Movies

The Importance Of Audio Description For Subtitled Movies

5:21pm August 16, 2020

by Jason Strother

The Korean film Parasite is the first foreign language film to win an Oscar for Best Picture. But vision-impaired moviegoers here can't enjoy it because it's not available with audio description.

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A New Documentary Shows The Ups And Downs Of Young Men Playing The Game Of Politics

5:21pm August 16, 2020

NPR's Leila Fadel speaks with Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss, directors of the documentary Boys State.

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'Boys State' Documentary Explores What Teens Learn About Democracy

5:03pm August 13, 2020

by Bob Mondello

Boys State documentary explores how a group of Texas teens participated in the American Legion program to learn about democracy by organizing political parties and running a mock government.

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Steven Garza is the underdog in the mock-race for governor in the documentary Boys State. He counts Bernie Sanders among his political heroes.

Arts

'Boys State' Helps Teens Learn How Politics Work — Perhaps A Little Too Well

1:43pm August 12, 2020

by Justin Chang

A new documentary follows 2018's Texas Boys State, a week-long summer experiment in which teens form their own representative democracy. The mock election highlights flaws of the real-life system.

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You Can Rent The Last Blockbuster Store In The U.S. On Airbnb

5:47am August 12, 2020

Unlimited candy, a closet full of denim clothing, and all the VHS movies you can watch. You can spend a night in this blast from the past if you rent the Blockbuster in Bend, Ore., on Airbnb.

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Director Gina Prince-Bythewood says The Old Guard shows "the opposite side of what we all envision immortality to be."

Arts

'Everybody Deserves To Be Seen As A Hero,' Says 'Old Guard' Director

12:51pm August 10, 2020

by Terry Gross

"Female characters are not [usually] the center of the story," filmmaker Gina Prince-Bythewood says. Her new movie follows a diverse group of world-weary warriors who've been alive for centuries.

Beyoncé puts a conversation about Africa on the front line with her visual album Black Is King, which premiered on Disney+.

Opinion: We Are Africans. Here's Our View Of Beyoncé's 'Black Is King'

1:51pm August 07, 2020

Esther Ngumbi, a professor from Kenya, and Ifeanyi Nsofor, a doctor in Nigeria, react to the megastar's movie-length music video — and to criticism from other Africans.

Since Aug. 6, 1945, artists of every stripe have had to reckon with a world forever altered by nuclear weapons — Hollywood included. Above, Stanley Kubrick's 1964 film, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.

Arts

'And The World Went Crazy': How Hollywood Changed After Hiroshima

5:24pm August 06, 2020

by Bob Mondello

Nuclear weapons have given Hollywood a host of dramatic plot possibilities, from the threat of nuclear war to wholesale destruction to over-the-top fireworks.

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A young Howard Ashman, photographed on the set of his musical Little Shop of Horrors.

Music & Culture

A New Documentary Shines A Spotlight On The Lyricist Behind The Disney Renaissance

9:26am August 06, 2020

by Tim Greiving

The Disney+ documentary Howard features the life and work of Howard Ashman, a lyricist known for Little Shop of Horrors and one half of the duo that brought the music for three classic films to life.

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Maria Ressa, CEO of the Rappler news site, leaves a Philippine regional trial court after being convicted for cyber libel on June 15. Ressa, a veteran journalist and outspoken critic of President Rodrigo Duterte, is the focus of A Thousand Cuts, a documen

Philippine Journalist Maria Ressa: 'Journalism Is Activism'

8:26am August 06, 2020

The documentary A Thousand Cuts focuses on how Ressa and her Rappler news organization navigate Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's attacks on the press. It will be released in the U.S. Aug. 8.

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