Replicating Neoliberal Reform: Failed Mothers in John Singleton’s Boyz N the Hood (1991) and Baby Boy (2001)

By Indya J. Jackson. Ultimately [through the depiction of failed mothers] Singleton replicates the anti-Black, anti-poor, and misogynistic rhetoric of neoliberal reformists by embedding a definite preference for fathers and the heteropatriarchal family structure within his films.” After Boyz N the Hood (1991) launched John Singleton into rarefied air, he […]

Satirizing Horror and Spellbinding the Social Contract: Weapons (2025)

By David Ryan. As a follow-up to Zach Cregger’s horror drama Barbarian (2022), Weapons explores the recursive relationship between personal antagonisms and the erosion of civic trust, staging what Robin Wood identifies as horror’s central tension—the destabilization of the social order….” With Weapons (2025), writer-director Zach Cregger leans on the […]

When Jaws Premiered; or, the Hottest and Coolest Weekend on Record

By Gary D. Rhodes. The great flood-gates of the wonder-world swung open.” — Herman Melville, Moby-Dick (1851) Friday, June 20, 1975. Newspapers report the assassination of mob boss Sam “Momo” Giancana. Gerald Ford authorized his campaign to start fundraising for his presidential bid. Postal workers picketed in Washington, D.C. The House […]

Still Underground: Films That Spill – Beyond the Cinema of Transgression

A Book Review Essay by Johannes Schönherr. German scholar Marie Sophie Beckmann discusses inherent contradictions of the ‘spilling’ of the films into other art forms as well as the ‘spilling’ of the films as ‘contained’ entities (films on video) to a worldwide audience in detail.’” When Nick Zedd, the mastermind […]

A Self-Defeating Genre Mashup: On Ryan Coogler’s Sinners (2025)

By Thomas M. Puhr. Coogler’s strong character work in the film’s first half undercuts his efforts to embrace pure horror in its second.” Spoiler Alert Ryan Coogler’s knack for bringing a humanist touch to a variety of genres—starting with social realism (Fruitvale Station), transitioning to crowd-pleasing sports sagas (Creed), and […]