You are invited to attend the Spiked/ Institute of Ideas event ‘Imagining The City’. Taking place Saturday 27th October at the Royal Collage of Art, 15.30-17.00.
The history of cinema is intertwined with the rise of modernity and urban life. Fritz Lang’s ‘Metropolis’ inspired many dystopian visions of the city, such as Ridley Scott’s ‘Blade Runner’ set in Loss Angeles in 2019, and JeanLuc Godard’s sci-fi and noir amalgam ‘Alphaville’, which turns contemporary Paris into a dehumanised city of the future. Spike Lee’s ‘Do the Right Thing’ was a statement about race relations in American cities, and Mathieu Kassovitz’s ‘La Haine’ a similar treatment of urban France. How has cinema shaped our view of the city?
Sarnath Banerjee artist and filmmaker; fellow, Akademie Schloss Solitude, Stuttgart; author of graphic novels, ‘Corridor’ and Barn Owl’s Wondrous Capers’ (project funded by Indian Foundation of the Arts, Bangalore)
Michael Channan professor of film and video, Roehampton University; author, ‘The Politics of Documentary’; co-director, ‘Detroit: Ruin of a City’
Karl Sharro architect, urbanist and writer; member, Future Cities Project
Tim Williams architect director and head of workplace sector, BDP
Chair Wendy Earle commissioning editor, education, British Film Institute
Iconic Film Stars like Marilyn Monroe, Cary Grant and James Dean were admired by generations who wanted to be just as sexy, suave and rebellious. Today, another form of celebrity culture prevails: more and more film stars head campaigns, from George Clooney taking up the humanitarian crisis in Darfur to Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz and a host of others backing Al Gore’s Live Earth Crusade. Is the loss of glamorous film star to be regretted? Should celebrities act as role models who are ‘in touch’ with the world? Should film stars put the soapbox aside and stick to dazzling us on the silver screen?
Dr Sarah Churchwell senior lecturer in American literature and culture, University of East Anglia, ‘The Many Lives of Marilyn Monroe’
Patrick Marmion writer and critic; convenor, Soap Box debating forum
Nathalie Rothschild commissioning editor, spiked; contributor to Guardian Unlimited Comment is Free, Ordfront and Hindustan Times
Peter Whittle journalist and broadcaster; director, New Culture Forum; author, ‘Look At Me’
Chair Helen Birtwistle press officer, Institute of Ideas and Pfizer Debating Matters Competition
Many documentary filmmakers today try to persuade us to change our opinions and attitudes, or inspire us to act. Take Michael Moore, or Al Gore’s ‘An Inconvenient Truth’. How effective are documentaries as tools for social campaigning or ‘awareness raising’?
Is there a tension between truth-telling and campaigning? Should those making political films take into consideration the influence they may have on the social reality they depict and what, if any, are filmmakers’ responsibilities to the audience?
Phelim McAleer joint managing director, New Bera Media; journalist and documentary filmmaker; director and producer, ‘Mine Your Own Business’
Alan Miller co-director, NY Salon; producer and director of documentaries; cultural commentator
Jess Search chief executive, Channel 4 British Documentary Film Foundation and BRITDOC Festival
Poppy Simpson education developer, British Film Institute; producer and co-director, ‘Ngobile: The Race’
Chair Nathalie Rothschild commissioning editor, spiked; contributor to Guardian Unlimited Comment is free, Ordfront and Hindustan Times
Journalism is changing fast. Reportage and commentary are no longer left to professionals. Instead, ‘citizen journalists’, armed with mobile phone cameras, BlackBerries and laptops, offer their own views. Should this be celebrated –or does it raise questions about objectivity? Many welcome the demise of the highly centralised world of journalism, but what is replacing it? When anyone can be a news reporter, and professional news reporters seem less than critically minded, how do we know what is true?
George Brock Saturday editor, The Times; president, World Editors Forum
Dr Andrew Calcutt programme leader, MA Journalism and Society, University of East London; co-author, ‘Pressing On: User-Generated Content and the Future of Professional Journalism’
In conversation with Brendan O’Neil editor, spiked