In this “Media That Matter” blog, I have previously used examples of deeply moving or symbolic current feature movies and more recently books. But what if we no longer looked at a close-up of one feature film or a few books within each blog? What if we zoomed back with our lens and looked… Continue Reading
Author Archives: Tom Cooper
MUSIC, MA, AND MEDIA WITH MEANING
Music is frequently referred to as “the universal language” and it could easily be called a “cosmic” or “galactic” language as well. In The Music of Strangers feature length documentary, gourmet cellist Yo-Yo Ma lets us feel such universality by assembling and unifying elite musicians from cultures worldwide. As an audience, we sense more… Continue Reading
TARZAN MEETS LONDON HAS FALLEN?
What could the feature films The Legend of Tarzan and London has Fallen possibly have in common other than their public release in 2016? Tarzan seems to be about the Congo in the nineteenth century and London seems thousands of miles and an entire century away. The latter is about rescuing a U.S. president… Continue Reading
ENTICING BOOKS: BECOMING A SUN AND MORE
Although I’ve been focusing primarily on visual media within this “Media That Matters,” I have noticed, as have many other people, that books can also change lives. Do you recall books that turned you on to new ideas or a new direction in life? I recall encountering Thoreau’s Walden and Cervantes’ Don Quixote when… Continue Reading
V IS FOR VICTORY: EDDIE THE EAGLE MEETS JESSE OWENS
Although I value most of the media genres (types or “families”) that many people enjoy, such as comedy, drama, romance, adventure and documentary, there is one previously unnamed genre I truly love. I have dubbed this seldom heralded genre “the victory”. There are three types of victories we frequently see in epic media stories.… Continue Reading