Non-fiction – Page 3

A Propagandized View of War

David V Stewart March 14, 2022 March 14, 2022Movies, Non-fiction, Philosophy, politics 2

A viewer asked me about Starship Troopers on Saturday’s stream. I’ve done several videos on the book and movie, and written at least one article about it, but it keeps coming up. That’s probably the power of Heinlein’s ideas, but again, I want to push back a bit. Before that, let me sum up: Starship Troopers (the book) is known for its ideas. There’s not much story there, and I don’t care for it as a result. It’s not a great story by Heinlein. Lots of the ideas are in pop culture, primarily “power armor” and the “bug hunt.” But…

Games that Inspire – The Legend of Zelda

David V Stewart March 11, 2022 March 11, 2022Non-fiction 7

Usually, when an author discusses influence (or is asked about it), his focus is on books, not other forms of media. Perhaps there is some in-built prejudice against taking inspiration from other forms of media besides the mighty novel (although no writer ever seems to decry being inspired by Shakespeare). Maybe movies are too low-brow (certainly if you mention Star Wars); if so, games are positively Neanderthalic. Call me Ugg-ugg. There are many games that have inspired me as a writer, though not always for the writing that was within them. Games, since they utilize sound, music, visuals, words, and…

A Kind of Lenten Fast

David V Stewart March 2, 2022 March 2, 2022Non-fiction 0

The holy season of Lent is upon us, and as part of the tradition, people will give up specific pleasures for the duration of the period of fasting. I know many people who view this as an opportunity to reduce vice, and certainly, that is a good thing to do (and not just during Lent), but I think approaching fasts from such a perspective defeats the point a little bit. The point of penitence (as I see it) is not to improve oneself by removing vice, but to bring oneself closer to God by removing ease and pleasure – to…

It’s okay to be alone

David V Stewart February 15, 2022 February 15, 2022Non-fiction, Philosophy 8

I’m not sure who needs to hear this (going live AFTER Valentine’s day), but it’s perfectly alright to be alone. I tend to promote family and I push back against those that say someone should NOT have a family. Anti-natalism is a Death Cult philosophy. Children are a tremendous blessing, and so is marriage, despite how both are often portrayed in popular media. However, these are not things that everyone needs to have to be complete, nor (more importantly) are they things for which everyone is destined. Being single can be a tremendous blessing as well, but either of these…

The Modern “Pagan”

David V Stewart January 5, 2022 January 5, 2022History, Non-fiction, Philosophy 3

I put out a little thread the other day (actually 2, since I wanted to elaborate on Paganism). In one go: Mass hypnosis is a fun concept, but I think disordered religious sentiment makes more sense. Remember pagans never called themselves anything; so the followers of the Death Cult, State Cult, and Scientism only have those labels because we have found them useful. 1000+ years of domination in the west by Christianity and Islam has made people forget that religion doesn’t usually resemble these faiths, especially when it comes to self-identification. Milius was right when Conan asks, “What gods do…

Matrix Resurrections: What’s the Point?

David V Stewart December 27, 2021 December 27, 2021Analysis, Movies, Non-fiction 6

If Alien: Resurrection is any indication, a sequel (part 4, no less) in any franchise with the word “resurrection” in the title will surely be a letdown; Matrix: Resurrections is a dud. So, what about Matrix 4 makes it so underwhelming? There are lots of things, but in broad strokes: The movie couldn’t decide what it was about It was relentlessly self-referential to the point of parody. It even makes fun of the fact that the film itself doesn’t know what it is about The motivations and goals of most of the players in the plot are unclear. The big…

The Wages of Sin… And Student Debt

David V Stewart December 14, 2021 December 14, 2021Economics, Education, Ethics, Non-fiction, Philosophy, politics 6

“Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” Who is responsible for the fall of man? If you want to have a fun discussion in Sunday school (or anywhere where people know the fundamental creation stories of Abrahamic faiths), pose this question, and see where the debate goes. Very obviously, Adam and Eve are both responsible for the sin they committed by eating the forbidden fruit. Otherwise, they would not have been cast from the Garden of Eden and incurred the debt of sin which is fulfilled in death. But the snake is also present and were it not…

Virtue Ethics of the State Cult

David V Stewart November 29, 2021 November 29, 2021Ethics, Non-fiction, Philosophy, politics 1

Or of the Death Cult. Since I touched upon it during the livestream today, I thought it might follow up a bit here in regards to the vast difference between individual and collective moral impetuses between the death cultist and the Christian, or between the political left and right, communist and free man—whatever terms and groupings you like to use, since most of these are pointing in similar direction. To a Christian, or to one of the noble pagans, virtue is an individual endeavor. The locus of discretion lies in the individual, and it is up to the individual to…

Wheel of Time, Episode 1 Analysis

David V Stewart November 22, 2021 November 23, 2021Analysis, Movies, Non-fiction 4

Before I begin, let me say that my expectations for this show were low, simply because it is the year 2021, but also because the author of the source is now dead and the production is being funded by Amazon. I wouldn’t have bothered watching had my subscribers not specifically asked me to watch and review it, and were I not a fantasy author myself. I’ve read the Wheel of Time book series. It’s not my favorite, and I think some of the middle books are among the worst I’ve read, but I have a lot of affection for the…

The Problems with Letting Hollywood Adapt Books

David V Stewart November 21, 2021 November 21, 2021Movies, Non-fiction, Writing 0

Problem 1 – The producers and executives don’t really WANT to adapt anything. Rather, they adapt things because they already have a proven track record, making production simpler and less of a gamble. Twilight was a huge hit, so of course, a movie adaptation will also be a huge hit. The studio is most interested in making a movie that people will watch, not making a faithful adaptation of a book (or anything else). Problem 2 – The creatives who work on the films don’t really WANT to adapt anything, either. They want to make their own vision, with their…

Category: Non-fiction