Interdisciplinary Book and Film Reviews

Believing in Magic:  The Psychology of Superstition Updated Edition     By   Stuart A. Vyse Reviewed by    Geoffrey W. Sutton Are you superstitious? In Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition    Stuart Vyse provides a highly readable, informative, and even entertaining look at superstition. Vyse covers a wide variety of superstitions used by children and adults in many cultures but focuses on the charms, beliefs, and rituals prevalent in the United States.   We also learn from experiments and observations how superstitious behavior develops in children and continues into adult life. Animal studies reveal uncanny resemblances to the superstitious behavior of humans. We also learn by imitating others thus; social influence is a factor associated with superstitious beliefs and rituals. Those who play professional sports, gamblers in casinos, and college students taking exams, serve as prime examples of people who engage in s...

  Man at the Gate 2023 Geoffrey Sutton & Bing AI Stranger at the Gate To Be Gay and  Christian in America By     Mel White   Reviewed by   Geoffrey W. Sutton It’s been three decades since Mel White completed his testimony, Stranger at the Gate , which his ex-wife and friend, Lyla White, lovingly introduced. Mel White begins his story as an adolescent who became aware of his attraction to men at a time when the general culture was silent about same-sex attraction and the religious culture was beginning to ramp up their rhetoric of condemnation of homosexuality. Mel White lived with his feelings in a painful closet. In his words... “I was miserable for only one reason : I was gay. I don't know when or why it happened. .. I didn't even know what to call it then. But from the beginning, I had only same- sex desires and fantasies. I didn't plan it. I didn't choose it. I didn't desire it. And no one forced it on me. I wasn't re...

  Resistant by Palmer R x esistant – A review of a provocative novel By   Michael Palmer Reviewed by   Geoffrey W. Sutton I enjoy a good story and rarely write reviews of novels, but   R x esistant   deserves to be an exception. It’s not just a thrilling adventure. It’s a story from 2013 that will challenge readers to think about America’s leaders, values, and politics in light of the pandemic that began its killing spree six years after the author died. As I write this review, our deficit has spiraled out of control. Our government cut taxes even before SARS / COVID-19 waded ashore, which increased our public debt. COVID-19 began killing. Then the government panicked and flooded our economy. Greedy people sucked up huge amounts of government bailouts meant to help those who would struggle during the unprecedented business-destroying shut-down. Mixed medical messages confused people about whom to trust. And inflation rose like a rocket to Ma...

  The GOD PROBLEM How a Godless Cosmos Creates By Howard Bloom Reviewed by      Geoffrey W. Sutton In the beginning …that is about 13.787 billion years ago our universe began. Bloom invites us to return to the beginning so we might observe how the universe created itself without recourse to supernatural explanations. Time is a stairway. On each post-big-bang step we pause to observe what’s new. What’s unfolding. Eventually, humans emerge on earth and begin to use models to represent their world to modify their environment. Soon humans are standing on the steps of time and looking at the stars. Bloom captures various moments when our forebears began to unravel the mysteries of the cosmos. At first, the progress is small. Primitive ideas slowly become more complex. At times, Bloom meanders and repeats phrases like a parent reminding child of life’s truisms.  Then, a few centuries ago, Bloom is off and running from one scientist to another scooping up...

  She Said is a 2022 biodrama, which tells the story of the New York Times reporters Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey who exposed the Harvey Weinstein’s sexual abuse and harassment of women. The film is based on the book of the same name, which was authored by Kantor and Twohey (2019). The story begins in 2017 when Kantor got a tip that actor Rose McGowan had been sexually assaulted. She was age 23 at the time. As the investigation progresses, we learn of other women who may have been abused. Some are too afraid to go on record. And some are bound to silence based on settlement agreements. Eventually, the reporters collect enough evidence to publish a story, which appeared in the NY Times 5 October 2017. I recommend She Said as an informative look into the struggles women experience with sexual harassment and sexual abuse in the workplace. Although the focus is on women in the film industry, the story aptly illustrates the power differential that exists in other industries and or...