Bong Joon-ho’s ‘Parasite’ and the Geometry of Suffering
The problem Joon-ho presents in Parasite is geometrical. Is this the only shape of society we can imagine as workable, as livable? Is this livable?
Chadwick Jenkins
Chadwick lives in New York City and teaches Music History and Theory at The City College of New York. He earned his doctorate in Musicology at Columbia University. He has given papers on topics ranging from 12th Century lament to Duke Ellington and early radio to the use of Wagner's music in Bugs Bunny cartoons. He has published in scholarly journals on the music of John Cage, Richard Strauss, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. He has taught courses on music history, the history of rock, and the history of jazz at the University of Maryland, College Park, and Columbia University.
Outsiders Inside the State in Rosi’s ‘Christ Stopped at Eboli’
Francesco Rosi's tale of peasant life in a remote part of fascist Italy challenges the notion of the State and the individual's role in and duty to its preservation.
The Threat of Violence in George Marshall’s Western Comedy, ‘Destry Rides Again’
George Marshall's western spoof, Destry Rides Again, has a serious central premise; can society function without the threat of violence?
Jules Dassin Versus Mark Hellinger and ‘The Naked City’
Producer Mark Hellinger may have committed the biggest crime in the filming of Jules Dassin's classic film-noir, 'The Naked City'.
Investing in Surfaces in Renoir’s ‘Toni’
Discovery of what lies beyond the surface—or better, the profound meaning invested in surfaces—is the central motif of Renoir's Toni.
Honest Deception in Preston Sturges’ ‘The Lady Eve’
Preston Sturges' The Lady Eve demonstrates that somewhere within the convolution of deception (self-deception included) lies a truth that persists all the same.
Choosing Experience in Abbas Kiarostami’s ‘Taste of Cherry’
Critic Roger Ebert was frustrated with Abbas Kiarostami's Taste of Cherry because the film subverts our desire to understand another -- the very core of cinema's intent.
“Just Don’t Believe Truth” in John Cassavetes’ ‘Husbands’
The pugnacious characters in Cassavetes' Husbands couch their inauthenticity in bullying. For them, anger is more authentic than placidity, rage more authentic than sadness, cruelty more authentic than kindness.
Buridan’s Ass and the Problem of Free Will in John Sturges’ ‘The Great Escape’
Escape in John Sturge's The Great Escape is a tactical mission, a way to remain in the war despite having been taken out of it. Free Will is complicated.
The Erotic Disruption of the Self in Paul Schrader’s ‘The Comfort of Strangers’
Paul Schrader's The Comfort of Strangers presents the discomfiting encounter with another —someone like you—and yet entirely unlike you, mysterious to you, unknown and unknowable.
Performing Race in James Whale’s ‘Show Boat’
There's a song performed in James Whale's musical, Show Boat, wherein race is revealed as a set of variegated and contradictory performances, signals to others, a manner of being seen and a manner of remaining hidden, and it isn't "Old Man River".