Prof of Mediacom & Film at Muhlenberg. Author of Cinema’s Original Sin: DW Griffith, American Racism, and the Rise of Film Culture.https://bsky.app/profile/paulmcewan.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/paulmcewan.bsky.social/post/3mkdcaiepbk27I was a student newspaper editor and assigned a Nirvana concert review to my friend. He wrote such an amazing piece that my American Lit Prof brought it up in class. It had never occurred to me before that you could be an academic about pop culture. [contains quote post or other embedded content]25 Apr 2026 14:53 +0000at://did:plc:rixgufcbdw5bvvpd2ygdzefu/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkdcaiepbk27https://bsky.app/profile/paulmcewan.bsky.social/post/3mimibrnpzk2cLooking forward to this one too. [contains quote post or other embedded content]03 Apr 2026 19:45 +0000at://did:plc:rixgufcbdw5bvvpd2ygdzefu/app.bsky.feed.post/3mimibrnpzk2chttps://bsky.app/profile/paulmcewan.bsky.social/post/3milxhxogh22uI’m neutral on film lengths in the abstract, but in practical terms it has cut my theatre attendance in recent years when a long film + 25 minutes of ads/trailers + travel time means a nearly 4-hour commitment to see a movie. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/movies-getting-longer-1236555200/03 Apr 2026 14:44 +0000at://did:plc:rixgufcbdw5bvvpd2ygdzefu/app.bsky.feed.post/3milxhxogh22uhttps://bsky.app/profile/paulmcewan.bsky.social/post/3mia7qvk3uc2fPicked up a nice variety of books at #SCMS2629 Mar 2026 22:41 +0000at://did:plc:rixgufcbdw5bvvpd2ygdzefu/app.bsky.feed.post/3mia7qvk3uc2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/paulmcewan.bsky.social/post/3mia5s4yb622fThere aren’t 2 sides to every issue and the media shouldn’t default to political balance. [contains quote post or other embedded content]29 Mar 2026 22:05 +0000at://did:plc:rixgufcbdw5bvvpd2ygdzefu/app.bsky.feed.post/3mia5s4yb622fhttps://bsky.app/profile/paulmcewan.bsky.social/post/3mia2yn2qw22fI feel like it’s a social media rite of passage to be included in someone’s haul post #scms26 [contains quote post or other embedded content]29 Mar 2026 21:15 +0000at://did:plc:rixgufcbdw5bvvpd2ygdzefu/app.bsky.feed.post/3mia2yn2qw22fhttps://bsky.app/profile/paulmcewan.bsky.social/post/3mfsqfuy72k2nAmazing that this Melies film went unseen for a century and I just watched it on my phone in a car. (I wasn’t driving :) https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2026/02/lost-19th-century-film-by-melies-discovered-at-the-library/27 Feb 2026 03:11 +0000at://did:plc:rixgufcbdw5bvvpd2ygdzefu/app.bsky.feed.post/3mfsqfuy72k2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/paulmcewan.bsky.social/post/3mdrl6wqtmk2aNever mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in university: 1. Race and Racism (taught by geneticist and sociologist) 2. Global warming (in 1991) 3. Human anatomy (with cadaver dissection) 4. Shakespeare’s comedies 5. Ind. study on Douglas Coupland (GenX baby!) [contains quote post or other embedded content]01 Feb 2026 05:15 +0000at://did:plc:rixgufcbdw5bvvpd2ygdzefu/app.bsky.feed.post/3mdrl6wqtmk2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/paulmcewan.bsky.social/post/3mce3x24uzc2wMy book, Cinema’s Original Sin, which traces the influence of The Birth of a Nation from 1915 to present day politics, is out in paperback today. https://bookshop.org/p/books/cinema-s-original-sin-d-w-griffith-american-racism-and-the-rise-of-film-culture-paul-mcewan/5786bc0ff52052b5?ean=9781477325490&next=t14 Jan 2026 03:12 +0000at://did:plc:rixgufcbdw5bvvpd2ygdzefu/app.bsky.feed.post/3mce3x24uzc2whttps://bsky.app/profile/paulmcewan.bsky.social/post/3m7c242nevk2mI had a really great Film History (pre-1950) class this semester. I’ve put a ton of thought of effort into it over the past decade and it seems to have paid off. They like the films and want to talk about them.06 Dec 2025 03:18 +0000at://did:plc:rixgufcbdw5bvvpd2ygdzefu/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7c242nevk2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/paulmcewan.bsky.social/post/3m6obtlw5zc2xEntranced yet again by the delicious bass line of the Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back,” I fell down a Wilton Felder rabbit hole and ended up on this 1971 album full of similar grooves. https://music.apple.com/us/album/shades-of-green/137180539928 Nov 2025 06:43 +0000at://did:plc:rixgufcbdw5bvvpd2ygdzefu/app.bsky.feed.post/3m6obtlw5zc2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/paulmcewan.bsky.social/post/3m6mvydvqzs2rAlways worth a Thanksgiving re-post27 Nov 2025 17:38 +0000at://did:plc:rixgufcbdw5bvvpd2ygdzefu/app.bsky.feed.post/3m6mvydvqzs2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/paulmcewan.bsky.social/post/3m5sbkyha6s23What perfect album came out the year you turned 16? 1986 included The Queen is Dead and Lifes Rich Pageant, which are also perfect, but I’m going with Master of Puppets17 Nov 2025 03:24 +0000at://did:plc:rixgufcbdw5bvvpd2ygdzefu/app.bsky.feed.post/3m5sbkyha6s23https://bsky.app/profile/paulmcewan.bsky.social/post/3lyyqxz3kbs2tI worked with Jill briefly when I was at Notre Dame. She had a list of commandments for student filmmakers that was more like rules for life. I cite it all the time and have tried to pass on her wisdom. It was an honor to know her. [contains quote post or other embedded content]17 Sep 2025 02:10 +0000at://did:plc:rixgufcbdw5bvvpd2ygdzefu/app.bsky.feed.post/3lyyqxz3kbs2thttps://bsky.app/profile/paulmcewan.bsky.social/post/3lvcoh45jhc2nThis looks fantastic [contains quote post or other embedded content]01 Aug 2025 03:10 +0000at://did:plc:rixgufcbdw5bvvpd2ygdzefu/app.bsky.feed.post/3lvcoh45jhc2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/paulmcewan.bsky.social/post/3ludghll6dc2jThis looks like a great book from my fellow @utexaspress.bsky.social author @nikostratis.com UTexas is having a summer book sale so it’s good time to pick it up. [contains quote post or other embedded content]19 Jul 2025 16:55 +0000at://did:plc:rixgufcbdw5bvvpd2ygdzefu/app.bsky.feed.post/3ludghll6dc2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/paulmcewan.bsky.social/post/3ltfxrfznf22x.009 .011 .016 .024 .032 .042 [contains quote post or other embedded content]07 Jul 2025 23:45 +0000at://did:plc:rixgufcbdw5bvvpd2ygdzefu/app.bsky.feed.post/3ltfxrfznf22xhttps://bsky.app/profile/paulmcewan.bsky.social/post/3lsvwzta74k2kTwo big reasons to celebrate today: it’s Canada Day, and my term as department chair ended yesterday.01 Jul 2025 14:49 +0000at://did:plc:rixgufcbdw5bvvpd2ygdzefu/app.bsky.feed.post/3lsvwzta74k2khttps://bsky.app/profile/paulmcewan.bsky.social/post/3lo5zfmw2hs2gIf you happen to have read or skimmed Cinema’s Original Sin and spotted an error you were too polite to tell me about, I’d love to hear about it now because I’m making corrections for the paperback.02 May 2025 04:46 +0000at://did:plc:rixgufcbdw5bvvpd2ygdzefu/app.bsky.feed.post/3lo5zfmw2hs2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/paulmcewan.bsky.social/post/3lmlgbmtxu22rI didn’t realize that Kotcheff had also directed Uncommon Valor, which I saw 4 times when I was 12. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/ted-kotcheff-dead-first-blood-weekend-at-bernies-1236188681/12 Apr 2025 01:51 +0000at://did:plc:rixgufcbdw5bvvpd2ygdzefu/app.bsky.feed.post/3lmlgbmtxu22rhttps://bsky.app/profile/paulmcewan.bsky.social/post/3lckzs5wevp2wThe audiobook version of Cinema’s Original Sin is 70% off (only $6!) until January 2. https://www.audiobooks.com/promotions/promotedBook/616886/cinemas-original-sin-d-w-griffith-american-racism-and-the-rise-of-film-culture?refId=16661005 Dec 2024 15:56 +0000at://did:plc:rixgufcbdw5bvvpd2ygdzefu/app.bsky.feed.post/3lckzs5wevp2whttps://bsky.app/profile/paulmcewan.bsky.social/post/3lch5dkyndh2wA very kind note on my book. [contains quote post or other embedded content]04 Dec 2024 02:49 +0000at://did:plc:rixgufcbdw5bvvpd2ygdzefu/app.bsky.feed.post/3lch5dkyndh2whttps://bsky.app/profile/paulmcewan.bsky.social/post/3lbzkv2w7ws2rIn a bookstore with the 15-year-old yesterday and he casually mentions that “all the books in this series seem to be in the public domain.” No idea how he learned what public domain is, but be still my media professor dad heart.28 Nov 2024 17:14 +0000at://did:plc:rixgufcbdw5bvvpd2ygdzefu/app.bsky.feed.post/3lbzkv2w7ws2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/paulmcewan.bsky.social/post/3lbvcwvhffs2sIf you really love someone, you fix the settings on their AV equipment whether they want you to mess with it or not. [contains quote post or other embedded content]27 Nov 2024 00:41 +0000at://did:plc:rixgufcbdw5bvvpd2ygdzefu/app.bsky.feed.post/3lbvcwvhffs2s