Misery Loves Company? Bleak Week: Cinema of Despair Hits a Nerve.
What has happened since says a lot about the mood in at least one corner of American culture.
The American Cinematheque, a nonprofit that brings classic art films to Los Angeles theaters, was struggling to sell tickets in 2022. Older cinephiles were still spooked by the Covid pandemic; younger ones were glued to Netflix.
At the same time, some Cinematheque staff members were depressed about the direction the world seemed to be heading. It was the year Russia invaded Ukraine, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a gunman killed 19 children at a Texas elementary school and Big Tech rolled out artificial intelligence bots.
Out of that somber stew came a programming idea called Bleak Week: Cinema of Despair. Over seven days, the Cinematheque screened 30 feel-bad movies. It called the selections 'the greatest films from around the world that explore the darkest sides of humanity.' For the inaugural festival, one centerpiece film was Béla Tarr's 'Satantango' (1994), a seven-hour-and-19-minute contemplation of decay and misery.
''Everyone was saying, 'You should do comedies,'' Grant Moninger, the Cinematheque's artistic director, said. 'But we thought, 'What if you did the exact opposite?' We're not in this to dangle keys at a baby.' (Now might be a good moment to mention that Moninger grew up with a mother, he said, who 'only rented movies on VHS in two genres: the Holocaust and slavery.')
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
5 minutes ago
- Yahoo
American Eagle Defends Sydney Sweeney Ad Amid Uproar: ‘Great Jeans Look Good on Everyone'
"'Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans' is and always was about the jeans," the brand says American Eagle is standing firmly behind its Sydney Sweeney ad campaign that has caused an uproar on social media and cable news over the last few days, saying the campaign 'is and always was about the jeans.' 'We'll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way. Great jeans look good on everyone,' the company said on social media. More from TheWrap American Eagle Defends Sydney Sweeney Ad Amid Uproar: 'Great Jeans Look Good on Everyone' Matthew Loeb Secures Another Term as IATSE International President at Union Convention Kevin Costner's 'Horizon' Settles Breach of Contract Lawsuit Over $350,000 in Unpaid Costume Fees 'Golden Bachelor' Star Mel Owens Says He 'Deserved' Backlash Over Ageist Comments Controversy erupted online last week after Sweeney's ad started making the rounds. In the spot, Sweeney touts herself for having great jeans – a play on the actress' genes. Other billboards for the campaign show her painting over the statement 'Sydney Sweeney has great genes' with 'jeans.' Some online have called the ad tone-deaf saying it celebrates her whiteness and thinness. Many viral comments deriding the ad brought up arguments that it's not only subtly promoting white supremacy but also eugenics, and nazi and master race propaganda. This outcry led to right-wing pundits and even the White House commenting on the issue. Trump's communication manager Steven Cheung called the reaction 'cancel culture run amok.' 'This warped, moronic and dense liberal thinking is a big reason why Americans voted the way they did in 2024,' he wrote on X. 'They're tired of this bulls–t.' More to come… Watch the original ad below. The post American Eagle Defends Sydney Sweeney Ad Amid Uproar: 'Great Jeans Look Good on Everyone' appeared first on TheWrap.
Yahoo
5 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Ex-Food Network star Paula Deen closes Georgia restaurants abruptly
Culinary star Paula Deen has abruptly shut off the burners at her popular Georgia restaurants. The former Food Network and bestselling cookbook author host announced Friday the sudden closure of the Savannah eatery that launched her to fame with its menu of Southern soul food staples. For nearly three decades, Deen ran The Lady & Sons restaurant with her two sons, Jamie and Bobby. The eatery continued to attract a loyal fan base long after the Food Network canceled her show amid a racism scandal. The 'Queen of Southern Cuisine' announced on Friday that she was pulling the plug on the signature restaurant, along with her shop The Chicken Box, which opened in 2023. 'Hey, y'all, my sons and I made the heartfelt decision that Thursday, July 31st, was the last day of service for The Lady & Sons and The Chicken Box,' Deen said in a statement. 'Thank you for all the great memories and for your loyalty over the past 36 years,' she continued in the note also shared on social media. The family plans to shift their focus on its four remaining eateries, the Paula Deen's Family Kitchen chain, with locations in Pigeon Forge and Nashville, Tennessee; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; and Branson, Missouri. The Deens will plan to visit the Branson outpost on Aug. 8. Deen became a household name after the Food Network debuted 'Paula's Home Cooking' in 2002. The basic cable channel pulled the plug on the show in 2013 amid fallout from a lawsuit by a former employee. A transcript of Deen answering questions under oath in a legal deposition became public, which included her admitting to using the N-word. Her expansive business portfolio cratered as brand deals with Sears, Kmart and J. C. Penney, Smithfield Foods, Walmart, Target, Caesars Entertainment, QVC and the pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk all were terminated. Publisher Random House also severed ties with Deen a year after it signed a lucrative five-book deal. She attempted a television comeback by competing on 'Dancing with the Stars' in 2015 and later served as a guest judge on chef Gordon Ramsay's 'MasterChef: Legends.' In 2020, the conservative-leaning Fox Nation began streaming 'At Home With Paula Deen.'
Yahoo
5 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Childhood vaccination rates fall for 5th straight year, CDC data shows
Childhood vaccination rates for the 2024-25 school year fell for the fifth year in a row, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published Thursday. Vaccine coverage for shots that protect against measles, polio, chickenpox, whooping cough and hepatitis B have now been under 95% -- a threshold many experts consider herd immunity -- since at least the 2020-2021 school year. Exemptions for vaccines also hit a record high, increasing to 3.6% for the 2024-25 school year compared to 3.3% during the previous school year. The number of kindergarteners exempt from one or more vaccines was about 138,000. MORE: Members of CDC vaccine panel ousted by RFK Jr. say committee has 'lost credibility' "That gap, combined with concentrated pockets of exemptions, is exactly how sustained outbreaks gain a foothold," said Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist and ABC News medical contributor. "Kindergarten vaccination rates are an early warning indicator. Persistent declines predict conditions for more frequent and larger outbreaks are already in place." Exemptions increased in 36 states, with 17 states reporting exemption rates exceeding 5%, according to the CDC data. Nearly all the exemptions were listed as non-medical, typically related to religious or personal reasons. "The surge in non-medical exemptions reflects a growing influence of misinformation and shifting policy. When these beliefs concentrate geographically, they erode the very network of immunity that protects all children," Brownstein said. An estimated 92.5% of kindergarteners were vaccinated with the polio vaccine as well as the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, leaving an estimated 286,000 vulnerable to the diseases. It comes as the U.S. is seeing the highest number of measles cases since 1992, with dozens of outbreaks reported across the country, CDC data shows. About 94% of kindergartners were vaccinated against hepatitis B. Even fewer children were vaccinated against chickenpox and whooping cough with rates at 92.1%, according to the data. MORE: Medical groups sue HHS, RFK Jr. over 'unlawful' vaccine changes Last year saw a record level of whooping cough cases, with more than 35,000 cases reported -- roughly six times as many cases compared to 2023. Federal health officials in the Trump administration have also recently shifted messaging around vaccination, now pushing for personal choice -- advocating that parents should decide whether or not to immunize their kids. "Public health messaging has shifted in ways that place personal choice ahead of community protection. When federal leadership softens its stance on vaccination, it can accelerate hesitancy and legitimize non medical exemptions, further weakening population level immunity," Brownstein said. "As pediatricians, we know that immunizing children helps them stay healthy, and when everyone can be immunized, it's harder for diseases to spread in our communities," Dr. Susan Kressly, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics said in a statement. "By making sure all children can access immunizations before entering school with their classmates, children are best able to stay healthy to play, learn, and grow."
