Matt Borondy, Publisher/Editor: I’m reading Ghana Must Go by Taiye Selasi, Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation by Michael Pollan, The Still Point of the Turning World by Emily Rapp, and I just finished A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki. Jullianne Ballou, Assistant Editor: I’m reading an advance copy of Pretty Good [...]
This month’s books include titles from Jared Diamond, Kurt Vonnegut, John Irving, Laura Moriarty, Joe Bageant, Susannah Cahalan and many other unique voices.
Books we’re reading this November include a Leonard Cohen biography by Sylvie Simmons, The Headmaster’s Wager by Vincent Lam, On Christian Contemplation by Thomas Merton, Both Flesh and Not by DFW, Jess Walter’s Beautiful Ruins, Best American Short Stories 2012, A Good Fall by Ha Jin, and many other titles.
The Identity Theory Staff Reading List for this month includes books on Yoko Ono and Jack Kerouac, new efforts from Martin Amis and Naomi Wolf, the latest issue of Granta, and much more.
Our staff’s summer reading list for 2012 includes Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward, The Pale King by David Foster Wallace, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain, and The Great Leader by Jim Harrison.
April’s staff reading list includes Hemingway, Ron Rash, Vanessa Veselka, Gary Lutz, James Franco and more.
Put your poetry here, poetic people.
The Identity Theory staff reading list for March 2012 includes new stuff by Dan Chaon, Don Lee, Laird Hunt and more.
Damien Jurado’s “Working Titles” is the Identity Theory song of the month for February 2012. The track comes from his new album, Maraqopa. Watch the Seattle, Washington-based singer’s live performance above or listen on Soundcloud.
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) June 15, 1962 Introduction: Agenda for a Generation We are people of this generation, bred in at least modest comfort, housed now in universities, looking uncomfortably to the world we inherit. When we were kids the United States was the wealthiest and strongest country in the world; the only [...]
by Whitney BorupAs far as I’m concerned, 8: The Mormon Proposition has its heart in the right place. But, I’m coming from avery biased position. 8 attacks the church in ways that will be construed as manipulative and underhanded and, therefore, will end up preaching to the choir. Then again, Mormons are up to the [...]
by Whitney BorupI went into “Smash His Camera” expecting it to be a conventional, glossy, professional documentary. There’s nothing wrong with typical documentaries – I enjoy them very much – but it’s always nice to see someone try something new. In many ways “Smash His Camera” follows the formula, but it is in the areas [...]
by Whitney BorupIn Boy’s mind, his dad is a professional criminal, brave soldier, and brilliant pop star, all wrapped into one. He’s away in jail for now, but Boy spends a lot of time getting to know his estranged father through his own fantasies. Then his dad comes home, and Boy has to come to [...]
by Whitney BorupNo one writes female characters quite like Nicole Holofcener. She has the ability to combine the greater concerns of femininity with the small details – like that cracked gray skin that develops on your elbows, and trying on jeans at department stores with your mom – that seamlessly dot her narratives. And in [...]
by Whitney BorupMy soda intake this last week has been out of control. I never thought I’d say this, but I think a steady diet of diet, caffeinated, carbonated beverages may be medically harmful. It’s certainly not good for you, and I realized just how dependent I was this morning when I tried to watch [...]
by: Scott KnopfModern street art and film have cooperated for decades now. Ever since people have been tagging walls, filmmakers have been there to chronicle their work. Graffiti documentaries such as Style Wars (1983) and Bomb It (2007) educate those who are interested in not only the artwork itself but also in the culture that [...]
by: Scott KnopfBlue Valentine is an affective film that uniquely tells a familiar Boy Meets Girl Then Loses Girl story. Director Derek Cianfrance (Brother Tied) supplies the viewer with two sections of his characters’ relationship: the hopeful beginnings and the beaten down endings. The years in the middle are left up to one’s imagination. At [...]
by Whitney BorupThis year the Sundance Film Festival included a category they called “Next.” The idea was to showcase some of the best films made with the lowest amount of money. Adam Bowers’ film “New Low” certainly qualifies as far as the budget is concerned. Shot on different pieces of borrowed equipment (whatever friend was [...]
by: Scott Knopf.It’s wonderful when talented actors take roles in projects they really believe in rather than aiming for the biggest box office dollars or guaranteed Oscar nominations. Robin Williams has World’s Greatest Dad. Nicole Kidman has Birth. Even James Franco has “General Hospital.” When these world-famous celebrities and gifted performers take a chance on [...]
by: Scott Knopf.Deep in the Ozark Mountains, there’s a culture that’s often misrepresented in film, if represented at all. Countless films feature Backwoods Hillbilly characters that are known more for their empty brains and chainsaw massacres than for anything that accurately represents the culture that they’re supposed to hail from. With Winter’s Bone, Debra Granik [...]
by Whitney BorupIf you were born post-1969, it’s hard to imagine what all the hubbub surrounding space travel was about. These days information from NASA is rarely seen in the newspapers, much less the front page. Apparently we’re going to Mars….or have we been to Mars? Were there Martians there? In Christian Frei’s newest documentary, [...]
by: Scott Knopf When a straight-A student named Henry (Matt Bush) smokes his first doobie only to find out that his school’s starting mandatory drug testing the next day, he’s left with only one choice: to get the entire school to fail that test.When you go see a movie with a really ‘pitchable’ premise, you [...]
by Whitney Borup“There are some things you do not do!” This should be the tagline for “Splice,” director Vincenzo Natali’s genetic splicing sci-fi-horror film. Scientist couple Clive and Elsa never seem to accept any moral boundaries, though, and end up with an human hybrid on their hands that they don’t quite know what to do [...]
by Whitney BorupYour enjoyment of “The Killer Inside Me” will probably largely depend on whether or not you’ve read the book. Apparently, the book reveals character traits and intricacies of Lou Ford (Casey Affleck) that can only be understood in the film when you have that previous experience with the subject. I wouldn’t know, because [...]
By Whitney BorupThe first thing we hear in the film “Grown Up Movie Star” is that Ruby is selfish. These words are spoken by her mother who is in the midst of running away to Hollywood, leaving her family behind because she doesn’t want to waste her life on motherhood. Talk about the pot calling [...]
by Scott Knopf.Kevin Kline is one of Hollywood’s most talented actors and Paul Dano is on his way towards becoming one as well. Both of these statements are wholly supported by their performances in The Extra Man, an enthralling feature from co-directors Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Bergman (American Splendor). Set in present day New [...]
by Scott Knopf.Unless you’ve been living under a rock (or just watching mainstream fare) for the past five years than name “Duplass” probably sounds familiar. Mark and Jay Duplass have spent the last half a decade directing and acting in high-quality films with rather low budgets. Involved in the mumblecore movement, their films The Puffy [...]
by Whitney BorupIn 1955, Allen Ginsberg wrote his most famous poem, “Howl,” about…well…there are a lot of differing opinions of what “Howl” is really about. Is it about homosexuality in 1950s America? Is it about the social disillusionment of the Beat culture? Or is it just about saying dirty words and talking about wieners? Rob [...]
by Scott Knopf.Hollywood loves them some ghetto school movies. Ever since Blackboard Jungle introduced white American moviegoers to rock ‘n’ roll and urban education, they haven’t been able to get enough of either. Films like Dangerous Minds, Stand and Deliver, and Up the Down Staircase have celebrated the struggle and triumphs of inner city teachers [...]
