Harry Potter’s Ultimate Übermensch
While Nietzschean themes haunt the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling conveys her morality tale of the Übermensch.
philosophy
The Safety Trap: Society’s Destructive Fear of Risk-Taking
In episodes from SpongeBob SquarePants and South Park, risk-taking is rejected, leading to psychosis and isolation, or it becomes an an ideology, leading to destruction and absurdity. A degree of risk-taking, however, is essential for a healthy society.
‘Daredevil: Born Again’ and the Antagonistic Vigilante
Vigilantism is central to Daredevil: Born Again, but what does our fascination with the antagonistic vigilante reveal about us?
Alan Moore and the Great American (Graphic) Novel
The Illuminist: Philosophical Explorations in the Work of Alan Moore investigates the convictions and contradictions of the Great American (Graphic) Novel writer who is neither American nor a novelist.
The Vices and Virtues of Ignorance in These Times
In Understanding Ignorance, philosopher Daniel DeNicola invites us to explore the meaning and implication of what we don’t know, which may be as complex as knowledge itself.
C. D. Rose’s ‘Walter Benjamin Stares at the Sea’ Plays Familiar Games with Time
Walter Benjamin Stares at the Sea plays with postmodernism, autofiction, philosophy, and a short story canon peopled by writers from Augustine to Raymond Carver.
A Case for Pretending: Why Identity Is a Sham and Authenticity an Illusion
The tighter we cling to any aspect of self-identity, the more we suffer and the more vital it becomes to release our grip.
Albert Camus’ Struggles with Earthly Existence in ‘Travels in the Americas’
The Albert Camus of Travels in the Americas diaries is a passionate, despairing reckoner with the struggles of earthly existence, both personal and societal.
Rick Rubin’s Minimalist/Maximalist ‘The Creative Act’
Rick Rubin’s The Creative Act is, as his rap often was, minimalist and maximalist – musically austere but lyrically extravagant and self-aggrandizing.
Philosophy and Pop Harmonize on Scritti Politti’s ‘Songs to Remember’
In Scritti Politti’s Songs to Remember, Green Gartside comically challenges hegemonic structures in a perfect harmony of philosophy and pop.
Horror Video Game ‘Silent Hill’ Explores Dark Paradoxes in Normalcy
Inspired by Japanese Buddhism and American pop culture, the grotesque is a metaphor for normalcy in the horror video game Silent Hill.
Alien or Alienated? The Monstrous, the Normal, and the Tragic in Our Borders
Shakespeare, Knut Hamsun, Flannery O’Connor, and the Medieval Icelandic Göngu-Hrolfs saga each explore who is the alien, and who is alienated, within our borders.