Film
Altered states
idea
A touch of absurdity can help to wrap your mind around reality
And now for something completely different: how a dose of the surreal or absurd helps to make sense of our place in the world
by David Robson
Personality
idea
Dietrich showed how adopting a persona can reveal one’s true self
Kaloprosopia – the art of crafting a persona, as Marlene Dietrich and David Bowie did – can help us access a truer self
by Sam Mills
Film
guide
How to find great films to watch
Bored with Hollywood and Netflix? Becoming an adventurous and informed explorer of the cinema world is in everyone’s grasp
by Geoff Andrew
Creativity
film
Meet the artists who create sounds for movies – and have so much fun doing it
A film by Jeremy Benning
Rituals and celebrations
idea
In the cinema, my father’s unspeakable childhood finally surfaced
Not too distant and not to close: how rituals help us process trauma, and why watching Anna Karenina helped heal my father
by Christiana Spens
Technology and media
idea
What the journey from Star Trek to Siri says about our culture
The talking computer in Star Trek takes the culture and technology of the present and dreams up future possibilities
by Liz W Faber
Artists and art history
film
An artist’s serene moving paintings probe the surface of reality itself
Films by Susi Sie
Personality
idea
Immersion in fictional worlds allows us to own our dark side
Our liking for fictional villains such as Voldemort tells us something about the dark side of our own personalities
by Rebecca Krause-Galoni
Stories and literature
idea
What is it about film and TV antiheroes that’s so captivating?
They’re entertaining, of course – but research highlights a deeper psychological reason viewers are drawn to the bad guys
by Ana Gantman & Jordan Wylie
Music
film
Science, emotion and electronica fuse to form propulsive digital art
Music by Max Cooper