But we can see an interesting trend: as the number of epidemics tails off, so – generally – do the number of major moral panics. We have the red scare, sure, and prohibition and the devil’s music, and filthy literature – but, generally speaking as the number of epidemics tapers off, the moral panics become fewer and slightly more grounded.
Read MoreThere is a bit of generational discourse that forms the backbone of the plot. The older generation knew prosperity, they knew the value of a hard day's work and that if you put in your time you should get what is due to you. The younger generation knew only the loss of that prosperity, a town where local institutions close down, where jobs are few and far between.
Read MoreThe problem with railing against nostalgia as a cultural phenomenon is that when you experience it yourself, you feel like a phony.
Read MoreThese are not the steps to creativity, nor are they merely tools that you use as you proceed in your own acts of creation. They are options that I hope you can make use of as you work on your art. Anyone who purports to offer you a foolproof guide to creativity is just as suspect as someone who is offering you a foolproof guide to critical thinking. Anyone you believe on this topic is going to (unintentionally?) sabotage you.
Read MoreA man like Jeffrey Epstein satisfies his desires flagrantly and nauseatingly because he believes his status protects him from repercussion. A man like Elliott Rodger commits a mass murder because he feels he has been shamed. The cause common to the two incidents is status, and a lack of concern for women and their autonomy and safety is just the vector, not the cause.
Read More
