Tag Archives: Film

Feeling the Fission of a Hollywood Star

By Robin Bates | Published: October 14, 2011

Judy Grahn sees our Hollywood stars as modern day Helen of Troys and explores their power over us.

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Is America Selling Its Soul?

By Robin Bates | Published: October 7, 2011

The 1941 film “The Devil and Daniel Webster” is unsettling by how relevant to our current day economic crisis is its story of America selling its soul.

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Life Is So Short, Fall in Love, Dear Maiden

By Robin Bates | Published: September 23, 2011

Akira Kurosaw’s magnificent film “Ikiru” reminds us, among other things, that when we give our lives to the betterment of our communities, we redeem our lives.

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The Horror of Sex without Love

By Robin Bates | Published: September 16, 2011

Sex without love, the subject of several sex comedies this past summer, was also an issue explored by poets and playwrights in the British Restoration.

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Can Art Change Big Brother?

By Robin Bates | Published: September 2, 2011

The Oscar-winning German film “The Lives of Others” speaks to the ability of art to change people’s lives.

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The Rise of the Planet of Anger

By Robin Bates | Published: August 26, 2011

In the 1930’s, Americans’ rage over the Great Depression was reflected in the movies. In today’s economic meltdown, Hollywood is once again producing angry films.

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The Transcendent Properties of Food

By Robin Bates | Published: August 19, 2011

“Babette’s Feast” is about a sumptuous banquet that descends upon a querulous community like an act of grace, thereby allowing the spirit to flow again. In other words, it’s a good film to watch these days when our own communities are troubled and having difficulty coming together.

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Obama as a Kurosawa Figure

By Robin Bates | Published: August 12, 2011

Seen in the most positive light, Obama has chosen to be a mountain rather than an attack dog. The movie scene that comes to mind is Kurosawa’s shadow warrior trying to be a “mountain” in “Kagemusha.”

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The Debt Ceiling Goes to the Movies

By Robin Bates | Published: July 29, 2011

Columnists have been turning to popular movies to talk about the drama of the debt ceiling debate that is currently paralyzing Congress and threatening the credit rating of the United States. The films include “Fifth Element,” “The Town,” “Cowboys and Aliens,” and “Sophie’s Choice.”

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