What Will Come? COVID-19 and the Politics of Economic Depression
The financial crash of 2008-2010 reemphasized that traumatic economic shifts drive political change, so what might we imagine — or fear — will emerge from the COVID-19 depression?
wwii
Films from the Long War: ‘Their Finest Hour’ Offers Five British WWII Classics
These WWII films from directors Alberto Cavalcanti, Guy Hamilton, Michael Anderson, Leslie Norman and J. Lee Thomson are excellent studies in history, filmmaking, and wartime propaganda.
Atop a Throne of Ashes: On Juraj Herz’s ‘The Cremator’
Far from being escapist entertainment, Herz's The Cremator is a dissection of evil and how deluded one becomes in willing themselves to power.
Comedy, Pathos, and Bibliophilia Merge in Jean Giono’s Wartime Journal
In addition to its literary significance, Jean Giono's newly translated Occupation Journal is also an important reminder of the value of pacifism in a world where over-eager partisanship is once more merging with the enthusiastic violence of political dogma.
Queer Love and Art in the Time of Nazis: ‘Never Anyone But You’
Never Anyone But You is an inspiring tale of surrealists Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore, who defied homophobia, Nazis, and gender norms while pushing the boundaries of art and love.
Great Scots: ‘Whiskey Galore!’ and ‘The Maggie’
Two Scottish comedies from Alexander Mackendrick, Whiskey Galore! and The Maggie, were part of Ealing Studios movies meant for a depressed postwar England to "let off steam".
The 43 Group and the Moral Imperative to Fight Fascists
Anti-fascist militants have played an important role in protecting community and democracy. Daniel Sonabend's We Fight Fascists brings light to that battle against fascism in post-war Britain.
For All Governments: Gendry-Kim’s Graphic Novel, ‘Grass’
The powerful graphic novel Grass documents the atrocities against WWII "comfort women" through the recollections of a survivor. This is an incredibly powerful and urgent work that, frankly, should be read by the governments of all nations that must face, admit to, and begin real reparations for their country's atrocities.
‘Horizontal Collaboration’ Tackles Sexist Judgements on Women’s Lives in War-Time
Horizontal Collaboration, the superb French comic by Navie and Carole Maurel, reassesses the sexist biases of history.
Change Course! George Takei Warns in ‘They Called Us Enemy’
In graphic memoir They Called Us Enemy, iconic Star Trek star George Takei draws from his family's experience of Japanese-American internment camps to warn of a potentially dark future.
A Biography Worthy of ‘Hiroshima’ Author John Hersey
John Hersey covered Hiroshima and America's race riots with empathy, courage, and profound humility. Jeremy Treglown's biography, Mr. Straight Arrow, should bring a new generation of readers to Hersey's work.
Two Fascist Perspectives on WWII: The Colonel’s Wife and Deviation
Authors Rosa Liksom and Luce D'Eramo brilliantly convey the seduction and willful disbelief associated with fascism; how one brushes off their misgivings, thinking that it will be different for them.