USC Dornsife News

A decade after her film upended SeaWorld, the USC Dornsife alumna says her filmmaking career was shaped by her political science studies.

USC scholars uncover why horror attracts millions of devoted fans — and reveal which frightening films scared them most.

USC Dornsife English professor MG Lord, author of the book Forever Barbie, explains why we can’t get enough of the iconic doll.

One hundred years ago, the excavation of King Tut’s tomb famously brought us a mummy with a “pharaoh’s curse.” Our fascination with mummies goes back much farther, however. USC Dornsife scholars explain why we’re still so wrapped up in these eerie remains.

Water has inspired famed literary tales such as Melville’s ‘Moby Dick’ and the Bible’s great flood and launched the revolutionary art movement called Impressionism, making it as essential to art is it is to life on Earth.

L.A.’s early 20th-century “Water Wars” over access to the precious H2O needed to fuel the city’s growth included a web of corruption and lies that inspired one of the most celebrated noir movies of all time: ‘Chinatown.’

The new movie demonstrates Hollywood’s increased commitment to diversity, but room for improvement remains. [6½ min read]

For filmmaker Edoardo Ponti, poetry was the key to unlocking his talents as a cinematic storyteller.

USC Dornsife’s Samuel Steinberg of Spanish and Portuguese reexamines the student movement — and massacre — of Mexico 1968 in an effort to recover its lost legacy.