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RedditTHIS IS THE THIRD of what now threatens to become The Nation's annual Hollywood issue. Following in the footsteps of the catholic Mr. Soderbergh, whose Y2K output ran the gamut from Erin Brockovich to Traffic, this time around there is not even the shadow of a theme. But a little eclecticism never hurt anyone. In the forum, GENE SEYMOUR engages black filmmakers, who, as a group, appear to be enjoying unprecedented success, although he finds clouds within the silver lining. ELLEN WILLIS puts The Sopranos on her couch with a dazzling appreciation-slash-deconstruction of the East Coast's favorite soap (interestingly, the West Coast appears to be more taken with Gladiator), while MARC COOPER does the same for Hollywood's version of the labor movement, giving us an eye-opening glimpse into the internal politics of the guilds on the eve of what at this point seems to be an inevitable strike.
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Summer of the Superhero
Adam Howard: Superhero-themed films are dominating the summer box office. Is it just about the bottom line or our national longing for genuine heroism?
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Torturing Iron Man
Nick Turse: The Pentagon does a star turn in Iron Man, and the summer blockbuster turns the realities of the war in Afganistan upside down. Will anyone notice?
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Why War, Inc. Works
Jeremy Scahill: John Cusack's War, Inc. takes on a seldom-discussed aspect of the occupation: the corporate dominance of the US war machine.
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Guantánamo Ain't No Joke
Shayana Kadidal: Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantánamo Bay is very funny. Nothing about the real place is.
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Her Good Thing
Nathaniel Friedman: The versatile vocalist Mable John, now a novelist and minister, has come a long way since the 1960s soul era that made her (almost) famous.
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Phil Donahue's War
John Nichols: His new documentary is breaking the taboo that says Americans cannot stomach the reality of the Iraq War.
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Un Ballon Est un Ballon
Stuart Klawans: In Flight of the Red Balloon, filmmaker Hou Hsiao-hsien takes on an unmistakably Parisian story with unbridled creative abandon.
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