A child in front of an ominous Netflix television screen.

A Critical Theory of Binge Watching

We didn't know we loved to binge until Netflix made it irresistible. To understand the new model, we should look back to Theodor Adorno.
Barbara Hammer

A Legendary Filmmaker’s Notes on Teaching

Experimental filmmaker Barbara Hammer was also a teacher, and wrote about how she kept the "artist-self" alive while working her day job.
Claire Denis at the Venice Film Festival in 2009

The Corporeal Cinema of Claire Denis

French filmmaker Claire Denis is known for creating visceral viewing experiences that push the boundaries of cinema.
Alice Guy

Hollywood Froze Out the Founding Mother of Cinema

French filmmaker Alice Guy-Blaché was the first female film director, and renowned as an innovator in the field. Then she moved to Hollywood.
A teenage girl kissing a teenage boy on the cheek

Media Representation and Interracial Couples

Recent years have seen increases in both interracial adolescent romances and portrayals of young interracial relationships. What's the connection?
From an advertisement for a model kit tie in for the film The Silent Star, also released as First Spaceship on Venus

Socialist Sci-Fi Reimagined the Future

The 1960 East German film The Silent Star provided a significant cautionary tale for the Cold War era.
An anime character with headphones

Chill Beats to Study/Relax to

Why is lo-fi hip-hop so conducive to concentration?
Martin Milner and Sally Field in Gidget

The Transgressive Subtext of Teen Surf Movies

Surf movies of the 1950s and 1960s only seemed squeaky-clean. Just beneath the surface was rebellion, rule-bending, and an embrace of the "other."
William Faulkner and Charles De Gaulle

William Faulkner Goes to Hollywood

The curious, forgotten connection between William Faulkner and Charles de Gaulle.
Richard Attenborough, William Goldman and Joe Levine, 1975

William Goldman and the Mystery of Screenwriting

Authorship of Hollywood screenplays is often a complicated matter. But William Goldman was truly a writer in Hollywood.