Charlie Chaplin Makes Me Cry

In one of my graduate classes we examined the subtext of Charlie Chaplin’s films and the social commentary he presented in a time when it was rather risky to do so. We watched part of Chaplin’s Modern Times in class. I had to put both hands over my mouth to stifle the uncontrollable laughter I was gripped [...]

Product Placement in “Something Borrowed”

Saturday night at a wedding reception I was speaking with a guy who said he had just seen the movie “Something Borrowed” with Kate Hudson, John Krasinski, and Ginnifer Goodwin. He said it was very clear that during the first 20 minutes, as he put it, “the movie was made possible by Heineken, the official [...]

Still Big Time: Peter Gabriel

Last night my husband and I watched the 2011 Oscar-winning documentary “Inside Job” about the financial crisis of 2007–2010. While the content was utterly infuriating, the skillful intro of this doc will stay with me. It starts out in Iceland, interviewing financial experts about how deregulation screwed up their economy. The Icelandic man speaking, Gylfi Zoega, says, [...]

The Artistry of Pushing It

From the album Version 2.0, the video “Push It” by Garbage remains high on my all-time favorites list. The juxtaposition of the surreal and semi-mythical characters in the overtly domestic settings (grocery store, home) with lead singer Shirley Manson, is a feast for the eyes. The early and selective use of bullet-time mixed with CG effects amplified my love of [...]

Rod Serling: Man of Style and Substance

I don’t miss an episode of The Twilight Zone if I can help it. I’ve enjoyed those annual marathons and have my favorite episodes, which are: The Odyssey of Flight #33, Eye of the Beholder, Living Doll, To Serve Man, Time Enough at Last, and Nightmare at 20,000 Feet. A dreamy and perpectually black and white man [...]