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Farouk

@faroukk.bsky.social

250 followers 210 following 300 posts

Sharing things I think matter. Writer and Cultural Critic with words in various places (currently @ Endless Mode). Game Dev at Play Underground Games working on a secret unannounced project.

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Farouk @faroukk.bsky.social · Apr 9

Excited to share that I've received special recognition as a "Writer to Watch" as part of the @chicagocritics.bsky.social / @rottentomatoes.com Emerging Critics Program. Congrats to all the writers recognized this year, and looking forward to the festival! chicagofilmcritics.org/grantrecipie...

2025 Grant Recipients — Chicago Film Critics Association

The Chicago Film Critics Association & Rotten Tomatoes Emerging Critics Scholarship supports up-and-coming voices in film and media criticism in the Chicagoland area.

chicagofilmcritics.org

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Joshua Clark Davis @joshuaclarkdavis.bsky.social · 2d

Have a piece today in TEEN VOGUE from my new book POLICE AGAINST THE MOVEMENT detailing how the NYPD, LAPD, cops in Chicago and Memphis surveilled the civil rights movement—and then destroyed millions of surveillance files in the ‘70s, including ones that may have shed like on MLK’s assassination.

Police Departments Tracked Activists in the 1960s and 70s — Then Erased Records by Joshua Clark Davis

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Gorey Cask of Amontilladoing @coreybrickley.bsky.social · 3d

ye see this shits not inevitable never give up in advance

More Perfect Union @moreperfectunion.bsky.social · 3d

Microsoft has withdrawn its proposal for a data center in a Milwaukee suburbs after community pushback.

After opposition from area residents and elected officials the 244 acre Caledonia project will not proceed.

Microsoft drops Caledonia data center after facing opposition. Company looking for new site

Outcry from residents and elected officials caused Microsoft to drop the Caledonia plan. But the company is seeking an alternative site.

www.jsonline.com

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Farouk @faroukk.bsky.social · 2d

Wow this is really beautiful work! I'm always glad to see more writing on First Reformed, truly one of this century's great films

Reposted by Farouk

Joshua Rivera @jmrivera.bsky.social · 3d

excited to share this one. For the good people at @tesseractcinema.bsky.social , I wrote about The Exorcist, First Reformed, and forms of prayer

tesseractcinema.com/2025/10/08/e...

ENTER THE HYPERCUBE: FIRST REFORMED + THE EXORCIST - TESSERACT CINEMA

Joshua Rivera ties together the religious terror of The Exorcist and First Reformed.

tesseractcinema.com

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Chibdm @chibdm.bsky.social · 5d

Robin Williams' daughter has some quality thoughts on AI slop

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Shannon Heffernan @shannonheffernan.bsky.social · 5d

It’s not even 10 a.m., and so much has unfolded in Chicago:

– Illinois sues Trump over the National Guard deployment

– Mayor Brandon Johnson bans city property use for immigration enforcement

– Journalists and protesters sue the feds over Broadview violence

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Farouk @faroukk.bsky.social · 6d

2 amazing films from this year with equally great soundtracks and they're both done by Lia Ouyang Rusli

Movie poster for Happyend. Features a red gradient and then 4 teenagers running at the top of the poster, boxed in by the UI of surveillance technology.

Movie Poster for Sorry, Baby. Shows main actress Eva Victor holding a cat

Reposted by Farouk

Damnèd Screamvens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 7d

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

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Farouk @faroukk.bsky.social · 7d

What vitamins y’all been into lately

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Under the Tree w/Bill Ayers - A Seminar on Freedom @underthetreepod.bsky.social · 8d

This needs to be shared everywhere. A sitting alderperson from the city of Chicago kidnapped by ICE for advocating for a hospital patient.
She was merely asking questions about what was happening to the patient.

Eric Reinhart @eric-reinhart.com · 8d

ICE just blatantly violated the law and arrested sitting Chicago Alderperson Jessie Fuentes while seeking to illegally arrest a patient in a hospital. Fuck these fascists.

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Farouk @faroukk.bsky.social · 8d

My schedule for Chicago International Film Festival is locked

A screenshot of my calendar in my iPhone from October 12 - October 25. Starting on October 15 until the 25th, there are multiple blue colored events labelled “CIFF:” on each day to denote a screening of a film I’m attending at Chicago International Film Festival

Farouk @faroukk.bsky.social · 9d

Thank you so much!! ❤️❤️

Farouk @faroukk.bsky.social · 10d

Excited to officially share that I'll be with Endless Mode for the rest of the year! This is my first news post on the site, and I'm happy to say that you'll be seeing a lot more writing from me over the next few months.

Endless Mode @endlessmode.bsky.social · 10d

Microsoft is hiking up the price of Xbox Game Pass, effective today. Get ready to pay more for the games subscription service. www.endlessmode.com/video-games/...

Xbox Game Pass Just Got More Expensive

Microsoft is hiking up the price of Xbox Game Pass, effective today. Get ready to pay more for the games subscription service.

www.endlessmode.com

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Garrett Martin @garrettmartin.bsky.social · 10d

first post from Endless Mode's newest intern @faroukk.bsky.social.

Endless Mode @endlessmode.bsky.social · 10d

Microsoft is hiking up the price of Xbox Game Pass, effective today. Get ready to pay more for the games subscription service. www.endlessmode.com/video-games/...

Xbox Game Pass Just Got More Expensive

Microsoft is hiking up the price of Xbox Game Pass, effective today. Get ready to pay more for the games subscription service.

www.endlessmode.com

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Farouk @faroukk.bsky.social · 10d

Incredibly grateful that she was here with us doing her work for as long as she was. Goodnight Jane ♥️

Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · 10d

Jane Goodall, ethologist and conservationist, has died. She was 91

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Farouk @faroukk.bsky.social · 10d

It’s here

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leon @leyawn.bsky.social · 11d

guy in 3000 bc: remember when tools were made of stone 🪨 now every thing is bronze 😡 we used to live in cave ⛰️ now we sleep in hut 😪 instead of hunting ox 🐮 we make them pull plow 🌾 who else wish we could go back 😩

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Farouk @faroukk.bsky.social · 12d

With all of the original content that Blippo+ has to offer, have they considered a streaming service? I'm certain that would be a good idea with no unfortunate consequences

Farouk @faroukk.bsky.social · 12d

Wow Blippo+ is so much fun. It's crazy how well it captures the feeling of flipping through tv channels, and it's surprising how long it's been since I've actually felt this feeling! Scrolling through various apps really isn't the same. Old TV was a unique experience.

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Farouk @faroukk.bsky.social · 13d

Just preordered a burger

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Roxana Hadadi @roxana-hadadi.bsky.social · 16d

🚨SPOILERS🚨: I wrote about the ~ENDING~ of ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER; what it says about the past, present, and future of this country; and how beautifully it envisions an "I have friends everywhere" mode of resistance. again, SPOILERS. at @vulture.com:

www.vulture.com/article/one-...

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Farouk @faroukk.bsky.social · 14d

Last night I finally watched Hard Eight which means I’ve now seen PTA’s entire filmography. This is where I’m currently at with my ranking:

A letterboxd list ranking the films of Paul Thomas Anderson. 1: Phantom Thread, 2: There Will Be Blood, 3: One Battle After Another, 4: Magnolia, 5: Boogie Nights, 6: Inherent Vice, 7: The Master, 8: Hard Eight, 9: Punch-Drunk Love, 10: Licorice Pizza

Farouk @faroukk.bsky.social · 14d

Seeing everyone work together, I found myself imagining all the history they share. All the conversations they must have had over so many years in order to get to this point of synchronicity. It's a concrete visual demonstration of why "get to know your neighbors" can be radical.

Farouk @faroukk.bsky.social · 14d

Loved this OBAA piece from @roxana-hadadi.bsky.social. Glad it gets into del Toro's Sensei character. I was weeping in the sequence where he and his network jump into action with such precision in the midst of calamity. So meaningful seeing what helping people looks like when stakes are dire.

One Battle After Another Ends With a Promise

Within the film’s grim reflection of America’s ongoing violence, there’s a sneakily optimistic vision of survival.

www.vulture.com

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Farouk @faroukk.bsky.social · 15d

Not sure where the film itself lands in my ranking, but One Battle After Another might be my favorite score from any PTA movie. Just so vibrant and full of life and earth shattering.