Artistic visions of young men & women in an America riven by tumult
Dune, Foundation, Green Knight
Over the last couple of months, I’ve publishes a series of essays over at Law & Liberty reflecting on pop culture—the most impressive things in our pop culture now are reflections on the problem of youth facing up to decadence, trying to make sense of the American people, of technological changes, &, indeed, of adulthood, even manliness. I’m grateful to my L&L editors for committing to a series of six essays, indeed more to come…, & I’m pleased to say that their judgment was proved right—these essays were a success with the educated, conservative audience of L&L; being popular in that gathering is no small sign of good sense, a kind of praise which I am glad to accept, since it’s offered freely by people who deliberate before they make their choices & who stand to gain nothing by flattering me with their attention. Further, these essays have also been a success on Twitter, which is in one way a descent into madness, but in another way—it’s a lot of us young & middle-aged men trying to figure out what the hell is happening in America. At least the urgency of the matter recommends the judgment of my interlocutors on Twitter. So that’s about what I can say to excuse myself for bringing these writings to your attention—I’d like to show them to you all together now, rather than piecemeal, since it’s the end of the year, a good time for reflection & a good time to look ahead as well, to what the artists I’m writing about are trying to predict, to forestall or to encourage.
Here’s my series of essays, comparing notable writers & moviemakers to reveal what the visionaries envision by way of options for young men & young women in this generation.
Here’s Isaac Asimov’s Foundation & the new David S. Goyer AppleTV series.
Here’s Frank Herbert’s Dune & the two movies made out of it, David Lynch’s & now Denis Villeneuve’s.
Finally, here’s a bonus—moving from sci-fi to fantasy—The Green Knight movie & the Sir Gawain poem on which it is based.
Read these essays &, if you enjoy them, make an effort & share them with people you trust would also take them to heart. I’m pleased to share my success with you & I hope you will do likewise.