Depth

Dear L,

I find depth to be a weird idea, given it’s so subjective and divisive. For someone like me, “The Big Lebowski” is a film about a brilliant characters being incredibly content with where he is. The Hollywood flick “Constantine”, for me is a character study of a man who have been to literal hell and back. Milan Kundera’s “Immortality” is a brilliant novel about the beauty of old age. “Cowboy Bebop” to me is a space-fi-western-jazz-drama. “Celeste” is a video game about a girl overcoming insurmountable odds.

The ability to perceive depth stems from the ability of the human mind to associate seemingly disparate patterns and information with abstractions. This attribute has its downside, of course; Coupled with confirmation bias, it’s most likely responsible for creation of crazy conspiracy theorists and flat Earthers. However, for most of us, it’s a gift that keeps on giving, from seemingly brilliant middle-of-the-night epiphanies, to broad drunk discussion at the local pub.

Today I wanted to take you to few of these avenues of depth that I find particularly interesting around pop-culture. You may not necessarily agree with the angles that I subscribe to, but I hope these can lend you some food for thought to start the weekend.

Hidden Meaning in The Big Lebowski - Earthling Cinema
A video essay about the movie that started the "Dude" subculture.

The Most Dangerous Gamer
J. Blow is the creator of the game Braid, which essentially rejuvenated the indie game industry. In Braid, you have a fairly simple plot but with a deep, very deep twist. If you have played Braid, you'll know what I am talking about, if not, let's just take a look at the brilliant mind behind Braid.

An Appreciation of Cowboy Bebop, 20 Years Later
Cowboy Bebop, arguably on of the best anime series ever made, it redefined jazz and anime altogether in this genre bending creation of Hajime Yatate. And not to mention it's soundtrack has one of my all time favourite.

Is Journey a game or a piece of interactive art?
Journey is one of the most beautiful and emotionally stirring video game I have ever played; But I always struggled to call it a game. Here's why.

Best,
A