We All “Scream” for the Metatextual
Do you like scary movies? How about movies that scare you while satirizing and paying homage to their genre?
The Mockumentary: A Very Real History
What's the appeal of humor masquerading as seriousness? An entire movie genre stands ready to shed light on that question.
Fake News: A Media Literacy Reading List
Compiled by graduate students in a 2016 course on “Activism and Digital Culture,” at University of Southern California.
How Film Noir Tried to Scare Women out of Working
In the period immediately following World War II, the femme fatale embodied a host of male anxieties about gender roles.
How Local TV Made “Bad” Movies a Thing
Weekly shows on local TV stations helped make the ironic viewing of bad movies into a national pastime.
How Oscar Micheaux Challenged the Racism of Early Hollywood
The black filmmaker Oscar Micheaux was one of the first to make films for a black audience, a rebuke to racist movies like The Birth of a Nation.
Streaming Television Might Just Bring Us Together After All
A look at TV watching as a social activity, from the "water cooler" network shows of yore to today's "second screen" live-tweets.
The Corporeal Cinema of Claire Denis
French filmmaker Claire Denis is known for creating visceral viewing experiences that push the boundaries of cinema.
The Making of Rita Hayworth
To become a Hollywood star and icon, Rita Hayworth had to transcend not just her waistline or her hairline, but her own ethnicity.