Fiction is how we transmit best practices

Analysis

A deeper view into shows and what they mean to us.

After seeing a show we should make an attempt to understand it more deeply, and ask why it meant something to us. For this we will perform a process of abstraction and synthesis; analysis.

Show Notes

Live notes of shows we are watching.

These are the freeform notes that I record on shows as I watch them and might not be of interest to anyone, but you are welcome to submit a pull request if you have anything to add.

Books

Books with philosophical content, or on philosophical content.

Fiction books with interesting philosophical content, and non-fiction books about philosophical narratives.

Nominations

Shows we've seen and liked, but have not yet fully analyzed.

These are shows that we are interested in, and probably liked for a variety of reason, and that we would like to pursue farther. We put them in this section to see which ones others might find interesting too.

Podcasts

Audio podcasts of articles

Hour-long podcasts discuss some of our best reviews and analysis of popular films.

Versus

Fiction is the principle battlefield for philosophical ideas. It sets the stage for the other battlefields. Two characters or two different shows will make two different cases for a way to act.

Shows such as LOST and The Matrix broke new ground on presenting philosophical questions and answers in new storytelling methods and dramatic “footage”. New technologies and ecosystems of film production created an environment that was fertile for richer stories and producers demonstrated that the demand was there too. After LOST especially, the dramatic storytelling landscape has become much more accepting of presenting philosophical and ethical content explicitly, often with shows titled with their philosophical content, and characters named after the philosopher most famous for presenting or originating the philosophical domain.

The Conversation

January 1, 1011

The Big Sleep

January 1, 1011

MARTY I always thought we were different than them, those people they work for.

Tchaikovsky

January 1, 1011

A big arms summit is coming up. That is what all the operations are about. Beaman finds out that Oleg Burov is in town. Elizabeth talks to her old aqauntance who is working on the summit and he says that the Russians have a week hand. Gennadi is having trouble with his wife Sophia. Beaman plays marriage counselor. Elizabeth is playing the part of a nurse. The wife is an artist.

Stag

January 1, 1011

Reparations

January 1, 1011

The season opens with establishment of several character’s drive, or long-term intent, but it also explores the two main character’s motivation. WENDY: Is this what we wanted? Another man is dead. MARTY: People make choices, Wendy, and choices have consequences. WENDY: Still, you could admit that it was good for us. It’s dificult to tell from this exchange, which was featured in the Season 2 Trailer, if Wendy is saying that the fact that it was good for them poses a problem, which must be “admitted”.

Passed Pawn

January 1, 1011

Holographic appiritions come from the French guy.

The androids have algorithms recorded in devices, which can deliver the message. Chirac does that, but also holographic messages.

Removing “outliers”, weeding them out, is a central part of this episode.

They keep telling a story about “the plan for the world”, “the new narrative”. Some people can imagine a world with more than one mind in it.

Optimal Play

January 1, 1011

Memento

January 1, 1011

Memento The story is told in reverse order. This creates in the viewer’s mind the same sensation of memory that the protagonist experiences, because of his cognitive disability. We can analyze a cognitive process that we usually do automatically. The protagonist eventually finds himself rewriting history to maintain his moral narrative. He is on a quest, to find and punish his wife’s killer. His tools are message artifacts he has produced in the past to remind him of his true mission, and to give meaning to his life.

Magical Thinking

January 1, 1011

00:43:00 Axel explores weather he is a sociapath with Wendy Rhoades. WENDY: It is a crucial time. Your switchplate is removed, your wires are exposed. Your blue ones go where your red ones are, that’s for sure. a normal person wouldn’t engage in the behavior. A sociopath wouldn’t give a shit. You’re somwhere in between. your practiced at turning off your emotions. DO it enough its a pattern, keep going, they die.

Indian Four

January 1, 1011

CHUCK: Sometimes the best moments follow right after the worst. Chuck is a human. He has human feelings. In this conversation about his marital meetings he reveals that he has a heart, and that he can grow in some way. He is a living, breathing antagonist. DACA: I swore an oath. The same oath you swore. I like nothing more than finding people who violate that oath and making sure they never work in the legal profession again.