Chasing Dragons

Where Can You Watch Movies For Free (and Legally) Online?

Openculture has the inside scoop of where to find movies on-line that are free to watch without any legal repercussions.

Along with links to individual films (some of which are geographically limited), they also provide a good list of on-line film depositories. 

So whether you're looking for something to do on a rainy summer day or merely killing time while traveling, there are myriad options across the range of the cinematic arts to enjoy on-line.

Photo credit: mag3737

Newcastle University Launches World Politics and Popular Culture MA Degree

I am pleased to announce that Politics at Newcastle University will be launching a new MA degree in World Politics and Popular Culture for the 2010-11 academic year. Here is the course description:

• World Politics and Popular Culture is a distinctive interdisciplinary degree programme that examines the changing dynamics of contemporary international relations in the context of the politics of the various forces shaping and shaped by popular culture. The programme focuses on key theories, policies, and events in world politics in relation to both traditional and new media. You will learn not only how to think critically about how world politics is reflected or reproduced in popular culture, but also how the politics of popular culture shape the dynamics of world politics...

The programme entails three core modules in Politics (World Politics and Popular Culture, Theories and Approaches to the Study of Politics, and a Dissertation in World Politics and Popular Culture) with 4 optional modules that can be taken from politics, cultural studies, media studies, and film.

Admission requirements are an undergraduate degree from an accredited university with at least a 2.i result--the rough equivalent in North American systems would be a B average.

Please note that 'other qualifications or relevant professional experience may also satisfy the entrance requirements. Applicants whose first language is not English require IELTS 6.5, TOEFL 575 (paper-based) or 233 (computer-based), or equivalent.'

Information on how to apply can be found here. There is no formal deadline--apart from the start of classes at the end of September--but if you are applying from overseas, securing a student visa can take several weeks depending on your circumstances.

If you'd like to talk to someone to find out more about the World Politics and Popular Culture MA, you can contact  Matt Davies, whose tremendous efforts and vision saw this through from design to implementation.

I'm also happy to field any inquiries that you may have about the programme or pursuing a MA in politics in the UK.

Disclaimer: If there are any differences between information provided here and that contained on official Newcastle University web-pages, the latter should be viewed as the authoritative source.

Collage and photo credit: DerrickT (work displayed under a Creative Commons attribution license)

Weekend Reading Roundup v. 54

This weekend in the reading roundup:

• 'Partners with Apartheid' by Sasha Polakow-Suransky at guernicamag.com

• 'Bangkok: The Future of Urban War' by Martin Coward at martincoward.net

• 'Darth Vader's Guide to Winning Your Political Campaign' at killercampaigning.com

• 'France's Pupils to View Cinema Classics in the Classroom' by Lizzy Davies at guardian.co.uk

• 'Why Middlesex Matters' by Jon Protevi at timeshigher.co.uk (or why it is an unwise decision to close the highly regarded philosophy department at Middlesex University)

• And last but not least, 'The Coalition: Our Programme for Government' (see paragraph 1, p. 35 for the true priority) available here

Enjoy your weekend!

Photo credit: kevindooley

Weekend Reading Roundup v. 42

This weekend in the reading roundup:

• 'Israel Reveals New Drone Fleet That Can Reach Iran' at nytimes.com

• 'Explaining Broadly Understood' by Patrick Thaddeus Jackson at duckof minerva [or why mainstreamers in the discipline of international relations struggle with the concept (popular) culture]

• 'Lethal T-Square: Architecture, Violence, Renewal' by Keith Eggener at designobserver.com

• 'Death Wears Aqua Green' by Pete Brook at the always amazing  prisonphotography

Have a good weekend!

Photo credit: junhopark

Weekend Reading Roundup v. 37

This weekend in the reading roundup:

• 'Dudeism, the faith that abides in the Big Lebowski' by Ben Walters via guardian.co.uk

• 'Taki183 Interview' by Roger Gastman at ilovegraffiti.de (Taki183 was one of the progenitors of the emerging graffiti scene in New York during the early 1970s).

• Excellent discussions of media representations of the Haitian disaster, the role of photojournalism, and the political implications of both from bagnewsnotes, (notes on) politics, theory & photography, and duckrabbit.info

• 'Cricket Team Snub Reeks of Politics to Pakistanis' by Lydia Polgreen and Hari Kumar via nytimes.com

Have a good weekend!

Photo credit: Adam_Baker

Weekend Reading Roundup v. 36

This weekend in the reading roundup:

• '100 things we didn't know last year' from Magazine Monitor at the bbc.co.uk

• 'The Power Gap: An Everyday Index of Power in Britain' from demos.co.uk

• 'We "just don't like them" is adequate reason to dismiss advisors claims shadow science minister' by Zoe Corbyn at the timeshighereducation.co.uk

• 'Politics of Avatar: Conservatives Attack Film's Political Message' by Huma Khan from abcnews.com

Have a good weekend!

Photo credit: alexindigo

Weekend Reading Roundup v. 32

This weekend in the reading roundup:

• 'TV clips reveal racist body language, study finds' from thestar.com

• From the best and brightest minds indeed file via westendextra.com

• Opium still the lynch pin of the capitalist system from guardian.com

• 'The Phenomenon, Politics, and Art of "Avatar"' by James Pinkerton via foxnews.com (just in case you were looking for more reasons not to suffer through another James Cameron production)

Have a good weekend!

Photo credit: Laszlo Nagy HU

Weekend Reading Roundup v. 31

This weekend in the reading roundup:

• 'In New Orleans, Chaos in the Streets, and in the Police Ranks Too' by A.C. Thompson, Brendan McCarthy, and Laura Maggi at ProPublica.org (thanks to Steve Silberman for the link!)

• 'Santorum: Conservatives Must Battle the "Toxic Tide" of Popular Culture More than Politics' at Lifesitenews.com

• 'Afghanistan: The Information is Not Beautiful' at informationisbeautiful.net

• '50 Documentaries of the Decade' at  inoneeye.co.uk

Have a good weekend!

Photo credit: NeoGaboX

Minimalist Film Posters

After all of the heaviness of yesterday's post, a palette cleanser is definitely in order.

So here is something a bit lighter: film posters re-imagined with a minimalist sensibility. Above is Star Wars.

And here is The Shining.

But, I think the most clever is for Pulp Fiction.

Anyhow, you can see more of these awesome designs here.

What's your favourite?

Image credits: Graphic Nothing

Geopolitics 101: Canadian Short Film Classic 'Neighbours'

Sometimes an artifact from popular culture can better sum up complex concepts than thousands of pages of reading. Such is the case with the 1952 classic short 'Neighbours', an Oscar award winner by Norman McLaren and funded by the National Film Board of Canada. (By the way, how cool is it that the NFB has put its archive on-line?) 

It's a simple story but that is probably why it is so effective in conveying the lunacy of violent conflict. At the same time, there are some rather orthodox representational practices being exhibited. The gendering of both militarized violence and of victimhood is quite apparent.

Similarly, it is interesting to note the additional make-up given to the central characters as things escalate. I'm not sure if this is meant to make them appear monstrous or if it is intended to portray their descent into violence as a retreat into the heart of darkness of the not-so-noble 'savage'? The former is fine, the later demonstrates a very problematic racial politics in that violence is represented as something normally confined to the (indigenous) Other.

Therefore, even in the simplicity of its presentation, Neighbours actually provides a very rich commentary--both explicit and implicit--on geopolitics, violence, gender, and race. 

A shout out to Jesse Brown for bringing this staple of Canadian television airtime filler back out from behind the shadows of cathode ray tubes past.