Jacob’s Ladder (Adrian Lyne, 1990): A Meditation on Making Peace With Death

Jacob’s Ladder (1990) – directed by Adrian Lyne and written by Bruce Joel Rubin – is, in my opinion, one of the greatest psychological horror films ever made. It is a multilayered film that draws on many spiritual and religious influences and themes. Rubin, the screenwriter, is also a meditation teacher and has a long-standing…

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The Aesthetics of Narcissism and Failure in Bad Movies

Part of what makes bad movies (here I mean ‘so bad it’s good’ movies) appealing is the sincerity with which they are created. The directors sincerely believe that their choices, and the resulting film, are good, in a conventional sense, and artistically serious. We can contrast this intention and belief with the perspective of the…

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Endless Variation: Asemic Glyphs and the Intimation of Infinity

The uniqueness of asemic writing is its ability to give specific impressions – to transmit meanings, concepts, and abstract notions through word-like characters. Semantically meaningless in essence but suggestive of meaning through its similarity to an actual writing system, these characters become open to a diversity of interpretations and imaginings. And as an art form,…

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Book Review: Why It’s OK to Love Bad Movies by Matthew Strohl

This is a book I didn’t know I needed. But I’m interested in both philosophy and bad movies, so when I found out there was a book making a philosophical case for bad movie love, I had to get it immediately. Why It’s OK to Love Bad Movies (2022) – written by philosopher of art…

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An Interview With Tim Gaze, a Pioneer of Asemic Writing

​​Tim Gaze is an Australian artist who currently resides in the Adelaide Hills. Since the late 90s, he has been an active poet, writer, publisher, and performer. He is also notable as an artist specialising in asemic writing (expressive mark-making that has the appearance of a language).  In 1997, Gaze, along with fellow artist Jim…

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