Elvis Mitchell
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| Elvis Mitchell | |
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| Born | 1958 Detroit, Michigan |
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| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Public intellectual, former film critic |
Elvis Mitchell (born 1958 in Detroit, Michigan) is an African-American public intellectual and a former film critic for The New York Times (1998-2004).
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[edit] Education and early career
Mitchel graduated in 1980 from Wayne State University , where he majored in English. Before arriving at The Times, he served as a film critic for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the Los Angeles Herald Examiner and The Detroit Free Press.
[edit] Style
In his reviews, Mitchell takes on a freewheeling—some might say stream of consciousness—approach, and threads a good deal of intertextuality into his work by referencing other films. As one of the most well-known African-American critics in the United States, Mitchell also incorporates various cultural issues into his reviews and essays.
[edit] Television, film and NPR
In the late 1980s, Mitchell was part of a short-lived PBS show called The Edge. On the series, he provided film commentary and general criticism. In one segment, Mitchell offered a quick run-down of all of director Oliver Stone's tropes, including "always keep that camera moving," which he said while moving a camcorder over a small model of a Vietnamese jungle and prison camp set up on a table.
In 2007, Mitchell appeared in an episode of the HBO series Entourage, playing himself. Mitchell is currently producing "The Black List" with director Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, a film about race, culture and the seeds of success. The film includes Toni Morrison, Chris Rock and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar among others.
Mitchell is currently the host of KCRW's pop culture and film interview program "The Treatment". He is also an occasional film critic/commentator for Weekend Edition on NPR.
[edit] Academic Career
He has recently been asked to serve as a visiting lecturer in film and African American Studies at Harvard University.
[edit] External links
- KCRW's The Treatment
- Movies reviewed for the New York Times
- New York Magazine article on Mitchell's departure from the New York Times
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