Author: Reporter

American Paradox: Political protests are celebrated and welcomed while being condemned and muzzled

They are hallmarks of American history: protests, rallies, sit-ins, marches, disruptions. They date from the early days of what would become the United States to the sights and sounds echoing across the landscapes of the nation’s colleges and universities during this activist spring. And just as much a part of that American history? Those same events being met with irritation, condemnation, anger, calls to desist, and at times the use of law enforcement and aggressive tactics to make that happen. “Dissent is essential for democracy. But dissent must never lead to disorder,” President Joe Biden said, summing up the...

Read More

Up close and dangerous: Student journalists are put to the test while covering protests on campus

Ordered by police to leave the scene of a UCLA campus protest after violence broke out, Catherine Hamilton and three colleagues from the Daily Bruin suddenly found themselves surrounded by demonstrators who beat, kicked, and sprayed them with a noxious chemical. On American campuses awash in anger this spring, student journalists are in the center of it all, sometimes uncomfortably so. They are immersed in the story in ways journalists for major media organizations often cannot be. And they face dual challenges — as members of the media and students at the institutions they are covering. Across the country...

Read More

Protests and police action at U.S. schools take center stage in Mideast’s coverage of Israel-Hamas war

After weeks of nonstop coverage of destruction and death in the Gaza Strip, media across the wider Middle East have latched onto the demonstrations roiling American university campuses over the Israel-Hamas war. For some, the protests and what they described as a heavy-handed police crackdown on them represent the double standards of life in the United States, which routinely calls on nations to respect dissent and free speech. However, across most of the Mideast, demonstrations of any kind remain illegal as many countries face warfare, economic challenges or other broad unrest. The coverage included nearly breathless reporting from Iranian...

Read More

UN report calculates it would take until 2040 to rebuild all homes destroyed so far in Gaza

If the war in Gaza stopped today, it would still take until 2040 to rebuild all the homes that have been destroyed in nearly seven months of Israel’s bombardment and ground offensives in the territory, according to United Nations estimates. The death toll in Gaza is more than 34,500 Palestinians, according to local health officials, as the territory faces a humanitarian catastrophe. The war has driven around 80% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million from their homes, caused vast destruction in several towns and cities and pushed northern Gaza to the brink of famine. “Every additional day that this...

Read More

Civil War: Alex Garland’s explosive film envisions a near-future America in the throes of all-out warfare

Alex Garland’s films have vividly conjured a virus-caused pandemic, like 2002’s “28 Days Later,” an uncontrollable artificial intelligence, 2014’s “Ex Machina,” and in his latest, “Civil War,” a near-future America in the throes of all-out warfare. Most filmmakers with such a record might claim some knack for tapping into the zeitgeist. But Garland doesn’t see it that way. He’s dealing, he said, with omnipresent realities that demand no great leaps of vision. He wrote “Civil War” in 2020, when societies around the world were unraveling over COVID-19 and the prospect of societal breakdown was on everyone’s minds. “That was...

Read More

Filmed entertainment: Movie theater owners say blockbusters are not enough to sustain the industry

Movie theater owners are still feeling the high from ” Barbenheimer.” The counterprogramming of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” brought audiences to cinemas around with the world, ultimately earning nearly $2.5 billion in combined ticket sales. But, gathered in Las Vegas this week for the annual CinemaCon convention and trade show, they are also acutely aware that they need more than two movies to survive. “It is not enough to rely solely on blockbusters,” said Michael O’Leary, the president and CEO of the National Association of Theater Owners. “To have a truly successful filmed entertainment industry, a variety of movies that...

Read More