Existentialism in Children’s Film
Children’s films tend to emphasize the role of destiny or chance, but existential themes can be found in a few that highlight the importance of agency and defining the meaning of one’s own life.
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Film
The Dude Abides: Pragmatism as an Alternative to Deontology and Nihilism
Stuck in the conflict between two worldviews, the Dude offers a pragmatic third way forward for the postmodern world.
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Mary Poppins as the Bodhisattva Ideal
P.L. Travers, who hung out with British mystics and studied alongside a Zen Buddhist master, would have approved of the Mary Poppins sequel.
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Overcoming Childhood Trauma and Other Heroic Lessons from ‘The Dark Knight’
A cinematic masterpiece, ‘The Dark Knight’ is filled with insights into empathy and building emotional resiliency after childhood trauma.
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Geek Culture is Mainstream, but Geek Girls Remain Left Behind
Geek girls are vying for top-billing in a culture that used to ignore them and now frequently makes self-deprecating jokes about male geeks’ inability to coherently talk to women. Female representation is diversifying as women continue to grow as a consumer block, but women and girls deserve more.
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Reboots, Remakes, Revivals: Nostalgia in the Streaming Era
Contemporary popular media seems to be powered by the fumes of nostalgia, and doesn’t appear to be changing course anytime soon. When should we let the past go, and when should we re-purpose television series and films to address our current challenges?
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‘Why So Serious?’: Child Abuse in the Dark Knight
The actions, nonetheless, of our parents and the mentors of our youth bear heavily on our psychological, social, and neurological development.
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