Derrick Benton
@thestooopkid.info
a Brooklyn-born filmmaker, writer, and founder of F.R.E.E. Studios, working across documentary and narrative storytelling to explore power, memory, identity, and community.
https://mautic.thestooopkid.info/orientation
https://mautic.thestooopkid.info/orientation
This is not content.
It is testimony.
The essay is based on conversations with a friend who lives under conditions most of us only encounter as headlines.
It’s not an explainer. It’s not advocacy. It’s an attempt to collapse distance.
mautic.thestooopkid.info/substack/ori...
It is testimony.
The essay is based on conversations with a friend who lives under conditions most of us only encounter as headlines.
It’s not an explainer. It’s not advocacy. It’s an attempt to collapse distance.
mautic.thestooopkid.info/substack/ori...
The Distance Between Two Pictures
A conversation with a woman in Iran about what lives in the space between a selfie and a body bag.
thestooopkid.substack.com
January 26, 2026 at 3:07 AM
This is not content.
It is testimony.
The essay is based on conversations with a friend who lives under conditions most of us only encounter as headlines.
It’s not an explainer. It’s not advocacy. It’s an attempt to collapse distance.
mautic.thestooopkid.info/substack/ori...
It is testimony.
The essay is based on conversations with a friend who lives under conditions most of us only encounter as headlines.
It’s not an explainer. It’s not advocacy. It’s an attempt to collapse distance.
mautic.thestooopkid.info/substack/ori...
Nashville Film Festival 2022 | Winner: Best Short Script
The award winning short script "September 13th 2004" is available online for your entertainment.
mautic.thestooopkid.info/asset/1:sept...
The award winning short script "September 13th 2004" is available online for your entertainment.
mautic.thestooopkid.info/asset/1:sept...
January 23, 2026 at 4:52 PM
Nashville Film Festival 2022 | Winner: Best Short Script
The award winning short script "September 13th 2004" is available online for your entertainment.
mautic.thestooopkid.info/asset/1:sept...
The award winning short script "September 13th 2004" is available online for your entertainment.
mautic.thestooopkid.info/asset/1:sept...
Barry Lyndon is a case study in how systems process people while pretending it’s just “history.” The narrator knows the ending because the system always does.
I wrote about it here:
*Barry F#$%@G Lyndon: When the Algorithm is the Narrator
mautic.thestooopkid.info/the-stooop--...
I wrote about it here:
*Barry F#$%@G Lyndon: When the Algorithm is the Narrator
mautic.thestooopkid.info/the-stooop--...
January 15, 2026 at 6:07 AM
Barry Lyndon is a case study in how systems process people while pretending it’s just “history.” The narrator knows the ending because the system always does.
I wrote about it here:
*Barry F#$%@G Lyndon: When the Algorithm is the Narrator
mautic.thestooopkid.info/the-stooop--...
I wrote about it here:
*Barry F#$%@G Lyndon: When the Algorithm is the Narrator
mautic.thestooopkid.info/the-stooop--...
My next two substacks are thematically connected can you guess what it is???
January 7, 2026 at 12:38 AM
My next two substacks are thematically connected can you guess what it is???
Two Stories. Two Families. Both about frames—who gets to build them, who gets trapped by them, and what it costs to break free.
The D’Amelio Family and the art of the curated digital portrait.
My own family and the systemic frame that made survival a crime.
Both pieces, now on my Substack.
The D’Amelio Family and the art of the curated digital portrait.
My own family and the systemic frame that made survival a crime.
Both pieces, now on my Substack.
December 14, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Two Stories. Two Families. Both about frames—who gets to build them, who gets trapped by them, and what it costs to break free.
The D’Amelio Family and the art of the curated digital portrait.
My own family and the systemic frame that made survival a crime.
Both pieces, now on my Substack.
The D’Amelio Family and the art of the curated digital portrait.
My own family and the systemic frame that made survival a crime.
Both pieces, now on my Substack.
My new essay on The House that Love Built: A Documentary Please check it out!
Also if you are free Nov 16 (This Sunday) please come out and support us at Mo's Bar (80 Lafayette Ave) where we will be hosting a "House" Cocktail for the day (get it because house...)
open.substack.com/pub/thestooo...
Also if you are free Nov 16 (This Sunday) please come out and support us at Mo's Bar (80 Lafayette Ave) where we will be hosting a "House" Cocktail for the day (get it because house...)
open.substack.com/pub/thestooo...
The House That Love Built
The True Cost of Belonging in America
open.substack.com
November 12, 2025 at 8:21 PM
My new essay on The House that Love Built: A Documentary Please check it out!
Also if you are free Nov 16 (This Sunday) please come out and support us at Mo's Bar (80 Lafayette Ave) where we will be hosting a "House" Cocktail for the day (get it because house...)
open.substack.com/pub/thestooo...
Also if you are free Nov 16 (This Sunday) please come out and support us at Mo's Bar (80 Lafayette Ave) where we will be hosting a "House" Cocktail for the day (get it because house...)
open.substack.com/pub/thestooo...
Reposted by Derrick Benton
Reposted by Derrick Benton
"On Thursday morning, Trump signed one of his most scandalous pardons to date.
On Thursday afternoon, he couldn’t explain his actions from hours earlier..."
www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...
On Thursday afternoon, he couldn’t explain his actions from hours earlier..."
www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...
President Bystander stumped when asked about pardon he signed hours earlier
On Thursday morning, Trump signed one of his most scandalous pardons to date. On Thursday afternoon, he couldn’t explain his actions from hours earlier.
www.msnbc.com
October 24, 2025 at 4:10 PM
"On Thursday morning, Trump signed one of his most scandalous pardons to date.
On Thursday afternoon, he couldn’t explain his actions from hours earlier..."
www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...
On Thursday afternoon, he couldn’t explain his actions from hours earlier..."
www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...
Come to our event in Brooklyn
October 17, 2025 at 9:52 PM
Come to our event in Brooklyn
Reposted by Derrick Benton
#Proton is a rare example of a #VPN service that gets it. Every VPN engages in the same marketing practices, touting their security, speed, and #privacy. But Proton puts its money where its mouth is, all while offering a remarkably easy-to-use and feature-rich VPN application.
Seems like a good time to share this too...
Turning on a VPN, using a privacy-focused mobile browser, and adding an ad blocker can all help reduce the location data you leak during mobile browsing.
Turning on a VPN, using a privacy-focused mobile browser, and adding an ad blocker can all help reduce the location data you leak during mobile browsing.
I Tried Breaking the Best VPNs. Here Are the 5 That Survived
Every VPN says it’s the best, but only some of them are telling the truth.
www.wired.com
October 17, 2025 at 1:48 AM
Reposted by Derrick Benton
Police departments in at least four states are warning about a trend in which people are using A.I.-generated images to trick friends and relatives into believing that a homeless man had invaded their homes. They say that the prank could have dangerous consequences.
Police Warn Against Pranking People With A.I. Images of Homeless Intruder
Law enforcement departments in several states said that an online trend in which people are tricked into believing a homeless man is in their homes could have dangerous consequences.
nyti.ms
October 17, 2025 at 3:10 AM
Police departments in at least four states are warning about a trend in which people are using A.I.-generated images to trick friends and relatives into believing that a homeless man had invaded their homes. They say that the prank could have dangerous consequences.
Lovebombing: How I Embraced the Bliss of Ignorance
October 4, 2025 at 5:44 AM
Lovebombing: How I Embraced the Bliss of Ignorance
Reposted by Derrick Benton
That time of year is almost here
September 13th
September 13th
September 8, 2025 at 7:44 AM
That time of year is almost here
September 13th
September 13th
Support The House that Love Built
August 30, 2025 at 8:51 PM
Support The House that Love Built
Reposted by Derrick Benton
A VPN can hide your traffic from ISPs and advertisers — but it can’t stop you from handing your life to the platforms you use. Data brokers like Palantir don’t need your connection; they have your consent (hidden in the fine print).
#VPN #privacy #dataprivacy #infosec #cybersecurity
#VPN #privacy #dataprivacy #infosec #cybersecurity
The VPN prevents not only advertisers from tracking, it prevents everyone from tracking. Everything is end-to-end encrypted. … Palantir takes the data from META (for example), & with AI makes customized lists. META, Amazon, Telegram, Google all scrape, harvest, & sell our data to Palantir.
August 10, 2025 at 11:11 PM
A VPN can hide your traffic from ISPs and advertisers — but it can’t stop you from handing your life to the platforms you use. Data brokers like Palantir don’t need your connection; they have your consent (hidden in the fine print).
#VPN #privacy #dataprivacy #infosec #cybersecurity
#VPN #privacy #dataprivacy #infosec #cybersecurity
Reposted by Derrick Benton
Genuinely a better plan than whatever the Mets have in mind
If I were the manager or GM of the Mets, I'd make it mandatory that the whole team goes to a screening of The Naked Gun once they get to Milwaukee and then have dinner together afterward to butcher all of their favorite jokes from said film.
August 6, 2025 at 8:21 PM
Genuinely a better plan than whatever the Mets have in mind