Bright Wall/Dark Room

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A reader-supported online film journal, offering a different lens on movies since 2013. issues/essays: brightwalldarkroom.com podcast: @bwdrpod.bsky.social all the things: https://linktr.ee/brightwalldarkroom

“I said in an earlier interview that I did with you that Roger was not just a man, and he was not just a critic; he was an idea. He is an idea. He exists in the present tense. And Roger's core idea is that the world doesn't begin and end with you. Other people exist, and you should care about them, even if you've never met them. You should try to understand them even if you didn't know they existed five minutes ago. That's the basic building block of civilization. There are many people, including many colleagues in my profession, who think that's sentimental. They think it's corny. They think it's cringe. And it's not. It's the purpose of art, and it's the purpose of life.”
ethan hawke in an interview saying “Go to Pullman City, Germany. It's like a zoo set for Earthlings.” we’d give you more context but there really isn’t any, other than that ethan hawke is wonderful
Comedy Happy Place (Actual Title TBD) - Ends on Sat, Feb 21, 2026 *** “Humor is just another defense against the universe.” - Mel Brooks For our upcoming March/April issue, in full recognition of the fact that the universe is a LOT right now, we're going full-on defense mechanism; we're going escapism; we're going coping; we're going with medicine; we're going funny. We want to hear about what makes you laugh, the movie or actor or director you go to when the world overwhelms you, the one you can count on, your
“The trick in most Talking Heads songs—and therefore in producing the chemical reaction that is Stop Making Sense—and also, of course, in existential philosophy itself—is to turn despair into freedom. Despair comes, according to Kierkegaard, when there is a rupture in the relationship of the self to itself—a concept that drove my students crazy this past semester, though they also seemed to take great joy in quoting it back to me every chance they got. And Kierkegaard believes it is impossible to mend this ruptured relationship—that everyone lives in despair, but there’s hope for those who recognize the nature of the despair they inhabit, who acknowledge and grapple with this misalignment at the core of the soul. Freedom does not come from transcending despair; it comes from seeing the despair for what it is and persisting anyway.”