Author: George J. Aulisio
-
The Oresteia: Justice, Revenge, and Societal Order
Aeschylus’s The Oresteia is a foundational text in Western literature. Written in Greece in the 5th century B.C.E., the trilogy grapples with fundamental questions about justice, revenge, and the role of law in society. Comprising Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, and The Eumenides, the plays are set in the aftermath of the Trojan War and explore the transition from a world…
-
Captain America: Brave New World—A Superhero Film with Political Weight
I typically don’t start posts with a spoiler warning, but since Captain America: Brave New World (2025; Dir. Onah) is still new, I’ll note that while I’ll keep spoilers to a minimum, some are unavoidable. Brave New World arrives at a time of peak superhero fatigue, with critics eager to dismiss it. Yet, while the film isn’t groundbreaking,…
-
The Name of the Rose: Libraries, Censorship, and the Fear of Laughter
The Name of the Rose (1986; dir. Annaud) is a multinational production starring Sean Connery. The film is an adaptation of Umberto Eco’s debut novel of the same name. Eco was a professor of semiotics, a medievalist, and a philosopher who held academic positions at several American and Italian universities throughout his prolific career. I…
-
The Many Faces of Forgiveness in Shrinking
Apple TV’s Shrinking balances comedy with deep emotional truths. At its core, the series explores grief, centering on therapist Jimmy Laird (Jason Segel) as he and his daughter Alice (Lukita Maxwell) struggle with the loss of Jimmy’s wife and Alice’s mother, Tia. But as the series progresses, another crucial theme takes center stage—the role of forgiveness in…
-
What World War Z Teaches Us About Global Responsibility
When World War Z (2013; dir. Forster) hit theaters, I was expecting a typical zombie movie that would quickly fade from memory. Instead, it’s a film I’ve found myself returning to several times over the last decade. The movie also inspired me to listen to the audiobook by Max Brooks, which features a fantastic voice cast. Though…
-
Despair and Resilience in The Midnight Library and The Beggar Student
Both The Midnight Library (2020) by Matt Haig and The Beggar Student (1940) by Osamu Dazai tackle despair, but they do so in starkly different ways. I picked up both of these books serendipitously. I miscalculated the amount of time I needed in NYC and had several free hours before my bus left for home, so I stopped by…
-
The Existential Lens of H.G. Wells’s The War of the Worlds: Alien Visitation and Our Humanity
Recently, I had surgery in New York City and wanted to have a small novel with me in case I was admitted for an overnight stay. I chose H.G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds because it felt fitting, given all the buzz about unknown drone activity over the East Coast, particularly in New Jersey and metro…
-
Severance Season 1: Identity, Subjugation, and the Frightening Vision of Lumon
Apple’s Severance has a unique premise that presents itself in an outlandish but entertaining manner, and while I, like many, enjoyed the masterful storytelling and acting, I also found it to be unnervingly plausible. Created by Dan Erickson and directed by Ben Stiller and Aoife McArdle, the show takes us into an expansive subterranean office…
-
Godzilla Minus One: Theory, Strategy, and the Philosophy of Uncertainty
When Godzilla Minus One (2023; dir. Takashi Yamazaki) dropped, it rejuvenated the most venerated kaiju after he had been brought to a new low by several schlocky American Godzilla stories like Godzilla vs. Kong. Minus One did this through its unique styling, bringing the story back to post-WWII Japan, and, most importantly, by putting forth a heartfelt story revolving…
-
Horror Double Feature—The Cure and The Wailing
Japanese and Korean cinema have delivered some of the most haunting and thought-provoking horror films in global cinema. Two standout examples, The Cure (1997; dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa) from Japan and The Wailing (2016; dir. Na Hong-jin) from South Korea, represent the pinnacle of their respective traditions. Both films explore violence, belief, and the unknown, but their narrative structure, style,…
The Curated Life Worth Reading 