Surrealism in Cinema, 100 Years On
A century after the publication of the first Surrealist manifesto, the role played by film in the movement is still unfolding.
The War on Bugs
In the 1950s, supersized insects were the villains in a rash of big-screen horror movies. What did those monstrous roaches represent, and how were they vanquished?
Seeing the World Through Missionaries’ Eyes
One way Americans got a look into life in distant parts of the world in the 1930s and ’40s was through films made by Protestant missionary groups.
A Night at the Oscars
All (or at least a lot) of what you need to know before going to this year’s Academy Awards watch party.
Freeing Birdman of Alcatraz
Neither the Bureau of Prisons nor the Production Code Administration could stop the production of a movie about murderer and ornithologist Robert Stroud.
PG-13: Some Material May Be Inappropriate
The creation of the PG-13 rating in 1984 can be traced to a few key films: Poltergeist, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and Gremlins.
Combustible Cinema? The Nitrate Film Issue
The early plastic called celluloid was made of nitrocellulose and camphor. It made for spectacular pictures. It also made for spectacular fires.
The Serpentine Career of Loïe Fuller
Rising from the ranks of touring comedies and Wild West shows, the American dancer dreamed of a future of light, movement, and metamorphosis.
Mills Panoram and Soundies
In the 1940s, these short films set to music transgressed Hollywood’s racial mythology to create space for Black artists to experiment—and have fun.
How Films Can Teach History
By viewing movies like The Manchurian Candidate, students can see one version of history that they can then use to dig deeper, explore more.