Film
'Gloria Bell': Silent Suffering and Disco Dancing in Late Capitalism
Gloria Bell painfully conveys that this economic system thrives on our isolation.
23 Jan 2020
Recent
Books
To the Vector the Spoils: On McKenzie Wark's 'Capital Is Dead'
In a brave new world dominated by platforms such as Facebook, Uber, and Airbnb, and marked by anxiety in the Age of the Anthropocene, McKenzie Wark's Capital Is Dead eschews digital utopianism for a sense of urgency that recognizes things have gotten serious.
14 Jan 2020
Television
In Nickelodeon's 'Rocko's Modern Life', Corporations Steal Our Souls to Enchant Their Commodities
In a society of things, social responsibility requires a recognition of the influence of commodities upon our most foundational spiritual experiences. Nickelodeon's animated series, Rocko's Modern Life, puts it simply.
06 Nov 2019
Books
'Being and Neonness', Capitalism and Creativity
If neon was an icon of mid-century capitalism as Luis de Miranda puts forth in Being and Neonness, what does it represent in our period of late capitalism?
12 Sep 2019
Sports
Sense and Sensibility at the World Cup
I've sworn, after learning about the latest kleptocrat billionaire to buy a club, or scrambling from the clash between hooligans and riot police, or hearing a homophobic chant rise up from the stands, I would give up on the game. Anyone with sense would.
26 Jun 2019
Books
Is Progressive-Populism Our Best Option in These Troubled Times?
When order ruptures it leads to a state of crisis manifest in many ways, as we see emerging throughout the world. What can we do?
31 May 2019
Books
Will a New Form of Socialism Rise? On Bhaskar Sunkara's 'The Socialist Manifesto'
Socialists need to do better in fighting against identity-based discrimination, as editor of Jacobin Bhaskar Sunkara notes in The Socialist Manifesto, but that struggle will only be effective if waged as part of a larger struggle against neoliberal capitalism.
28 May 2019
Books
'Aquinas and the Market' and the Possibility of a "Truly Humane Economic System"
With Aquinas and the Market, economist and theologian Mary L. Hirschfeld begins a necessary conversation between economic and theological sectors, in the academy and, one hopes, outside the ivory towers and seminaries, to calculate our ultimate worth.
15 Jan 2019
Film
At the Crossroads of Pity and Revolt: Intensity and Time in Lino Brocka's 'Manila in the Claws of Light'
Lino Brocka's Manila in the Claws of Light seethes with rage against colonial oppression without ever becoming overt agitprop.
16 Nov 2018
Film
NYFF 2018: 'Diamantino' Beautifully Satirizes Ugly Politics from the Ethers
Diamantino's astounding surrealistic introduction soon unfolds into an ethereal genre-mashup.
05 Oct 2018
PM Pick
'Talking to My Daughter About the Economy', and Putting Economists In Their Place
Yanis Varoufakis treats with disdain the idea that economics is a real science – it's more like a contemporary form of religion, propped up by ruling elites to make gullible everyday people remain subservient and go along with the elites' bad and self-serving ideas, he says.
21 Sep 2018
Books
Has 'Creativity' Become a Dirty Word? On Oli Mould's 'Against Creativity'
'Creativity' in today's corporate speak requires a familiarity with the popular culture that's admired by the white and the well-to-do. It has nothing to do with actual creativity.
21 Aug 2018
Film
'Generation Wealth' Turns Too Soft a Light Upon America's Nouveau Riche
Flamboyance and bombast prove to be Generation Wealth's most common thread, which serves as an upsetting indictment of the American Way.
20 Jul 2018
Film
Killing Is Killing: Logan's Enduring Excellence
In a competitive sea of superhero films, Logan continues to stand out with its tremendous performances, thematic complexity, remarkably critical take on violence, and deeply stirring pathos.
25 Jun 2018
Books
Everybody Wears Streetwear, So Everybody Should Read About It in 'This Is Not Fashion'
Beyond utility and good looks, perhaps the most essential feature of streetwear is that it always says something. It's in this area of ideology that King ADZ and Wilma Stone excel.
03 May 2018
Film
Do We Dream of Electric Sheep Like Blade Runner's Corporate-produced Replicants?
The isolation of Blade Runner 2049's inhabitants continually reinforces and enlivens their deep need for genuine connection, communal relationships, which the divisive effects of global capitalism actively undermines.
06 Mar 2018
Books
Poetry and Economics in 'Everything is Broken Up and Dances'
A passionate first-hand account from two Italian writers depicts the ravages of neoliberal capitalism in poignant, poetic prose.
05 Mar 2018
Books
'Chronicles of a Liquid Society' and the Best Dinner Companion for End Times​
The significance of Umberto Eco's work as collected here is found not in his astonishing foresight but in his reasoning.
09 Feb 2018
Books
Graphic Fiction 'The Smell of Starving Boys' Inverts Images and Expectations
Loo Hui Phang emphasizes the nature of image-making from the first panel: an upside landscape as viewed through the inverting lens of the protagonist's camera.
05 Feb 2018
Books
In Today's Intangible Economy, Not Seeing Is Believing
Yet another form of inequality has emerged, and solutions are evasive. But to solve a problem one must first define it. To this end, with Capitalism Without Capital, Haskel and Westlake have begun a necessary conversation.
31 Jan 2018
Books
Don't Google It! How Search Engines Reinforce Racism
Algorithms of Oppression addresses the growing concern about the consequences of commercial control over information and the harm it does to communities.
30 Jan 2018
Books
What's Wrong with Our Food System? Capitalism.
Our food system is working exactly as it should under capitalism.That's the problem. An interview with Food First Director Eric Holt-Gimenez.
12 Jan 2018
Film
Alexander Payne's 'Downsizing' Is No Small Misfire
The new social satire from normally reliable director Alexander Payne is a well-meaning premise in search of a story.
22 Dec 2017
Film
In 'Downsizing' Shrinking Means Big Money and Bigger Problems
Being the size of a dog's chew toy might not be to everybody's taste, but it's certainly a shortcut to a kind of upper middle-class luxury unobtainable for most of humanity.
15 Dec 2017
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