Ok, so if you know me at all, you already know what the punchline is going to be. But shaving serves all kinds of purposes in movies. There’s something about the obscuring/revealing in shaving that directors really love. And it’s omnipresent…like, this doesn’t even count all the bathroom cabinets that open to reveal shaving cream, […]
Continue readingAuthor Archive: mediaservices
Democracy on Film: The American Laborer
Module 2 of Democracy on Film is called The American Laborer. American identity is highly bound up with the idea of labor, and this selection of films is a great introduction. Module 2: The American Laborer Introductory Lesson: The Common Good Chapter 1: “Black Fury” (1935, d. Michael Curtiz) — Not in the collection…YET!!Chapter 2: […]
Continue readingMovies At Random: Masked Rider The First
Masked Rider The First (HU DVD 11528) has got to be one of the more intriguing things I’ve pulled off the shelf in a while. Like a lot of live action movies based on anime, the plot sounds completely bizarre when you read it. According to Wikipedia, the movie is based on a popular manga that […]
Continue readingFive Films Featuring…Characters Hanging Upside Down
This week, we’re taking a look at five different scenes in which characters hang upside down. I’m sure there’s some bigger philosophical point to be made about inversion as in Alice in Wonderland, about the ways in which hanging upside down represents helplessness–to the ideal of beauty? to a torturer? to love?–for the characters, or […]
Continue readingDemocracy on Film: The Immigrant Experience
Appropriate for a country of immigrants, Module 1 of Democracy on Film focuses on the immigrant experience. Immigrant stories are incredibly diverse, just as immigrant experiences are diverse. We also should make sure, as always, to take a close look at who is telling the immigrant’s story. Module 1: The Immigrant Experience Introductory Lesson: From […]
Continue readingPortraits of America: Democracy on Film
Martin Scorsese, as part of his efforts to bring visual literacy education to middle and high school students, recently put out the list of movies included in “Portraits of America: Democracy on Film.”As described in the announcement: Offered free of charge to elementary and high schools, “Democracy on Film” is made up of eight modules […]
Continue readingMovies At Random: The Iceman Interviews
Pulling this random DVD off the shelf turned into a Wikipedia rabbit hole for me. Today’s highlight is The Iceman Interviews (HU DVD 11721). If you don’t know who Richard Kuklinski is, you can read up on him on Wikipedia. Here’s HBO’s summary: An abused young man. A hair-trigger temper. A trail of dead bodies. […] Renowned […]
Continue readingNew Acquisitions: March 2018
I feel like I say this every month, but we got so much good stuff in March. I mean, we got Stranger Things (HU DVD 15001) and Westworld (HU DVD 14987)! Not to mention Bladerunner 2049 (HU DVD 1065). I’d especially like to highlight Faces, Places (HU DVD 15052) which is this super cool French […]
Continue readingFive Films Featuring…Bad Things Happening To Bunnies
It’s Easter, and I love all the junk that goes with Easter including all the adorable bunny themed everything. That said, for this week we’re doing Five Films Featuring…Bad Things Happening To Bunnies. Bunnies probably represent innocence or something, which might be why they’re so heartbreakingly mutilated in movies. 1. What’s Opera, Doc (HU DVD 12736, […]
Continue readingThe Lodger’s Magic Typing Box Thing
I did a post on The Lodger on my personal blog that I’m going to add a note about here in case anyone actually knows what the hell this thing is and how it works: I WANT IT.
Continue reading