The Useless Tree

Film

  • Enough with the Panda, already!

    Richard Bernstein, in today’s NYT Week in Review section is a bit late to the Kung Fu Panda critique.  I do not often toot my own horn here but I was on this a month ago.  And in the meantime… Continue reading

  • Sometimes a Panda is just a Panda

        I didn’t realize a couple of weeks ago when I saw the anodyne children’s movie Kung Fu Panda that it would create such a stir in China.  The controversy, however, is not so much about orientalism, as I had… Continue reading

  • The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

        We watched the movie, “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,” last night.  It is haunting, the tale of a man, Jean-Dominique Bauby, who, in his early forties, has a massive stroke that leaves him completely paralyzed, save for the… Continue reading

  • Blindsight, The Movie

         We saw Blindsight on Friday night.  A great film, but one that raises a question about how we understand disability.        First, some background on the film, without too much in the way of spoilers.  The story focuses on… Continue reading

  • Young and Restless in China

        Two nights ago I watched a great documentary on PBS, "Young and Restless in China."  The website for the program is really quite good.  It is possible to watch the whole thing on line, or to just select 10… Continue reading

  • Taoism for Kids, with Reflections on Orientalism

    Last weekend my daughter was babysitting an eight-year-old acquaintance and I took them to see a movie, something appropriate for the younger girl.  Thus, I found myself watching the new Dream Works movie, "Kung Fu Panda."  Perhaps this is a… Continue reading

  • Chuang Tzu at the Movies

         Somewhere in the past six months I missed this: a movie with clear Chuang Tzu resonance.  I stumbled upon it today, when I clicked on this post by Juhn Ahn at the Immanent Frame.  He is adding to a… Continue reading

  • There is a Way to be Good Again

        I watched The Kite Runner last night.  I had not read the book when it appeared a couple of years ago but had noticed the reviews.  The movie is good, if a bit unpersuasive at times.  But what… Continue reading

  • Is Juno a Taoist?

          A lot, relatively speaking, of Taoism this week here at The Useless Tree.  My Confucian friends might be asking: what about us?  Don’t fear.  It’s all about the moment: I am working with students on the Tao Te… Continue reading