Author Archives: philipbrasor

Review: Quo Vadis, Aida?

Posted on September 16, 2021 by philipbrasor

Scathingly literal in the way it depicts the organizational failure of well-intentioned multi-national peace efforts, Jasmila Zbanic’s slightly fictionalized take on the disastrous UN intervention in the mid-90s Bosnian conflict evinces that nauseous feeling of inevitable doom you get with … Continue reading →

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Review: Irresistible

Posted on September 15, 2021 by philipbrasor

As an American who was only physically present in the U.S. during the Trump administration for, at most, two weeks out of the year, I found former Daily Show host Jon Stewart’s comedy about the foibles of political gamesmanship both … Continue reading →

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Media Mix, Sept. 11, 2021

Posted on September 11, 2021 by philipbrasor

Here’s this week’s Media Mix, which is about the media narrative that young Japanese people are generally hesitant about being vaccinated for COVID-19. As part of the narrative-reinforcing process, the web magazine Litera went on about vaccine czar Taro Kono’s … Continue reading →

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Media Mix, Sept. 4, 2021

Posted on September 5, 2021 by philipbrasor

Here’s this week’s Media Mix, which is about the death of Ratnayake Liyanage Wishma Sandamali last spring at an immigration detention center in Nagoya. As pointed out by Tokyo Shimbun reporter Isoko Mochizuki, Wishma originally went to the authorities because … Continue reading →

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Review: Those Who Wish Me Dead

Posted on September 3, 2021 by philipbrasor

Since scripting the thematically engaging but derivative drug thriller Sicario, Taylor Sheridan has gradually positioned himself as an action filmmaker with something interesting to say. Perhaps because the source material for Those Who Wish Me Dead is not his own, … Continue reading →

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Media Mix, Aug. 28, 2021

Posted on August 29, 2021 by philipbrasor

Here’s this week’s Media Mix about Japan’s age of consent, which has been 13 for more than 110 years. A good portion of the column is taken up by the story of a girl who was allegedly molested by her … Continue reading →

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Review: Summer of Soul

Posted on August 26, 2021 by philipbrasor

Ahmir Questlove Thompson, the drummer of The Roots and the self-styled keeper of the flame of African-American music style and history, is ostensibly the director of this documentary about the Harlem Cultural Festival that took place over the course of … Continue reading →

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Media Mix, Aug. 21, 2021

Posted on August 22, 2021 by philipbrasor

Here’s this week’s Media Mix, which is about a recent Supreme Court decision to deny Chosen high schools the right to receive central government tuition subsidies that all other non-public high schools in Japan receive. At one point in the … Continue reading →

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Review: IWeirDO

Posted on August 19, 2021 by philipbrasor

Taiwanese filmmaker Liao Ming-yi’s debut is said to be the first Asian movie shot on iPhones, a gimmick that no longer feels particularly fresh but one that is peculiarly suited to the themes he addresses. The portrait mode does a … Continue reading →

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Media Mix, Aug. 14, 2021

Posted on August 15, 2021 by philipbrasor

Here’s this week’s Media Mix about some sustainability issues related to the so-called legacy of the recent Tokyo Olympics. As mentioned at the beginning of the column, after the Paralympics the Olympic Village will be thoroughly remodeled in order to … Continue reading →

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