Christopher Robe

Christopher Robé is a professor in film and media studies. He has published Left of Hollywood: Cinema, Modernism, and the Emergence of U.S. Radical Film Culture.,[1] which resituates such well-known auteurs like Sergei Eisenstein and Jean Renoir in an American political context.[2],.[3] It also argues that the 1930s proved a vital moment in time regarding the emergence of Left Film Theory,.[4][5][6]

His most recent book, Breaking the Spell: A History of Anarchist Filmmakers, Videotape Guerrillas, and Digital Ninjas.,[7] addresses the rise of video activism and the new anarchism from the 1970s to the present.[8][9][10] Robé can be seen discussing the book in the following interview.[11] He is currently researching video activism, state repression, and counter-surveillance in relation to copwatching, counter-summit protesting, animal rights activism, and Muslim-American self-determination. He has published an article on counter-summit protesting, video activism, and surveillance in the journal *Framework*:.[12] He is also conducting archival-based research for a book on Raymond Williams that historically situates some of his key theoretical ideas in developing grassroots media with present-day concerns over the democratization of digital media. His collection co-edited with Stephen Charbonneau, "InsUrgent Media from the Front: A Media Activism Reader" was published in Fall 2020 by Indiana University Press.[13]

He frequently writes occasionally for Pop Matters and Cineaste:

Disruptive Film and Political Turmoil: Disruptive Film and Political Turmoil

Adjusting the Focus on Somali-Americans: "First Person Plural" and "Muslim Youth Voices": Adjusting the Focus on Somali-Americans: 'First Person Plural' and 'Muslim Youth Voices'

Bill Gunn's 'Personal Problems' and a History of the Video Revolution: Bill Gunn's 'Personal Problems' and a History of the Video Revolution

Documenting the Little Abuses: Copwatching, Community Organizing, and Video Activism: Documenting the Little Abuses: Copwatching, Community Organizing, and Video Activism

Field of Vision: An Expedition in Short-Form Documentary Filmmaking: FieldofVision.pdf

Expanding Our Field of Vision: An Interview with Laura Poitras: ExpandOurField.pdf

The Watermelon Woman, or What Happened to New Queer Cinema: 'The Watermelon Woman', or, Whatever Happened to New Queer Cinema?

Disruptive Film: 'Disruptive Film' Creates a Constellation Where the Past and Present Meet

The Quay Brothers Collected Short Films: Pathological Visions: Desire and Alienation in the Films of the Quay Brothers

Two Days, One Night: The Dardennes' Laboring Body in 'Two Days, One Night'

Boyhood: 'Boyhood' and the Transcendence of the Everyday

Jean Luc-Godard, Introduction to a True History of Cinema: Jean-Luc Godard: A Montage of Attractions