The  Epicurean Cure

  • Participate
  • Search
Close search

Press enter to search

Tetra the Octopus, our mascot and an epicurean.

‘Is it Fate or Chance? I can never decide.’

Features

  • Articles
  • Creations
  • Interviews
  • Popcorn
  • Reviews
  • Updates

Tropes

  • Foreknowledge Tropes
  • The Indicative Accent
  • Accent Denotes Class
  • See all…

Media

  • Film
  • Books
  • Television
  • See all…

Disciplines

  • Computer Science
  • English Literature
  • Game Studies
  • Linguistics
  • Philosophy
Articles

Taken as a Genre

Pierre Morel’s Taken (2008) turned Liam Neeson from a serious dramatic actor into America’s favourite murder-dad. Here I examine one of the film's legacies, and argue that Taken can be understood as a genre unto itself.

Penned by The Kibitzer (Guest)

Articles

Dark Humour & Insipid Morality

The Suicide Squad goes beyond just having a moral core; it has a moralistic one. Here we discuss the how the film revels in gory death and yet pleads for us (Helen Lovejoy-style) to 'think of the children'.

Penned by The Kibitzer (Guest)

Articles

Bioware & Voluntary Slavery

A recurring theme in Bioware’s Mass Effect and Dragon Age series is that slavery – while bad – can be justified if it’s chosen. Here we consider whether volunteering to be a slave makes a moral difference.

Penned by The Temp & The Doctor (Guest)

Articles

Okja and the Limits of Shame

Here we consider the power of shame and embarrassment as seen through the lens of Okja. This involves showing what can be accomplished through shame, but also what can’t.

Penned by The Kibitzer (Guest)

Articles

Gilderoy Lockhart: Attempted Murderer

Prolific author, repeated winner of Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award, and inept teacher. Handsome but harmless? Quite the contrary!

Penned by The Doctor

Articles

Trope Alert: Moral Warping

Sometimes, constructing the moral world doesn’t go smoothly. Maybe the hero doesn’t seem to stand for anything good, and so there’s no reason to accept them as the hero. Or perhaps the villain isn’t especially villainous; a sympathetic villain is common enough but something about this character makes it seem like they’re just straightforwardly in the right. There are a few ways a film can deal with this problem. I call one way ‘moral warping’.

Penned by The Kibitzer (Guest)

Articles

Fight or Flyte? The Poetic Tradition in Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla

Ever wanted to tell a colleague exactly what you think of them and not have it become a HR issue? Here we delve into a brief history of flyting – the poetic exchange of invectives – as found in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.

Penned by The Master

Articles

Why Care if They Made it Up? Historical Accuracy in The Trial of the Chicago 7

At the climax of The Trial of the Chicago 7, Tom Hayden uses his closing remarks to read out the names of Americans killed in the Vietnam War. One by one the defendants stand and raise their fists in solidarity. Music swells as the gallery stands. Eventually Richard Schultz, the prosecutor, sheds a tear and rises as well. “What are you doing?” asks his co-prosecutor, to which Schultz answers “paying respects.” It’s a powerful, well-constructed scene with a very significant problem: it never happened.

Penned by The Kibitzer (Guest)

Articles

2001: A Space Stoic

Stoicism is the beloved philosophy of emperors, slaves, and financial advisors. Here we consider one idea from stoic metaphysics – that the universe begins and ends in cycles, with us living our lives over and over – and its representation in the 2001 film K-Pax.

Penned by The Doctor

Updates

Black Lives Matter

Black Lives Matter. Herein are links to more information and what we can do in support as well as an overview of some of our favourite books by BAME authors.

Penned by Tetra

Popcorn

Gender-Inverted Trope: Philosopher Queens

In art, as in life, the trope of the philosopher usually depicts a male character, sage-like, with a tendency to impart useful information. In this short but sweet piece of pop(culture)corn, we highlight gender-inverted instances of the Philosopher and Philosopher King.

Penned by The Doctor

Articles

Picard, Time Travel & Moral Motivation

We love that Jean-Luc Picard is back on TV. However, does this have weird implications for time travel in the Star Trek universe?

Penned by The Wildcard (Guest)

Articles

Mass Effect & the Problem of Other Minds

Given that I only have access to my own mind, is it rational to attribute minds and mental states to others? What if the others in question are drastically different to us – such as the aliens in Mass Effect? Here we introduce the problem of other minds and the argument from analogy.

Penned by The Doctor

Popcorn

Trope Alert: The Prison Level

In this short and tasty piece of Pop(Culture)Corn we introduce the Prison Level trope, with some of our favourite video game examples. Final Fantasy, Dragon Age, Elder Scrolls and more!

Penned by The Doctor

Articles

Peppa Pig & the Ontological Argument

Peppa Pig is not merely a morally questionable piece of entertainment for children; it’s ripe with unplucked philosophical fruit. In this article we consider the light it can shed on Anselm’s Ontological Argument for the existence of God.

Penned by The Doctor

The Makings of a Mind

The Turing Test (Part 1)

The Turing Test is a popular device in fiction, becoming an umbrella term for language-based tests to determine whether computers or other synthetic beings have minds. Here we explore the origins of the Turing Test and some examples of fictional machines that would pass it.

Penned by The Doctor

Reviews

Rainbow Rowell, Carry On: The Rise and Fall of Simon Snow

The highest compliment The Master can pay Carry On, his George Cross or Légion d'honneur, is that his childhood (a somewhat more distant realm than he's currently prepared to recognise) would have been immeasurably improved by its presence.

Penned by The Master

Articles

On Persistence & Memory

What makes you the same person from one day to the next? How can your favourite character survive a brain swap, teleportation, or shape-shifting? This article explores the Persistence Question, as it arises in your favourite fiction. But it isn't just a matter for philosophers or fiction: problems of personal identity have ramifications for your everyday life...

Penned by The Doctor

Popcorn

Trope Alert: The Supernatural Detective

Launching Pop(Culture)Corn: short and tasty morsels for your reading pleasure. In this instalment, we introduce the Supernatural Detective trope - not to be confused with the Occult Detective, the narrower Vampire Detective Series, or broader Exotic Detective - with some of our favourite examples.

Penned by The Doctor

Articles

Prescriptivism v Descriptivism: A Very English Affair

In this piece, the Master clarifies this most contentious of binaries, prescriptivism and descriptivism, and in the process of doing so, exposes the illogicality of the former and reveals the delicious sense of superiority so craved by self-anointed ‘Grammar Nazis’ that attends the latter.

Penned by The Master

Interviews

Catherine Sangster, On Dictionaries, Pronunciation, and Geekery (Part 3)

Catherine Sangster - Head of Pronunciation at Oxford Dictionaries - joins The Doctor for a three-part chat on lexicography, pronunciation, tropes, and all things geeky. In this final instalment, we discuss how dictionaries can be subversive, the connection between academia and fandom, and texts that do interesting things with language.

Penned by The Doctor

Interviews

Catherine Sangster, On Dictionaries, Pronunciation, and Geekery (Part 2)

Catherine Sangster - Head of Pronunciation at Oxford Dictionaries - joins The Doctor for a three-part chat on lexicography, pronunciation, tropes, and all things geeky. In Part 2 we discuss some of the technical details regarding pronunciation, dictionaries, and descriptivism v prescriptivism.

Penned by The Doctor

Interviews

Catherine Sangster, On Dictionaries, Pronunciation, and Geekery (Part 1)

Catherine Sangster - Head of Pronunciation at Oxford Dictionaries - joins The Doctor for a three-part chat on lexicography, pronunciation, tropes, and all things geeky. In Part 1 we discuss how words from geekdom find their way into dictionaries, pronunciation, and the significance of accents.

Penned by The Doctor

Foreknowledge

Sherlocked in Samarra

Sherlock's back and so are we, discussing fate, death, and a very important appointment in Samarra.

Penned by The Doctor

Reviews

Royal Shakespeare Company, Cymbeline

The Doctor doesn't write reviews, or read non-fiction. Neither of these is strictly true. Thus, Cymbeline (a not-review).

Penned by The Doctor

Harry Potter & the Paradoxes of Time Travel

Schrödinger’s Hippogriff (Part 2)

This series looks at three famous paradoxes from the philosophy of time travel, as exemplified in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Part 2 introduces the Grandfather Paradox, and more generally, the problem of changing the past.

Penned by The Doctor

Interviews

Adrian Tchaikovsky, On Tropes, Writing, & Children of Time

Adrian Tchaikovsky - acclaimed British fantasy and sci-fi author - chats with The Doctor about tropes, genre, and the nitty gritty of his Arthur C. Clarke-winning Children of Time. Insightful and informative for both fans and newcomers alike.

Penned by The Doctor

Updates

Halloween Art Contest: Dress Up Tetra!

The Epicurean Cure is hosting its first annual Dress-Up-Tetra Art Contest! Show off your artistic talent by depicting - in whichever medium you choose, from the digital to your childhood crayons - the EC's octopus mascot in a tropey outfit for Halloween.

Penned by The Doctor

Articles

“A ferlie he spied wi’ his e’e”: Examining the Apologetic Apostrophe

A brief summary of the apologetic apostrophe and its evolution from marketing tool to characterisation device.

Penned by The Master

Articles

Game for Graduates

In this short and sweet piece, game studies expert Matthew Barr outlines his research on the benefits of video games for learning. Never fear, the justification for hours of gaming is here!

Penned by Matthew Barr (Guest)

Reviews

Kazuo Ishiguro, The Buried Giant

Another thought-provoking review from Rob Maslen, exploring myths, language, memory, and fantasy. Guaranteed to enrich your reading of Ishiguro.

Penned by Rob Maslen (Guest)

Microfiction - Transcending Tropes

Winning Entry: Universal Non-Translation

And now, the winning entry: Pen Tynan's 'Universal Non-Translation'.

Penned by Pen Tynan (Guest)

Microfiction - Transcending Tropes

Editors' Pick: The Mini Darth of Firetop Mountain

Our final editors' pick: Mini Darth's 'Mini Darth of Firetop Mountain'.

Penned by Mini Darth (Guest)

Microfiction - Transcending Tropes

Editors' Pick: Working Beauty

Our second editors' pick: Tired & Tireder's 'Working Beauty'.

Penned by Tired & Tireder (Guest)

Microfiction - Transcending Tropes

Editors' Pick: The Consumptive Heroine

Our first editors' pick: Luca Saitta's 'The Consumptive Heroine'.

Penned by Luca Saitta (Guest)

Updates

Transcending Tropes: And the winner is...

Announcing the winner of our Transcending Tropes Microfiction Contest, and three special mentions from the editors.

Penned by Tetra

Updates

Nine Worlds Wrap-Up

A retrospective of our time at Nine Worlds, with a hint of what's coming soon.

Penned by Tetra

Harry Potter & the Paradoxes of Time Travel

Nor Have I Yet Outrun the Sun (Part 1)

This series looks at three famous paradoxes from the philosophy of time travel, as exemplified in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Part 1 serves as an introduction to the puzzles and the plot that brought them to life.

Penned by The Doctor

Updates

Microfiction Contest: Transcending Tropes

The Epicurean Cure team will be at Nine Worlds GeekFest, with The Doctor running sessions on Dragon Age, Jessica Jones, time travel films, and lessons for academia from video games. In celebration, we're hosting a microfiction contest. From scribbles on a beer coaster to your magnum opus: if it's 300 words or less and on-theme, we want to see it!

Penned by Tetra

Reviews

Ori and the Blind Forest

This spoiler-filled review explores ecocriticism, anthropomorphism, and the author's burgeoning enthusiasm for platformers. The conclusion: Ori is baws-to-the wall awesome.

Penned by The Master

Articles

Language Evolution and Gaming

Evolutionary linguist Sean Roberts outlines three ways his research is influenced by video games – including our understanding of the brain, language evolution, and linguistic diversity. Features Minecraft!

Penned by Sean Roberts (Guest)

Hermione Granger, Pop Culture & the Glottal Stop

Hermione Granger & the Glottal of Fire (Part 2)

This article explores the evolution of T-glottaling in Hermione's dialect between the first and penultimate films of the Harry Potter franchise.

Penned by The Master

Reviews

Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!

What do Ankh Morpork, Blade Runner, and Casablanca have in common? They all feature in Rob Maslen's review of Terry Pratchett's "Guards! Guards!". A warning: Here Be Dragons.

Penned by Rob Maslen (Guest)

Foreknowledge

Introducing the 'F' Word (Part 1)

If someone knows our future, can we still be free? This first instalment concentrates on the difference between it being true that you will perform a given action, and it being necessary, drawing on examples from the Matrix and Harry Potter.

Penned by The Doctor

Hermione Granger, Pop Culture & the Glottal Stop

It's glo/t/al stop, not glo/ʔ/al stop! (Part 1)

This article introduces T-Glottaling and considers its specific role in the wider trope, 'Accent Denotes Class'.

Penned by The Master

Updates

Greetings, lovelies!

Welcome to the Epicurean Cure! Here we celebrate thinking – rigorously, critically, and enthusiastically – about and through the texts we love: from literature to video games, films, comics, poetry, television, and everything in between. Our goal here is to bring together academics and the creators and consumers of pop culture, to engage in dialogue […]

Penned by The Doctor

About us

The Epicurean Cure focuses on our favourite parts of pop culture, from literature to video games, films, comics, poetry, TV, and everything in between.

On this site you’ll find reviews, interviews, the musings of academics and other interesting folk, ways to get involved, and new creative pieces that play with the ideas explored here.

You can find more information about us here.

Get in touch

If you’d like to get involved or send us material for review, you can see our Participate page or email us at participate@epicureancure.com.

If you have any accessibility or other issues with the site, please let us know at webmaster@epicureancure.com.

Otherwise, you can reach us at hello@epicureancure.com (or really anything you like with ‘@epicureancure.com’ at the end – points for creativity).

And, of course, we’re on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr.