Author Archives: fesmontemaggi

Joe Rogan & Dr Robert Malone. Conspiratorial Storytelling.

Posted on 03/02/2022 by fesmontemaggi

Rogan and Malone play the heroes persecuted by the evil authoritarian State, bought by Big Pharma and Tech. In this conspiratorial tale there are heroes and villains. The only thing missing is the truth. Critical Thinking, What Critical Thinking? Rogan … Continue reading →

Posted in America, autonomy, capitalism, consciousness, conspiracy theories, freedom, good & evil, individualism, institutions, knowledge/epistemology, reality, Truth | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Dogman: Manhood and Belonging

Posted on 26/02/2019 by fesmontemaggi

Far from the aestheticising mania of much contemporary film-making, Garrone’s film-making feels neo-expressionist. He captures what is underneath: the chagrin of the characters, the social desolation, and the violence. Continue reading →

Posted in Dogman, expressionism, gender, good & evil, innocence, italy, loyalty, masculinity, morality, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Post: Nixon-Trump, Bullshit, and the Forgotten Woman

Posted on 19/02/2019 by fesmontemaggi

The flawed comparison of Nixon with Trump is pursued through a trite investigative structure, which leaves a much more interesting story unexplored: the story of a woman who takes ownership of her own self. There are times when the story-teller … Continue reading →

Posted in America, consciousness, democracy, disenchantment, emotions, entertainment, epistemology of suspicion, gender, journalism, knowledge/epistemology, Paul Ricoeur, personhood, politics, postmodernism, reality, Sixties Counterculture, The Big Short, The Post, Truth, Uncategorized, Vice, Vietnam War | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Vice. Trumpesque Hollywood for a Disenchanted Era

Posted on 23/01/2019 by fesmontemaggi

Vice is a missed opportunity. A more coherent, subtle, and ironical effort could have presented Dick Cheney as a key actor in ushering in the descent into the current paranoia, conspiracy theories, and anti-establishment populism. Dick Cheney was Secretary of … Continue reading →

Posted in America, belief, democracy, disenchantment, Hyperreality, identity politics, knowledge/epistemology, morality, politics, postmodernism, power, Sixties Counterculture, society, Truth, Vice | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Roman J. Israel Esq.: Denzel Washington and Identity Politics

Posted on 10/12/2018 by fesmontemaggi

The film Roman J. Israel Esq. is incredibly frustrating. It has a strong moral question at the core, but it is totally unable to communicate it in a credible way. It is the story of a socially awkward and idealistic … Continue reading →

Posted in 'othering', America, authenticity, consciousness, films, gender, identity politics, justice, politics, power, race, race/diversity, Roman J. Israel Esq. | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: Testing Goodness and the American Family

Posted on 31/10/2018 by fesmontemaggi

The Netflix series comes from the 1990s programme Sabrina The Teenage Witch. It is slightly tainted by Hollywood obsessive market segmentation which dictates specific styles and motifs to appeal to specific demographics; yet this Sabrina is really not for young … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, family, fantasy/supernatural, gender, good & evil, Halloween, horror, magic, morality, myth, religion, ritual, Sabrina, Satanism, TV, witchcraft | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Founder – a dark capitalist fairy-tale

Posted on 23/01/2018 by fesmontemaggi

The Founder tells the story of Ray Kroc, who turned a modest fast-food restaurant into McDonald’s by betraying the integrity, hard work, and perseverance. It espouses the American virtues of visionary entrepreneurship and self-made success while showing how success is … Continue reading →

Posted in America, American dream, authenticity, capitalism, finance/economics, food, Max Weber, morality, nation, Protestantism, The Founder | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The Spanish Apartment – The making of a European identity

Posted on 19/06/2016 by fesmontemaggi

There are hardly any films on European identity or even historical events from a European angle. The Spanish Apartment (L’auberge espagnole) is perhaps the only film about Europeans within the context of the EU. It is a commercial comedy, in which young … Continue reading →

Posted in European Union, nation, race/diversity, transnationalism/postnationalism, UK | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Golden Door – Migration and Europe

Posted on 16/06/2016 by fesmontemaggi

The Golden Door (Nuovomondo) is a beautiful film. It’s touching, but never sentimental. It is hard, but never gritty. It is the story of Sicilian migrants to the US at the turn of the 20th century. Back then, the US … Continue reading →

Posted in 'othering', America, democracy, European Union, journalism, migration, nation, postcolonialism, race/diversity, UK | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Olden Days – The Nation & the EU

Posted on 14/06/2016 by fesmontemaggi

Exchanging views with Brexiteers I could not help but notice a lack of sense of history. It is not a mere knowledge of history, which is certainly lacking, but an understanding that break-ups of geopolitical systems (be they an empire, … Continue reading →

Posted in 'othering', democracy, European Union, institutions, myth, nation, politics, power, romanticism, sovereignty, The Olden Days, UK | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment