Comprehending Horror through Animation: The Art of the Anti-War Animated Movie

Animation fascinates me. Like painters, animators can create images of stunning beauty. Being free from the limitations of human actors or physical locations, animators can also depart from strict realism and create images that are fantastical, metaphorical, or otherwise stylized. Animation’s stylization can allow animated films to deal with darker, more serious topics such as … Continue reading Comprehending Horror through Animation: The Art of the Anti-War Animated Movie →

Act before We Reach “Midnight”: The Need to Seek a Cease-Fire in Ukraine

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists recently announced that they had adjusted their “Doomsday Clock,” a symbolic measure of threats to humanity, to 90 seconds to “midnight”—that is, global catastrophe. This current status is the closest to midnight the Doomsday Clock has been in its 75-odd-year history. This dire prediction, the Bulletin has explained, is … Continue reading Act before We Reach “Midnight”: The Need to Seek a Cease-Fire in Ukraine →

Overlooked Conflicts: The Grisly Toll of Ethiopia’s Civil War

Although the war between Ukraine and Russia has dominated the news, other countries have been suffering through their own violent conflicts in recent years. In this and future pieces, I will highlight contemporary wars and other conflicts that are too often overlooked. NOTE: This piece discusses sexual violence and other human rights violations. Ethiopia has … Continue reading Overlooked Conflicts: The Grisly Toll of Ethiopia’s Civil War →