Indiana University CinemaEstablishing Shot

Swooning Over Swoon: Reflecting on the Humble Origins of the Successful Street Artist

Posted on by Establishing Shot

Caledonia Curry poses in front of one of her artworks
Swoon, aka Caledonia Curry (Image credit: The New York Times)

Guest post by Elliot Josephine Leila Reichert.

I first saw the work of Swoon in the summer of 2008. I was in London on a small undergraduate research grant for my thesis. I was writing about the sudden attention being given to an emerging genre called Street Art. This was art that existed mostly outdoors and was unsanctioned either by the local government or the private property owner upon whose structure the work was mounted. Distinct from an earlier era of graffiti, the stylistic approaches to street art were widely varied and less devoted to the importance of “tagging” — that is, repeatedly marking the surfaces of public spaces with a moniker-based design as if in an effort to claim the space as territory. This was no longer the stuff of Style Wars. This was Art with a capital “A.” (more…)

Monthly Movie Round-Up: November

Posted on by Establishing Shot

Another Round
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
The Wind
My Own Private Idaho

Every month, Establishing Shot brings you a selection of films from our group of regular bloggers. Even though these films aren’t currently being screened at the IU Cinema, this series reflects the varied programming that can be found at the Cinema and demonstrates the eclectic tastes of the bloggers. Each contributor has picked one film that they saw this month that they couldn’t wait to share with others. Keep reading to find out what discoveries these cinephiles have made, as well as some of the old friends they’ve revisited.

Be sure to join us for December’s round-up, which will be presented LIVE as a virtual event on December 13. Register now!
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Physical Media Isn’t Dead, It Just Smells Funny: Kino Lorber, Fun City Editions, and Criterion Blu-ray Reviews for November 2022

Posted on by Aja Essex

Malcolm X
Escape From Alcatraz
Mystery Men
Married to the Mob
Artwork by Nile James Arena

Full transparency: all Blu-rays reviewed were provided by Kino Lorber, Fun City Editions, and the Criterion Collection.

This month’s cavalcade of carefully curated content is mostly some near-and-dear favorites of mine and a new certified slapper in my arsenal of “dad movies” I’ll be revisiting on many Sunday afternoons to come. From Kino Lorber, we have the single feature-length directorial effort from music video and commercial director Kinka Usher with the Flaming Carrot adaptation/spin-off titled Mystery Men. KL also brings us another hit collaboration between Don Siegel and Clint Eastwood in the form of Escape From Alcatraz. Fun City Editions aims straight for my heart, having picked up the rights to the wholly unique and warm Married to the Mob. Wrapping things up is Criterion with my pick of the month and their delivery of a long-asked-for release of what is debatably Spike Lee’s most totemic film, Malcolm X.

Warm blanket movies for the bitter winds and premature nights of the late fall.  (more…)

Satire and Subjectivity in American Psycho (2000)

Posted on by Jesse Pasternack

Poster for American Psycho
Poster for American Psycho (2000)

Director Mary Harron’s film American Psycho (2000) was a sensation when it was first released. It was a financial success, received mostly positive reviews, and gained notoriety for how it depicted the violent sensibility of author Bret Easton Ellis’s infamous novel. But it was not just popular then, and continues to remain popular now, for how it portrayed brutality. Rather, American Psycho continues to be a memorable film because of how Harron and her collaborators created a satirical portrait of toxic masculinity and its cinematic take on the subjective mental state of its protagonist. 

American Psycho takes place in New York City in the late 1980s. It follows Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale), a 27-year-old investment banker who spends most of his time eating in fancy restaurants and socializing with other young men who work on Wall Street. Bateman prizes the trappings of his ultra-wealthy lifestyle and, above all else, conformity. But he also has homicidal desires and murders many people. Or does he? (more…)

Between Dreams & Nightmares: Thou Wast Mild and Lovely

Posted on by Laura Ivins

Sarah leans against her father's shoulder, her hair falling in her face. He faces away from the camera and we see only his back.
Though the camera is close, we can’t see Jeremiah or Sarah’s face.

From the first frames of the film, Josephine Decker’s 2014 feature Thou Wast Mild and Lovely merges violence and play. Sarah (Sophie Traub) chases her father Jeremiah (Robert Longstreet) across the lawn, jabbing him with a decapitated hen. They giggle and run at each other, getting blood on their clothes.

When they’re done playing, the handheld camera wanders away, moving into a close-up of the discarded chicken lying headless on the grass. It then moves over to a growling dog as Sarah speaks in voiceover about the virtues of “her lover,” a hypothetical romance fulfilling all her desires. This is followed by a brief dream-like montage of Sarah swinging through the air in her green dress and a time-lapse landscape of mist and stars. (more…)

The Myriad Shades of Blackness in Black Is… Black Ain’t

Posted on by Establishing Shot

Close-up of a man in glasses screaming
Still from Black Is… Black Ain’t

Guest post by Imari Walker.

“If I have work, then I’m not going to die, cause work is a living spirit in me — that which wants to connect with other people and pass on something, something to them which they can use in their own lives and grow from.”

Marlon Riggs — filmmaker, poet, activist — said this in his documentary Black Is… Black Ain’t while hospitalized due to his ongoing fight with AIDS. And though he passed in 1994, his work is still relevant to current issues within the Black community. Even in 2022, his documentaries are influencing the next generation of scholars, activists, and leaders.

Watching Black Is… Black Ain’t is like watching snapshots of the triumphs and struggles of the Black community but also the triumphs and struggles of Riggs’s life and identity. Riggs’s vulnerability and strength are palpable throughout the film. It’s almost like a reflection of the continued strength of the African American community. (more…)

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