By Brian Bergen-Aurand We at Foreign Influence take everything seriously. That is why we are sad to report new findings from the Journal of Foreign, Strange, and Exilic Studies suggesting April Fools’ Day Traditions are nothing but hoaxes perpetrated on the innocent and naive. According to the study, “You Fell for It: Why April 1 … Continue reading
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The Awe Full Republic
by Brian Bergen-Aurand Hereby it is manifest that, during the time men live without a common power to keep them all in awe, they are in that condition which is called war, and such a war as is of every man against every man…. In such condition there is no place for industry, because the … Continue reading
100 Years of Seeing and Hearing Charlie Chaplin
by Brian Bergen-Aurand It has been 100 years since Charlie Chaplin’s character of the Tramp first appeared on screen in the Keystone comedy Kid Auto Races at Venice (screened 7 February 1914). [Mabel’s Strange Predicament was the first film featuring the Tramp character but was not screened until two days after Kid Auto Races on … Continue reading
Coming Soon…
…thoughts on Refocusing Chaplin 100 years after the Tramp first appeared on screen; the transgressions of Against Me! and their new CD Transgender Dysphoria Blues; and the shifting focus of queer approaches to film, television, and digital media. Continue reading
All these together formed these desolate ruins
by Brian Bergen-Aurand Working on an essay considering the ruined bodies of transnational Chinese Cinema, I began reading Bei Dao’s short story “In the Ruins” from his collection Waves. Near the end of the story, the main character, the accused reactionary Wang Qi, stops at the ruins of Yuanmingyuan–the Imperial Gardens in Beijing–and prepares to … Continue reading
Five Films for International Women’s Day
by Brian Bergen-Aurand To help celebrate International Women’s Day, here are five films directed by women. In no particular order: Elaine May. The Heartbreak Kid. 1972. Fanta Regina Nacro. The Night of Truth. 2004. Li Yu. Fish and Elephant. 2001. Maria Luisa Bemberg. Camila. 1984. Susanne Bier. Love is All You Need. 2012. Continue reading
Why Burka Avenger Matters
by Sam Cahill Don’t mess with the lady in black, the lady in black, the lady in black. Don’t mess with the lady in black when she’s on the attack. … A spirit so quick to deliver a beating To the enemies of peace, love, logic, and reason. ~ “Lady in Black,” Haroon and Adil … Continue reading
The Prosthetics of Oscar Pistorius and Reeva Steenkamp
by Brian Bergen-Aurand Prosthesis: Noun. Originally from a grammatical concept “prosthetics,” from the 1550s, “addition of a letter or syllable to a word,” from Late Latin, from Greek prosthesis “addition, application, attachment,” from prostithenai “add to,” from pros “to” + tithenai “to put, place, to set down as in a proposition.” Prosthesis in reference to … Continue reading
Kyiv on its Own Terms
by Stefan Cieply Events in Ukraine have moved swiftly over the past week, leaving much of the media scrambling to explain an extraordinary series of events. Out of this confusion two powerful memes have emerged: that the current events in Ukraine are sectional in nature and that the radical right has driven the events in … Continue reading
Failure, Futurity, and the Utopia of Film
by Brian Bergen-Aurand I have now read The Utopia of Film by Christopher Pavsek cover to cover twice and the introduction three more times. It is a book well worth returning to repeatedly for its analysis of these films and filmmakers, its rigorous discussion of critical theory (especially Marxism, Modernism/Post-Modernism, and Frankfurt School Theory), and … Continue reading
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