LeiLane Nishime’s essay The Mulatto Cyborg: Imagining a Multiracial Future argues that SF cinema is so effective because it uses fantasy to tell stories about problematic social issues in our own reality. SF cinema can be more bold and take far more risks than if the story was set in the ‘real’ world. Effective SF […]
The USA is a dying imperial power: corrupt to the core, hollowed-out, lacking a soul and empty within. We are a brutal, overbearing nation filled with violent, desperate, shamelessly ignorant people. The Enlightenment (c.1680-1780) brought some hope of redemption to society following the Dark Ages. Applying the concept of humanism, philosophers recognized our innate capacity […]
Baroness Susan Greenfield is a renowned British neuroscientist and an outspoken member of the House of Lords. She is currently causing quite a stir in academic circles with her controversial book, Mind Change. Greenfield’s research adds fuel to the debate over the influence technology is having on society. She argues that the hyper-connectedness of millennials […]
The Bayeux Tapestry is one of the supreme achievements of Norman culture. Indeed, it is a monument to all of Western Civilization. The fact that it has survived nearly intact over nine centuries is nothing short of miraculous. Its exceptional length, the vibrancy of its colors, its exquisite workmanship, and the genius of its creation […]
President John F. Kennedy’s assassination in 1963 marked a turning point in US foreign policy away from peace and collaboration with the Soviet Union on nuclear disarmament and cooperation in outer space – and toward escalation of US involvement in Vietnam, the Cold War and ultimately, perpetual war. Who sought this? Cuba? Certainly not. JFK […]
While Americans feel justifiably angry at alleged foreign interference in their political process, they have also been handed a HUGE mirror: and the reflection should disturb them. Here is a short list of foreign governments overthrown directly or indirectly by the USA, since the end of World War II: Iran (1953); Guatemala (1954); Thailand (1957); […]
More than any other movie genre, Science Fiction (SF) cinema has traditionally been able to explore thorny issues like class, race, and gender in a manner that is thought provoking and even profound. If one examines the genre more closely, however, a different picture emerges. Grotesque racial stereotypes are a major feature in most SF […]
In his seminal book Amusing Ourselves to Death [1985], Neil Postman wrote, “[George] Orwell warns that we will be overcome by an externally imposed oppression. But in [Aldous] Huxley’s vision, no Big Brother is required to deprive people of their autonomy, maturity and history. As he saw it, people will come to love their oppression, […]
In response to a question about the current state of the music industry, famed music producer Tony Visconti told an audience at the annual SXSW festival in Austin, Texas several years ago that pop music “Can’t get any worse!” Visconti claimed that record labels are simply repeating the formulas of the past, with diminishing returns. […]
Espionage, counterintelligence, and covert action are essential components in the military arsenal of every great civilization. This was especially true for the United States and the former Soviet Union during the Cold War. The need for high-quality intelligence on the enemy’s capabilities was even more critical back then. Effective counterintelligence operations have played a pivotal […]
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