capitalism

COVID-19 Is but One Indication of the Return of the Pandemic Monster

COVID-19 Is but One Indication of the Return of the Pandemic Monster

Mike Davis' COVID-era update about emerging flu pandemics, The Monster Enters, is concise, disturbing, and valuable.

Halle Butler’s ‘Jillian’ Is a Frank Account of Discontent

Halle Butler’s ‘Jillian’ Is a Frank Account of Discontent

Evoking both sarcasm and empathy, Butler paints Jillian and Megan as harbingers of a relatable alienation.

Breaching Closure in Pasolini’s ‘Teorema’

Breaching Closure in Pasolini’s ‘Teorema’

Pier Paolo Pasolini's classic drama, Teorema, grapples with the parable -- the manner of knowing that which always remains just beyond our grasp.

Seeds of Colonial Capitalism in Kelly Reichardt’s ‘First Cow’

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.

Crapification Syndrome: When Hilarity Slides into Nausea

Crapification Syndrome: When Hilarity Slides into Nausea

No one living in America today can escape the blast radius of the questions raised in Wendy A. Woloson's Crap.

‘Capital in the 21st Century’: Pie for the Rich, Crumbs for the People

‘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?

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.

Memoir ‘Rust’ Wrestles with the Myth of the American Dream

Memoir ‘Rust’ Wrestles with the Myth of the American Dream

Eliese Colette Goldbach's memoir, Rust: A Memoir of Steel and Grit, is the story of one descending into the depths of The American Dream and emerging with flecks of graphite dust on her cheeks, a master's degree in her hands, and a few new friends.

Love at a Socially-Isolating Distance

Love at a Socially-Isolating Distance

In one sense, life in the time of Coronavirus clarifies an essential element of love: love always occurs at an ontological distance.

The Excrement of Capitalism: Todd Phillip’s ‘Joker’ as Commentary on Disposability

The Excrement of Capitalism: Todd Phillip’s ‘Joker’ as Commentary on Disposability

What happens when the disposable realize they are disposable?

‘Gloria Bell’: Silent Suffering and Disco Dancing in Late Capitalism

‘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’

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.