Author: Darren Reid

Darren Reid's core research has been concerned with the role played by violence in the shaping of early American society and its role in the creation of Native American ‘Otherness’. Darren is currently in the process of turning his PhD thesis into a monograph for publication. His secondary research concerns the evolution of American popular culture and he has recently co-directed 'Looking for Charlie', a documentary about Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton & the suicidal clowns who inspired them.
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Media Coverage and the Presidential Election of 2016: Documenting Donald: A Trans-Media Post-Mortem about Documentary-Making during the 2016 Presidential Election

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‘Documenting Donald’ is a trans-media article which combines the written word with short films and interactive elements. Media elements are embedded into the article and should be activated by the reader at the appropriate place in the text. Embedded elements can be viewed within the article or as full-screen presentations. Continue reading

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Black Films Matter: Reassessing Spike Lee’s ‘Do the Right Thing’ in Post-Ferguson America

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Charged with social awareness and style, Spike Lee’s 1989 film, Do the Right Thing is nothing less than a street ballet. It fuses music with the body, giving characters idiosyncratic and physically charged expression to their narrative arcs. They shuffle, strut, stride, and twitch their way through the world, with changes in bodily (and musical) expression coming to signify much larger attitudinal shifts. These changes are important – they help the film to antagonise its audience, shining an uncompromising light upon the hidden subtexts of modernised racism, degradation, and white supremacy. Continue reading

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Fear Itself: Reflections on Native America and the Narrative of Fear

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Throughout November 2015, U.S. Studies Online will be publishing a series of posts to mark Native American Heritage Month. In this post Darren Reid (University of Coventry) uses his own research on Native American guerilla warfare to reflect on narratives of fear throughout history and in a post-9/11 world. Continue reading