Why Is We Americans?

ATTICA

Passing

Fire Music

I think that this film, without having seen it yet, is an important historical document and contribution towards honoring and preserving the legacy of an incredible body of work created by many brilliant innovative artists.

Fire music, in my view, is a much better term to describe the music commonly known as “free jazz”.

This music, in large part, was maligned and savaged by the so called experts of the time.

As a general rule, I trust the artist not the critic.

Alot of time has passed but I think the music has finally received the respect and acclaim it has always deserved and secured an important, rightful place in the history of jazz.

I did not see her name on the list of musicians featured but I really hope that Alice Coltrane was included in the film. Otherwise, it would be a huge mistake, because she is a pioneer of this music and made some of its greatest albums.

Eric Hobsbawm Documentary

A new documentary on the life and legacy of the great historian Eric Hobsbawm, The Consolations of History, has been released by the magazine London Review id Books,

Hobsbawm wrote many articles for the magazine as the documentary touches upon but the film’s strength is its focus on his scholarship, the political scope of his work, and the political activism that he was involved in throughout his life.

Hobsbawm was not a neutral observer, a Marxist whose views of history and politics were informed by the class struggle.

I found the story of his childhood to be very interesting. He was a citizen of the world from the beginning of his life.

Also, listening to Hobsbawm speaking in Italian, fluently, was disarming and wonderful.

His four books on world history which cover the time period from the French Revolution through the 20th century are absolutely essential, The depth of analysis and the high quality if the writing are extraordinary.

This documentary provides an insightful and fascinating look at Hobsbawn’s personal, professional, and political life.

Highly recommended.

Exterminate All the Brutes

Raoul Peck;s latest film, Exterminate All the Brutes, is a four-part documentary on HBO. Peck challenges the long accepted establishment narratives of history and its white mythologies,

His two previous films, The Young Karl Marx and I Am Not Your Negro, are great works,

I was deeply moved by both but even more so by I Am Not Your Negro which is a documentary about James Baldwin and the black freedom struggle in the United States which he lived and wrote so brilliantly about.

I highly recommend both films.

I am really looking forward to Raoul Peck’s new work which will undoubtedly be highly illuminating and unforgettable. .

Maradona Documentary

Here’s the trailer for the Diego Maradona documentary.

A life lived fully with lots of ups and downs, moments of footballing glory and scandals.

A phenomenal football player, currently a manager, an extraordinary life still unfolding, a man who still holds the attention of the world. 

Latin History for Morons

At Eternity’s Gate

Messi Documentary