Alfredo Guevara (1925-2013)
Here is a photograph of two Guevaras. With the death of Alfredo Guevara, the one on the right, at the age of 87, who was no relation to the Guevara on the left, Cuban cinema has lost its great champion. … Continue reading
Author Archives: michaelc
Pointless Obstacles
If the death of one Margaret Thatcher has served to remind us that the present crisis has its roots back in the 80s on her watch, one of things that Thatcherism was responsible for was the corruption of the value … Continue reading
Cuba in Aberystwyth
Welsh hills covered in snow as the train snakes across country on the way back from Aberystwyth. Went there for a symposium on Cuban cinema, with scholars and filmmakers over from Havana, and other participants mainly based in UK universities; … Continue reading
Posted in Academic life, Cuba, Film matters, Latin America, Video
Tagged Academic life, Cuba, Film, Film Studies
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Tales of a Video Blogger ebook
Many thanks to RE.FRAMING ACTIVISM for publishing the ebook ‘Tales of a Video Blogger’, a collection of my recent writing about activist film-making. Download your copy here:http://reframe.sussex.ac.uk/activistmedia/2013/03/free-e-book-tales-of-a-video-blogger-by-michael-chanan/ Recommend on Facebook Tweet about it Subscribe to the comments on this post Print … Continue reading
Posted in Chile, Cultural Politics, Documentary, Media, Protests
Tagged Politics, Resistance, Video activism
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Mourning Chávez on the Web
It’s been fascinating seeing the response to the death of Hugo Chávez playing out on the web, for it not only confirms his status as a world historical figure, but because of the high symbolism of the event, clearly exposes … Continue reading
Posted in Capitalism, Cultural Politics, Latin America, Media, Music
Tagged Chavez, Media, Politics, Resistance
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Remembering Stanley Forman
For left film culture in Britain, Stanley Forman, who has died at the age of 91, was the archive man. His company, ETV, held a unique library of left-wing documentaries which amounted to the history of the twentieth century from … Continue reading
Posted in Cultural Politics, Documentary, Film matters
Tagged Documentary, Film, Film archive, Politics
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Jury Service in Digital Times
It’s only late in life—I’m in my sixties—that I find myself being summoned for jury service. Like all of us, I’ve seen innumerable court room dramas, in films and on television—fiction, docudramas and documentaries—and on three occasions I’ve been in … Continue reading
Chronicle of Protest
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Posted in Video Blog
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Transformations of Consumerism
In the last few days, three major UK retail chains have gone bankrupt and are shutting up shop: Jessops, HMV and Blockbuster. Photography, music, and film rental. Pundits are saying that it’s inevitable as sales move to the web, and … Continue reading
Posted in Capitalism, Cultural Politics, Media, Music
Tagged Capitalism, Consumerism, HMV
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Against ‘Impact’
The other day we interviewed a couple of PhD scholarship candidates. Good applicants, with interesting and unusual research proposals. However, I was saddened when one of them started talking about ‘impact’. So, she’d found out about the institutional regime of … Continue reading
Posted in Academic life, Cultural Politics
Tagged Academic life, Humanities, Media, Politics, Universities
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