Arts
A dramatic meditation on freedom: “The Whipping Man”
March 11, 2014It's1865. Slaves are being freed, soldiers are returning home, and in Jewish homes the freedom festival of Passover is being celebrated. Into war-torn Richmond comes a young, severely wounded Jewish Confederate officer.
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Oscars, shmoscars, here are the 2013 Progie film awards
March 11, 2014In an attempt to draw attention to films of social significance with progressive content, I developed The Progie Awards. A collective of international film writers nominates films and actors for these awards.
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“Calpurnia Tate”: a girl comes of age in Texas
March 7, 2014Jacqueline Kelly's engrossing young adult novel set on on a Texas cotton and pecan farm with 338 pages that seemingly turn themselves, is a coming of age tale with vast relevance for today's readers.
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Ayn Rand, U.S. government, and censoring of Hollywood dissent
March 6, 2014In Dennis Broe's "Film Noir, American Workers and Postwar Hollywood," there is an attempt to categorize the film noir movies of different time periods.
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“Stand-Off at HWY #37”: Mixed loyalties, motives in great Native drama
March 5, 2014Ramirez courageously unleashes the dogs of war and sets her characters on a collision course. And as they head for the brink, she struggles to rein them in.
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