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Episode 052: We Might Love David If He Wasn’t So Creepy — A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) with Jim Davies
Join Alex and guest host Dr. Jim Davies in a discussion of the portrayal of artificial intelligence, consciousness, and love in Steven Spielberg’s Pinocchio-esque film, A.I.: Artificial Intelligence (2001)! We explore the idea of artificial intelligence, what it means to be conscious or sentient, and how well the film works on these fundamentally hard-to-define fronts. Though Jim is a cognitive scientist, Alex also asks him about the film’s idea of love and what it means to be loved, which hits at The Velveteen Rabbit‘s ideal of what it means to be real and who is worthy of love! Listen, we think David, who was played so well by Haley Joel Osment, could be loved if he just didn’t act so oddly.…
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Episode 051: Hans Landa is a Psych Case Study—Inglorious Basterds (2009) with Jason Spiegelman
Join Alex and returning guest host Jason Spiegelman as they discuss a one of Quentin Tarantino’s classic westerns… set during World War II, and in France, Inglorious Basterds (2009). Rather than naming specific psychological principles in this discussion, a focus is on the characters, their motivations, and the scenes in which those motivations are readily apparent. What does it mean to express unfettered glee at the death of Nazis? Why would a German soldier really think using the wrong number three means spies? And why is Hans Landa one of the most terrifying movie villains in a good decade or so?…