Category Archives: ARTS & CULTURE

Which Celebrated Female Movie Director Are You?

From Meg Ryan’s brilliantly faked orgasm in When Harry Met Sally  to the heart-pounding explosions in The Hurt Locker, women directors are responsible for some of the most iconic moments in film history. Yet the vast majority of movies are still directed by men. According to a recent report from the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film, women directed only 7% of the highest grossing films in recent years. The entrenched discrimination against women in Hollywood is so dire that the ACLU just filed a grievance with state and federal agencies to help boost representation of them behind the camera.

In celebration of the incredible women directors who’ve created cinematic masterpieces despite the odds, we bring you this quiz. Find out whose style, subject and voice most match your own sensibilities, and maybe you’ll discover your next favorite movie, too.

(Please select one answer for each of the following six questions…)

 

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One-take Wonders: 6 Incredible Music Videos Shot in a Single Take

Action movies and reality TV depend on quick cuts to heighten what’s happening on screen. But sometimes, one continuous take can pack an even bigger punch. Here are six music videos that push the limits physically, emotionally and technically of what’s achievable in a single take. No editing required.

 

Call Your Girlfriend, Robyn (2011)

 


With the stamina of a world-class athlete and the fashion sense of a dystopian teddy bear, Robyn dances her heart out for three-and-half minutes straight in an empty soundstage. Perfectly timed lighting changes and 360-degree camera moves bring out the triumph and heartbreak in Robyn’s vocals and elbow thrusts.

 


 

 

No Surprises, Radiohead (1997)

 

This one will leave you breathless. Thom Yorke stares straight at you from inside a diver’s helmet as it slowly fills with water. His literal suffocation excruciatingly echoes the metaphorical suffocation in the song’s lyrics. You can get a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the video in the classic Radiohead documentary, “Meeting People Is Easy.”

 


 

 

Two Weeks, FKA twigs (2014)

 

What’s better than FKA twigs? A giant FKA twigs surrounded by a handful of miniature FKA twigs dancing. Here, the multi-talented Brit presides as a golden goddess over a bevy of mini-twigs in one glorious panning shot. Though she typically directs her own videos, this one was directed by Nabil.

 


 

 

Hunter, Bjork (1997)

 

https://youtu.be/CyM5wow-hUk

It took one day of shooting in a studio and months and months of post-production to put together this uncanny and futuristic video. In a pure white environment, a purely bald Bjork shifts shapes between her human body and that of a translucent blue polar bear. She’s alternately the hunter and the hunted, beautifully underscoring the song’s lyrics and her own struggle to find creative expression. Her longtime creative collaborator, Paul White, directed the video.

 


 

 

Blood Brothers, Ingrid Michaelson (2012)

 

https://youtu.be/JHVLpTyGgt0

Although technically only the first couple minutes of this video were shot in one take, we’re including it because time-lapse makeovers are such fun to watch. This one came out a couple years before Cut Videos’ wildly popular “100 Years” series. Through hair, makeup, costume and set changes, Ingrid Michaelson transforms herself into seven music superstars before your very eyes. She proves her lyrics right: “we’re all the same under a different name.”

 


 

 

This Too Shall Pass, OK Go (2010)

 

Leave it to OK Go to dress a marching band in ghillie suits and get them to dance in a swamp. This exuberant and flawlessly executed video is actually the second one for “This Too Shall Pass.” The other one features an elaborate Rube Goldberg machine and was also shot in one take, the band’s now signature visual hook.

10 Stunning Woodblock Prints from Japan

You can almost smell the sweet cherry blossoms and taste the salty sea air when you look at the work of legendary 19th-century artist, Hiroshige. At a time when traveling long distances was arduous, if not impossible, Hiroshige’s woodblock prints of Japanese landscapes, festivals and monuments let people experience the wonders of their country without leaving their hometowns. You can do the same today with these 10 gorgeous selections from the Library of Congress’ Prints and Photographs Division. Explore more of the LOC’s phenomenal collection containing more than 2,500 pieces of art by Japanese artists from the seventeenth through early twentieth centuries here.

 

Mount Fuji, Japanese Woodblock - Photo by: flickr/The Library of Congress
A view of Mount Fuji behind maple trees in Tokyo, 1858

Massaki of Suijin Shrine, Japanese Woodblock, Photo by: flickr/The Library of Congress
View from Massaki of Suijin Shrine, Uchigawa Inlet and Sekiya, 1857

Mishima Station, Japanese Woodblock, Photo by: flickr/The Library of Congress
Travelers and residents at the shrine and inns at Mishima station, 1855

Otsuki Fields, Japanese Woodblock, Photo by: flickr/The Library of Congress
Otsuki fields in Kai Province, 1858

Horikiri iris garden, Japanese Woodblock, Photo by: flickr/The Library of Congress
Horikiri iris garden, 1857

Tokyou Tanabata festival, Japanese Woodblock, Photo by: flickr/The Library of Congress
Tokyo during the Tanabata festival, 1857

Satta in Suruga Province, Japanese Woodblock, Photo by: flickr/The Library of Congress
The sea at Satta in Suruga Province with Mount Fuji in the background, 1858

Hasedera in Yamato Province, Japanese Woodblock, Photo by: flickr/The Library of Congress
Hasedera in Yamato Province, 1859

Suido Bridge, Japanese Woodblock, Photo by: flickr/The Library of Congress
Fish in front of Suido Bridge and Surugadai, 1857

Meguro drum bridge, Japanese Woodblock, Photo by: flickr/The Library of Congress
Meguro drum bridge and sunset hill, 1857


Images Courtesy of  The Library of Congress flickr

6 Things That Need to Happen in the Gilmore Girls Revival

For many of us, the charmingly odd town of Stars Hollow is our fictitious second home. The Gilmores’ fast-paced, coffee-fueled dialogues got us through the good times and bad. What with the departure of writer and creator Amy Sherman-Palladino after season six, the finale left us all feeling a little unsatisfied and in need of some answers. Luckily, on November 25th, we may just get them because Gilmore Girls will be coming back to our screens for the first time in almost a decade (thanks, Netflix). Here are just six things that we need to happen in the revival.

1. We Get to Say a Final Goodbye to Richard Gilmore

Rory’s grandparents were often vilified, and yet in the case of Richard, this seemed unfounded. Despite occasionally stepping out of line, like when he first met Dean and launched into a character assassination across the dinner table, he was generally a decent, caring character. Tragically, the world lost the brilliant actor who played Richard, Edward Herrmann, on New Year’s Eve, 2014. Tackling this subject won’t be easy; but much like the fictional characters, lifelong fans of the show will need closure.

2. Rory Choosing to be…Alone


Since the revival announcement was made, the internet has been alive with commenters taking bets on which guy Rory will choose. She’s had many suitors including the ever-boring Dean, bookworm bad boy Jess, and rich kid Logan. But wait — what if Rory doesn’t need a man to complete her story arc at all? As a strong, smart, career-orientated girl, it would be a disservice to the character to simply have her tale end in cheesy rom-com fashion.

3. Christopher Taking Some Responsibility for His Actions

While the characters cooed over the guy and forgave even his most heinous of crimes (e.g. leaving Lorelai to raise Rory alone), Christopher Hayden got to waltz around like a sheer man-child. At the end of season seven, his ex-fiancee Sherry has run off to Paris to pursue her career, and he’s left in New York looking after his second child, Gigi. If we want redemption, he will have changed dramatically in the revival and become a true father figure to at least one of his daughters.

4. Kirk Moving Out of His Mom’s Home

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With 62 jobs under his belt, Kirk was doubtless as the classic oddball type. When you put that into the context of Gilmore Girls, it means that he was the kind of guy who’d run around naked while having night terrors and then film, produce, and star in his own short movie. The many quirks of Kirk were all part of his charm, and there’s just one thing we’d all love to see: He needs to move out of his mom’s basement. While he briefly attempted to buy the Twickham House for he and Lulu, the 30-something-year-old never actually moved out.

5. Hep Alien Finally Getting Some Recognition

It would have been too cliche to have season seven end with Hep Alien getting a record contract or being “discovered” by execs in a downtown New York bar. Gilmore Girls was never about giving the audience a predictably tied-up ending. Still, if we return to find that Hep Alien still exists, despite the fact that Lane and Zack now have at least two other very important priorities, you’d hope that the band would be something of a success. Maybe the band will have taken on a new genre of music; maybe Zack will finally get to explore his love of bluegrass. In any case, it’s intriguing to see what happened to these guys, musically speaking.

6. Luke and Lorelai’s Dream Wedding


The Luke and Lorelai storyline was at the center of the series — and simultaneously at the center of all our hearts. His slow and stable demeanor was the perfect accompaniment to her eccentric, frantic personality. From the very first season, the chemistry between the two of them was abundant and the audience watched in wait of their very first kiss, which came in the season four finale. Like any on-screen romance, theirs was a rocky one. Over the course of the next few seasons, the two of them split twice and, of course, got back together twice too. As predictable and sickeningly sweet as it may be, we’re all holding out for their wedding.

Bonus: The Long-Awaited Final Four Words

Shrouded in myth, Amy Sherman-Palladino supposedly always knew what the last four words of the show would be. Fans were distraught when the writer never had the chance to finish the series her way after she left the show. Since she’s back on board, after more than a nine-year wait, we may finally know what those words were.

Studio Ghibli: Animation is Art

Animation in film is dominated by studios such as Pixar and Dreamworks; and although these produce some high quality and emotionally evocative films, there is one studio that often outshines them in terms of artistic imagery and visual story telling. That studio is the Japanese rooted Studio Ghibli, and in this article we take an introductory look at the legendary artistry that has given Ghibli its well deserved status in cinematic history.

In 1984, Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki adapted his complex comic book into a screenplay, and one of his original anime films, Nausicää of the Valley of the Wind, was brought to cinemas. The story is of a princess who struggles to prevent two nations from destroying themselves and their planet.

A year later, the film was adapted and given a Western voice in the US, and his work was brought to the masses in the form of the controversial Warriors of the Wind. A studio was developed by Miyazaki, director Isao Takahata, and producer Toshia Suzuki. The torch paper of cinema’s love affair with Studio Ghibli had been lit, and off the success of this film.

Miyazaki’s enchanting storytelling and the studio’s breathtaking visual splendour enraptured audiences; and in 1996, Disney agreed to distribute Studio Ghibli’s films internationally, dubbing those that had already been released into English and bringing the magic to the world.

Grave of Fireflies

In 1988, Studio Ghibli produced the Takahata directed Grave of Fireflies. This still stands as one of the most heart wrenching and beautifully devastating animated films to have been made. In wartime Japan, a young boy and his little sister struggle to survive when faced with homelessness following the death of their mother. The mixture of evocative imagery and childlike innocence that seeps through the screen to the audience work together to enthrall and envelope so that is impossible not to feel for the characters and their horrendous plight.

Spirited Away

In contrast, Studio Ghibli released Spirited Away in 2001. This remains as one of the favourite anime films of many cinema buffs, and it is hardly surprising given the films fanciful originality and extravagant storytelling. When 10-year-old Chihiro and her parents drive to their new home, they take a wrong turn and end up in an abandoned theme park. Chihiro ends up in a world full of monsters and must fight her way back to her parents and her new life in a new home.

There is a myriad of visual and narrative metaphors for fear and anxiety within the film, which focuses on the young Chihiro’s strength and faith in order to overcome the physical and mental obstacles that stand in her way back to safety. In Spirited Away, Miyazaki really demonstrates his vivid imagination and understanding of a child’s psyche in order to bring a complex issue to life in a way that is disturbingly entertaining and visually invigorating.

Spirited Away has gone down in history as one of the top animated films ever made; and in 2004, Ghibli produced their second universally acclaimed masterpiece. Howl’s Moving Castle, based on a book by British author Diana Wynn Jones, tells the story of Sophie Hatter. When Sophie is cursed to look like an old hag by the Witch of the Waste, she runs from her home and finds the moving castle of the wizard Howl. Once there, Sophie befriends his fire demon Culcifer and strikes up a deal whereby if she frees Calcifer of Howl, he will help her return to her younger self.

Howl’s Moving Castle

Howl’s Moving Castle again demonstrates the incredible imagination and visual dexterity of Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki as a director. As with previous films, Miyazaki matches his whimsical colourful imagery with dark and often scary representations. The juxtaposition works to create a journey that plays with an audience’s emotions not just through the narrative but through what is offered on the screen.

Throughout 2016, UK cinemas will be screening classic Ghibli films to celebrate the studio’s impressive achievements since its conception. The studio has gained a strong following, and a number of its films remain favourites of animation fans, and indeed of cinema fans in general. The films’ fantastical storytelling and quirky, whimsical imagery have captured the hearts and imaginations of generations of filmgoers. This year, it may be your turn.

 

*Featured Image: The Wind Rises (2013) directed by Hayao Miyazaki and animated by Studio Ghibli

6 Must-Watch Documentaries for Good Global Citizens

For those of us born since around the early ’70s, we’ve been growing up in a world that was steadily going global. But today, in the 2016 of global economy, location independence, and international personal lives, we’re in many ways already there.

As more and more of the world becomes available to us, we have a growing responsibility to make ourselves informed consumers and participants in global society. To gain insights into the lives of some of the seven billion other humans who share our planet and learn about the common challenges facing many of us, start with these six documentaries.

 

1) Century of the Self

Century of the Self is an eye-opening investigation of the origins and consequences of consumerism in the West, but with a psychoanalytic twist. The documentary details how Freudian psychology was systematically applied to the world of the 20th century free market to induce us to want to spend more, starting with Edward Bernays, Freud’s nephew and the founding father of the field of public relations.

Century of the Self regards the societal drive to spend with skepticism, and takes an important look at how the latest kitchen appliance is in many ways keeping us distracted from the things that really need and deserve our attention in the world. Watch the first episode or the whole series for free at Top Documentary Films.

 

2) Breaking the Taboo

What started out as America’s War on Drugs quickly became a global phenomenon with heavy consequences for an entire generation, in the US as well as in Latin American neighbors like Mexico and Colombia. Breaking the Taboo takes a critical look at how policy decisions in one country can have extreme consequences for children, families, and entire industries in other countries.

This film looks not only at the failures of the global war on drugs, but also at success stories like the famous tolerance of the Netherlands and the Latin American countries on cutting edge of progress, like Uruguay.

You can rent or buy Breaking the Taboo on Amazon or the iTunes store.

 

3) Girl Rising

Girl Rising documents the lives of nine young girls growing up in different parts of the developing world. As it surveys young girls’ stories of human trafficking, violence, arranged marriages, and more, this documentary promotes a powerful message about the girls that are “rising” to reshape our world into a more equal one.

Girl Rising reminds us of the importance of educating young girls and developing them into community leaders, while also reminding us to tip our hats to the women of the world who are leading the revolution by balancing work and family and generally being badasses.

You can watch Girl Rising on Netflix or purchase a download from the official website.

 

4) Black Gold

One of the places we can have the most impact with the least effort is as consumers. Black Gold asks us to think about how something so abundant in most of our lives, coffee, travels from a person’s farm to your local Starbucks.

Fair trade is one of the most practical and successful approaches to ending poverty in rural communities: It ensures that farmers and the people who actually produce the goods we consume have access to accurate market prices and are able to unionize to combat the wage-suppressing forces of multinational corporations.

To learn more about how fair trade coffee is impacting farmers in Ethiopia and worldwide, you can stream Black Gold on its official website for $5: http://blackgoldmovie.com/.

 

5) The Square

In a world that’s still living the aftermath of the Arab Spring and navigating difficult questions of what “democracy” means worldwide, a human perspective is often just what we need to understand the lives behind the statistics and news headlines.

This Netflix original documentary does just that in a flawlessly-crafted film that strives to balance different and dissenting voices while empathizing with several from up-close. Filmed on the ground at Tahrir Square during the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, The Square documents the two years of struggles and sit-ins by the same different factions of Egyptian society that have continued to alternate between collaboration and antagonization since the start of the conflict.

For a documentary that inspires human empathy without distracting from the issues at the heart of an ongoing global struggle, you can watch The Square on Netflix.

 

6) The End of Poverty

Despite its idealistic name, The End of Poverty takes an enlighteningly rational and pragmatic approach to the why and how of poverty, as well as to how we fix it.

Tracing its history from colonial conquest to modern trade, The End of Poverty illuminates how the policies of many world governments and the actions of global financial institutions affect drinking water in rural areas and a factory worker’s ability to earn a livable wage. Best of all, where so many others fail to go beyond diagnosing the problem, The End of Poverty ends with a series of practical and achievable goals for establishing a global system that works for everyone.

For a deeper understanding of the causes and consequences of world poverty then and now, you can watch The End of Poverty for free at Top Documentary Films.

 

Awareness is just the first step.

 

*Featured image: Egyptian activist Ahmed Hassan in Jehane Noujaim’s documentary THE SQUARE. Courtesy of Noujaim Films.

Our Favorite TV Husbands

For some of us, watching TV is kind of like playtime for grown-ups. We watch Sex and the City for the fashion, Orange is the New Black for the drama, and old reruns of Friends for the belly-aching laughs. And just as many of us admire onscreen relationships and their oftentimes fairytale endings, so do we admire the TV husbands who all make it possible, from shows current and of days passed.

1. Ricky Ricardo — I Love Lucy

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Sure he’s got a hot temper, but no one can deny that Ricky loves Lucy to the moon and back. All of their fights — typically complemented by Lucy mimicking Ricky’s accent — end in a sweet and affectionate make-up. Although Lucy and her shenanigans often cause worlds of trouble for the nightclub singing superstar, it is always her spunk, creativity, and sense of adventure that he loves anyway.

2. Harry Goldenblatt — Sex and the City

Harry is a real prince — one of the best TV husbands. The men of SATC are abundant, but no one is quite like him. He is Charlotte’s divorce lawyer when her first marriage ends, but he becomes so much more. He accepts her completely, loves her unconditionally, and gives her the fairytale romance she so desperately wants.

3. Sandy Cohen — The O.C.

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Sandy is the perfect TV husband and father: sensitive, affectionate, understanding, and always so full of wisdom. I feel like he never makes a mistake. Even when son Seth starts acting up and causing major issues for the family and friends, Sandy keeps his cool and totally wins the Dad of the Year award.

4. Jesse Katsopolis — Full House

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Uncle Jesse is a real heartbreaker and always had a new girlfriend, but it is Becky who finally steals his heart. He’s more carefree and she’s more disciplined; and together, they rule the world. He supports her ambitions and is always her biggest cheerleader, earning him a spot on our list of the best TV husbands. And let’s be honest: He rocked that mullet.

5. Dan Conner — Roseanne

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Dan and Roseanne are such a unique TV couple. They hardly have the picture perfect life, but that makes them all the more lovable, and so very real. They fight, they disagree, they make jokes at each other’s expense; and they show that marriage is real work. But if you put in the effort, it’s totally worth it.

6. Steve Brady — Sex and the City

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You can’t forget Steve… He is as good a husband as Harry is! Miranda is awesome — smart, successful, a loyal friend — but she’s no walk in the park. She’s stubborn as hell, but luckily, Steve is a patient man. He loves her for her faults, instead of resenting her for them. He gives her the time and space she needs to realize their relationship is the real deal, and he showers her with love like she’s never known before.

7. Marshall Eriksen — How I Met Your Mother

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Jason Segel can do no wrong, and his character of Marshall Eriksen is further proof. He’s so full of love for his wife that he even accepts a job he wasn’t all too thrilled about to help her get through her credit problems. If that doesn’t scream “sweet husband,” I don’t know what does. Their rock solid and comedic relationship of nearly a decade helps make the show what it is.

8. Eric Taylor — Friday Night Lights

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Is there anything wrong with Eric Taylor? *thinking, thinking* No. No there is not. High school football coach? Check. Loving father? Check. Loyal and supportive husband to Tami? Check! He even moves from Texas to Philadelphia when Tami gets a new job. Definitely worthy of a spot as one of the greatest TV husbands.

Our Favorite Female TV Role Models

Despite the frequently debated representation of women on television, there are still plenty of unforgettable female role models from some of our favorite shows. They’re women who exhibit bravery, wisdom, and strength — oftentimes in moments of extreme adversity. Following these women are loyal fanbases; and when you think about it, what’s not to love?

1. Olivia Benson — Law & Order SVU

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 Is there are female role model more heroic than Detective Olivia Benson? The harshness and oftentimes cruel reality of her job haven’t hardened this extraordinarily intelligent woman, and it’s her heart and compassion that make her so good at what she does. Not to mention that in real life, Mariska Hargitay (who plays Benson) established the Joyful Heart Foundation, which helps victims of sexual abuse.

2. Jessica Pearson — Suits

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She’s fierce; she’s smart; and don’t think that because she’s a woman, she’s vulnerable. Jessica Pearson is one third of a well-known law firm, with trusty Harvey Specter by her side; and she can manage the cutthroat atmosphere of the legal world better than anyone. She’s still got a big heart in there, but she’s like the mama bear; and anytime someone goes after her or her team (her family), she comes out swinging.

3. Sameen Shaw — Person of Interest

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She doesn’t smile. She doesn’t laugh. She doesn’t crack jokes. On the outside, Shaw is as intimidating and unapproachable as they come. But there’s a reason she’s always there at the right time and the right place to save the day: Not only does she do her job better than anyone else ever could, but she always has the back of her team members. She’s the perfect addition to the crime-fighting pair Reese and Finch, and her background as a former Army Intelligence Support activity operative helps them stop crimes before they even happen.

4. Carrie Mathison — Homeland

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Carrie might be emotionally unstable, with a reliance on anti-psychotic drugs and highly questionable relationships; and that’s almost what makes us love her more. No one can deny that Carrie cares about her job more than anything, as she often approaches it with an obsessive compulsive mindset. She fights for the innocent and stands up to the guilty; and while her life is so much more complicated than the average human being could ever handle, she continues to forge on with the utmost bravery.

5. Skye — Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

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More than anything, Skye wants to figure out her past and what happened with her parents. That doesn’t get in the way of her being a genius computer hacker though. She was an unsure choice to join the other agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., but she brings something special to the team. You don’t want to underestimate this gal; she’s a lot more powerful than anyone really knows.

6. Lt. Debra Morgan — Dexter

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Morgan can smell a bad guy coming from a mile away. She is the morally correct version to Dexter, always aiming the find the killer and bring him to justice. Debra provides the perfect balance to Dexter’s own approach, although you should never mistake this badass chick for a softy.

7. Cristina Yang – Grey’s Anatomy

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It’s the brains that draw us in, here. Cristina Yang — with all her ambition and a strong sense of competition — rules the operating room, and her status as a board member and one of the owners of Seattle Grace Hospital tells us that maybe we women aren’t living in a man’s world after all.

 

The Best Films for Foodies: Mouthwatering Movies You Can’t Miss

“I hate food.”

— No one, ever.

Food connects us all! If there’s one thing every single person has in common, it’s that we all eat. It’s a basic necessity to survive, but let’s face it: Eating is just really, really fun. It’s so fun that foodies have taken to the interwebs to share their dishes in a storm of what most of us affectionately refer to as “food porn.” Yes — not only do we eat for fun, but we look at pictures of food we’d like to eat… for fun. I’m not saying I go on Instagram to drool over pictures of food… but I totally go on Instagram to drool over pictures of food.

If you really want to take your love of food to the next level (sign me up!), there are a bunch of delicious movies you’ll want to see.

 

Julie & Julia

Meryl Streep leads the way in this film, which means it’s awesome by default. The story of famous chef Julia Child is intertwined with that of blogger Julie Powell, who’s on a mission to cook every single recipe from Child’s first book. Prepare to be hungry the entire movie.

 

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

“The strawberries taste like strawberries, and the snozzberries taste like snozzberries!” I get tooth decay just watching Willy Wonka, but any film where you can lick the wallpaper is A-OK by me. The movie got a stellar remake, but nothing beats the original — the first movie that made all kids want to live in a land where everything is edible. This was a childhood classic, albeit a somewhat creepy one.

 

Ratatouille

Whoever said rats can’t cook clearly hasn’t seen this movie. (And you’re never too old for animated films.) A tiny rat named Remy wants to be a French chef, but… he’s a rat. He ends up in the sewage system of Paris, directly beneath the restaurant of his favorite chef: Auguste Gusteau. Chaos ensues when Remy starts to turn the culinary scene of Paris upside down. Not bad for a rodent.

 

Chocolat

This movie is a must-see, because chocolate. A single mother and her daughter move to France and open a chocolate shop. While the town is skeptical at first, the duo eventually wins them over with their delectable treats. Now I’m craving chocolate.

 

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Here’s another animated film you don’t want to miss. Scientist Flint Lockwood isn’t exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, but he does invent a machine that turns water into food — perfect timing, considering the town’s economic crisis. Something goes awry, though; and when Flint’s invention ends up turning rain into food, things don’t quite go according to plan. It seems too good to be true… and it is.

 

Chef

When acclaimed chef Carl Casper loses his job and walks away with a shattered career, he goes in a different direction and starts cooking from an old food truck instead. He once again realizes why he was so passionate about cooking in the first place, serving up delicious food and reconnecting with his family at the same time.

Forget Europe: The Latin American Cities Stealing the Spotlight in Social Progress

 

 

 

The world cities on the cutting edge of innovation and social progress aren’t where you think.

When we think of the world’s most progressive cities, we often imagine the same destinations that form the pillars of the traditional travel industry: Amsterdam’s sexual liberation, Berlin’s art-obsessed hipsterdom, and London’s big city anything-goes tolerance are synonymous in many travelers’ minds with progress and liberation.

But in the last decade, the forefronts of many fights for freedom and dignity have shifted to Latin America.

In the last two decades, the region as a whole has experienced a renaissance of people’s movements and leftist economic thought known as the Pink Tide, a period in which more than 50 million Latin Americans have risen out of poverty. With an increasingly stronger middle class able to provide for its own basic needs and hold democratic governments accountable, the fight of the new Latin American middle class is in many ways shifting to the front of human rights and dignity.

While the region as a whole reinvents itself, four cities in particular stand out as beacons of social progress in this traditionally conservative and unequal part of the world.

 

Mexico City: Leading Latin America in LGBT Rights

The ushering in of marriage equality in Mexico’s Distrito Federal in 2009 was one of the first signs of the progressive wave sweeping across the Americas. In a world where over 70 countries still punish homosexuality as a criminal offense, the massive Mexican capital became the region’s first city to legalize its LGBT-friendly attitude.

Today Mexico City retains bragging rights to one of the most vibrant gay neighborhoods from Tijuana to Tierra del Fuego in its Zona Rosa, a downtown neighborhood bursting with drag shows, dance clubs, and Korean karaoke any night of the week. But the most progressive thing about Mexico City is its tolerant and relatively LGBT-positive atmosphere that allows residents of and visitors to the city to walk down most streets holding the hand of whomever they choose.

 

Santiago: Social Investment through Startup Culture

While so many of its neighbors have struggled through economic uncertainty and instability, Chile has quietly built itself up into one of the success stories of the Americas. The country with one of the highest Human Development Indexes in the region, Chile continues to invest in its human capital and knowledge economy, and nowhere is that more evident than in its capital city.

Santiago Skyline and Park
View of the skyline of Santiago, Chile

Santiago’s now-famous Startup Chile incubator once looked like another dime-a-dozen developing country startup program, and now six years after its launch is held up as a model for creating innovation hubs in the Global South. The program brings aspiring entrepreneurs from within Chile and across the world to Santiago, where they’re given an interest-free startup loan as well as entrepreneurial mentoring and support. This is all part of the Chilean government’s plan to position Santiago as the “entrepreneurship hub of Latin America,” furthering Chile’s development and ability to offer better education, healthcare, and economic opportunity to its people.

 

Montevideo: Bringing Peace to the War on Drugs

In 2012, Uruguay shocked the world when it became the first country to ever completely legalize the growth, sale, and consumption of cannabis. In an era when the War on Drugs has shredded the social fabric of countries like Mexico and Colombia, the Uruguayan government has followed through on its popular mandate to combat drug crime by legalizing and regulating marijuana.

Port Market - Mercado del puerto - Montevideo Uruguay
Montevideo, Uruguay – December 15, 2012: A view of Mercado del Puerto in the left, the famous place in Montevideo to eat local meat cuts, Montevideo, Uruguay.

The decision has received both praise and criticism in the local and international press: its impact on organized crime and drug use in the country has been mixed, but the policy also provides promising opportunities for medical and psychological research impossible elsewhere. The government looks at it as a possible future revenue source, but for now the state-run marijuana industry’s main goal is to undercut the influence of the black market and organized crime in Uruguay, while at the same time providing an inspiring Latin American model for a post-drug war society.

 

Medellín: Innovating through Social Urbanism

From 1990s international murder capital to innovation capital of the world in 2014, Medellín’s program of urbanismo social, social urbanism, has made the city a model for urban progress that’s turned it not only into a model case study of Latin American urban planning, but also a tourism and expat hotspot.

Medellin Metro Cable Cars
MEDELLIN, COLOMBIA – MARCH 8: Metrocable cars arriving at a station in Medellin, Colombia on March 8, 2014. Metrocable is the first gondola lift system in the world dedicated to public transportation.

By focusing first on the most resource-poor and opportunity-desperate parts of the city, Medellín’s social urbanism approach jump-starts social change by beginning with drastic and spectacular innovations in the places where they can make the biggest differences. The best evidence of this approach is the ultra-modern cable cars and outdoor escalator that have been constructed and integrated into the city’s modern metro system to connect isolated hillside shantytowns to the economic opportunities of the city center. Alongside these public transit investments, the impressive parques-biblioteca, “library-parks,” that serve as community and education centers in Medellín’s poorest neighborhoods make a spectacular statement about the city’s approach to progress.

biblioteca belen
Parque Biblioteca Belén, a neighborhood ‘library park’ in Medellín, featuring community workshop spaces, technology skills instruction, music classes for children, and other services designed to keep youths out of gangs and adults out of unemployment. Photo by Jakob Gibbons.
parque explora
Parque Explora, a giant community center-educational complex hybrid built onto the side of the metro station in one of the poorer neighborhoods of the city’s northeast. Photo via Wikimedia Commons under CC0

It’s true that many of the cities where human rights and civil liberties are best translated into opportunities for their citizens are found in Europe and the Global North, but today, our battles for social progress have gone entirely global. Entire regions are shifting their own narratives, shaking off images of violence and narcotrafficking that no longer tell the true story of day-to-day life in Latin America.

Now is the time to go and experience the cultural transformations guiding Latin America into the future, to say you witnessed peace in Colombia, the completion of Chile’s successful transition to democracy, the fight for safety and rule of law in Mexico, and countless other people’s movements moving and shaking the region.