Layers of Illusion and Schizophrenia in Christopher Nolan’s Inception

Despite its unquestionable complexity, Inception is probably the single fan-favourite Christopher Nolan film. This might be due to Leonardo DiCaprio starring in it, but it is certainly also due to the captivating topic of going through multiple layers of dreams within the human consciousness. In this essay I am going to attempt an inherently psychological approach at Inception, focusing on illusion and the loss of … Continue reading Layers of Illusion and Schizophrenia in Christopher Nolan’s Inception

The Father’s Love Beyond Time and Space in Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar

Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar is one of those movies who have captivated their audience in all possible dimensions: the interest in scientific theories, the monumental visuals filmed in IMAX, the stellar performances of the starring actors, the deep, meaningful storytelling and the awe-inspiring soundtrack, that has swiftly risen up to the ranks of the most played soundtracks in the world. In all these aspects, Interstellar is … Continue reading The Father’s Love Beyond Time and Space in Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar

The Self-Sabotaging Hero: What I Learned from Rewatching Top Gun after 32 years

Top Gun is arguably the most iconic movie of the 1980’s and still one of the coolest movies ever produced up to date. F-14 Tomcat fighter jets taking off from aircraft carriers; an inspring soundtrack with invigorating guitar tunes; fast motorbikes and fancy sunglasses; sweating, muscle-packed bodies playing beach volleyball, and – last but not least – a young, shiny, and cocky Tom Cruise. It … Continue reading The Self-Sabotaging Hero: What I Learned from Rewatching Top Gun after 32 years

Struggling Between Order and Chaos: Beth Harmon’s 7 Moves in “The Queen’s Gambit”

The success of Allan Scott’s Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit has been a surprise in many aspects. It took the Scottish TV-producer 30 years and 9 rewrites to finally find a company willing to produce the show. The most frequent reason given when studios rejected the project, was that “nobody would be interested in chess.” Before The Queen’s Gambit came out on Netflix, nobody could … Continue reading Struggling Between Order and Chaos: Beth Harmon’s 7 Moves in “The Queen’s Gambit”

The burning hand in Dune’s “Gom Jabbar”- and in Fight Club’s “Chemical Burn”-scene

The Gom Jabbar scene from Dune and the Chemical Burn scene from Fight Club share strong structural similarities. The most general similarity between these two scenes is that both Paul Atreides and the narrator from Fight Club (“Jack”) are being tested. They are being tested to suffer pain in their right hand. This similarity is what raises my interest to compare these two scenes and … Continue reading The burning hand in Dune’s “Gom Jabbar”- and in Fight Club’s “Chemical Burn”-scene

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