Reel to Real
Race, class and sex at the movies

As someone who cares a lot about representation in film, and is a fan of hooks from her other work, I was excited to read this book. Some of the essays interested me more than others. I tend to agree with her in what she says, and I wouldn't have thought I'd say this but I think she fails in her int......more

bell hooks critiques cinema (both underground and mainstream) with an extreme passion and rigor that inspires the reader to either become film critics themselves, out of envy, or filmmakers who would simply "do better." hooks views cinema as a pedagogical tool that holds the possibly of teaching the......more

What are movies ACTUALLY saying about sexism and racism? The intent of the director is not always how messages in film get received by different audiences. Very great fuel for lovers of critical discussion and film.......more

What value does a reader who doesn’t watch many movies get from a book about them? Reel to Real is a gathering of hooks’ most popular essays and interviews on the topic of film. Engaging with works from Spike Lee, Quentin Tarantino, and Isaac Julien, as well as interviewing film directors like Camil......more

Not as enlightening as ‘the will to change’ but definitely profound in its own right. I like hook’s attitude towards film criticism, stating that you can like a film and still be critical of it’s shortcomings. For the most part her writing here provides a necessary lens with witch to view predominan......more