Learning from Jane Austen
Love, Marriage and the Power of Literary Legacy Introduction Jane Austen (1775-1817), a prominent English novelist of the early 19th century, is celebrated for her keen insights into the human condition, with her novels having captivated readers throughout the world for over two centuries, as they offer a window into the socioeconomic and political-cultural […]
The World of I, Robot (1950).
Isaac Asimov’s Vision of Human-Robot Co-Existence and Its Implication. Introduction Isaac Asimov’s I, Robot, first published in 1950, is a seminal collection of short stories in the realm of science fiction, exploring the intricate dynamics between humans and robots. The cycle of short stories presents a future where robots, governed by the Three Laws […]
Codependency in Romantic Relationships: Healing and Thriving
Codependency, a term that has garnered considerable attention in the realm of psychological health, is often used to describe a dysfunctional relationship dynamic, manifests when one person excessively relies on another for emotional, psychological, or even physical support to the detriment of their own well-being. This dynamic often manifests in personal relationships, especially romantic […]
Pragmatic Love and Wholesome Hope: 3 Lessons from Blade Runner (1982)
Abstract: The current analysis centers on the concept of “pragmatic love” and its three core characteristics – compassion, courage, commitment – as encompassed in Blade Runner (1982, director Ridley Scott). The analytical protocol pursues a two-step procedure: the definition of each of the three dimensions and its subsequent integration within the mediatic phenomenological experience. […]
Healthy Humans on a Healthy Planet in a Healthy Future
Meditations on Conviviality, Sustainability and Anti-Fragility In an age marked by rapid technological advancements and global interconnectedness, environmental crises and social upheavals, the necessity for vision towards a healthier and more harmonious future has never been more pertinent. The philosophical investigation of conviviality, sustainability, and anti-fragility and their intersectional intertwinings might offer profound insights […]
The Flight of Change. How to Train Your Dragon.
Exploring Themes of Self-Growth and Determination in How to Train Your Dragon (2010) Released in 2010 and directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois, How to Train Your Dragon quickly became a beloved animated film, captivating audiences with its breathtaking visuals, compelling characters, and resonant themes. Based on Cressida Cowell’s eponymous book series, the […]
Classic “Toxic” Masculinity
Classic “toxic” masculinity and its “masks” In his groundbreaking book The Masks of Masculinity from 2017, Lewis Howes outlines nine major characteristics (or “masks”, as he calls them), which define classic, traditional masculinity. As to be shown further below, these “masks” are educated during a long, arduous process of inscribing norms and social behaviors. They […]
The Angry Birds Movie (2016)
Detachment and Isolationism or On The Collective Delusion of Optimal Community The year 2016 saw the release of two animation works, which seemed to challenge the status-quo on the volatile and highly competitive entertainment market: Zootopia, the story of an utopian universe in which mammals, both preys and predators, co-exist in peace and harmony, […]
Back to the Roots: King Arthur and Masculinity
Regarded as one of the most important epic stories in the European geographical space, the Arthurian legend has continuously and repeatedly fascinated creators of most various backgrounds and with a vast diversity of expression modes throughout the centuries, resulting in its presence in (almost) all representation media, from novels to movies, cartoons to theatrical […]
The Return of the Feminine Woman: 3 + 3 Lessons We Can Learn from Frozen (Walt Disney Pictures, 2013)
Moving forward with the times: learning from and with Frozen In her seminal work from 2001 All about Love: New Visions, the feminist scholar Bell Hooks notes: There are not many public discussions of love in our culture right now. At best, popular culture ist he one domain in which our longing for love is […]