UC Santa Barbara (Audio‪)‬ UCTV

Filmmaker Anthony Banua-Simon joins moderator Patrice Petro to discuss his documentary film Cane Fire. They explore the historical and colonial relationships between the plantation economy, the film industry, and tourism in Hawai’i, and larger questions posed by the film. Banua-Simon also discusses his approach to interrogating Hollywood history and how archival materials, oral records, and conspicuous historical absences drive his central critique. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 39574]

Writer/producer Gabe Liedman and moderator Tyler Morgenstern discuss the film Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar, a screening programmed alongside a workshop on comedy writing. Liedman discusses the collaborative work of comedy and the unique comedic style of the film. He also shares his favorite jokes and moments in the movie, and how the film has been impactful for their own work as a comedian and screenwriter. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 39565]

Director Arthur Jones and producer Giorgio Angelini join moderator Chelsea Kai Roesch from UC Santa Barbara to discuss their film "Feels Good Man." They talk about working with artist Matt Furie and unpack the social and political contexts behind Pepe the Frog and its cooptation by the alt-right. They also reflect on the cinematic challenges in telling a story about the internet and discuss the larger implications of internet culture and political polarization in the United States. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 39567]

Timothy Corrigan of the University of Pennsylvania joins moderator Patrice Petro to discuss Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s classic film Ali: Fear Eats the
Soul. Together, they examine the larger body of work and influences of the German filmmaker, which include Brechtian aesthetics and classical Hollywood melodramas like that of Douglas Sirk. They also offer close readings of scenes from the film, analyzing themes of class, race, and gender and the social relations of melodrama. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 39573]

What is bionic vision? Michael Beyeler, director of the Bionic Vision Lab and assistant professor of computer science at UC Santa Barbara, talks about how technology is being used to help people see again using bionic vision.
Series: "GRIT Talks" [Science] [Show ID: 39443]

What role do oil companies have in tackling climate change? In this program, Paasha Mahdavi, Assistant Professor of Political Science at UC Santa Barbara, talks about the challenge of getting big oil to take climate change seriously. Mahdavi's research broadly explores comparative environmental politics and the political consequences of natural resource wealth. He is the author of Power Grab: Political Survival Through Extractive Resource Nationalization (Cambridge University Press, 2020), which shows how dictators maintain their grip on power by seizing control of oil, metals, and minerals production. Additional recent work includes the effects of oil-to-cash transfers on civic engagement; the political economy of fossil fuel subsidy reform; and the efficacy of policies to eliminate natural gas flaring. Series: "GRIT Talks" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 39442]