‘The Underground Railroad’ and Cinema’s Origins in White Supremacy
In adapting the alternative history The Underground Railroad, Barry Jenkins and his crew made cinema – a medium with origins in white supremacy – work for them.
Chris Robé
Christopher Robé is a professor of film and media studies. He has written numerous articles and books on various forms of media activism like Left of Hollywood: Cinema, Modernism, and the Emergence of U.S. Left Film Culture (2010), Breaking the Spell: A History of Anarchist Filmmakers, Videotape Guerrillas, and Digital Ninjas (2017), and Abolishing Surveillance: Digital Media Activism and State Repression (2023). His co-edited collection InsUrgent Media from the Front: A Media Activism Reader with Stephen Charbonneau. He is currently writing about street art's role in Northern Ireland as well as conservative and progressive media activism. He is also conducting archival work on Raymond Williams' work concerning grassroots and alternative media. In his spare time he agitates for his friendly faculty union and plays music. None of his views reflect that of his employer-- thank god.You can find his blog, Dispatches from the Academic Trenches, here.
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