Arts & Culture
Arts & Culture, Reviews
Barbie, Written and Directed by Greta Gerwig
Lorence Olivo September 14, 2023
Superficially, Barbie was made to look cheerful, bright, and cute, but beneath the appealing facade, the movie is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. It’s a shame that this movie appears to purposely stir up division where the potential was for something universally uplifting.
Arts & Culture, Science & Technology
Star Trek Inspires People ‘to Boldly Go’
Thomas Walker-Werth August 29, 2023
Although its vision for the future is sometimes imperfect, Star Trek has, with its unabashed optimism, celebration of science and technology, and exploration of philosophic and moral questions, inspired countless people to achieve wonderful things.
Arts & Culture
Writing against Your Life
Richard Mitchell August 29, 2023
Richard Mitchell (1929–2002), also known as “the underground grammarian,” was a champion of clarity in thought and communication.
Arts & Culture
Nine Inspiring Poems about the Future
Various Authors August 29, 2023
Including works by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, D. H. Lawrence, Edgar Guest, Arthur Hugh Clough, James Oppenheim, Langston Hughes, William Stanley Braithwaite, and Will Allen Dromgoole.
Arts & Culture, Philosophy
George Lucas Gets the Moral Meaning of Star Wars Wrong
Thomas Walker-Werth August 29, 2023
George Lucas says that selfishness puts one on the dark side, but it’s really the other way around. Selfishness, properly understood, is the rational concern for one’s own interests. It is the light.
Arts & Culture, Science & Technology
The Flower of Forest Park: Innovation in Architecture
Seamus Riley August 1, 2023
One Hundred Above the Park has something to teach us about the history of skyscraper design, the future of apartment design, and the philosophy behind great new architecture.
Arts & Culture, History, Reviews
Oppenheimer, Written and Directed by Christopher Nolan
Angelica Walker-Werth July 28, 2023
Oppenheimer was a key mind behind the invention and development of the bombs that ended World War II. He was also haunted by the question of whether producing these bombs was the right thing to do. This question runs throughout Christopher Nolan’s recent biopic, Oppenheimer, hailed by some as “the most epic WWII film yet."
Arts & Culture, Reviews
Sound of Freedom, Directed by Alejandro Gómez Monteverde
Tim White July 21, 2023
Although Sound of Freedom is emotionally straining at times, it is nonetheless an excellent and important film about heroic, inspiring people—and a film that hopefully will have a positive impact on real-life efforts to fight child trafficking.
Arts & Culture, Reviews
What’s Love Got to Do With It? Directed by Shekhar Kapur
What’s Love Got to Do With It? is a well-written and refreshingly thoughtful film that shows the crucial importance of honesty and independent thinking in achieving happiness. It is a sensitive yet incisive study of the clash between Islamic and Western cultures—and between collectivism and individualism.
Arts & Culture, Politics & Rights
The Terrifying Prescience of George Orwell’s 1984
Andrew Bernstein February 21, 2023
First and foremost a magnificent novel, George Orwell’s 1984 is also a terrifyingly prescient political commentary. Written by an Englishman in 1949, it substantially mirrors the trajectory of American politics today.