198 posts tagged with History.
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Podcast: Today, Explained: Pennies don’t make cents
Pennies cost more than a cent to make — and no one spends them. The New York Times Magazine's Caity Weaver explains why we can't get rid of them. [more inside]
Book: The Enigma Girls by Candace Fleming
This engaging book by Candance Fleming advances the argument that teenage and young women were the backbone of British clandestine operations during WWII. Using pictures and first person accounts, Fleming draws the reader into an understanding of the whole picture of the operations through individuals’ experiences. The book also includes fascinating chapters on how to break codes. For readers of mystery and thrillers, this real life thriller may hit the spot.
Movie: Missing
[TRAILER] In 1973, U.S. businessman Ed Horman (Jack Lemmon) arrives in Chile to look for his son, Charles (John Shea), a politically left-leaning journalist who disappeared during a military coup. Charles' wife, Beth (Sissy Spacek), has been looking for some time, but her requests for help from the U.S. consulate have thus far produced few results. As Ed and Beth try to figure out what really happened to Charles, Ed realizes that the American officials may know more than they're telling. [more inside]
Movie: Topsy-Turvy
[TRAILER] After their production "Princess Ida" meets with less-than-stunning reviews, the relationship between Gilbert and Sullivan (Jim Broadbent and Allan Corduner) is strained to breaking. Their friends and associates attempt to get the two to work together again, which opens the way to "The Mikado," one of the duo's greatest successes. [more inside]
Movie: Macbeth
[TRAILER] Macbeth (Orson Welles), a medieval Scottish general, is told by three witches he will rise to be king. After learning the prophecy, he's pressured by his ambitious wife, Lady Macbeth (Jeanette Nolan), to murder King Duncan (Erskine Sanford) and seize the throne. [more inside]
Movie: Russian Ark
[TRAILER] A ghost and a French marquis wander through the Winter Palace in St Petersburg, encountering scenes from many different periods of its history, as three centuries of Russian history are condensed into a single, uninterrupted, 87-minute take. [more inside]
Movie: Grand Illusion
[TRAILER] A group of French soldiers, including the patrician Captain de Boeldieu (Pierre Fresnay) and the working-class Lieutenant Maréchal (Jean Gabin), grapple with their own class differences after being captured and held in a World War I German prison camp. When the men are transferred to a high-security fortress, they must concoct a plan to escape beneath the watchful eye of aristocratic German officer von Rauffenstein (Erich von Stroheim), who has formed an unexpected bond with de Boeldieu. [more inside]
Movie: Hotel Rwanda
[TRAILER] Hutu Paul Rusesabagina (Don Cheadle) manages the Hôtel des Mille Collines and lives a happy life with his Tutsi wife and their three children, but when Hutu military forces initiate a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Tutsi minority, Paul is compelled to allow refugees to take shelter in his hotel. As the U.N. pulls out, Paul must struggle alone to protect the Tutsi refugees in the face of the escalating violence later known as the Rwandan genocide. [more inside]
Book: Unruly: The Ridiculous History of England's Kings and Queens
A tale of power, glory, and gore from Arthur to Elizabeth 1
by David Mitchell [more inside]
Book: Anne Frank's Diary: The Graphic Adaptation
A timeless story rediscovered by each new generation, The Diary of a Young Girl stands without peer. This graphic edition remains faithful to the original, while the stunning illustrations interpret and add layers of visual meaning and immediacy to this classic work of Holocaust literature. [more inside]
Movie: Summerland
[TRAILER] Reclusive and irritable writer Alice Lamb (Gemma Atherton) finds her life disrupted by the arrival of evacuee Frank, a London schoolboy who slowly breaks through her reserve as World War II rages across the channel. [more inside]
Movie: The Celluloid Closet
"This documentary highlights the historical contexts that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals have occupied in cinema history, and shows the evolution of the entertainment industry's role in shaping perceptions of LGBT figures." Viewable in the US for free on Tubi. Includes a lot of film clips ranging from the earliest US films to the mid 1990s (one is a deleted scene from "Spartacus"!) and interviews with a bunch of writers, directors, actors, and producers.
Movie: The Legend & Butterfly
Trailer. A romantic biopic centering on Oda Nobunaga (Takuya Kimura) and his wife Nohime (Haruka Ayase) spanning 30 years of the Sengoku period. Traces Nobunaga's rise to power and struggle to unify Japan viewed through the lens of a tumultuous relationship. Toei Company's 70th Anniversary film. Streaming on Amazon Prime. [more inside]
Movie: Ponniyin Selvan: Part II
[TRAILER] 968 AD. The Pandyan assassins gather once again to destroy the Chola dynasty. Now the mighty Chola princes must fight the Pandyas, the Rashtrakutas and other Chola enemies who have joined forces. Also, at play are the rumours of Ponniyin Selvan’s death at sea, the powerful Pazhuvettarayar’s betrayal, and the tragic destiny of Aditha Karikalan, whose heart was long lost to the vengeful Nandini. [more inside]
Movie: Ponniyin Selvan: Part I
[TRAILER] Vandiyathevan crosses the Chola land to deliver a message from the Crown Prince Aditha Karikalan, while Kundavai attempts to establish political peace as vassals and petty chieftains plot against the throne. [more inside]
Movie: Cliff Walkers
[TRAILER] In the puppet state of Manchukuo in the 1930s, four Communist party special agents, after returning to China, embark on a secret mission. Sold out by a traitor, the team find themselves surrounded by threats on all sides. [more inside]
Movie: Ip Man 4: The Finale
[TRAILER] Following the death of his wife, Ip Man travels to San Francisco to ease tensions between the local kung fu masters and his star student, Bruce Lee, while searching for a better future for his son. [more inside]
Movie: Sardar Udham
[TRAILER] A biopic detailing the two decades that Punjabi Sikh revolutionary, Udham Singh, spent planning the assassination of the man responsible for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. [more inside]
Movie: The Man Standing Next
[TRAILER] In the 1970s, Korea is under the absolute control of President Park, who controls the KCIA, the organization with the edge over any branch of government. [more inside]
Movie: Kursk
[TRAILER] Barents Sea, August 12th, 2000. During a Russian naval exercise, and after suffering a serious accident, the K-141 Kursk submarine sinks with 118 crew members on board. While the few sailors who are still alive barely manage to survive, their families push for accurate information and a British officer struggles to obtain from the Russian government a permit to attempt a rescue before it is late. But general incompetence are against all their efforts. (aka The Command.) [more inside]
Movie: Little Richard: I Am Everything
[TRAILER] The story of the Black queer origins of rock n' roll. It explodes the whitewashed canon of American pop music to reveal the innovator - the originator - Richard Penniman. Through a wealth of archive and performance that brings us into Richard's complicated inner world, the film unspools the icon's life story with all its switchbacks and contradictions. [more inside]
Movie: Marie Antoinette
The retelling of France's iconic but ill-fated queen, Marie Antoinette. From her betrothal and marriage to Louis XVI at 14 to her reign as queen at 19 and to the end of her reign as queen, and ultimately the fall of Versailles. [more inside]
Movie: American Pop
[TRAILER] The history of American popular music runs parallel with the history of a Russian Jewish immigrant family, with each male descendant possessing different musical abilities. [more inside]
Movie: The Day After Trinity
This Oscar-nominated documentary interviews the men and women who were at Los Alamos during work on the first atomic bomb. Includes the secrecy, lab alcohol-fueled social scene ("their average age was 29"), footage of the bomb, the tense final preparations in a lightning storm, scientists talking about the pride, horror and/or regret they felt in both 1945 and 1981, and more. At Criterion Channel and free on YouTube. [more inside]
Book: Alexandra Petri's US History
[Some] people look at our history textbooks and say, "Oh no! We have only one president's weird sex letters, and that president is Warren G. Harding! We need a book that fixes that! This is that book. [more inside]
Movie: Munich
After the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre, the Israeli government secretly assigns Avner Kaufman (Eric Bana) to carry out a series of strategic retaliations. With the help of a driver (Daniel Craig), a forger (Hanns Zischler), a bomb-maker (Mathieu Kassovitz) and a former soldier (Ciarán Hinds), Avner conducts a worldwide operation, targeting 11 individuals. As the assassinations pile up, Avner begins to doubt the morality of his actions. [more inside]
Cunk on Earth: The Beginnings Season 1, Ep 1
Philomena Cunk's epic 5-part essay on civilization, tracing humanity's journey from prehistory to the present day. [more inside]
Movie: Amistad
In 1839, the slave ship Amistad set sail from Cuba to America. During the long trip, Cinque (Djimon Hounsou) leads the slaves in an unprecedented uprising. They are then held prisoner in Connecticut, and their release becomes the subject of heated debate. Freed slave Theodore Joadson (Morgan Freeman) wants Cinque and the others exonerated and recruits property lawyer Roger Baldwin (Matthew McConaughey) to help his case. Eventually, John Quincy Adams (Anthony Hopkins) also becomes an ally. [more inside]
Movie: Young Mr. Lincoln
In this dramatized account of his early law career in Illinois, Abraham Lincoln (Henry Fonda) is born into a modest log cabin, where he is encouraged by his first love, Ann Rutledge (Pauline Moore), to pursue law. Following her tragic death, Lincoln establishes a law practice in Springfield, where he meets a young Mary Todd (Marjorie Weaver). Lincoln's law skills are put to the test when he takes on the difficult task of defending two brothers who have been accused of murder. [more inside]
Movie: Out of Africa
[TRAILER] Initially set on being a dairy farmer, the aristocratic Karen Blixen (Meryl Streep) travels to Africa to join her husband, Bror (Klaus Maria Brandauer), who instead spends their money on a coffee plantation. After discovering Bror is unfaithful, Karen develops feelings for hunter Denys (Robert Redford), but realizes he prefers a simplistic lifestyle compared to her upper class background. The two continue on until a series of events force Karen to choose between her love and personal growth. [more inside]
Movie: Gandhi
[TRAILER] In the early years of the 20th century, Mohandas K. Gandhi (Ben Kingsley), a British-trained lawyer, forsakes all worldly possessions to take up the cause of Indian independence. Faced with armed resistance from the British government, Gandhi adopts a policy of "passive resistance," endeavoring to win freedom for his people without resorting to bloodshed. [more inside]
Movie: Mrs. Miniver
[TRAILER] English middle-class family, The Minivers, experience life in the first months of World War II. [more inside]
Movie: The Last Emperor
[TRAILER] A dramatic history of Pu Yi, the last of the Emperors of China, from his lofty birth and brief reign in the Forbidden City, the object of worship by half a billion people; through his abdication, his decline and dissolute lifestyle; his exploitation by the invading Japanese, and finally to his obscure existence as just another peasant worker in the People's Republic. [more inside]
Movie: American Traitor: The Trial of Axis Sally
The true story of American woman Mildred Gillars (Meadow Williams), dubbed "Axis Sally" for broadcasting Nazi propaganda to American troops, and her trial for treason against the United States after the war. Al Pacino plays her lawyer. [more inside]
Movie: Silence
Two 17th-century Portuguese missionaries, Father Sebastian Rodrigues (Andrew Garfield) and Father Francisco Garupe (Adam Driver), embark on a perilous journey to Japan to find their missing mentor (Liam Neeson). While there, the two men minister to the Christian villagers who worship in secret. If caught by feudal lords or ruling samurai, they must renounce their faith or face a prolonged and agonizing death.t. [more inside]
Movie: Gangs of New York
Amsterdam Vallon (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a young Irish immigrant released from prison. He returns to the Five Points seeking revenge against his father's killer, William Cutting (Daniel Day-Lewis), a powerful anti-immigrant gang leader. He knows that revenge can only be attained by infiltrating Cutting's inner circle. Amsterdam's journey becomes a fight for personal survival and to find a place for the Irish people in 1860's New York. [more inside]
Book: "You Are Not Expected to Understand This"
"You Are Not Expected to Understand This": How 26 Lines of Code Changed the World.
By Torie Bosch (Editor), Kelly Chudler (Illustrator)
Few of us give much thought to computer code or how it comes to be. The very word “code” makes it sound immutable or even inevitable. “You Are Not Expected to Understand This” demonstrates that, far from being preordained, computer code is the result of very human decisions, ones we all live with when we use social media, take photos, drive our cars, and engage in a host of other activities. [more inside]
Movie: United 93
[TRAILER] A real-time account of the events on United Flight 93, one of the planes hijacked on 9/11 that crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania when passengers foiled the terrorist plot. [more inside]
Movie: The Found Footage Phenomenon
The Found Footage Phenomenon is an independent documentary charting the origins of the found footage sub-genre, tracking it through to the technique's current form, and asking what the future is. [more inside]
Movie: The Lost King
An amateur historian defies the academic establishment in her efforts to find King Richard III's remains, which were lost for over 500 years. [more inside]
Movie: The Woman King
The story of the Agojie, the all-female unit of warriors who protected the African Kingdom of Dahomey in the 1800s with skills and a fierceness unlike anything the world has ever seen, and General Nanisca (Viola Davis) as she trains the next generation of recruits and readies them for battle against an enemy determined to destroy their way of life. [more inside]
Book: Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and ...
"How did a libertine who lacks even the most basic knowledge of the Christian faith win 81 percent of the white evangelical vote in 2016? And why have white evangelicals become a presidential reprobate’s staunchest supporters? These are among the questions acclaimed historian Kristin Kobes Du Mez asks in Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation, which delves beyond facile headlines to explain how white evangelicals have brought us to our fractured political moment." [more inside]
Book: The Southernization of America
A series of essays by two noted left of center personalities in the South (Frye Gaillard and Cynthia Tucker) that looks at what went wrong in the US, and how we got to a place in the county where 40% of the electorate are flat out racists. [more inside]
Movie: Resistance
The true story of mime Marcel Marceau (Jesse Eisenberg) as he works with the French Resistance to save the lives of ten thousand orphans during World War II. This movie was tied as the number one box office film of the week of its release. Alas, that week was April, 2020 and that box office tally was $2,490. [more inside]
Servant of the People: Season 1 Season 1, Ep 1
A Ukrainian history teacher's rant about politics makes it to YouTube, which leads to him running for president of the country and winning. Now on YouTube and Netflix. [more inside]
Book: Warriors Don't Cry
Warriors Don't Cry: The Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High by Melba Pattillo Beals:
What Melba endured as a high school junior integrating Central High in 1957 can only be described as open warfare on African-Americans. The internal strength she exhibited, to get up and go to school every day, is something I can't even imagine. I didn't enjoy reading about this shameful time in US history, but I'm very glad I read the book. It should be required reading in every high school in America, because we clearly have not evolved past this as a society yet.
The Porter: Rotten Tomatoes Season 1, Ep 1
Train porters Junior Massey and Zeke Garret take action after a tragedy on the job. [more inside]
Book: The Lost Apothecary
This book was my prize from the white elephant book exchange at a Christmastime book club meeting. The story bounces back and forth between early 1800s London, where the secret apothecary exists to help women rid themselves of abusive or cheating husbands, and modern day London, where 30-something Caroline is rediscovering her love of history on a solo 10th anniversary trip that her husband missed because he was cheating on her. It's a really fun and well paced suspense story that will keep you interested until the last page as the historical story unravels while Caroline closes in on understanding what happened, 200 years later.
It's also a story of a woman reconnecting with the things that bring passion to her life, while coming to terms with her decision to junk it all 10 years ago to get married.
Book: WE HEREBY REFUSE: Japanese American Resistance to Wartime Incarceration
We Hereby Refuse captures not only the wave of uncertainty that swept through the Japanese American incarceration camps during the second World War under Executive Order 9066, but also the remarkable surge of defiance that proliferated in response. [more inside]
Movie: Samurai Rebellion
The mother of a feudal lord's only heir is kidnapped away from her husband by the lord. The husband and his samurai father must decide whether to accept the unjust decision, or risk death to get her back. [more inside]