Author Archive

The danger is that we start using the word “we” in slogans without having done the work to create this “we.” We have spent so much of our lives treating so many of our problems as personal, as our own, that the myth that we are all alone with our problems has become something of a reality.

Intelligent Design rehashes old criticisms of evolution I have never understood how, in the 21st century, there could possibly be any debate about whether Darwinian evolution provides the best explanation as to the origin and development of life. How could such an elegant, well-supported theory fail to be universally recognized as valid? How could people [...]

Why overcoming our apathy about conflicts abroad is impossible By Shaun Poust In 1991, French thinker Jean Baudrillard published a collection of essays on the first Gulf War entitled The Gulf War Did Not Take Place. Baudrillard argues that what was called “the Gulf War” was not “war” according to any of the usual definitions [...]

A note on society’s huge messes By Shaun Poust Cleanup is on the agenda. We need to clean up the air; it’s full of pollution. We need to clean up Wall Street; it’s full of irresponsible investors. We need to clean up our streets; they’re full of criminals. We need to clean up Washington; it’s [...]

By Shaun Poust My home is drowning in the warm flood of a summer night—I am preserved in my room, at my desk. I can see the night sky through the windows from where I sit in my chair, but it remains a distant background, an untouchable inky ocean that eats the world outside but [...]

By Shaun Poust Capitalism: A Love Story is Michael Moore versus capitalism. It is funny, well-made, touching at times; but you shouldn’t see it for these reasons. With a movie like this, we should seriously consider what it says. Moore exclusively focuses on what capitalism has done for the past century. This means he must [...]

Seek the truth, inform the public and tell both sides to every story, even if the other side is bullshit: these are the tent poles of news journalism. Here’s why that foundation is illogical.

By Shaun Poust When I met New York Times film critic A.O. Scott, I caught him in what he called a “moment of vanity.” He was outside Emerson Suites taking a picture with his phone of the sign labeled “A.O. SCOTT, EMERSON SUITES, 7:30.” Apparently, speaking at IC is a bigger deal than I thought. [...]

Fox Searchlight 2008 By Shaun Poust James Bond, that testosterone-mad, gadget-hording, reckless, chauvinistic, super-violent super spy, was only ever likable if you understood him as a caricature. View Bond seriously and he, the ultimate male fantasy, looks pretty monstrous. That said, I’ve been puzzled with the new direction of the 007 franchise, of which Quantum [...]