The original Blade Runner film changed moviemaking and culture forever. Philip K. Dick was one of the world’s most “unacknowledged science fiction writers of our time,” Brian Aldiss says in the documentary On the Edge of ‘Blade Runner.’ Dick wrote against the grain of modern science fiction. In a time of space-trekking heroes conquering unknown worlds and saving alien damsels in distress, Dick was writing about the human condition and experiences of the mind. One of Dick’s essential works was a novel titled Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? In 1982 screenwriter Hampton Fancher adapted the novel into a motion picture screenplay: Blade Runner. Ridley Scott helmed the sci-fi film masterpiece as director, and the stunning imagery and haunting soundtrack meshed seamlessly with the novelist’s exploration of what it means to be human. Though distinct from the novel, the movie still reflects the story’s main points. It deals with a        …read more

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, a time to speak out against violence and support victims. These 6 artists are boosting the signal. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates 35% of women worldwide have been physically and/or sexually assaulted in their lifetime; 30% of women have experienced violence by an intimate partner. Domestic violence doesn’t just affect women, though. One in four men in the United States have been physically abused, with one in seven experiencing severe abuse, according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Domestic violence should be eradicated, but it continues to occur in every country around the world. October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, a time to speak out against this societal problem and show support for victims, and a great device for doing so is art. Here are six artists raising awareness of domestic violence and working to combat it with creative endeavors. 1. “Promise”        …read more

Any person at any age and any fitness level can participate in forest bathing, which helps the mind and body. Every Friday afternoon, rain, snow or shine, Nicole Sumida and her two eight-year-old daughters step out of their busy Illinois suburb and disappear into the forest on the outskirts of town to do their form of forest bathing. There they look at the deer, rest on logs and touch trees. After about three hours, the therapist and her daughters emerge, refreshed and ready for the weekend. “It’s their downtime when they can be away from people, be with the trees and just be,” Sumida says. “It’s our decompression time.” [caption id="attachment_15634" align="alignnone" width="865"] Courtesy of Nicole Sumida[/caption] Sumida is part of a growing national movement practicing forest bathing, or Shinrin-yoku (meaning “taking in the forest atmosphere). The Japanese practice was developed in the 1980s, and it’s essentially a deliberate walk        …read more

RJ Mitte, Keah Brown, Maysoon Zayid and Micah Fowler share thoughts on how cerebral palsy is represented on TV, from ‘The Facts of Life’ to ‘Breaking Bad’ to ‘Speechless’ and beyond. Happy World CP Day! WCPD, celebrated every October 6, advocates for the 17 million people worldwide who have cerebral palsy. As part of its awareness campaign, World CP Day focuses on six key areas people have said are their biggest barriers: quality of life, medical access, civil rights, public awareness, education and contribution. At the same time, society is influenced by more than bureaucracy and political decisions. It’s also influenced by culture: stories, images and art in all its forms. To celebrate those of us living with cerebral palsy, I’m taking a look at one of western society’s favorite pastimes — watching television — and examining how the depictions of CP have evolved. As far as I can tell, there        …read more

If you watch Rick and Morty with an ear toward its commentary on media and Hollywood, you’ll get a deeper appreciation for this Adult Swim megahit series. Remember those glory days of pre-season nine Simpsons, the first few years of Family Guy, the weirdness of Ren & Stimpy? Mix all that in a bowl and add a hefty cup of satirical smarts, a layer of sci-fi creativity and enough movie references to keep IMDb buzzing every Friday night. That's what it’s like to watch Rick and Morty, one of the most engaging and best-written animated series to grace our tubes or YouTubes. How many shows can include in one episode a gun-toting pickle, bloody scenes of rats getting decimated by said pickle and an endearingly humane monologue unlike anything broadcast in the cartoon world? I’m citing Rick and Morty’s season 3 episode “Pickle Rickle,” but I could be dropping knowledge on any        …read more

How art collective Meow Wolf convinced George RR Martin to invest $3 million and create a real-life fantasy/sci-fi world — and how it’s paid off. Imagine walking up to a beautiful, eccentrically styled home. You’re not sure what to expect, but you’ve heard odd things are going on at this house — and it’s up to you to investigate. To your right is a brown wooden staircase with numerous family portraits carefully lining its ascent to the second floor. Looking at the portraits of the Seligs — the family that allegedly resides in this home — you see parents, a boy, a girl and some curious-looking relatives. At first glance, they seem like a pretty regular American family. But there’s something odd, and you know it. A strange booming sound is coming from unseen interior areas of this house. In fact, multiple odd noises are coming from different parts of        …read more

Grand Theft Auto, one of the most successful and controversial video game franchises ever, hits 20-year mark. Even though video games are the most popular form of entertainment in the world, there’s perhaps only a handful of video game franchises that have become household names. Super Mario Bros., Pokémon, The Legend of Zelda, perhaps Sonic the Hedgehog — and the outlier of the bunch — Grand Theft Auto. Whether you know Grand Theft Auto — commonly known as GTA — as one of the most critically acclaimed series of all time, or merely as the ultraviolent, anything-goes simulator that has spent much of its existence engulfed in controversy, you’ve heard of it. Like the more wholesome games listed above, Grand Theft Auto has had a profound effect on entertainment and culture. This October Grand Theft Auto turns 20. Let’s take a look back at how and why the franchise everyone seems to        …read more

Season 19 of Law & Order: SVU premieres this September, and the series is timelier than ever. I can’t remember a time when Law & Order: Special Victims Unit wasn’t on the air, but I was still a little taken aback when I saw the headline that SVU had been renewed for season 19, which will premiere on September 27. It wasn’t the renewal that surprised me — it was the fact that a show about sex crimes is one of the longest-running TV dramas of all time. Most dramas jump the shark by season six or so, and I’ll admit that when Christopher Meloni announced he wouldn’t return for season 13, I assumed SVU’s days were numbered. I couldn’t have been more wrong — the show’s quality didn’t wane, and over the past few years SVU has become increasingly important. In 2017 it’s more relevant than ever. But why do viewers        …read more