Surveillance and Spying in Film: II–The Good Shepherd
A closer look at The Departed.
The Academy Awards: A Look At Jessica Tandy
A tribute to the Academy Awards and Jessica Tandy.
Surveillance and Spying in Film: I–Deja Vu
Nicole Rafter looks at Deja Vu.
Jesus of Hollywood: A Podcast
A podcast with the author of Jesus of Hollywood.
The Departed
Nicole Rafter takes a closer look at the movie, “The Departed.”
The Oscar nominations: Philip Glass
Along with Reich, Riley and Young, Glass was a principal figure in the establishment of minimalism in the 1960s. He has since become one of the most successful composers of his generation. He studied the violin at six, then at eight the flute with Britton Johnson at the Peabody Conservatory.
Babel: A Film About Responsibility
Nicole Rafter looks at the film Babel.
A History of Violence: David Cronenberg’s Morality Play
Nicole Rafter’s monthly column examines the film, A History of Violence.
Sex Crime Films: A Response
Sex Crime Films, a response.
Sex-crime movies
For movie-makers and viewers alike, sex-crime movies offer opportunities to explore the meanings of sexual offenses and to reflect on the boundaries that societies trace between illicit and illegal sexual behaviors. They can start transnational conversations with millions of people across the globe.
Inside Man: Revival of the Heist Movie?
OUP author Nicole Rafter weighs in on The Inside Man and heist films in general.
Origins of hip hop: Ice-T and “Cop Killer”
In this post, we look at rapper Ice-T, and his influence on the development of hip hop. A prolific and outspoken Rap artist, Ice-T helped pioneer the ‘gangsta’ musical style, in which the turmoil of urban street life is exposed through blunt, explicit lyrics and a bass-heavy, fluid musical style.
Origins of hip hop: “The hardest jack with the greatest jive in the joint!”
Today we’ll look at the jazz roots of hip hop by examining the charismatic stage presence and dapper style of the great Cab Calloway. As a pioneer of the genre, Calloway was described by President Bill Clinton as a ‘true legend among the musicians of this century’ – and his legacy lives on today.
Miami Vice: Death of the Cop-Action Film?
Crime Films: A Monthly Column By Nicole Rafter Miami Vice is a major disappointment in an already frustrating movie summer. I had hoped for more not only because of the stylishness of the 1980s television series on which it is based but also because director Michael Mann’s Heat (1995) and Collateral (2004) had proved him […]
Crime Cinema: An Introduction
An Introduction to a New Monthly Feature By Nicole Rafter My original interest in crime films led me to introduce courses that examined the dynamic interplay of art and life in crime films at Northeastern University, and it eventually resulted in my book Shots in the Mirror: Crime Films and Society (Oxford University Press, 2d.ed. […]
“Who’s the cat that won’t cop out when there’s danger all about?”
Today, we’ll look at a towering figure in 1970s soul music and a forebear of modern hip hop and rap; Isaac Hayes. His classic 1969 record, the sumptuous, deep-grooving ‘Hot Buttered Soul’, made Hayes a star and cemented his image in the minds of a generation of young African Americans.