Cultural studies of the nineteenth century often categorize their subjects as being motivated by one of two opposing notions: a wholehearted embrace of progress or an antimodernist nostalgia. A Perfectionist Impulse: The Art of Stopping Time in the Nineteenth Century (U Minnesota Press, 2026) centers a different kind of response to the period’ ... Show More
Yesterday
Vincent Haddad, "Next Time on Dragon Ball: Playing with a Manga and Anime Franchise" (U Minnesota Press, 2026)
Since its debut in 1984, Dragon Ball has become one of the most popular, influential, and lucrative media franchises in the world. In Next Time on Dragon Ball: Playing with a Manga and Anime Franchise (U Minnesota Press, 2026), Dr. Vincent Haddad investigates how the franchise ha ... Show More
52m 55s
Aug 14
Linda Williams and eds. Christine Gledhill et al., "Melodrama As Provocateur" (Duke UP, 2026)
The centerpiece of Melodrama as Provocateur (Duke UP, 2026) is an essay by Linda Williams (1946–2025). Williams was Professor of Film Studies and Rhetoric at the University of California, Berkeley. Her highly influential work reframed some of cinema’s most neglected or denigrated ... Show More
1h 12m
Feb 2024
Burning For Something with Celine Song & Sofia Coppola
Topics covered include: seeing your first movie at the neighborhood theater, the pressures of live performance, the animal that is the audience, parallels between directing and motherhood, abandoning the miracle, autobiographical filmmaking, feeling like broccoli, the Pacific Oce ... Show More
1h 11m
Dec 2020
Waleed F. Mahdi, "Arab Americans in Film: From Hollywood and Egyptian Stereotypes to Self-Representation" (Syracuse UP, 2020)
It comes as little surprise that Hollywood films have traditionally stereotyped Arab Americans, but how are Arab Americans portrayed in Arab films, and just as importantly, how are they portrayed in the works of Arab American filmmakers themselves?
In Arab Americans in Film: Fro ... Show More
1h 6m
Mar 2021
The Best Movie of 2021 So Far, and a Chuck Klosterman Theory of Film
Sean and Amanda welcome author Chuck Klosterman to dive deep into two fascinating topics. The first is Adam Curtis' sprawling six-part documentary series 'Can't Get You Out of My Head,' which explores the absurdity of modern life and the intersections of power, drugs, culture, an ... Show More
1h 29m
Oct 2021
Practical Magic with David Lowery & Elijah Wood
<p>Topics covered include: the importance of letting your movie breath, hate-cutting <em>The Green Knight</em>, the fall of Troy, Grail mythology, a mom’s helpful nudge, old-fashioned movie magic, the epic oner from <em>Eternal Sunshine</em>, concentric circles of production and ... Show More
50m 52s
Dec 2021
True Form with Paul Mescal & Honor Swinton Byrne
<p>Topics covered include: the thrill and terror of acting without a script, the meta nature of <em>The Souvenir </em>movies, Joanna Hogg as genius puppet master, the return of real film, Paul’s “chill and kind” rugby-playing brother, Irish gatekeeping, drama school memories, slo ... Show More
45m 3s