Eric Beltmann
@ericbeltmann.bsky.social
My day job is teaching film, literature and journalism in Southeast Wisconsin. I've casually written about movies for various print and web outlets since 1991. Wilco evangelist.
Reposted by Eric Beltmann
They'll build a statue to the first reporter who tells this old dumbass to eat shit on camera
“You’re a stupid person” — Trump lashes out at a reporter who presses him on the fact that the suspected DC shooter was actually thoroughly vetted before he was let in the US from Afghanistan
November 28, 2025 at 1:50 AM
They'll build a statue to the first reporter who tells this old dumbass to eat shit on camera
Reposted by Eric Beltmann
That moment followed by his calling a reporter "insubordinate" while shrugging off the murder of a journalist would have ended other presidencies. "Piggy" enraged me less than the silence that followed--the indifference, the cowardice, the collective shrug is what enables the eradication of decency.
I don't know why the "Piggy" thing is bothering me so much. It's one more unforgivable thing in a list of 20,000 unforgivable things, but I've been mad about it for like 12 straight hours.
November 19, 2025 at 5:43 AM
That moment followed by his calling a reporter "insubordinate" while shrugging off the murder of a journalist would have ended other presidencies. "Piggy" enraged me less than the silence that followed--the indifference, the cowardice, the collective shrug is what enables the eradication of decency.
Reposted by Eric Beltmann
There’s a non-zero chance that at some point I simply stop engaging with anything produced after 2019 or so. Spend the rest of my life entirely living in the past.
November 17, 2025 at 7:56 PM
There’s a non-zero chance that at some point I simply stop engaging with anything produced after 2019 or so. Spend the rest of my life entirely living in the past.
Reposted by Eric Beltmann
Growing up a film fan at a time of little access & watching the Oscars where legends like Deborah Kerr & Michelangelo Antonioni picked up awards opened new worlds to me. I can’t help but be heartbroken about a show that assumes being in touch with cinema history is unhip & causes low ratings.
November 17, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Growing up a film fan at a time of little access & watching the Oscars where legends like Deborah Kerr & Michelangelo Antonioni picked up awards opened new worlds to me. I can’t help but be heartbroken about a show that assumes being in touch with cinema history is unhip & causes low ratings.
Reposted by Eric Beltmann
The Christian right for decades has fear-mongered that federal agents (under Dem presidents) would "criminalize" Christianity and literally prevent them from worshipping.
Now that Trump's stormtroopers are doing it ... crickets
Now that Trump's stormtroopers are doing it ... crickets
Here’s a story for every national news outlet:
In N.C., churchgoers are literally running into the woods as federal agents descend on the property.
“Inside the church, women and children sobbed as they wondered whether their loved ones had been taken.”
www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politic...
In N.C., churchgoers are literally running into the woods as federal agents descend on the property.
“Inside the church, women and children sobbed as they wondered whether their loved ones had been taken.”
www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politic...
November 16, 2025 at 12:16 PM
The Christian right for decades has fear-mongered that federal agents (under Dem presidents) would "criminalize" Christianity and literally prevent them from worshipping.
Now that Trump's stormtroopers are doing it ... crickets
Now that Trump's stormtroopers are doing it ... crickets
Reposted by Eric Beltmann
NEW: ProPublica examined months of Fox News’ coverage and reviewed over 700 videos posted on social media.
The network used five-year-old footage, mislabeled other dates and implied footage from elsewhere was in Portland.
The network used five-year-old footage, mislabeled other dates and implied footage from elsewhere was in Portland.
“Riots Raging”: The Misleading Story Fox News Told About Portland Before Trump Sent Troops
After reviewing coverage from the network and hours of social media videos that preceded Trump’s decision, ProPublica found that Fox’s portrayal of “Portland rioters” routinely instigating violence was misleading.
www.propublica.org
November 12, 2025 at 2:00 PM
NEW: ProPublica examined months of Fox News’ coverage and reviewed over 700 videos posted on social media.
The network used five-year-old footage, mislabeled other dates and implied footage from elsewhere was in Portland.
The network used five-year-old footage, mislabeled other dates and implied footage from elsewhere was in Portland.
Somebody please make a supercut of all the times Mike Johnson has answered a question with, "I don't know anything about that."
November 4, 2025 at 12:59 PM
Somebody please make a supercut of all the times Mike Johnson has answered a question with, "I don't know anything about that."
Reposted by Eric Beltmann
“Writing is hard work. A clear sentence is no accident. Very few sentences come out right the first time, or even the third time. Remember this in moments of despair. If you find that writing is hard, it’s because it is hard.”
William Zinsser #NationalAuthorsDay
William Zinsser #NationalAuthorsDay
November 1, 2025 at 2:42 PM
“Writing is hard work. A clear sentence is no accident. Very few sentences come out right the first time, or even the third time. Remember this in moments of despair. If you find that writing is hard, it’s because it is hard.”
William Zinsser #NationalAuthorsDay
William Zinsser #NationalAuthorsDay
Reposted by Eric Beltmann
When the great lines of cinema are discussed no one ever brings up Kevin Bacon in Tremors exclaiming, “I found the ass end!” Because in that moment I really BELIEVED he’d located the ass end of a Precambrian life form buried beneath the desert. Like, he and the writer delivered that reality to me.
November 1, 2025 at 4:18 PM
When the great lines of cinema are discussed no one ever brings up Kevin Bacon in Tremors exclaiming, “I found the ass end!” Because in that moment I really BELIEVED he’d located the ass end of a Precambrian life form buried beneath the desert. Like, he and the writer delivered that reality to me.
Reposted by Eric Beltmann
the other thing that i miss in modern movies? actual explosions. they blew up that set!
October 29, 2025 at 1:03 AM
the other thing that i miss in modern movies? actual explosions. they blew up that set!
Reposted by Eric Beltmann
ICE violently detain father & son walking to school—teenage boy had to be rushed to hospital.
"I was just going to school," kid cries out. "I'm underage!"
The 16-year-old star athlete is a U.S. citizen—agents sent him to the hospital with severe injuries to his back & neck.
Houston, Texas.
"I was just going to school," kid cries out. "I'm underage!"
The 16-year-old star athlete is a U.S. citizen—agents sent him to the hospital with severe injuries to his back & neck.
Houston, Texas.
October 27, 2025 at 8:14 PM
ICE violently detain father & son walking to school—teenage boy had to be rushed to hospital.
"I was just going to school," kid cries out. "I'm underage!"
The 16-year-old star athlete is a U.S. citizen—agents sent him to the hospital with severe injuries to his back & neck.
Houston, Texas.
"I was just going to school," kid cries out. "I'm underage!"
The 16-year-old star athlete is a U.S. citizen—agents sent him to the hospital with severe injuries to his back & neck.
Houston, Texas.
Reposted by Eric Beltmann
Whenever people complain about the number of folks relying on food stamps, it is worth reminding them that SNAP is, by too large of a degree, a subsidy for corporations that refuse to pay a living wage and their political allies who reject public policy prescriptions to reduce income inequality.
October 27, 2025 at 1:11 AM
Whenever people complain about the number of folks relying on food stamps, it is worth reminding them that SNAP is, by too large of a degree, a subsidy for corporations that refuse to pay a living wage and their political allies who reject public policy prescriptions to reduce income inequality.
Reposted by Eric Beltmann
It's odd for me to realize that my first-year undergraduates are at an age where they don't really remember that there was a form of US politics prior to Donald Trump. For them, Trump is not an aberration from the normal course of political discourse, but just how US politics is done.
October 25, 2025 at 3:43 PM
It's odd for me to realize that my first-year undergraduates are at an age where they don't really remember that there was a form of US politics prior to Donald Trump. For them, Trump is not an aberration from the normal course of political discourse, but just how US politics is done.
Reposted by Eric Beltmann
I loved One Battle After Another’s ending on first viewing, but the second time around I realized *how much* is going on in that scene beyond it being a really great car chase. So I had to write something about the brilliance of The River of Hills
The River of Hills: ‘One Battle After Another’ and the Best Ending of 2025
Take a trip to the river of hills.
screencrush.com
October 23, 2025 at 2:31 PM
I loved One Battle After Another’s ending on first viewing, but the second time around I realized *how much* is going on in that scene beyond it being a really great car chase. So I had to write something about the brilliance of The River of Hills
Reposted by Eric Beltmann
Purdue to the rescue of IU student newspaper, whose institution was attempting censorship. Details in alt!
October 18, 2025 at 7:24 PM
Purdue to the rescue of IU student newspaper, whose institution was attempting censorship. Details in alt!
Reposted by Eric Beltmann
I don't think folks have any conception of how radicalized a lot of moms are becoming as they go through shit like "will my babysitter get kidnapped" and "will my child be able to get the measles vaccine"
every smug internet communist tweet about showing up to a No Kings protest with an abolish ICE shirt to scare the libs is getting completely mogged by the real-life winemoms showing up with slogans like "ICE will melt in hell"
October 18, 2025 at 11:03 PM
I don't think folks have any conception of how radicalized a lot of moms are becoming as they go through shit like "will my babysitter get kidnapped" and "will my child be able to get the measles vaccine"
Reposted by Eric Beltmann
“At least Santos had the Courage, Conviction and Intelligence to ALWAYS VOTE REPUBLICAN!” Just astonishing that we’ve reached a point where the President says aloud “Republicans can do whatever they want without fear of reprisal” and nearly half the country is cool with it because it’s their side.
October 17, 2025 at 10:52 PM
“At least Santos had the Courage, Conviction and Intelligence to ALWAYS VOTE REPUBLICAN!” Just astonishing that we’ve reached a point where the President says aloud “Republicans can do whatever they want without fear of reprisal” and nearly half the country is cool with it because it’s their side.
Reposted by Eric Beltmann
1. I feel bad for people who don't read. I can't imagine not experiencing Toni Morison, Dan Chaon, James Purdy, Ishiguro, Joy Williams, Kyle Winkler, Zora Hurston! Like ...
October 14, 2025 at 12:39 PM
1. I feel bad for people who don't read. I can't imagine not experiencing Toni Morison, Dan Chaon, James Purdy, Ishiguro, Joy Williams, Kyle Winkler, Zora Hurston! Like ...
Reposted by Eric Beltmann
Heartbreaking reading, but this Reddit thread gives a sense of the relentlessness of the horror inflicted by ICE, and the damage being done to so many innocent people that doesn't make the news.
From the AskReddit community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the AskReddit community
www.reddit.com
October 11, 2025 at 3:37 AM
Heartbreaking reading, but this Reddit thread gives a sense of the relentlessness of the horror inflicted by ICE, and the damage being done to so many innocent people that doesn't make the news.
Reposted by Eric Beltmann
the ending of THE GODFATHER, the best american movie ever made, doesn't work without diane keaton's final look --- at the realization of who she's married and what her life is going to become and what corruption lurks behind closed doors. unforgettable, inimitable work. RIP.
October 11, 2025 at 7:12 PM
the ending of THE GODFATHER, the best american movie ever made, doesn't work without diane keaton's final look --- at the realization of who she's married and what her life is going to become and what corruption lurks behind closed doors. unforgettable, inimitable work. RIP.
Reposted by Eric Beltmann
George was just trying to get to work.
ICE pepper-sprayed him, dragged him from his car, locked him in a detention center, and placed him on suicide watch. He even missed his young daughter’s birthday in the process.
This man is a veteran and American citizen. Don't look away.
ICE pepper-sprayed him, dragged him from his car, locked him in a detention center, and placed him on suicide watch. He even missed his young daughter’s birthday in the process.
This man is a veteran and American citizen. Don't look away.
"They put me on suicide watch and they put me in the cell, I'm naked, in like a hospital dress and just a concrete bed with like a mattress, like a thin mattress and, they leave the light on 24/7."
@timmiller.bsky.social talked to a veteran who ICE wrongly detained and brutalized
@timmiller.bsky.social talked to a veteran who ICE wrongly detained and brutalized
October 10, 2025 at 7:02 PM
George was just trying to get to work.
ICE pepper-sprayed him, dragged him from his car, locked him in a detention center, and placed him on suicide watch. He even missed his young daughter’s birthday in the process.
This man is a veteran and American citizen. Don't look away.
ICE pepper-sprayed him, dragged him from his car, locked him in a detention center, and placed him on suicide watch. He even missed his young daughter’s birthday in the process.
This man is a veteran and American citizen. Don't look away.
Reposted by Eric Beltmann
When was the last time Trump was interviewed solo on-camera by a non-servile journalist? Because it's starting to feel like that may not happen again. The risk of him being publicly challenged about factual basic information--like, "Portland is not burning"--is too great for his handlers to permit.
October 9, 2025 at 2:32 AM
When was the last time Trump was interviewed solo on-camera by a non-servile journalist? Because it's starting to feel like that may not happen again. The risk of him being publicly challenged about factual basic information--like, "Portland is not burning"--is too great for his handlers to permit.
Reposted by Eric Beltmann
I wish Columbo was real so that he’d just wander into The White House & fuck around with Trump’s head for a while
October 8, 2025 at 9:06 PM
I wish Columbo was real so that he’d just wander into The White House & fuck around with Trump’s head for a while
Reposted by Eric Beltmann
The thing that makes me the sickest is that these folks don’t even have a shred of compassion. It’s one thing to enforce laws and rules. It’s another to do it gleefully and celebrate the suffering of someone born into poverty and desperation
October 5, 2025 at 10:27 PM
The thing that makes me the sickest is that these folks don’t even have a shred of compassion. It’s one thing to enforce laws and rules. It’s another to do it gleefully and celebrate the suffering of someone born into poverty and desperation
Reposted by Eric Beltmann
Damn, so our best writer on Trump & the nightmare we're all living through is _also_ superb at writing on movies? It's fine, I'm not jealous at all. David Roth on OBAA, 1970s paranoid political thrillers, & how revolution, by its very nature, is always a work in progress. flaminghydra.com/issue-416/
Struggle cinema
David Roth on 'One Battle After Another'
flaminghydra.com
October 4, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Damn, so our best writer on Trump & the nightmare we're all living through is _also_ superb at writing on movies? It's fine, I'm not jealous at all. David Roth on OBAA, 1970s paranoid political thrillers, & how revolution, by its very nature, is always a work in progress. flaminghydra.com/issue-416/