science as Kuhn understands it. In the fall of 1991, I presented the case for anti-foundationalism at an interdisciplinary conference at which I was asked to speak about ‘new directions in knowledge’ in my field. I talked mostly about the effects of ‘theory’ on the way we do literary history, and along the way I invoked the names of Kuhn and Wittgenstein, and Michel Foucault, too. To my surprise, I was met with questions from physicists and psychologist who demanded to know what was so ‘new’ about the propositions that humans perceive things through interpretive paradigms and that human knowledge, like all things human, is historically conditioned and socially constructed. ... physicists and mathematicians are unthreatened by ideas like ‘indeterminacy’, but that some of us in the humanities cannot contemplate the notion that meaning is indeterminate without declaring that the sky is falling; and many cognitive psychologists work well with the assumption that all perception is a form of interpretation, whereas in some ‘traditionalist’ circles, you still can’t say such a thing about literary texts without being accused of some horrid thing like moral relativism. (49-50)

{If presented correctly and bridged towards student everyday realities} deconstruction {can open up a space in which} students {will recognize} that meanings always have to be made and remade. (51)

I always thought that it was OK for universities to encourage skepticism—that is, to teach students to think critically and to interrogate received ideas, particularly the ideas they’ve received without knowing they’d accepted a delivery. (52)

Monday, December 28, 2009

Wendell Berry: The Work of Local Culture

Berry, Wendell. “The Work of Local Culture.” What Are People For? San Francisco: North Point Press, 1990: 153-169.

A human community, too, must collect leaves and stories, and turn them to account. It must build soil, and build that memory of itself—in lore and story and song—that will be its culture. These two kinds of accumulation, of local soil and local culture, are intimately related. (Berry, 154)

A human community, then, if it is to last long, must exert a sort of centripetal force, holding local soil and local memory in place. (Berry, 155)

This loss of local knowledge and local memory—that is, of local culture—has been ignored, or written off as one of the cheaper “prices of progress,” or made the business of folklorists. Nevertheless, local culture has a value, and part of its value is economic. This can be demonstrated readily enough. (Berry, 157)

... when a community loses its memory, its members no longer know one another. How can they know one another if they have forgotten or have never learned one another’s stories? If they do not know one another’s stories, how can they know whether or not to trust one another? People who do not trust one another do not help one another, and moreover they fear one another. And this is our predicament now. Because of a general distrust and suspicion, we not only lose one another’s help and companionship, but we are all now living in jeopardy of being sued. (Berry, 157-158)

... most people of the present can only marvel to think of neighbors entertaining themselves for a whole evening without a single imported pleasure and without listening to a single minute of sales talk. (Berry, 159)

But if, for example, there should occur a forty-eight-hour power failure, we would find ourselves in much more backward circumstances than our ancestors. (Berry, 159)

Professionalism means more interest in salaries and less interest in what used to be known as disciplines. And so we arrive at the idea, endlessly reiterated in the news media, that education can be improved by bigger salaries for teachers—which may be true, but education cannot be improved, as the proponents too often imply, by bigger salaries alone. There must also be love of learning and of the cultural tradition and of excellence—and this love cannot exist, because it makes no sense, apart from the love of a place and a community. Without this love, education is only the importation into a local community of centrally prescribed “career preparation” designed to facilitate the export of young careerists. (Berry, 164)

Our children are educated, then, to leave home, not to stay home, and the costs of this education have been far too little acknowledged. One of the costs is psychological, and the other is at once cultural and ecological. (Berry, 164)

The natural or normal course of human growing up must begin with some sort of rebellion against one’s parents, for it is clearly impossible to grow up if one remains a child. But the child, in the process of rebellion and of achieving the emotional and economic independence that rebellion ought to lead to, finally comes to understand the parents as fellow humans and fellow sufferers, and in some manner returns to them as their friend, forgiven and forgiving the inevitable wrongs of family life. That is the old norm. (Berry, 164-165)

The new norm, according to which the child leaves home as a student and never lives at home again, interrupts the old course of coming of age at the point of rebellion, so that the child is apt to remain stalled in adolescence, never achieving any kind of reconciliation or friendship with the parents. Of course, such a return and reconciliation cannot be achieved without the recognition of mutual practical need. In the present economy, however, where individual dependences are so much exterior to both household and community, family members often have no practical need or use for one another. Hence the frequent futility of attempts at a purely psychological or emotional reconciliation. (Berry, 165)

The loss of local culture is, in part, a practical loss and an economic one. For one thing, such a culture contains, and conveys to succeeding generations, the history of the use of the place and the knowledge of how the place may be lived in and used. For another, the pattern of reminding implies affection for the place and respect for it, and so, finally, the local culture will carry the knowledge of how the place may be well and lovingly used, and also the implicit command to use it only well and lovingly. The only true and effective “operator’s manual for spaceship earth” is not a book that any human will ever write, it is hundreds of thousands of local cultures. (Berry, 166)

Lacking an authentic local culture, a place is open to exploitation, and ultimately to destruction, from the center. (Berry, 166)

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Trinie Dalton: Animal Party



"Animal Party" by Trinie Dalton

I moved to the desert to escape the noise and crap
in Los Angeles. L.A.’s air felt gunky on my skin. Just
walking outside I’d acquire greasy layers. I washed
my face three or four times a day. Four hounds next
door started barking at dawn every morning. The
city felt claustrophobic and dingy, even at night
when I was most alive. I couldn’t see stars. I’d sit at
my desk spying through binoculars into other people’s
houses. Even then, I only saw TVs flickering—
no naked woman dancing, no stoner getting high.
Everyone was so boring. Worst of all, I hated driving
the grids; it made me feel stupid, like a termite. All
the daily plugging away in the car, on the phone,
on the computer, in the kitchen, shopping, getting
dressed, talking, thinking, behaving, and controlling
amounted to nothing more than survival, something
that a termite does so easily with no financial security
or brains.

It wasn’t fair: all the responsibilities, all the years
of moral preparation and schooling, for no more
accomplishment (a rented house, decent meals) than
that of an insect. You think humans are superior, but
they’re really not—think of all the amazing feats termites
can pull off that we can’t: chewing and digesting
wood, carrying things hundreds of times their
weight, building massive muddy towers and secure
tunnel systems, communicating telepathically without
language. Being human is a gyp.

Akashic Books

Monday, December 14, 2009

Seeing Red Radio: The US Constitution and the Rebellion that Shaped It, Pt. 1

The US Constitution and the Rebellion that Shaped It, Pt. 1
Seeing Red Radio

Stepping back into local history, this edition of SRR examines the US Constitution and the rebellion that woke up the Founding Fathers; Shay’s Rebellion, which took place in the hills and valleys of Western Massachusetts. We include excerpts of talks by Howard Zinn and Michael Parenti.

Toward an American Revolution: Exposing the Constitution and other Illusions by Jerry Fresia

Music:
Who is This America? – Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra
Down on Penny’s Farm – The Bently Boys
Excuse Me Mr. – Ben Harper
The Best Democracy Money Can Buy – David Rovics
Take Back the Power – Asian Dub Foundation

To Listen to the Episode

Twilight in a Minute Parody

jacksfilm's channel

Sunday, December 13, 2009

The People Speak (Sunday, December 13th: 8PM on the History Channel)

We have organized a public gathering tonight to watch this... I am curious to hear what you think of it if you watch it.

Matt Taibbi: Obama's Big Sellout

(Courtesy of JV)

Obama's Big Sellout: The president has packed his economic team with Wall Street insiders intent on turning the bailout into an all-out giveaway
by MATT TAIBBI
Rolling Stone

Barack Obama ran for president as a man of the people, standing up to Wall Street as the global economy melted down in that fateful fall of 2008. He pushed a tax plan to soak the rich, ripped NAFTA for hurting the middle class and tore into John McCain for supporting a bankruptcy bill that sided with wealthy bankers "at the expense of hardworking Americans." Obama may not have run to the left of Samuel Gompers or Cesar Chavez, but it's not like you saw him on the campaign trail flanked by bankers from Citigroup and Goldman Sachs. What inspired supporters who pushed him to his historic win was the sense that a genuine outsider was finally breaking into an exclusive club, that walls were being torn down, that things were, for lack of a better or more specific term, changing.

Then he got elected.

What's taken place in the year since Obama won the presidency has turned out to be one of the most dramatic political about-faces in our history. Elected in the midst of a crushing economic crisis brought on by a decade of orgiastic deregulation and unchecked greed, Obama had a clear mandate to rein in Wall Street and remake the entire structure of the American economy. What he did instead was ship even his most marginally progressive campaign advisers off to various bureaucratic Siberias, while packing the key economic positions in his White House with the very people who caused the crisis in the first place. This new team of bubble-fattened ex-bankers and laissez-faire intellectuals then proceeded to sell us all out, instituting a massive, trickle-up bailout and systematically gutting regulatory reform from the inside.

How could Obama let this happen? Is he just a rookie in the political big leagues, hoodwinked by Beltway old-timers? Or is the vacillating, ineffectual servant of banking interests we've been seeing on TV this fall who Obama really is?

Whatever the president's real motives are, the extensive series of loophole-rich financial "reforms" that the Democrats are currently pushing may ultimately do more harm than good. In fact, some parts of the new reforms border on insanity, threatening to vastly amplify Wall Street's political power by institutionalizing the taxpayer's role as a welfare provider for the financial-services industry. At one point in the debate, Obama's top economic advisers demanded the power to award future bailouts without even going to Congress for approval — and without providing taxpayers a single dime in equity on the deals.

How did we get here? It started just moments after the election — and almost nobody noticed.

'Just look at the timeline of the Citigroup deal," says one leading Democratic consultant. "Just look at it. It's fucking amazing. Amazing! And nobody said a thing about it."

Barack Obama was still just the president-elect when it happened, but the revolting and inexcusable $306 billion bailout that Citigroup received was the first major act of his presidency. In order to grasp the full horror of what took place, however, one needs to go back a few weeks before the actual bailout — to November 5th, 2008, the day after Obama's election.

That was the day the jubilant Obama campaign announced its transition team. Though many of the names were familiar — former Bill Clinton chief of staff John Podesta, long-time Obama confidante Valerie Jarrett — the list was most notable for who was not on it, especially on the economic side. Austan Goolsbee, a University of Chicago economist who had served as one of Obama's chief advisers during the campaign, didn't make the cut. Neither did Karen Kornbluh, who had served as Obama's policy director and was instrumental in crafting the Democratic Party's platform. Both had emphasized populist themes during the campaign: Kornbluh was known for pushing Democrats to focus on the plight of the poor and middle class, while Goolsbee was an aggressive critic of Wall Street, declaring that AIG executives should receive "a Nobel Prize — for evil."

But come November 5th, both were banished from Obama's inner circle — and replaced with a group of Wall Street bankers. Leading the search for the president's new economic team was his close friend and Harvard Law classmate Michael Froman, a high-ranking executive at Citigroup. During the campaign, Froman had emerged as one of Obama's biggest fundraisers, bundling $200,000 in contributions and introducing the candidate to a host of heavy hitters — chief among them his mentor Bob Rubin, the former co-chairman of Goldman Sachs who served as Treasury secretary under Bill Clinton. Froman had served as chief of staff to Rubin at Treasury, and had followed his boss when Rubin left the Clinton administration to serve as a senior counselor to Citigroup (a massive new financial conglomerate created by deregulatory moves pushed through by Rubin himself).

Incredibly, Froman did not resign from the bank when he went to work for Obama: He remained in the employ of Citigroup for two more months, even as he helped appoint the very people who would shape the future of his own firm. And to help him pick Obama's economic team, Froman brought in none other than Jamie Rubin who happens to be Bob Rubin's son. At the time, Jamie's dad was still earning roughly $15 million a year working for Citigroup, which was in the midst of a collapse brought on in part because Rubin had pushed the bank to invest heavily in mortgage-backed CDOs and other risky instruments.

Now here's where it gets really interesting. It's three weeks after the election. You have a lame-duck president in George W. Bush — still nominally in charge, but in reality already halfway to the golf-and-O'Doul's portion of his career and more than happy to vacate the scene. Left to deal with the still-reeling economy are lame-duck Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, a former head of Goldman Sachs, and New York Fed chief Timothy Geithner, who served under Bob Rubin in the Clinton White House. Running Obama's economic team are a still-employed Citigroup executive and the son of another Citigroup executive, who himself joined Obama's transition team that same month.

So on November 23rd, 2008, a deal is announced in which the government will bail out Rubin's messes at Citigroup with a massive buffet of taxpayer-funded cash and guarantees. It is a terrible deal for the government, almost universally panned by all serious economists, an outrage to anyone who pays taxes. Under the deal, the bank gets $20 billion in cash, on top of the $25 billion it had already received just weeks before as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program. But that's just the appetizer. The government also agrees to charge taxpayers for up to $277 billion in losses on troubled Citi assets, many of them those toxic CDOs that Rubin had pushed Citi to invest in. No Citi executives are replaced, and few restrictions are placed on their compensation. It's the sweetheart deal of the century, putting generations of working-stiff taxpayers on the hook to pay off Bob Rubin's fuck-up-rich tenure at Citi. "If you had any doubts at all about the primacy of Wall Street over Main Street," former labor secretary Robert Reich declares when the bailout is announced, "your doubts should be laid to rest."

It is bad enough that one of Bob Rubin's former protégés from the Clinton years, the New York Fed chief Geithner, is intimately involved in the negotiations, which unsurprisingly leave the Federal Reserve massively exposed to future Citi losses. But the real stunner comes only hours after the bailout deal is struck, when the Obama transition team makes a cheerful announcement: Timothy Geithner is going to be Barack Obama's Treasury secretary!

Geithner, in other words, is hired to head the U.S. Treasury by an executive from Citigroup — Michael Froman — before the ink is even dry on a massive government giveaway to Citigroup that Geithner himself was instrumental in delivering. In the annals of brazen political swindles, this one has to go in the all-time Fuck-the-Optics Hall of Fame.

To Read the Rest of the Essay

Air: La Femme D'Argent

Low Anthem: Charlie Darwin

Courtesy of Jonathan Vincent

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Wendell Berry: "To damage the Earth, is to damage your children."

Berry, Wendell. The Unsettling of America. San Francisco, CA: Sierra Club Books, 1986.

… no matter the distinctions we draw, the connections, the dependencies, remain. To damage the Earth, is to damage your children. (Berry, 1986: 57)

“Anarchism and Anarchy: A Historical Perspective” Barry Pateman at the 2009 NAASN Conference

“Anarchism and Anarchy: A Historical Perspective” Barry Pateman at the 2009 NAASN Conference



Revolution by the Book

Uprising Radio: This Week In Copenhagen

This Week in Copenhagen…
Uprising Radio

In the first major street demonstrations on global warming in Copenhagen, about 40 activists were arrested today. The demonstrations were aimed at a meeting of corporate leaders gathered as part of the larger UN climate summit or COP 15 to discuss the role of business in tackling global warming. The activists chanted “Mind your business, this is our climate.” Over 50,000 activists have gathered in Copenhagen, Denmark, and many are hailing the gathering as the “most important meeting of their lives.” Today we’ll kick off the show with an audio summary of the first week’s events in Copenhagen, gathered by the hundreds of media activists and street journalists that are creating their own media.

To Listen

The Avett Brothers: Paranoia in B Flat Minor

XKCD: Natural Parenting

XKCD

Bill Moyers Journal: Howard Zinn -- The People Speak

Howard Zinn -- The People Speak
Bill Moyers Journal

"They're willing to let people think about mild reforms and little changes, and incremental changes, but they don't want people to think that we could actually transform this country."

Howard Zinn has long been known as the historian of the American everyman and woman. His groundbreaking work, THE PEOPLE'S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES, turned history on its head — concentrating on the power of the people to effect change, not just the deeds of great men and those in political power.

BILL MOYERS: There's a long tradition in America of people power, and no one has done more to document it than the historian, Howard Zinn. Listen to this paragraph from his most famous book. Quote: "If democracy were to be given any meaning, if it were to go beyond the limits of capitalism and nationalism, this would not come, if history were any guide, from the top. It would come through citizen's movements, educating, organizing, agitating, striking, boycotting, demonstrating, threatening those in power with disruption of the stability they needed." This son of a working class family got a job in the Brooklyn shipyards and then flew as a bombardier during World War II. He went to NYU on the G.I. Bill, taught history at Spellman College in Atlanta, where he was first active in the Civil Rights movement, and then became a professor of political science at Boston University.

There, he and his students sought a more down-to-earth way of looking at American history. And when no book could provide it, Zinn decided to write one. Since his publication in 1980, "A People's History of the United States" has sold more than two million copies. This Sunday night, the History Channel will premiere a 90-minute special, "The People Speak" based on Howard Zinn's book. It was produced by Zinn along with Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Chris Moore and Anthony Arnove.

To Read/Listen/Watch and Access More Resources

Jenny Lewis: The Next Messiah

Friday, December 11, 2009

Jon Lewis: Real Sex -- Aesthetics and Economics of Art-House Porn

Real sex: aesthetics and economics of art-house porn
by Jon Lewis
Jump Cut



...

The most successful U.S. real sex film to date is John Cameron Mitchell’s Shortbus, which opened on just six screens in October 2006, then on positive word-of-mouth expanded to over sixty screens in its third week of release. The film eventually grossed nearly $2 million, a respectable run for any art house film, let alone one with ample gay-male content.

What distinguishes Shortbus from previous real sex indies and imports is its exuberance, the notion that sex (and sex on film) might actually be fun. This hearkens back to the “different strokes for different folks” spirit of the groundbreaking 1972 porn film Deep Throat, which promoted an egalitarianism, a democracy of on-screen sex. Several mainstream reviewers celebrated Mitchell’s novel approach. David Ansen of Newsweek wrote:

“Other films (mainly foreign) have certainly given us totally explicit sex before. Think of Catherine Breillat’s Romance and Anatomy of Hell. Or the grittily aggressive Baise Moi. But these were all films that rewarded prurience with punishment (in the form of either graphically unpleasant sex or windy French philosophizing). Mitchell brings an all-American cheerfulness to his sex romp, a native-born faith in the therapeutic benefits of unfettered desire.”


With regard to the film’s orgy finale, Ansen shrugged off all the real sex on screen, concluding,

“This is XXX with a happy face.”


The New York Times’ Manohla Dargis similarly commented upon the film’s happy feel:

“Mr. Mitchell isn’t the first nonpornographic filmmaker to incorporate sexually explicit material into his work, but he may be the most optimistic and good natured.”


Dargis went so far as to assert that the final scene in Shortbus offers not only an answer for the lonely twentysomethings in the film but a model for filmmakers in Hollywood:

“Mr. Mitchell finds his happy ending in raucous music and warm caresses, in an oceanic feeling in which everyone is free to be freakily you and me. His idealism is pleasingly touching and just maybe a bit naïve. It’s an idealism that feels out of place next to the hot-to-trot television housewives, panting pop divas, cringingly graphic memoirs and novels in which sex is an index of late capitalism at its most bleak. Certainly it’s deeply, if promisingly, at odds with an U.S. movie mainstream that has grown progressively more prudish about sex over the last three decades, while its representations of violence have grown more obscenely violent. Hollywood says let it bleed. Mr. Mitchell would rather we get off on life.”


Parting glances

Regimes of censorship are inevitably capricious, ambiguous, and inconsistent, yet they reflect upon the culture they serve in ways that are at once telling and troubling. The Classification and Rating Administration (CARA), which rates films for the MPAA, makes possible the wide release of R-rated torture films like Saw and Hostel, yet offers no “legitimate” designation for a sweet-natured (adults-only) real-sex film like Shortbus. Saw IV, the R-rated installment of the popular torture film series released during the same twelve month period as Shortbus, opened on more than 3,000 screens nationwide and grossed over $60 million in its first 2 months in release. That’s 2,940 more screens than the reigning real-sex box office champion Shortbus reached at its peak and roughly thirty times its theatrical gross.

There’s more to this than the obvious double standard at the MPAA regarding sex and violence. The Shortbus/Saw IV comparison reveals the ways in which industrial policy and practice drives cultural standards. In the marginalization of art-house porn and in the mainstream commercial success of disturbingly violent horror films, we find our society not so much mirrored but reified by MPAA censorship policies and procedures. We are fascinated by violence in even its most extreme and hideous representation, and we are willing to indulge this fascination with few (if any) limits. Sex, especially real sex, makes us nervous … so nervous that if it can be shown (in any legitimate venue) it must be, it better be “art.” Art has become as much a matter of commerce as aesthetics. That is, by labeling something art you pretty much guarantee a small audience, one that is marginal to (and systematically marginalized by) U.S. pop culture.

To Read the Entire Essay

Joan Slonczewski: A Door Into Ocean

I literally devoured this book ... a beautiful realization of a pacifist, anti-authoritarian, all-female (but not necessarily anti-male) ocean world resisting a 100 world-spanning militaristic empire's attempt to place them under control/domination. All the way to the end I wasn't sure how it would turn out... Joan Slonczewski is a biologist and she spent eight years creating this book. It is evident in the careful construction of the novel, the characters are brilliantly realized and the strange world makes sense (at least to me).



A Library Journal reviewer stated "Slonczewski creates an all-female nonviolent culture that reaches beyond feminism to a new definition of human nature" (Library Journal Vol. 110 (Issue 20): p129) ... I can understand the reviewer's exuberance, but the definition of human nature is not new. It can be seen in anarchist collectives, Quaker gatherings, Unitarian spirituality and the tradition of non-violent resistance. The Shora gatherings for collective decision-making and their lack of official leaders/permanent hierarchy prove to be particularly frustrating for the empire trying to dominate them through the domestication of elite native puppet leaders.

A Door Into Ocean Study Guide

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Annie Leonard: The Story of Cap and Trade

(Courtesy of The Socialist Project)

The Story of Stuff

Animation (Archive)

Kozachik, Pete. "2 Worlds, in Three Dimensions: Pete Kozachik, ASC details his approach to the 3-D digital stop-motion feature Coraline, whose heroine discovers a sinister world behind the walls of her new home." American Cinematographer (February 2009)

Newcomb, Julie. "Anime Guide." Green Cine (March 22, 2007)

Polonsky, David, et al. "Waltz With Bashir: The Art Director's War." Open Source (April 17, 2009)

Scharf, David. "The Big Brother State." Vimeo (February 2009)

---. "The Forest." Vimeo (August 2009)

Silvio, Carl. "Refiguring the Radical Cyborg in Mamoru Oshii’s Ghost in the Shell. Science Fiction Studies 26.1 (March 1999)

Simonova, Kseniya. "Sand Animation." (Youtube video: posted June 7, 2009)

Suzuki, Ayumi. "A nightmare of capitalist Japan: Spirited Away> Jump Cut #51 (Spring 2009)

Tobias, Scott. "Team America: World Police." A.V. Club (May 28, 2009)

Walden, Kim Louise. "Double Take: Rotoscoping and the Processing of Performance. Refractory #14 (December 24, 2008)

Caroline Koebel: Torture, maternity, and truth in Jasmila Zbanic’s Grbavica: Land of My Dreams

Torture, maternity, and truth in Jasmila Zbanic’s Grbavica: Land of My Dreams
by Caroline Koebel
Jump Cut



Set some ten years into the aftermath of Slobodan Milosevic’s onslaught in former Yugoslavia, Jasmila Zbanic’s Grbavica: Land of My Dreams (2005)[3] does not examine how Esma (Mirjana Karanovic), the narrative’s protagonist, coped with life in a prisoner of war camp for Bosnian Muslims (Bosniaks).

“My belly grew. With her inside. Even then they came….In twos, threes, every day.”[4]


It does not account for how she was able to sustain herself day after day of multiple gang rapes, to continue indefinitely, and lasting well into her pregnancy with the “bastard Chetnik”[5] daughter to whom she eventually gave birth. It does not detail Esma’s liberation from the camp. Rather, Grbavica follows Esma as mother of a now pubescent daughter as she confronts her struggle to exist in the present. The film proposes that for Esma to have the possibility of a future, she must speak the truth of her past in all its inexorable trauma. And in the process, the film hoes the battleground between ethics and truth.

Should a mother protect her child from knowledge of its identity as product of rape by the enemy? How does deceit once conceived take on a life of its own? Can internal conflict be represented so as to evoke sympathy while resisting sentimentality and sensationalism?

Jump Cut

Lexington Film League: DO-ERS Community Video Contest

Make Yourself Necessary

“DO-ERS”
Community Video Contest
Lights, Community, Action!

What are people doing in a neighborhood near you? We want you to film it and tell us the story!

The Lexington Film League invites all filmmakers and those interested in making films to go out and create a 5 minute (or less) video about what’s going on in your community. Find a group or do it yourself, the idea is to just go out and make it!

All submissions must be in before January 15th, 2010 and will be reviewed by a team of judges and voted on by YOU! The winner will receive a cash prize, half of which will be donated to the non-profit organization of their choice.

This is open to all filmmakers and community members across Kentucky.

Winner(s) will be announced during a special event held in February 2010.

All submissions will be posted on our YouTube channel and available for you and your peers to vote on.
Guidelines:

* no more than 5 minutes in length
* any subject of anyone or organization “doing” something in your community
* this project is state-wide
* credits include non-profit website (if applicable) and all participants names
* no copy-written music or images
* please deliver a high quality QT file: H.264 or upload the video to your personal YouTube account and send us your user name for us to link: lexfilmleague@gmail.com
* include all contact information with your submission
* send to:

"Doers" Video Contest
c/o Sarah Wylie Ammerman
1113 N. Limestone St.
Lexington, 40505

Wednesday, December 09, 2009

Sarah Haskins in Target Women: Doofy Husbands

Courtesy of Laura W.

Sarah Haskins

Wendell Berry: "The acquisition of knowledge always involves the revelation of ignorance"

Berry, Wendell. “A Letter to Wes Jackson.” Home Economics. Berkeley, CA: North Point Press, 1987.

The acquisition of knowledge always involves the revelation of ignorance. Our knowledge of the world instructs us first of all that the world is greater than our knowledge of it. To those who rejoice in abundance and intricacy, this is a source of joy. To those would-be solvers of “the human problem,” who hope for knowledge equal to (capable of controlling) the world, it is a source of unremitting defeat and bewilderment. One thing we do know, and dare not forget, is that better solutions than ours have at times been made by people with much less information than we have. We know, too that the same information that in one [person’s] hands will ruin the land, in another’s will save and improve it. (Berry: 65)

Element Skateboards: Power to the Planet

Courtesy of About-Face

America the Beautiful (USA: Darryl Roberts, 2007)

Courtesy of About-Face

Sexual Education and Side Hugs

(Commentary on this phenomenon: The Side-Hug: Youth Group Puts Down Sinful "Front-Hugs" With Rap)

Courtesy of Laura W.

ZOMGitsCriss

International Film Studies

ENG 282

2000

Billy Elliot (UK/France: Stephen Daldry, 2000: 110 mins)

Turner, Pauline. "Images of the Family." Understanding Representation. ed. Wendy Helsby. London: BFI, 2005: 33-50. [Available in BCTC Library PN 1995 U4977 2005]

Blackboards (Iran/Italy/Japan: Samira Makhmalbaf, 2000: 85 mins)

Ashbury, Roy. "Schools and Teachers." Understanding Representation. ed. Wendy Helsby. London: BFI, 2005: 51-74. [Available in BCTC library PN1995 U4977 2005]

Stone, Judy. "Iranian Cinema Now." International Film Guide: 2004 Los Angeles: Silman-James Press, 2004: 40-54.

Code Unknown (France/Germany/Romania: Michael Haneke, 2000: 118 mins)

Brunette, Peter. Michael Haneke. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois, 2010.

---. "On the Films of Michael Haneke." The Marketplace of Ideas (April 15, 2010)

"Code Unknown: An Auto Dialogue." Girish [This is a blog-a-thon--links at the bottom will direct you to more essays on the film] (February 13, 2006)

Cozzalio, Dennis. "Code Unknown and Crash: Collisions, Connections and Catharsis." Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly (February 13, 2006)

Falcon, Richard. Code Unknown Sight and Sound (May 2001)

Grundman, Roy. A Companion to Michael Haneke. Malden, MA: Wiley Blackwell, 2010.

"Michael Haneke Studies: Videos, Podcasts and Article Links." Film Studies for Free (June 26, 2010)

Price, Brian and John David Rhodes, ed. On Michael Haneke. Detroit, MI: Wayne State University, 2010.

Sorfa, David. "Uneasy domesticity in the films of
Michael Haneke."
Studies in European Cinema 3.2 (2006)

Wheatley, Catherine. Michael Haneke's Cinema: The Ethic of the Image. NY: Bergahn Books, 2009. [BCTC Library PN 1998.3 H36 W44 2009]

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Taiwan/Hong Kong/USA/China: Ang Lee, 2000: 120 mins)

Atchley, J. Heath. "When The Master Is Not Master: The Critique of Enlightenment in Ang Lee's 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.'" Journal of Religion and Film 7.2 (October 2003)

Baker, Geoff. "Portraying the Quest for Buddhist Wisdom?: A Comparative Study of The Matrix and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." Journal of Religion and Film 10.1 (April 2006)

Dancer in the Dark (Denmark: Lars Von Trier, 2000: 140 mins)

"May TOERIFIC: Dancer in the Dark Doodad Kind of Town (May 18, 2009)

The Day I Became a Woman (Iran: Marzieh Makhmalbaf, 2000: 78 mins)

Ortiz, Gaye. "Women as Spectacle: Theological Perspectives on Women and Film." Theology and Film: Challenging the Sacred/Secular Divide. ed. Christopher Deacy and Gaye Williams Ortiz. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2008: 85-113.

Stone, Judy. "Iranian Cinema Now." International Film Guide: 2004 Los Angeles: Silman-James Press, 2004: 40-54.

Divided We Fall (Czech Republic: Jan Hrebek, 2000: 117 mins)

Cockrell, Eddie. "Directors of the Year: Jan Hrebek." International Film Guide: 2004. Los Angeles: Silman James Press, 2004: 19-24.

The Gleaners & I (France: Agnes Varda, 2000: 82 mins)

Darke, Chris. "The Directors of the Year: Agnes Varda." International Film Guide. London: Wallflower Press, 2009: 38-45. [Available in BCTC Library PN1993.3 I544 2009]

In the Mood for Love (Hong Kong/France: Wong Kar-Wai, 2000: 98 mins)

Elley, Derek. "Great Directors: Wong Kar-Wai." International Film Guide 2002. Los Angeles: Silman James Press, 2002: 42-48. [Available in BCTC Library PN 1993.3 1544 2002]

Merrick, Amy. "Living In: In the Mood for Love." Design Sponge (March 2010)

Memento (USA: Christopher Nolan, 2000: 113 mins)

Cassey, Joe. "Mental Illness." Understanding Representation. ed. Wendy Helsby. London: BFI, 2005: 99-114. [Available in BCTC Library PN 1995 U4977 2005]

Dawson, Mike. "Memento in Relation to Reception Theory." Left Field Cinema (March 3, 2009)

Kemp, Philip. "Directors of the Year: Christopher Nolan." International Film Guide: 2004 Los Angeles: Silman-James Press, 2004: 35-39.

Quills (USA/Germany/UK: Philip Kaufman, 2000: 124 mins)

Cassey, Joe. "Mental Illness." Understanding Representation. ed. Wendy Helsby. London: BFI, 2005: 99-114. [Available in BCTC Library PN 1995 U4977 2005]

Requeim for a Dream (USA: Darren Aronofsky, 2000: 102 mins)

Cassey, Joe. "Mental Illness." Understanding Representation. ed. Wendy Helsby. London: BFI, 2005: 99-114. [Available in BCTC Library PN 1995 U4977 2005]

Snatch (UK/USA: Guy Ritchie, 2000: 102 mins)

Helsby, Wendy. "Roughs and Respectables: Representing the 'Other.'" Understanding Representation. ed. Wendy Helsby. London: BFI, 2005: 143-164. [Available in BCTC Library PN 1995 U4977 2005]

Suzhou River
(Germany/China: Ye Lou, 2000: 83 mins)


Feng, Yunda Eddie. "Revitalizing the Thriller Genre: Lou Ye's Suzhou River and Purple Butterfly." Puzzle Films: Complex Storytelling in Contemporary Cinema. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009: 187-202. [BCTC Library: PN1995 P89 2009]

Together (Sweden/Denmark/Italy: Lukas Moodysson, 2000: 106 mins)

Forslund, Bengt. "Directors of the Year: Lukas Moodysson." International Film Guide: 2004. Los Angeles: Silman James Press, 2004: 30-34.

Unbreakable (USA: M. Night Shyamalan, 2000: 106 mins)

Totaro, Donato. "Visual Style in M. Night Shyamalan’s “Fantastic” Trilogy, Part 1: The Long Take." Offscreen (November 30, 2003)

---. "Visual Style in M. Night Shyamalan’s “Fantastic” Trilogy, Part 2: Mise en Scène." Offscreen (November 30, 2003)

Werckmeister Harmonies (Hungary/Italy/Germany/France: Bela Tarr, 2000: 145 mins

Flanagan, Matthew. "Towards an Aesthetic of Slow in Contemporary Cinema." 16:9 (November 2008)

North, Dan. "“All a Man Can Do is Look Upon it”: What’s With the Werckmeister Whale?" Spectacular Attractions (December 3, 2009)

Romney, Jonathan. "Bela Tarr." Exile Cinema: Filmmakers at Work Beyond Hollywood ed. Michael Atkinson. Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 2008: 73-78. [Professor has copy]

2001

Amelie (France/Germany: Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2001: 121 mins)

Gaggi, Silvio. "Navigating Chaos." New Punk Cinema. Edinburgh University Press, 2006: 113-125.

Ortiz, Gaye. "Women as Spectacle: Theological Perspectives on Women and Film." Theology and Film: Challenging the Sacred/Secular Divide. ed. Christopher Deacy and Gaye Williams Ortiz. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2008: 85-113.

Artificial Intelligence: A.I. (USA: Steven Spielberg, 2001: 146 mins)

Shaw, Daniel. Film and Philosophy: Taking Films Seriously. London: Wallflower Press, 2008.

Baran (Iran: Majid Majidi, 2001: 94 mins)

Stone, Judy. "Iranian Cinema Now." International Film Guide: 2004 Los Angeles: Silman-James Press, 2004: 40-54.

Wilson, Brian. "Woman as the Object of Desire: Notes Toward a Reading of Baran." The Film Journal (January 2006)

A Beautiful Mind (USA: Ron Howard, 2000: 135 mins)

Cassey, Joe. "Mental Illness." Understanding Representation. ed. Wendy Helsby. London: BFI, 2005: 99-114. [Available in BCTC Library PN 1995 U4977 2005]

Hansen, Per Krogh. " Unreliable Narration in Cinema: Facing the Cognitive Challenge Arising from Literary Studies." Amsterdam International Electronic Journal of Narratology #5 (Autumn 2009)

The Devil's Backbone (Spain/Mexico: Guillermo del Toro, 2001: 106 mins)

Lázaro-Reboll, Antonio. "The Transnational Reception of The Devil's Backbone (Guillermo del Toro 2001)." Hispanic Research Journal 8.1 (February 2007): 39–51

Donnie Darko (USA: Richard Kelly, 2001: 113/133 mins)

Tobias, Scott. "The New Cult Canon: Donnie Darko The A.V. Club (February 21, 2008)

Gosford Park (UK/USA/Italy: Robert Altman, 2001: 132 min)

Helsby, Wendy. "Beyond Britishness: Identity and Difference." Understanding Representation. ed. Wendy Helsby. London: BFI, 2005: 189-204. [Available in BCTC Library PN 1995 U4977 2005]

Hedwig and the Angry Inch (USA: John Cameron Mitchell, 2001: 95 mins)

Mitchell, John Cameron. "Interview: Filmmaker, Actor and Writer." Big Think (June 2, 2010)

Mulholland Dr. (France/USA: David Lynch, 2001: 147 mins)

"Film Studies: Dreams, Memories, Chaos." Dialogic (December 2, 2009)

Eig, Jonathan. "A Beautiful Mind(fuck) -- Hollywood Structures of Identity." Jump Cut #46 (2003)

Elsaesser, Thomas. "The Mind-Game Films." Puzzle Films: Complex Storytelling in Contemporary Cinema ed. Warren Buckland. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2009: 13-41.

Toles, George. "Auditioning Betty in Mulholland Dr.." Film Quarterly (Fall 2004): Reprinted in Annual Editions: Film 07/08 191-198 [Available in BCTC Library PN1993 A6285]

Wyman, Bill, et al. "Everything You Were Afraid to Ask About Mulholland Dr.. Salon (October 23, 2010)

The Piano Player (Austria/France/Germany: Michael Haneke, 2001: 131 mins)

Brunette, Peter. Michael Haneke. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois, 2010.

Grundman, Roy. A Companion to Michael Haneke. Malden, MA: Wiley Blackwell, 2010.

"Michael Haneke Studies: Videos, Podcasts and Article Links." Film Studies for Free (June 26, 2010)

Price, Brian and John David Rhodes, ed. On Michael Haneke. Detroit, MI: Wayne State University, 2010.

Sorfa, David. "Uneasy domesticity in the films of
Michael Haneke."
Studies in European Cinema 3.2 (2006)

Wheatley, Catherine. Michael Haneke's Cinema: The Ethic of the Image. NY: Bergahn Books, 2009. [BCTC Library PN 1998.3 H36 W44 2009]

Read My Lips (France: Jacques Audiard, 2001: 115 mins)

Caplan, Nina. "Directors of the Year: Jacques Audiard." International Film Guide 2010. ed. Ian Hadyn Smith. London: Wallflower P, 2010: 11-16.

The Royal Tenenbaums (USA: Wes Anderson, 2001: 110 mins)

MacDowell, James. "The 'Quirky' New Wave." Alternate Takes (July 21, 2005)

Piechota, Carole Lyn. "Give Me a Second Grace: Music as Absolution in The Royal Tenenbaums." Senses of Cinema (2005)

Seitz, Matt Zoller. "The Substance of Style, Pts. 1 - 5." Moving Image Source (March 30 - April 13, 2009)

Spirited Away (Japan: Hayao Miyazaki, 2001: 125 mins)

"Imaginary and Fantastic: Hayao Miyazaki Studies." Film Studies for Free (November 25, 2009)

Boyd, James W. and Tetsuya Nishimura. "Shinto Perspectives in Miyazaki's Anime Film 'Spirited Away.'" Journal of Religion and Film 8.2 (October 2004)

Odell, Colin and Michelle Le Blanc. "Directors of the Year: Miyazaki Hayao." International Film Guide: 2009. ed. Ian Hadyn Smith. London: Wallflower Press, 2009: 16-22. [Available in BCTC Library: PN1993.3 I544 2009]

Suzuki, Ayumi. "A nightmare of capitalist Japan: Spirited Away." Jump Cut #51 (Spring 2009)

Trouble Every Day (France/Germany/Japan: Claire Denis, 2001: 101 mins)

Chapman, Mark. "Reconceptualizing the Uncanny Vampire: Claire Denis' Trouble Every Day Bright Lights Film Journal #68 (May 2010)

Heath, Roderick. "Trouble Every Day (2001)." Ferdy on Films (October 25, 2010)

Y tu mamá también (Mexico: Alfonso Cuarón, 2001: 105 mins)

Benson-Allott, Caetin. "Sex versus the small screen: home video censorship and Alfonso Cuarón’s Y tu mamá también." Jump Cut #51 (Spring 2009)

"Major censorship: MPAA and the demotion of foreign films in the home video era." Jump Cut #51 (Spring 2009)

2002

11 09 01--September 11 (UK/France/Egypt/Japan/Mexico/USA/Iran: Various Directors, 2002: 134 mins)

Pramaggiore, Maria. "The global repositioning of the city symphony: sound, space, and trauma in 11’09”01—September 11 Jump Cut #52 (Summer 2010)

28 Days Later (UK: Danny Boyle, 2002: 113 mins)

Bloom, Michael. "Reanimating the Living Dead: Uncovering the Zombie Archetype in the Works of George A. Romero." Offscreen (April 30, 2009)

Froula, Anna. "Prolepsis and the 'War on Terror': Zombie Pathology and the Culture of Fear in 28 Days Later...." Reframing 9/11: Film, Popular Culture and the "War on Terror." ed. Jeff Birkenstein, et al. NY: Continuum, 2010: 195-2008. [Your professor has a copy]

Read, Jason. "Zombie as Critic." Unemployed Negativity (June 11, 2007)

"Understanding the Zombie Mentality, Pt. 3." Dialogic (July 29, 2005)

Adaptation (USA: Spike Jonze, 2002: 114 mins)

Dzialo, Chris. "'Frustrated Time' Narration: The Screenplays of Charlie Kaufman." Puzzle Films: Complex Storytelling in Contemporary Cinema. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009: 107-128. [BCTC Library: PN1995 P89 2009]

Shaw, Daniel. Film and Philosophy: Taking Films Seriously." London: Wallflower Press, 2008.

Bend It Like Beckham (UK/Germany/US: Gurinder Chadha, 2002: 112 mins)

Ramey, Mark. "Football and Film: Representing Nationality." Understanding Representation. ed. Wendy Helsby. London: BFI, 2005: 169-188. [Warning to Americans--this is about what you call soccer. Available in BCTC Library PN 1995 U4977 2005]

Bloody Sunday (UK/Ireland: Paul Greengrass, 2002: 107 mins)

Penney, Renée. "Bloody Sunday: Classically Unified Trauma?." Cinephile #1 (2005)

City of God (Brazil/France: Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund, 2002: 130 mins)

Carlsten, Jennie. "Violence in the City of God: The Fantasy of the Omniscient Spectator." Cinephile #1 (2005)

The Cuckoo (Russia: Alexsandr Rogozhkin, 2002: 99 minutes)

Wild, Daniel H. Review of The Cuckoo." KinoKultura (2004)

Dark Water (Japan: Hideo Nakata, 2002: 101 mins)

Kermode, Mark. "Spirit Levels." Sight and Sound (August 2005): Reprinted in Annual Editions: Film 07/08 89-91 [Available in BCTC Library PN1993 A6285]

Nelson, Lindsay. "Ghosts of the Past, Ghosts of the Future: Monsters, Children, and Contemporary Japanese Horror Cinema." Cinemascope #13 (July-December 2009)

Dirty Pretty Things (UK: Stephen Frears, 2002: 97 mins)

Kemp, Stephen. "Directors of the Year: Stephen Frears." International Film Guide 2002. Los Angeles: Silman James Press, 2002: 13-20. [Available in BCTC Library PN 1993.3 1544 2002]

Gangs of New York (USA/Italy: Martin Scorsese, 2002: 167 mins)

Burgoyne, Robert. "Homeland or Promised Land?: The Ethnic Construction of Nation in Gangs of New York." Film Nation: Hollywood Looks at U.S. History Revised Edition. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2010: 143-163. [BCTC Library: PN1995.9 H5 B87 2010]

Hero (Hong Kong/China: Zhang Yimou, 2002: 99 mins)

Lu, Sheldon. "Dialect and modernity in 21st century Sinophone cinema." Jump Cut #49 (Spring 2007)

Lau, Jenny Kwok Wah. "Hero: China’s response to Hollywood globalization." Jump Cut #49 (Spring 2007)

Infernal Affairs (Hong Kong: Wai-keung Lau and Alan Mak, 2002: 101 mins)

Cameron, Allan and Sean Cubitt. "Infernal Affairs and the Ethics of Complex Narrative." Puzzle Films: Complex Storytelling in Contemporary Cinema. ed. Warren Buckland. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009: 151-167. [BCTC Library: PN1995 P89 2009]

Irreversible (France: Gaspar Noé, 2002: 97 mins)

Britt, Thomas R. "Lower Depths and Higher Aims: Death, Excess and Discontinuity in Irreversible and Visitor Q." Cinephile 5.1 (2009)

Krautheim, Graeme. "Aspiring to the Void: The Collapse of Genre and Erasure of Body in Gaspar Noé’s Irreversible." Cinephile #4 (Summer 2008)

Lilya 4-Ever (Sweden/Denmark: Lukas Moodysson, 2002: 1-4 mins)

Forslund, Bengt. "Directors of the Year: Lukas Moodysson." International Film Guide: 2004. Los Angeles: Silman James Press, 2004: 30-34.

The Man Without a Past (Finland: Aki Kaurismäki, 2002: 97 mins)

Wilson, Lana. "Great Directors: Aki Kaurismäki." Senses of Cinema

Rabbit-Proof Fence (Australia: Phillip Noyce, 2002: 94 mins)

Martin, Adrian. "Bouquet of Barbed Wire." Sight and Sound (November 2002)

The Ring (USA/Japan: Gore Verbinski, 2002: 115 mins) [Remake of Ringu (Japan: Hideo Nakata, 1998: 96 mins)]

Jarvis, Brian. "Anamorphic allegory in The Ring, or, seven ways of looking at a horror video." Irish Journal of Gothic and Horror Studies #3 (November 2007)

Ozawa, Eimi. "Remaking Corporeality and Spatiality: U.S. Adaptations of Japanese Horror Films." 49th Parallel (Autumn 2006)

Xu, Gang Gary. "Remaking East Asia, Outsourcing Hollywood." Senses of Cinema (November 2004)

Twilight Samurai (Japan: Yôji Yamada, 2002: 129 mins)

Silver, Alain. The Samurai Film. Expand and Revised Edition. Woodstock, NY: The Overlook Press, 2004.

2003

The Corporation (Canada: Mark Achbar and Jennifer Abbott, 2003: 145 mins) To watch the film online; BCTC Library also has a copy.

McChesney, Robert and John Bellamy Foster. "Capitalism, the Absurd System: A View from the United States." Monthly Review 62.2 (June 2010)

The Dreamers (France/UK/Italy: Bernardo Bertolucci, 2003: 115 mins)

Buchanan, Ian. "Bernardo Bertolucci's The Dreamers; Kristin Ross' May 68 & Its Afterlives; Deleuze & Guattari's Anti-Oedipus." excerpt from Deleuze and Guattari's Anti-Oedipus. NY: Continuum, 2008: 13-19.

Fletcher, Stephen Q. "The Dreamers: Revolution as a Gala Dinner and a Game." Metaphilm (May 4, 2008)

Goodbye, Dragon Inn (Taiwan: Tsai Ming-liang, 2003: 82 mins)

Villiers, Nicholas de. "Leaving the Cinema: Metacinematic Cruising in Tsai Ming-liang’s Goodbye, Dragon Inn." Jump Cut #50 (Spring 2008)

Memories of Murder (South Korea: Bong Joon-Ho, 2003: 132 mins)

Park, Ed. "The Bong Show: Bong Joon-Ho." Exile Cinema: Filmmakers at Work Beyond Hollywood ed. Michael Atkinson. Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 2008: 49-54. [Professor has copy]

Sungchan, Byun. "Save the Green Planet!, Memories of Murder, and the 80s in Cinema." Mediascape (Spring 2005)

Oldboy (South Korea: Chan-Wook Park, 2003: 120 mins

Benton, Michael. "ENG 282: Chan-Wook Park's Revenge Trilogy." Bluegrass Film Society (October 8, 2008)

---. "Violence and Film; Audience-Experience as a Factor in Our Reception of a Film." Dialogic (January 7, 2007)

Eig, Jonathan. "A Beautiful Mind(fuck) -- Hollywood Structures of Identity." Jump Cut #46 (2003)

Elsaesser, Thomas. "The Mind-Game Films." Puzzle Films: Complex Storytelling in Contemporary Cinema ed. Warren Buckland. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2009: 13-41.

Kaklamanidou, Betty. "Genre: Oldboy and the Suspense Thriller." Offscreen (July 31, 2007)

Lee, Hwanhee. "What is Morality? On Oldboy." Offscreen (July 31, 2008)

Thanouli, Eleftheria. "Looking for Access in Narrative Complexity: The New and the Old in Oldboy." Puzzle Films: Complex Storytelling in Contemporary Cinema. ed. Warren Buckland. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009: 217-232. [BCTC Library: PN1995 P89 2009]

Save the Green Planet (South Korea: Joon-Hwan Jang, 2003: 118 mins)

Sungchan, Byun. "Save the Green Planet!, Memories of Murder, and the 80s in Cinema." Mediascape (Spring 2005)

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring (South Korea: Kim Ki-Duk, 2003: 103 mins)

Conroy, Melissa. "Seeing with Buddha's Eyes: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter...and Spring." Journal of Religion and Film 11.2 (October 2007)

Gombeaud, Adrien. "Directors of the Year: Kim Ki-Duk." International Film Guide: 2005. ed. Daniel Rosenthal. Los Angeles: Silman James Press, 2005: 11-16.

Time of the Wolf (France/Austria/Germany: Michael Haneke, 2003: 113 mins)

Bingham, Adam. "Long Night's Journey Into Day." Kinoeye 4.1 (March 2004)

Brunette, Peter. Michael Haneke. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois, 2010.

Grundman, Roy. A Companion to Michael Haneke. Malden, MA: Wiley Blackwell, 2010.

"Michael Haneke Studies: Videos, Podcasts and Article Links." Film Studies for Free (June 26, 2010)

Price, Brian and John David Rhodes, ed. On Michael Haneke. Detroit, MI: Wayne State University, 2010.

Sorfa, David. "Uneasy domesticity in the films of
Michael Haneke."
Studies in European Cinema 3.2 (2006)

Wheatley, Catherine. Michael Haneke's Cinema: The Ethic of the Image. NY: Bergahn Books, 2009. [BCTC Library PN 1998.3 H36 W44 2009]

Travellers and Magicians (Bhutan/Australia: Khyentse Norbu, 2003: 108 mins)

Bloom, Alexis and Tsewang Dandup. "Bhutan: The Last Place." Frontline (PBS: May 2002) [Tsewang Dandup plays the protagonist in Travellers and Magicians]

Sasaki, David. "Bhutan, TV, and the Internet." El Oso (August 8. 2010)

2004

3-Iron (South Korea/Japan: Kim Ki-Duk, 2004: 88 mins)

Gombeaud, Adrien. "Directors of the Year: Kim Ki-Duk." International Film Guide: 2005. ed. Daniel Rosenthal. Los Angeles: Silman James Press, 2005: 11-16.

2046 (China/France/Germany/Hong Kong: Wong Kar Wai, 2004: 129 mins)

Teo, Stephen. "2046: A Matter of time, A Labour of Love." Senses of Cinema (April/June 2005): Reprinted in Annual Editions: Film 07/08 160-161 [Available in BCTC Library PN1993 A6285]

Anatomy of Hell (France: Catherine Breillat, 2004: 77 mins)

Ortiz, Gaye. "Women as Spectacle: Theological Perspectives on Women and Film." Theology and Film: Challenging the Sacred/Secular Divide. ed. Christopher Deacy and Gaye Williams Ortiz. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2008: 85-113.

The Battle of Algiers (Italy/Algeria: Gillo Pontecorvo, 1966/2004: 121 mins)

"Battle of Algiers/Battaglia di Algeri, La (Algeria/Italy: Gillo Pontecorvo, 1966)." Dialogic (Archive of sources/essays on the film and its themes: February 18, 2009)

Matthews, Peter. "The Battle of Algiers: Bombs and Boomerangs." Criterion (October 11, 2004)

Ortiz, Gaye. "Dark Beauty: Theological Perspectives on War as Cinematic Mythology." Theology and Film: Challenging the Sacred/Secular Divide. ed. Christopher Deacy and Gaye Williams Ortiz. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2008: 160-177.

Downfall (Germany: Oliver Hirschbiegel, 2004: 156 mins)

Hantke, Steffen. "Hitler as Actor, Actors as Hitler: High Concept, Casting, and Star Performance in Der Untergang and Mein Führer." Cinephile 5.1 (2010)

Hoffgen, Maggie. "Representing a Dictator: Der Untergang (Downfall, 2004)." Studying German Cinema. London: Auteur, 2009: 175-188. [Book available in BCTC library]

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (USA: Michel Gondry, 2004: 108 mins)

Dzialo, Chris. "'Frustrated Time' Narration: The Screenplays of Charlie Kaufman." Puzzle Films: Complex Storytelling in Contemporary Cinema. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009: 107-128. [BCTC Library: PN1995 P89 2009]

Shaw, Daniel. Film and Philosophy: Taking Movies Seriously. NY: Wallflower, 2008.

Seitz, Matt Zoller. "REWATCH: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." Film in Focus (May 2007)

Zacharek, Stephanie. "Brilliant Mistake." Salon (March 19, 2004)

Fahrenheit 9/11 (USA: Michael Moore, 2004: 122 mins)

"Michael Moore on His Life, His Films and His Activism." Democracy Now (July 5, 2010)

Head-On (Germany/Turkey: Fatih Akin, 2004: 121 mins)

Hoffgen, Maggie. "Crossing Boundaries: Gegen Die Wand (Head-On, 2004). Studying German Cinema. London: Auteur, 2009: 201-213.

Tobias, Scott. The New Cult Canon: Head-On." The A.V. Club (October 1, 2009)

I Heart Huckabees (USA/Germany: David O' Russell, 2004: 107 minutes)

Kirby, Matt. "I Heart Huckabees: Premodern Help for Postmodern Times." Metaphilm (November 12, 2004)

MacDowell, James. "The 'Quirky' New Wave." Alternate Takes (July 21, 2005)

Ng, Edwin. "The (Zen) Buddhist Heart of I ♥ Huckabees." Journal of Religion & Film 14.1 (April 2010)

Shaw, Daniel. Film and Philosophy: Taking Movies Seriously. NY: Wallflower, 2008.

Tait, R. Colin. "'Jesus is never mad at us if we live with him in our hearts': The Dialectical View of America in David O' Russell's I Heart Huckabees." Cinephile (March 2006)

Kinsey (USA/Germany: Bill Condon, 2004: 118 mins)

Porton, Richard. "Kinsey." Cinema Scope #21 (2004)

Kung Fu Hustle (China/Hong Kong: Stephen Chow, 2004: 95 mins)

Szeto, Kin-Yan. "The Politics of Historiography in Stephen Chow’s Kung Fu Hustle Jump Cut #52 (Summer 2010)

Moolaadé (Senegal: Ousmane Sembene, 2004: 124 mins)

Bartlet, Olivier. "Adventures and Misadventures of African Cinema." Cinemas of the South (2006)

Bug Girl. Is My Vuvulzela Too Big?" Skepchick (June 20, 2010)

Coventry, Martha. "Making the Cut: It's a Girl! ... Or is it? When in doubt, why are surgeons calling the shots?" Ms. (Oct/Nov 2000)

Diop, Baba. "Ousmane Sembene: The Elder of Elders." Cinemas of the South (February 15, 2009)

Finney, Nikki. "The Greatest Show On Earth." (Read the poem/read an analysis of the poem/and listen to Nikki read it)

Halpern, Sue. "Breaking a Conspiracy of Silence." The New York Times Book Review 56.18 (November 19, 2009)

Marzana, Nicola. "The Art of Hunger: Re-Defining Third Cinema." 16:9 (November 2009)

Pride, Ray. "Woman is the Future of Man: Ousmane Sembene on Moolaade." Cinema Scope #21 (2004)

The Passion of the Christ (USA: Mel Gibson, 2004: 127 mins)

Deacy, Chris. "A Time to Kill?: Theological Perspectives on Violence and Film." Theology and Film: Challenging the Sacred/Secular Divide. ed. Christopher Deacy & Gaye Williams Oritz. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2008: 123-142. [Professor has copy]

Hauka, David. "'Christ That Hurts': Rewriting the Jesus Narrative -- Violence and the Language of Action Cinema in Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ Cinephile #2 (March 2006)

The Syrian Bride (Israel/France/Germany: Eran Riklis, 2004: 97 mins)

Fainaru, Dan. "A Changing Landscape." International Film Guide: 2009. London: Wallflower Press, 2009: 53-63. [Available in BCTC Library PN1993.3 I544 2009]

Tropical Malady (Thailand/France/Germany/Italy: Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2004: 118 mins)

"Tropical Malady: The Transformation of Memory." Filmsick (October 5, 2010)

Uncovered: The War on Iraq (USA: Robert Greenwald, 2004: 83 mins)

Ortiz, Gaye. "Dark Beauty: Theological Perspectives on War as Cinematic Mythology." Theology and Film: Challenging the Sacred/Secular Divide. ed. Christopher Deacy and Gaye Williams Ortiz. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2008: 160-177.

Vera Drake (UK/France: Mike Leigh, 2004: 125 mins)

Kemp, Philip. "Directors of the Year: Mike Leigh." International Film Guide: 2005. ed. Daniel Rosenthal. Los Angeles: Silman James Press, 2005: 17-23.

Yes (UK: Sally Potter, 2004: 100 mins)

"Angelism and Rage: Sally Potter Links." Film Studies for Free (September 21, 2009)

Mayer, Sophie. "The Films of Sally Potter." Electric Sheep Magazine (October 1, 2009)

Oppenheimer, Jean. "Production Slate: Yes - A Cross Cultural Romance." American Cinematographer (July 2005)

"Please go in two by two! Sally Potter's Fabulous Ark." Film Studies for Free (November 4, 2008)

2005

The Beat That My Heart Skipped (France: Jacques Audiard, 2005: 108 mins)

Caplan, Nina. "Directors of the Year: Jacques Audiard." International Film Guide 2010. ed. Ian Hadyn Smith. London: Wallflower P, 2010: 11-16.

Border Cafe (Iran/France: Kambuzia Partovi, 2005: 105 mins)

Mahani, Najmeh Khalili. "Food for Thought: Sensorium of the Iranian Cinema." Offscreen (January 31, 2009)

Brokeback Mountain (Canada/USA: Ang Lee, 2005)

Benshoff, Harry M. "Brokering Brokeback Mountain — a local reception study." Jump Cut (2008)

Garrett, Daniel. "You Don't Know What Love Is." Film International #21 (2006)

Koziak, Barbara. "Shepherding Romance: Reviving the Politics of Romantic Love in Brokeback Mountain." Genders #50 (2009)

"Queer Cowboys: Alternative Space in "Brokeback Mountain." Film International (2006)

Schneider, Richard, Jr., et al. "Not Quitting Brokeback/Lost in Adaptation/The Hate Crime/Beyond the Mountain." Gay & Lesbian Review (May/June 2006): Reprinted in Annual Editions: Film 07/08 170-174 [Available in BCTC Library PN1993 A6285]

Sharrett, Christopher. "Death of the Strong, Silent Type: The Achievement of Brokeback Mountain." Film International 7.1 (February 2009)

Stamatopoulos, Irini. "Ang Lee's Cowboys: Fallen from Brokeback’s Paradise Lost." Offscreen (February 28, 2007)

Vicari, Justin. "Discovering America: Reflections on Brokeback Mountain." Jump Cut #49 (Spring 2007)

Caché (France/Austria/Germany/Italy/USA: Michael Haneke, 2005: 117 mins)

Arthur, Paul. "Endgame." Film Comment (November/December 2005)

Brunette, Peter. Michael Haneke. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois, 2010.

---. "On the Films of Michael Haneke." The Marketplace of Ideas (April 15, 2010)

Ebert, Roger. "Cache." Chicago Sun-Times (January 13, 2010)

Grundman, Roy. A Companion to Michael Haneke. Malden, MA: Wiley Blackwell, 2010.

Grundman, Roy, Edward Nersessian, Brigitte Peucker, Brian Price, and Garrett Stewart. "Caché - Videoed roundtable discussion of Michael Haneke's film." Philoctetes Center (2008)

Jeong, Seung-hoon. "Gaze, Suture, Interface: The Suicide Scene in Michael Haneke’s Caché." Cinephile 5.1 (2009)

"Michael Haneke: A Ribbon of Links." Film Studies for Free (October 6, 2009)

"Michael Haneke Studies: Videos, Podcasts and Articles." Film Studies for Free (June 26, 2010)

Ogrodnik, Benjamin. "Deep Cuts." Film International 7.1 (February 2009)

Price, Brian and John David Rhodes, ed. On Michael Haneke. Detroit, MI: Wayne State University, 2010.

Sammond, Nicholas. "'Hidden,' or Fear of a Black Planet." Jump Cut #52 (Summer 2010)

Sorfa, David. "Uneasy domesticity in the films of
Michael Haneke."
Studies in European Cinema 3.2 (2006)

Sternagel, Joerg. "From Inside Us: Experiencing the Film Actor in Michael Haneke's "Caché." Film International #39 (2009)

Tobias, Scott. "Gateway to Geekery: Michael Haneke." The A.V. Club (June 3, 2010)

Wheatley, Catherine. Michael Haneke's Cinema: The Ethic of the Image. NY: Bergahn Books, 2009. [BCTC Library PN 1998.3 H36 W44 2009]

The Constant Gardener (UK/Germany: Fernando Meirelles, 2005: 129 mins)

"The Temporality of the Real: The Path to Politics in The Constant Gardener." Film-Philosophy 11.3 (October 2007)

The Death of Mr Lazarescu (Romania: Cristi Puiu, 2005: 150 mins)

Roddick, Nick. "Eastern Promise." Sight and Sound (October 2007)

The Dreams of Sparrows (Iraqi/USA: Haydar Daffar, 2005: 74 mins)

Ortiz, Gaye. "Dark Beauty: Theological Perspectives on War as Cinematic Mythology." Theology and Film: Challenging the Sacred/Secular Divide. ed. Christopher Deacy and Gaye Williams Ortiz. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2008: 160-177.

Election (Hong Kong: Johnnie To, 2005: 101 mins)

Heath, Roderick. "Election. Ferdy on Film (July 13, 2010)

Grizzly Man (USA: Werner Herzog, 2005: 103 mins)

Geller, Conrad. "Grizzly Man." Cineaste (Winter 2005): Reprinted in Annual Editions: Film 07/08 158-159 [Available in BCTC Library PN1993 A6285]

Noys, Benjamin. "Antiphusis: Werner Herzog’s Grizzly Man." Film-Philosophy 11.3 (November 2007)

Odorico, Stefano. Werner Herzog Between Documentary and Fiction Offscreen (March 31, 2010)

"Werner Herzog Links inc Youtube Fest." Film Studies for Free (April 20, 2009)

Hostel (USA: Eli Roth, 2005: 94 mins)

Burris, Gregory A. "Shocked and Awed?: Hostel and the Spectacle of Self-Mutilation." Cine-Action #80 (2010) [Available from your teacher]

Cromb, Brenda. "Gorno: Violence, Shock and Comedy." Cinephile #4 (Summer 2008)

Fletcher, Phoebe. “Fucking Americans”: Postmodern Nationalisms in the Contemporary Splatter Film #18 (December 2009)

Hilden, Julie. "Free Speech and the Concept of "Torture Porn": Why are Critics So Hostile to Hostel II?" Find Law (July 16, 2007)

Kleinhans, Chuck. "Imagining Torture." Jump Cut #51 (Spring 2009)

Kleinhans, Chuck, John Hess and Julia Lesage. "The Last Word: Torture and the National Imagination." #50 (Summer 2008)

Lesage, Julie. "Torture Documentaries." Jump Cut #51 (Spring 2009)

Murray, Gabrielle. "Images of Torture, Images of Terror: Post 9/11 and the Escalation of Screen Violence." Monash University Film and TV Studies (Podcast of a Lecture: March 20, 2008)

Rosler, Martha. "A Simple Case for Torture." Jump Cut #51 (Spring 2009)

Torture (Archive on Dialogic: The culture and politics of "torture.")

The House of Sand (Brazil: Andrucha Waddington, 2005: 115 mins)

Khoo, Guan-Soon. The House of Sand: Western Brazilian Style." Offscreen (April 30, 2008)

Lady Vengeance (South Korea: Chan-Wook Park, 2005: 112 mins)

Benton, Michael. "ENG 282: Chan-Wook Park's Revenge Trilogy." Bluegrass Film Society (October 8, 2008)

Erickson, Steve. "Lady Vengeance and Its Critics." Undercurrent #2 (2006)

Kehr, Dave. "De-finger the Piano Player." The New York Times (October 30, 2005)

Land of the Dead (Canada/France/USA: George Romero, 2005: 93 mins)

Bloom, Michael. "Reanimating the Living Dead: Uncovering the Zombie Archetype in the Works of George A. Romero." Offscreen (April 30, 2009)

McSweeney, Terence. "The Land of the Dead and the Home of the Brave: Romero's Vision of a Post-9/11 America." Reframing 9/11: Film, Popular Culture and the "War on Terror." ed. Jeff Birkenstein, et al. NY: Continuum, 2010: 107-116. [Professor has a copy]

Read, Jason. "Zombie as Critic." Unemployed Negativity (June 11, 2007)

"Understanding the Zombie Mentality, Pt. 3." Dialogic (July 29, 2005)

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (Japan: Hayao Miyazaki, 1984/2005: 116 min)

Monroe, William. "The Tao of Nausicaa." Foundation #103 (Summer 2008): 38-52.

Odell, Colin and Michelle Le Blanc. "Directors of the Year: Miyazaki Hayao." International Film Guide: 2009. ed. Ian Hadyn Smith. London: Wallflower Press, 2009: 16-22. [Available in BCTC Library: PN1993.3 I544 2009]

The New World (USA/UK: Terrence Malick, 2005: 150 mins)

Burgoyne, Robert. "The Columbian Exchange: Pocahontas and The New World." Film Nation: Hollywood Looks at History. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2010: 120-142. [BCTC Library: PN1995.9 H5 B87 2010]

Paradise Now (Occupied Palestinian Territory/France/Germany/Netherlands/Israel: Hany Abu-Assad, 2005: 90 mins)

Bronstein, Phoebe. "Man-Made Martyrs in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction: Disturbing Manufactured Martyrdom in Paradise Now Jump Cut #52 (Summer 2010)

Jafaar, Ali. Paradise Now Sight and Sound (May 2006)

Ortiz, Gaye. "Dark Beauty: Theological Perspectives on War as Cinematic Mythology." Theology and Film: Challenging the Sacred/Secular Divide. ed. Christopher Deacy and Gaye Williams Ortiz. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2008: 160-177.

Rich, B. Ruby. "Bomb Culture." Sight and Sound (April 2006)

The Proposition (Australia: John Hillcoat, 2005: 104 mins)

Collins, Felicity. "HISTORY, MYTH AND ALLEGORY IN AUSTRALIAN CINEMA." Trames (2008)

Hillcoat, John, et al. "Ballad of the Wild Boys." Sight and Sound (March 2006)

Rose, James. "The Good Son: John Hillcoat's The Proposition." Offscreen (April 30, 2008)

Stein, Erica. "“A Hell of a Place”: The Everyday as Revisionist Content in Contemporary Westerns." Mediascape (Fall 2009)

Water (Canada/India: Deepa Mehta, 2005: 117 mins)

Mayer, Andre. "Digging Deepa: Canadian Filmmaker Shines with Water." CBC (November 2005): Reprinted in Annual Editions: Film 2007/2008: 183-184 [Available in BCTC Library: PN 1993 A6285]

Why We Fight (USA/France/UK/Canada/Denmark: Eugene Jarecki, 2005: 98 mins)

Ortiz, Gaye. "Dark Beauty: Theological Perspectives on War as Cinematic Mythology." Theology and Film: Challenging the Sacred/Secular Divide. ed. Christopher Deacy and Gaye Williams Ortiz. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2008: 160-177.

2006

After the Wedding (Denmark/Sweden: Susanne Biers, 2006: 120 mins)

Dawson, Mike. "Top Ten Films of 2007." Left Field Cinema (2007)

Army of Shadows (France/Italy: Jean-Pierre Melville, 1969/2006: 140 mins)

Taubin, Amy. "Army of Shadows: Out of the Shadows." Criterion (May 14, 2007)

Black Book (Netherlands/Germany/Belgium: Paul Verhoeven, 2006: 145 mins)

Howard, Ed. "TOERIFIC: Black Book." Only the Cinema (July 20, 2009)

Brand Upon the Brain (Canada: Guy Maddin, 2006: 95 mins)

Baker, Nicholson, et al. "Autobiography/Biography: Narrating the Self." Philoctetes (December 13, 2008)

Children of Men (Japan/UK/USA: Alfonso Cuarón, 2006: 109 mins)

Byle, Kirk. "Children of Men and I Am Legend: the disaster-capitalism complex hits Hollywood." Jump Cut #51 (Spring 2009)

"Children of Men: The Repetition of the Ringing." Film International (2007)

Gessen, Keith. "Dystopia." Bookforum (June - August, 2010)

Nixon, Bryan. "The Long Take: Finding Hope Amongst the Chaos." Film International (2007)

Price, David H. "Governing Fear in the Iron Cage of Rationalism: Terry Gilliam's Brazil Through the 9/11 Looking Glass." Reframing 9/11: Film, Popular Culture and the "War on Terror." ed. Jeff Birkenstein, et al. NY: Continuum, 2010: 167-182.

Schwartzman, Sarah. "Children of Men and a Plural Messianism." Journal of Religion & Film 13.1 (April 2009)

The Fall (USA/India: Tarsem Singh, 2006: 117 mins)

Garrett, Daniel. "Liberations of Mind, Spirit, and Vision: The Fall ~ Intimacy is possible within grandeur." Offscreen (September 30, 2008)

Fast Food Nation (UK/USA: Richard Linklater, 2006: 116 mins)

Koresky, Michael. "Raw Meat: Fast Food Nation Reverse Shot #26 (2010)

Stephens, Gregory. "Corn-Fed Culture: Living Large and "Eating Shit" in King Corn and Fast Food Nation." Bright Lights Film Journal #6(May 2010)

Flags of Our Fathers (USA: Clint Eastwood, 2006: 132 mins)

Burgoyne, Robert. "Hauntings in the War Film: Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima." Film Nation: Hollywood Looks at U.S. History. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2010: 164-189. [BCTC Library: PN1995.9 H5 B87 2010]

Grbavica: The Land of My Dreams (Bosnia and Herzegovina/Austria/Germany/Croatia: Jasmila Zbanic, 2006: 107 mins)

Koebel, Caroline. "Torture, maternity, and truth in Jasmila Zbanic’s Grbavica: Land of My Dreams." Jump Cut #51 (Spring 2009)

The Host (South Korea: Bong Joon-Ho, 2006: 119 mins)

Hsu, Hsuan L. "The dangers of biosecurity: The Host and the geopolitics of outbreak." Jump Cut #51 (Spring 2009)

An Inconvenient Truth (USA: Davis Guggenheim, 2006: 100 mins)

Mieszkowski, Katharine. "Did Al Get the Science Right." Salon (June 10, 2006): Reprinted in Annual Editions: Film 07/08 89-91 [Available in BCTC Library PN1993 A6285]

Letters from Iwo Jima (USA: Clint Eastwood, 2006: 141 mins)

Burgoyne, Robert. "Hauntings in the War Film: Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima." Film Nation: Hollywood Looks at U.S. History. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2010: 164-189. [BCTC Library: PN1995.9 H5 B87 2010]

Hariman, Robert and John Louis Lucaites. "Performing Civic Identity: Flag Raisings at Iwo Jima and Ground Zero." No Caption Needed: Iconic Photographs, Public Culture, and Liberal Democracy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007: 93-136.

The Lives of Others (Germany: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, 2006: 137 mins)

Dawson, Mike. "Top Ten Films of 2007." Left Field Cinema (2007)

Hansen, Per Krogh. " Unreliable Narration in Cinema: Facing the Cognitive Challenge Arising from Literary Studies." Amsterdam International Electronic Journal of Narratology #5 (Autumn 2009)

Hoffgen, Maggie. "The Other Germany: Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others, 2006). Studying German Cinema. London: Auteur, 2009: 201-213. [Available in BCTC library]

Offside (Iran: Jafar Panahi, 2006: 93 mins)

Ferdinand, Marilyn. Offside Ferdy on Films (May 23, 2010)

Hudson, David. "Jafar Panahi Sentenced to 6 Years in Jail, 20 Years of Silence." MUBI (December 20, 2010)

"Studies of Censorship and Cinema: In Solidarity with Jafar Panahi." Film Studies for Free (April 6, 2010)

Pan's Labyrinth (Spain/Mexico: Guillermo Del Toro, 2006: 119 mins)

Balthaser, Benjamin. "Fantasies of Empire." DarkMatters (September 11, 2008)

Calhoun, John. "Fear and Fantasy." American Cinematographer (January 2007)

Cattaneo, Ann, et al. "Transformations: How Fairy Tales Cast Their Spell." Philoctetes (November 30, 2007)

Tanvir, Kuhu. "Pan's Labyrinth of History." Edit Room (February 26, 2008)

The Science of Sleep (France/UK/Italy: Michel Gondry, 2006: 105 mins)

Gondry, Michel and Robert Stickgold. "Dreams, Filmmaking, and the Scientific Method." Seed Salon (2007)

"La Science de Michel Gondry: online scholarship on his films & videos." Film Studies for Free (April 13, 2010)

Shaw, Daniel. Film and Philosophy: Taking Films Seriously." London: Wallflower Press, 2008.

Shortbus (USA: John Cameron Mitchell, 2006: 101 mins)

Browning, Barbara, et al. "The Lure and the Blur of the Real." Philoctetes (March 13, 2010)

Jhally, Sut. "Codes of Gender: Identity and Performance in Popular Culture." (Media Education Foundation, 2009) [documentary--available online]

Lewis, Jon. "Real sex: aesthetics and economics of art-house porn." Jump Cut #51 (Spring 2009)

Macio. "Redefining Our Relationships: An Interview with Wendy-O Matik." Revolution By the Book (February 19, 2010)

Shaw, Richard. "Are the U.S.A.'s Independent Films a Distinct National Cinema?" The Film Journal (2002)

Wypijewski, JoAnn. "Sexual Healing: Carnal Knowledge." The Nation (September 9, 2009)

This Film Is Not Yet Rated (UK/USA: Kirby Dick, 2006: 97 mins)

Roth, Chris. "Three Decades of Film Censorship ... Right Before Your Eyes." The Humanist (January/February 2000): Reprinted in Annual Editions: Film 07/08 89-91 [Available in BCTC Library PN1993 A6285]

This Is England (UK: Shane Meadows, 2006: 101 mins)

Dawson, Mike. "Top Ten Films of 2007." Left Field Cinema (2007)

Volver (Spain: Pedro Almodóvar, 2006: 121 mins)

Sullivan, Moira. "Women in the Films of Pedro Almodóvar." Film International (2009)

2007

4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days (Romania: Cristian Mungiu, 2007: 113 mins)

Mungiu, Cristian. "Oppression and Abortion in Mungiu's '4 Months'." Fresh Air (February 7, 2008)

Parvulescu, Consantin. "The cold world behind the window: 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days and Romanian cinema’s return to real-existing communism." Jump Cut #51 (Spring 2009)

Ratner, Megan. "Stunted Lives: Unsettling and Unmissable. Bright Lights Film Journal #59 (February 2008)

Roddick, Nick. "Eastern Promise." Sight and Sound (October 2007)

Roman, Denise. "Film Notes: Three Romanian Movies (On Belonging and Corporeality in the New Wave of Romanian Cinema)." UC Los Angeles: UCLA Center for the Study of Women. (April 1, 2008)

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (USA/Canada: Andrew Dominick, 2007: 160 mins)

Totaro, Donato. "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford: A Study in Melancholia." Offscreen (April 30, 2008)

Atonement (UK/France: Joe Wright, 2007: 123 mins)

Dawson, Mike. "Top Ten Films of 2007." Left Field Cinema (2007)

The Band's Visit (Israel/France/USA: Eran Kolirin, 2007: 87 mins)

Fainaru, Dan. "A Changing Landscape." International Film Guide: 2009. London: Wallflower Press, 2009: 53-63. [Available in BCTC Library PN1993.3 I544 2009]

Beaufort (Israel: Joseph Cedar, 2007: 131 mins)

Fainaru, Dan. "A Changing Landscape." International Film Guide: 2009. London: Wallflower Press, 2009: 53-63. [Available in BCTC Library PN1993.3 I544 2009]

Blade Runner (USA/Hong Kong: Ridley Scott, 1982/1991/2007: 117 mins)

Clute, Shannon and John Edwards. Blade Runner." Out of the Past (September 1, 2005)

Shaw, Daniel. Film and Philosophy: Taking Films Seriously. London: Wallflower Press, 2008.

Sims, Christopher A. "The Dangers of Individualism and the Human Relationship to Technology in Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" Science Fiction Studies 36.1 (March 2009)

Control (UK/USA/Australia/Japan: Anton Corbin, 2007: 122 mins)

Dawson, Mike. "Top Ten Films of 2007." Left Field Cinema (2007)

Eastern Promises (UK/Canada/USA: David Cronenberg, 2007: 100 mins)

Hughes, Jessica. "In the Bathhouse: Collective Violence and Eastern Promises." Cinephile 5.2 (Fall 2009)

The Edge of Heaven (Germany/Turkey/Italy: Fatih Akin, 2007: 116 mins)

Elsaesser, Thomas. "Ethical Calculus: The cross-cultural dilemmas and moral burdens of Fatih Akin’s The Edge of Heaven." Film Comment (May/June 2008)

Redmon, Allen H. "Locating Heaven: Fatih Akin’s Meditation on the Outcome of Tolerance and Hospitality." Journal of Religion and Film #14 (April 2010)

Funny Games (USA/France/UK/Austria/Germany/Italy: Michael Haneke, 2007: 111 mins) [Remake of Funny Games (Austria: Michael Haneke, 1997: 108 mins)]

Brunette, Peter. Michael Haneke. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois, 2010.

Grundman, Roy. A Companion to Michael Haneke. Malden, MA: Wiley Blackwell, 2010.

Hui, Daniel. "Fun and Games: On Michael Haneke's 2007 Remake of His 1997 Funny Games." Bright Lights Film Journal #61 (August 2008)

"Michael Haneke Studies: Videos, Podcasts and Article Links." Film Studies for Free (June 26, 2010)

North, Dan. "Funny Games Funny Games." Spectacular Attractions (October 15, 2009)

Price, Brian and John David Rhodes, ed. On Michael Haneke. Detroit, MI: Wayne State University, 2010.

Sorfa, David. "Uneasy domesticity in the films of
Michael Haneke."
Studies in European Cinema 3.2 (2006)

Wheatley, Catherine. Michael Haneke's Cinema: The Ethic of the Image. NY: Bergahn Books, 2009. [BCTC Library PN 1998.3 H36 W44 2009]

The Grocer's Son (France: Eric Guirado, 2007: 96 mins)

Garrett, Daniel. "On Character, Family, Nature and Love: The Grocer’s Son ~ Families Are Like Civilizations." Offscreen (July 31, 2008)

Hot Fuzz (UK/France: Edgar Wright, 2007: 121 mins)

Helsby, Wendy. "Constables, Coppers, Rozzers, the Old Bill--The Police." Understanding Representation. ed. Wendy Helsby. London: BFI, 2005: 75-92. [Available in BCTC Library PN 1995 U4977 2005]

My Winnipeg (Canada: Guy Maddin, 2007: 80 mins)

Baker, Nicholson, et al. "Autobiography/Biography: Narrating the Self." Philoctetes (December 13, 2008)

Persepolis (France/USA: Vincent Paronnaud and Marjane Satrapi, 2007: 96 mins.

Toit, Andries Du. "The Heart in Exile: Persepolis. A Subtle Knife (July 9, 2009)

Sicko (USA: Michael Moore, 2007: 123 mins)

"Michael Moore on His Life, His Films and His Activism." Democracy Now (July 5, 2010)

Sunshine (UK/USA: Danny Boyle, 2007: 107 mins)

Dawson, Mike. "Top Ten Films of 2007." Left Field Cinema (2007)

Taxi to the Dark Side (USA: Alex Gibney, 2007: 106 mins)

Aradillas, Aaron and Matt Zoller Seitz. "5 on 24: A Five Part Video Essay on the Real Time Action Series. Moving Image Source (May 18, 2010)

Burris, Gregory A. "Shocked and Awed?: Hostel and the Spectacle of Self-Mutilation." Cine-Action #80 (2010)

Dunn, Timothy. "Torture, Terrorism, and 24: What Would Jack Bauer Do?." Homer Simpson Goes to Washington: American Politics Through Popular Culture." ed. Joseph Foy. Lexington, KY: University of Kentucky, 2008: 171-184. [Available in BCTC Library JK 31 H85 2008]

Fletcher, Phoebe. “Fucking Americans”: Postmodern Nationalisms in the Contemporary Splatter Film #18 (December 2009)

Gosztola, Kevin. "Obama Employs Bush Administration Tactic, Blocks Photos." Open Salon (May 14, 2009)

Hilden, Julie. "Free Speech and the Concept of "Torture Porn": Why are Critics So Hostile to Hostel II?" Find Law (July 16, 2007)

Kleinhans, Chuck. "Imagining Torture." Jump Cut #51 (Spring 2009)

Kleinhans, Chuck, John Hess and Julia Lesage. "The Last Word: Torture and the National Imagination." #50 (Summer 2008)

Lesage, Julie. "Torture Documentaries." Jump Cut #51 (Spring 2009)

Murray, Gabrielle. "Images of Torture, Images of Terror: Post 9/11 and the Escalation of Screen Violence." Monash University Film and TV Studies (Podcast of a Lecture: March 20, 2008)

Rosler, Martha. "A Simple Case for Torture." Jump Cut #51 (Spring 2009)

Torture (Archive on Dialogic: The culture and politics of "torture.")

The Visitor (USA: Thomas McCarthy, 2007: 104 mins)

Garrett, Daniel. "Strangers and Friends, Immigration and Power: The Visitor." Offscreen (June 30, 2008)

XXY (Argentina: Lucía Puenzo, 2007: 86 mins)

"Discussion Questions: XXY." Film Movement (2009)

"Press Kit: XXY. Film Movement (2008)

Zodiac (USA: David Fincher, 2007: 157 mins)

Aaron Aradillas and Matt Zoller Seitz. "Grand Openings, Pt 4: Analyzing David Fincher's credit sequences -- Zodiac." Moving Image Source (October 15, 2010)

2008

The Baader-Meinhoff Complex (Germany: Uli Edel, 2008: 150 mins)

Hope-Jones, Mark. "Anarchy in the BRD." American Cinematographer (September 2009)

Katsiaficas, George. "Sources of Autonomous Politics in Germany"/"European Autonomous Movements in Europe" (Ch. 3/4) The Subversion of Politics: European Autonomous Movements and the Decolonization of Everyday Life. AK Press, 2009.

Bab'Aziz: The Prince Who Contemplated His Soul (Tunisia: Nacer Khemir, 2008: 98 mins)

Brussat, Frederick and Mary Ann Brussat. "Bab'Aziz - The Prince Who Contemplated His Soul." Spirituality & Practice (2009)

Che: Part One and/or Che: Part Two (France/Spain/USA: Steven Soderbergh, 2008: 134/135 mins)

Clover, Joshua. "CINEMA FOR A NEW GRAND GAME." Film Quarterly 62.4 (Summer 2009)

Heath, Roderick. "Che: Part One/Part Two." Ferdy on Film (May 25, 2010)

McDougall, Dave. History Lessons (Pt. 1): Notes on Steven Soderbergh's "Che" MUBI (November 24, 2010)

Taubin, Amy. "GUERRILLA FILMMAKING ON A EPIC SCALE: Che comandante Steven Soderbergh talks strategy and tactics." Film Comment (September/October 2008)

Wallis, Victor. "Interpreting revolution -- Che: Part I and Part II." Jump Cut #51 (Spring 2009)

The Class (France: Laurent Cantent, 2008: 128 mins)

Ashbury, Roy. "Schools and Teachers." Understanding Representation. ed. Wendy Helsby. London: BFI, 2005: 51-74. [Available in BCTC library PN1995 U4977 2005]

Chen, Lu. "I Hate Mathematics and Racists." The Brooklyn Rail (March 2009)

The Drummer (Hong Kong/Taiwan/Germany: Kenneth Bi, 2008: 115 mins)

"Discussion Questions: The Drummer Film Movement (2008)

Gomorrah (Italy: Matteo Garrone, 2008: 137 mins)

Covino, Michael. "LA MALAVITA: GOMORRAH AND NAPLES." Film Quarterly 62.4 (Summer 2009)

Curti, Roberto. "File Under Fire: A brief history of Italian crime films." Offscreen (November 30, 2007)

Garrone, Matteo and Maurizio Brauccio. "Gomorrah Q & A." Creative Screenwriting Magazine (March 6, 2009)

Gilman, Nils. "The Global Illicit Economy." (Google Video: 2009)

Ming, Wu. "The New Italian Epic." Opening talk @ the conference "The Italian Perspective on Metahistorical Fiction: The New Italian Epic." Institute of Germanic and Romance Studies, University of London, UK. (October 2, 2008)

Radovic, Radjo. "McMafia Rising." Film International 7.1 (Feb 2009)

Stephens, Chuck. "Gomorrah: Terminal Beach." Criterion (November 23, 2009)

Hunger (UK/Ireland: Steve McQueen, 2008: 96 mins)

Hoberman, J. "The Excruciating Details of Death-by-Starvation in Hunger." The Village Voice (March 18, 2009)

The Hurt Locker (USA: Kathryn Bigelow, 2008: 131 mins)

Kemp, Philip. "Directors of the Year: Kathryn Bigelow." International Film Guide:2010 ed. Ian Hadyn Smith. NY: Wallflower Press, 2010: 17-24. [Professor has copy]

Il Divo (Italy/France: Paolo Sorrentino, 2008: 110 mins)

Codelli, Lorenzo. "Directors of the Year: Paolo Sorrentino." International Film Guide: 2009. London: Wallflower Press, 2009. [Available in BCTC Library: PN1993.3 I544 2009]

Let the Right One In (Sweden: Tomas Alfredson, 2008: 115 mins)

Benton, Michael Dean. "Be Me for Awhile": Ideological Becoming and Future Objectivity in Let the Right One. Dialogic (August 1, 2009)

Låt den rätte komma in (Let The Right One In, Sweden 2008) The Case for Global Film (April 30, 2009)

Rapold, Nicholas and Matt Zoller Seitz. "A History of Creepy Kids on Film." The L Magazine (August 3, 2009)

Wright, Rochelle. "Vampire in the Stockholm suburbs: Let the Right One In and genre hybridity." Journal of Scandinavian Cinema 1.1 (2010)

Martyrs (France/Canada: Pascal Lougier, 2008: 99 mins)

Totaro, Donato. "Martyrs: Evoking France’s Cinematic and Historical Past." Offscreen (May 31, 2009)

Ponyo (Japan: Hayao Miyazaki, 2008: 101 mins)

Odell, Colin and Michelle Le Blanc. "Directors of the Year: Miyazaki Hayao." International Film Guide: 2009. ed. Ian Hadyn Smith. London: Wallflower Press, 2009: 16-22. [Available in BCTC Library: PN1993.3 I544 2009]

Revanche (Austria: Götz Spielmann, 2008: 121 mins)

Ashbury, Roy. "Prostitution." Understanding Representation. ed. Wendy Helsby. London: BFI, 2005: 115-142. [Available in BCTC Library PN 1995 U4977 2005]

Spielman, Götz. "DVD OF THE WEEK & PODCAST: Revanche (Gotz Spielmann)." Green Cine Daily (February 18, 2009)

Totaro, Donato. "Revanche (2008, Götz Spielman)-- A Matter of Stillness." Offscreen (February 28, 2010)

White, Armond. "Revanche:
Revival of the Fittest."
The Criterion Collection (February 11, 2010)

Sleep Dealer (USA/Mexico: Alex Rivera, 2008: 90 mins)

Engler, Mark. "Science Fiction From Below." Z-Net (May 16, 2009)

Slumdog Millionaire (UK: Danny Boyle, 2008: 120 mins)

Anselmi, William and Sheena Wilson. "Slumdogging It: Rebranding the American Dream, New World Orders, and Neo-Colonialism." Film International (2008)

Banaji, Shakuntala. "Seduced ‘Outsiders’ versus Sceptical ‘Insiders’?: Slumdog Millionaire through its Re/Viewers." Participations 7.1 (May 2010)

"In Bombay [Mumbai] with Slumdog Millionaire." The Business (November 17, 2008)

Khair, Tabish. "The Ironies of Bollywood." 16:9 (April 2009)

Llosa, Alvaro Vargas. "A Bollywood Ending: What the overly PC critics of 'Slumdog Millionare' still don't understand." The New Republic (March 3, 2009)

Narain, Atticus. "Rethinking post-colonial representation after Slumdog Millionaire." Dark Matter (March 9, 2009)

Oh Danny Boyle Film Studies for Free (March 2, 2009)

Standard Operating Procedure (USA: Errol Morris, 2008: 116 mins)

Andrews, David. "Reframing Standard Operating Procedure: Errol Morris and the creative treatment of Abu Ghraib." Jump Cut #52 (Summer 2010)

Aradillas, Aaron and Matt Zoller Seitz. "5 on 24: A Five Part Video Essay on the Real Time Action Series. Moving Image Source (May 18, 2010)

Burris, Gregory A. "Shocked and Awed?: Hostel and the Spectacle of Self-Mutilation." Cine-Action #80 (2010)

Butler, Judith. "Torture and the Ethics of Photography." Environment and Planning D: Society and Space #25 (2007): 951 - 966.

Cockrell, Eddie. "Directors of the Year: Errol Morris." International Film Guide: 2005. ed. Daniel Rosenthal. Los Angeles: Silman James Press, 2005: 24-31.

Dunn, Timothy. "Torture, Terrorism, and 24: What Would Jack Bauer Do?." Homer Simpson Goes to Washington: American Politics Through Popular Culture." ed. Joseph Foy. Lexington, KY: University of Kentucky, 2008: 171-184. [Available in BCTC Library JK 31 H85 2008]

Fletcher, Phoebe. “Fucking Americans”: Postmodern Nationalisms in the Contemporary Splatter Film #18 (December 2009)

Hilden, Julie. "Free Speech and the Concept of "Torture Porn": Why are Critics So Hostile to Hostel II?" Find Law (July 16, 2007)

Kleinhans, Chuck. "Imagining Torture." Jump Cut #51 (Spring 2009)

Kleinhans, Chuck, John Hess and Julia Lesage. "The Last Word: Torture and the National Imagination." #50 (Summer 2008)

Lesage, Julie. "Torture Documentaries." Jump Cut #51 (Spring 2009)

Murray, Gabrielle. "Images of Torture, Images of Terror: Post 9/11 and the Escalation of Screen Violence." Monash University Film and TV Studies (Podcast of a Lecture: March 20, 2008)

Nichols, Bill. "Feelings of revulsion and the limits of academic discourse." Jump Cut #52 (Summer 2010)

Rosler, Martha. "A Simple Case for Torture." Jump Cut #51 (Spring 2009)

Torture (Archive on Dialogic: The culture and politics of "torture.")

Williams, Linda. "“Cluster Fuck”: The Forcible Frame in Errol Morris’s Standard Operating Procedure." Jump Cut #52 (Summer 2010)

Summer Hours (France: Olivier Assayas, 2008: 103 mins)

Jones, Kent. "Summer Hours: A Time to Live and a Time to Die. Criterion (2010)

Troubled Water (Norway: Erik Poppe, 2008: 120 mins)

"Troubled Water: Discussion Guide." Film Movement (2009)

Waltz With Bashir (Israel/France/Germany/USA/Finland/Switzerland/Belgium/Australia: Ari Folman, 2008: 90 Mins)

Baker, Nicholson, et al. "Autobiography/Biography: Narrating the Self." Philoctetes (December 13, 2008)

Fainaru, Dan. "A Changing Landscape." International Film Guide: 2009. London: Wallflower Press, 2009: 53-63. [Available in BCTC Library PN1993.3 I544 2009]

Folman, Ari. "Waltz with Bashir." Worldview (January 23, 2009)

Hallinan, Chris. "The Lebanon Border: "Uniquely" Dangerous." Foreign Policy in Focus (September 1, 2010)

Kamiya, Gary. "What Waltz With Bashir can teach us about Gaza: The stunning new Israeli film reveals painful parallels between one of Israel's darkest moments and the current conflict." Salon (January 13, 2009)

Polonsky, David, et al. Waltz with Bashir: The Art Director’s Cut at War. Open Source (April 17, 2009)

Shaw, Daniel. Film and Philosophy: Taking Films Seriously. London: Wallflower Press, 2008.

2009

Antichrist (Denmark/Germany/France/Sweden/Italy/Poland: Lars von Triers, 2009: 108 mins)

Geller, Dorothy. "•Lars Von Trier's Antichrist: Executioner at the Alter of the Other, Part 1."/"•Lars Von Trier's Antichrist: Executioner at the Alter of the Other, Part 2." Offscreen 14.11 (November 2010)

Bright Star (UK/Australia/France: Jane Campion, 2009: 119 mins)

Campion, Jane interviewed by Nick James. "Romantic Setting." Sight and Sound (December 2009)

Capitalism: A Love Story (USA: Michael Moore, 2009: 127 mins)

McChesney, Robert and John Bellamy Foster. "Capitalism, the Absurd System: A View from the United States." Monthly Review 62.2 (June 2010)

"Michael Moore on His Life, His Films and His Activism." Democracy Now (July 5, 2010)

Coraline (USA: Henry Selick, 2009: 100 mins)

Bordwell, David. "Coraline, Considered." Observations on Film Art (February 23, 2009)

Kozachik, Pete. "Pete Kozachik, ASC details his approach to the 3-D digital stop-motion feature Coraline, whose heroine discovers a sinister world behind the walls of her new home." American Cinematographer (February 2009)

District 9 (USA/New Zealand: Neill Blomkamp, 2009: 112 mins)

Blomkamp, Neil, Sharlto Copley and Peter Jackson. "District 9 -- Comic Com Q & A Creative Screenwriting Magazine (August 21, 2009)

Gunkel, Henriette and Christiane König. "‘You are not welcome here’: post-apartheid negrophobia and real aliens in Blomkamp’s District 9." Dark Matters (February 7, 2010)

McEnteer, James. "Living in District 9 Truth-Out (June 12, 2010)

Toit, Andries Du. "Becoming the Alien: Apartheid, Racism and District 9." A Subtle Knife (September 4, 2009)

---. "The Alienation Effect: Further Thoughts on D9." A Subtle Knife (September 12, 2009)

Zborowski, James. "District 9 and Its World." Jump Cut #52 (Summer 2010)

Dogtooth (Greece: Giorgos Lanthimos, 2009: 94 mins)

Booth, Steven. "Essential Filmmaking: The Perverse Cuts of Dogtooth." Fandor (May 20, 2011)

Murphy, Bernice M. Dogtooth Irish Journal of Gothic and Horror Studies (June 2010)

Williamson, Ben. "On Parenting, Media, Education and Phobias." DML Central (February 14, 2011)

Fantastic Mr. Fox (USA/UK: Wes Anderson, 2009: 87 mins)

Sabo, Lee Weston. "Inimitable Charm: Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox Bright Lights Film Journal #67 (February 2010)

Sicinski, Michael. "25 Songs of Innocence & Experience: Spike Jonze, Wes Anderson and the Post-Boomer." Cinema Scope #41 (2009)

Fish Tank (UK/Netherlands: Andrea Arnold, 2009: 123 mins)

Emerson, Jim. "The otherworldly terrain of Fish Tank." Scanners (February 2, 2011)

Gamer (USA: Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, 2009: 95 mins)

Shaviro, Steven. "Gamer. Pinocchio Theory (December 15, 2009)

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Sweden/Denmark/Germany/Norway: Niels Arden Oplev, 2009: 152 mins)/The Girl Who Played with Fire (Sweden/Denmark/Germany: Daniel Alfredson, 2009: 129 mins)/The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (Sweden/Denmark/Germany: Daniel Alfredson, 2009: 147 mins)

"Girls, Violence and Dragon Tattoos." Skepchick (January 14, 2011)

In the Loop (United Kingdom: Armando Iannucci, 2009: 106 mins)

"“In the Loop”: Oscar-Nominated Comedy Satirizes Lead-Up to US-UK Invasion of Iraq." Democracy Now (February 17, 2010)

The Limits of Control (USA/Japan: Jim Jarmusch, 2009: 116 mins)

Overstreet, Jeffrey. "Jarmusch 101." and "Jarmusch 102: The Limits of Control." Image (April 19-20, 2010)

Shaw, Daniel. Film and Philosophy: Taking Films Seriously. London: Wallflower Press, 2008.

Moon (UK: Duncan Jones, 2009: 97 mins)

Jones, Duncan. "Moon." Film School (June 9, 2009)

Shaw, Daniel. Film and Philosophy: Taking Films Seriously. London: Wallflower Press, 2008.

A Prophet (France/Italy: Jacques Audiard, 2009: 150 mins)

Caplan, Nina. "Directors of the Year: Jacques Audiard." International Film Guide 2010. ed. Ian Hadyn Smith. London: Wallflower P, 2010: 11-16.

The Secret In Their Eyes (Argentina/Spain: Juan José Campanella, 2009: 127 mins)

Carnevale, Alex. "The Dirty War." In This Recording (July 9, 2010)

Samson and Delilah (Australia: Warwick Thornton, 2009: 101 mins)

Mayer, Sophie. "Not in Kansas anymore: Warwick Thornton on Samson and Delilah Sight and Sound (April 2010)

Storm (Germany: Hans-Christian Schmid, 2009: 103 mins)

"Storm: Discussion Guide." Film Movement (2010)

The Time That Remains (Palestine/UK/Italy/Belgium/France: Elia Suleiman, 2009: 109 mins)

Jafaar, Ali. "Elia Suleiman: the strong silent type." Sight and Sound (June 2010)

Where the Wild Things Are (USA/Germany: Spike Jonze, 2009: 101 mins)

Accord, Lance. "In Conversation with Rodney Taylor about Where the Wild Things Are." Converations on Cinematography (February 2, 2010)

Shaw, Daniel. Film and Philosophy: Taking Films Seriously. London: Wallflower Press, 2008.

Sicinski, Michael. "25 Songs of Innocence & Experience: Spike Jonze, Wes Anderson and the Post-Boomer." Cinema Scope #41 (2009)

White Material (France/Cameroon: Claire Denis, 2009: 106 mins)

Dinning, Samantha. "Great Directors: Claire Denis." Senses of Cinema (2009)

The White Ribbon (Austria/Germany/France/Italy: Michael Haneke, 2009: 144 mins)

Brunette, Peter. Michael Haneke. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois, 2010.

Grant, Catherine. "Michael Haneke: A Ribbon of Links." Film Studies for Free (October 6, 2009)

Grundman, Roy. A Companion to Michael Haneke. Malden, MA: Wiley Blackwell, 2010.

Horwath, Alexander. "Michael Haneke Uncut: Talking shop, theory, and practice with the director of The White Ribbon." Film Comment (November/December 2009)

"Michael Haneke Studies: Videos, Podcasts and Article Links." Film Studies for Free (June 26, 2010)

Ogrodnik, Benjamin. "Deep Cuts." Film International 7.1 (Feb 2009)

Price, Brian and John David Rhodes, ed. On Michael Haneke. Detroit, MI: Wayne State University, 2010.

Wheatley, Catherine. Michael Haneke's Cinema: The Ethic of the Image. NY: Bergahn Books, 2009. [BCTC Library PN 1998.3 H36 W44 2009]

Wild Grass (France/Italy: Alain Resnais, 2009: 104 minutes)

Atkinson, Michael. "Storytelling: Why Alain Resnais's Wild Grass is the secret key to his sensibility." Moving Image Source (July 2010)

Martin, Adrian. "Where the wild things grow: Alain Resnais’ Wild Grass." Sight and Sound (June 2010)

2010:

Exit Through the Gift Shop (UK/USA: Banksy, 2010: 87 mins)

Benton, Michael. "Review: Exit Through the Gift Shop." North of Center (March 2, 2011)

"Steve Martin, Famous Artists Appraise Stephen Colbert's Portrait (VIDEO) Huffington Post (December 12, 2010)

Haden-Guest, Anthony. "The Art of Mr. Brainwash." The Daily Beast (February 18, 2010)

The Social Network (USA: David Fincher, 2010: 120 mins)

Smith, Zadie. "Generation Why?" The New York Review of Books (November 25, 2010)

Uncle Boonme Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Thailand/Germany/Spain/France/United Kingdom: Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2010: 114 mins)

Goldberg, Max. "Something wild
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, Apichatpong Weerasethakul's shape-shifting Palme d'Or winner, arrives."
San Francisco Bay Guardian (March 1, 2011)

Kasman, Daniel. "Cinematic Transformation: A Talk with Apichatpong Weerasethakul." MUBI (September 10, 2010)

Winter's Bone (USA: Debra Granik, 2010: 100 mins)

Winter’s Bone (US 2010) The Case for Global Film (October 6, 2010)

Zuckerman, Alex. "The Hills: Winter's Bone The Chances We Take (July 24, 2010)

2011:

The Tree of Life (USA: Terence Malick, 2011: 138 mins)

Koresky, Michael. The Tree of Life: Design for Living." Reverse Shot #29 (2011)

Wisniewski, Chris. "Known Unknowns: Tree of Life." Reverse Shot #29 (2011)