Ziad Shihab

Showing all posts tagged "Intertextuality"

Big in pictures too

Earlier this year our local film society screened Yorgos Lanthimos’s gothic mash-up Poor Things (2023) to a packed house. The audience seemed to love it – in an exit poll it earned a 91 per cent approval rating – though a few people voiced misgivings about the hypersexualized representation of its female protagonist, Bella Baxter (Emma Stone). By far the most vociferous and negative response, however, came from a writer friend of mine, who railed against the film’s "betrayal" of its source ma...

Possum Symbolism

Exploring the realm of possum symbolism unveils a complex tapestry of meanings and insights that have captivated human interest for generations. Often misunderstood, the possum holds profound spiritual significance and symbolic value across various cultures. This nocturnal marsupial, emblematic of survival and adaptability, serves as a powerful symbol in the spiritual and symbolic world. Its unique behaviors and attributes offer rich symbolism, from the act of playing dead as a means of self-...

Harry Potter - Aeneas - and the Foundational Text

Venture to the ancient past to explore Harry Potter and the Aeneid as foundational texts. Dr. Mitchell Parks (Knox College) joins us to discuss intertextuality and Harry Potter’s dialogue with classical works like Virgil’s Aeneid. In his chapter in The Ivory Tower, Harry Potter, and Beyond, he examines what it means for a text to be "foundational" in various ways – as a work of literature, on a personal level, for identity groups, as a political foundation.While the Aeneid can tell us about R...

Harry Potter - Aeneas - and the Foundational Text

Venture to the ancient past to explore Harry Potter and the Aeneid as foundational texts. Dr. Mitchell Parks (Knox College) joins us to discuss intertextuality and Harry Potter’s dialogue with classical works like Virgil’s Aeneid. In his chapter in The Ivory Tower, Harry Potter, and Beyond, he examines what it means for a text to be "foundational" in various ways – as a work of literature, on a personal level, for identity groups, as a political foundation.While the Aeneid can tell us about R...

Beyond Good and Evil - Copilot Summary

Beyond Good and Evil - Copilot Summary Certainly! Friedrich Nietzsche's Beyond Good and Evil is a thought-provoking work that challenges traditional morality and delves into the concept of the "superman." Let's explore its key themes and ideas: Aphoristic Structure: The book consists of 296 aphorisms grouped into nine chapters, each ranging from a few sentences to a few pages. These aphorisms cover various topics, making the work both concise and profound.Philosophers and Dogmatism: Nietzsch...

Joseph in the Snow and The Clockmaker

Joseph in the Snow, and The Clockmaker by Berthold Auerbach JOSEPH IN THE SNOW, AND THE CLOCKMAKER. BY AUERBACH. TRANSLATED BY LADY WALLACE IN THREE VOLUMES VOL. III. LONDON: SAUNDERS, OTLEY, AND CO., 66, BROOK STREET, HANOVER SQUARE. 1861. LONDON: PRINTED BY W. CLOWES AND SONS, STAMFORD STREET,
AND CHARING CROSS.CONTENTS OF VOL. III. CHAPTER XXIII. The first Nail knocked in, Peace in the House, and the first Sunday
Guest CHAPTER XXIV. Ancient Heirlooms are dismissed, and a new Tone pr...

Hit Man - All the Famous Killer Easter Eggs

This article contains spoilers for Hit Man."People are disappointed when they learn that hit men don’t really exist," explains Gary Johnson. That might be a surprising statement given that it occurs early on in a movie called Hit Man. Throughout the film, Gary (Glen Powell) dons different disguises to meet with people who want to pay him money (or video games or boats) to kill people. But then again, it’s all a ruse, a police sting operation that mild-mannered teacher Gary does as a side gig....

John Carpenter - They Live

Remembering John Carpenter’s "They Live"Do any of the great movie fight scenes stick in the memory as much as Nada taking on Frank in an alleyway in 1988's They Live? Is Roddy Piper and Keith David’s epic fight scene in John Carpenter’s They Live the greatest of all time? Granted, there have been some epic one on ones over the years: Neo versus Agent Smith in The Matrix, Indiana Jones versus The German Mechanic in Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Bruce Lee versus Han in Enter the Dragon. But do a...

Socratic Irony - examples from film

Socratic irony is a rhetorical technique in which one feigns ignorance (plays stupid) to expose another person’s ignorance or inconsistency.Socrates allegedly used Socratic irony to draw out the knowledge and assumptions of others, leading them to realize their lack of understanding or the flaws in their reasoning.Key Characteristics of Socratic IronyFeigning Ignorance: Socrates often acted as if he did not know the answer to a question, encouraging others to explain it to him.Eliciting Respo...

System of the World - Astronomy and Cosmology in Early Modern Europe

A Treatise of the System of the World, by Sir Isaac Newton. / Public DomainFor decades, historians have grappled with the origins of modern science in early modern Europe.By Dr. Oded Rabinovitch, Senior Lecturer in History, Tel Aviv UniversityAbstractHistorians have long debated the origins of modern science in early modern Europe. Recently, however, scholars pointed to our need to understand how the ‘new philosophy’ became a sustained movement, which did not dissipate over the course of a fe...

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Inches Closer to the Events of the Original Film

Director Wes Ball tells Den of Geek that he remembers seeing the original 1968 sci-fi classic Planet of the Apes on "HBO or something" as a child, watching with his dad. "I’m sure all the concepts probably went over my head," he muses now. "I was probably very young. I don’t remember having a reaction to the Statue of Liberty, but I remember the images very clearly. I remember the feral humans in the grass and the apes on horses and the sets and obviously that [ending] on the beach. That’s wh...

Apocalypse When

Fully: "Apocalypse When: Our Fascination with 'The End' since the Ancient World - Brewminate: A Bold Blend of News and Ideas" Skip to content May 6, 2024 ...

Election - film by Alexander Payne now Relevant as Ever

From Roger Ebert dot com:There’s an ongoing theme in Alexander Payne’s films -- the people we think are the antagonists aren’t actually bad people; we simply force ourselves into the corner of seeing them that way. From the simple-minded and unfortunately coiffed future in-laws in "About Schmidt" to the adulterous characters in "Sideways" and "The Descendants," to the animosity of the student-teacher relationship at the heart of "The Holdovers," these films all feature cases of the protagonis...

Jonah and genre

Jonah and genre - OUPReading a piece of writing—from instruction manual, to sports page, to Op-Ed piece—according to its genre is something we do so naturally that it seems odd to even talk about it. Indeed, the very phrase "reading according to genre" sounds odd itself, entirely too formal, perhaps suitable for some English or Comparative Literature class, but hardly something that normal people do when reading normal things on an everyday basis. While that is true, to some degree at least, ...

Foreshadowing Shapes Cinema and Storytelling

Across the vast field of storytelling history, foreshadowing is a plot device and a tool that successfully shapes the audience’s engagement. Delicate, but strategically placed hints, can add plot twists to any story. From ancient tales to modern blockbusters, foreshadowing has been present in narratives for centuries. Read on to learn more about how it helps shape different films and stories. The Art of Foreshadowing in Cinematic Storytelling        Storytelling image. Source: Faculty Focus ...

Memoir - autotheory - the personal essay — first-personalism as dark literary style

SINCE THE 1920s, the majority of US college applications have required, along with test scores and transcripts, a written personal statement demonstrating "character." That such a subjective quality should be decisive in admissions is an odd, distinctly (though perhaps not uniquely) American practice that, at its genesis, was motivated by antisemitism and racism. As Jerome Karabel writes in The Chosen: The Hidden History of Admission and Exclusion at Harvard, Yale, and Princeton (2005), requi...

I Robot did not begin as an Isaac Asimov Adaptation

Skip to main content Sign Up / Log In SYFY WIRE Features Did You Know? I, Robot Didn’t Actually Start Off as an Isaac Asimov Adaptation Screenwriter Jeff Vintar shares how his 1990s sci-fi script transformed into a Will Smith blockbuster. By Benjamin Bullard & Josh Weiss |Updated Feb 20, 2024, 11:19 AM ET Will Smith in I, Robot (2004) Photo: I, Robot (4/5) Movie CLIP - Part Robot (2004) HD/Movieclips YouTube When I, Robot (streaming at Peacock) finally arrived af...

Outer Limits - IFFR 2024

This article appeared in the February 9, 2024 edition of The Film Comment Letter, our free weekly newsletter featuring original film criticism and writing. Sign up for the Letter here. Under a Blue Sun (Daniel Mann, 2024)Now four years into its run under the leadership of director Vanja Kaludjercic, the International Film Festival Rotterdam has firmly established its new MO. Following a pair of quietly inspired online iterations during the pandemic and last year’s somewhat scattershot return ...

Groundbreaking Sci-Fi Franchise to Subvert Its Own Canon again

— 20th Century Fox The biggest twist of the original 1968 Planet of the Apes was actually very different from the Pierre Boulle novel, and that twist has since determined the direction of every single Apes adaptation, reboot, and sequel. But as the latest trailer for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes suggests, the best bet for this high-concept planet might be to undo the oldest twist of all time with... the original twist.During the 2024 Super Bowl, Fox dropped a new trailer for the latest i...

Groundbreaking Sci-Fi Franchise to Subvert Its Own Canon again

— 20th Century Fox The biggest twist of the original 1968 Planet of the Apes was actually very different from the Pierre Boulle novel, and that twist has since determined the direction of every single Apes adaptation, reboot, and sequel. But as the latest trailer for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes suggests, the best bet for this high-concept planet might be to undo the oldest twist of all time with... the original twist.During the 2024 Super Bowl, Fox dropped a new trailer for the latest i...

Puzzle Platform Games

Some things just go together. Cereal and milk. Cake and ice cream. Puzzle games and platformer titles. The third combo may not be as well known to non-gamer audiences, but that's all about to change. On any console, puzzle platformers offer a high degree of entertainment and satisfaction to players.  The two genres match because they both offer a mixture of exploration and ingenuity. Jumping from one place to the next is fun, but figuring out where to jump is even better! Puzzler platform gam...

Cleaners in Film and Literature

Cleaners in Film and Literature About The Third Man, a film by Carol Reed that features a cleaner. The Third Man is a 1949 film noir that tells the story of Holly Martins, an American writer who arrives in post-war Vienna to meet his friend Harry Lime, only to find out that he has died in a mysterious car accident. Martins decides to investigate Lime's death and discovers that he was involved in a black market scheme that involved selling diluted penicillin to hospitals, causing many death...