Cinematic Tweets in the Time of Corona

Defending free speech and human rights in the digital public square

This issue of Cinematic Tweets features a group of strong, clear voices on Twitter which have, for a year and a trimester, raised issues, concerns and disagreement with Covid policy.

These voices are given, here, visual form--each double-image becomes a mini-dialogue.

Because free speech is non-negotiable and ought to be respected, regardless of one's position on issues.

And because, to quote a superstar Greek of times past, ὁ δὲ ἀνεξέταστος βίος οὐ βιωτὸς ἀνθρώπῳ.

The slideshow below features these Cinematic Tweets. Click on the image for a pop-up.

A new [political] era

"A Great Procession of Priests And Laymen": old leader out, new leader in

This issue of Cinematic Politics features a Cavafy poem titled "A Great Procession of Priests And Laymen."

It's a poem describing the joy and triumph of Christians over the Pagans. The new Emperor, a Christian, replaces the pagan one.

If we substitute "Christian" for Democrat and "Pagan" for Republican, the poem aptly describes our current political era.

But Cavafy also issues a warning, the last verse: Careful what you wish for.

The slideshow below features the poem in the original Greek (left pages), and in English translation (right pages), a few verses per slide, followed by the entire set of images, and the entire poem. Click on the image for a pop-up.

Cinematic Elegy

"Prayer": A mother's; a country's, lament

This issue of Cinematic Elegy features a Cavafy poem titled "Prayer."

It's a poem expressing a human desire for divine protection when faced with inevitable loss.

This is a tough subject, but it is one we were called to design for when we collaborated with artist Stelios Stylianou for an exhibition of works about an invading and occupying army in his native land of Cyprus. Stelios focused on the mothers and wives who were lamenting the loss of their loved ones, & the role of faith and belief in the divine while grieving.

Back to the poem storyboarded here:

The slideshow below features the poem in the original Greek (left pages), and in English translation (right pages), a few verses per slide, followed by the entire set of images, and the entire poem. Click on the image for a pop-up.

Coda: A long time ago I started pairing Cavafy poems with sets of images, a process I termed "cinematic poetry." Think of it as storyboarding for a micro-movie whose script is the poem.

Cavafy poems feature succinct descriptions of spaces, places, and objects--the things I care about and design for.