Today I visited the site of the infamous Tlatelolco massacre to pay my respects to the fallen martyrs. On October 2, 1968, the Mexican military, with US support, massacred hundreds of students and others who were protesting the upcoming Olympics, which would begin, as scheduled, just ten days later.

Love this tiny public library in Mexico City

Love this tiny public library in Mexico City

Today I visited the site of the infamous Tlatelolco massacre to pay my respects to the fallen martyrs. On October 2, 1968, the Mexican military, with US support, massacred hundreds of students and others who were protesting the upcoming Olympics, which would begin, as scheduled, just ten days later.

Ok, so I will postpone my New Hollywood class for another semester and instead teach a whole class on Sidney Lumet. Here’s the tentative list (I only have 14 weeks). I might switch one or two of these films out for other choices. Each week pairs with a chapter from Lumet’s Making Movies. Thoughts?

Tap in!

Hello, the great C. Derick Varn interviewed me and @tonyjballas.bsky.social about our podcast @coldwarcinema.com. (unfortunately, @ptklein.com wasn't able to make it this time.) History, Propaganda, and Left-Wing Film Analysis. www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKhP...

The @coldwarcinema.com podcast is a consistently good listen & this episode’s no exception. Been interested in Robert Kramer’s films & their almost complete erasure from contemporary cinema ever since l touched on him in my book REVOLUTION IN 35mm. This new book on him sounds fascinating.

After careful consideration, I’m fairly certain I’m going to make New Hollywood the theme of one of my film classes this fall. The tentative list of films is below, but I might alter or shorten it. I’d love any suggestions for readings for this class.

Celebrating the decline (and eventual collapse) of the US empire from a Mexico City cafe.

This conversation was incredibly enlightening, and I think listeners will get a lot out of it. Check it out! coldwarcinema.com/site/bonus-r...

Marxist film studies is way too small in the anglophone world for all of the people involved to not be aware of each other’s existence and scholarship. And we should support one another however we can, even if we take different ideological lines. Just my two cents.

This conversation was incredibly enlightening, and I think listeners will get a lot out of it. Check it out! coldwarcinema.com/site/bonus-r...

New bonus episode is live! @jasonachristian.bsky.social interviews Whitney Strub about his new book, Films That Explode Like Grenades: Robert Kramer and the Search for a Radical Cinema, just published by University of Chicago Press. Check it out! coldwarcinema.com/bonus-robert...

Our radical educational film collective just entered its third year! This project has been life-changing for me. A whole community has formed around these screenings. These are the films we’ve shown so far. Check out our IG: instagram.com/resistanceci...

New episode, and I think you guys are gonna like it. We get into Lumet’s film career, the discourse around nuclear paranoia and machine-based warfare, and US imperial hubris, among other themes. Check it out! coldwarcinema.com/s2-ep-14-fai...

Be the life of the party. Invite folks over to watch Dr. Strangelove, then show them Fail Safe instead. Get's 'em every time. youtu.be/MIb9VTOa5NU?...

New episode, and I think you guys are gonna like it. We get into Lumet’s film career, the discourse around nuclear paranoia and machine-based warfare, and US imperial hubris, among other themes. Check it out! coldwarcinema.com/s2-ep-14-fai...

New episode is live! We discuss Sidney Lumet's 1964 film FAIL SAFE, a powerful (and bold) independent Hollywood production that paints a horrific picture of a potential nuclear war. LINK: coldwarcinema.com/s2-ep-14-fai...

I have no idea why, but @coldwarcinema.com is number 3 in film history in Hong Kong on Apple’s chart. Thank you to the good people of Hong Kong! You will be happy to know that I watched a Ringo Lam film just last night.

I said something similar to this, though briefer, in our latest @coldwarcinema.com episode, which will be out soon. Fantastically well put, @jasonhickel.bsky.social

I once fell deeply, profoundly in love with movies. I had 600 goddamn DVDs in my house. Casablanca, The Sound of Music, Terminator. You name it. Then one morning, I woke up and said, "Fuck movies." I renounce movies. I will never set foot in a movie theater again. That's how much "fuck movies."

Here's a PDF of this guide. drive.google.com/file/d/1QEpC...

Maxim Gorky, in 1934, articulating how easily nihilistic artists align with fascist ideology:

I had a fantastic time talking with comrades @jasonachristian.bsky.social, @tonyjballas.bsky.social, and @ptklein.com about one of my favorite films! Check it out and follow @coldwarcinema.com!

People are going to want to tune into this new episode of @coldwarcinema.com with our friend and comrade Taylor R. Genovese. It’s a very good discussion, and I learned a lot! coldwarcinema.com/s2-ep-13-iva...

New episode is live! We invited our friend and comrade Taylor R. Genovese to help us discuss Andrei Tarkovsky’s debut feature film Ivan's Childhood (1962), Tarkovsky’s aesthetic vision, the concept of “toska,” the Great Patriotic War, and more! Link below: coldwarcinema.com/s2-ep-13-iva...

Back to Larry Ceplair’s THE MARXIST AND THE MOVIES, about Paul Jarrico. Super passage about 1954. Even after the Senate condemned McCarthy, the red scare & attack on CPUSA members continued. 🗃️ #ArchivePrep

New episode of @coldwarcinema.com drops this weekend, so stay tuned! Here’s a hint ⬇️

Heads up, @coldwarcinema.com listeners! @tonyjballas.bsky.social and I will be joining C. Derick Varn on his YouTube channel The Varn Vlog to discuss our podcast, Cold War history, propaganda, nuclear anxiety and more. The episode drops on July 7. Tune in! www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKhP...

“But the best of Cuban cinema is complex and nuanced, not the one-dimensional didacticism imagined by detractors, and the creators always prioritize aesthetic concerns…” A terrific read from @coldwarcinema.com’s @jasonachristian.bsky.social on his recent visit to Cuba.

ICYM: my piece on Cuban cinema, sports, and the blockade

After a life-changing visit to Cuba this week, I got inspired to write an essay about the documentary filmmaker Santiago Álvarez, the brutal US embargo, and the Cuban people's revolutionary resilience. I hope people enjoy it! notesonradicalcinema.substack.com/p/movie-watc...

El Cine Charles Chaplin in Havana, Cuba

Today is Victory Day, a celebration of the victory of the Soviet Union over Nazi Germany (in 1945), ending the Great Patriotic War. (We call the war WWII in the US). Check out our episode of @coldwarcinema.com on Ballad of a Soldier, a film set during the war. coldwarcinema.com/s2-ep-9-ball...

Our radical cinema educational project, Resistance Cinema, was covered by a local magazine here in Atlanta. voyageatl.com/interview/co...

Oh man, just learned that the great cinema illustrator Tony Stella has died. Tony once created a portrait of Nick Nolte to accompany a piece I wrote for @brightwalldarkroom.com on Paul Schrader’s Affliction. RIP. www.brightwalldarkroom.com/2019/11/22/t...

Vernon, Greenfield #30 📻🎶 THIS WEEK FEATURES: the usual freeform mix of music from me, DJ TY ➕ The Poet's Seat w/ Michael Earl Craig ➕ Film Rec of the Week w/ @jasonachristian.bsky.social www.mixcloud.com/vernongreenf...

I was invited on the Left of the Projector podcast to discuss Nicholas Ray's THEY LIVE BY NIGHT (1948). Check it out! leftoftheprojector.com/episode/they...

Suitcase is packed with the items listed on the right. The total cost came to $480, which has already been covered by donations. Thanks to all who contributed. I'm still seeking money for organizations on the ground, if you're feeling like you can spare anything.✊🇨🇺

ICYMI: our episode with the literary critic Ryan Ruby on New German Cinema, doomed adventurism, David Bowie's Berlin, Fassbinder, Kluge, the decline of the European left, and more! coldwarcinema.com/bonus-new-ge...

It's been said countless times, but I fear that so many young people will never recover from using AI multiple times a day as a substitute for thinking. It's getting to the point where many people cannot make a single decision by themselves.

New bonus episode of @coldwarcinema.com is live! We had the critic Ryan Ruby on to discuss New German Cinema, the Red Army Faction, and the cultural history of post-war Berlin. This is an excellent discussion. I learned a lot, and I think you will too. Link below: coldwarcinema.com/bonus-new-ge...

good morning, you are loved 🫂

The Atlantic has helped shape elite opinion on Gaza by packaging dehumanizing arguments and one-sided narratives in the language of serious, high-minded journalism.

Just donated. Won't you join me?

Happy birthday, Volodya. We need you now more than ever. vimeo.com/893084975?sh...

🙏 🐐 🎉 🎂