The Immanent Transcendence in Mascha Schilinski’s ‘Sound of Falling’
Mascha Schilinski’s Sound of Falling operates in the language of the unconscious, which is the language of the dead. The viewer must invite the dead into each present moment.
philosophy
‘The Coast of Everything’ Is Not a Puzzle to Be Solved But a Process to Inhabit
Guillermo Stitch’s metafiction The Coast of Everything is the sort of book that makes you feel simultaneously more intelligent and more illiterate.
Pink Floyd’s ‘The Wall’ and the Three Ghosts of Subjectivity
Every brick in Pink Floyd’s The Wall shows that haunting lies not in wailing and chain-rattling but in trauma, alienation, and absence.
Harry Potter’s Ultimate Übermensch
While Nietzschean themes haunt the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling conveys her morality tale of the Übermensch.
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.