Response to Steve Stern's novel A Fool's Kabbalah

Steve Stern. A Fool's Kabbalah. Melville House, 2025 [Paperback].

A stunning twinned tale of two men struggling to comprehend and deal with the Holocaust and its aftermath. One, Menke, is a consummate fool; in fact, he is his shtetl's joker and is faced with the arrival of the deathly serious Nazi death squads during the war. The other, Gershom Scholem, a real-life Kabbalah scholar and researcher of Jewish mysticism, is a post-war agent hunting down important stolen Jewish books. The novel is rich in the ideas and symbolism of Yiddish folklore, poorly understood and misperceived as they are by this gentile, but moving and thrilling nonetheless (I was frequently looking up terms and references). The wordplay is extraordinary to me, or maybe common in this culture. I am quite fond of the questioning nature of this thinking/culture. It made my mind race as I retraced certain sections. Extremely important in Menke's tale is his out-of-reach heart's desire, the radiant rabbi's daughter Blume, as well as his shadow, the waifish albino outcast Tsippe-Itsl whose long silences are punctuated by intermittent spells of logorrhea and whose strangeness is countered by a resolute capability to keep things together.  Gershom's story is haunted by the ghost of the German cultural critic Walter Benjamin, by memories of Hannah Arendt, and by discussions with Martin Buber, as well as a range of postwar personages.

The writing swept me away from the beginning. It should be obvious that this is not an easy read due to the events/eras covered and the struggles faced by both protagonists. However, do not let that dissuade you from reading this book if it seems of interest. I felt uplifted by this novel. It worked a certain magic upon me, especially because I have long been fascinated by the archetypes of the fool and the mystic. Menke's foolish resistance and Gershom's mystic questioning (that last chapter!) feed my own troubled spirit in our perilous times.

My 75 Hard Challenge (2026)

I feel as if the toxicity/fear/anxiety (cultural, but it affects us individually) of 2020 has been going strong through 2025. This is an attempt to ensure that 2026 will be a truly New Year.

75 Hard Challenge - this is the original plan 

My modified plan (Daily, unless otherwise noted: January 2, 2026 - March 17, 2026):

1) Mediterranean Diet 

1b) No alcohol, no beef, as much as possible avoid refined grains & refined sugars

2)  Two 45 minute workouts (one must be outside). At least one intense cardio (running, biking, kayaking, swimming). 

2b) Saunas at least three times a week

3) 1 gallon (128 ounces) of water

4) Read at least 10 pages of a physical book a day 

5) Progress pictures of yourself (keep them in a collection to see your progress)

6) Celibacy

7) The Five Tibetan Rites

8) Choose one film each week for the Bluegrass Film Society and write up at least a 300 word response to encourage discussions.

9) Participate in this year's Philosophical Book Club on the Philosophy of Technology. Write at least a 300 word response each week.

10) Go, or do, something new each week

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

My reasoning for this particular plan:

1) This isn't a diet as we understand it in our society.  It is better thought of as a general way of eating.  It's easily my favorite eating style (also various Asian cuisines) and through research it is believed to be one of the best.  

1b) Alcohol consumption, of any amount, gets in the way of goals (like this plan). It's dry January, so why not extend it to February and into March. In regards to beef I want to cut it out for improved health. A simple perusal of scientific research demonstrates that this is beneficial. Refined grains & refined sugars wreck me physically. I have no problem avoiding refined grains, but the siren song of sugary treats can sometimes be a problem. I say as much as possible because I don't want to be neurotically fixated on everything that comes my way, but I will try to cut them out of my own personal diet. 

2) I'm a very active person and practice a range of exercises. This shouldn't be too onerous, but I would like to increase my intense cardio which will hopefully develop over time (my endurance).

2b) I'm a sauna person, especially during the winter (I even like it on hot days). The problem is that my YMCA is 30 minutes away, but it is conveniently located across the street from my work. Often I lazily don't stop there after work and only go once on my days off. I'm going to make more of an effort to go there after work.   

3) Some days I do this, some days I don't. A concerted effort to do it daily.

4) For me, this is probably the easiest task on this list. The original 75 Hard Challenge says non-fiction, but I believe my wide-ranging fiction tastes challenges my mind, so fiction is included. I'm currently reading Benjamin Labatut's The Maniac and just finished Steve Stern's A Fool's Kabbalah. Both were as challenging and stimulating as the non-fiction books I read.

5) Hmmmm, not a big fan of this as the selfie is not something I do often. The original plan says every day. I think once a week will be fine, and in the archive I will keep any other pictures taken of me.

6) No sexual activity of any type. I thought about this a lot (laughing at how that sounds). Seeking a physical, psychic, and spiritual reboot, this seems like a must. As a critical media scholar, researcher of advertising/marketing/propaganda, I know that my consciousness is colonized. In our screen culture sex/sexuality is heavily commodified and unless one is a hermit we cannot help but be influenced by the myths of sex/romance  (as are other people in our physical world and in our social media feeds). I'm curious what the effect of a conscious decision like this will be. I would like this part of my life to be lived with holistic intention. 

7) I have been practicing off and on since I attended a session at a yoga festival. I want it to be a daily practice as it has transformed my body as a casual practice.

 8 & 9) I write a lot, but I want to practice focused writing on two subjects that are important to me right now.

10) New places, people, activities - it keeps the mind plastic (neuroplasticity) and keeps one open to different ways of being/seeing.

Mundus Imaginalis - Music Mix #51

 The XX; Turnstile; Alex G; Todd Snider; The Strokes; Father John Misty; Japanese Breakfast; Magdalena Bay; The Last Dinner Party; Briston Maroney; Editrix; Ethel Cain; Grandaddy; The Moss; Nilufer Yanya; Wild Nothing; Kevin Morby; Melody's Echo Chamber; Dry Cleaning; Hannah Cohen; New Dad; Chanel Beads; Freak Slug; TOPS; Automatic; Feeble Little Horse; Die Spitz; Folk Bitch Trio; Wombo; Cardinals; The Marias; Nadezhda; Pixie and the Partygrass Boys; Guerilla Toss; Bar Italia; Sophie Ellis-Bextor; John Prine; The Fugs; Mick Jagger; Bob Dylan; Axiom Funk; Eddie Hazel; Margaret Glaspy; Julian Lage; Norah Jones; Heaven Honey; Gruff Rhys; Iron & Wine; Ben Bridwell; Roxy Music; Whitney K; Viken Arman; Sam Garret; Temple Haze; Devendra Banhart

Mundus Imaginalis - Music Mix #51 

ENG 102 (Fall 2025): Students' 2nd Essay Topics

Environmental Changes in Nepal
How Does Artificial Intelligence Impact Today’s Education?Artificial Love: How Digital Culture Has Rewired Modern Romance
How Fiction Helps Adolescents' Wellbeing
Critiquing the Catholic Church
How Screens Have Shaped the Generation That Grew Up With Them
Why Euthanasia should be legalized?
Mt Everest: The Pride of Nepal
The Influence of Music on Society and Culture 
Why Is Being Aware of the Dangers of AI Development Important
The Continuing Relevance of Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory
The Social Impact of Digital Technologies
Mountains of Nepal: Eight of the Ten Giants
Exercise: A Natural Stress Fighter
Mexico in Motion: How Culture Adapts and Endures
Rituals and Sacrifices of the Aztec Religion
When Is It Time To Say Goodbye?: Pet Euthanasia
Why Music Belongs in Every School
Gang Violence in America
The Psychedelic Prescription: How Psilocybin Mushrooms Help Treat Mental Disorders
Is Individuality More Important Than Conformity?
Social Media Has The Potential to Destroy The Mental Health And Connections of Teens.
Why Major League Baseball Needs a Better Financial Landscape
The Effect of Streaming on How We Experience Media 
 Gender-based Violence and Hostile Rhetoric Online
Brewing Convenience: A Critique of Fast Coffee 
Between Neurons and Norms: Rethinking Free Will in the Face of Neurodeterminism
Why We Should Care About Teen Pregnancy
Should Artificial Intelligence be Regulated More Strictly to Protect Privacy? 
Compulsive Buying: The Hidden Cost of Consumer Culture
The Social Dilemma: How Media Affects Social Perception
The Effects of Social Media on Mental Health
Modern Video Games and Their Masterful Grasp Over Immersion
Artificial Intelligence and Employment: Opportunities, Challenges, and the Future of Work 
Tragedy In The Holy Land 
 How Sleep Deprivation Affects Academic Progress

 The Real Impact of Electric Cars on Our Planet
The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Everyday Life
Why We Should Care About Overconsumption 
Are Electric Vehicles Better Than Gas Vehicles?
The Effects of Climate Change
Navigating Social Media
The Mental Health Crisis of Gen Z 
How Capitalism Ruined the United States 
Forgiveness Builds Stronger Communities
The Impact of Climate Change on Agriculture, with a Focus on Challenges and Adaptation Strategies in Nepal
How Transgender Participation in Competitive Sports Undermines Fairness 
Work–Life Balance in a Hustle Culture: The New Measure of Success
The Cultural and Physical Impact of Boxing 
Framing the Conflict: American Media Bias Towards Israel
The Degenerative Nature of Generative Artificial Intelligence
Government Support for Startups: Should Public Policy Fund Innovation? 
The Importance of Forest Ecosystems
How Playing Sports Improves Mental Health and Well-Being
Does social media do more harm than good to society?
Social Media's Impact on Young People
Bollywood vs. Hollywood: A Clash of Cultures or a Celebration of Diversity? 
Obesity in America
Reclaiming Rhythm – How Modern Life Disrupts Our Natural Cycles
The Use of AI Tools in the Classroom
The Positive Practices for a Healthy Mind
How People Are Impacted by Social Media’s Reflection of the Constantly Changing Diet 
Should Dance Be Recognized As A Sport?
The History and Cultural Significance of Chopsticks
Does mental health deserve the same funding priority as physical health?
Performing Progress: Liberal Individuality and the Politics of Self-Image
The Impact of Social Media on Teen Mental Health
The Effects of Illegal Immigration in the United States 

 Console Wars to Cultural Memory: Exploring the Social and Political Impact of Video Games 
Technology: The Engine Driving Human Progress

Kilby Block Party 2026 (Salt Lake City, Utah)

XX
Turnstile
Father John Misty
Japanese Breakfast
Magdalena Bay
The Last Dinner Party
Briston Maroney
The Moss 
Grandaddy
Nilufer Yanya
Kevin Morby 
Melody's Echo Chamber 
Dry Cleaning 
Hannah Cohen 
NewDad 
Freak Slug 
TOPS 
Automatic
Die Spitz
Folk Bitch Trio
Wombo
Cardinals
Dad Bod
Nadezhda

Genius Loci - Music Mix #50

 Modern Nature; Mana Pools; Malajube; Rocket; Grizzly Bear; Fleet Foxes; The Beta Band; Minus the Bear; Rose City Band; Tame Impala; Slowdive; Valerie June; Gordon Lightfoot; Wand; La Luz; The Lemon Twigs; Magdalena Bay; Roger Neil; David Bowie; El Michels Affair; Roge; Curtis Harding; David Byrne; Ghost Train Orchestra; Moondog; The Kronos Quartet; Saint Etienne; james k; Ivy; Anais and the Hoops; Trace Mountains; Haley Heynderickx; Max Garcia Conover; Gabriel Vitel; Dear Humans; The London Suede; Kyle Eastwood; Jonie Mitchell; Alicia Clara; Rachel Kitchlew; SFJ; SHOLTO; David Bardon; David Onka; Lorie Ladd; Reels Choir; Pat Kalla; Le Super Mojo; DjeuhDjoah; Rupert Pope; Giles Palmer; Metronomy; The Silver Snails; Whitmer Thomas; Movie Jail; Stereolab; Eleventh Dream Day; Avi Kaplan

Genius Loci - Music Mix #50

Nope (USA: Jordan Peele, 2022)

 

How do we live with some of the shit that we’ve been forced to watch on a daily basis? Why are we so eager to immortalize the worst images that our world is capable of producing, and what kind of awful power do we lend such tragedies by sanctifying them into spectacles that can play out over and over again? -- David Ehrlich (see link below)

 Nope (USA: Jordan Peele, 2022: 135 mins)

Eggert, Brian. "Nope." Deep Focus Review (July 21, 2022)

Ehrlich, David. "Nope Review: Jordan Peele’s Wildly Entertaining Blockbuster Is the Best Kind of Hollywood Spectacle." IndieWire (July 20, 2022) 

Flight, Thomas. "How Nope Tricks Your Ears." (Posted on Youtube: October 21, 2022)

---. "The Real Villain of Nope." (Posted on Youtube: September 29, 2022)

Ehrlich, David. "Nope: Jordan Peele’s Wildly Entertaining Blockbuster Is the Best Kind of Hollywood Spectacle." IndieWire (July 20, 2022)

Lyonhart, Jonathan D. "Peele’s Black, Extraterrestrial, Critique of Religion." Journal of Religion & Film (October 2023) ["While Jordan Peele’s films have always held their mysteries close to the chest, they eventually granted their viewers some climactic clarity. Get Out (2017) used an 1980s style orientation video to clear up its neuroscientific twist, while Us (2019) had Lupita Nyongo’s underworld twin narratively spell out the details of the plot. Yet Nope (2022) refuses to show its hand even after the game is over, never illuminating the connection between its opening scene and the broader film, nor a myriad of other questions. As such, critics complained that it stitched together two seemingly incongruent plots without explanation; one where a chimp attacks the crew of a successful Hollywood show, the other where an alien organism haunts a small ranch in the middle of nowhere. In this paper, I will argue that a theological interpretation of Nope helps explain some of these mysteries at its center, while revealing Peele’s underlying religious critique and its place within his broader oeuvre."]

Muncer, Mike and DeVaughn Taylor. "Nature Bites Back, Pt. 36: Nope." The Evolution of Horror (February 21, 2025) 

O'Donnell, Conor. "Nope: Jordan Peele Delivers Grand Sci-Fi Spectacle." The Film Stage (July 20, 2022)

Palis, Elena M. "The Brand of Peele."  Film Quarterly (December 12, 2023) ["Jordan Peele’s third feature film, Nope (2022), reenergized the already substantive circulation of “Peele” as auteur-star signifier. In their generic, political, and aesthetic coherence, Peele’s directorial features satisfy the classical auteur theorization of a knowable author and “authority.” Yet central to Peele’s signature films are resolute unpredictability, character shape-shifting, and narrative misdirection, epitomized by body snatchers in Get Out (2017), tethered doppelgängers in Us (2019), and aliens camouflaged by clouds in Nope. As an ironic manipulation of auteur knowability, Peele’s motif of deceptive, equivocal ontology requires a more complex understanding of Peele’s authorship, one that also takes into account Peele’s extrafilmic roles as producer, showrunner, and star persona."]

Peregrine, Rhys. "The Power of the Look: On Jordan Peele’s Nope." Bright Lights Film Journal (May 26, 2023) ["In this instance, the look is also a threat to those doing the looking. The act of seeing can be damaging not only to the target but also to the beholder. There are obvious parallels here with the consumption of exploitation film and how we, as audiences, are unwilling to look away, even when we should. It is what Peele referred to as “the dark side” of our obsession with spectacle."]

Veneto, Nicole. "Nope – Behold, the Great American Spectacle." The Arts Fuse (August 2, 2022)

Walters, Jacob. "Weird Wild West: On Jordan Peele’s Nope." Los Angeles Review of Books (September 24, 2022) 

ENG 281: Fall 2025 Resources #13

Hudson, David. "Oliver Laxe’s Sirât." Current (November 11, 2025) ["“The resilience of this group,” writes Filmmaker editor Scott Macaulay, “their small-scale collectivism, and the way in which dance, and drugs, are a kind of social and even spiritual practice, as opposed to simple escapism, made me think of the late Mark Fisher’s final unfinished work, ‘Acid Communism,’ and his thinking here is an analogue to the movie’s techno-scored hedonic flow: ‘The crucial defining feature of the psychedelic is the question of consciousness, and its relationship to what is experienced as reality. If the very fundamentals of our experience, such as our sense of space and time, can be altered, does that not mean that the categories by which we live are plastic, mutable?’”"]

Skidmore, James. Contemporary World Cinema: An Introduction to Moving Pictures  [Online, free, book on world cinema - great explanations of the basics of film analysis] 

  

Paterson (USA/Germany/France: Jim Jarmusch, 2016)

The poems, written by New York School poet Ron Padgett, appear on screen as they're read aloud in voiceover; they are ingenuous and winsome much like Jarmusch's films... PATERSON may be his most refreshing contradiction, a self-edit that puts not only his ethos into perspective, but also the whole concept of what it means to be an artist. - Kathleen Sachs (Cine-File, April 13, 2017)

Paterson doesn’t create his poems to be perfect, he doesn’t even want to read them out loud or publish. What seems to be truly important is the reflective and unconscious process of observing and putting words flow on paper. Despite of the art you’re making, Paterson tells us that there’s inspiration everywhere – it might come from chatter on the bus, strangers you meet on the street, from cherishing your loved ones, and even from such mundane object as the matchbox. - Inna Gvozdova

Jim Jarmusch jams
quotidian cine-poem of
extraordinary ordinary - Michael Benton

Paterson (USA/Germany/France: Jim Jarmusch, 2016: 118 mins)

Andrews, Mallory. "Now Playing: Paterson." Movie Mezzanine (January 3, 2017)

Bordwell, David. "Fantasy, flashbacks, and what-ifs: 2016 pays off the past." Observations on Film Art (January 2, 2017)

---. "A Poet's Summer: Paterson; A Quiet Passion." Observations of Film Art (October 8, 2016)

Flores, Steven. "The Auteurs: Jim Jarmusch." Cinemaxis (December 10, 2013)

Heffernan, Virginia. "No Ideas But in Non-Digital Things: Jim Jarmusch’s Paterson tackles poetry, New Jersey, and the Internet." Poetry Foundation (December 20, 2016) 

Taubin, Amy. "Common Sense: American indie axiom Jim Jarmusch talks about the art of routine in Paterson (and the assembly of chaos in Gimme Danger)." Film Comment (November/December 2016)

Taylor, Charles. "A Man in Himself Is a City: Jim Jarmusch’s Paterson." Los Angeles Review of Books (January 19, 2017)

Thurston, Michael. "What Paterson Gets Right About Poetry." The Massachusetts Review (February 24, 2017)

Overthink: Podcast that explores philosophy/theory through concepts/themes (Azimuths)

 Anderson, Ellie and David Peña-Guzmán. "Cleanliness." Overthink #128 (April 22, 2025) ["How often should you shower to remain ‘clean’? How many times can you re-wear your jeans before they are considered ‘dirty’? In episode 128 of Overthink, Ellie and David take a look at cleanliness. They get into how humans have turned cleanliness into an art, and maybe even an obsession. Why are we so bothered by dirt? What is dirt, anyways? How are notions of dirtiness and cleanliness even into our symbolic systems, including language and religion? And what is up with TikTok’s obsession with the Clean Girl Aesthetic? As they tackle these questions, your hosts also explore the historical weaponisation of the concept of cleanliness against marginalised groups, such as queer people and people of color. In the bonus, Ellie and David discuss cleanliness as a social construct, the link between it and isolation, and Michel Serres’s ‘excremental theory’ of private property."]

---. "Comfort." Overthink #118 (December 3, 2024) ["... Ellie and David discuss all things comfortable…and uncomfortable. They talk through the conflation of comfort and luxury, modern architecture’s prioritization of comfort, and whether our need for comfort is the reason for our burning planet. With everything from Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to “the comfort-industrial complex,” this episode will have you questioning what it takes for us to lead a full and happy life. Plus, in the bonus they get into the meaning of the phrase ‘too close for comfort’, alcohol as a destructive form of comfort, and the importance of attachment theory."]

---. "Confidence." #147 (November 11, 2025) ["Don’t shy away from this one! In episode 147 of Overthink, Ellie and David discuss confidence. Modernity has created a crisis of confidence, leading to the demand that we all maximize our confidence. But what is confidence? Is it a personality trait or a relational concept? What causes under- and over-confidence? And is instilling confidence an equity issue? Your hosts think through Charles Pépin’s pillars of confidence, Don A. Moore's formula for calibrating your confidence, and the gendered nature of confidence through bodily expressions."
Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Self-Reliance”
Don A. Moore, Perfectly Confident: How to Calibrate Your Decisions Wisely
Charles Pépin, Self-Confidence: A Philosophy
Iris Marion Young, “Throwing Like a Girl: A Phenomenology of Feminine Body."]

---. "Exercise." Overthink #83 (August 1, 2023) ["Western philosophy started… at the gym. ... Ellie and David tackle the philosophy of workouts, from Plato’s days as a wrestler to the modern loneliness of a solitary bench press. As they discuss the role of exercise — which the Greeks called gymnastics — in building bodies and training souls, they consider the ancient Olympics, the cravings for health and beauty that guide us through what David calls the "Protestant work-out ethic," and Jean Baudrillard's thoughts about Americans' passion for jogging."]

 ---. "Masculinity." Overthink (September 23, 2025) ["Performative males, hustle bros, sissies, and manfluencers. In episode 140 of Overthink, Ellie and David discuss masculinity. What does it mean to be a man, and how has the concept of masculinity changed over time? They look at the male loneliness epidemic, the current influx of male influencers spreading right-wing rhetoric on the manosphere, and some of the main features of masculinity. Is masculinity rooted in violence and homophobia, or is it possible to have a healthy model of masculinity? In the Substack bonus, your hosts get into the mythopoetic men's movement and the connection between haircuts and masculinity." Robert Brannon and Deborah Sarah David, The Forty-nine Percent Majority: The Male Sex RolePierre Bourdieu, La domination masculine
R.W. Connell, Gender and Power
Bell Hooks, The Will To Change
James W. Messerschmidt, Hegemonic Masculinity
Joseph Pleck, The Myth of Masculinity
Todd W. Reeser, Moderating Masculinity in Early Modern Culture
Frans de Waal, Chimpanzee Politics: Power and Sex Among Apes]

---. "Reading." Overthink (May 21, 2024) ["Ellie and David consider what makes reading so rewarding, and, for many people today, so challenging! How did society shift toward inward silent reading and away from reading aloud in the Middle Ages? How have changes in teaching phonics and factors of classism, accessibility, and educational justice made it harder for the young to read? Why is reading philosophy so hard, and how can we increase our reading stamina?"]

 ---. "Surfing." Overthink #149 (November 25, 2025) ["Hang loose! ... Ellie and David talk about all things surfing. They explore the long history of wave-riding across the globe, from Peru to West Africa, and consider how surfing helps us to reimagine social issues and what surfing reveals about the connection between flow and freedom. Is surfing the pinnacle of human life? How has the sportification of surfing directly contravened surfing’s anti-capitalist ethos? Why is the average surfer an image of white masculinity? And how is this image tied to indigenous erasure?"
Works Discussed
Daniel Brennan, Surfing and the Philosophy of Sport
Kevin Dawson, Undercurrents of Power: Aquatic Culture in the African Diaspora
William Finnegan, Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life
Aaron James, Surfing with Sartre: An Aquatic Inquiry Into a Life of Meaning
Peter Kreeft, I Surf, Therefore I Am: A Philosophy of Surfing
Aileen Moreton Robinson, “Bodies That Matter: Performing White Possession on the Beach”
Peter J. Westwick and Peter Neushul, The World in the Curl: An Unconventional History of Surfing
Wade in the Water: A Journey Into Black Surfing and Aquatic Culture (2023)]

Anderson, Ellie, et al. "Love in the Time of Replika." Hi-Phi Nation (April 25, 2023) ["We explore the lives of people who are in love with their AI chatbots. Replika is a chatbot designed to adapt to the emotional needs of its users. It is a good enough surrogate for human interaction that many people have decided that it can fulfill their romantic needs. The question is whether these kinds of romantic attachments are real, illusory, or good for the people involved. Apps like Replika represent the future of love and sex for a subpopulation of people, so we discuss the ethics of the practice. Host Barry Lam talks to philosophers Ellie Anderson and David Pena-Guzman of the Overthink podcast about what theories of love would say about these kinds of relationships. AI lovers include Alex Stokes and Rosanna Ramos."]

Zahavi, Dan. "Togetherness." Overthink (November 4, 2025) ["Can we ever be truly alone? In episode 146 of Overthink, Ellie and David talk with philosopher Dan Zahavi about his book, Being We: Phenomenological Contributions to Social Ontology. They discuss how the increase in communication through screens has shifted what it means to be together, the decline of social bonds in political life, and what phenomenological understandings of empathy tell us about being together. How do dyadic relationships such as romantic love and friendship shape our identities? Does there need to be a conception of the self that precedes sociality? What are the different types of "we"?"
Works discussed:
Alison Gopnik, The Philosophical Baby: What Children's Minds Tell Us About Truth, Love, and the Meaning of Life
Ivan Leudar and Philip Thomas, Voices of Reason, Voices of Insanity
Sherry Turkle, Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other
Gerda Walther, Toward an Ontology of Social Communities
Dan Zahavi, Being We: Phenomenological Contributions to Social Ontology]

ENG 281: Fall 2025 Resources #12

Bellar-Tadier, Luna. "The Lesbian Allure and Colonial Unconscious of Todd Field’s Tár." Another Gaze (January 25, 2023) ["Tár is a rare film for this reason. Lydia’s type of appeal is not one that is depicted often, consisting as it does of the attractiveness and the desire that belong to a self-assured, powerful older woman who possesses no stereotypical feminine charm, but only the imposing matter-of-factness of her accomplishment, and a masculinity subtle enough to be invisible to an untrained or uninterested eye. Furthermore, Tár promises to deal precisely with the deep ambivalence which stems from the way such a figure both troubles and upholds existing modes of power. This appeal remains largely illegible in our heteronormative world (and in fact its general illegibility is an important part of its experience). It’s thrilling to see someone like this on the big screen, and to know that a straight audience is being made to understand that a young and conventionally attractive woman would pursue her (“Can I text you?” asks red bag woman, grasping Lydia’s hands when their flirtation is cut short by Francesca’s agitated intervention). Moreover, inasmuch as Tár echoes the plethora of contemporary “#MeToo” narratives, depicting this appeal is crucial to telling this story responsibly, for to not give the viewer a window into her desirability – sexual or otherwise – would render the women that flock to her mere dupes."]

 

Cucarro, Clara. "Quiet Americans: Kelly Reichardt’s Cinema of Attention." Notebook (October 17, 2025) ["Across 30 years of Reichardt’s cinema, mundane details and subtle gestures are often tasked with conveying the essence of her human dramas. In a profile for The New Yorker, Doreen St. Félix calls Reichardt America’s “finest observer of ordinary grit.” The description is apt, though her protagonists have depth as well as texture; their precise cultural and historical resonances belie their “ordinariness.” Reichardt’s filmography revolves around quiet Americans whose shyness, reticence, or reserve may be, at least in part, a response to the social conditions of their gender, class, and race. Think of Wendy (Michelle Williams), the drifter at the center of Wendy and Lucy (2008), whose economic precarity is evident in the way she counts her change and avoids eye contact; or Jamie (Lily Gladstone), the lonely Indigenous American ranch hand in Certain Women (2016), whose romantic longing for a professional white woman, Beth (Kristen Stewart), is never put into words. Avoiding unnatural dialogue that could reveal too much about her characters, Reichardt focuses on behavior, gesture, and routine, asking viewers to extrapolate character through visual cues rather than verbal exposition."]

Cunningham, Vinson, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz. "How Sinners Revives the Vampire." Critics at Large (May 1, 2025) ["The vampire has long been a way to explore the shadow side of society, and “Sinners,” Ryan Coogler’s new blockbuster set in the Jim Crow-era South, is no exception. On this episode of Critics at Large, Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz discuss what “Sinners,” which fuses historical realism with monster-movie-style horror, illuminates about America in 2025. They trace the archetype from such nineteenth-century texts as “The Vampyre” and “Dracula” to the “Twilight” moment of the aughts, when Edward Cullen, an ethical bloodsucker committed to abstinence, turned the vampire from a predatory outsider into a Y.A. heartthrob. What do he and his ilk have to say today? “The vampire is the one who can unsettle our notions, and maybe give us new notions,” Cunningham says. “The vampire comes in and asks, ‘But have you considered this?’ ”"]

Del Toro, Guillermo. "Frankenstein Director Guillermo del Toro." IndieWire's Filmmakers Toolkit (November 9, 2025) ["Beloved Director Guillermo del Toro sits down with the Filmmaker Toolkit to talk about making his dream film, and how 'Frankenstein' has been a part of each of his prior films. Then del Toro opens up about an end to his era of monster movies, and how achieving this lifelong goal may be the start of a new chapter in his filmmaking style."]

Hudson, David. "Noah Baumbach in L.A." Current (November 6, 2025) ["Sandler is up for a Gotham Award for his supporting performance in Jay Kelly, and the Gothams have already announced that this year’s Director Tribute will be going to Baumbach. George Clooney leads a packed cast as Jay Kelly, “the last of the great Hollywood stars,” as Ron (Sandler), his overworked manager, calls him. Writing about Jay Kelly for Film Comment, Molly Haskell finds that what’s “most interesting is the stark and increasingly awkward question that resounds with urgency . . . Can such an inherently unequal relationship, akin to master and slave, ever evolve into friendship? And how, if not, must that rankle?”"]

---. "Peter Watkins: Prescience and Punishment." Current (November 4, 2025) ["When the late, great independent distributor New Yorker Films began releasing the work of Peter Watkins on DVD in the mid-2000s, Amy Taubin wrote in Artforum that “at long last,” the moment may have come for “the most prescient, innovative, and accomplished of overlooked English-language movie masters.” Watkins passed away last Thursday, one day after turning ninety and twenty-five years after completing his last major work, La commune (Paris, 1871)."]

Lahr, John. "Every Blink." The London Review of Books (October 23, 2025)  [A review of Suddenly Something Clicked: The Languages of Film Editing and Sound Design by Walter Murch. Book description: "Highly lauded film editor, director, writer and sound designer Walter Murch reflects on the six decades of cinematic history he has been a considerable contributor to - and on what makes great films great.
Together with Francis Coppola and George Lucas, Murch abandoned Hollywood in 1969 and moved to San Francisco to create the Zoetrope studio. Their vision was of a new kind of cinema for a new generation of film-goers. Murch's subsequent contributions in film editing rooms and sound-mixing theatres were responsible for ground-breaking technical and creative innovations. In this book, Murch invites readers on a voyage of discovery through film, with a mixture of personal stories, meditations on his own creative tactics and strategies, and reminiscences from working on The Godfather films, Apocalypse Now, Lucas' American Grafitti, and Anthony Minghella's The English Patient and The Talented Mr Ripley. Suddenly Something Clicked is a book that will change the way you watch movies."]

Moran, Dan and Mike Takla. "The Beast: A Film by Bertrand Botello." Fifteen Minute Film Fanatics (November 10, 2025) ["Have you ever felt that you keep making the same mistakes or that you have fallen into a pattern that could be Exhibit A as proof of reincarnation? The Beast (2023) uses all kinds of world-building and three different timelines to explore these ideas–and does so while faithfully adapting a 1903 story by Henry James. It’s the kind of film in which one could be lost in the red arrows that point out movie Easter eggs all over YouTube, but the real draw of the film is its incredible performances and how it combines intricate plotting with emotional weight."]

Riley, Boots. "On Sorry to Bother You and Communism." The Dig (August 9, 2018) ["Sorry to Bother You is a hilarious film about the dead serious shitiness of life under neoliberalism's flexibilized and precarious labor regime, a system teetering upon a thin line between free labor exploitation and a form of expropriation reminiscent of full-on slave labor—all at the mercy of the thinly-veiled barbarity of Palo Alto-style techno-utopianism. It's about how capitalist society divides and conquers friends and family to claim not only our obedience but also our very souls, and about how the task of left organizing is to see through that game and fight together. Dan's guest today is Boots Riley, who wrote and directed the film and also fronts the left-wing hip hop group The Coup."]

Risker, Paul. "Devastating Truths and Transformation Through 'Soft Power': An Interview with Farah Nabulsi." Cineaste (Fall 2025)  ["Nabulsi describes The Teacher as a fiction film that is heavily rooted in truth, reality, and the injustices that are taking place. While she draws inspiration from different real-life stories, there is one that she says was a notable influence—the story of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier who was abducted in 2006 and held until 2011. His eventual release secured the safe return of over a thousand Palestinian political prisoners. Nabulsi tells me that many of these prisoners were women and children that were held without trial or charge in administrative detention. “I was thinking, what an insane imbalance in value for human life.” The Teacher effectively penetrates the pseudo-complexity of the Palestinian and Israeli conflict by showing there's nothing complex about it. Mainstream news media and geopolitics have sought to create a myth of complexity, but Nabulsi takes us into the effects apartheid and forced occupation have on ordinary people. The Teacher is an important film because it gives a voice to the collective Palestinian trauma that is still denied by many in the international community."]

Wright, Joe. "Mussolini: Son of the Century: Joe Wright Gazes into the Abyss." MUBI Podcast (October 30, 2025) ["Joe Wright is known for Oscar-winning WWII epics like Darkest Hour (2007). But his latest look at the era is a different animal: the nightmarish series Mussolini: Son of the Century (2025), about the rise of the godfather of fascism. Joe tells host Rico Gagliano about the Italian dictator, the echoes he sees in politics today...and why he spent his teenage years blasting ’30s pop tunes."]

Uncut Gems (USA: Benny Safdie and Josh Safdie, 2019)

 

 Uncut Gems (USA: Benny Safdie and Josh Safdie, 2019: 135 mins)

This jolt of pure cinematic adrenaline affirmed directors Josh and Benny Safdie as heirs to the gritty, heightened realism of Martin Scorsese and John Cassavetes. Adam Sandler delivers an almost maniacally embodied performance as Howard Ratner, a fast-talking New York jeweler and gambler in relentless pursuit of the next big score. When he comes into possession of a rare opal, it seems Howard’s ship has finally come in—as long as he can stay one step ahead of a wife (Idina Menzel) who hates him, a mistress (Julia Fox) who can’t quit him, and a frenzy of loan sharks and hit men closing in on him. Wrapping a vivid look at the old-school Jewish world of Manhattan’s Diamond District within a kinetic thriller, Uncut Gems gives us one of the great characters in modern cinema: a tragic hero of competing compulsions on a shoot-the-moon quest to transcend his destiny. - Criterion Collection

Angel, Arielle, David Klion, and Jacob Plitman. "An Unserious Man." Jewish Currents (January 23, 2020) ["Uncut Gems, the Safdie brothers’ winter blockbuster starring Adam Sandler as Howard Ratner, a sleazy diamond dealer caught in an escalating series of debts, might be the most explicitly Jewish mainstream movie since the Coen brothers’ A Serious Man (2009). Its release prompted the following emergency meeting of the editorial staff of Jewish Currents to discuss what Uncut Gems says about contemporary Jewish identity."]

Bronstein, Ronald, et al. "Josh & Benny Safdie and Uncut Gems Team on the Making of Their Electrifying Crime Thriller." Film at Lincoln Center Podcast #256 (October 7, 2019) ["On Day 11 of our New York Film Festival daily podcast, we explore the making of the festival’s surprise screening, Uncut Gems. In the introduction, Eugene Hernandez, FLC’s Deputy Director and Co-Publisher of Film Comment, is joined by Eric Kohn, IndieWire’s Executive Editor & Chief Critic, to discuss NYFF, the importance of film festivals, and the evolution of the Safdies. Then we go to yesterday’s NYFF Live talk on the making of Uncut Gems, moderated by Kohn. Directors Josh and Benny Safdie (Heaven Knows What, Good Time) were on hand to detail the process of making this electrifying New York City-set thriller, joined by co-writer and editor Ronald Bronstein, producer Sebastian Bear McClard, composer Daniel Lopatin, and casting director Jen Venditti."]

Burke, Christopher. "The Global and the Hyperlocal: Chains of Exploitation, Voyeurism, and Family in Uncut Gems." (Personal Website: March 9, 2021)

David, Caylen. "Rethinking Uncut Gems: A Movie That Gets Better on Rewatch." Penn Moviegoer (July 24, 2019) ["I don’t think that Uncut Gems can be truly appreciated after your first viewing. Speaking from experience, viewers will likely be too preoccupied with catching up with each mishap in the fast-paced crime thriller to fully process and appreciate the Safdie Brothers’ creation. For instance, during my own initial watchthrough, I was too busy waiting for a plot-turning change of tone that never came, and because of that, I looked beyond the miniscule details that are necessary to understanding the movie and Sandler’s character. You have to really think about what’s happening and the larger reasons behind why things happen throughout the film, rather than passively watch the movie to finish the plot and see the ending. Additionally, you must understand that the film is intentionally an insanely but intentionally stressful experience, as that perfectly sets the tone for the protagonist’s downward spiral. Rewatching the film from this perspective made me realize that, while I initially cited Gems’ stress as a weakness, it’s actually the movie’s greatest strength."]

Eggert, Brian. "Uncut Gems." Deep Focus Review (Ongoing Archive)

Hoberman, J. "Uncut Gems: Taking it to the Rack." The Current (November 23, 2021)

Lazic, Manuela and Adam Nayman. "21st-Century Cinema in Review: Uncut Gems." The Ringer (October 31, 2025) ["Josh and Benny Safdie are talented filmmakers with a good sense of rhythm and an appealing documentary-like approach to fiction, and this may be their crowning achievement as a filmmaking duo. Uncut Gems follows the series of misfortunes and terrible decisions that a Jewish New York jeweler, played by the ever-ingratiating Adam Sandler, goes through over a few decisive days. A gambling addict and a bit of a dreamer, Howard genuinely loves gems, but also the NBA and money—a bad mix that makes his life a constant tightrope act. Together with revered director of photography Darius Khondji and Daniel Lopatin’s almost omnipresent score, the Safdies accentuate the tension under which Howie is living. The experience of watching this film is a visceral one where each twist of fate that befalls Howie is felt in your bones."]

McDonough, Alex. "The Thrilling Modernity of Uncut Gems." Medium (June 10, 2020)