Entries by Jeffrey Ian Ross

The calming effect of reading poetry before sleep

In 2016 Donald Trump was elected as the 45th President, and the Republican Party gained control of the Senate. For more than four years a large chunk of the public continuously wondered what egregious and embarrassing thing Trump and his supporters would say or do next. This insecurity was highlighted when the capital was attacked […]

Reconsidering Iñárritu’s BIUTIFUL

Although filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu has produced numerous interesting and powerful movies, one of my favorites is his 2010 film Biutiful. The images, characters, and storyline used in this film frequently repeat in my mind and hit me at a deep and visceral level. Set in modern day Barcelona, but rarely the neighborhoods that most […]

Tyre Nichols and the reality of police reform in the United States

Over the past few weeks the public has learned about the death of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old unarmed African-American man, at the hands of five black Memphis police officers. The traffic stop, which led not only to the tasering and pepper-spraying of Nichols, but his brutal beating was recorded via police body and pole-mounted cameras. […]