Stories by Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs is Popmatters' film and TV editor.
A new film about Plato's Retreat shows how the swinger's club helped challenge gender stereotypes and regressive ideas about sex.
Posted on Apr 16, 2009, Source: PopMatters
A new documentary looks at the troubling -- and mystifying -- mix of religion and politics in America.
Posted on Nov 13, 2008, Source: PopMatters
"Young & Restless" showcases the tension between capitalism's promises and realities in contemporary China.
Posted on Jun 17, 2008, Source: PopMatters
Girls Rock! joyfully makes the case that girls can sweat, shout, and rock as hard as any boy.
Posted on Mar 20, 2008, Source: PopMatters
Alex Gibney's Oscar-nominated film documents the Bush Administration's reckless disregard for human rights and the rule of law.
Posted on Feb 22, 2008, Source: PopMatters
'The Notorious Bettie Page' is a thoughtful exploration of the legendary '50s pinup queen who merged genuine naivete with outrageous sex appeal.
Posted on Apr 18, 2006, Source: PopMatters
Spike Lee's star-studded new heist flick is his most accessible to date -- but it's also pretty darned clever.
Posted on Mar 28, 2006, Source: PopMatters
The DVD release of a classic documentary about Hearst's abuduction raises timely questions about the intersection of terrorism and television.
Posted on Feb 16, 2006, Source: PopMatters
Instead of breaking new ground, the film 'Transamerica' settles for the tired, old version of the 'alternative family.'
Posted on Dec 6, 2005, Source: PopMatters
Black heavyweight champion Jack Johnson's inability to be anything but his own man was unforgivable to white America.
Posted on Jan 19, 2005, Source: PopMatters
'Team America,' Trey Parker and Matt Stone's much-ballyhooed parody of Jerry Bruckheimer-style action pictures, is aptly violent, delirious, and outsized (in its miniature-puppet way).
Posted on Oct 15, 2004, Source: PopMatters
Originally intended as a standard promo film, 'Some Kind of Monster' zeroes in on the consummate heavy metal band and covers some surprisingly intimate terrain.
Posted on Jul 16, 2004, Source: PopMatters
The triumphant tone of "Black Hawk Down," recently released on DVD, eerily predicts the current post-9/11 zeitgeist -- though it was completed well before the tragedy.
Posted on Jun 17, 2004, Source: PopMatters
The Alamo, at best an incoherent action flick, fails to represent the hypocrisy, racism, bullying, and anxiety that shaped the emerging United States.
Posted on Apr 14, 2004, Source: PopMatters
The first film to be made in Afghanistan since the reported removal of the Taliban concerns the regime's many offenses, especially against women.
Posted on Jan 21, 2004, Source: PopMatters
'Fog of War' explores the psyche of the former Secretary of Defense, uncovering terrain every bit as murky as the battlefields of Vietnam.
Posted on Jan 6, 2004, Source: PopMatters
Threat Matrix, the first television show about homeland security, is both too boring and too disturbing to be entertaining.
Posted on Nov 13, 2003, Source: PopPolitics.com
Rather than offer definitive answers about the shooting deaths of the two hip hop stars, Nick Broomfield's documentary highlights the messy and unstable nature of truth.
Posted on May 12, 2003, Source: PopMatters
UPN's new series takes on bad behaviors, outrageous trends, inflated self-images of hip-hop industry, armed with an irreverent attitude and a killer soundtrack.
Posted on Apr 25, 2003, Source: PopMatters
The director of one of the highest grossing films in Britain talks about girl power, immigration, the generational divide -- and what it all has to do with soccer star David Beckham.
Posted on Apr 4, 2003, Source: PopMatters
If embedding is a next logical step for reality TV, it's also a huge leap in political, ethical and commercial terms.
Posted on Apr 2, 2003, Source: PopMatters
J. Lo does not want you to forget just how "real" she is -- that is why she performs her "real-ness" over, and over, and over again.
Posted on Dec 18, 2002, Source: PopMatters
The arrest of the D.C. snipers introduced a new element for the media to focus on -- the unexpected racial identity of the arrested suspects.
Posted on Nov 4, 2002, Source: PopPolitics.com
Michael Moore's latest movie, "Bowling for Columbine" reveals an unspoken yet ever-present reason for America's gun obsession: racism.
Posted on Oct 28, 2002, Source: PopMatters
A new movie about a young African-American shoplifter offers insight into a commercial culture that encourages endless unfulfillable desires.
Posted on Jun 28, 2002, Source: PopMatters
Between NBA commercials, Snoop videos and the return of George Clinton, the funk seems to be everywhere. Now here comes the movie version of the animated series 'Undercover Brother.'
Posted on May 31, 2002, Source: PopMatters
However else you remember Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, it's her effort and her engagement, her absolute refusal to back down, that are most unforgettable.
Posted on May 3, 2002, Source: PopMatters
Though MTV and VH1 have worked hard to transform Shakira into just another blonde pop star, the Colombian icon is actually quite well read and politically aware.
Posted on Mar 28, 2002, Source: PopMatters
Hart's War, the latest World War II nostalgia flick, tries to take on racism in the U.S. army, but ends up as yet another yarn about white guys learning to do the right thing.
Posted on Feb 19, 2002, Source: PopPolitics.com
