SPOILER ALERT – Plot points of the original Star Wars Trilogy and The Force Awakens discussed below. A key point of comparison and contrast between A New Hope and The Force Awakens is their respective[…]
Category: Movies
Star Wars – The Force Awakens: Theme and Variations
J.J. Abrams’ new Star Wars sequel, The Force Awakens, has been both praised and panned for how deeply it is reminiscent of the first Star Wars movie, A New Hope. The new movie reflects its[…]
Kierkegaard’s Narrative – Part II
Please enjoy this repost of the continuation of my 2004 essay: “Kierkegaard’s Narrative” Even without the religious and spiritual dimension that was the ultimate foundation of Kierkegaard’s work, the narrative he inspired continues to garner[…]
Jedi Philosophy
For many people, the main appeal of George Lucas’ “Star Wars” movies is the “Jedi Way,” the philosophy/religion that guides the mystical Jedi knights. But where does this philosophy come from, and does it hold up under scrutiny?
Kierkegaard’s Narrative
"Kierkegaard's Narrative" is an existential humanist plot outline named after the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard. In general, it runs as follows: An aimless young man drifts through life, obsessed with aesthetics, and seeking sexual fulfillment with a series of women, yet never making substantive choices or real commitments. The climax of the story is the protagonist's decision to commit to a single woman, and to enter into marriage.
The raw source material for this plotline is found in Kierkegaard's books "Either/Or," "Fear and Trembling," and "Repetition," in which he takes on the persona of various first-person narrators, and describes their experiences.
Top 10 Movies: #2 – Do the Right Thing
It’s the hottest day of the year. Spike Lee is known as an actor’s director, and nowhere is that more apparent than in his masterpiece, 1989’s Do the Right Thing, an acknowledged classic of American[…]
Top 10 Movies: #3 – Casablanca
What hasn’t been said about Casablanca? It’s a nearly flawless piece of cinema, and the crowning achievement of the old “assembly-line” system of movie-making, under which the studio would pull a director, a couple of[…]
Reconstructivist Art – Citations
This is a round-up of artists and writers who have cited or are otherwise known to have been influenced by the essay reprinted several weeks ago, Reconstructivist Art: Artists Scott C. Clements, filmmaker –[…]
Top 10 Movies: #4 – Stand By Me
While Stand By Me (1986) is undeniably an excellent film, I’m not sure I can actually justify how high it ranks on my personal Top 10 list (it almost came in at number 3, but[…]
Top 10 Movies: #5 – The Princess Bride
As frequent readers of this blog know, The Princess Bride, both as a novel and as the 1987 Rob Reiner directed movie, was one of the paradigm-shaping artworks that first led me to formulate my[…]

