Seeds of Colonial Capitalism in Kelly Reichardt’s ‘First Cow’
In her excellent film, First Cow, Kelly Reichardt explores the effects of colonial land theft and capitalism through the medium of food.
Economics
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Life Isn’t Binary and Neither Is the Coronavirus Pandemic
Non-binary thinking offers new routes for adapting to life with COVID-19.
Pandemic from the Janitor’s Point of View
Timothy Sheard's murder mystery One Foot in the Grave explores pandemic in a hospital from the point of view of the lowliest, aka "essential", staff.
‘Capital in the 21st Century’: Pie for the Rich, Crumbs for the People
Justin Pemberton's film version of Thomas Piketty's landmark book on the dangers of today's yawning income inequality, Capital in the 21st Century, is more TED Talk than documentary, but it's a handy summary nonetheless.
Is ‘The Alienist’ a Critique of Capitalism or a Pro-Neoliberal Narrative?
Author Caleb Carr's The Alienist explores the 19th century psychiatric debate between free will and determinism. TNT's nearly identical adaptation of the novel, however, comes up with a completely different conclusion.
Corona Tales: Life As an Indie Musician in 2020
Canadian Americana artist Lynne Hanson tells her tale of the Coronavirus Blues, one of canceled tour dates and diminished revenue prospects.
The Ghostliness of Mark Jenkin’s Post-Brexit Parable, ‘Bait’
Mark Jenkin's haunting Bait exhibits a ghostliness that complements the film's transient landscape of seasonal capital and short-term holiday lets.
‘Gloria Bell’: Silent Suffering and Disco Dancing in Late Capitalism
Gloria Bell painfully conveys that this economic system thrives on our isolation.
To the Vector the Spoils: On McKenzie Wark’s ‘Capital Is Dead’
In a brave new world dominated by platforms such as Facebook, Uber, and Airbnb, and marked by anxiety in the Age of the Anthropocene, McKenzie Wark's Capital Is Dead eschews digital utopianism for a sense of urgency that recognizes things have gotten serious.
The Book Every American Needs to Read: ‘Open Season: Legalized Genocide of Colored People’
Award-winning lawyer Ben Crump's Open Season irrefutably documents how America's treatment of Black Americans and other minorities is indistinguishable from genocide.
Walking the Tightrope Between History and Memory in Japan: On Harootunian’s ‘Uneven Moments’
Harry Harootunian's essays on modern Japanese history, collected in Uneven Moments from Columbia University Press, reflect a lifetime of intellectual contributions and span a wide range of topics in Japanese history. The tension between the historical and the everyday is a recurrent and vital theme in his work.