Tag Archives: drama

Supercontext: Spalding Gray’s Swimming to Cambodia


This 1987 filmed monologue changed the way mainstream media considered autobiographical performance art. We discuss how Gray made the film with director Jonathan Demme and the emotional themes throughout that resonate after his suicide.

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Supercontext: Generation Kill


David Simon and Ed Burns produced what is heralded as one of the most authentic depictions of the Iraq War, based on Evan Wright’s embedded reporting. We look at how it navigates between journalism and drama to keep us from forgetting the story of soldiers on the ground.

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Supercontext: The West Wing, Season 1


With a comparison of their staff rosters, we try imagining a television show that idolizes the White House today, the way The West Wing did in 1999. Believe it or not, Aaron Sorkin’s fantasy of public service let some people admire civics again.

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