Aaron Gerow
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dengerow.bsky.social
Aaron Gerow
@dengerow.bsky.social

Prof of Film and Media Studies and East Asian Languages and Literatures at Yale. Scholar of Japanese and other East Asian film and media (TV, manga, etc.). Likes rakugo, cats, and cycling. Views are my own. イェール大学教授、日本と他の東アジア映画とメディアの研究者。落語、猫と自転車。 .. more

Aaron Gerow is an American historian of Japanese cinema, and a member of the faculty of Yale University where he holds a joint position between the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures and the Film Studies Programs. .. more

Sociology 22%
Economics 19%

Extremely sad to hear of the death of Nakadai Tatsuya, one of the great actors in cinema. I was honored to bring him to Yale in 2016 (photo), interview him on camera, and visit his acting school Mumeijuku. He was supremely devoted to the act of acting and will be sorely missed.

オリジナルの日本語バージョンはこちらです。

アニメ・シンポジウム『桃太郎 海の神兵』から『ペリリュー -楽園のゲルニカ-』まで 国産アニメーションは戦争をいかに描いたか

www.youtube.com/watch?app=de...
アニメ・シンポジウム『桃太郎 海の神兵』から『ペリリュー -楽園のゲルニカ-』まで 国産アニメーションは戦争をいかに描いたか
YouTube video by 東京国際映画祭
www.youtube.com

Video of the splendid symposium about how anime has depicted war that took place this week at TIFF 2025. This has English VO.
youtu.be/cBs-u1vuXik?...
Anime Symposium: From "Momotaro, Sacred Sailors" to "Peleliu: Guernica of Paradise" English Ver.
YouTube video by 東京国際映画祭
youtu.be

U of Virginia prof excoriates the university's agreement with the DOJ, which is very different from those signed by Columbia and Brown.

"U.Va. paid nothing, yet lost everything:
Two centuries of independence, undone with a stroke of the pen"
www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2025...
ACQUAVIVA: U.Va. paid nothing, yet lost everything
It seems disingenuous for the University to boast about its agreement having “no external monitoring,” since the University’s president is required to report compliance — and certify under penalty of ...
www.cavalierdaily.com

Perhaps one of the first No Kings rallies took place in Tokyo on the 18th, though it was called a No Tyranny rally. Several hundred gathered outside of Shinjuku Station. This is just the start. Hope you all attend your rallies in the States on October 18.

I interviewed Oki Hiroyuki for the YIDFF's magazine Documentary Box back in 1998. It is in both English and Japanese.
www.yidff.jp/docbox/11/bo...
YIDFF: Publications: DocBox: #11
www.yidff.jp

Shocked to hear of the death of Oki Hiroyuki, one of the pioneer queer filmmakers in Japan. He was only 61. Working in a variety of media and genres, from experimental and documentary film to performance art, Oki-san was a daring artist who made the body both the subject and the method of his art.

US anti-fascism expert blocked from flying to Spain at airport

Rutgers University professor who published book on antifa was informed at boarding gate that his trip was cancelled

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
US anti-fascism expert blocked from flying to Spain at airport
Rutgers University professor who published book on antifa was informed at boarding gate that his trip was cancelled
www.theguardian.com

My partner appears in the Asahi newspaper, describing the collection of interviews she is putting together of filmmakers attending this year's Yamagata Film Festival.. Please support the crowd funding if you can.

www.asahi.com/articles/AST...
世界各国の監督の声を届けたい 山形映画祭がCFでインタビュー集:朝日新聞
山形市で9日に開幕する山形国際ドキュメンタリー映画祭で、世界各国から訪れる映画監督のインタビュー集を作る資金をクラウドファンディング(CF)で募っている。インタビュー集編集長の小野聖子さんは「様々な…
www.asahi.com
Chicago priest Father Michael Pfleger: "The state of emergency is in AMERICA, not Chicago. It's birthed from this president and his admin's reign of terror."

( ht: @mikenellis.bsky.social )
Larry Ellison envisions a surveillance state in which techbros rule. '“Citizens will be on their best behavior, because we’re constantly recording and reporting everything that is going on,” Ellison said in an hour-long Q&A during Oracle’s Financial Analyst Meeting last week.'
Larry Ellison predicts rise of the modern surveillance state where ‘citizens will be on their best behavior’ | Fortune
Oracle's Larry Ellison believes citizens and police alike will be under constant surveillance of each other.
fortune.com

Reposted by Aaron Gerow

The DOE will partner with
40 conservative orgs to create K-12 programs led by the America First Policy Institute, a conservative group, with Turning Point USA, the Heritage Foundation, and other conservative state and nat’l organizations. Let the indoctrination begin! 😳
www.npr.org/2025/09/17/n...
U.S. Education Dept. unites conservative groups to create 'patriotic' civics content
The group of more than 40 conservative organizations met for the first time on Wednesday. The initiative is aimed at celebrations of the nation's founding next summer.
www.npr.org

No, we don't need AI translated subtitles.

‘Tentacles squelching wetly’: the human subtitle writers under threat from AI

Artificial intelligence is making steady advances into subtitling but, say its practitioners, it’s a vital service that needs a human.

www.theguardian.com/film/2025/se...
‘Tentacles squelching wetly’: the human subtitle writers under threat from AI
Artificial intelligence is making steady advances into subtitling but, say its practitioners, it’s a vital service that needs a human to make it work
www.theguardian.com
Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan is caught on tape accepting a bag containing $50,000 in cash from undercover FBI agents-and the Trump administration quashes the investigation…

…so he can summarily detain immigrants who have lived in the US peacefully for decades-without committing crimes

Reposted by Aaron Gerow

🧵For those who missed it, Larry Ellison is on the verge of becoming one of the most powerful media & entertainment moguls America has ever seen

If you fear Brendan Carr, fear Ellison more

He's already a major stakeholder in CBS & Paramount.

Now CNN, HBO & major share of TikTok are in his sights
Opinion | The Billionaire Trump Supporter Who Will Soon Own the News
www.nytimes.com

TPM:

"If I were a Democratic official, (I'd taunt) every journalist ... from ABC, CBS and every other news and media organization that is now owned by the White House.... “Yes, I will happily answer your question, but first, how can we trust your company, since it is owned by Donald Trump?”"
The early polling on the FCC going after Kimmel is decisively anti-Trump/pro-free speech www.gelliottmorris.com/p/how-trump-...

One more critical voice being suppressed?

ABC Pulls Jimmy Kimmel Off Air for Charlie Kirk Comments www.nytimes.com/2025/09/17/b...
ABC Pulls Jimmy Kimmel Off Air for Charlie Kirk Comments
www.nytimes.com

Film Director Atsushi Funahashi in Conversation with Asato Ikeda: Company Retreat (2022), Sexual Violence, and the Unconscious of the Time
apjjf.org/2025/9/ikeda
Film Director Atsushi Funahashi in Conversation with Asato Ikeda: Company Retreat (2022), Sexual Violence, and the Unconscious of the Time - Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus
[…]
apjjf.org
Wow, first time I've seen him underwater in this poll with white people. He has negative disapproval across every possible cohort.

Sorry to hear of the passing of one of my professors at Iowa.
It is with great sadness that we share the passing of Lauren Rabinovitz, Professor Emeritus of American Studies and Cinematic Arts at the University of Iowa.

DOGE and anti-DEI would of course lead to increases in Black unemployment—that was the point. But Black unemployment is also a harbinger of a full economic downturn.

Why the Spike in Black Unemployment Is an Alarming Sign of What’s to Come talkingpointsmemo.com/news/black-u...
Why the Spike in Black Unemployment Is an Alarming Sign of What’s to Come
Troubling and unusual unemployment numbers for Black Americans are signaling that the...
talkingpointsmemo.com

Reposted by Aaron Gerow

It is with great sadness that we share the passing of Lauren Rabinovitz, Professor Emeritus of American Studies and Cinematic Arts at the University of Iowa.
1. CBS has hired Ken Weinstein as an ombudsman to review its news coverage for "bias"

Weinstein has no experience overseeing or producing news

A comprehensive review of his public statements, however, shows he has another qualification: undying loyalty to Trump
CBS News hires Trump loyalist to review news coverage
CBS News has hired Kenneth R.
popular.info

Filmmaker Yang Yonghi analyzes the charges of plagiarism against Oshima Nagisa's Death by Hanging. As covered in the film Yomogaeru Koe, Oshima used numerous sections of Park Soo-nam's book of correspondences with Ri Chin-u without attribution.
shinsho-plus.shueisha.co.jp/news/31810
【告発】大島渚監督の映画『絞死刑』のシナリオ盗作疑惑に迫る - 集英社新書プラス
8月2日公開のドキュメンタリー映画『よみがえる声』(朴壽南監督・朴麻衣監督)が、連日大...
shinsho-plus.shueisha.co.jp

"Kennedy would be less hazardous if he decided to do cardiac surgery. Then he would kill people only one at a time rather than his current ability to kill by the thousands."

Former CDC Director William Foege: How public health can fight back in a time of dangerous nonsense
Former CDC Director William Foege: How public health can fight back in a time of dangerous nonsense
“Kennedy would be less hazardous if he decided to do cardiac surgery. Then he would kill people only one at a time,” writes former CDC Director William Foege.
www.statnews.com

“Within a generation, US citizens will be ill-equipped to live, work and lead in a global world. They will be outmatched by those from other countries, who speak multiple languages, understand diverse cultures and have built relationships across borders.”
Federal Grants for Area Studies and Foreign Language at Risk
Expected funding for National Resource Centers, which are dedicated to language and area studies education, never came through this summer. Experts worry this could spell disaster for the already-stru...
www.insidehighered.com

Good news from my old state of Iowa.
HUGE VICTORY: Democrat Catelin Drey won today’s special election for an Iowa Senate District, breaking Iowa Republicans’ supermajority in the state Senate.
iowacapitaldispatch.com/2025/08/26/i...

Reposted by Aaron Gerow

HUGE VICTORY: Democrat Catelin Drey won today’s special election for an Iowa Senate District, breaking Iowa Republicans’ supermajority in the state Senate.
iowacapitaldispatch.com/2025/08/26/i...