The Crisp Ending: What is it and Which Films Have it?

There’s so many different parts of a film that can make it memorable, an exciting beginning, a thrill-ride story, surprises and suspense, and sometimes the quietude of slow camera work can provoke reflective thought. It’s the endings, though, that leave people breathless and wide-eyed when the lights come-up and the people shuffle out into the hallways. It’s the endings that keep the viewers in their … Continue reading The Crisp Ending: What is it and Which Films Have it?

The Big Short: Edmund Burke and the Sublime in our Stars, our Stripes, and Our Stocks

Some time ago, I heard a quotation from Marshall McLuhan that I instantly recognized as true–and quite insightful: “Anyone who tries to make a distinction between education and entertainment doesn’t know the first thing about either.” As an educator, I know what he’s getting at. We’re more likely to learn, when we’re having fun, either in the formal setting of a school, ambling through nature, … Continue reading The Big Short: Edmund Burke and the Sublime in our Stars, our Stripes, and Our Stocks