Category: REVIEW

The 9th Art: Should Adults Read Comics?

Are comics, as some Francophones argue, a distinct ‘9th art’? In the first of a monthly series, Felix James Miller argues they are and introduces readers to some of the delights of the art form.

FORGOTTEN CLASSICS:
Dante’s Youthful Passion and the Love of God

Dante’s La Vita Nuova is indisputably the work of a young man, a man whose passions (and poetic compositions) are still discovering the place they ought to have in the world. Thankfully, though, Dante’s ‘immature’ juvenilia is far greater and more penetrating a work than most poets can ever compose in the entire course of their lives.

All Views Are Welcome—Provided They Are Ours

Social justice activism is a religion in that it provides a set of beliefs. These beliefs are to be accepted unquestioningly, and a common language develops between the people involved by which they may identify one another and interrogate and expel heretics.

Falsehoods, Persecution, and Forgiveness

Pell’s Prison Journal provides an inspiring example of how to endure attacks while loving our persecutors. Perhaps his serene approach can show our post-Christian civilization the beauty of Christian love and forgiveness.

A Manifesto of Architectural Hope

Alain de Botton’s book tells us that we can and should regain hope about the future of our homes and cities. Architecture has been in a sad state in the West for many decades, but there are also glimmers of promise.

Literature that Defied the Nazi Regime

Scholdt pays tribute to both the aesthetic achievements and the courage of writers who were persecuted and ostracized during the Nazi era. He also considers the significance of their resistance in the Nazi years for our own tumultuous times.

More Kicks to Arthur Bryant’s Corpse

Through scarcely credible naïveté, Robinson seems to believe that he has disposed of Bryant’s ethical pretensions. His hubris calls to mind those self-destructive British Labour parliamentarians who elicited the jibe that, when granted a choice of weapons, they always selected boomerangs.

A Dangerous Empire

Nothing seems wrong with a discerning use of Netflix. But the company’s final goals, Chanot wishes to remind us, are anything but harmless and are bound to destroy the virtues we care to preserve within our families.

Beyond Papolatry

Beyond Papolatry

If the Church as we know it is to survive, it must change course immediately. I have no doubt that in any future attempt to salvage what is left of it, Kwasniewski’s analyses will be invaluable.

July 19, 2022
“Pandamned”: Unmasking an Empire of Fear

“Pandamned”: Unmasking an Empire of Fear

The 2-hour documentary “Pandamned”by Dutch filmmaker Marijn Poels is a colossal undertaking aiming to summarize and assess overall socio-political developments of the past few years.

July 14, 2022
Les Droites en Amérique

Les Droites en Amérique

Continetti’s history of the first hundred years of the American right holds lessons for the next hundred.

Liberal Economics and the Church after The End of History

Liberal Economics and the Church after The End of History

Christ’s parables, such as “The Laborers in the Vineyard,” “The Sower,” and “The Hidden Treasure” serve as a basis for Fr. Sirico’s advice on investing, enterprise, and the value of hard work.

July 9, 2022
FORGOTTEN CLASSICS: <br>Community in C.S. Lewis’ Oddest Novel

FORGOTTEN CLASSICS:
Community in C.S. Lewis’ Oddest Novel

Lewis wants his readers to re-examine our presumptions about everything from modern education and science to ‘the West’ and contraception. Recognizing this can help us understand why the novel has so divided readers.

June 25, 2022
<i>Carmen</i> Marks Washington National Opera’s Gala Return to Fully Staged Performances

Carmen Marks Washington National Opera’s Gala Return to Fully Staged Performances

Isabel Leonard’s portrayal of Carmen was commendably human in a world that often also demands some kind of ideology to peer out from the character.

June 20, 2022
The Case for the Geezer

The Case for the Geezer

The geezer is self-assured because he is humble. He believes in moderation in all aspects of his behaviour without feeling entitled or engaging in excessive introspection.

The Northman: The Poetic Edda Meets Gladiator

The Northman: The Poetic Edda Meets Gladiator

Director Robert Eggers ventures into the world of Norse legends, blending the borders between myth and meticulously recreated reality. Spoilers ahead!

June 9, 2022
Korngold and Dvořák Close Palm Beach Symphony Season

Korngold and Dvořák Close Palm Beach Symphony Season

It is hard to imagine a more complex piece than Korngold’s Violin Concerto. It stands on the cusp of classical music’s transformation from an art form confined to the concert hall, into a multimedia concept.

June 7, 2022
A Centurion Not of Caesar but of Christ

A Centurion Not of Caesar but of Christ

One figure worthy of rediscovery, especially for those of a conservative or religious inclination, is the French soldier and writer Ernest Psichari who converted during his time as a soldier between 1909 and 1912, in what is today Mauritania.

The Long Slow Death of Hong Kong

The Long Slow Death of Hong Kong

While I agree with the aims and even admire the methods of the protesters of 2019 to 2020, it is likely that when China does assume full control of the Hong Kong territory, they will have made things worse.

May 30, 2022
FORGOTTEN CLASSICS:<br>Christianity, Outer Space, and Love

FORGOTTEN CLASSICS:
Christianity, Outer Space, and Love

Whereas much science fiction simply sidesteps the theological questions a Christian would raise on discovering rational life on other planets, C.S. Lewis asks us to wrestle with them.