To celebrate the launch of my new documentary on Amazon Prime, this new series explores the stories, history, and culture of the Kaingang tribe, providing a unique insight into the history of this peo
To celebrate the launch of my new documentary on Amazon Prime, this new series explores the stories, history, and culture of the Kaingang tribe, providing a unique insight into the history of this people.
Perhaps one of the most exciting moments in US history, the Harlem Renaissance was an explosion of art, literature, and performance in New York's Harlem burgh. One of its foremost participants, Langston Hughes,
Perhaps one of the most exciting moments in US history, the Harlem Renaissance was an explosion of art, literature, and performance in New York's Harlem burgh. One of its foremost participants, Langston Hughes, produced some of the greatest poetry of his generation - words which challenged dominant racial stereotypes whilst celebrating Black identities in a time when they were often suppressed. In this podcast, Dr. Darren R. Reid examines the role of Hughes and his first published work, "The Neg...
Custer's Revenge on the Atari 2600 is an almost uniquely horrifying celebration of casual racism, sexism, and sexual assault. Released back in 1982, this novelty videogame is a type of revenge fantasy in which George Custer must cross a field of falli...
Custer's Revenge on the Atari 2600 is an almost uniquely horrifying celebration of casual racism, sexism, and sexual assault. Released back in 1982, this novelty videogame is a type of revenge fantasy in which George Custer must cross a field of falling arrows so that he can reach -and then rape- a Native American woman. To say that this game is in bad taste is an understatement. A toxic mix of racism and sexism, it celebrated masculinity in a crass and violent manner - a unique and fascinating ...
E.T. by Atari is widely regarded as one of the worst videogames ever created. Based upon the wildly popular film Steven Spielberg, it was made in under six weeks by a single developer working on hardware that was, by 1982 standards, utterly archaic.
E.T. by Atari is widely regarded as one of the worst videogames ever created. Based upon the wildly popular film Steven Spielberg, it was made in under six weeks by a single developer working on hardware that was, by 1982 standards, utterly archaic. The Atari 2600, the console on which the game was released, had just 128 bytes of RAM – not 128Kb of Ram, but 128 bytes. Building the game on such notoriously underpowered hardware at such ridiculously short notice was a catastrophe. $20 million had ...
How to appreciate street art - a beginners guide to the underworld. Join Dr. Reid as he explores a secret street art gallery somewhere in Scotland. The abandoned factory has had its interior covered in graffiti, tags, and illicit wall murals.
How to appreciate street art - a beginners guide to the underworld. Join Dr. Reid as he explores a secret street art gallery somewhere in Scotland. The abandoned factory has had its interior covered in graffiti, tags, and illicit wall murals. It is a monument to vandalism - and the ability of art to speak truth to power.
In this special episode Dr. Reid travels to New York to speak to ordinary Americans about their reaction to Donald Trump's divisive rise. The resultant short film, co-directed by Brett Sanders and shot by the pair's history students, provides an insight into how the people of New York feel about the sudden and dramatic rise of one of the city's most controversial sons. Aftermath: A Portrait of a Nation Divided was directed by Brett Sanders and Darren R. Reid for Red Something Films.
The Artist in American History is back with a special post-Brexit episode which deconstructs British and English claims to founding global democracy through the creation of the Magna Carta. Rather than seeing that document as the basis of English democracy, this podcast instead looks at how the spirit of 1215 was betrayed in colonial North America - and how it was maintained by Native Americans even in the face of growing English antipathy for its values.
In this episode, Dr. Reid examines the rich politics which underpinned the original Star Wars film. From the importance to the guerrilla fighters in the post-Vietnam era through to contemporary warnings of empires built upon technological advantages, Star Wars, in spite of the seeming simplicity of its depictions of good and evil, had much to say about America and its place in the world.
Explore the meaning of science fiction as a means of uncovering difficult truths about world history and the human experience. This episode uses the recent film Chappie to ask questions about how one of the most easily dismissed genres is able to speak truth about the present by posing scenarios about our future.
Video Podcast + Trailer. Looking for Charlie; Or, Why Do Clowns Kill Themselves is the new feature length documentary from historians Darren R. Reid and Brett Sanders. It explores the thin line between happiness and despair among comedy legends from the early twentieth century. This video podcast provides an arresting first look into the new documentary and its story of love, laughter, hopelessness, and suicide.
Lecture by Dr. Darren R. Reid reflecting on the ways Disney have attempted to adapt their princesses to move away from out dated gender stereotypes.
In this lecture we examine the history behind the name 'Redskins', looking at the history of race and racism in order to lay bare what, exactly, is so problematic with that label. This lecture ties the history of race into the current controversy surrounding the 'Washington Redskins', focusing upon its discriminatory name and logo.
Bad food makes great music - in this mini-lecture Dr. Reid examines the role played by folk music in the American Civil War by examining the case study of 'Hard Times Come Again No More' and how that song was transformed for a lament about poverty into a cry for good food for the Union army.
In this 5 Minute History explores the importance of live theatre as a way of building community in Britain and America in the 19th and early 20th century, from Vaudeville to the Music Hall.
Celebrate one hundred years of Charlie Chaplin with this micro documentary exploring his early life and his earliest appearances as the "Little Tramp". In this five minute history, become a master of Chaplin's early years. Â Charlie Chaplin, one of the earliest auteur's, true geniuses, of cinematic comedy was born in 1889 to Charles Chaplin, Senior and Hannah Hill. Â Both of Chaplin's parents were in some way associated with show business, performers on the bustling British music hall scene of t...
The sixth episode in the Comic Books Studies series examines the ways in which Wonder Woman creator William Moulton Marston tried to distill his complicated ideas about gender and female superiority into a single character. Â Wonder Woman, who will make her big screen debut in 2016's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, was the face of Marston's vision of the future.
In this special episode we examine the just broadcast return of Jack Bauer in 24: Live Another Day. Â Always a political creative vehicle, 24 is perfect for discussion and analysis. Â In this episode Dr. Reid reviews the two hour return of the show, examining hints about this season's political message and any social commentaries contained within.
Comic books are not always seen as a valid subject of academic discussion but in this episode, Dr. Reid lays out a case for why that should not be the case by exploring Alan Moore's V for Vendetta and Watchmen, and Art Spiegelman's pulwitzer prize winning Maus. Comic books matter.
A short film that explores how fundamental ideas about race manifested themselves in the first wave of superhero comics.
Captain America first appeared in 1940 but shortly after his introduction he was joined by sidekick team "The Young Allies" among whom was one of the most openly racist characters in superhero history. In this episode we explore how and why men like Jack Kirby and Stan Lee (creators of the X-Men, Fantastic Four, etc) helped to create such a piece of racist iconography.
The second American Studies lecture again looks at classic American comic books, this time turning its attention on Batman's arch-nemesis, the Joker. Throughout his long career the Joker has been portrayed as everything from a Chicago-inspired gangster, to traumatised victim, and ruthless terrorist - in this lecture we explore how each of those images reflected huge social and cultural changes in America.
Superman first appeared during the Great Depression in 1938 in a comic book which reflected the period's strong stereotypes against women. In this episode the first superhero comic will be given a scholarly reading and compared to its modern equivalent to show how America's self-image has changed over the past 70 years.
In the same week that the producers behind hit sitcom, 'How I Met Your Mother' had to apologise for their use of 'yellow face' in a recent episode, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences nominated The Lone Ranger for the Oscar in 'Best Hair and Makeup', a nod that seems to justify the film's controversial use of 'red face'. Let's talk about race, Native Americans, and the Academy.
In the final part of the 2013-2014 film festival we explore Charlie Chaplin's seminal 1917 film, The Immigrant. Â When Chaplin was exiled from the United States in the 1950s for his leftist politics, this film was used as evidence against him. Â This episode includes the complete film with a new audio and visual commentary track which explores Chaplin's deep interest in the poor and the hopeless, looking at how his left leaning politics did influence his film making process.
In the third part of 'The Artist in American History' film festival we examine the finale of 'The Birth of a Nation' (1915), one of the most important films in the history of cinema. Â From the imagination of director D.W. Griffith, this deeply racist film was a part of the 'lost cause' myth which recast the former Confederate states as a land lost to the tyranny of the Union. Â In this scene (complete with a new director's-style commentary) we examine the disturbing racial subtext of this film ...
