In Love with ‘Her’ Hallucination in Our Era of Rising AI
Spike Jonze’s Her is a work of art that is far more influential than predictive; ahead of its time in exploring the murky obsessions and ambiguities that haunt our relationship with AI.
sci-fi
Superman’s Message of Moral Reciprocity
The resonance of the Golden Rule across time and societies is one way that the reciprocity norm, and its signifier, Superman, combine the secular with the sacred.
Today’s AI Sublime Was Forged in Cold War Cinema’s Atomic Monsters
Horror and sci-fi nuclear cinema of the Cold War era is our finest rehearsal for the AI future, and that’s why pop culture still reaches for monstrous metaphors when technology leaps beyond comprehension.
Adi Gelbart Makes Dystopian Bunny Sci-Fi and Jazz Noir Liquid
Experimental multi-instrumentalist, composer, filmmaker, and author Adi Gelbart shares the ingredients to his new album, Liquid & Flesh.
Sci-Fi Goes Hi-Fi: 10 Artists Explore Hip-Hop Futurism
What follows are ten hip-hop artists whose works have been shaped in some form or another by the works of sci-fi in the Afrofuturist mold.
The Thunderbolts Put Up a Fight for Teamwork
What Thunderbolts communicates about teamwork taps into one of the greatest social science mysteries of contemporary history: the nature of individual-group relation.
‘The Shrouds’ and David Cronenberg’s Cinema of Bodily Grief
David Cronenberg’s The Shrouds harkens back to his early body horror obsessions with a poet’s tone, retaining the connective tissue that embodies him.
‘The Bermuda Triangle’ Hits the Spooky Pseudo-Science Spot
Richard Friedenberg’s The Bermuda Triangle is an encyclopedia, a smorgasbord, a broom closet of themes from all over its era’s pop culture.
Sayaka Murata’s Spectacularly Strange ‘Vanishing World’
In Sayaka Murata’s eagerly awaited novel Vanishing World, our conventional understanding of love and sex has all but disappeared.
Berlinale Part 2: Sci-fi Satire, Storytelling Greatness and Muted Grief
Midway through its ten-day run, Berlinale hit us with some twisted but memorable releases from directors Bong Joon-ho, Mary Bronstein, and Dylan Southern.
Workplace Drama ‘Severance’ Enhances Performance and Hits High Targets
Workplace drama Severance Season 2 enhances performance by moving sideways from work ethics to reach the complicated hearts of its protagonists.
Sundance Film Festival 2025 Is at a Crossroads
While the Sundance Film Festival still uplifts under-the-radar films in an increasingly challenging market, its future may be in doubt.