British Films, North American Films
Live and Let Die: as it says, live and let this film die
Guy Hamilton, “Live and Let Die” (1973) Cashing in on the blaxploitation film genre that was popular in the early 1970s, this instalment in the James…
John McWhorter’s “Cancel Culture and Wokeness” talk on dangers of Critical Race Theory
John McWhorter, “Cancel Culture and Wokeness” (Internationales Literaturfestival Berlin, 10 September 2021) John McWhorter is a linguist and associate professor of linguistics at New York City’s…
You Only Live Twice: tired and formulaic film shouldn’t have lived even once
Lewis Gilbert, “You Only Live Twice” (1967) By the time this, the fifth film in the James Bond spy movie franchise, came along for the blockbuster…
British Films, North American Films
Goldfinger: enjoyable escapist spy-thriller fantasy of its time
Guy Hamilton, “Goldfinger” (1964) Third in the series of James Bond spy film series, “Goldfinger” remains the standard to which all other films in the series…
The Destruction of Laos: casting light on a shameful aspect of the Vietnam War
Carlton Meyer, “The Destruction of Laos” (Tales of the American Empire, 15 October 2021) Many people know that the Vietnam War dragged Cambodia into its horrors…
A litany of blunders and oversights in “Deepwater Horizon: Ten Mistakes”
Jess Reid, “Deepwater Horizon: Ten Mistakes” (2021) An investigation into the causes of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico near the…
A Day in the Life of an Untouchable Sweeper: a snapshot of discrimination against Dalit people in India
Amudhan R P, “A Day in the Life of an Untouchable Sweeper” (2003) Known as “manual scavenging”, manually cleaning public and private toilets, open drains and…
Mren Cathedral and the Last World War of Antiquity: a building’s connection to the end of an era and the beginning of another
Garrett Ryan, “Mren Cathedral and the Last World War of Antiquity” (Toldinstone, 2018) Part of a series about ten Roman / Byzantine-era buildings built in the…
A Historical Tour of Hagia Sophia: a visually sumptuous guide and introduction to a famous building and Byzantine civilisation
Garrett Ryan, “A Historical Tour of Hagia Sophia” (Told in Stone, 2020 / 2021) Even as a short film, this video tour of Hagia Sophia /…
Treachery by US Army Generals in World War II: how incompetence and bad decisions led to US defeat and Japanese occupation of the Philippines
Carlton Meyer, “Treachery by US Army Generals in World War II” (Tales of the American Empire, 1 October 2021) While many people know that Japan dealt…