Having recently railed against the popularity of superhero movies, I was struck by the themes in the new animated film, Incredibles 2, a satire of the superhero genre. One major theme is about people’s problematic desires for superheroes. A speech by the villain summarizes the critique of people’s dependence on superheroes. She says: “Screenslaver interrupts … Continue reading What’s Wrong with Superheroes?
I don’t understand people from your planet. Many Americans and other earthlings are obsessed with superhero movies. Writer Mark Bowden recently noted that “Seven of the 11 top-grossing films of 2017 were superhero movies, based on characters first introduced in comic books.” That doesn’t even include the gigazillion epic hero movies that are not based … Continue reading An Alien Perspective
Virtually everyone in our field knows about the wonderful book, Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most, by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, and Sheila Heen. It focuses on everyday conversations and not just crystalized disputes. It describes how people can better understand what is (and is not) happening in their interactions, identify erroneous assumptions, … Continue reading Difficult Conversations in the Modern Era of (Anti-)Social Media
People from your planet (at least most people in the US) seem to love movies that feature one-dimensional characters and fit into a generic plot-line, preferably with lots of righteous violence. If you would like to see a moving film that conveys complex emotions more realistically, I highly recommend The Theory of Everything. … Continue reading An Unusually Fine Film
