This page is for brief articles written by COV&R members to introduce mimetic theory to new audiences. Here you will find articles that apply mimetic theory to popular culture, politics, economics, psychology, conflict resolution, religious studies, violence, relationships, and more. To submit an article, please contact the editor of the Bulletin, Curtis Gruenler.
Reading Shakespeare’s King Richard III Against the Grain by Els Launspach
In this May 12, 2023 essay, Els changes the idea that Shakespeare’s King Richard III is a tragedy, arguing instead it is a text of persecution.
Imitation Game by Matthew Packer
Imitation Game, Matthew Packer’s cover story on mimetic theory and Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life by Luke Burgis, appeared in the January 29, 2022 edition of the New Zealand Listener.
Inception reviewed by Daniel Cojocaru
Before its release to the general public film critics heaped endless praise upon Christopher Nolan’s latest mind-bender Inception. Except for a few dissenting voices the verdict was clear: after The Dark Knight Nolan had created another cinematographic masterpiece.
Originally published July 22, 2010 on the Raven Foundation website.
The Dark Knight reviewed by Daniel Cojocaru
“Do I really look like a guy with a plan?” In Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, the Joker, magnificently impersonated by the late Heath Ledger, wants to make everyone believe that there is no motif for his neurotic sowing of destruction and mayhem in Gotham City.
Originally published September 16, 2008 on the Raven Foundation website.
The Beatles and “Queenie Eye” through the Lens of Mimetic Theory by Curtis Gruenler
Paul McCartney’s 2013 hit song “Queenie Eye” occasions a look at how The Beatles introduced the insights of mimetic theory into pop music, from “She Loves You” to “The Ballad of John and Yoko.”
Captain America: Empathy for Civil Violence by Luke Nelson
Captain America: Civil War sets up the most sober consideration of violence in any superhero movie, exposing dynamics of rivalry and scapegoating, only to bend them toward a more typical Hollywood empathy for violence.
A Subversive King of Freedom and Love – The Crucified Christ by Erik Buys
Originally published in Dutch in the April 6, 2022 edition of Tertio, COV&R board member Erik Buys rethinks what the violence of Christ’s crucifixion really means.