It is often said that history is written by the victor. When it comes to the recollections of the past championed within bourgeois society, objective historical realities are obscured (if not omitted or re-written) when the facts and lessons to… Read More ›
Film Synopsis La Chinoise follows five young people in late 1960’s France who form a revolutionary Maoist organization and live together in a loft. They name their organization “Aden Arabie” (English: Aden, Arabia), named after a novel by French writer… Read More ›
February 23rd is the holiday known as Defender of the Fatherland Day in Belarus and several other former Soviet Republics. Originally known as Red Army Day, its name was changed to Soviet Army and Navy Day in 1949 and it… Read More ›
Introduction: A Better War Movie In American cinematography, war movies have come in two flavors exclusively: those movies which ultimately support and fetishize war, and those films which are critical of certain wars and actions; typically coming from a liberal… Read More ›
Modern Times (1936), written, directed and starring Charlie Chaplin as the Tramp, is widely regarded as a classic film which, although mostly silent and black-and-white, effortlessly entertains contemporary audiences. Plot summary (Contains Spoilers) The film begins with Chaplin’s well-known character… Read More ›
Triumph of the Will is a brilliant work of propaganda demonstrating how cultural hegemony can be used by those with power to suppress dissent and obscure material realities with artificial, idealized perceptions. If one were to watch this with the… Read More ›
Art can be understood as how we express ourselves, translating experiences, desires, emotions, and knowledge into concrete images, sounds, and so forth. All humans are artists and we all have a hint of creative spark within us. Marx noted that… Read More ›
Basic Plot Under The Bombs follows the story of a woman named Zeina (Nada Abou Farhat) who returns to the south of Lebanon after the 33-day Israeli bombing campaign in search of her son, who has gone missing along with… Read More ›
Severe Clear, or This is War, is a documentary made from footage shot by First Lieutenant Mike Scotti on his own personal camera as he is deployed in Iraq as part of the invasion force sent in to capture the… Read More ›
Basic Facts Reds is a 1981 film about the life of American journalist-turned-revolutionary John Reed (Warren Beatty). It functions at once as a political and romantic biography of Reed as well as a historical account of the October Revolution in… Read More ›
Basic Plot In a world where people live their lives vicariously by manipulating cyborgs called “surrogates” from the comfort of their own homes, FBI agent Tom Greer (Bruce Willis) is put to the task of tracking down a killer wielding… Read More ›
“Terrorist vs. Freedom Fighter” as a Plot Device The 2005 film version of V for Vendetta directed by James McTeigue and produced by the Wachowski Brothers is the most obvious example of the increasing desire for heroic cinematic revolutionaries. Films… Read More ›
Personal Reflection: “The Reds” as the Good Guys I was about ten years old when my mother took the family to see Enemy at the Gates (2001). For one, this was the first time in my life that I was… Read More ›
Basic Plot Extract, written and directed by Mike Judge, involves the personal and business struggles of a small business factory owner named Joel Reynolds (Jason Bateman) as he tries to sell his extract business to the General Mills corporation. There… Read More ›
(Warning: Minor Spoilers) Avatar, the latest film by James Cameron, lives up to the hype. Throughout James Cameron’s career he has created blockbuster after blockbuster, from Aliens in 1986 to the famous Titanic in 1997. Cameron’s movies usually are long,… Read More ›
The Red Phoenix 