Thoughts on production, alienation, and ideology

Category: Film (Page 1 of 2)

These are posts on film from the blog Base and Superstructure. Mostly these are just about films I found interesting, but I tend to focus on the intersections between film and politics.

My Top 5 Movies of 2024

So, I watch a lot of movies, but it’s rarely a topic here on the blog. In fact, I work movies into my regular schedule. One night each week, my partner and I go out separately and do our own thing. It helps us maintain independence and keep our own projects and sanity. It also gives us a chance to connect with our own hobbies and interests.

Readers probably aren’t shocked to learn that in the summer, I usually use that night to go watch a baseball game. I also, again no shocker, often use the time to work on my writing. But most weeks, I go see a movie at the local non-profit movie theater. It’s a wonderful place to see films, and they maintain a selection that’s a couple of steps better than the corporate chains.

And so, why not make this a blog topic? I’ll say a word about the top 5 2024 movies I’ve seen.

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7 Movies Delayed by Coronavirus

It’s probably not at the top of our minds, but coronavirus and COVID-19 have delayed lots of movies. It doesn’t make much sense to release a film to theaters when no one is going to theaters. For people like myself who frequently visit movie theaters, it’s something we’re missing about now. I was looking forward to seeing lots of movies this spring and summer.

Here are 7 movies I was looking forward to.

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The Killmonger Rorschach Test

It’s the two year anniversary of the Black Panther film, and much remains the same. If you talk to ten people about Erik Killmonger, the (alleged) villain, you’ll walk away with a dozen opinions. Killmonger elicits from us what we’re already thinking about identity, race, and society. He does so whether these views inhabit the surface or the depths of our thoughts. In other words, Killmonger is a Rorschach Test!

I’m assuming readers have already seen Black Panther. And I’ll note right away that I’m discussing only the film, not the comics or any associated stories or media. If you haven’t seen the film, go watch it! If you have seen it, read on.

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Holdo and Dameron: Neoliberal and Chauvinist

In case any readers are hermits, let me start with a reminder that The Rise of Skywalker hits theaters this week. The end of the Star Wars story, and so on. But I’m interested here in one of the plot lines of The Last Jedi. Vice Admiral Holdo and Poe Dameron went at it several times, from a minor skirmish to a mutiny. I think the conflict reveals deeper ones about gender and politics. It also shares a feature with the Killmonger character from the Black Panther film, namely it’s a Rorschach test! Whichever issues Holdo and Dameron reveal to you probably says as much about your views on gender and politics as the film itself says.

So here are some thoughts about it. Maybe it reveals my own views in some Rorschach-like manner. Or maybe not. We’ll see.

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