Paul Dallas

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Holywood In Black

By Paul Dallas | April 5

In Spike Lee's satire "Bamboozled," a cynical television producer in need of a hit develops the "New Millennium Minstrel Show" complete with black actors wearing "black face." The catch is that the show indeed becomes a national phenomenon. Lee's commentary is not subtle. He boldly equates TV shows such as "Martin" or "In Living Color," which feature black actors in sketch comedy, with the racist caricaturing of the minstrel routines of the late 1800s.

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Visiting Filmmaker Bekolo Breaks African Stereotypes

By Paul Dallas | April 5

In America, "foreign" film usually means film of European or perhaps Asian origin. Rarely, if ever, is Africa acknowledged as a film-producing culture. When Americans do see images of Africa, it is usually in the context of human tragedy.African filmmaker Jean-Pierre Bekolo has made a reputation of resisting the stereotypes ascribed to African cinema. Born in Cameroon, he made his first film there, "Quartier Mozart," when he was 26.

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Melodramatic `Enemy at the Gates' Tanks

By Paul Dallas | March 22

Enemy of the Gates2 StarsHollywood tends to imagine the World War II as a two-sided battle between the Western Allies and the Germans."Enemy at the Gates," the new film by Jean-Jacques Annaud ("Seven Years in Tibet"), is the latest addition to Hollywood's revival of the WWII movie. It offers an entirely foreign perspective for American audiences: the "good guys" are the Soviets.Set during the epic siege of Stalingrad, the film tells the true story of Vasily Zaitsez (Jude Law), who rose to fame as a sniper in the Soviet army.

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Local Artist Explores Digital Age Through Video

By Paul Dallas | March 1

If you look closely at the schedule for this year's Hi Mom! Film Festival, you might be surprised to find that many of the works are not films at all.Rather, they're videos or works that combine alternative media. In the digital age, film is an emblem of the past.Local Web designer Giles Hendrix, whose video "Divided Eyeprint" will show at Hi Mom's Sunday screening at the Hanes Art Center, represents the new wave of multimedia artists.Hendrix's videos deal specifically with the technology age.

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Lab! Theater Looks for 'The Real Thing'

By Paul Dallas | February 23

Apart from writing brilliant dialogue, playwright Tom Stoppard always chooses the greatest titles -- "Arcadia," "Travesties," "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead."With "The Real Thing," it's a perfect tease, at once simple and enigmatic. For those who missed its recent revival last year in New York, Lab!

Paul Dallas

Holywood In Black

Visiting Filmmaker Bekolo Breaks African Stereotypes

Melodramatic `Enemy at the Gates' Tanks

Local Artist Explores Digital Age Through Video

Lab! Theater Looks for 'The Real Thing'

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