[English version available] Meta nħares lejn kif nagħtu nkoraġġiment lit-tfal, tolqotni b’mod partikolari l-kelma ‘Bravu’ jew ‘Brava’, li nużaw bħala titlu li suppost jirregala lit-tfal b’ċertu sens ta’ validament. Bħal ma student avvanzat jiġi mogħti t-titlu ta’ dottorat, jew impjegat titlu ġdid skond il-promotion, jew suldat jingħata skala ta’ Read more…
[Oriġinaljament miktuba bil-Malti] Upon observing how we provide encouragement to children, I am particularly struck by the term ‘Good Boy’ or ‘Good Girl’, which we use as a title that is meant to award children with a sense of validation. In the same manner by which an advanced student Read more…
It’s not really my thing to write film reviews, in spite of how much I enjoy the provocation of thoughts by movies, particularly the (relatively) low-budget independent ones. However, when it comes to Leos Carax’s Annette, it’s clear that it is the kind that would draw heavy criticism from those Read more…
There’s quite the tendency for any right that society grants its members, to soon become a duty. It is one’s duty to attend school, to vote, to be healthy… What about the right to happiness and enjoyment? The model Imagine a man, ordinarily bored while having a Friday Read more…
In past decades we have undergone a ‘revolution’ – for want of a better word – of emotional rediscovery. Its main chant has been a reaction against the stereotypical emotionally-unavailable father, reminiscing his days fighting in a war while compelling his son to man up, never cry, and stop being Read more…
Looking at a busy bee, toiling hard and fast… as fast as my clock turns during a day of doing nothing. A day wasted, I’m first inclined to say. But then I wonder what makes a day not wasted, fruitful to say. I assume the bee goes back to Read more…
In the last post we explored the phenomenon by which social revolutions re-establish the old injustices they sought to eliminate. Its Sisyphean nature is due to none other than a structural commitment to the ideological form. Now, it is time to show in more detail how the reality of ‘upcoming Read more…
One particular social symptom which is hard not to notice is the trend of millennial couples adopting dogs and cats and ‘raising them as their own’. I admit, this fetish has bothered me for the past decade. And as the years passed, it has only become more prevalent, provoking me Read more…
An American Oedipus Imagine Oedipus after having plucked his eyes out from their sockets. He is now blind, lacking the important ability of sight, a tragic end to the story. But not in America. In the American Dream there is no room for tragedy, every end has to be the Read more…
[English version available] Nhar it-Tnejn li għadda, il-Ministru responsabbli għall-arti u l-kultura żelqulu xi ftit kelmiet li ma niżlux tajjeb. Meta mistoqsi dwar in-nuqqas ta’ miżuri li l-gvern ħa biex jiġu megħjuna l-artisti matul il-pandemija, ir-risposta tiegħu kienet sempliċiment li l-artisti m’għandhomx IQ “business oriented”u li l-arti hija biss Read more…