Andrei Tarkovsky once said, “It is a mistake to talk about the artist looking for his subject. In fact, the subject grows within him like a fruit and begins to demand expression. It is like childbirth.” This means that art springs from somewhere other than the controlling elements of the conscious, rational mind. In such a […]
Tarkovsky and Stalker: In the Zone Read More »
SCENE I Dell is returning from a business trip and is shown tiredly walking to her car at Reagan National airport. She fumbles for her keys, unlocks the car, throws her suitcase in the back seat, collapses into the driver’s seat, shuts her door, then silence. Snow falls lightly outside her window. She starts the
In Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human, Harold Bloom argues that Shakespeare did more than just shape the structure and content of the English language—he created human nature as we understand it today. As James Shapiro explains, “Shakespeare remains so popular and his most memorable characters feel so real because through them Shakespeare invented something that hadn’t
Ten Reasons to Enjoy Shakespeare’s Works Read More »
Stanley Kubrick’s film The Shining is tricky to describe, much less to pin down to a genre. Notice that I don’t just say “The Shining” or even “Stephen King’s The Shining,” mostly because, although King’s novel is unusual, effective, worthy of discussion in itself, and one of the scariest books I’ve ever read, Kubrick’s film version of it is possibly even
Room 237: Navigating the Maze of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining Read More »
Cast Yale Lawfirm, one of the ten leading New York doctors Bruce, a Gordon setter Mrs. Lawfirm, Baby Lawfirm, Baby Lawfirm, friends to Bruce Stanley Dubie, a spackle and grout man One Messenger Another Messenger Kate Smith, once one or another’s mistress Chorus, people waiting for a bus Act One Scene One The set suggests
Lawfirm: A Religious Play Read More »
The Unofficial Organ II:1 [Translator’s note: In February of 1933, the Nazi party faced an election which threatened to disappoint their hopes. Shortly before the election, the Reichstag, home of the German Chamber of Deputies, caught fire in twenty places simultaneously. The Nazis instantly blamed the Communists, though it was widely suspected that the Nazis
The Lost Jessel/Donuts Transcripts Read More »