Raphaël DuhamelMar 15Unhuman Habitats: The Works and Worlds of Franz KafkaThere are few writers who are as infamously cruel to their characters as Franz Kafka.
Sasho PshenkoMar 1The Donkey, the Horse, and the Human Condition: Nihilism in Au Hasard Balthazar and The Turin HorseTwo bleak and philosophical films centering around mysterious animals provide us with a prism through which to view our own human world.
Sasho PshenkoJan 24Trapped Inside the Castle: Finding Kafka and Nausea in SpencerSasho Pshenko explores Spencer and how its depiction of Princess Diana bears a striking resemblance to the Kafkaesque world.
Elliot JordanDec 3, 2021A Very Modern Monster: On Hannibal Lecter Elliot Jordan revisits the Hannibal Lecter series and argues for it as not only great literature but the ultimate modern fairytale.
Sasho PshenkoNov 11, 2021Lamb and the Double-Edged Sword of Ambitious Filmmaking Valdimar Jóhannsson’s debut thriller Lamb (2021) has been hailed by critics for its bleak cinematography and strange, dreadful suspense.
Sasho PshenkoOct 21, 2021The Eternal Potency of The Master and Margarita’s Passive ResistanceSasho Pshenko revisits The Master and Margarita and finds in it a guide, of sorts, to an unexpected form of resistance: passivity.
Sasho PshenkoOct 11, 2021The Girl, the Home, the Night, and Ana Lily Amirpour’s Glorious Cinematic VampirismAna Lily Amirpour’s A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night is a revelry of cinematic styles and innovation.
Sasho PshenkoAug 23, 2021Life, Art, and Imitation in Abbas Kiarostami’s Close-UpSasho Pshenko dives into Abbas Kiarostami’s Close-Up and shows us why any attempt to separate truth from deception is missing the point.
Sasho PshenkoAug 4, 2021The Self-Defeating Nature of Experimental Films What does it mean for experimental film, differentiated from its commercial counterpart by its ability to break rules, to go “too far”?
Lily Ekimian & Ahmed RaghebJul 27, 2021Youssef Chahine’s Egypt in Seven MoviesDive into seven of Egyptian director Youssef Chahine's quintessential films to understand this most enigmatic of filmmakers.
Lily EkimianJul 20, 2021America in Miniature: Exploring Ed Simon’s An Alternative History of PittsburghEd Simon’s new book, An Alternative History of Pittsburgh, takes an idiosyncratic and fresh look at the origins of the Steel City.
Sasho PshenkoJul 7, 2021Moving Through the Worlds of Christian Petzold’s PhoenixExplore Phoenix’s undeniable links to Hitchcock’s Vertigo and the kinetic and psychic movement of characters through the worlds of both.
Elliot JordanJul 1, 2021Eight Epic Novels to Throw Yourself into This SummerThe weather is finally warmer and the days finally longer; with summer upon us, Elliot Jordan compiles a list of eight incredible novels.
Sasho PshenkoJun 12, 2021Is The Father a Pointless Circle?Sasho Pshenko examines The Father from the perspective of its narrative structure and tries to determine if critical praise has misplaced.
Elliot JordanJun 12, 2021The Man with the Wind at His Heels: On Wolf HallElliot Jordan reads the Wolf Hall trilogy and grows to sympathize with the unexpectedly progressive and otherwise unsavory Thomas Cromwell.
Lily EkimianApr 28, 2021Braddock According to Buba: The Frank Filmmaking of Lightning Over BraddockTony Buba spent his career filming his hometown of Braddock, PA. Lily Ekimian looks back at Lightning Over Braddock and its brutal honesty.
Jake KendallNov 13, 2020Storytelling in a World “Without God”Explore György Lukács’ assertion that irony is the highest freedom in a world without God through an examination of Madame Bovary.
Victor ReesNov 8, 2020N. K. Jemisin’s Recipes for Here-and-NowWhile food has long been a potent conveyor of nostalgia, explore how the work of N. K. Jemisin may turn our gaze towards the future.
Victor ReesOct 5, 2020Class Struggles in Fairyland: Strange Evil and War for the OaksExplore the politics of fantasy novels in exploring Strange Evil and War for the Oaks, and how both have been overshadowed by Tolkien.
Raphaël DuhamelSep 19, 2020The Philosophy of I’m Thinking of Ending ThingsFrom Nietzsche to Schopenhauer, Raphaël Duhamel explores the philosophical discourse in Charlie Kaufman’s latest film.
Victor ReesAug 31, 2020The Written Word is a Fairy: Lud-in-the-Mist as Modernist FantasyHope Mirrlees’ Lud-in-the-Mist, a novel often overlooked in modernist literature, gets an in-depth revisit from Victor Rees.
Elliot JordanAug 14, 2020To Russia, With Love: On Douglas Dunn’s The Donkey’s EarsElliot Jordan revisits Douglas Dunn’s extraordinary novel-in-verse, The Donkey’s Ears, and one of history’s most oft-overlooked odysseys.
Elliot JordanJul 21, 2020Saints and Sinners: Robert Browning and RomeElliot Jordan explores themes of Catholicism present throughout the work of Robert Browning.
Ahmed RaghebJul 2, 2020Is Hollywood’s Structural Racism Beyond Repair?Hollywood has a racism problem – that much is clear. But is it beyond repair?
Lily EkimianJun 29, 2020The Female Perspective of Roman Polanski’s RepulsionLily Ekimian explores the feminist reading of Roman Polanski’s Repulsion.
Lily EkimianJun 13, 2020William Greaves’ Experiment: Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One as Performance ArtLily Ekimian argues that William Greaves’ 1968 documentary, Symbiopsychotaxiplasm is the perfect example of performance art.
Elliot JordanMay 22, 2020The Soviet Dream? Thoughts on Francis Spufford’s Red PlentyElliot Jordan discusses Francis Spufford’s bold historical novel Red Plenty and its retelling of a pivotal and hopeful moment in the history
Ahmed RaghebApr 18, 2020In Dreams: The Reality of David Lynch’s FantasiesHave you been experiencing strange dreams? Read Ahmed Ragheb’s take on dreams in film and the strange realities of David Lynch’s work.
Elliot JordanMar 18, 2020Imperial Noir: Reading Joseph ConradElliot Jordan looks back at the dark, disturbing and prescient worlds detailed in the work of Joseph Conrad.
Robert MonteroJan 19, 2020Antonioni: A Filmmaker for Our TimeAntonioni, the prolific hero of Italian cinema, seems to have fallen out of focus in recent times but is he the exact filmmaker we need now?
Lily EkimianJan 15, 2020An Argument in Favor of Technical Blunders in FilmLily Ekimian argues that technical blunders are one of her favorite aspects of moviegoing and why Jeanne Dielman is her favorite film.
Raphaël DuhamelDec 25, 2019Lobsters and Mermaids: Sexual Frustration in The LighthouseThe limits of sanity and sexual desire are tested in Robert Eggers’ latest feature film.
Ahmed RaghebDec 7, 2019Pontecorvo's Ghost: The Lasting Relevance of The Battle of AlgiersHow much can a film truly influence policy and opinion? Ahmed Ragheb reexamines The Battle of Algiers and its continuing relevance.
Elroy RosenbergNov 27, 2019Things We Find in the Book Section: The Case Against(?) Literary MinimalismWhat we talk about when we talk about literary minimalism.
Lily EkimianNov 4, 2019The Magic of a David Sedaris Book SigningLily Ekimian explores the anatomy and charm of a David Sedaris book signing.
Graham PeacockNov 4, 2019The Exciting Dreams of Boring People in the Films of Luis BuñuelDreams and reality clash in these two films directed by legendary filmmaker Luis Buñuel.
Raphaël DuhamelNov 4, 2019The Master’s Thread: A Paul Thomas Anderson RetrospectiveRaphaël Duhamel gives us an in-depth look back at the elaborate career of director Paul Thomas Anderson.
Lily EkimianNov 4, 2019Terrifying Averageness and John Cheever’s “The Enormous Radio”What’s so scary about being average? Lily Ekimian reexamines John Cheever’s 1947 short story, "The Enormous Radio."