Greeaahmalobey

Still reeling from this, still need a whole lotta help to cover next year, if you feel so inclined, consider a subscription?

Watching the Wheels: Finding Meaning and Purpose in 'Paterson' In the world of Jarmusch’s film, the purpose of work lies not in external achievement, but in the personal satisfaction of doing.

Watching the Wheels: Finding Meaning and Purpose in PATERSON

Double Feature: Road House (1989) & Magic Mike (2012) Both Road House and Magic Mike are about learning how to be a person in society—which is far easier to learn when there’s a teacher involved.

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Our brand new Teachers issue kicks off with @dodgyboffin.com's Double Features column on ROAD HOUSE and MAGIC MIKE

Subscribe - Bright Wall/Dark Room Subscribe for $29 a year Subscribe now to receive immediate access to each new essay we publish, plus our entire 135+ issue archive. Bright Wall/Dark Room is 100% independent, runs no ads, and strongl...

Real talk (reel talk?):

BWDR recently lost a partnership that covered nearly half our operating budget, so things are suddenly very tough. If what we do has ever meant something to you, or you’ve ever thought about subscribing, now’s the time—it *truly* makes a difference.

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It’s still shocking and still painful. The venture capitalesque dismantling of public good continues. To see these ghouls care so little of our great civic accomplishments is a boot heel on my soul…

This is definitely how I feel about it. “The masters tools…” as the Lorde quote goes. Helping young men is going to mean showing them a way out of the patriarchal pool

Ugh, what was the other bisky topic of the day? This is exhausting, you all live like this?

Anyway… go read Bell Hooks

Ancient strains of sexist thinking and darwinist capitalism is what got us here, and no amount of product marketing will get us out. We must encourage sensitivity, emotional vulnerability and self reflection in men and resist attempts commodify love and human connection.

The solution is not to sell them liberal leaning creatine from a “Joe Rogan of the left” but instead to build a community that removes the burden of capital’s sick incentives from the shoulders of young men.

Patriarchal society tells men that they can only experience tenderness in a sexual context, then capitalist agents exploit this fear of being unloved in order to sell them nonsense. This leaves young men at loggerheads with the communities and avenues they’ve been pitted against

Mothra, a usually friendly giant butterfly, flies above a scene of destruction as members of the cast, including the twins of Infant Island, look on

MOTHRA - Premiered in Japan this day in 1961

Where to Look: The Silence of the Lambs (1991) Consider how The Silence of the Lambs revolves around vision. Not only perception, but empathy and hindsight, and the non-empirical prick of intuition.

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“Consider how THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS revolves around vision. Not only perception, but empathy and hindsight, and the non-empirical prick of intuition, where vision exceeds the reach of training.”

- Veronica Fitzpatrick

(art by @bturnerinfo.bsky.social)

My professor Steven Bach, producer of Heaven’s Gate, once took me to task in front of our entire class for suggesting Gummo was a film worthy of notice. It’ll always have a place in my heart for that. Go read Nathaniel’s piece. Gummo is good actually

BW/DR continuing to be the most interesting film writing around, a truly thoughtful report on a fascinating slate

Why Wouldn’t I Believe You? - The Leftovers | BW/DR The Leftovers makes two competing claims: that other people are mostly what gives life meaning; and that, despite guaranteed loss, we have to invest in them anyway.

"In principle, apocalypse might imply a clean, sudden ending, but in practice, it’s a drawn-out and uneven descent. I can think of few works of art that understand this better than THE LEFTOVERS."

- @sophiastewart.bsky.social

Rachel Getting Married: Yesterday Is Gone & Tomorrow Is Not Here So much of Jonathan Demme's 2008 film Rachel Getting Married is about needle-fine moments of grace and clemency.

New today on the site!

The Jonathan Demme issue continues, with @lindseyromain.bsky.social on RACHEL GETTING MARRIED

(art by @ohhhaeee.bsky.social)

Stop Making Sense: One Must Imagine Talking Heads Happy The Talking Heads are strange truth-tellers, joyfully angry people, persistently interested in the power of art. And collaborating with Jonathan Demme elevated their music to something truly transcend...

New today on the site:

Our new Jonathan Demme issue kicks off with post @eccantwell.bsky.social on Talking Heads, Demme, STOP MAKING SENSE, absurdity & anchors, existentialism, bodies in motion, and the transcendent joy of art in this moment

(🎨 by @studioralston.bsky.social)

This is correct and it's why public opinion doesn't actually do anything on its own. It has to be mobilized. You have to DO politics.

Anyway, you should read The Magic Lantern instead of getting into a clickbait argument about a man who’s been dead for twenty years…

Today I’m learning that a lot of people don’t read biographies of directors that they like. Which is fine! But also, I’ve got some bad news for you about a lot of other directors…

I read this in passing as “Crouching is the standing mixer.” And was strapped in for this micro-fiction honestly…

sorry i don’t think Zohran’s win indicates how state or national races will go. Zohran campaigned against unaffordable basic needs and an old pervert. problems that are unique to new york city and no where else in the country

You should subscribe to some of the best film writing around! Support independent film thoughts. Find joy!

Coming from a Place: Community in the Films of Hayao Miyazaki Community isn’t just for comfort in Miyazaki’s world; it's a hallmark of interdependence, a vital theme in almost every one of his films.

Hey guys! I got to go long on the complex beauty of community in Miyazaki’s films over at @bwdr.bsky.social - thank you to @chadperman.bsky.social for helping shape this into something I’m really excited for you all to read www.brightwalldarkroom.com/2025/06/27/c...

You’re hands down my fav horror writer to recommend at the bookstore and your pursuit of the craft is always inspiring, thank you for sticking with it!

Kinds of Kindness & Women Talking: Kindness as Compliance In both Kinds of Kindness and Women Talking, a certain kind of kindness and a certain kind of despair start to sound like the same tune.

New today on the site—

The Community issue continues, with @thisishannahkim.bsky.social on KINDS OF KINDNESS and WOMEN TALKING:

"A certain kind of kindness and a certain kind of despair start to sound like the same tune."

“Setting your house on fire is just meant to distract you from the other house fires!” Oh really? You ghouls, you absolute cowardly revenants

“Killing these people is a distraction from these other people they’re going to kill!” Like… okay? Seems like the right thing to do is pretty obvious