Treating filmmaking as a Rorschach test — Ever since his abrupt death on March 7th, 1999, Stanley Kubrick has managed to remain a fresh artist that every new generation has come to admire in sublime and cultish ways. It was ironic that the man who produced a vision of the future so breathtaking four decades prior was…

Throughout the course of my three year academic journey, the life and works of Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche have been a continuous subject of study and interpretation. His influence goes beyond just philosophy, reaching the limits of mainstream popular culture much in the same lines of fascination and admiration of historical…

Author Thomas Pynchon finds a way to create a book with absolute meaning and no meaning at all. — Two months into my Thomas Pynchon iceberg has finally led me to The Crying of Lot 49. Arguably his most famous book, Pynchon was three years fresh off his debut novel V. when it was published. With little known about his modus operandi, we are left to assume he wanted…

The 80s’ classic stands the test of time as the perfect time capsule of a weird era in American history. — I’ve avoided this film for almost two decades. No matter how much I’ve read or seen the numerous cultural references about it, I couldn’t bring myself to watch it. Aside from the complete lack of direct interest, I was never that big of an 80s flick guy, preferring instead the…

I want to start off by saying I do not consider myself a good writer even in the slightest of senses. But I will not completely kick myself in the teeth in this moment of self-deprecation and at the very least conceded that I’ve always had the feeling I could…

Mastering the art is the first step to securing interest and commitment. — If there is anything, and I mean anything, acclaimed movie director James Cameron should ever be envied for, it shouldn’t be for his wad of cash, his impeccable reputation, or his compulsive drive to experiment beyond the bounds of what was originally thought possible in filmmaking. Instead, the complete and…

A phrase with layers of cynicism and despair. — Everything has a component behind its essence, a complex division of possibilities. The relations it forms are adjacent to time and space. There are many ways to see the world in this realm, but they’re all confined to those two principles. Why are things the way they are? …

For turning me into an even bigger hack fraud. — The gang of RedLetterMedia is the closest thing to Nietzsche’s Übermensch in the modern world. They represent everything holy and sacred in today’s internet culture, the very best it has to offer. For more than a decade they have entertained and inspired a generation of moviegoers to expand their horizons…

An observation on the art of filmmaking and its ever-evolving nature. — It all started when I realized how despite calling myself an avid movie watcher, I haven’t come close to sniffing the glorious number of 1,000 films to my viewing credit. I know more about movies as a concept than as an experience. Most of my knowledge comes from books and…