Bad Bunny’s ‘Debí tirar más fotos’ blends Puerto Rican rhythms with fierce resistance, exposing the scars of US imperialism and celebrating a culture’s resilience. Embraced by Latin American youth, the album inspires cultural pride and reflection on shared struggles.
A major exhibition of the golden age of Mughal art and culture is currently on display at London’s V&A Museum. The treasures inside display the magnificent artistic developments and achievements of this once great civilisation and their lasting impact on the sub-continent to this day.
Visually, Robert Eggers’ iteration of the horror classic ‘Nosferatu’ provides viewers with a technical masterclass in its execution of the modern vampire myth. Yet beneath its ghoulish, gothic melodrama is a muddled social commentary that leaves the film faltering.
Adrian Tchaikovsky’s recent novel ‘Alien Clay’ is an excellent read. Set in a dystopian future where all knowledge and scientific progress is stifled by an authoritarian regime, the story deftly explores the relationship between science, society, and revolution.
‘Archive of Dissent’ exhibits 50 years of the work of Peter Kennard. Best known for his powerful photomontages and iconic anti-war images, Kennard’s art unapologetically exposes the brutal ties between capitalism, war, and poverty.
Prominent American trade unionist Chris Smalls has released a documentary about his grassroots campaign to unionise Amazon workers. The Communist attended the UK premiere and Q&A with Smalls and the film’s co-directors.
Two exhibitions on the Pre-Raphaelite art movement are currently on show in Birmingham. As well as pursuing aesthetic innovation, the Pre-Raphaelites sought to critique, and even overcome, the harsh, alienating reality of Victorian industrial society.
In the upcoming issue of The Communist, readers review Mach-Hommy’s latest album, Enda Walsh’s film adaptation of ‘Small Things Like These’, Netflix’s ‘Arcane’, the 1954 classic ‘Salt of the Earth’, and the 1937 documentary ‘Tsar to Lenin’.
Ridley Scott’s sequel to his previous sword-and-sandal epic offers more of the same: Colosseum battles, degenerate emperors, and a portrayal of imperial decline. Olive Ruadh compares the film’s fictionalised story to Rome’s historical reality.
With imperialist tensions on the rise, Armando Iannnuci’s new stage adaptation of Kubrick’s Cold War comedy ‘Dr Strangelove’ couldn’t come at a better time. Steve Coogan’s performance accentuates the biting political commentary.
For decades, antibiotics have been irresponsibly overused in healthcare and agriculture, leading to the rise of unstoppable infections. Meanwhile, capitalism and the pharmaceutical giants are holding back the deployment of a viable alternative.
Sean Baker’s latest film – out in cinemas now – is a tragic drama for modern times; a portrayal of the inevitable despair and destruction that the rich and powerful leave in their wake, with the exploited and oppressed always left paying the price.