Shooting Cameras and Shooting Weapons: U.S. Military Violence and Ecological Ruin in Coppola's Apocalypse Now This presentation examines the shooting history of Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now (1979), which was shot on the Philippine island of Luzon. I investigate the collision between Hollywood's shooting of cameras and the U.S. military's shooting of weapons, and the […]

From Maidservant to Anomalous Aristocrat: Imaging and Imagining Dido Elizabeth Belle The double portrait of cousins, entitled, Dido Elizabeth Belle and Lady Elizabeth Murray, is truly an anomaly in 18th century British art. Depicting two aristocratic women, one back and one white, the painting inspired the 2014 film, Belle. Incorporating the fancy and flair of […]

Pidgin Comedy in Hawai'i: The Queer Resignification of Settler Culture In 1970s Hawai'i, Pidgin, also known as Hawai'i Creole english, was the major medium of comedy because it was the language, visual culture, and attitude of the islands, a stark contrast to imported U.S. settle norms. Rap Reiplinger was a household name with his 1982 […]

"This is Your Life": Hiroshima Maidens and the American ideological superiority in the midst of the Cold War In 1955, twenty-five female victims of the atomic bombing flown to the United States and received extensive plastic surgery to correct severe deformity from keloids. Initiated by the American journalist Norman Cousins and the Japanese minister Tanimoto […]

"Mom, can you help me with my homework?" Identifying Tools and Conditions for Intergenerational Dialogue Among Southeast Asian Refugees and Their Children The collective memories of the Southeast Asian diaspora are interwoven with histories of war and colonial violence that continue to be felt in everyday experiences as hauntings. Post-war generations are often without access […]