Black Swan: The Incorporation of the Female Shadow

Meta-mythological stories tell ancient myths in a modern setting. As such, they can be very powerful and expressive in literature and film. They are able to transport deep truths about the human condition in a modern, accessible way. Black Swan, written by Mark Heyman and directed by Darren Aronofsky, adopts the Swan Lake myth to tell the story of the ambitious ballet dancer Nina, played … Continue reading Black Swan: The Incorporation of the Female Shadow

Tenet Explained, Part 2: The Prestige and Temporal Pincers

This article is the second part of a series about Christopher Nolan’s Tenet. The subject of this essay is rather complex and hard to follow without a solid knowledge of the movie. If you haven’t read part 1 yet, you can (and should) read it here. After an introduction into the general aspects of Tenet, this second article will dig deeper into the details of … Continue reading Tenet Explained, Part 2: The Prestige and Temporal Pincers

Raised by Wolves – When Ancient Mythology meets Science Fiction

Raised by Wolves is a science fiction series created for HBO MAX, that begins as an Adam and Eve story on the planet Kepler 22b. Two androids, named Mother and Father, land on the deserted planet and give birth to 6 children, who are supposed to be the last human beings in this corner of the universe. The show is written by Aaron Guzikowksi (Prisoners, … Continue reading Raised by Wolves – When Ancient Mythology meets Science Fiction

Tenet Explained, Part 1: The Concept of Time and Intuition

The concept of time is a favourite and recurring topic in Christopher Nolan’s movies. Memento, Inception and Interstellar, as different movies as they are, share the common ground of exploring the phenomenon of time in different ways. Tenet, Christopher Nolan’s newest masterpiece, is an espionage thriller that delivers the director’s deepest approach on the subject so far. What is Tenet? First of all: Tenet is … Continue reading Tenet Explained, Part 1: The Concept of Time and Intuition

The Expanse Season 5 roundup

It’s a wrap! The Expanse’s Season 5 has come to an end – and what an end it was. With showrunner Naren Shankar’s screen adaptation of Ty Frank and Daniel Abraham’s novels, the science fiction genre finally has a new epic show that delivers everything a true sci-fi fan’s heart can desire. In The Expanse’s story of increasingly epic scale, the system-altering events are inherently … Continue reading The Expanse Season 5 roundup

King, Warrior, Magician, Lover. An archetypal approach to Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones’ season 8, the long awaited final of the show, has left millions of viewers disappointed for a variety of reasons. Almost all great and long expected events ended in an unsatisfying way. But as much the meagre screenwriting of the 8th and final season impacted the storytelling, it did not actually impair the outcome of the story. While many fans were particularly … Continue reading King, Warrior, Magician, Lover. An archetypal approach to Game of Thrones

The Expanse Review: “Gaugamela”

Every show has its own “Red Wedding” – or at least something that comes close to that. Technically speaking this is called a “plot point”. Plot points spin the story “around into another direction”. But the deeper reason for the success of such episodes lies not so much in the key scene itself, but in the inconspicuous buildup of story and characters in the preceding … Continue reading The Expanse Review: “Gaugamela”

Between Chaos and Order: a symbolic perspective on Dr. Zhivago

Dr. Zhivago, Boris Pasternak’s great novel and the thereon based movie, is much more than just a love story. Although being an undoubtetly principal aspect of the plot, the love story has more to it than meets the eye. Set in the turmoils of Russia’s 1910’s, it shows us the uprise of Bolshevikism during WWI and its pursuit to create a perfect political state, to … Continue reading Between Chaos and Order: a symbolic perspective on Dr. Zhivago