Matthew Westfox I was excited to read Wonder Woman and Philosophy: The Amazonian Mystique because it promised the chance to dive neck deep into that conversations. It did not disappoint. It is fitting for a character who has spoken in so many different voices over the years, that this book is a collection of essays by…
From Facehuggers to Thought-Provokers by Ray Blank Like the films which are its inspiration, Alien and Philosophy: I Infest, Therefore I Am is not a book for the fainthearted. It may be the latest in a successful series that draws on popular culture to explore philosophical concepts, but the writers broach ideas that stretch in many different directions.…
The Philosophy of the Alien Films: Interview with Jeffrey A. Ewing by Ray Blank Released in 1979, Ridley Scott’s Alien combined H.R. Giger’s disturbing aesthetics with a tremendous cast, most of whom were viciously slaughtered before the film was done. Alien pulled off the trick of adding new ingredients to a rich tradition in storytelling, reimagining a classic horror scenario…
Nietzschean Revenge in Game of Thrones Edwardo Pérez “If given the opportunity, what do we do to those who hurt the ones we love?” While Lord Petyr Baelish (also known as Littlefinger) posed this question to Sansa in the fourth season of HBO’s Game of Thrones (in the episode titled “Mockingbird”), it’s a perfect summation…
Wonder Woman and Feminism By Sarah Donovan When I saw the Wonder Woman (2017) film, I felt ambivalent. I have had the opportunity to apply different philosophical lenses to analyze superheroes as a contributor to the Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture series, so I wondered if I could dodge the topic of Wonder Woman and feminism in this post. But every…
Wonder Woman, Schopenhauer, and Compassion It’s not about What They Deserve Jacob M. Held “It’s not about what they deserve. It’s about what you believe.” Exactly! It is difficult to be a “yes-sayer” in a world of war, refugees, famine, murder, and so much human, all too human ugliness. But amidst all the pain and…
Iron Man, the Syrian Refugee Crisis, and Noam Chomsky By Matthew William Brake I have the coolest girlfriend in the world. I set a goal that we would watch all of the movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe all the way through, and she agreed! So we were watching Iron Man the other night (which…
Paradox of The Force III Rogue Redemption Edwardo Pérez Why do we need to be redeemed? What’s the point of redemption, atonement, or salvation? Why do things need to be made right? And, is one act enough to redeem a lifetime of doing wrong? Most religions incorporate redemption into the precepts of their respective faiths…
The Paradox of The Force II The Quest for Revenge in Star Wars Edwardo Pérez What if Obi-Wan had saved Anakin? Wouldn’t that have been the Jedi thing to do? It seemed cruel (un-Jedi-like) for Obi-Wan to leave Anakin as he lay on the ground in flames, struggling to cling to whatever life was left…
The Paradox of The Force The Quest for Balance in Star Wars Edwardo Pérez There is a disturbance in The Force. For Obi-Wan Kenobi in A New Hope, it’s the destruction of Alderaan. For the Emperor in The Empire Strikes Back, it’s the emergence of Luke Skywalker as a Jedi. In Revenge of the Sith,…
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