The Bull, the Bear, and the Wolf
The Wolf of Wall Street, by Martin Scorsese, has just become the veteran director’s top grossing film after more than 40 years behind the camera.[1] The movie stunned audiences and critics alike, with its crude language and hedonistic plot. However, what makes the film so appalling to some members of society is what makes […]
Janelle Monáe: Revolution Through Music
I recall casually browsing Tumblr one day and coming upon a picture of an extremely pretty black woman, button-nosed and petite, with the most fabulously coiffed pompadour afro, rocking a sharp tux and sharper cheekbones. My interest was instantly piqued, but I never really listened to her music until someone uploaded an Mp3 track from […]
The Carbon Crunch
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg may be remembered as one of the few politicians to extend term limits in office, but pragmatism will be his ultimate legacy. If Mayor Bloomberg is the ideal pragmatist in politics then meet Dieter Helm, his counterpart in the climate change arena. Like Bloomberg who’s known to champion social […]
Merchant of Death: Money, Guns, Planes and the Man Who Makes War Possible
Merchant of Death: Money, Guns, Planes and the Man Who Makes War Possible provides the reader with a unique insight into the growth of the globalized arms trade in the context of the collapsing post-Cold War world order. A collaboration of investigative expertise from former West African bureau chief of the Washington Post, Douglas Farah, […]
Argo: The Intersection of Hollywood and American Perceptions of Iran
Argo, a film centered around the Iranian Hostage Crisis and inspired by a true story, premiered this past month. The plot focuses on the CIA’s attempt to exfiltrate six US Foreign Service workers who managed to sneak out of the American Embassy as Iranian students stormed the building and started President Carter’s worst nightmare. Although […]
A New Deal for a New Era: Michael Grunwald’s Retelling of the Stimulus
What happened to the stimulus? Once heralded as the greatest early victory of the Obama administration, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 has become a topic that the administration has no urge to discuss. This seems like a natural response to a policy that has failed, or at least failed according to the […]
The Last Mountain: Understanding the Toxic Side of Coal
At last year’s Sundance Film Festival, a movie premiered entitled The Last Mountain. At the time of writing The Last Mountain is available for streaming via Netflix – and it is a must watch for all of us. The film’s director, Bill Haney, previously directed and produced the documentary A Life Among Whales, which takes […]
The Iron Lady: Lloyd’s Thatcher Shows the Strength Necessary to Lead
The Iron Lady is a film that has been engineered to win Academy awards, but behind the artsy appeal, the glitz and the glamour lies a solid critique on the modus operandi of western political systems, wherein the events of Margaret Thatcher’s life echo our current political situation. Phyllida Lloyd’s film portrays Margaret Thatcher through […]