Category Archives: class

Chef – Food, Class, and Salvation in America

Posted on 13/04/2015 by fesmontemaggi

Chef is an insipid comedy stuffed with movie stars but no bite. Carl Casper (Jon Favreau) is the head chef at a posh restaurant in California. He’s frustrated by the restaurant owner’s imposition of classical dishes, which stifles his creativity. … Continue reading →

Posted in America, authenticity, autonomy, capitalism, Chef, class, consumerism, family, food, freedom, individualism, morality, nation, personhood, Protestantism, religion, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Babadook – the ‘horror’ of parenting and social conventions

Posted on 11/12/2014 by fesmontemaggi

(This was first published on Wales Art Review, available here) More than a horror, Babadook is a tale of a woman’s sense of inadequacy before society’s conventions and expectations. Australian director, Jennifer Kent, reinterprets F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu (1922) to give … Continue reading →

Posted in Babadook, class, fairytales, family, fantasy/supernatural, good & evil, horror, reality, social conventions | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Iris – Class, Melodramatic Alzheimer & Not Murdoch

Posted on 29/06/2014 by fesmontemaggi

Iris is a formulaic and superficial melodrama supposedly on Iris Murdoch. Murdoch was an important philosopher and novelist who is here reduced to a little more than a spoilt brat. Kate Winslet as Murdoch is terrible, perhaps it is because of the … Continue reading →

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Candyman – Class, Race & Durkheimian Religion

Posted on 11/06/2014 by fesmontemaggi

Candyman is jolly good fun and great food for sociological thought. As ever, this is not a review, but a short analysis of the film from a sociological angle. Set in Chicago, the film tells the story of Helen (Virginia … Continue reading →

Posted in Candyman (1992), class, films, good & evil, horror, knowledge/epistemology, postcolonialism, race/diversity, reality, reason/rationality, religion | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

West Wing – The Male American Dream

Posted on 31/05/2014 by fesmontemaggi

West Wing made TV history notwithstanding its many weaknesses. It is still worth watching for C.J. and President Jed Bartlett, played by a very charismatic Martin Sheen. Sheen steals the show, which was supposed to be more about the staff … Continue reading →

Posted in class, democracy, gender, politics, race/diversity, religion, TV, West Wing | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment