Arun Chaudhary
By Arun Chaudhary
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Film & TV Yes, this woman really did make the greatest film of all time. Next question?
Chantal Akerman's 'Jeanne Dielman' was recently enshrined by the BFI 'Sight and Sound' poll. Rightly so.
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Film & TV How I Stole Chantal Akerman’s Ideas For the Obama White House
Editor’s note: Filmmaker Chantal Akerman passed away on this date in 2015. To commemorate her life and work, we are revisiting this essay by Arun Chaudhary that speaks to Akerman’s wide-ranging impact. When I met Chantal Akerman, the famed film director whose alleged suicide was reported on October 6, I told her I was going…
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49 Reasons Why 2016 Wasn't as Bad as You Think You Must Remember This
As a well-known spokesperson for medium purism, I must say I hate collage. But in my role as professional political operative I have to admit I enjoy a good juxtaposition. One of my favorite phenomena is the disconnect between whatever art I’m personally consuming and the general narrative of a political campaign. To wit: In…
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Culture Why the Revolution Must Be Televised in Donald Trump’s America
To: Revolutionary Resistance Committee (Ethan Allen Division) From: Arun Chaudhary, Creative Director (Frederick Douglass Division) Re: Towards a Fourth Cinema – Materialist Tribalism in the Post-Enlightenment Counterfactual Trumpian Age Terry, It has become clear to even the most dim folks in our research department that the Trump presidency represents nothing less than the end of…
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Culture Why in the World Did Anthony Let Them Film ‘Weiner!’
In the movie “Weiner,” former U.S. congressman Anthony Weiner displays the proper reluctance that’s supposed to mark the beginning of a hero’s journey. “This is the worst,” he says into the camera in the opening shot of the film. “I don’t know why I let them film me,” he tells a voter from atop a…
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Film & TV How Haskell Wexler Became the Epitome of Cool
Haskell Wexler had a deep knack for the cool — how else to achieve fame as a cinematographer? Name another — go on, I dare you. In a town that worships “the talent” over actual technical talent, Wexler’s work behind the camera stood out in Hollywood. And, even rarer, the man stood for something; he…
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Film & TV How I Stole Chantal Akerman’s Ideas For the Obama White House
When I met Chantal Akerman, the famed film director whose alleged suicide was reported on October 6, I told her I was going to steal her shit. I didn’t blurt it out exactly like that, but having just seen her film “D’est” projected on a big beautiful screen at Cornell Cinema in 1995, I was…
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Culture The Thing You Didn’t Know About Documentary Filmmaker Albert Maysles
We mourn Albert Maysles, one of the undisputed masters of filmmaking, with extra clarity, for his death throws our modern era’s obsession with over-eulogizing into sharp focus. Albert was not another “indispensible” documentarian that fill our graveyards (and Facebook walls); he was the real deal, the primary source. You’re either ripping Albert off, or your…
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