Alex Svensson
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alsven.bsky.social
Alex Svensson
@alsven.bsky.social
1.4K followers 350 following 120 posts
Emerson College Affiliated Faculty / Film & Media Studies PhD / Researching: Horror, Found Footage, Experimental Film & Video, Promotional Paratexts, Moral Panics

Recent at New Review of Film & TV: https://nrftsjournal.org/flash-fright
Posts Replies Media Videos
alsven.bsky.social
“Death of cinema” arguments seem as old as the medium itself. Things do seem different now post-pandemic & amidst unchecked monopolization; Godfrey Cheshire’s words way back in 1999 for NY Press appear prophetic/doom-y, yet they are also a reminder of cinema’s fluidity & *exciting* instability
December 7, 2025 at 11:07 PM
Reposted by Alex Svensson
alsven.bsky.social
Lol realized as soon as I made this and posted it that the industry is actively advocating for this very thing, so it should probably actually read:
You wouldn’t watch Lawrence of Arabia in a cinema (meme based on You wouldn’t steal a car - Hollywood anti piracy ad)
December 7, 2025 at 10:34 PM
alsven.bsky.social
“YOU WOULDN’T WATCH LAWRENCE OF ARABIA ON A PHONE” meme based on “you wouldn’t steal a phone” Hollywood anti-piracy ad
December 7, 2025 at 10:25 PM
alsven.bsky.social
The new Planet Hollywood isn’t looking so hot!
rufustsuperfly.bsky.social Tom Reagan’s Hat @rufustsuperfly.bsky.social · 1d
I see Stallone sent a cardboard standee instead
December 7, 2025 at 4:47 PM
alsven.bsky.social
Last nite’s viewing at the @thecoolidge.bsky.social (a rare chance to get out to the cinema with an infant at home, I’m glad it was for this nearly 5-hour experience, which looked amazing in 70mm)

boxd.it/bXQwNx
A ★★★★★ review of Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair (2006)
Seen in 70mm at Coolidge Corner Theatre (Brookline, MA) The new cut + the glorious, rich print amplify and make more potent everything compelling about the original two-parter (which I hadn’t seen in ...
boxd.it
December 7, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Reposted by Alex Svensson
publichealth.boston.gov
A CDC Advisory Committee is now trying to rollback decades-long recommendations that have protected newborns and children from diseases and saved lives.

We believe in scientific evidence, and families with any concerns hepatitis B should discuss them with their health care provider. (1/2)
Blue background with text that reads, "December 5, 2025. Statement in Response to CDC Advisory Committee's Hep B Vaccine Changes: "In Boston, we believe in scientific evidence and we advocate for what is in the best interest of our residents. We are committed to following the longstanding, evidence-based guidance that the first dose of the hepatitis B vaccine be given at birth and the full series completed within the first 18 months of life. Universal hepatitis B vaccine at birth is the most important tool that we have in the first 24 hours of a newborn’s life to protect them from lifelong, and even fatal, liver disease that is entirely preventable.” Part 1 of a quote from Bisola Ojikutu MD MPH FIDSA, Commissioner of Public Health for the City of Boston. The Boston Public Health Commission logo is at the bottom. Blue background with text that reads, "December 5, 2025. Statement in Response to CDC Advisory Committee's Hep B Vaccine Changes: "According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, newborns infected with hepatitis B at birth and infants infected in the first year of life have a 90% chance of developing chronic hepatitis B, and 25% of those who develop chronic hepatitis B will die from the disease. When given at birth, the hepatitis B vaccine prevents exposure from parents and other caregivers who may be asymptomatic and unaware of their status. In the absence of trustworthy public health guidance from the federal government, we ask all families to consult with their health care provider about important medical decisions like hepatitis B vaccination.” Part 2 of a quote from Bisola Ojikutu MD MPH FIDSA, Commissioner of Public Health for the City of Boston. The Boston Public Health Commission logo is at the bottom.
December 5, 2025 at 8:06 PM
alsven.bsky.social
Jimmy Fallon and the robot Baxter pictured in bed, from a 2012 Wired magazine article.
December 3, 2025 at 9:22 PM
alsven.bsky.social
I’m excited to announce that in early 2026 I’ll be partnering once more w/ @thecoolidge.bsky.social & Coolidge Education to teach a class on cinematic dystopias at the historic art house theatre in Brookline, MA! Link below for more info & tickets:

coolidge.org/events/proje...
Projections: Dystopia Now?
Five Tuesdays, January 6 to February 3, from 6:15pm to approx. 9:15pmCinematic visions of dystopian societies are typically understood as projections of imagined futures, seemingly distant worlds brut...
coolidge.org
December 1, 2025 at 8:59 PM
Reposted by Alex Svensson
colindickey.com
Handing back student work that’s been written by ChatGPT with a 0 followed by the comment “This essay will never stand in authentic wonder before the Beauty of God’s creation.”
vulture.com Vulture @vulture.com · 12d
Pope Leo XIV told students not to use artificial intelligence for homework, saying that AI ‘won’t stand in authentic wonder before the beauty of God’s creation.’
Even God Is Worried About ChatGPT
Pope Leo XIV told students not to use artificial intelligence for homework, saying that AI ‘won’t stand in authentic wonder before the beauty of God’s creation.’
www.vulture.com
November 26, 2025 at 3:35 PM
alsven.bsky.social
RIP Udo Kier

youtu.be/ujEph5vFwmc
Korn - Make Me Bad (Official Video)
YouTube video by KornVEVO
youtu.be
November 24, 2025 at 3:10 AM
Reposted by Alex Svensson
tyburr.bsky.social
Had a little fun for my old employer at the expense of the BU snotrag who called in ICE on a Boston car wash.
You have reached the ICE tip line. Your delusion is important to us. - The Boston Globe
SATIRE: After the Allston Car Wash raid, a college student’s voicemails into the void.
www.bostonglobe.com
November 19, 2025 at 7:28 PM
alsven.bsky.social
Leaving Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts / Harvard Film Archive - just attended an excellent talk by Neta Alexander (Yale) on multimodal AI, labor, and disability (to put it far too simply); walking away with spinning thoughts and a big reading list…
Walking outside the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts / Harvard Film Archive; a grey walkway and steps lead to and ascend up to the main road, cutting through the green campus lawn. Fall foliage and blue-grey skies make-up the top of the image - all very autumnal and scholarly.
November 3, 2025 at 9:24 PM
Reposted by Alex Svensson
kanopy.com
Wake up ghouls and goblins. It's Halloween! 🎃

Check out our horror film takeover on Kanopy. Watch something spooky tonight, like Werner Herzog’s NOSFERATU THE VAMPYRE (1979) for free and without ads or subscriptions through participating libraries and universities at https://bit.ly/4hr36cN.
Promotional image from Kanopy featuring a person with dramatic makeup looking eerie, with the text 'wake up! it's halloween'.
October 31, 2025 at 3:06 PM
alsven.bsky.social
I love this city
Image from 10/18 No Kings peaceful protest in Boston, member of the crowd holding a sign reading “in boston we dump tyranny in the harbor”
October 18, 2025 at 7:10 PM
alsven.bsky.social
Did my PhD at IU and had a wonderful experience with my professors, mentors, and colleagues in CMCL (which transformed into the Media School); deeply disappointed in IU, and proud of students for standing up for themselves and what is right.
bgrueskin.bsky.social Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · Oct 17
Administrators at Indiana University baselessly fired the student media director and ordered the student paper to cease its print edition, so it'd sure be a shame if this excellent digital front page were to be widely shared today

issuu.com/idsnews/docs...
October 17, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Reposted by Alex Svensson
chanda.blacksky.app
MIT President Sally Kornbluth just issued a statement to the campus community saying NO to Trump’s authoritarian compact

“And fundamentally, the premise of the document is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone.”
Dear Madam Secretary, I write in response to your letter of October 1, inviting MIT to review a "Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education." I acknowledge the vital importance of these matters. I appreciated the chance to meet with you earlier this year to discuss the priorities we share for American higher education. As we discussed, the Institute's mission of service to the nation directs us to advance knowledge, educate students and bring knowledge to bear on the world's great challenges. We do that in line with a clear set of values, with excellence above all. Some practical examples: • MIT prides itself on rewarding merit. Students, faculty and staff succeed here based on the strength of their talent, ideas and hard work. For instance, the Institute was the first to reinstate the SAT/ACT requirement after the pandemic. And MIT has never had legacy preferences in admissions. • MIT opens its doors to the most talented students regardless of their family's finances. Admissions are need-blind. Incoming undergraduates whose families earn less than $200,000 a year pay no tuition. Nearly 88% of our last graduating class left MIT with no debt for their education. We make a wealth of free courses and low-cost certificates available to any American with an internet connection. Of the undergraduate degrees we award, 94% are in STEM fields. And in service to the nation, we cap enrollment of international undergraduates at roughly 10%. • We value free expression, as clearly described in the MIT Statement on Freedom of Expression and Academic Freedom. We must hear facts and opinions we don't like - and engage respectfully with those with whom we disagree. These values and other MIT practices meet or exceed many standards outlined in the document you sent. We freely choose these values because they're right, and we live by them because they support our mission - work of immense value to the prosperity, competitiveness, health and security of the United States. And of course, MIT abides by the law. The document also includes principles with which we disagree, including those that would restrict freedom of expression and our independence as an institution. And fundamentally, the premise of the document is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone. In our view, America's leadership in science and innovation depends on independent thinking and open competition for excellence. In that tree marketplace of ideas, the people of MIT gladly compete with the very best, without preferences. Therefore, with respect, we cannot support the proposed approach to addressing the issues facing higher education. As you know, MIT's record of service to the nation is long and enduring. Eight decades ago, MIT leaders helped invent a scientific partnership between America's research universities and the U.S. government that has delivered extraordinary benefits for the American people. We continue to believe in the power of this partnership to serve the nation. Sincerely, Sally Kornbluth CC Ms. May Mailman Mr. Vincent Haley
October 10, 2025 at 1:47 PM
alsven.bsky.social
Watched late last night - can’t say I was a fan! (and I overall very much enjoy the series and actually think the last few entries have been highlights)

boxd.it/bh0aGH
A ★★½ review of V/H/S/HALLOWEEN (2025)
Some stray thoughts: - Not quite clear on the gushing reviews for this one; nowhere near as fun, ghoulish, or formally inventive as previous entries (and something like V/H/S/99 felt in spots more lik...
boxd.it
October 5, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Reposted by Alex Svensson
miriamposner.com
I can see how it’s tempting to sign an agreement to preserve an institution of higher ed, if you’re the one in charge. The problem is, once you sign that agreement, it’s no longer meaningfully a university. It’s a shell: a wood-paneled carapace protecting a rotten core.
October 3, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Reposted by Alex Svensson
cwarzel.bsky.social
feels like we're living through some kind of cultural gas leak
October 1, 2025 at 4:52 PM
alsven.bsky.social
War zone indeed; who can forget the battle to retake control of Marg Tower?

youtu.be/WodT4i3uobA?...
September 28, 2025 at 9:46 PM
alsven.bsky.social
Currently rewatching Terminator 2 for the millionth time (never a bad time to do so) after reading @brofromanother.bsky.social sharp, insightful review of One Battle After Another.
Snippet of Adam Nayman’s review of One Battle After Another (2025) for The Ringer
September 28, 2025 at 1:50 AM
alsven.bsky.social
Sounds for Saturday research and data entry www.nts.live/shows/team-s...
TeamSESH w/ HNRK 28th August 2025
Playing Experimental, Grime, Club. The monthly TeamSesh NTS Radio broadcast - Once again with a takeover curated by hnrk: Featuring a blend of a multitude of genres including new musical discoveries a...
www.nts.live
September 27, 2025 at 2:48 PM
alsven.bsky.social
Yesterday’s cinema experience; seen in glorious VistaVision at @thecoolidge.bsky.social (one of only 4 locations selected to screen the film this way!) - the print/projection looked stunning, and the film was one I immediately wanted to revisit.
Lobby promotion for One Battle After Another at the Coolidge Corner Theatre (Brookline, MA)
September 27, 2025 at 12:39 PM
alsven.bsky.social
Perfect viewing for the season
September 22, 2025 at 6:42 PM
alsven.bsky.social
Thread
bencollins.bsky.social Tim Onion @bencollins.bsky.social · Sep 18
Becoming increasingly clear we’re gonna have to build a parallel infrastructure for all the media we really love. The reason all of this is happening under the color of law is hyperconsolidation, dissent being traded straight up for merger approval, or fear of harassment.
September 18, 2025 at 2:15 AM