Political Media Review – PMR

The Cove

Underwater cameras capture the peaceful sway of sea plants beneath the surface in Taiji, Japan. As the scene progresses, the plants become obscured by creeping wafts of dolphin blood. Rapidly, the entire screen turns crimson, the ocean water thick with the grisly evidence of slaughtered dolphins. The Cove, a 2009 Oceanic Preservation Society film, follows a team of activists

Continue reading...

An Unreasonable Man

Few people have influenced public policy the way Ralph Nader has in a career that spans more than four decades. The documentary, An Unreasonable Man, is a powerful, inspirational, and yes – sometimes critical, examination of his life that catalogs a number of his accomplishments working on behalf of the public interest in pursuit of social justice.

Continue reading...

George Orwell’s 1984 Electronic Music Remix

George Orwell meets twenty-first century electronic agit-prop. That’s the best way to explain Margaret Noble’s latest nonprofit sound project. She begins with a 1950s vinyl recording of George Orwell’s novel 1984, famous for its depiction of a totalitarian society held captive by the three-pronged propaganda of: War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength.

Continue reading...

Anarchist Seeds Beneath the Snow: Left-Libertarian Thought and British Writers from William Morris to Colin Ward

The book focuses on eleven writers representing a spectrum from left libertarianism to fully fledged anarchism in all its diverse manifestations.

Continue reading...

Disgrace

The plot of Disgrace is driven by the personal metamorphosis of David Lurie, an arrogant, libidinous professor, brilliantly played by John Malkovich. A poetry lecturer at Cape Town University, David's descent into disgrace is provoked by an affair he is having with a mixed-race student thirty years his junior.

Continue reading...

You Don’t Play With Revolution: The Montreal Lectures of C. L. R. James

Renowned as an anti-colonial theorist, intellectual and political activist, C. L. R. James has written books that represent some of the most daring anti-capitalist works of the 20th century. He is best appreciated for pushing readings of Marx beyond what even Marx himself may have originally envisioned.

Continue reading...

Empire of Sacrifice: The Religious Origins of American Violence

From Regeneration Through Violence to Settlers, many sobering works have given attention to the unusual relationship religion has served in undergirding oppression and the passive as well as active support among keepers of the faith for brutal policies.

Continue reading...

Meditations on Frantz Fanon’s The Wretched of the Earth

Frantz Fanon's The Wretched of the Earth, a searing indictment of global racism, colonialism and imperialism, is among the foundational writings of postcolonial theory. Originally written in 1961, Wretched stands out among Fanon's writings

Continue reading...

Academic Repression: Reflections from the Academic Industrial Complex

The belief higher education is about the spirit of inquiry and exploring ideas has been central to education itself for centuries. Consider where many young people first encountered great literature, thoroughgoing thinkers and spaces for political debate.

Continue reading...

Go Further

In 2001, Hollywood actor and hemp activist Woody Harrelson and a group of friends set out on a tour of the West Coast to raise awareness about sustainable living. Traveling in a bio-fueled bus and on bicycles, Harrelson and his entourage headed down the Pacific Coast Highway, stopping at university campuses to promote natural, organic living.

Continue reading...

Want to Start A Revolution? Radical Women in the Black Freedom Struggle

The position of women as organizers seems under continuous scrutiny. For women of color, the clashes they face are compounded by questions of loyalty as well as privilege and struggling within communities that have been subjected to historic miseducation and troubles.

Continue reading...