Why Theory

Ryan and Todd investigate the possibility of thinking about all competing philosophies under the headings of dualism, multiplicity, and dialectics. They take as avatars for each position St. Paul, Gil...

19 Mar 20221h 15min

Ryan and Todd delve into a shorter text from Freud's later years--"Notes on a Mystic Writing Pad." Freud takes the child's toy that he discovers as a paradigm for how memory works in the psyche. Ryan ...

6 Mar 20221h 14min

Ryan and Todd conduct a thorough exploration of Freud's 1920 text Beyond the Pleasure Principle, beginning with the claim that this represents Freud at his most radical and original point. They look a...

20 Feb 20221h 11min

Ryan and Todd examine the theoretical underpinnings of the genre of the superhero film. They look at its origins in the western and its development from the 1970s through Christopher Nolan and culmina...

7 Feb 20221h 14min

Ryan and Todd pick up their discussion of Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit with an exploration of the "Spirit" section of this book. They probe into Hegel's conception of Sittlichkeit (or the ethical o...

22 Jan 20221h 20min

Ryan and Todd discuss Lacan's claim that "there is no metalanguage." They address the political implications of this idea and look at various attempts to constitute a metalinguistic position. Finally,...

8 Jan 20221h 17min

Ryan and Todd return to the theorization of the Christmas film by examining three entries in the genre: Meet Me in St. Louis, Holiday Inn, and Christmas in Connecticut. They discuss the Christmas film...

23 Des 20211h 18min

Ryan and Todd delve into the theoretical importance of the 1942 film Casablanca. They examine its critique of cynicism, its intermixing of love and politics, and its enactment of the importance of the...

12 Des 20211h 21min