VIDEO ESSAY: “We Sleep: On the Enduring Propheticism of John Carpenter’s THEY LIVE”

Posted on March 23, 2017 by

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[UPDATE, 4/24/2017: So, wow: this video essay has gone supernova, thanks to Vimeo “Staff Pick”-ing it. As of today, The AV Club, Gizmodo, io9, Boing Boing, Films for Action, and Konbini have all done write-ups about it. Thanks to all!]

[UPDATE, 4/17/2017: I’m flabbergasted and humbled to report that Vimeo has named this video essay as one of their coveted “Staff Picks.” I really wanted more people to watch this one in particular — it’s as though they read my mind! But, in fact, they have honored this work in a way that far exceeds the wildest hopes I had for it. Thank you so much to Meghan Oretsky, the whole curation team at Vimeo, and the kind soul (or souls) who nominated the video essay!]

[UPDATE, 4/16/2017: I’m both very happy and grateful that Filmscalpel, which also offered a generous reflection about my “Spielberg and Surveillance” video essay, has written a lovely piece about this video essay. You can read it here. Thank you so much, Filmscalpel!]

Posted in Video Essays

VIDEO ESSAY: “Before Charlottesville: Ten Documentaries that Confront White Supremacy”

Posted on September 9, 2017 by
Posted in Video Essays

“DUNKIRK: Keep Calm and Carry On?”

Posted on August 25, 2017 by

I’ve got a new article, my first for Culture Matters, up now at their website. It’s my political reading of Christopher Nolan’s critically-acclaimed new film Dunkirk. In the piece, entitled “Dunkirk: Keep Calm and Carry On?”, I discuss the moral obligations of the artist, the World War II combat genre, and the potential for a “truly radical flowering” of progressive film culture.

You can read the whole thing here.

Posted in Writing

VIDEO ESSAY: “On Thom Andersen’s Pick for the ‘Most Remarkable’ Documentary of the ’00s”

Posted on August 14, 2017 by
Posted in Video Essays

“‘Just Wait’: On the 35th Anniversary of John Carpenter’s THE THING (1982)”

Posted on August 13, 2017 by

I’ve got a new article, my first for the genre magazine Diabolique, up now at their website. Entitled “‘Just Wait’: On the 35th Anniversary of John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982)”, it argues that the classic 1980s horror film is “the best exemplar of a hugely influential director’s gifts.”

You can read the whole thing here.

Posted in Writing

VIDEO ESSAY: “Towards an Anti-War Film Canon: Ten American Essentials”

Posted on May 3, 2017 by
Posted in Video Essays

VIDEO ESSAY: “The Dark Knight Resists”

Posted on April 7, 2017 by

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[UPDATE, 5/16/2017: I’m humbled by the rhapsodic write-up that this video essay just received from H. Perry Horton of Film School Rejects. He writes that “The Dark Knight Resists” is “the best, most poignant, most salient video essay I have seen thus far this year… Fisher has crafted a hauntingly captivating line of thought that will change the way you see these films, their director, and indeed the world surrounding you. There are things you should watch, and there are things you need to watch. Fisher’s video, without a doubt, belongs at the top of the latter category.” Horton is video content editor for FSR and its very popular Twitter feed @OnePerfectShot, where he also shared this video essay. In addition, he previously wrote a lovely reflection on another of my video essays, “Spielberg and Surveillance”. From the bottom of my hear: thank you, Perry.]

Posted in Video Essays

VIDEO ESSAY: “Spielberg and Surveillance”

Posted on February 21, 2017 by

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[UPDATE, 3/16/2017: My cup runneth over! “Spielberg and Surveillance” just got another considerate write-up, this time from H. Perry Horton of Film School Rejects. Horton is video content editor for FSR and its very popular Twitter feed @OnePerfectShot, where he also shared the video essay. Thank you so much, sir!

[UPDATE, 3/13/2017: I’ve just now noticed that Christopher Campbell shared this video essay in his daily “Today in Movie Culture” post at Movies.com on February 21st. Check it out here. Thanks, Christopher!]

[UPDATE, 3/5/2017: Wow — now Filmscalpel has given this essay a lovely, substantial write-up of their own. You can read the post right here. Thanks, Filmscalpel!]

[UPDATE, 3/1/2017: I’m both delighted and grateful that No Film School has given my video essay an exceedingly thoughtful, incredibly generous write-up. Read author Max Winter’s post here. Much obliged, Max.]

Posted in Video Essays

“The Problem of Access: Weiner (2016) and the Limitations of the Fly-on-the-Wall Documentary”

Posted on February 10, 2017 by

I’ve got a new article, my first for Bright Lights Film Journal, at their website. It is entitled “The Problem of Access: Weiner (2016) and the Limitations of the Fly-on-the-Wall Documentary”. In it, I observe that “the response to Weiner shows us (yet again) that the greater the access to a subject, the more likely a documentary is to be lavishly praised…no matter how questionable its politics.”

You can read the whole thing here.

Posted in Writing

“Interview: Festival Programmer and Pure Nonfiction Host Thom Powers”

Posted on January 26, 2017 by

I’ve got an interview with Thom Powers over at Nonfics. Thom, who has been called a “kingmaker for documentaries” by the New York Times, is host of the podcast Pure Nonfiction, documentary programmer for the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), Artistic Director of both the Stranger Than Fiction screening series and the documentary film festival DOC NYC, co-founder of both the Cinema Eye Honors and the Garrett Scott Documentary Development Grant, curator of documentaries for Sundance Now, and the host of WNYC’s “Documentary of the Week” program.

Check out our conversation here.

Posted in Writing