Fredi Washington and Louise Beavers in a scene from Imitation of Life

Why Didn’t Movies about Passing Cast Black Actors?

"Social problem" films were all the rage after World War II. So how could movies about racism be so conservative?
From a movie ad for 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, 1917

The Shark-Fighting Brothers behind 20,000 Leagues under the Sea

In 1916, the Williamson brothers used their father's underwater photography device to film a fight with a shark, piquing Universal Pictures' interest.
People standing in a group looking into the light

Cults on TV!

How stereotypes influence our ideas about what is and isn’t legitimate religion.
A cheerful painting of Kim Jong-il in North Korean propaganda

Don’t Cry for Me, North Korea

Western media outlets were obsessed with whether North Koreans were truly sad about Kim Jong-il's death. Why?
Cover of The Seed

The Campus Underground Press

The 1960s and 70s were a time of activism in the U.S., and therefore a fertile time for campus newspapers and the alternative press.
A still from The Private Life of Cats

The Private Life of a Cat

Maya Deren was a fringe filmmaker who existed far outside the Hollywood machine, but she often borrowed its tactics to promote herself and her movies.
A poster for FluxFest

You, Too, Can Screen an Experimental Film

In the 1960s and '70s, where and how a film was shown was often as important as the work itself.
From left, Desmond Bryan, Caesar Andrews, Delroy Witter and Ken Murray, in the 'Into Reggae' record shop, 3rd October 1975.

How Black-Owned Record Stores Helped Create Community

What was it like for Black American music lovers during the age of segregation to find a place they could call their own?
Johnny Cash poses for a portrait for a publicity shot for his movie debut in "Door-to-Door Maniac" aka "Five Minutes To Live" on Auust 3, 1960 in Los Angeles, California.

The Complications of “Outlaw Country”

Johnny Cash grappled with the many facets of the outlaw archetype in his feature acting debut, Five Minutes to Live.
Gregory Peck looking up at Susan Hayward in a scene from the film 'The Snows Of Kilimanjaro', 1952.

Hollywood’s Version of “The Snows of Kilimanjaro”

Ernest Hemingway didn’t care for it.