The Projector #45: What to Watch, Where to Give (Patreon)

by Keith Phipps

We let this newsletter rest last week as it seemed like it might be a distraction given everything else going on in the world. We’re going to keep it short this week, too, but we wanted to share a few relevant resources for the moment we’re all living in. With so many worthwhile charitable organizations it’s hard to know who to support. We’re based in Chicago, so local organizations immediately come to mind, namely GoodKids MadCity, a youth-led group with a succinct mission statement: "We are Black and Brown youth united in fighting to end violence in our cities. We call for more resources for our communities and not police!" Founded after Parkland, the groups has expanded its efforts since then. You can read more about them in this Teen Vogue profile and donate here.

We’ll just keep the focus on that organization this week, but it would be nice to spotlight others in the future. If you’ve got one worth our attention, let us know in the comments.

Also of note: several different services are making films by Black filmmakers and about Black lives available to stream for free at the moment. One of the largest collections can be found at the Criterion Channels website, including Julie Dash’s Daughters of the Dust and Ousmane Sembène’s Black Girl. Various studios have also made some key films available for free on VOD services, including Selma, The Hate U Give, Antwone Fisher, and last year’s Just Mercy. We could go on, but Film School Rejects has the best list we’ve found. And, again, if you know of more, please leave them in the comments.

Also, as always, we hope you enjoyed our recent pairing of The Haunting and Shirley. And if you’re looking for some items to read, why not try some of these?

• At Vulture, Kathryn VanArendonk considered the implications of entertainment that consistently makes the police the good guys.

• Also at Vulture, Rebecca Alter looked back to the 1989 reactions to Do the Right Thing.

• And another Vulture item, this one related to our most recent episode: Lila Shapiro’s profile of Shirley director Josephine Decker.

• At The Ringer, Brian Raftery compiled an oral history of the bizarre, alienating, wonderful ’00s comedy show Wonder Showzen.

• TV is drifting toward the three-seasons-and-done model. Is that a good idea? Maureen Ryan asks the question for Vanity Fair.

• For The Guardian, Scott Tobias reflects on Total Recall at 30.

• For Mel, Keith Phipps wrote about the terrific The Vast of Night and the tradition of low-budget 21st-century science fiction movies.