Archive for the ‘Film Festival’ Category
Most people don’t regard a twenty year old as “Old school”. But when it comes to TOYS the kids today make us look positively ancient. Where ten years ago we might have a Furby these guys are knee deep in advanced electronics and super-interactive games.
For example, check out the clip above. It is a demo of “Looksley’s Line Up,” a game that’s scheduled to debut in the U.S. soon for Nintendo DSi. This game uses face tracking technology to provide a new ultra-real experience where the landscape moves according to your motions in holding and interacting with the game. …read more.
Are you prone to cases of the Mondays? If so, we’ve got the perfect remedy: song and dance!!!!
This week’s Film Festival’s inspiration came from that popular show called “Glee,” which made its return to TV last week.
So if the spirit moves you, aim for the high notes and bust a move — and see if you can’t get a classmate or co-worker to join you!
We’ve kicked it off with a video featuring the love-to-hate-her character from “Glee,” Sue Sylvester, doing a rendition of Madonna’s “Vogue.” And we dig it.
More wonderful music to follow…
PIXELS by Patrick Jean from ONE MORE PRODUCTION on Vimeo.
Do you ever get the feeling that the world is getting entirely TOO digital? Check out the great animation above that, unfortunately will affirm all your worst suspicions!!
This weekend featured the launch of the iPad. There are people breathlessly saying this new device is the future of reading…
But Wait! People have a pretty bad record when it comes to predicting the future. In fact, we’ve found a funny collection of clips that showcase a few of those goofy predictions.
The clip above comes from the 1930s and includes some wacky fashion predictions of the year 2000. Too bad we never saw their dreams of electric headlights to help women find honest men… or containers for coins, keys, or candy for cuties. (Say what!?)
The past decade has been full of environmental appeals asking us to recycle, make use of reusable containers and bags, and the degradation of the world around us. Some are clearly more effective than others, but this short film by Ramin Bahrani uses the narrative format to create something that’s fresh, strange, and interesting all at the same time. …read more.
It’s Monday, which means if you’re anything like the team at USDemocrazy, your brain already needs a break.
That’s why for this week’s film festival, we’ve selected some super cool and visually stimulating vids to give your head a break but your attention span engaged.
Just look intently at your computer screen and your parents/teachers/annoying friends will think that you’re doing some critical thinking and won’t bother you.
For every cause, there’s probably a protest song. (Example: USDemocrazy staffers are waiting for approval to release their protest song, “Please, Editor, Take a Shower.”)
Musicians are always looking for ways to help out in the ways they can… And since they usually have more appealing voices than, say, most U.S. Senators, their causes are able to get a lot of attention.
For this week’s Film Festival, we’ve compiled all sorts of protest songs for your inner rebel. Let us know in the comments what your favorite is!
Given the controversy that is war, we’ll kick off with a couple to do with just that:
That’s Donovan singing “Universal Soldier” – a song with compelling lyrics about who goes to war and what’s worth the fight, released in 1965.
Next up, there’s Pearl Jam with “World Wide Suicide” which was released in 2006 as a response to the war in Iraq and criticizes the U.S. government and the detriments of war in general:
Today, the Hip Hop movement has had a huge impact on worldwide youth culture.
But back in 1920s New York, another cultural phenomenon had a similarly large impact on our nation’s culture.
It was called the Harlem Renaissance and it was an exciting time of literary, artistic, musical, and cultural happenings. We have found some cool clips that show a few notable developments of that movement.
The clip above is extremely fun to watch and depicts the Lindy Hop dance craze. The clip comes from the 1941 film Hellzapoppin’.
A few venues in the region served as major cultural centers and helped artists like Billie Holiday, featured in the above clip with Louis Armstrong, find their way to a larger audience. …read more.
Mardi Gras is USDemocrazy’s favorite time of year! Right? Well, if you’re from New Orleans, this is probably one of the most memorable times of the year!
It all started with a bull’s head… or the Romans… actually, we really don’t know how the Mardi Gras that we celebrate today happened. But we’re sure glad it did!
Never heard of Mardi Gras? Well, you’re missing out. Check out the top video of Mardi Gras in 1956, and you can get an idea of the general craziness that goes on, including tons of costumes and parades, and everyone having a good time!
In fact, New Orleans has always had a lively musical culture, and has been known for more than just their win in the Superbowl this year… New Orleans is known for the birth of jazz, from such greats like Louis Armstrong and Wynton Marsalis.
So what could possibly change the greatest party in the world?
Only one of the greatest tragedies in U.S. history. …read more.
We at USDemocrazy are victims. Victims of the SNOWPOCALYPSE, that is.
If you live in the mid-Atlantic region, you know what we’re talking about. If you live in the northern mid-west, you’re probably thinking, “Um, OK.”
And since we are snowed in and absolutely bored out of our minds, we became unnaturally obsessed with snow stories and videos, which we’re sharing here. If you think it’s going to be boring, you’re clearly unfamiliar with how awesome blizzards are.
Snow can make people act crazy. But no one can act crazier than meteorologists, as evidenced by the video above, featuring a seemingly maniacal weatherman flipping out over the most recent mid-Atlantic blizzard. It’s awesome.
What’s also awesome is thundersnow. Haven’t heard of it? Well, the concept is simple: imagine a thunderstorm, subtract the rain, and add a whole lot of snow. And there you have it. They’re pretty rare, so meteorologists get worked up over thundersnow storms as well. For instance, Jim Cantore of the Weather Channel:
And Mr. Cantore isn’t the only one enraptured by this meteorological anomaly:
| The Colbert Report | Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
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By the standard of contemporary films like Avatar, some old fashioned Hollywood flicks can look completely laughable.
The only thing weirder and goofier than old Hollywood movies are old US GOVERNMENT movies.
Some of these movies may have been well-intentioned at the time but now some smack of awkward propaganda.
The film above is one of the most famous government-issued pieces of all time. “Duck and Cover” teaches children how to stay safe, even with the looming threat of a nuclear bomb. The concept seems a bit silly to us now, but was taken seriously to the point of duck-and-cover methods being practiced in schools.
Cartoons are supposed to be fun and lighthearted, but this animation depicts a disheveled Donald Duck learning the importance of his income taxes.
The Cold War Era of American history included a lot of anti-Communist sentiment. Lucky for us, the US government created this video so that we could learn how to easily identify a communist and get rid of the internal threat.
Veering a bit from the wartime track, the video above is an educational video by the US government on the effects of LSD, a popular drug in the 1960s. Wow, drug education has surely changed in the past fifty years!
These old government films and propaganda pieces may seem corny, but don’t think that similar tactics aren’t being tried today!
Have you seen anything on television or on the news that you think is propaganda? Do you find it to be an effective tool for the government to use to change attitudes? Leave us a comment and get the discussion started!
Here at US Democrazy, we watch the news A LOT. So the news correspondents that bring us our daily stories almost become our best buddies. Our buddies do not only share the news with us but sometimes SHAPE the news we see.
In the clip above, CNN’s Anderson Cooper stops his news reporting to help save a boy from a group of looters. The clip is somewhat graphic, yet it shows the chaos of the situation in Haiti without many words.
Anderson Cooper is not the only one reporting from dangerous parts of the world.
In the episode above, journalist Mariana van Zeller reports from Sri Lanka, on that country’s war on terror. One of the world’s most dangerous terrorist groups, the Tamil Tigers has caused chaos… but defeating them comes at a high cost.
This mini news documentary comes via Current TV’s Vanguard program.
Vanguard has also done interesting reports on contraband rings in US prisons, the prescription drug problems of South Florida, factory outsourcing, and the Somali pirates (just to name a few).
Have you ever viewed something during a typical news broadcast that made you think twice? Send us your thoughts and send us a link of anything you find interesting.
Here at USDemocrazy, we understand people who have strong political opinions. Combine strong political opinions with some strong vocal chords, the result is this week’s Film Festival: a celebration of the Top Presidential Hecklers!
Our first clip above features President Obama being interrupted by pro-life hecklers in Boston this week. (Fast forward to the 1:15 mark in the video).
Let’s not forget another famous heckle that featured an airborne assault. President George W. Bush is called a dog by an Iraqi reporter who then takes aim at the President with his shoes.
In this clip, President Clinton’s controversial “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy for gays in the military gets one heck of a heckle. …read more.
It’s a Monday morning, and although some people are enjoying nice winter breaks, many of us are back to school and back to work.
Here at US Democrazy, it’s time to start applying for summer internships and start working on spring projects. However, we are easily distracted from our tasks.
Take a look at the award-winning animation above by Mike Sternio that manages to put distraction into an effective visual production.
There are so many great animations and works of visual art that you can access on the internet that it’s hard NOT to get distracted. Here’s one more with a post-apocalyptic theme by a French artist, Anthony Voisin.
What should you be doing right now? How do you get back to being productive after intense distraction? Share with us – we need the advice!
