Things to Watch

Parasite (2019) is a world-renowned film, winning the Academy Award for Best Picture and Palme d’Or. However, it presents an interesting philosophical outlook that is worth analyzing, especially as it relates to pervasive societal issues and inequality. The purpose of this post will not to be to give a summary of the movie but to discuss the philosophical background behind the film and the themes it concerns. The main philosophical issues displayed in the film are class conflict, social inequality, and wealth disparity. As the film progresses, it is easy to notice how capitalism and the exploitation created by it [...]

Despite mentioning it previously, we have to analyze the extensive work of queer theory. However, it’s important to note that queer theory covers a vast amount of concept and ideas, so this post will focus on providing a brief overview and historical background of this rich area of study. Queer Theory became really defined in the 1990s as a mixture of feminism, post-structuralism, gay-lesbian movements, AIDS/HIV activism, and different practices. In hopes of representation of non-sexual practice in discourses, queer theories impacted government groups who were provoked due to a lack of action of AIDS and HIV action. The AIDS [...]

This movie is one that hits close to home, considering the fact that my interest in philosophy, argumentation, and persuasion came about through my introduction to debate. The Great Debaters, starring Denzel Washington, tells the underdog story of how Wiley College, a historically black college, attempted to compete with the white-male dominated institution of Harvard University in a speech and debate competition. The timeframe? The 1930s, during the height of the Jim Crow Era. This was no easy task. Not only were the debaters already disadvantaged due to their lack of resources, but anti-black racism was so pervasive that the [...]

While we often believe of learning philosophy through reading large and abstract books that can be daunting, philosophy is not simply limited to what we read from the text. Exploring philosophical principles and opportunities for discussion abound in movies. One that I've watched recently is "Firelight", starring Cuba Gooding Jr and Q'orianka Kilcher. “Firelight” tells the story of young female inmates who find a new lease on life by becoming volunteer firefighters. As the movie transpires, the audience becomes immersed in the upbringing that these young women come from, many from a very troubled background riddled with violence, drugs, and neglect [...]