I first used the term “interrogating memory” in August 2017. One month earlier, I simultaneously began to write a book about the roots of my deep love of film noir, underwent genetic testing and initiated a formal request for information about my in utero adoption, backed up by my own independent research An unanticipated side … Continue reading When memories defy interrogation
Author: Matt Berger
I am a data geek, writer, investigator and film noir devotee with academic training in political science (Yale BA, Harvard MA), biostatistics (Boston University SPH MA) and epidemiology (Boston University SPH PhD). In January 2021, I finished writing Interrogating Memory: Film Noir Spurs a Deep Dive Into My Family History...and My Own, which I published through Interrogating Memory Press (via BookBaby) in May 2002. In Chapter 6: So...What Is Film Noir, Again?, I analyze my film noir database, which contains 4,825 titles. My musical holy trinity is Genesis, Miles Davis and Stan Ridgway. I am a liberal Democrat who understands a thriving democracy requires at least two mature political parties. I grew up just outside Philadelphia, and I live just outside Boston, where my wife and daughters keep me happy, sane and grounded. Please ask me anything else you want to know.
NOIR CITY 17: New heights of noir!
The streak ended at five. For a number of reasons (including having already seen 20 of the 24 films to be screened[1]), I did not attend the NOIR CITY film festival in San Francisco this year[2]. I had attended—and enjoyed immensely—each of the previous five years after attending the 2014 festival (NOIR CITY 12) on … Continue reading NOIR CITY 17: New heights of noir!
My great-grandfather, his brother-in-law…and The Three Stooges?
This coming October 15 would have been my great-grandfather David Louis Berger’s 150th birthday. Eight days later, I will mourn the 100th anniversary of his passing, under bizarre circumstances, but that is a tale I reserve for my book. “Louis,” as he preferred to be called (like my own father David Louis Berger liked to … Continue reading My great-grandfather, his brother-in-law…and The Three Stooges?
Choosing the funny and the absurd…
There are very few persons, places or things I outright despise. One of those rare things is St. Valentine’s Day (despite my fascination with what happened that day in Chicago, IL in 1929). I generally believe that cynicism is toxic—but I am irredeemably cynical about this “Hallmark holiday.” My objection to the holiday was originally … Continue reading Choosing the funny and the absurd…
When is a pleasure “guilty?”
I first watched The Cotton Club (Francis Ford Coppola, 1984) as a sophomore in college, under curious circumstances. That year, I lived with two other men in a converted basement seminar room in Ezra Stiles College. The year before, that room had been occupied by a student we generally referred to as the “Saudi prince” … Continue reading When is a pleasure “guilty?”
Organizing by themes IX: The random bits
This site benefits/suffers/both from consisting of posts about a wide range of topics, all linked under the amorphous heading "data-driven storytelling." In an attempt to impose some coherent structure, I am organizing related posts both chronologically and thematically. Having run through the primary themes of this blog… American politics film noir/NOIR CITY interrogating memory and … Continue reading Organizing by themes IX: The random bits
Organizing by themes VIII: True crime
This site benefits/suffers/both from consisting of posts about a wide range of topics, all linked under the amorphous heading "data-driven storytelling." In an attempt to impose some coherent structure, I am organizing related posts both chronologically and thematically. Having written extensively about film noir and Charlie Chan films and detective fiction—and my maternal grandfather who … Continue reading Organizing by themes VIII: True crime
Organizing by themes VII: Words beginning with “epi-“
This site benefits/suffers/both from consisting of posts about a wide range of topics, all linked under the amorphous heading "data-driven storytelling." In an attempt to impose some coherent structure, I am organizing related posts both chronologically and thematically. In this post, I sketched the winding road on which a 28-year-old man who had just resigned … Continue reading Organizing by themes VII: Words beginning with “epi-“
Two posts diverged…though not in a yellow wood
This post began as the seventh in the “organizing by themes” series, the one that would contain annotated links to my posts related to epidemiology, epistemology, public health and career changes. THAT post may be found here. When I started writing, though, I realized that I was telling the full back story of my adult … Continue reading Two posts diverged…though not in a yellow wood
Organizing by themes VI: Baseball
This site benefits/suffers/both from consisting of posts about a wide range of topics, all linked under the amorphous heading "data-driven storytelling." In an attempt to impose some coherent structure, I am organizing related posts both chronologically and thematically. Many times in the past two-plus years I would drive to my weekly psychotherapy appointment fully expecting … Continue reading Organizing by themes VI: Baseball
Just Bear With Me... 