Willing to go to the movies for your country?
Here at SFR we understand, and hate, that sometimes we’ve got to be grownups. Take, for instance, when your democracy gets buried under the largesse of an odious ex-game show host’s ego.
Come Thursday, Santa Feans can go to the movies under the guise of responsible adulting. Documentarian Dan Partland’s latest film, #Untruth: The Psychology of Trumpism, screens for free at Violet Crown Cinema thanks to The League of Women Voters. The local chapter of the nonpartisan organization kicks off a series of events aimed at helping voters recognize disinformation and the damage it causes with the film.
IMDB
Partland, who has twice won Emmy Awards for Best Nonfiction Series, previously made #Unfit: The Psychology of Donald Trump in 2020. Partland tells SFR #Untruth is a sequel to #Unfit, that examines the psychology behind the other side of the MAGA nexus, its followers.
“I think what history tells us about authoritarian movements is that they really do tend to coincide with change. When there’s a lot of instability, usually characterized by a very rapid rate of change, that really can activate an authoritarian instinct in all of us.”
Partland said while the film isn’t partisan but is decidedly anti-Trump.
“There’s something really important about that, because I think we all agree on the desired shape of our democracy—even if we don’t agree on the goals from time to time. One of the most troubling things about the current administration is the way it undermines our belief in the aspirations of American democracy. All of us would agree people need to be treated with basic human rights like due process, and that no one is above the law,” Partland tells SFR. “Part of the Trump phenomenon has been really to undermine those values and to view them as naive.”
Debbie Helper, a vice president for the local League chapter, tells SFR, “When any party is exploiting disinformation to secure and hold power and to destroy our democratic institutions, it is not partisan to resist.”
Partland will join via Zoom for a discussion led by local chapters of the League, the National Organization for Women and Indivisible.
#Untruth: The Psychology of Trumpism Screening: 6 pm Thursday, May 8. Free; read the full interview Partland gave SFR here
Violet Crown Cinema, 1606 Alcaldesa St., (505) 216-5678
Flowing Love
Courtesy SF Watershed Assc.
The Santa Fe Watershed Association’s Love Your Watershed Day ties together three integral components of being human: water, community and good old fashion fun. “This is an event that really emphasizes not just the importance of the watershed but all the people and partners who make the watershed possible,” SFWA’s Lorraine Chow tells SFR. The day is packed with all sorts of hands-on activities highlighting the importance of our watershed and the environment, like discovering aquatic critters, native flower planting, track identifying, a community river clean up and the list goes on. On top of all that, Lone Piñon and Repurposed Vibe play live tunes and Queen Bee Music Association sets up an instrument petting zoo. (Adam Ferguson)
Love Your Watershed Day 2025: 11 am-2 pm
Saturday, May 10. Free. West Devargas Park
302 W De Vargas St., (505) 820-1696
Channeling Nature’s Wisdom
Courtesy Timothy P. McLaughlin
Poet and founder of eco nonprofit Praising Earth Timothy P. McLaughlin’s new book Her We Serve: Poems & Stories is an homage to the human relationship between the Earth and the wilderness. “This collection of poems and stories is about ringing the bell of how we can be in service to the Earth and to ecology through spoken word,” McLaughlin tells SFR. To celebrate the book’s release, Praising Earth presents an intimate evening reading with McLaughlin alongside, live music performed by members of his family—plus a sound healing by WalkingStar, a master of Native American flutes, and an introduction by author Joan Borysenko. (AF)
Praising Earth Presents: Timothy P. McLaughlin: Book Launch Celebration: 7 pm Saturday, May 10
$10-$25. Scottish Rite Theater, 463 Paseo de Peralta (505) 982-4414. For tickets: PraisingEarth.org
Dream a Little Dream
courtesy Dreamer Isioma
Ohhhhhh, shit, Chicago-based Nigerian-American musician Dreamer Isioma—your jams are so sick. We especially like when you announce “You think I’m crazy? You don’t know what crazy means?” on “She Dance With the Devil” from your new release StarX Lover, but really your whole combo of rock, punk, dance jamz, indie rock and otherwise compositionally riveting pieces works for us as a whole. “Note to Self” feels almost like old Beck meets new hip-hop and that all-too-brief mainstream flirtation with goth aeshetics in mid-’90s pop. As for everybody else? Dreamer Isioma brings the weird and sexy to the Meow Wolf stage this week, and it should work just fine for fans of funk, R&B and head-bobbers alongside the punks, tranqs, zipheads and lobos. (Alex De Vore)
Dreamer Isioma: 8 pm Monday, May 12. $29.75
Meow Wolf, 1352 Rufina Circle, (505) 395-6369
