Category Archives: Theory

Two Recent Publications Of Mine About Games

Posted on 11/05/2018 by

I have two newish academic publications that you might want to check out if you’re the kind of person who enjoys academic publications. The first is a piece about speculation and video game play that is published in Science Fiction Film … Continue reading →

Posted in Theory, Video Games | Tagged , , , , ,

On At The Existentialist Café

Posted on 06/19/2018 by

I. I’ve been reading At The Existentialist Café a chapter at a time for a couple months now. It’s a weird way to read a book but, you know, things get in the way when you’re writing a dissertation. I barreled through … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Theory | Tagged , , , ,

Alfred Bester on What a Science Fiction Author Does

Posted on 05/22/2017 by

The mature science fiction author doesn’t merely tell a story about Brick Malloy vs The Giant Yeastmen from Gethsemane. He makes a statement through a story. What is the statement? Himself, his own dimension and depth. His statement is seeing … Continue reading →

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Bernard De Koven on approaching death

Posted on 04/03/2017 by

If you want to do something for me or because of me, grieving is not what I need. What I need is for you to continue your play/work however you can. Play games. Play the kind of games I like to … Continue reading →

Posted in Annihilation, Video Games | Tagged , ,

Consuming Problematic Media

Posted on 09/26/2016 by

I was re-reading Alexander Galloway’s Protocol: How Control Exists After Decentralization earlier today, and I came across this evocation of Magnus Enzensberger’s theory of the media: Taking his cue from Marx’s sometimes sarcastic rhetoric, Enzensberger offers readers the following political … Continue reading →

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George Orwell on Atrocities

Posted on 09/14/2016 by

But unfortunately the truth about atrocities is far worse than that they are lied about and made into propaganda. The truth is that they happen. The fact often adduced as a reason for skepticism–that the same horror stories come up … Continue reading →

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On X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)

Posted on 06/27/2016 by

I. SOME HISTORY Fox’s X-Men franchise has had more hits than misses. 2000’s X-Men was an excellent introduction to the world and the film franchise’s core character Wolverine. Following three years later, X2 solidified many of the themes that director Bryan Singer evoked in the first … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Theory | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment