Hip Hop and Revolution? A Critical Balance Sheet w/Jared Ball
Within Our Gates
For this episode of Within Our Gates I am joined by my comrade Jared Ball to do a long awaited talk on Hip Hop and its politics. We dig into some significant, yet under known projects that looked to deepen Hip hop's connection to the broader movement of Black revolutionary history such as the Black August Hip Hop project, and what this period history uncovered about the issues of the artist/celebrity in liberal capitalist culture in the context of wedding them with political movements. We dig into a rather unseen documentary on the project as well as some other sources. Its a dope episode and...
info_outline
The Spook Who Sat By The Door w/Adam Thomas
Within Our Gates
Peace Comrades! This episode is actually one I recorded October of last year, but was only exclusive on my Patreon, but it was too good of an episode and too important in terms of topic to NOT release to you all. So here it goes. I am joined once again by my friend Adam Thomas to talk about the then recent rerelease of The Spook Who Sat by Door, and how this film has a shaky reputation with the Black professional managerial class. We also dig into how Spook got made, the differences between the film and the book, how it existed in its time and even do some side convos on how cold war logic for...
info_outline
Report From the Battlefront. Third Cinema in a Second Cinema World.
Within Our Gates
Peace Everyone. Im back with another solo episode talking about the world premiere of my feature length film The Hand that Feeds, and my thoughts around the current state of independent cinema. I wrestle with the contradictions of Second Cinema and how under its heavy hand a truly radical cinema can never materialize. I also speak on what I believe is the need for a Revolutionary Arts International, and address some (unprincipled) criticism thrown my way. Looking forward to hearing comments on this one! To get a jump on the shows a few days early, bonus video episodes every month, deeper dives...
info_outline
Listener Questions Answered! A Special Within Our Gates Episode!
Within Our Gates
Peace Folks. For this episode I am doing something a bit different. I decided to solicit questions from my listeners and answer them! And boy did I get some fantastic questions and hopefully the answers I give are up to snuff. I tackle things from the Hollywood response to the genocide in Gaza, my opinion of Fourth Cinema, how art fits into the Marxist concept of the superstructure, the work of David Lynch and some other things. This is something Ill be looking to do at least a few times a year. I hope you all enjoy! Shout out to the Patrons who sent in these (great) questions! To get a jump...
info_outline
Entertainments Imperial Training Grounds w/ Samantha Youssef
Within Our Gates
Joining me on Within Our Gates is Animator and Scholar to to talk about the entertainment industry and how it uses often initially well meaning artists to uphold Hollywood's imperial messaging system. Samantha and I take a deep and personal dive into our experiences in the training grounds of arts/entertainment, we compare and contrast our similarities and differences but ultimately come to conclusions that all the methods point in the same pernicious direction. Its a great talk and look forward to more with Samantha on these topics. Here are some things to check out that feature Samantha...
info_outline
Mississippi Masala and the Cross Cultural Conundrum w/ Sudip Bhattacharya
Within Our Gates
Joining me for this episode is writer and political theorist as we dig into Mira Nair's cult favorite film Mississippi Masala. We dig into its attempt to have commentary on the conundrums of cross cultural exchange and how the film fits into the trajectory of liberal diversity projects in American Cinema during the early 90's. We also fit this into work Sudip has done on the topic of culture from a socialist/Marxist perspective in order to deepen our convo on what was/is missing then and now in works like Masala and others. We also have some great digressions talking about Domenico Losurdo's...
info_outline
Within Our Gates - Capitalism, Tech and the Artists Tools w/ Dwayne Monroe
Within Our Gates
How are the arts in the vaunted "age of tech" affected? And how do we study these effects with a materialist approach? To answer these questions I have with me Dwayne Monroe who is a technologist with decades of experience in the US and Europe. He intimately knows how technologies the media describes as ethereal really work, where they come from, and how they are used in the multinational corporations and governments dominating our lives. He applies what he calls a Noir Marxist lens (stylistically informed by the work of Raymond Chandler, analytically informed by Marxian materialism) to...
info_outline
Decoding the False Notions of Black Hollywood w/ Chad Murdock
Within Our Gates
Is it Black Cinema or Black Hollywood? To me this is an essential question and for this reason I had to bring on Filmmaker Chad Murdock to talk about with me. We dig into a piece that Chad written called where he does a material analysis on images that are routinely dispersed currently throughout popular Black movies. We also speak about his recently released film, , and dig into the origins of Chad's development as an artist, his politicization and how thats informed his mode of production. We go a lot of angles, dig into a lotta artists from Ousmane Sembene to Yukio Mishima. Its rich and...
info_outline
Antifascism and the Avant-Garde: Radical Documentary in the 1960s w/ Julia Alekseyeva
Within Our Gates
This week I'm joined by to talk their book published by University of California Press. Julia is an Assistant Professor of English and Cinema & Media Studies at the University of Pennsylvania as well an artist and activist. We have a fantastic conversation about the book which covers the leftist filmmakers of Japan and France who helped revolutionize the documentary form (and cinema overall) and what does this period of radical practice inform us about cinema, and the politics of art both in form and content more broadly. Its a rich conversation that has many angles, I think you will all...
info_outline
70's Class Struggle: Analyzing Paul Schrader's Blue Collar w/ Jared Ball and Jared Ware
Within Our Gates
Peace Comrades! For this episode I am joined by two great guests who I plan to have here regularly to discuss Paul Schrader's 1978 film, Blue Collar starring Richard Pryor, Yaphet Kotto and Harvey Keitel. Jared Ball is a professor of communication studies and Africana / Black Studies at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Ball is also host of the podcast and a co-founder of Jared Ware is the co-host of the anti-imperialist podcast , and also the host their . We take a deep dive into Schraders film, with a strong emphasis of the history that lies within the film,...
info_outlinePeace Comrades!
This episode is actually one I recorded October of last year, but was only exclusive on my Patreon, but it was too good of an episode and too important in terms of topic to NOT release to you all. So here it goes. I am joined once again by my friend Adam Thomas to talk about the then recent rerelease of The Spook Who Sat by Door, and how this film has a shaky reputation with the Black professional managerial class. We also dig into how Spook got made, the differences between the film and the book, how it existed in its time and even do some side convos on how cold war logic for Gen X audiences effect how the film is remembered.
Hope you all enjoy!
To get a jump on the shows a few days early, bonus video episodes every month, deeper dives into text and works with revolutionary content and political art study groups check out Mtume's Patreon and become a subscriber!
Additionally, check out my new colaboration The Imperial 80's, a series I co-hosted with Jared Ware of Millenials are Killing Capitalism. We take a dive into the wild world of 80's Hollywood and uncover what it has to say about this imperial project called The United States. You can find us on Patreon and make sure to follow the channel if you want to catch the livestreams
Tumes