Jennifer Lawrence in Winter’s Bone Almost six months—and two seasons—after it won the Sundance Film Festival’s Grand Jury prize, Winter’s Bone has been tossed into theaters, where its reception has ranged from frosty to feverish. That’s not surprising. By now, even art-house aficionados might be wary of Sundance’s predilection for dour independent dramas that are [...]

Movies like The Kids are All Right are usually accompanied with snow. What I mean by that is simple: Lisa Cholodenko’s film is not typical summer fair. It is a film usually destined for late December, a piece of Oscar bait meant to impress Academy voters. Thankfully, we did not have to wait until winter, [...]

Does African American literature still exist?  Not according to Kenneth W. Warren, a professor of English at the University of Chicago, who summarizes his new book in an essay in the Chronicle of Higher Education: African American literature was a Jim Crow phenomenon, which is to say, speaking from the standpoint of a post-Jim Crow world, [...]

Anyone in the U.S. paying attention during the last fifteen years should be familiar with an anti-corporate, populist critique, courtesy of Michael Moore, Naomi Klein, and many others.   And Tom Engelhardt, Andrew Bacevich and others have dissected the ever-expanding American empire (now fighting the war on terror in 75 countries (!), according to the [...]

“Made in Dagenham” is a British docudrama by Director Nigel Cole and is based on the true story of 187 female Ford Motor machinists in Dagenham, England, 1968. The female workers, led by Rita O’Grady (Sally Hawkins), unite in a strike after management reclassifies them as “unskilled workers” to justify a lower pay rate. The [...]

Misunderstandings and misconceptions continue to surround adoption. Especially critical is the idea of secrecy. Jennifer Kwon Dobbs had the opportunity to talk to Professor Marianne Novy about these issues. Marianne Novy was born in 1945 in Cleveland, Ohio, and was raised there by her adoptive parents, whom she joined when one month old. A pioneer [...]

Dear Santa, I have been extra good this year, so I have a long list of presents that I want. Please note the size and color of each item, and send as many as possible. If it seems too complicated, make it easy on yourself: just send money. How about tens and twenties? …All I [...]

The growth of the Civil Rights and Womens Rights Movements put many black women in a difficult position, forced to reconcile two movements that demanded they prioritize one side of their identity over another, and subordinate their full self in the name of a larger group cohesion that in many ways excluded them. Forty years [...]

Many Americans were shocked the first time they watched MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew. Who were all the Asian American dancers? Where did they come from? Conducive talks to one of those up and coming dancers. Travis Wong has recently been featured in campaigns for Coca Cola and Dell Computers , worked as a martial [...]

What is the connection between social movements and poetry? Sometimes the two can seem worlds apart, given that social change often requires intense and unyielding activism, without time for much else. However, the shape of activism can be profoundly creative, and what activists often fight for is a more meaningful and hopeful vision of humanity, [...]

  The Daily Show With Jon Stewart M – Th 11p / 10c Charlize Theron comedycentral.com Daily Show Full Episodes Important Things w/ Demetri Martin Political Humor Purchase a copy of Battle in Seattle here. Democracy Now interview with director Stuart Townsend and organizer David Solnit from the Real Battle in Seattle.