Issue 27, winter/spring 2019 https://doi.org/10.70090/MM27WUME “Us,” Jordan Peele’s newly released horror film, raises questions about American identity that will appear very different to viewers outside the United States. Peele has claimed that “Us” aims to hold up a mirror to American society, showing “us” how “we are our worst enemies.” …

Issue 23, winter/spring 2017 https://doi.org/10.70090/AFH17FRI Anna Rousillion’s feature documentary I Am the People follows Farraj and his family through four tumultuous years in Egyptian history, beginning just before revolution and chronicling their lives in its aftermath. Farraj, the film’s protagonist, is a wiry farmer in the southern province of Luxor, …

Eshtebak (Clash) defies convenient stereotypes of heroes and villains. There are no comfortable answers, and there is no feel-good storyline; it is unapologetically raw and gritty. Clash compels audiences to doubt their perceptions of conflict and political antagonism, a vexing challenge for an Egyptian public accustomed to propagandist narratives on …