Black Mirror is one of my favorite shows on television. It’s like a modern version of The Twilight Zone, an anthology series exploring the ramifications of technology on life in the present and near-future. “White Christmas,” the seventh overall episode of Black Mirror, touches on some ways in which technology might help people with social anxiety in the future. Continue reading
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…
In honor of Star Wars Day 2017, let’s continue the saga of the Force versus the Dark Side. We found a new hope in Episode IV, the Empire struck back in Episode V, the Jedi returned in Episode VI, and a Phantom Menace rose in Episode I. Now we visit episode two of the prequel trilogy, Attack of the Clones. It is admittedly not a great film, although it does contain one of my favorite action scenes in the entire Star Wars series: the flying car chase through the Coruscant cityscape at night. It also contains some wise insights into the Force (mindfulness) and the Dark Side (social anxiety).
Napoleon Dynamite is the type of movie you either love or hate. Except in my case, I both love and hate it. At first, I wasn’t sure why. I enjoy quirky independent comedies, and Napoleon Dynamite features socially awkward characters (like me), so it should have been right up my alley. But I didn’t love the film wholeheartedly like so many other fans. There were certainly parts of the movie I found funny, but other parts rubbed me the wrong way. After re-watching the movie recently and thinking about it further, I realized part of the reason I “hate” Napoleon Dynamite might be the way it portrays social anxiety. Continue reading
The late great horror writer H.P. Lovecraft once said, “The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.” He may not have been referring to social anxiety, but he could have been. Continue reading
What About Bob? is a comedy about a psychiatric patient (Bill Murray) who drives his therapist (Richard Dreyfuss) insane. Continue reading
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…
We’ve completed the original trilogy of social anxiety in Star Wars, but now it’s time to start from the beginning. A time when the Jedi ruled the galaxy… Until there was a disturbance in the Force, and the Dark Side began to rise. Continue reading
I used to feel bad about being alone. I felt like there was something wrong with me. That I should be hanging out with friends like everyone else. But when I was with people I felt just as bad because I was so uncomfortable. There was no way for me to win. Continue reading
