In his autobiography, Confessions of an Actor (Penguin, 1982), Laurence Olivier writes of an unforgettable mentor, and reveals a great deal about acting: [Miss Fogerty] gave me one unforgettable, very special word of advice, which has been imprinted forever in my memory. I can’t think of when, if ever, I had heard or known such aContinue reading “Laurence Olivier on the Indispensability of Personas”
Author Archives: Samir Chopra
Studying the Social
This coming fall semester, I will teach, ostensibly for the second time, a class titled Social Philosophy. I say ‘ostensibly’ because, though I have taught the Class Formerly Known as Social Philosophy, this is most assuredly not your grandfather’s Social Philosophy. Brooklyn College’s philosophy department offers a pair of related classes: one titled Political Philosophy, andContinue reading “Studying the Social”
Brazil Unravel, All Together Now
Eight goals were scored in the ninety minutes of the World Cup semi-final yesterday between Brazil and Germany. Unfortunately for Brazil, seven of them were scored by Germany. Five of them came in the first half, in an eighteen minute stretch that began in the 11th minute and concluded with a four-goal burst in sixContinue reading “Brazil Unravel, All Together Now”
Soccer’s Clubs and Countries
Once the hubbub and the desperate hopes of the group stage have died down, the World Cup slowly settles down to normal service: the upstarts fade away and the big guns play on. Now, at the semi-final stage, the match-ups look decidedly familiar: Brazil versus German, Netherlands versus Argentina. (The final could be any oneContinue reading “Soccer’s Clubs and Countries”
Bowe Bergdahl and the Military: An Unhappy Marriage
Bowe Bergdahl has always been a very interesting young man. As this profile by Kirk Johnson and Matt Furber makes clear, he carried around with him, as interesting people invariably do, a divided self, one drawn in several different directions all at once. Some psychic currents pulled him in the direction of spirituality and bookishContinue reading “Bowe Bergdahl and the Military: An Unhappy Marriage”
Being Reductive About Sport (And How Silly It Is)
Some folks dislike sport. I use the word ‘dislike’ advisedly; the members of this cohort are not offering critical, politically tinged analysis of sport’s entanglement with big business and its value schemas; they are not exposing sport’s use as an ideology promulgating system, it’s supposed facilitation of political disengagement; they are not critiquing sport forContinue reading “Being Reductive About Sport (And How Silly It Is)”
Why I Watch The World Cup in Spanish
The reasons are quite straightforward, and as might be expected, not exceedingly deep. They are only interesting because, I, like many others who watch Spanish-language broadcasts of the 2014 World Cup, do not speak Spanish. (At least, my Spanish has never risen above some minimal fluency.) First, the most superficial reason of all. The SpanishContinue reading “Why I Watch The World Cup in Spanish”
Being ‘Appearance-Challenged’ When Looks Matter
Many years ago, an uncle of mine was talking about one of my distant cousins: about how hard it would be for her to get married, because she was, you know, kind of, how do you say it, “ugly”? He didn’t use the word, of course. He said something like “Her face is a little,Continue reading “Being ‘Appearance-Challenged’ When Looks Matter”
Helping Writers Through Social Media
A very smart writer friend of mine wrote something on her Facebook page today, which I think makes a lot of sense and is worth reproducing widely. Comments and feedback from writers welcome. Here goes. The first status: I think we’ve reached the point at which a Like doesn’t necessarily mean Liking, or endorsement, orContinue reading “Helping Writers Through Social Media”
April Bernard on Margaret Drabble as Moral Psychologist
In reviewing a selection of Margaret Drabble‘s novels, April Bernard writes: Drabble, as a moralist, seems to believe that it is less important what and why we do what we do, than how we think about it—before, during, after….If the reason that a man always sins is that he is sinful, what matters can onlyContinue reading “April Bernard on Margaret Drabble as Moral Psychologist”
Samir Chopra 