Michael Benton
@mdbento.bsky.social
Native San Diegan. Humanities professor Kentucky (Film Studies, Peace/Conflict Studies, and Writing/Rhetoric). Think, share & live fully - stay awake, stay wild, inspire others! Anti-Authoritarian, Dialogic, Nemophilist, Radical Democracy, Wanderer/Wondere
Reposted by Michael Benton
Calling it AI and saying its "handling" this is participating in the nonsense, it is at its core a statistical model that spits out words based on its training set nothing less nothing more, in the case of Grok a particularly poorly constructed one. It will never be "ready to handle breaking news"
NEW: Elon Musk's Grok AI has been spreading ludicrous misinformation in the wake of Charlie Kirk's shooting, saying he's alive and well and that video of the event is fake -- a perfect example of how AI is nowhere near ready to handle breaking news
futurism.com/elon-musk-gr...
futurism.com/elon-musk-gr...
Elon Musk's Grok AI Spread Ludicrous Misinformation After Charlie Kirk's Shooting, Saying Kirk Survived and Video Was Fake
After the shooting of right wing influencer Charlie Kirk, Elon Musk's Grok chatbot spread ludicrous misinformation about the event.
futurism.com
September 11, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Calling it AI and saying its "handling" this is participating in the nonsense, it is at its core a statistical model that spits out words based on its training set nothing less nothing more, in the case of Grok a particularly poorly constructed one. It will never be "ready to handle breaking news"
Reposted by Michael Benton
Ezra Klein: Charlie Kirk Was Practicing Politics the Right Way
Charlie Kirk: Jail every doctor who has treated transgender children.
(Source: www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk...)
Charlie Kirk: Jail every doctor who has treated transgender children.
(Source: www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk...)
Charlie Kirk: "We need to have a Nuremberg-style trial for every gender-affirming clinic doctor"
www.mediamatters.org
September 11, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Ezra Klein: Charlie Kirk Was Practicing Politics the Right Way
Charlie Kirk: Jail every doctor who has treated transgender children.
(Source: www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk...)
Charlie Kirk: Jail every doctor who has treated transgender children.
(Source: www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk...)
New book on the 90s film 'The Crow' newbooksnetwork.com/it-cant-rain...
Alisha Mughal, "It Can’t Rain All the Time: The Crow" (ECW Press, 2025) - New Books Network
newbooksnetwork.com
September 11, 2025 at 5:43 PM
New book on the 90s film 'The Crow' newbooksnetwork.com/it-cant-rain...
Reposted by Michael Benton
Everyone seems allergic to the word, but Charlie Kirk was not an activist, he was a propagandist. Turning Point was a meme factory backed by a billionaire designed to steer kids towards Christian Nationalism. He didn’t advocate for policy; he spun narratives to change beliefs. Propaganda.
September 11, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Everyone seems allergic to the word, but Charlie Kirk was not an activist, he was a propagandist. Turning Point was a meme factory backed by a billionaire designed to steer kids towards Christian Nationalism. He didn’t advocate for policy; he spun narratives to change beliefs. Propaganda.
Reposted by Michael Benton
“What is most exceptional about the Americans is not the voluminous record of their violence but their extraordinary ability in the face of that record to persuade themselves that they are among the best behaved and best regulated of peoples.”
- Richard Hofstadter, American Violence, 1970 🗃️
- Richard Hofstadter, American Violence, 1970 🗃️
July 14, 2024 at 11:03 PM
“What is most exceptional about the Americans is not the voluminous record of their violence but their extraordinary ability in the face of that record to persuade themselves that they are among the best behaved and best regulated of peoples.”
- Richard Hofstadter, American Violence, 1970 🗃️
- Richard Hofstadter, American Violence, 1970 🗃️
Reposted by Michael Benton
RIP Charlie Kirk. May all who mourn find solace in knowing that he believed gun deaths were “worth it,” “prudent,” and “rational.”
Charlie Kirk: “It’s worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment”
www.mediamatters.org
September 11, 2025 at 1:29 AM
RIP Charlie Kirk. May all who mourn find solace in knowing that he believed gun deaths were “worth it,” “prudent,” and “rational.”
Reposted by Michael Benton
I don't use ChatGPT or knowingly any AI service (I'm constantly refusing them), just passing it along for those that do ai.plainenglish.io/the-digital-...
The Digital Confessional: How OpenAI Turned Your ChatGPT into a Police Informant
When artificial intelligence meets surveillance capitalism, privacy becomes the first casualty. It’s like walking into what you think is a…
ai.plainenglish.io
September 9, 2025 at 8:56 PM
I don't use ChatGPT or knowingly any AI service (I'm constantly refusing them), just passing it along for those that do ai.plainenglish.io/the-digital-...
Reposted by Michael Benton
The Supreme Court is allowing Trump to pause billions in foreign aid spending appropriated by Congress. www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
The Supreme Court Is Trump's Partner in Crimes Against America
The Supreme Court just allowed Trump’s immigration thugs to question people on the streets if they’re speaking Spanish or working as day laborers.
www.rollingstone.com
September 9, 2025 at 8:54 PM
The Supreme Court is allowing Trump to pause billions in foreign aid spending appropriated by Congress. www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
Thinking about difference, while living under a government that fears it
internationalfilmstudies.blogspot.com/2025/09/mich...
internationalfilmstudies.blogspot.com/2025/09/mich...
Michael Benton: On Difference
I am grateful that my world and society are so diverse and I celebrate the many different beings and things that remind me of that wonder. ...
internationalfilmstudies.blogspot.com
September 9, 2025 at 8:33 PM
Thinking about difference, while living under a government that fears it
internationalfilmstudies.blogspot.com/2025/09/mich...
internationalfilmstudies.blogspot.com/2025/09/mich...
If you are not ready to say goodbye to summer, but you are looking forward to Spooktober letterboxd.com/journal/unde...
Dog Day Deep Cuts: a starter pack of twenty underseen summer horror films • Journal • A Letterboxd Magazine
For those who have already worked their way through the summer horror classics like Jaws and Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Jenni Kaye has packed a cooler full of twenty underseen sweaty thrillers, campy r...
letterboxd.com
September 9, 2025 at 7:58 PM
If you are not ready to say goodbye to summer, but you are looking forward to Spooktober letterboxd.com/journal/unde...
Inspiration? The youth have to step up when their aging elites turn anti-democratic! I hope both American parties are paying attention; its clear why they fear student protests.
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Why GenZ has taken over the streets in Nepal
Protests in Nepal turned violent after thousands of youngsters marched against the blocking of social media platforms.
www.bbc.com
September 9, 2025 at 6:57 PM
Inspiration? The youth have to step up when their aging elites turn anti-democratic! I hope both American parties are paying attention; its clear why they fear student protests.
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Reposted by Michael Benton
Need this to get national attention, this is such a massive victory for people in Atlanta.
ATLANTA (AP) — Judge says he'll toss the racketeering case against 61 people tied to protests over a training center called “Cop City.”
September 9, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Need this to get national attention, this is such a massive victory for people in Atlanta.
Teaching this film tonight - online archive of resources for my students:
internationalfilmstudies.blogspot.com/2025/09/pans...
internationalfilmstudies.blogspot.com/2025/09/pans...
Pan's Labyrinth (Spain/Mexico: Guillermo Del Toro, 2006)
An experience unlike anything that had preceded it (or since), PAN’S LABYRINTH’s rich symbolism, intricate production design, and emotio...
internationalfilmstudies.blogspot.com
September 9, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Teaching this film tonight - online archive of resources for my students:
internationalfilmstudies.blogspot.com/2025/09/pans...
internationalfilmstudies.blogspot.com/2025/09/pans...
Reposted by Michael Benton
Ben Wheatley crafts a suitable John Wick spin with the Bob Odenkirk-led #Normal.
Read @jaredmobarak.com's TIFF review: thefilmstage.com/tiff-review-...
Read @jaredmobarak.com's TIFF review: thefilmstage.com/tiff-review-...
September 9, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Ben Wheatley crafts a suitable John Wick spin with the Bob Odenkirk-led #Normal.
Read @jaredmobarak.com's TIFF review: thefilmstage.com/tiff-review-...
Read @jaredmobarak.com's TIFF review: thefilmstage.com/tiff-review-...
Director Joe Wright's new series on MUBI US looks great and timely!: "Traces the birth of Fascism in Italy and Mussolini’s ascent with an innovative approach that has sparked debate about the Fascist dictator’s legacy in Italy and abroad."
mubi.com/en/us/series...
mubi.com/en/us/series...
Watch Mussolini: Son of the Century on MUBI
Traces the birth of Fascism in Italy and Mussolini’s ascent with an innovative approach that has sparked debate about the Fascist dictator’s legacy in Italy and abroad.
mubi.com
September 8, 2025 at 1:16 PM
Director Joe Wright's new series on MUBI US looks great and timely!: "Traces the birth of Fascism in Italy and Mussolini’s ascent with an innovative approach that has sparked debate about the Fascist dictator’s legacy in Italy and abroad."
mubi.com/en/us/series...
mubi.com/en/us/series...
Reposted by Michael Benton
The judge who overturned Trump's freeze of funding to Harvard is Jewish and described the administration's exploitation of antisemitism as a "smokescreen"
Judge overturns Trump administration's Harvard funding freeze tied to antisemitism allegations - Jewish Telegraphic Agency
A federal judge wrote that the administration had used antisemitism as a “smokescreen” to advance its agenda at the country’s top universities.
www.jta.org
September 4, 2025 at 2:18 PM
The judge who overturned Trump's freeze of funding to Harvard is Jewish and described the administration's exploitation of antisemitism as a "smokescreen"
Reposted by Michael Benton
BREAKING: Trump orders the military to fly fighter jets over anyone demanding the Epstein files.
September 4, 2025 at 2:23 PM
BREAKING: Trump orders the military to fly fighter jets over anyone demanding the Epstein files.
"... Han's alternative to classic western ideas abt subjectivity. We talk about Zen as a religion without God. Substance and emptiness. Alternatives to the reified self. Dwelling nowhere. Original friendliness. And death as an event we desperately try to control."
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...
Episode #235 ... The Philosophy of Zen Buddhism - Byung Chul Han
Podcast Episode · Philosophize This! · 09/04/2025 · 38m
podcasts.apple.com
September 4, 2025 at 2:32 PM
"... Han's alternative to classic western ideas abt subjectivity. We talk about Zen as a religion without God. Substance and emptiness. Alternatives to the reified self. Dwelling nowhere. Original friendliness. And death as an event we desperately try to control."
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...
"world’s leading genocide scholars’ association has approved a resolution establishing that Israel’s policies and actions in Gaza meet the legal definition of genocide as found in the Genocide Convention, constituting war crimes and crimes against humanity."
www.democracynow.org/2025/9/2/ram...
www.democracynow.org/2025/9/2/ram...
“Will Western Powers Take Action?”: Rami Khouri on Scholars Declaring Genocide in Gaza
In Gaza, Israeli attacks since dawn have killed at least 54 Palestinians, including people seeking food. The attacks came as Gaza health officials recorded another 13 deaths due to starvation — three ...
www.democracynow.org
September 2, 2025 at 7:43 PM
"world’s leading genocide scholars’ association has approved a resolution establishing that Israel’s policies and actions in Gaza meet the legal definition of genocide as found in the Genocide Convention, constituting war crimes and crimes against humanity."
www.democracynow.org/2025/9/2/ram...
www.democracynow.org/2025/9/2/ram...
An online archive of resources for the film I am teaching tonight:
internationalfilmstudies.blogspot.com/2025/09/blac...
internationalfilmstudies.blogspot.com/2025/09/blac...
BlacKkKlansman (USA: Spike Lee, 2018)
BlacKkKlansman (USA: Spike Lee, 2018: 135 mins) Abdurraqib, Hanif. " Blackklansman and the Art of Code Switching." Pacific Standard ...
internationalfilmstudies.blogspot.com
September 2, 2025 at 5:12 PM
An online archive of resources for the film I am teaching tonight:
internationalfilmstudies.blogspot.com/2025/09/blac...
internationalfilmstudies.blogspot.com/2025/09/blac...