Gravity’s Rainbow Under Today’s Hypersonic Skies
In our era of awe-inspiring hypersonic weaponry, we turn to Thomas Pynchon, who warns in Gravity’s Rainbow that the Rocket is never mere hardware; it is a nihilistic creed whose liturgy is speed.
nihilism
Embracing Nothing: Nihilism in Bellocchio’s ‘Fists in the Pocket’
Bellocchio's best work, Fists in the Pocket (I pugni in tasca) is key to understanding the stark shift Italian cinema experienced in moving from the post-realism phase of the 1950s into the experimentalism, social commentary, and surrealism of the 1960s.
The Dusk in Angelica Liddell: The Transgressive Post-Hardcore Theater of ‘Esta Breve Tragedia de la Carne’
Spanish avant-garde theater-maker Liddell and veteran metalcore band Converge try to make sense of the brief tragedy of the flesh.
Do We Dream of Electric Sheep Like Blade Runner’s Corporate-Produced Replicants?
The isolation of Blade Runner 2049‘s inhabitants reinforces their need for genuine connection, which the divisive effects of global capitalism undermines.
Haunted by Nothingness: Emanuele Severino’s ‘The Essence of Nihilism’
Ask anyone whether something can be born of nothing, and the reply will be decisive: No! Yet we think, speak and act “as if” this were not the case.
Peter Pál Pelbart’s ‘Cartography of Exhaustion’ Is Exhilarating
This is a sunny, revitalizing book, despite its ostensible focus on exhaustion and nihilism.
Shintaro Sakamoto: Let’s Dance Raw
Banal and lifeless as anything, Sakamoto's Let's Dance Raw can't be bothered to make the listener care.