Speech Bubbles

When Actions Are Words

How certain speech acts perform actions and alter our social reality.
The iconic clock scene from Safety Last! (1923)

When People Talked at the Movies

Being silent in a movie theater is a learned habit.
Music act Neurosis performing live at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple, New York, January 19, 2013 - (Copyright Tim Bugbee/The Hell Gate/Corbis / APImages)

Heavy Metal’s Classical Roots: Neurosis’ Symphony of Sludge

Relapse Records recently reissued Neurosis' famous "Times of Grace," and the album is a sadomasochistic symphony.
Movie poster for The Big Lebowski

Aggression, Ethics, and War in ‘The Big Lebowski’

It's more than just entertainment. It reflects the feelings of an era.
MST3K: This Island Earth

Mystery Science Theater 3000 May Be Coming Back

The smartest dumbest show ever created for television.
William Shakespeare's King Lear

When King Lear Was a Rom-Com

The King Lear people saw for almost two centuries was very different from Shakespeare's.
The many faces of James Bond. From the top left: Sean Connery, George Lazenby, David Niven, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig.

Sean Connery - By Mieremet, Rob / Anefo [CC BY-SA 3.0 nl], via <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/nl/deed.en" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a>

George Lazenby - via jamesbond.wikia.com/wiki/James_Bond_(George_Lazenby)

David Niven - "David Niven 4 Allan Warren" by Allan warren - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:David_Niven_4_Allan_Warren.jpg#/media/File:David_Niven_4_Allan_Warren.jpg" target="_blank">Commons</a>

Roger Moore - By Allan warren (Own work) [<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0" target="_blank">CC</a> BY-SA 3.0 or <a href="http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html" target="_blank">GFDL</a>], via Wikimedia Commons

Timothy Dalton - By Molendijk, Bart / Anefo [<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/nl/deed.en" target="_blank">CC</a> BY-SA 3.0 nl], via Wikimedia Commons

Pierce Brosnan - Georges Biard [<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0" target="_blank">CC</a> BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Daniel Craig - Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Daniel_Craig_-_Film_Premiere_%22Spectre%22_007_-_on_the_Red_Carpet_in_Berlin_(22387409720)_(cropped).jpg#/media/File:Daniel_Craig_-_Film_Premiere_%22Spectre%22_007_-_on_the_Red_Carpet_in_Berlin_(22387409720)_(cropped).jpg" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a>

Did James Bond Invent Globalization?

Ian Fleming may have understood international relations better than academics.
The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo



Art and the Spoils of War

The Nazis weren't the first looters of European art treasures.
Miles Davis at the Nice Jazz Festival in July 1989



Do We Overstate Miles Davis’ Genius?

There are things about Miles Davis we never discuss. Maybe it's time we did.