Fascism in Cinema

In this episode we are joined again by Dr. James Dennis LoRusso to discuss Tom Cruise's latest blockbuster TOP GUN (2022), the way it appropriates the trope of the 'Hero's Journey' to advertise for the military-industrial complex, and hear a special review from a man named Brett at Letterboxd.com.About our guest: James Dennis LoRusso is the author of Spirituality, Corporate Culture, and American Business: The Neoliberal Ethic and the Spirit of Global Capital (2017) and has published on a wide range of subjects, including spirituality in the workplace, corporate chaplaincy, and the state of academic labor.Support the show

In this episode of Fascism in Cinema we  are joined again by Devon Supeene from the National Film Board of Canada! We discuss the Hungarian director Béla Tarr, his classic WERKMEISTER HARMONIES (2000), and the cosmic struggle of despair and hope the film explores.About our Guest: Devon Supeene studied Film at the University of Alberta and works for the National Film Board of Canada. Her IMDB page can be viewed here: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8792895/Support the show

In this hodgepodge episode Nathan and Tenzan discuss (1) Ronan Farrow's latest article in The New Yorker, "How Democracies Spy on Their Citizens," and the invasive 'Pegasus' spyware that is now used by governments around the world; (2) the cinematic renditions of George Orwell's 1984; and (3) Oliver Stone's SNOWDEN (2016). Bringing all this together in a general discussion about the dangers of modern spyware and surveillance Capitalism, we consider how modern governments lean in a fascist direction when they impose a state of exception upon individual liberty.  Support the show

Our special guest in this week's episode is Devon Supeene, from the National Film Board of Canada! Together we discuss Ari Aster's latest film MIDSOMMER (2019) and the appeal of ritual and myth to the Far Right. At the end of the episode, Nathan issues a threat of ritualistic murder upon all who don't like, comment, and subscribe to our pod. 😆*Side note: This is our first episode that doesn't sound like it was recorded in a soup can. We are slowly improving our sound quality for our ever growing community of listeners. Much love.About our Guest: Devon Supeene studied Film at the University of Alberta and works for the National Film Board of Canada. Her IMDB page can be viewed here: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8792895/Support the show

In this episode we are joined by Dr. James Dennis LoRusso to discuss  NOMADLAND (2021) and its depiction of the desolation of American capitalism. We start off discussing the formation of the Amazon Labour Union (ALU) in Staten Island last month and then connect this massive labour victory with Frances McDormand's journey across the American landscape in Nomadland. Along the way, Dennis lets us know about his secret history with Starbucks and I call Michael J. Fox a fascist (jk).About our guest: James Dennis LoRusso is the author of Spirituality, Corporate Culture, and American Business: The Neoliberal Ethic and the Spirit of Global Capital (2017) and has published on a wide range of subjects, including spirituality in the workplace, corporate chaplaincy, and the state of academic labor.Support the show

In this episode we are joined by Dennis LoRusso to discuss  THE BATMAN (2022) and the legacy of Batman reboots in general. Nathan tells us about his childhood Batcave, we discuss cop movies, and consider what these constant Batman reboots tell us about our cinematic and political imaginary. About our guest: James Dennis LoRusso is the author of Spirituality, Corporate Culture, and American Business: The Neoliberal Ethic and the Spirit of Global Capital (2017) and has published on a wide range of subjects, including spirituality in the workplace, corporate chaplaincy, and the state of academic labor.Support the show

What is freedom? Can freedom from tyranny only be found through the dissolution of the state? To explore this question and others, Nathan and I are joined by Dr. Sarah Kleeb--Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto Scarborough, Center for Teaching and Learning--to discuss how the Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben became a mouth piece for Anti-vaccine rhetoric, dive in deep on the differences between V FOR VENDETTA (2005) and the graphic novel by Alan Moore, as well as the activities of Anonymous in our contemporary global crisis. Support the show

In this episode we are again joined by Ting Guo and Eddy Wang to discuss the hilarious and controversial JOJO RABBIT (2019), by director Taiki Waititi. We explore how magical realism, play, and platonic love can be used to critique Fascism in CinemaAbout our Guests:Ting Guo is Assistant Professor at the Department of Language Studies,University of Toronto, author of Politics of Love: Religion, Secularism, and Love as a Political Discourse in Modern China, and co-host of the Mandarin podcast called “in-betweenness” (https://shicha.buzzsprout.com/). Guo also has a chapter in our upcoming volume, Representing Religion in Film, where she discusses some of the themes we cover in this episode.Eddy Wang is a former student of mine, coder, critical theorist, and contributor to TETC, an experimental translation collective (https://tetcollective.com/?fbclid=IwAR1TpvfdWJF0BK3vEnKpBULi-odh9SJ_ggauGlbNxHlQBE0C_OyBOy9Fr5s)Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=53819266)Support the show

In this episode we are joined by two brilliant guests, Ting Guo and Eddy Wang, to discuss the war in Ukraine, how to critique fascism in cinema through representations of human suffering, love, and slow cinema in THE WIFE OF A SPY (2020)—a film about life in fascistJapan during WWII by the Japanese director Kiyoshi kurosawa. About our Guests:Ting Guo is Assistant Professor at the Department of Language Studies,University of Toronto, author of Politics of Love: Religion, Secularism, and Love as a Political Discourse in Modern China, and co-host of the Mandarin podcast called “in-betweenness” (https://shicha.buzzsprout.com/). Guo also has a chapter in our upcoming volume, Representing Religion in Film, where she discusses some of the themes we cover in this episode.Eddy Wang is a former student of mine, coder, critical theorist, and contributor to TETC, an experimental translation collective (https://tetcollective.com/?fbclid=IwAR1TpvfdWJF0BK3vEnKpBULi-odh9SJ_ggauGlbNxHlQBE0C_OyBOy9Fr5s)Support the show

In this episode I am joined by Dr. Matt Sheedy, visiting professor in the department of North American Studies at the University of Bonn, Germany. Together we discuss the trucker convoy for Freedom and dive deep on Westerns to unpack the traces of Fascism in John Ford's classic, THE SEARCHERS (1956)Support the show

In this episode we outline the aims of our podcast, I struggle to say names properly, we discuss The Birth of a Nation (1915), and connect the racist content of the film to our contemporary cinematic and political imaginaries. Support the show

In this inaugural episode, Nathan and I discuss the far right convoy ravaging the nation of Canada, forecast the downfall of O'Toole, big-up spider-man, and go in deep on the WATCHMEN (2009) to unpack Zack Snyder's fascist aesthetic.Support the show