R.I.P. “proto-modernism”

If you’ve ever taken a college-level English course on literature written before 1900, the odds are pretty good that you’ve encountered a strange beast known as “the proto-modernist text.” Very often, this is… Read More →

the new aesthetic?

Source: new-aesthetic.tumblr.com via Joseph on Pinterest “ Perhaps you have already observed that in Casablanca, life is cheap. *** A few days ago, theorist Ian Bogost published an article in The Atlantic that features this… Read More →

Whedon’s Dollhouse: My Theory Is That It’s All Real

Antisocial personality disorder is characterized by at least 3 of the following: Callous unconcern for the feelings of others and lack of the capacity for empathy. Gross and persistent attitude of irresponsibility and… Read More →

Zizek the Embarrassment

(x-posted to The Valve) “Resistance is Surrender” -Headline of Slavoj Zizek’s new article for the London Review of Books There is a telling moment in the film Zizek! where Zizek discusses his own… Read More →

I’m McLovin It: Sexuality in the Age of Advertising

(x-posted to The Valve) The setting is a mojitos-and-burgers place in the Lower East Side: shaded, pricey, with outdoor seating and fresh guacamole. I’m there with two friends, two other women I’ve just… Read More →

In Response to Projekt Enlightenment

Dear readers, I’m still drowning in work, and unable to post as I would like. Still, I try to keep up how I can, and just commented over at Projekt Enlightenment in response… Read More →

The Solution Is The Soapbox

The conversation about art, pleasure, discipline and craft is afoot at The Valve, and I thought I’d reprint my long comment from there over here, redacted slightly. I like how it ends. -JK… Read More →

The Assault on Hedonism, Part 2: Nietzsche, Pater, Marcus

(x-posted to The Valve) At the end of my last post on hedonism, I wrote: “At least, since we have to start somewhere, to start by tackling the relationship between consumption and pleasure,… Read More →

Derision Does Not Equal Theory

At the enjoyable, smartly written theory blog Antigram, Daniel has posted a new commentary by Jacques-Alain Miller (one of the executors of Jacques Lacan’s estate) on Google. Here’s an excerpt: Google serves a… Read More →