more bad news: RIP my uncle, John Benton-Harris (update: the Guardian ran an obit)
My year of hell continues…
Guardian
loaded question: what are some great movies about underappreciated women in history?
And why aren’t there more of them? (Rhetorical question; we know why.) Do you know of a historical woman most of us have never heard of whom you’d love to see a movie about?
loaded question: what’s your favorite cultural life hack?
Are there ways that you consume or play with music, movies, books, games, etc, that give you extra pleasure, and/or that you suspect may not have occurred to other people?
curated: Sarah Polley on Terry Gilliam is a masterclass in how brilliant men get away with their bullshit
Polley makes no bones about what is at play here, and it’s a microcosm for Hollywood in the main. Brutal, and extraordinary.
weekend watchlist: the unbearable wait for massive success
Plus a subtle dystopia and a subtle nervous breakdown. (First published April 22nd, 2022, on Substack and Patreon.)
My So-Called Selfish Life documentary review: TFW you lack that certain “maternal instinct”
Dismantles myths about motherhood and misconceptions about child-free women with brisk, cheeky humor and intersectionality, and begins to build the cultural scripts we need for paths without kids.
loaded question: what movie that you love would you change the ending of, and how?
Inspired by China’s new censoring of the ending of Fight Club, in the most bizarre way…
curated: fundie Christians demand Netflix cancel Amazon Prime’s Good Omens
One might wonder why God has seen fit that his most devout followers are often not blessed with an abundance of brains.
Oscar Nominated Documentary Shorts 2019 (91st Academy Awards) review
My pick: Marshall Curry’s “A Night at the Garden,” presenting footage from a 1939 “pro-America” rally in New York City, a chilling reminder of the unpleasant cycles of American history.
Snowden movie review: the system’s self-correction
A gripping précis of what Edward Snowden learned at the CIA and NSA, why he went public, and why it matters. Entertaining yet also deeply unsettling.
