Blog Posts

Stifling Order or Cataclysmic Chaos: A Lesson on Institutions from Loki

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“Stifling order or cataclysmic chaos” are the two options offered in the finale to Disney Plus’s new series Loki.This stifling order comes in the form of institutional reign with little regard to the individual needs of people. The alternative, however, with nothing in between, is the horror of anarchy. At least this is what the institution… Continue reading Stifling Order or Cataclysmic Chaos: A Lesson on Institutions from Loki

Inverting Transformation: How Encanto Shows Weakness Is Good

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In Disney’s recent release Encanto, the concept of transformation is inverted. Our typical view of transformation is akin to our superhero origin stories. For example, Captain America is weak and scrawny, but once he is injected with a special serum, he becomes the muscle-rippling hero we all know and love. As a culture, we tend to… Continue reading Inverting Transformation: How Encanto Shows Weakness Is Good

Lost in Space: A Modern Christmas Carol

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Lost in Space is an exciting space-travel show (based on the 1960s show) with a surprising Christmasy theme.  To be fair, I do not recall a single time in the Netflix series Lost in Space where they mention Christmas. There are no religious undertones within the show either. In fact, it’s a very decidedly humanistic message that focuses on the strength of character and intellect to win the day. Despite this, there is a clear “Christmas Carol”ian theme–the possibility of change.