Criticize After Dinner

In our Snowpiercer review, we discuss the film's sensational ending, delve into the "pre-ordained positions," & discuss the nature of the film's revolution.

In this episode, we take a bite out of the newest film in the Jurassic Park franchise, which has garnered bigger audiences and better reviews than perhaps any of the sequels. Jurassic World is also perhaps the loudest in the series to date, but continues the familiar themes of the ramifications of capitalist man's ignorant attempts to play god, and the forces of nature that win out in the end. Alexis takes issue, though, with some of the more regressive gender politics in the movie and is very invested in the dinosaur-on-dinosaur rumble at the end, while Chepe is worried about workplace safety and has suggestions for a change-of-pace in the inevitable fifth Jurassic film.

You can also listen to our episode on iTunes or Stitcher, and we'd love to see your reviews and feedback.

You can rent or buy Jurassic World on iTunes.

Episode Viewing List:

How to file a complaint with OSHA for workplace safety violations.

Check out the Natural History Museum, a project bringing a people's natural history to a community near you.

Alexis suggests the Jurassic Park: High Heels Edition.

One of the summer's big hits was Mad Max Fury Road, adored by critics and lambasted by Misogynist Rights Activists (MRA). This movie was loud and really chaotic, but had some really interesting feminist themes that we hope sunk in with a lot of its intended viewers. On a film level, this may not really have been our type, but we love the themes. Alexis wonders if they are delivered with too much of a sledgehammer, while Chepe hopes it will be the right kind of delivery system to some of the video game generation.

You can also listen to our episode on iTunes or Stitcher, and we'd love to see your reviews and feedback.

You can rent or buy Mad Max on iTunes.

Episode Viewing List:

Chepe cited Chad Kautzer's video analysis Feminism, Madness, and Revolution in Mad Max: Fury Road

Excited at the news of a revamped Ghostbusters will an all-female starring cast, we brushed off the dust on our old VCRs, and gave the original a whirl. The constant sexism made for a difficult watch, but we split heavily on if the movie stood the test of time. The movie also offered a warped perspective on environmental regulators, academia, and the 1980s' love affair with the entrepreneurial spirit. We closed out with our list of dos and don'ts for the new movies.

You can also listen to our Ghostbusters review on Stitcher or iTunes.

You can rent or buy Ghostbusters on iTunes.

Returning to our key tween demographic, we had a conversation to explain the ins and outs of Divergent and Insurgent, for both the hardcore fans and those who've wisely skipped these movies. The trilogy they came from is almost a response to Hunger Games, though despite a strong female lead, these movies miss the mark on questions ranging from gender to class to identity. So join in to see if the erudite & candid Alexis and amiable & abnegating Chepe can set aside their identities and come to some agreement on this dystopic young adult series for the all-too-easily entertained Reagan fan club.

You can also listen to our Insurgent review on Stitcher or iTunes.

You can rent or buy Divergent and Insurgent on iTunes.

Episode Reading List:

Attica Revisited

Democracy Now! Attica’s Ghosts: New Calls to Close Site of Prison Revolt After Guards Avoid Jail for Brutal Abuse

In our Foxcatcher review, we delve into the politics of class, patriotism and masculinity that are so well critiqued in this Oscar-nominated film. A quiet movie, there are a lot more motifs and a lot of the film's thought-provoking ideas go left unsaid. So, we're here to get that conversation rolling, as Alexis starts us off on the class dimensions of the film, while Chepe points out analogies made between the treatment of working class wrestlers and that of the Du Pont's horses. We also take it to the Bechdel Test, and this class is pass or fail.

You can also listen to our Foxcatcher review on Stitcher or iTunes.

You can rent or buy Foxcatcher on iTunes.

Episode Reading List:

As the Du Ponts made their initial wealth off of the US military, it's a good time to check out the War Resisters League.

And here's a brief review of the Bechdel Test, or see this comprehensive list of movies and whether or not they pass it: http://bechdeltest.com/.

The Rise of Meritocracy — dystopian novel by Michael Young, which Alexis learned about in Chris Hayes' book Twilight of the Elites.

Media you should check out:

The Real News

In our Selma review, we discuss this movie from the perspective of those who organize for social change. We also examine the movie’s relationship with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and other organizing in Jim Crow Alabama. And we take on some historical inaccuracies (but not the ones white liberals have been complaining about), like the fact that SNCC's James Forman was actually older than Dr. King, and that Diane Nash isn't depicted as a member of SNCC. We offer context to SNCC's base-building in Selma, the armed self-defense of Black people in neighboring Lowndes County, and Johnson's less-than-reputable "legacy." Most of all, we look at Selma as a dynamic narrative about often complementary strategies to achieve victories for popular struggles.

You can also listen to our Selma review on YouTube, Stitcher or iTunes.

You can rent or buy Selma on iTunes.

Episode Reading List:

Chepe cited Black Power by Stokely Carmichael and Charles Hamilton.

Chepe cited Robin D.G. Kelley's book Hammer and Hoe on the history of Lowndes County.

Chepe cited Howard Zinn's book SNCC: The New Abolitionists.

Media you should check out:

Zinn Education Project

And, apropos of this episode's discussion, their Ten Things You Should Know About Selma Before Seeing the Film

In our Birdman review, we look at the film's treatment of women, discuss its take on consumerism and commodification, and ask if the film is anti-consumerist, anti-elite, anti-intellectual... or something else entirely. We examine the film's ending, its quoting of Macbeth, and ask what the film has to say about the quest for attention and fame under capitalism.

You can also listen to our Birdman review on YouTube, Stitcher or iTunes.

You can rent or buy Birdman at iTunes or Amazon.

Episode Reading List:

Alexis mentioned the article "Attacking the Stream" by Sydette Harry (@BlackAmazon)

Chepe talked about Frankfurt School critiques of mass culture, as in the essay The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception by Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer (PDF here)

Chepe talked a little about existentialism and ethics, best laid out in the succinct book Ethics of Ambiguity by  Simone de Beauvoir

Media you should check out:

Air Occupy

Music:

"Rollin at 5" by Kevin MacLeod

In our Lego Movie review, we ask if the film portrays our own consumerist society, if the master builders are revolutionaries, or Ayn Rand libertarians, and examine the idea of “The Special.”

You can also listen to the show on YouTube, Stitcher, or iTunes.

(You can rent or buy the Lego Movie at iTunes or Amazon).

Episode Reading List:

Chepe compared the Master Builders in the Lego movie to the Bakuninists. To learn more, read "The Bakuninists at Work" by Frederick Engels for free at Marxists.org.

The idea that anyone can be "The Special" reminds us of CLR James' "Every Cook Can Govern," which you can also read online for free at Marxists.org.

To read more on Marx's concept of Species Being, read "Estranged Labour" and Comments on James Mill,

Éléments D’économie Politique.

To read more about reflection on shifting from right wing libertarianism to libertarian socialism, read Chris Wilson's "How a Libertarian Capitalist Became a Libertarian Socialist"

Media you should check out:

"The Unequal Opportunity Race," a short film animated by Erica Pinto for the African American Policy Forum, showing metaphors for obstacles to equality which affirmative action tries to alleviate.

RSA Animate series, including the episode Alexis mentioned called "Drive," and the one Chepe mentioned by David Harvey.

Marx Reloaded (VIDEO)

Cartoons:

HYPERBOLE AND A HALF by Allie Brosh. Please do yourself a favor and read her blog, it's HILARIOUS: http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/

The Sinkers: http://sinkers.org/

Latuff: https://latuffcartoons.wordpress.com/

Music:

"Team Sleepover Party" by Leah Goldstein

"The Complex" by Kevin MacLeod

In our review of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, we examine the role of song in the film as a tool for dissent, the role of heroes and radical symbols, and how Katniss fits into that. We also explore how District 13 uses mass media as a revolutionary strategy, and discuss the different ways the Capitol and District 13 wage war. Finally, we talk through how Mockingjay gives us a stark, real-world look into what it's like to be a refugee, what real-world regions we're reminded of as we learn more about District 13, and how...boring and artless District 13 seems, and why that disappoints us.

You can also listen to the show on iTunes, on Stitcher, or YouTube.

Media and Recordings mentioned on the show:

"Strange Fruit" by Billie Holliday

"A Las Barriacadas," sung by anti-fascists during the Spanish Civil War

The version of "The Hanging Tree" played at the end of the episode was sung by Nina Fernando (CLUE-LA) during a Long Beach Walmart Strike on Black Friday, that came at the end of a 24-hour fast. The audio we played was recorded and edited by Brett Banditelli.

"I Can't Breathe" protest song

Original song by Luke Nephew of The Peace Poets

Performance on the subways of NYC (via Facebook)

Samuel L. Jackson Challenges Celebs to Sing "I Can't Breathe"

Writers and Readings mentioned on the show:

Jose Martin and Jesse Myerson, "Smashy Smashy: Nine Historical Triumphs to Make You Rethink Property Destruction," Rolling Stone.

Re: the gutting of a key piece of Wall Street reform that happened in the year-end spending bill fight:

Alexis Goldstein, "Citigroup PR: Stop, You're Making It Worse," Bull Market @ Medium.com.

V. I. Lenin, "Meeting Of The All-Russia Central Executive Committee"

Quote referenced by Chepe when we discussed how boring and unlikable District 13's culture was: "Victory will belong only to those who have faith in the people, those who are immersed in the life-giving spring of popular creativity."

Frantz Fanon, "The Wretched of the Earth" (Powells)

Music featured on today’s show are the songs “Five Armies” and “The Complex” by Kevin MacLeod.