Derek Jacobs

I am a molecular biologist who loves movies and wants to think about them and discuss them from the perspective of romantic realism, a reason-based school of aesthetics championed by novelist-philosopher Ayn Rand.

The State of Hollywood and Self-Conflict: A Review of “Birdman”

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Alejandro Iñárritu’s Birdman, Or: (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) dedicates itself to providing commentary on the state of the dramatic arts, especially in Hollywood, while also offering a haunting, too-familiar meditation on ego and inner conflict. These two foci are married through telling the story of an actor named Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton) who is … Read more

The Things We Think and Do Not Say – A “Plot and Theme” Mission Statement on Film Critique

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I have enjoyed movies for the majority of my life. I think my first memories of movies were seeing Oliver and Company in the theater at the age of three, and watching Star Wars at a similar age and mishearing Darth Vader’s pleas to Luke as, “You don’t know the power of the Duck Side”. … Read more