The Fly (Canada/USA/UK: David Cronenberg, 1986)

The Fly (Canada/USA/UK: David Cronenberg, 1986: 96 mins)

In the hands of Canadian body-horror maestro David Cronenberg, the 1958 Vincent Price vehicle in which a scientist transforms into a giant human-fly hybrid is reimagined as metaphor for disease, decay and the ageing process. Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis (a real couple at the time) play lovers whose burgeoning relationship deteriorates, the film cannily blending romcom, sci-fi and horror with results that are both revolting and utterly heartbreaking; Cronenberg’s romantic tragedy has often been interpreted as AIDS allegory. The special effects by Chris Walas, on full display in the grotesque transformation scenes – deservedly won the Academy Award for best makeup. – Katherine McLaughlin

Ayers, Drew R. "Vernacular Posthumanism: Visual Culture and Material Imagination." Department of Communication Dissertation,  Georgia State University, 2012.

Cargill, Robert C. and Brian Salisbury. "One Junky Summer: The Fly." Junk Food Cinema (August 24, 2016)

Cronenberg, David. "The Beetle and the Fly." The Paris Review (January 17, 2014)

Flores, Steven. "The Auteurs: David Cronenberg (Part 1)." Cinema Axis (October 28, 2013)

---. "The Auteurs: David Cronenberg (Part 2)." Cinema Axis (October 30, 2013)

ENG 102 2024: Resources #23

Monstrosity, for me, is always positive. It's about debunking all the normative ways of society and social life (1). - Julia Ducournau 
Quoted in Creed, Barbara. Return of the Monstrous-Feminine: Feminist New Wave Cinema. Routledge, 2022. 

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Bayne, Tim. "Exploring the Boundaries of Consciousness." NOEMA (July 25, 2024) ["A journey into the mystical hillsides of Nepal in search of answers to questions about which beings we can call conscious."]

Burr, Ty. "What Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘The Conversation’ tried to tell us." The Washington Post (August 9, 2024) ["The surveillance state that seemed so far-fetched in 1974 turned out to be a mild harbinger of the state of surveillance 50 years later."]

Dias, Elizabeth and Lisa Lerer. The Fall of Roe: The Rise of a New America. Flatiron Books, 2024. ["From two top New York Times journalists, the breathtaking untold story of the plan to overturn Roe v. Wade and the consequences for women, abortion, and the future of America. In June 2022, Americans watched in shock as the Supreme Court reversed one of the nation’s landmark rulings. For nearly a half century, Roe was synonymous with women’s rights and freedoms. Then, suddenly, it was gone. In their groundbreaking book The Fall of Roe, Elizabeth Dias and Lisa Lerer reveal the explosive inside story of how it happened. Their investigation charts the shocking political and religious campaign to take down abortion rights and remake American families, womanhood, and the nation itself. In doing so, Dias and Lerer go beyond the traditional political narrative into the most personal reaches of American life. Reeling from Barack Obama's 2012 landslide presidential victory – and motivated by a spiritual mission – a small but determined network of elite conservative Christian lawyers and powerbrokers worked quietly and methodically to keep their true cause alive: ending abortion rights. Thinking in generational terms, they devised a strategic, top-down takeover at every level of political and legal life, from little-known anti-abortion lobbyists in far flung statehouses to the arbiters of the constitution at the highest court in the land. Broad swaths of liberal America did not register the severity of the threat until it was far too late. At a moment when women had more power than ever before, the feminist movement suffered one of the greatest political defeats in American history. With stunning scope, journalistic rigor, and unprecedented access to the highest echelons of conservative and liberal power, Dias and Lerer chronicle the end of the Roe era. Their deeply human reporting stretches from inside abortion clinics to the halls of the White House, exposing powerful behind-the-scenes actors and recasting the actions of those already in the spotlight. The result is a sweeping and intimate narrative of secrets, power, jaw-dropping revelations, and a beacon to guide us forward."]

Dorian, M.J. "William Blake • On Vision's Wing • Part 1: The Marriage of Heaven & Hell." Creative Codex #47 (August 7, 2024) ["William Blake is considered one of the greatest artists and poets of the English language, yet he lived most of his life in poverty. Why? Many of his acquaintances considered him mad while friends who knew his art considered him 'brilliantly mad'. What was so different about Blake? Join me on this William Blake series as we pry open the mind of this celebrated creative genius to find the true meaning of his enigmatic works."]

Jones. Josh. "Carl Jung Offers an Introduction to His Psychological Thought in a 3‑Hour Interview (1957)." Open Culture (August 1, 2024) ["... Jung describes the persona in plain terms and with everyday examples as a fictional self 'partially dictated by society and partially dictated by the expectations or the wishes one nurses oneself.' The less we’re consciously aware of our public selves as performances in these terms, the more we’re prone, Jung says, to neuroses, as the pressure of our 'shadow,' exerts itself. Jung and Evans’ discussion of persona only grazes the surface of their wide-ranging conversation about the unconscious and the many ways to access it. Throughout, Jung’s examples are clear and his explanations lucid. Above, you can see a transcribed video of the same interviews."]

Kennard, Matt. The Racket: A Rogue Reporter vs The American Empire. Bloomsbury Academic, 2024. ["While working for the Financial Times, investigative journalist Matt Kennard had unbridled access to the crème de la crème of the global elite. From slanging matches with Henry Kissinger to afternoon coffees with the man who captured Che Guevara, Kennard spent four years gathering extraordinarily honest testimony from the horse's mouth on how the global economic system works away from the convenient myths. It left him with only one conclusion: the world as we know it is run by an exclusive class of American racketeers who operate with virtually unlimited weapons and money, and a reach much too close to home. Owing to the very nature of the Financial Times, however, Kennard was not able to publish these findings as part of his day job. Enter The Racket, now in a fully updated second edition. This tell-all book, reported from all corners of the world, will transform everything you thought you knew about how the world works-and in whose interests. Kennard reports not only from across the United States, but from the United Kingdom, the Caribbean, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East. In doing so he provides startlingly clear and concrete evidence of unchecked, high-level, interrelated systems of exploitation all over the world. At the same time, through encounters with high-profile opponents of the racket such as Thom Yorke, Damon Albarn, and Gael García Bernal, Kennard offers a glimpse of a developing resistance, which needs to win. Now more relevant than ever, this 2nd edition contains a new preface by the author and a new foreword by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges."]

Kroll-Zeldin, Owen. Unsettled: American Jews and the Movement for Justice in Palestine. New York University Press, 2024. ["Examines how young Jewish Americans’ fundamentally Jewish values have led them to organize in solidarity with Palestinians. Unsettled digs into the experiences of young Jewish Americans who engage with the Palestine solidarity movement and challenge the staunch pro-Israel stance of mainstream Jewish American institutions. The book explores how these activists address Israeli government policies of occupation and apartheid, and seek to transform American Jewish institutional support for Israel. Author Oren Kroll-Zeldin identifies three key social movement strategies employed by these activists: targeting mainstream Jewish American institutions, participating in co-resistance efforts in Palestine/Israel, and engaging in Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaigns. He argues that these young people perceive their commitment to ending the occupation and Israeli apartheid as a Jewish value, deeply rooted in the changing dynamics of Jewish life in the twenty-first century. By associating social justice activism with Jewish traditions and values, these activists establish a connection between their Jewishness and their pursuit of justice for Palestinians. In a time of internal Jewish tensions and uncertainty about peace prospects between Palestine and Israel, the book provides hope that the efforts of these young Jews in the United States are pushing the political pendulum in a new direction, potentially leading to a more balanced and nuanced conversation."]

McAfee, Noëlle. "Civil Disobedience." Overthink (June 4, 2024) ["Do political subjects have a default obligation to obey the law? In episode 105 of Overthink, Ellie and David discuss civil disobedience in the present context of university activism for divestment from genocide in Gaza. They chart the genealogy of the concept of disobedience in political theory, from Thoreau and MLK through to today. Together with guest Noëlle McAfee, Chair of the Philosophy Department at Emory University, they reflect on the relationship between legal protest, civil disobedience..."] 

Pfau, Daniel. "Neuroendocrinology (Sex & Gender)." Ologies (June 15, 2020) ["How many genders are there? How do you know if you’re queer? Is sexual orientation biological, and if so, how? The amazing Michigan State University neuroscientist and endocrinology researcher Dr. Daniel Pfau joins to share their path in academia finding the perfect research, understanding their own genderqueer identity, what animals in nature exhibit queer behavior, how hormones influence the brain, how important it was for them to find community and why the gender binary isn’t a good fit for a lot of people. They are just charming and kind and wonderful and this episode will help you understand just how many ways there are to be human. Also: smitten meadow mice, Gender Unicorns and Alie as a lion. "]

West, Stephen. "Capitalism is dead. This is Technofeudalism. (Yanis Varoufakis)." Philosophize This! #206 (July 21, 2024) ["Today we talk about the concept of Technofeudalism as described by Yanis Varoufakis. We talk about the comparisons of our world to the feudal system, the origins in the economic policy of 2008, and a few potential paths forward centered around important questions to be revisiting."]

---. "The Frankfurt School (Part 7): The Great Refusal." Philosophize This! #114 (December 23, 2017) ["What Marcuse starts to realize is that the Great Refusal, in order to be done effectively, has to be an extremely individual, personalized journey that people embark on. Because if the Great Refusal is ultimately you being a personification of radical subjectivity, well, what subjectivity are you trying to radicalize? Your own subjectivity. And it takes a deep understanding of that subjectivity to be able to change it. See, because what happens so often is, people see the way the world is; they believe with every fiber of their being that something needs to change about it. And they get so caught up looking at things out there, external to them in the world that they want to change so badly, that they forget about looking inside of them and changing themselves first. You know, there’s this attitude people often have of, “Well, if I’m the one that’s trying to live the Great Refusal here, then obviously I’m not part of the problem. Look, I’m the one that has a moral intuition that people should be liberated. I’m the one that wants to fight every day to make sure people aren’t needlessly repressed. It’s other people out there that don’t believe this stuff that need to change, not me.” Marcuse would say to this person, you’ve already fallen into a trap of perpetuating the way that things are. Marcuse would ask, do you think there’s any baggage you’re carrying around, having been born, raised, and conditioned to think of the world in the way that you do by a system as dominating as monopoly capitalism? Do you think it’s possible that conditioning has a strong effect on the way you feel liberation should occur? What sort of problems might that lead to down the line if you find yourself a member of one of these #movements? The answers to these questions became massively important to Marcuse throughout his later work. And understanding the answers to them, as we’ll see by the end of this episode, is the biggest step you can take towards actually living the Great Refusal."]

---. "How to Win an Argument, Pt. 1." Philosophize This! #73 (December 1, 2015) ["On today's episode, we take a look at several common logical fallacies. We analyze what they mean and how they are used in the context of an argument, and then we provide tons of examples that illustrate how to spot the fallacies. The goal here is to give you more confidence in your ability to practically use the raw information that we talk about on the show every week, and to have an episode you can return back to and refresh your memory if you ever forget them. "]

Grace John - Refugee crisis in Asia: Overlooked displacement on Thai-Burma border (ENG 102)

 

Grace John

Benton

ENG 102

30 September 2024

Refugee crisis in Asia: Overlooked displacement on Thai-Burma border

In the world today there are many cases of ongoing human struggle, conflict and persecution. Asia does not usually come to mind when discussing humanitarian crisis, because there are other western-focused areas that gain more attention on today’s popular culture and media. Refugee displacements are one of the overlooked issues most often resulting from internal political and international conflicts. Refugees may be defined as any person outside their country of origin due to fear of cultural, religious or political persecution who are unable to safely return. By looking at Asia and specifically the southeast Asia region, we can see many prominent examples of refugee crises and displacement. This paper will focus on the Karen (Kayin) people group of Eastern Myanmar (Burma) and the Thailand border. This ethnic group is not widely known as some of the other refugee population, like the displacement of the Muslim Rohingya people of north Myanmar into Bangladesh. It is also worth noting that this paper will refer to the country as Myanmar as it’s the most widely accepted official name, however, it is important to acknowledge the fact that several countries do not officially recognize this name change from Burma, which was implemented in 1989 by the authoritarian regime that took power to establish the Republic of the Union of Myanmar. By exploring the political, social, and economic challenges of resettlement through the lens of Karen people on the Thai-Burma border, this paper will uncover the inadequacies of current refugee policies and demonstrate the need for a better international cooperation to address the increasingly complex needs the displaced population there.

The international implications of safely handling refugees are significant and even the farthest countries from the epicenter of the crises can have a lasting impact. To introduce this topic and the country of Myanmar with its surrounding issues today, we can go back to 2017 – 2018 when the country gained international headlines after the deadly crackdown on the Muslim Rohingya minorities from the northern Rakine state, by the majority Buddhist people and government of Myanmar. In an important demonstration of how far reaching our influence can be in these situations, the social media platforms we all use today played a role in the digital influence on the crises. As internet access became more widely accessible during that time in Myanmar, the social media platform Facebook was heavily criticized for allowing and failing to timely act on the violent and anti-Muslim content being spread from its Burmese users in Myanmar who were able to weaponize the platform during the military campaign in 2017 to drive out the Rohingya (Trending, BBC 2018). In the globalized world today, it is more important for large organizations, companies and governments to pay attention to refugee crises and the resulting humanitarian issues. In the case of the Karen people of eastern Myanmar with the Thailand border, they are no exception in this case. Like the crises that unfolded with the Rohingya Muslim population, the Karen people have endured a long history of persecution for their ethnicity in Myanmar. To better explain the context, it is important to understand why the country is prone to such deep conflict stemming from ethnic and political differences.

The geographical features of Myanmar have shaped the balances of political and military power and have formed the borders of various ethnic minority states. The central region of the country is dominated by the majority Burmese population surrounded by mountain ranges and rivers that have formed unique cultural and linguistic groups encircling the central region. Out of the different groups of ethnic minorities, the Karen people of the eastern region of Myanmar have played a significant role in the history of the country since gaining independence from Britain (Banki, 2008). Ethnic groups that composed the Burmese military at the time broke off into different factions to oppose the rise in communism favored by the core Burmese leaders and to form their own independence from the country. The Karen ethnic military units defected and formed their own leadership and military defense forces. This led to internal armed conflict since the end of World War 2 and after British colonial occupation ended (Hill, 2023). After looking into the recent history of these conflicts, it becomes clear that the cultural and political differences have promoted the independence among the various ethnic minorities of Myanmar. These cultural and linguistic differences, along with decades of armed conflict, have not only inspired independence among Myanmar’s ethnic minorities, but also made the resettlement of the displaced groups, such as the Karen people, very challenging. After understanding this historical background, the next focus should be on the political and economic barriers that complicate refugee resettlement of the displaced people.

The complicated history and persisting conflict has created the increasingly desperate situation for the displaced and refugees fleeing across the borders. As of the August 2024 Humanitarian update, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Myanmar issue published that an estimated 18.6 million people in Myanmar are described as in need of humanitarian aid. On the Thai-Burma border, estimated total number of displaced refugees is around 250,000 (OCHA, 2024). There are also numerous refugee camps that have appeared along the border in Thailand that serve as temporary home for the displaced. The first few camps started to appear in 1984 and have been growing since then. Many of these along the border are Karen refugees from the nearby Kayin border state in Myanmar, among other ethnic minorities. There have been several issues that have made living in these camps challenging, specifically access to resources and humanitarian aid through the host country, Thailand. Thailand does not recognize these camps as official grounds for resettlement of its inhabitants and currently lacks the legal and economic capacity to help support and sponsor many of the refugees (Banki, 2008: 64). This issue of economic sustainability is one of the key issues in understanding the biggest struggles of the refugees in the Thailand-Burma border.
            As Banki et al. highlight in the protracted displacement research, a significant portion of the refugee population in Thailand was classified as economic migrants rather than refugees (Banki, 2008). This misclassification poses a major problem for the refugees, as it limits the protections available to these individuals, leaving them vulnerable to unfair treatment and deportation. In a further study that uncovered these consequences, Human Rights Watch revealed that the inadequate policies towards refugees, and even discovered that the mishandling of refugee camps on the border leads to abuse, extortion and arbitrary deportation of refugees along the border (HRW, 2020). However, distinguishing between refugees fleeing political persecution and those escaping economic hardship is inherently challenging, as these two situations are often closely linked. While refugees are granted protection under the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, economic migrants, regardless of their circumstances, do not receive the same recognition or protections in Thailand (Banki, 2008). The distinction between the two classes should be closely examined and more care needs to be shown towards people displaced because of persecution in their home countries. From the Thai perspective, it is difficult to classify refugees out of the many migrants who cross into Thailand from other parts of Myanmar for better economic opportunities, not only those who are displaced by the conflict for genuine humanitarian need. Thai authorities need to have greater care and discernment in their handling of the refugee crises on the border.

Research currently shows how many of the refugees in Thailand from Myanmar have struggled to find a sustainable economic solution while in the refugee camps due to the lack of legal structure in the hosting country. Humanitarian Policy Group research from 2023 shows that there has been little to no improvements on this issue in Thailand since reports started emerging on this problem. Refugees are still stuck in a stateless limbo of having to choose to find work, education and health needs within the settlement camps or to venture into Thailand where they face discrimination and a high risk of deportation and arrest due to the lack of legal protections there for refugees. The HPG paper mentioned that there may still be potential for improvements on this issue with the newly elected Thai government in 2023, however this remains to be seen (Hill, C., 2023). Perhaps a better solution to this ordeal would be to partner with other international humanitarian groups such as UNHCR who have active working relationships on the ground with Thai resources and the refugees from these areas to formulate a better process for identifying and categorizing refugee status. That way, it will become more manageable for Thai authorities to offer durable economic solutions to ease the plight of the refugee populations there.

On the other end of the spectrum, there are many different countries and organizations that have helped in the resettlement effort. Uniquely positioned as a leader in resettling is the United States. Since 1980 the US has worked with the UNHCR to establish a process for resettling refugees who pass through a vetting process. The US works to ensure certain communities can receive refugees, and by partnering with volunteer organizations, are able provide resettlement assistance to some refugees. The recent executive orders from 2019 gave permission to the local governments on handling the resettlement and placing of refugees in their communities. It’s up to the local leaders to determine how to place refugees to give them the best opportunities and consider their community needs for welcoming new refugees. (Caren, 2008). The Karen refugees from Myanmar specifically are frequently settled to the US through these UNHCR programs and have been resettled mainly into urban areas over the years. Since local communities now have a part to determine if reguees will resettle to their communities, these resettlement programs should also consider the options to choose rural or small-town locations over the larger cities and urban resettlements that often takes place. One study highlights the outcomes and potential cons of this resettlement strategy in a small case study done in rural Georgia highlights some of the positive outcomes of the Karen refugees who have settled there (Gilhooly, 2017). These rural settings offer refugees a less traumatic environment, where the Karen refugees can maintain cultural practices and more effectively integrate into their new lives. The U.S. government should explore rural resettlement programs, considering key factors to ensure successful integration to communities able to welcome them and where they can have a higher chance of successfully resettling there.

In conclusion, the crisis along the Thai-Burma border, particularly with the Karen people, represents an often overlooked yet important humanitarian issue today. The Thai government’s limited legal protections and economic capacity, combined with the misclassification of refugees as economic migrants, continue to exacerbate the struggles of these displaced populations. The resettlement process offered by countries such as the U.S., especially into urban areas, often fails to provide the sustainable solutions necessary for meaningful integration for these people. However, exploring rural resettlement programs, as evidenced by successful examples in the U.S., could offer a viable option that supports both the refugees and host communities. To effectively address these challenges, international organizations like the UNHCR must collaborate more closely with local governments to create policies that better identify and support refugees, while also ensuring their successful integration into communities of the host countries where they are resettled. Ultimately, solving the refugee crisis on the Thai-Burma border requires a coordinated global effort and a reevaluation of current policies and practices to ensure the best possible humanitarian outcome of the current and future of displaced populations.

 

Works Cited

Banki, Susan Rachel, and Hazel Johanna Lang. “Protracted Displacement on the Thai-Burmese Border: The Interrelated Search for Durable Solutions.” http://www.ashgate.com eBooks, 2008, pp. 59–81.  https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au/items/4450461d-59b6-5496-beed-f51b40384102.

Caron, Rosemary M. “The U.S. Refugee Resettlement Conundrum.” Peace Review, vol. 32, no. 4, Oct. 2020, pp. 527–35. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1080/10402659.2020.1921416.

Gilhooly, Daniel, and Eunbae Lee. “Rethinking Urban Refugee Resettlement: A Case Study of One Karen Community in Rural Georgia, USA.” International Migration, vol. 55, no. 6, Dec. 2017, pp. 37–55. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1111/imig.12341.

“Thailand: Refugee Policies Ad Hoc and Inadequate.” Human Rights Watch, 28 Oct. 2020, www.hrw.org/news/2012/09/13/thailand-refugee-policies-ad-hoc-and-inadequate.

Trending, Bbc. The Country Where Facebook Posts Whipped up Hate. 12 Sept. 2018, www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-45449938.

Hill, C., Thako, H., Shêê, T., et al. (2023) Exploring Karen refugee youths’ aspirations and wellbeing amidst protracted displacement in Thailand. HPG working paper. London: ODI https://odi.org/en/publications/exploring-karen-refugee-youths-aspirations-and-wellbeing-amidst-protracted-displacement-in-thailand/.

“Myanmar Humanitarian Update No. 40 | 16 August 2024.” OCHA, 16 Aug. 2024, www.unocha.org/publications/report/myanmar/myanmar-humanitarian-update-no-40-16-august-2024

ENG 102 2024: Resources #22

There are two selves in the the mind. One is the present self, the ship--neural activity, tacking between the elevated and the mundane. Between thoughts of the meaning of life and of how to glue a handle back on a broken coffee mug. The other is the current on which the vessel is borne: the more permanent self. The memories of childhood, learned concepts, habits and resentments--the built-up layers of previous interactions with the world. This self changes as well, but only slowly--as slowly as a river's course is changed by shifts in environment and erosion, time wiping a sandbank away or building one up anew. We consist only of change--but some change is fast, and some comes only over years, decades, a lifetime (359). The character Dr. Arnkatia Minervudottir-Chan (in Nayler, Ray. The Mountain in the Sea. Picador, 2022)

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Anderson, Elle and David Peña-Guzmán. "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?"]

Chambers, Guinevere. "Disability Sociology (Disability Pride)." Ologies (July 3, 2024) ["Sexuality and disability! Invisible illnesses! Airline frustrations! How many of us are disabled! July is Disability Pride Month, and professor, researcher, activist, and Disability Sociologist Guinevere Chambers joins to bust myths and provide perspective on everything from the history of ableism to sign language to eyeglasses, the criminal justice system, caregiving, how to ask for what you need, handling curious strangers, disclosing disabilities, where ADHD and autism come into play, and how to follow this study path."]

Grob, Charles. "Psychedeliology (HALLUCINOGENS) Part 1." Ologies (July 11, 2024) ["Magic mushrooms, LSD, ayahuasca ceremonies, DMT, ketamine: this episode is a grab bag of trippy facts. Renowned psychiatry professor and psychedelics researcher Dr. Charles Grob of Harbor-UCLA Medical Center sits down to talk about how much LSD is too much LSD, what juices are squirting in the brain when you're tripping out, who should NOT take psychedelics, talking to dead people, serendipitous libraries, late night phone calls, antidepressants and mushrooms, the murky history of psychedelic research, and future paths of study that may help the world. Next week, wall-to-wall listener questions and some tales from your internet dad’s own journey."]

Haidt, Jonathan. "Social Media Messed Up Our Kids. Now It Is Making Us Ungovernable." NOEMA (June 13, 2024) ["In a conversation with Noema editor-in-chief Nathan Gardels, the social psychologist Jonathan Haidt discusses the impact of social media on truth in politics, the mental health crisis of today’s youth, and what to do about it."]

Hill, Matthew. "How Cannabis Impacts Health & the Potential Risks."  Huberman Lab (July 8, 2024) ["In this episode, my guest is Dr. Matthew Hill, Ph.D., a professor of cell biology and anatomy at the Hotchkiss Brain Institute at the University of Calgary and an expert on the biology of cannabis. We discuss how cannabis affects the brain to produce its psychoactive effects (feeling “high”), including altered time perception, focus, memory, appetite, and stress. We discuss how THC vs. cannabidiol (CBD) affects the brain, the effects of different routes of cannabis administration (e.g., smoking, vaping, edibles), high-potency THC, and whether cannabis is addictive. We discuss if there is a link between cannabis use and the development of psychosis, anxiety, bipolar depression, or schizophrenia. We discuss whether CBD has clinical benefits in regulating stress, promoting sleep, and treating certain diseases. We also discuss if there are real and consistent differences in the biological effects of different cannabis strains, if cannabis impacts hormones, and the uses of cannabis for the management of pain, stress, Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and nausea. Listeners of this episode will get an up-to-date understanding of what is currently known about how cannabis affects the brain and body, including both its potential benefits and risks."]

Holland, Tom and Dominic Sandbrook. "Baghdad: The Forging of Islam." The Rest is History (October 2023) ["A story of great myth and of huge historical significance, the foundation of Baghdad is a fundamental episode in the development of Islam. The Umayyad Caliphate, the first great Islamic empire, stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the borders of China; no dynasty had ever presided over a greater array of conquests. But amongst growing sectarian and internal divisions, discontent on the fringes of the caliphate, and the emergence of influential religious scholars, the Umayyads are challenged by a new power, which pretends to restore Muhammad’s bloodline to rule over Islam. In the first part of our series on the history of Baghdad, Tom and Dominic tell the story of the founders of the city, the Abbasids, and delve into the roots of the revolution that saw them overthrow the Umayyad Caliphate…"]

Langer, Ellen. "Is Mindfulness the Secret to Health?" Big Brains (July 11, 2024) ["Can you heal faster just by tricking your brain? Could you lose weight with only a change of mindset? Could you think yourself into being younger? If you think the answer to all these questions is no, you haven’t read the research from renowned Harvard University psychologist Ellen Langer. ... Langer is a bit of a legend. She’s the first woman to ever receive tenure in psychology at Harvard, and her work has earned her the moniker: “The Mother of Mindfulness”. Her 40-year research career into the mind-body connection—and how mindfulness can hack that system—has delivered some unbelievable results that she believes hold the key to revolutionizing our health. She complies all of her work in her latest book “The Mindful Body: Thinking Our Way to Chronic Health.”]

Lyon, Gabrielle. "How to Exercise & Eat for Optimal Health & Longevity." The Huberman Lab (June 24, 2024) ["In this episode, my guest is Dr. Gabrielle Lyon, D.O., a board-certified physician who did her clinical and research training at Washington University in geriatrics and nutrition. She is also an expert in how diet and exercise impact muscle and whole-body health and longevity. Dr. Lyon is a bestselling author and public educator. We discuss how healthy skeletal muscle promotes longevity, brain health, disease prevention, ideal body composition, and the health of other organs and bodily systems. She makes specific nutritional recommendations for optimal health: what to eat, how much to eat, the timing of meals, the essential need for adequate quality protein (including animal and plant-based options), supplementation, and how our dietary requirements change with age. She explains why specific types of resistance training are essential to build and maintain muscle and overall metabolic health. She also describes how to include resistance training as part of your exercise regimen — regardless of age or sex. She also provides specific mindset tools to encourage sustained adherence to healthy eating and exercise practices. Women and men of all ages will benefit from Dr. Lyon’s practical, evidence-based protocols to improve muscle and whole-body appearance, function, and health."]

Romm, Jake. "We Never Left The Zone of Interest." Verso Books (June 28, 2024) ["Jonathan Glazer’s Zone of Interest was fated for an odd reception. Not simply because he has produced another of the always controversial films about the Shoah. Not only because the film was released while Israel, which has used the Shoah as both a shield and a bludgeon, is perpetrating its own genocide against the Palestinians. But because Glazer’s film is materialist, implicating not just the viewer but the world itself."]

West, Stephen. "John Rawls - A Theory of Justice." Philosophize This! (January 2, 2020) ["But another way to think about the answer to this question is to say that every, great philosopher in their own way... questioned the fundamental assumptions that were present in the thinking of their time. That is a hallmark of a great philosopher...because when seeking solutions to philosophical problems...casting aside the cultural or linguistic assumptions of a particular snapshot in time...very often leads philosophers of the next generation to understand how those assumptions have been limiting our ways of thinking about things. The philosopher we're going to talk about today falls into this category...and he's going to question an assumption that seemed to others as radical as it was dangerous. His name was John Rawls...and this was the assumption that he questioned: Can human beings actually live and flourish for any extended period of time in liberal democratic societies? The political paradigm of the Enlightenment...liberal democratic societies. A government BY the many. Democracy. Liberal in the sense that there is a strong focus on rational discourse, the acceptance of outside ideas... the legitimacy of political ideas being decided by having conversations between competing ideas, let the best ideas rise to the top and direct the future of society for the time being, and if those prevailing ideas don't happen to be the ones you believe in, you're supposed to accept those ideas as part of the greater political process and work to defend your positions better the next time we're having a conversation."]

ENG 281: Fall 2024 Responses

Exemplary responses:

Keaton Shott - Licorice Pizza: Awkwardness and Young Love

Ana Ruiz: Reality Bites

Ana Ruiz: Licorice Pizza

Ana Ruiz: The Graduate

Rashaun West: The Graduate

Micah Watts: Licorice Pizza

Micah Watts: The Graduate

Response Tally:

Ana Ruiz 3 (The Graduate; Licorice Pizza; Reality Bites)

Areeb Travis 2 (The Graduate; Licorice Pizza)

Ciara Womack 2 (1 credit for first two responses; Reality Bites) 

Emily Maggard 2 (The Graduate; Reality Bites)

Kadire Flowers

Keaton Shott 2 (The Graduate; Licorice Pizza)

Logan Rader 4 (The Graduate; Licorice Pizza; The Fly; The Fog)

S

Meredith Popeck 1 (The Graduate)

Micah Watts 2 (The Graduate; Licorice Pizza)

Rashaun West 1 (The Graduate)

Hopeless Romantic - Music Mix #34

Dead Horses; Future Islands; X; Boomtown Rats; Harry Katz and the Pistachios; GZA; Revyn Lenae; King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizards; Thee Marloes; SadBlackLab; The Beths; Father John Misty; Fantastic Negrito; Caleb Landry Jones; The XX; R.E.M.; GROUPLOVE; Alice in Chains; Muse; Damian Marley; The Smashing Pumpkins; Oasis; Vampire Weekend; Hole; Angelika Garcia; Carlos Ares; Bleachers; The The; Cannons; Sylmar; Nilufer Yanya; Iron Maiden; Gelexaida; Shearwater; Ben Sollee; Delafaye; Hurray for the Rif Raff; BLACKSTARKIDS; Simon and Garfunkel; 87 Nights; Johnny Cash; Elvis Costello and the Attractions; The Tragically Hip 

Hopeless Romantic - Music Mix #34

Licorice Pizza (USA: Paul Thomas Anderson, 2021)

 

 Licorice Pizza (USA: Paul Thomas Anderson, 2021: 133 mins)

Anderson, Paul, et al. "On Licorice Pizza." Film at Lincoln Center (March 24, 2022)

Chang, Justin. "Paul Thomas Anderson’s Licorice Pizza is a valentine to the Valley. And Alana Haim." Los Angeles Times (November 15, 2021)

Dargis, Manohla. "Licorice Pizza: California Dreaming and Scheming." The New York Times (November 25, 2021)

Dueren, Sean Van, Tucker Johnson and Scout Tafoya. "3 on Licorice Pizza." Apocalypse Now (January 3, 2022)

Ehrlich, Dave. "Licorice Pizza: Paul Thomas Anderson’s Coming-of-Age Comedy Is a Perfect Slice of ’70s Nostalgia." IndieWire (November 15, 2021)

Flight, Thomas. "The Evolution of Paul Thomas Anderson." (Posted on Youtube: December 21, 2021)

Hicks, Luke. "Michael Bauman on Lighting Licorice Pizza and Bringing Paul Thomas Anderson’s Vision to Life." The Film Stage (December 20, 2021)

Hudson, David. "Paul Thomas Anderson's Licorice Pizza." The Current (December 1, 2021)

Jenkins, David. "Licorice Pizza." Little White Lies (January 4, 2022)

Lack, Hannah. "Alana Haim on Her Role in Offbeat Coming-of-Age Film, Licorice Pizza." AnOther (January 4, 2022)

Lang, Brent. "Paul Thomas Anderson on Licorice Pizza and Moviemaking: ‘Anyone Who’s Done This Knows That Confidence Is an Illusion.'" Variety (December 2021)

Lemire, Christy. "Licorice Pizza." Roger Ebert (December 24, 2021) 

Licorice Pizza Soundtrack

Nayman, Adam. "Show Biz Kids: Paul Thomas Anderson on Licorice Pizza." Cinema Scope #89 (2021)

Reilly, John C. "Alana Haim Talks to John C. Reilly About Her Life-Changing Acting Debut." Interview (October 25, 2021)

Warren, Ethan. "The Cinema of Paul Thomas Anderson: American Apocrypha (Columbia University Press, 2023) New Books in Film (March 29, 2023) ["Paul Thomas Anderson’s evolution from a brash, self-anointed “Indiewood” auteur to one of his generation’s most distinctive voices has been one of the most remarkable career trajectories in recent film history. From early efforts to emulate his cinematic heroes to his increasingly singular late films, Anderson has created a body of work that balances the familiar and the strange, history and myth: viewers feel perpetually off balance, unsure of whether to expect a pitch-black joke or a moment of piercing emotional resonance. The Cinema of Paul Thomas Anderson: American Apocrypha (Columbia UP, 2023) provides the most complete account of Anderson’s career to date, encompassing his varied side projects and unproduced material; his personal and professional relationships with directors such as Jonathan Demme, Robert Altman, and Robert Downey Sr.; and his work as a director of music videos for Fiona Apple, Joanna Newsom, and Haim. Ethan Warren explores Anderson’s recurring thematic preoccupations―the fraught dynamics of gender and religious faith, biological and found families, and his native San Fernando Valley―as well as his screenwriting methods and his relationship to his influences. Warren argues that Anderson’s films conjure up an alternate American history that exaggerates and elides verifiable facts in search of a heightened truth marked by a deeper level of emotional hyperrealism. This book is at once an unconventional primer on Anderson’s films and a provocative reframing of what makes his work so essential."]

Wilkinson, Alissa. "Licorice Pizza proves Paul Thomas Anderson is a master of unexpected romance." Vox (November 26, 2021)

The Graduate (USA: Mike Nichols, 1967)

One of the most beloved American films of all time, The Graduate earned Mike Nichols a best director Oscar, brought the music of Simon & Garfunkel to a wider audience, and introduced the world to a young actor named Dustin Hoffman. Benjamin Braddock (Hoffman) has just finished college and is already lost in a sea of confusion and barely contained angst when he becomes sexually involved with a friend of his parents’, the indomitable Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft), before turning his attention to her college-age daughter (Katharine Ross). Visually imaginative and impeccably acted, with a clever, endlessly quotable script by Buck Henry (based on the novel by Charles Webb), The Graduate had the kind of cultural impact that comes along only once in a generation. -- Criterion

It's the great American danger we're all in. That we'll bargain away the experience of being alive for the appearance of it. - Mike Nichols (quoted in More Than Meets the Lens' video essay "Why The Graduate is So Timeless.")

Occasionally in the arts, a work manages to speak to its contemporaries in a powerful and timely way that seems to capture the essence of its era. The usual fate of such works is that they become historical artifacts, of interest only to historians and sociologists. A few works, however, manage to continue to speak across time, renewing their hold on each generation because of their richness, complexity, and treatment of universal concerns and experiences. This ability to transcend different eras is what makes a work a classic. In American film history, one such work is The Graduate, originally released in 1967. - Howard Suber (1987)

The Graduate (USA: Mike Nichols, 1967: 106 mins)

Criterion Collection introduction and commentaries for The Graduate

Henry, Buck. "On His Career and The Graduate." Pinewood Dialogues (June 22, 1996)

Insdorf, Annette. Cinematic Overtures: How to Read Opening Scenes. Columbia University Press, 2017. ["Your professor has a copy of this book."]

Koski, Genevieve, et al. "The Graduate (1967) / The Meyerowitz Stories (Part 1)." The Next Picture Show #100 (October 31, 2017)

Kuersten Erich. "CinemArchetype #6: The Intimidating Nymph." Acidemic (March 2, 2012)

"Mike Nichols." Auteur Musuem #2 (September 1, 2015)

Nichols, Mike. "On His Filmmaking Style and Directing Actors." Pinewood Dialogues (March 1, 1990)

Rich, Frank. "The Graduate: Intimations of a Revolution." Current (February 23, 2016)

Shone, Tom. "Should Film Critics Care About Cinematic Technique." The Guardian (April 11, 2014)

Suber, Howard. "The Graduate." The Current (December 6, 1987)

West, Stephen. "The Frankfurt School: Erich Fromm on Love." Philosophize This! #150 (February 6, 2021) ["Key Takeaways: The Problem of Human Existence and Separateness: Erich Fromm posits that a fundamental issue in human existence is the feeling of separateness or existential loneliness. This awareness of being separate from others and the universe drives people to seek connections beyond themselves, often through love, to alleviate this sense of isolation.
Transactional vs. Genuine Love: The podcast explores the difference between transactional love (where love is treated as a commodity in a personality market) and genuine love. Fromm criticizes the former as being about mutual benefit and not true love, suggesting it leads to relationships that are shallow and likely to fail.
Love as an Active Faculty: Fromm argues that love should be viewed not as a passive emotion that happens to someone, but as an active faculty, a skill that can and should be developed. True love involves a constant, active effort to connect and care for others.
Mastering the Art of Love: The episode discusses Fromm's view of love as an art form that requires dedication and practice, similar to mastering any skill. He emphasizes the importance of humility, courage, faith, and discipline in developing the ability to love genuinely and deeply.
Recommended Reading:
Escape from Freedom by Erich Fromm (1994): This book explores the psychological challenges associated with the transition from traditional societies to modern freedom, and how this shift can lead to authoritarianism.
"The Art of Loving" by Erich Fromm: A profound analysis of love as an art that must be actively practiced and developed, rather than a passive feeling. Fromm explores how love, in its various forms including romantic love, familial love, and self-love, is an expression of one's life and a key to human fulfillment.
The Essential Fromm: Life Between Having and Being by Erich Fromm (2014): This work encapsulates Fromm's views on achieving a fulfilling life, focusing on the dichotomy between 'having' and 'being', and the art of living well."]