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.
Film
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'.
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.
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!
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’.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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...
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Nine Worlds Wrap-Up
A retrospective of our time at Nine Worlds, with a hint of what's coming soon.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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'.