Screening Series
The Bush Years
Surveying culture from 2000 to 2008 through experimental film and blockbuster cinema.
February 22
Short Films Program
BLACK AND WHITE TRYPPS NUMBER THREE dir. Ben Russell (2007),
THE CHANGING SAME dir. Cauleen Smith (2001),
SHE PUPPET dir. Peggy Ahwesh (2001),
IN ORDER TO NOT BE HERE dir. Deborah Stratman (2002),
NYC WEIGHTS AND MEASURES dir. Jem Cohen (2005)
March 1
FROWNLAND dir. Ronald Bronstein (2007)
March 15
BAMBOOZLED dir. Spike Lee (2000)
March 22
REDACTED dir. Brian De Palma (2007)
March 29
THE WORLD dir. Jia Zhangke (2004)
April 5
COLLATERAL dir. Michael Mann (2004)
About the Series
Gray Area is pleased to present a six-part screening series exploring cinema of The Bush Years, curated by Rebecca Turner. Join us on Sunday evenings from February 22 through April 5 as we look back at how cinema high and low grappled with the war on terror, consumer-grade imaging technologies, global economic recession, and the futures of yesterday. The series asks: is there an essential evil in night-vision cameras? What happens online? What are the unknown unknowns?
The Bush Years kicks off on February 22 with a program of independent short films, including Ben Russell’s Black and White Trypps Number Three (2007), Cauleen Smith’s The Changing Same (2001), Peggy Ahwesh’s She Puppet (2001), Deborah Stratman’s In Order to Not Be Here (2002), and Jem Cohen’s Weights and Measures (2005). On March 1, we’ll be showing Marty Supreme co-writer Ronald Bronstein’s prickly debut feature Frownland—its first San Francisco screening since its 2007 premiere. Spike Lee’s media satire Bamboozled (2000) will screen on March 15, followed by Brian de Palma’s controversial Iraq War film Redacted (2007) on March 22. Join us on March 29 for Jia Zhangke’s portrait of a globalizing China The World (2004). Finally, to close out the series, we’ll feature 2004’s Collateral, Michael Mann’s blockbuster thriller featuring Jamie Foxx and Tom Cruise.
To further critical appraisal of cinema of the early 2000s, we’ve published a zine featuring writing from contemporary critics including A.S. Hamrah, Paul Grimstad, Kyéra Sterling, Kola Heyward-Rotimi, Del Holton, Carlos Valladares, and Katherine Franco, alongside an interview with Ben Russell by Rebecca Turner. Pick up your copy of The Bush Years: The Zine for $5 at any screening, or secure a series pass to get yours for free.
The Bush Years
PROGRAM
Sunday, February 22
Short Films Program
TICKETS
Program:
BLACK AND WHITE TRYPPS NUMBER THREE dir. Ben Russell (2007)
THE CHANGING SAME dir. Cauleen Smith (2001)
SHE PUPPET dir. Peggy Ahwesh (2001)
IN ORDER TO NOT BE HERE dir. Deborah Stratman (2002)
NYC WEIGHTS AND MEASURES dir. Jem Cohen (2005)
Doors: 6:00PM
Program starts: 6:15PM
Total runtime: 76 minutes
Sunday, March 1
Frownland (2007)
TICKETS
FROWNLAND dir. Ronald Bronstein (2007)
"A nightmare transmission from the grungiest depths of the New York indie underground, the visceral, darkly funny, and totally sui generis debut feature from Ronald Bronstein is a dread-inducing vision of misfit alienation at its unhinged extreme." — Criterion
Doors: 6:00PM
Program starts: 6:15PM
Sunday, March 15
Bamboozled (2000)
TICKETS
BAMBOOZLED dir. Spike Lee (2000)
A sizzling satire on race and racism within the modern media world.
Doors: 6:00PM
Program starts: 6:15PM
Sunday, March 22
Redacted (2007)
TICKETS
REDACTED dir. Brian De Palma (2007)
A fictional documentary discusses the effects the Iraq war has had on soldiers and local people through interviews with members of an American military unit, the media, and local Iraqis.
Doors: 6:00PM
Program starts: 6:15PM
Sunday, March 29
The World (2004)
TICKETS
THE WORLD dir. Jia Zhangke (2004)
"An at once intimate and expansive exploration of globalization from visionary director Jia Zhang-Ke, THE WORLD takes place in the eponymous theme park on the outskirts of Beijing, where iconic monuments from the Eiffel Tower to the Taj Mahal are reproduced for tourists. It’s there that the park’s employees—including a dancer (Zhao Tao) and a security guard (Cheng Taishen)—drift together and are pulled apart in a cycle of connection and alienation that speaks eloquently to the effects of China’s rapid modernization." — Criterion
Doors: 6:00PM
Program starts: 6:15PM
Sunday, April 5
Collateral (2004)
TICKETS
COLLATERAL dir. Michael Mann (2004)
A cab driver finds himself the hostage of an engaging contract killer as he makes his rounds from hit to hit during one night in Los Angeles.
Doors: 6:00PM
Program starts: 6:15PM
The Bush Years
CURATOR
Rebecca Turner
Rebecca Turner studies contemporary film and media with an interest in post-cinema, immediacy, pornography, and war. Rebecca serves as co-chair of the Digital Aesthetics Workshop at the Stanford Humanities Center as well as co-chair of Stanford Cinematheque, a graduate student-led weekly screening series. Her writing has appeared in the Brooklyn Rail, Screen Slate, and Filmmaker Magazine, among other publications.
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