This IMR series does two things: (1) document a semester of programming on the theme “Antagonism” by a screening group called, perhaps dully, but really, chicly, The Screening Group (“TSG”); and, (2) reflect on the value, if not necessity, of such a practice—committed, shared, screening and discussion of moving images—both as study and sociality.

This post will only begin to tackle the first task. It is informational. And so:

The Group: The TSG is comprised of students, faculty, and alumni of Georgia State University’s Moving Image Studies graduate program. We meet, at the moment, at 5PM every week at a theatre at Georgia State University. (Email me at Jchrietzberg1@gsu.edu if you’d like to attend, as we have several attendees from the surrounding Atlanta community.)

The Screenings: The TSG began with an impromptu screening of Jean-Luc Godard’s Weekend (1967) in October 2022. It continued from there, with members successively programming series of three to five films. A list of the series, films, and their programmers can be found here. We are presently screening an Italian series, “The Years of LED,” followed by: “The Women of Ray,” “girlhood, performance, plasticity,” and “The Sapphic Weird: Queer Erotics and its Discomforts.”

The Series: For the Fall 2025 semester, regular attendees voted on a theme. We selected Antagonism.* Here was the ‘pitch’  for the series: “A for Antagonism: conflicts and contradictions within and without film texts: text against context, production v reproduction, partisan forms, mediated struggle, performed refusal, martial mediums, iconoclash, obstinate cameras, stylistic sabotage, hater cinemas---or, let your imagination take you where it will.”

Each member then programmed one film under the theme. The line-up:

*Some of the other themes up for vote: Blasphemies, Dystopia, Errs/error, Global Tokasatsu, Mannerisms, Mytho-Poetics, Stupid movies, Synchronicity, and Theory Film/Theorist Film.

The Posts: Over the next two weeks, here, at IMR (thank you IMR!), you will read reflections from TSG members on the films and/or the group broadly. The roster for this week: Dr. Daren Fowler on Macho Dancer, Dr. Jayson Quearry on Heat, and, in a bit of wildcat programming, new member Thomas Goodchild on Michael Mann’s Manhunter (1986), now unofficially included in the series.  Next week will feature pieces by Jarred Biederstadt on Aragane, Christopher Minz on Battle in Heaven, Dr. Jenny Gunn (not) on Basic Instinct, IMR’s managing editor Sara Ghazi Asadollahi on Killing Mad Dogs, and yours truly on Punishment Park, the series, and The Screening Group broadly. 

Thank you for reading!