Tag Archives: Film

31 May 2023Best Books & Fabulous FilmsChinonye Chukwu, Civil Rights, Civil Rights Movement, Emmett Till, Film, History, Leuphana, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg, Leuphana University Lüneburg, lynchings, Movie, United StatesJanina Malena Sähn

From the Lifeless Pages of History Books to the Big Screen: Chinonye Chukwu’s Till (2022)

By Sabrina Völz

“The lynching of my son has shown me that what happens to any of us

anywhere in the world had better be the business of us all.”

Mamie Till-Bradley in Till

The name Till is one that most Americans and many people around the world will recognize from their civil rights history lessons. In 1955, while visiting family, Emmett Till, a 14-year-old boy from Chicago, was brutally beaten and murdered for allegedly flirting with and whistling at a married white woman near Money, Mississippi. His bloated body was later found in the Tallahatchie River.

I must admit that when I first heard about the film Till, it immediately sparked my curiosity. Yes, I thought. The heinous crime that caused a media frenzy and galvanized the civil rights movement needs to be brought to new generations. But wait. We live in an age of trigger warnings (statements that alert readers or viewers to potentially disturbing content) and audiences with a heightened sensitivity to violence. So how can film director Chinonye Chukwu draw viewers to movie theaters and simultaneously do justice to the brutality of that crime?

It also intrigued me that Chukwu placed Emmett Till’s mother, Mamie Till-Bradley, in the film’s center. If she’s mentioned at all in American history textbooks, it’s mainly to recognize the role she played in the decision to show the world what Southern hatred looked like. She was the driving force to ensure an open casket at Emmett Till’s funeral. So what does the film reveal that most history books do not?

24 May 2023Access AmericaAvatar, Climate Change, Environment, Film, Filmmaking, green shooting pass, James Cameron, Leuphana, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg, Leuphana University Lüneburg, Lord of the Rings, Movies, Sustainability, The Rings of PowerJanina Malena Sähn

The Environmental Impact of Filmmaking

By Jannik Schümann

Two things you should know about me that at first glance might have nothing in common: First, I love to watch movies and series – to dive into other worlds, to escape from reality, and just to have a good time. For me, there’s nothing better than going to the movies or lying on the couch on a rainy Sunday, watching a good movie, or binging a series. I even play a pivotal role in their creation as I work as an actor myself. Second, I consciously try to live sustainably because what we consume or do has a direct impact on the world’s ecosystems. I don’t eat meat, I don’t drive a car; instead, I use my bike or public transport. And I pay attention to labels to support companies dedicated to sustainable production and fair wages for laborers.

Photo credit: Dominic Wunderlich

Two years ago, when I first read about the environmental impact of filmmaking in The Guardian, I was shocked. I hadn’t realized that my love for movies and for my job could seriously conflict with my dedication to the environment. Because the truth is: Blockbuster films with budgets of over $70 million produce an average of 2,840 tons of CO2 per production. That is equivalent to 11 one-way trips from the earth to the moon!

16 November 2022Access AmericaAmerica First, Breckinridge Long, Film, Fort Ontario Emergency Refugee Shelter, Henry Gibbins, Holocaust, Jewish refugees, Leuphana, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg, Leuphana University Lüneburg, Liberty Ship, NY, Oswego, Reflection, Theater, World War IIJanina Malena Sähn

America and the Holocaust

By Michael Lederer

Beyond a severely limited immigration quota kept to a bare minimum, fewer than a thousand Jewish refugees from Europe were admitted into the U.S. during World War II. In August 1944, they were brought on a single U.S. Liberty ship, then interned behind barbed wire on an old U.S. Army camp upstate New York until after the war had ended. That small lucky group included my father Ivo, his sister Mira, and their parents Otto and Ruza.

Photo Credit: Michael Lederer: Otto, Mira, Ruza, and Ivo Lederer in Oswego, New York, 1945.

30 March 2022Best Books & Fabulous FilmsAdaptation, Billy Porter, Camila Cabello, Cinderella, Critcism, Diversity, Fairy God Person, Fairy Tale, Feminism, Film, Idina Menzel, Movie, Nicholas Galitzine, Queer, Stereotypes, Tallulah GreiveHenrike Kattoll

The ‘Woke’ Cinderella Recipe: A Dash of Queerness, a Pinch of Feminism, and a Sprinkling of Fairy Dust

By Veronika Heinrich

Once upon a time, there was a young woman named Cinderella (Camila Cabello). In the 2021 film, she loves to design dresses and wants to make a business out of it. When the prince (‎Nicholas Galitzine) announces a ball, her stepmother Vivian (Idina Menzel), wanting to protect her from the patriarchal world outside, destroys Cinderella’s dress to keep her from potentially marrying a man she’d just met. The prince, however, is in love with his best friend (Jenet Le Lacheur) but can’t really admit it – not even to himself. Also, he’s not qualified to rule the kingdom. The patriarchy, however, wants him to become king and will never agree to his smart sister (Tallulah Greive) becoming queen.

When Cinderella’s fairy god person (Billy Porter) arrives, they not only turn one of her designs into reality, but they also throw a party at Cinderella’s place. When the prince and his best friend arrive, the presence of the fairy god person gives them the strength to admit their feelings for each other. The prince’s sister becomes heir to the throne, and Cinderella finds a queen with whom to travel around the world and sell her designs. And they all live happily ever after.

Only that’s not what happens.