This is what Evangelical Christians call subliminal messaging. To rational adults (if they’re paying attention,) it’s just funny. RAI TV, Italy. April, 2011.
Visual
Despite his appearances over the last two decades in some of Israel’s most critically-acclaimed features, Juliano Mer-Khamis’s name is not immediately recognised by most film buffs. One of Israel’s most talented actors, Mer-Khamis made global headlines because of his death, rather than his artistry. (More…)
Italy is renown for its political posters. Marxist, nationalist, racist, multicultural. Every city is its own open-air art gallery. Aside from “schiave” (slave), this poster shouldn’t require much translation. Corso Vittorio Emanuele, Turin. April, 2011.
Children’s programming is complex in every culture. Field recording public television, Turin. April, 2011.
Turkey broke the mold. Whether Germans were questioning the right of Turkish migrants to become citizens, Americans were attacking its leadership’s positions on Israel, or Syrians were complaining that Ankara manages to preserve favored status despite its policies towards the Kurds, Turkey is shorthand for , “Yes, but. . .”, a way for practitioners of Realpolitik both to define a “state of exception”, and assert its value. (More…)
Gun shows are easy to satirize. Arms manufacturers frequently use typically beautiful women to show off weaponry. Display booth and catalogue language is inevitably Orwellian. Every advertisement is rife with complex signifiers. Given the opportunity, a psychoanalyst would have a heart attack decoding industry messaging. (More…)
It was an obvious gaffe. A Mussolini figurine sits next to an iMac displaying a photo of a younger Silvio Berlusconi. The occasion: Casting agent and Berlusconi associate Lele Mora, defending the Italian Prime Minister against charges of abuse of power on Euronews. Read a transcript of the Wednesday broadcast, or watch the program.
Piazza Bodoni. Torino, Italy, 04/11.
Catherine Hardwicke’s Red Riding Hood is a luscious little gothic fairytale. Taking the “Little Red Riding Hood” story and transposing it onto the social landscape of a small, early American village, the movie manages to give this classic a contemporary flair while also maintaining a sense of gothic romance. (More…)