STEVE JOHNSON relishes a celebration of the commonality of folk music and its links with the struggles of working people the world over
‘How many times did we mistakenly kill innocent people?’
IAN SINCLAIR recommends an eyewitness account of the disastrous US military intervention in Afghanistan
This thriller is a politically charged and morally complex dive into climate activism and police repression, judges JENNY FARRELL
Cat show killer, avenging the pawns, women hunt the Ripper, and running dry in the outback
The Bard reflects on sharing a bed, and why he wont go to Chelsea
MARY CONWAY applauds a new play that foresees the unscrupulous tactics of a future far-right minority government
RON JACOBS is moved to tears by an eloquent journal of heartfelt intensity and human portraiture
ROBERT OVETZ recommends a case study, from the University of Leicester, in their struggle against precarization, AI, privatisation, outsourcing, and work intensification in higher education
Combat Obscura
Directed by Miles Lagoze
IN 2011, Miles Lagoze deployed to the Sangin-Kajacki area of Afghanistan as a combat cameraman to shoot and edit videos for the US Marine Corps.
Those videos, shot in northern Helmand province, were “a PR tool for the military,” the 29-year old veteran told The Intercept website. With Washington keen to publicise the Afghan army taking over from US forces in the fight against the Taliban-led insurgency, his job was to document marines working with the Afghan army, “giving candy to kids — hearts-and-minds type of stuff.“
The big three no-nos were “no cursing, no shots of guys smoking cigarettes and they have to be in full gear. And then no casualties. That was a big one, not too much bloodshed.”
More from this author
New releases from Steady Habits, Jeff Tweedy, and Tom Skinner
IAN SINCLAIR welcomes a lucid critique of a technology that reproduces and enables oppression, power, and environmental devastation
Reviews of new releases by Wednesday, Suede, and Nation of Language
Reviews of new releases by Jens Lekman, Big Thief, and Christian McBride Big Band
