Within Our Gates

Mtume Gant
  • 5.0 (38)
  • Arts
  • Updated Semiweekly

Within Our Gates is a podcast on Cinema and the arts from a Marxist perspective. Hosted by Filmmaker and Professor Mtume Gant, bi-weekly he has guests where they cover cinematic works or scholarship on the arts and always from a perspective focused on revolutionary analysis and dialectical materialist principles.

  1. 3d ago

    Tales of Militant Chemistry w/ Alice Lovejoy

    Peace Comrades! For this episode I have with me Alice Lovejoy to discuss her book Tales of Militant Chemistry: The Film Factory in a Century of War. The book is "the untold story of film as a chemical cousin to poison gas and nuclear weapons, shaped by centuries of violent extraction. Following scientists, soldiers, prisoners, and spies through Kodak's and Agfa's global empires, Alice Lovejoy links the golden age of cinema and photography to colonialism, the military-industrial complex, radioactive dust, and toxic waste. Revelatory and chilling,Tales of Militant Chemistry shows how film became a weapon whose chemistry irrevocably shaped the world we live in today." We have a great conversation getting into many of the details of her book, and how it helps aid in analysis on imperialism, the social totality and how cultural production can't be ignored when situating global capitalism and its destructive nature. Hope you enjoy! Alice Lovejoy is a film and media historian and critic. She is Professor of Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature and Moving Image, Media, and Sound at the University of Minnesota, where she also directs the Center for Austrian Studies. Born on the North Shore of Boston, she earned a B.A. in Documentary Studies from Brown University, and a Ph.D. in Film Studies and Comparative Literature from Yale University. To get a jump on the shows a few days early, bonus video episodes every month, deeper dives into text and works with revolutionary content and political art study groups check out Mtume's Patreon and become a subscriber!  Additionally, check out my new colaboration The Imperial 80's, a series I co-hosted with Jared Ware of Millenials are Killing Capitalism. We take a dive into the wild world of 80's Hollywood and uncover what it has to say about this imperial project called The United States. You can find us on Patreon and make sure to follow the channel if you want to catch the livestreams Tumes

    1h 24m

  2. May 13

    Memories of Underdevelopment w/ Steven Osuna

    For this episode happy to have with me Steven Osuna to talk about the legendary film Memories of Underdevelopment by late Cuban Filmmaker and theorist Tomas Tomás Gutiérrez Alea. Alea was a major figure in cinema, and in the development of Cuban cinema and culture in the early days of the revolution until his death in 1996. A prolific filmmaker, cinematic theorist and cultural leader who was one of the founders of the Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematográficos (ICAIC). While he made many incredible films, Memories of Underdevelopment is one that is most known, and often is misrepresented here in the imperial core, as a film critical Cuba's socialist revolution. Steven and I look at the film from the revolutionary socialist perspective it was made in and look to challenge the revision that has been attempted towards the film and Aleas legacy overall. Memories of Underdevelopment stands as one of the great analysis of the concept of underdevelopment that comes out of Marxist theory. Steven Osuna is an Associate Professor of Sociology at California State University, Long Beach. His research interests include racism and political economy; globalization and immigration, policing and criminalization; and social theory. Steven was born and raised in Echo Park, Los Angeles and is a son of Mexican and Salvadoran working-class migrants. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Homies Unidos-Los Angeles and a member of the Philippines US Solidarity Organization (PUSO). He holds a PhD in Sociology with an emphasis on Black Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara To get a jump on the shows a few days early, bonus video episodes every month, deeper dives into text and works with revolutionary content and political art study groups check out Mtume's Patreon and become a subscriber!  Additionally, check out my new colaboration The Imperial 80's, a series I co-hosted with Jared Ware of Millenials are Killing Capitalism. We take a dive into the wild world of 80's Hollywood and uncover what it has to say about this imperial project called The United States. You can find us on Patreon and make sure to follow the channel if you want to catch the livestreams Tumes

    2h 19m

  3. Apr 7

    Revolutionary Lucidity w/ Lara Sheehi

    For this episode I am joined by Lara Sheehi, someone if you have been paying attention to these anti-imperialist airwaves you have def seen, and if you aren't yet familiar with Lara's work you are def in for something truly substantial, and can't miss this episode. Lara, who is one the true counter hegemonic forces in the world of psychoanalysis helps me untangle questions around the ideas of narrative, and documentation within the imperial nexus and the pernicious liberal project of humanization. I also ask Lara to help me unpack a bit how and possibly why psychoanalysis is popular in Film Studies these days. Its a great convo and Im sure you will ALL enjoy! Lara Sheehi is a Research Fellow at the University of South Africa's Institute for Social and Health Sciences, a licensed clinical psychologist, and the host of the Psychic Militancy podcast. Lara's work focuses on psychoanalysis, the psychic refusals central to liberation struggles and life-making in the Global South, the psychic dimensions of resistance and revolution, and critical Zionism studies. She is co-author with Stephen Sheehi of Psychoanalysis Under Occupation: Practicing Resistance in Palestine (Routledge, 2022) which won the Middle East Monitor's 2022 Palestine Book Award for Best Academic Book. Lara is a member of the founding collective for the Institute for the Critical Study of Zionism and is on the advisory board for Forensic Architecture. Her new book, From the Clinic to the Streets: Psychoanalysis for Revolutionary Futures will be released by Pluto Press in May 2026. Relevant Episodes w/ Lara Sheehi A Call for Revolutionary Intellectual Alignment with Dr. Ghassan Abu Sittah Colonial Psyops with Lara Sheehi in conversation with Nick Estes Chuck Norris Has Died. The Delta Force | Lara Sheehi & Stephen Sheehi | The Imperial '80s Episode 19 To get a jump on the shows a few days early, bonus video episodes every month, deeper dives into text and works with revolutionary content and political art study groups check out Mtume's Patreon and become a subscriber!  Additionally, check out my new colaboration The Imperial 80's, a series I co-hosted with Jared Ware of Millenials are Killing Capitalism. We take a dive into the wild world of 80's Hollywood and uncover what it has to say about this imperial project called The United States. You can find us on Patreon and make sure to follow the channel if you want to catch the livestreams Tumes

    2h 6m

  4. Mar 24

    Notes On Third Cinema

    For this episode I am solo! I dive into a Patreon members extended question on Third Cinema and how can we envision it for today. It was a rather capacious set of questions so I felt it would be good to set aside some time to jump into the topic more thoroughly as it connects to a lot my current theoretical work that I am developing. In general I plan on doing these solo episodes once a quarter (at least) and will do at least a section of it focused on listener questions! And don't worry, Ill be back with folks for guest episodes very soon. To get a jump on the shows a few days early, bonus video episodes every month, deeper dives into text and works with revolutionary content and political art study groups check out Mtume's Patreon and become a subscriber!  Additionally, check out my new colaboration The Imperial 80's, a series I co-hosted with Jared Ware of Millenials are Killing Capitalism. We take a dive into the wild world of 80's Hollywood and uncover what it has to say about this imperial project called The United States. You can find us on Patreon and make sure to follow the channel if you want to catch the livestreams Tumes

    1h 13m

  5. Mar 10

    The Aesthetic Character of Blackness w/ Jemma DeCristo

    For this episode I am joined by Jemma DeCristo to discuss her excellent new text The Aesthetic Character of Blackness: Sounds like Us. Its a powerful intervention into conversations around Blackness, Black art, and aesthetics which "critiques the exaltation of black culture and art's saving power by analyzing the violence underneath aesthetic production". Its a truly necessary work and our conversation while rich only scratches the surface of her wonderful text, so I encourage you all to get a copy! There is also a digital copy for folks if they want to check it out, but I highly encourage folks pick up the text Hope you all enjoy! Jemma DeCristo is a writer, scholar…and reluctant artist. She studies how sound, race-gender, and embodiment are realized in and as forms of mediation. Her recently published book now available on Duke University Press, The Aesthetic Character of Blackness, theorizes the means by which black art liberates the free world but does not and cannot liberate black people. She is also working on a co-written second book-length project focused on the language and structures of crisis management that encircle black trans/disabled women and the depths of internalization of those structures perpetuated by the non-profit industrial complex. Jemma is also a practicing filmmaker and artist working in video, sound, text, poetry, image, and movement. To get a jump on the shows a few days early, bonus video episodes every month, deeper dives into text and works with revolutionary content and political art study groups check out Mtume's Patreon and become a subscriber!  Additionally, check out my new colaboration The Imperial 80's, a series I co-hosted with Jared Ware of Millenials are Killing Capitalism. We take a dive into the wild world of 80's Hollywood and uncover what it has to say about this imperial project called The United States. You can find us on Patreon and make sure to follow the channel if you want to catch the livestreams Tumes

    2h 18m

  6. Feb 24

    The Crisis of the Bourgeois Intellectual w/ Sudip Bhattacharya

    Returning to the show we have Sudip Bhattacharya to have an in depth discussion about intellectuals, artists and their role in the current movement. We do a historical analysis, focusing on the work by Marx as well as Amilcar Cabral. We also talk about the bourgeois art cultures relationship to stifling movements and how the left must orient itself in relationship to the forces at hand. Its a fun convo, leave comments! To get a jump on the shows a few days early, bonus video episodes every month, deeper dives into text and works with revolutionary content and political art study groups check out Mtume's Patreon and become a subscriber!  Additionally, check out my new colaboration The Imperial 80's, a series I co-hosted with Jared Ware of Millenials are Killing Capitalism. We take a dive into the wild world of 80's Hollywood and uncover what it has to say about this imperial project called The United States. You can find us on Patreon and make sure to follow the channel if you want to catch the livestreams Tumes

    2h 19m

  7. Feb 10

    Latin America and The Three Cinema's w/ Alex Aviña

    For this episode I have Alex Aviña joining me. We discuss the convergence of Latin American politics, leftist anti-colonial revolution and cinema. Taking a cue from Third Cinema creators Fernando Solanas and Octavio Getino, we look at 3 films that represent each of the "Three" different worlds of cinema and use it as a bridge point to connect the actual material history that informed the films creation, but also how these works fed back into the living world. Its really a wide ranging convo, and frankly this caption doesn't do it justice. You will have to listen! Alexander Aviña is a historian and professor—and the son of undocumented migrants from Michoacán, Mexico whose sacrifices and love made these educational achievements possible. He is currently an Associate Professor of History in the School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies at Arizona State University (ASU). He has taught previously at Florida State University and the University of Southern California. He holds a B.A. in History magna cum laude from Saint Mary's College of California and a Ph.D. in History from the University of Southern California. His research focuses on twentieth-century Mexico, with an emphasis on revolutionary movements, the Mexican Left, state violence and terrorism, immigration, and the history of narcotics production and trafficking To get a jump on the shows a few days early, bonus video episodes every month, deeper dives into text and works with revolutionary content and political art study groups check out Mtume's Patreon and become a subscriber!  Additionally, check out my new colaboration The Imperial 80's, a series I co-hosted with Jared Ware of Millenials are Killing Capitalism. We take a dive into the wild world of 80's Hollywood and uncover what it has to say about this imperial project called The United States. You can find us on Patreon and make sure to follow the channel if you want to catch the livestreams Tumes

    1h 53m

  8. Jan 27

    Camera Palaestina w/ Stephen Sheehi

    Stephen Sheehi joins me to talk about his text Camera Palaestina, a critical exploration of Jerusalemite chronicler Wasif Jawhariyyeh (1904–1972) and his seven photography albums entitled The Illustrated History of Palestine. We have an expansive conversation, talking not only about the collection but the historical context in which they were collected, and how these images and the history around them tell us about Palestine, and the struggle against colonial erasure and genocide. During our conversation we talk about a few images. You can click the link to images below and follow along! Pic 1 Pic 2 Pic 3 Pic 4 Stephen Sheehi is the Sultan Qaboos Professor of Middle East Studies at William & Mary in Arabic Studies, Asian and Middle East Studies and Asian and Pacific Islander American Studies.  He is also Professor Extraordinarius at the Institute for Social and Health Sciences at the University of South Africa (UNISA). He has written a number of books, articles and book chapters around Arab photography and cultural history, Palestine and Palestinian studies,  psychoanalysis and settler colonialism, race, anti-Arab racism and Islamophobia, and, more recently, gender and sexuality in Southwest Asia and the Global South. Most recently, he is co-author with Lara Sheehi, Psychoanalysis Under Occupation: Practicing Resistance in Palestine (Routledge, 2022), which was awarded the 2022 Palestine Book Award.  He is also the author of  Camera Palestina (University of California Press, 2022) with Salim Tamari and Issam Nassar. He current research project is entitled Intimacies of Guerillas: Queer Objects of Palestinian Liberation. To get a jump on the shows a few days early, bonus video episodes every month, deeper dives into text and works with revolutionary content and political art study groups check out Mtume's Patreon and become a subscriber!  Additionally, check out my new colaboration The Imperial 80's, a series I co-hosted with Jared Ware of Millenials are Killing Capitalism. We take a dive into the wild world of 80's Hollywood and uncover what it has to say about this imperial project called The United States. You can find us on Patreon and make sure to follow the channel if you want to catch the livestreams Tumes

    2h 5m
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
38 Ratings

About

Within Our Gates is a podcast on Cinema and the arts from a Marxist perspective. Hosted by Filmmaker and Professor Mtume Gant, bi-weekly he has guests where they cover cinematic works or scholarship on the arts and always from a perspective focused on revolutionary analysis and dialectical materialist principles.

Information

  • Creator
    Mtume Gant
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    32
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2025
  • Show Website
    Within Our Gates

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