books movies musicCulture

By Michael AtkinsonErrol Morris’ Myopia

Filmmaker Errol Morris has grown famous and revered as the pioneer of what could be called interrogatory cinema -- documentaries that do not merely document but probe into mysterious matters with the intention of… more

By Ben TerrallKing of the Crop

Two years ago the federal government spent $9.4 billion to promote corn production, driving small farmers off their lands in Mexico, because they were unable to compete with U.S. imports

Two buddies from Yale trek to northern Iowa, buy an acre of farmland, start growing corn and make a documentary about the experience. Sound like a trite tale of East Coasters playing Midwest farmers?… more

By Michael AtkinsonIraq: Mismanagement or Mass Murder?

No End in Sight explores how we got into Iraq and what screw-ups have made the situation spiral out of control

Take a step back and scan the media horizon for what it is, and something surprising arises from the vast, swampy trashland of corporate baloney and thought-control--the protest documentary. As in, hundreds of them,… more

By Annie AndersonThe Lessons of Sacco and Vanzetti

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the execution of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti. Convicted of a double murder after a notoriously corrupt trial, the anarchists went to their deaths maintaining their innocence.… more