New at Zócalo
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Essay
What Terrible Movies Can Teach Us
‘The Room’ Isn’t Just So Bad It’s Good. It’s a Master Class on the Pretensions of the Film Industry
It’s film awards season, which means movie lovers and Academy/Screen Actors Guild/Nickelodeon-watching kid voters alike have been busy sorting out the best films from last year.
Many of the most hyped-up …
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The Takeaway
Decolonization Tells the Story of Today
The Ongoing Political, Economic, and Intellectual Processes Reverberate in the 21st Century
The other day, the novelist and essayist Pankaj Mishra decided to change the navigation voice on his Google Maps settings from English (Great Britain) to English (India). A friend joked …
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Essay
Decolonization Is Women’s Work
March 8, 1950—International Women’s Day—Marked the Embrace of a Feminist Battle Against Imperialism
It was 1950, and the world was in flames: In Vietnam, Iran, Madagascar, Algeria, West Africa, South Africa, Tunisia, Malaya, Burma, and Cuba, wars of counterinsurgency were being waged against …
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Essay
When Asia and Africa Envisioned a New World Order
The 1955 Bandung Conference Created a ‘Unifying Myth of Decolonization’ and a Renewed Ethos of Self-Determination
“No race holds the monopoly of beauty, of intelligence, of strength / and there is a place for all at the rendezvous of victory,” wrote the Martinican poet Aimé Césaire …
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Connecting California
Should California Fight for or Against Silicon Valley?
The Growing Federal War on ‘Big Tech’ Poses a Quandary—and Exposes Our Hypocrisy
Which side should California be on in the coming federal war against Silicon Valley?
The question feels less hypothetical after the State of the Union address, when President Biden blasted “Big …
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The Takeaway
Is Something Rotten With the State of Presidencies?
Zócalo Heads to Mexico City to Understand Executive Power—And Why It Isn’t Always Best for Democracy
Last week, Zócalo Public Square held our first-ever event just steps from our organization’s namesake and inspiration, Mexico City’s Plaza de la Constitución, otherwise known as the Zócalo, one of …
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Essay
Humanitarians Shouldn’t Have to Choose Between Crises
But Race, Wealth, and Politics Are Dictating Who ‘Deserves’ to Be Saved
On February 6, two earthquakes struck near the border of Turkey and Syria. Measuring 7.8 and 7.5 on the Richter scale, they have, to date, claimed over 50,000 lives.
Those of …
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In the Green Room
March Poetry Curator Marcela Sulak
Translation Is an Act of Generosity and Passion