Paul Levinson
Bio
Paul Levinson's novels include The Silk Code & The Plot To Save Socrates; his LPs Twice Upon A Rhyme & Welcome Up. His nonfiction including Fake News in Real Context, The Soft Edge, & Digital McLuhan have been translated into 15 languages.
Stories (603/0)
Review of Westworld Season 1 Finale
Here's what we learned in the excellent season 1 finale of Westworld, and the possible questions raised: The Man in Black is the new majority owner of Westworld. The Man in Black is William, much older. This is one of the first fine twists -- a sequence of turns and revelations of events that cut deep. What we've been seeing of Dolores during these ten episodes are not just skips and jumps and loops in her mind, but time itself chopped up, that is, earlier and more recent events in her life. Which means, regarding William, that every scene we've seen with him happened in the pretty distant past -- i.e., decades ago. Nice touch. Dolores dying in Teddy's arms by the sea is actually the entree to the new narrative Ford has been promising. I actually realized this a few moments before it was revealed, but it was still memorable to see. Maeve, despite her best efforts, was never going to leave Westworld. I was actually thinking this, too - the essence of Westworld is that, like the Hotel California, you can check in if you're a host (be created), but you can never leave. But the pursuit of her daughter being the reason is an effective touch -- because, after all, not only does love conquer all, but it's an all powerful component of what makes us human. The path towards consciousness is knowing thyself. In the Jaynesian bicameral mind -- at least, as portrayed in Westworld -- this means one half of your brain listening to the other. Two millennia prior to Jaynes, Socrates urged the same thing: know thyself. This makes Westworld not only Jaynesian but Socratic, a very good thing in my book. I never bought that Socrates drank the hemlock, though (and my best-known novel tries to explain what may really have happened back then) -- but, with that in mind, I wasn't happy to see Dolores blow out Ford's brains at the end, just as she had done years earlier with Arnold (even though suffering that real-guilt pain is said to be the only way she can achieve true consciousness).
By Paul Levinson5 years ago in Futurism
Review of Somewhere Between 1.3
The most significant development in Somewhere Between 1.3 last night was Laura's husband Tom, and his collection of evidence pertinent to the murders — collection apparently out of the legal process, kept at home, and reported by Tom to some unknown person via text message.
By Paul Levinson5 years ago in Futurism
Review of Game of Thrones 7.3
A conversation for the ages between Jon and Daenerys on Game of Thrones 7.3 last night, with each not giving an inch, dignified and persuasive, and in the end, Daenerys agreeing more or less to help in the fight against the dead in the North.
By Paul Levinson5 years ago in Geeks
Review of Twin Peaks: The Return 1.12
A slightly subdued Twin Peaks: The Return 1.12 last night, with no song at the end. I mean, there was a three-piece band on the stage at the end, as the credits eventually rolled, and they were playing something, but it wasn't a song. It could have been the beginning of a song which never actually started (uh oh). It could have been an accompaniment to something. But I don't think it was a song. I don't think it was an instrumental—certainly no "Green Onions" or "Flying."
By Paul Levinson5 years ago in Futurism
Review of Westworld 1.8
Much revealed in this excellent episode 1.8 of Westworld. Probably the most important: there are two kinds of programs afoot in Westworld, two kinds of stories (or two kinds of kinds of stories, to be more precise): Ford's and Arnold's. Ford's we pretty much know—though not the new story he keeps talking about—and Arnold's not much or any of it at all.
By Paul Levinson5 years ago in Futurism
Review of Westworld 1.7
"I don't wanna be in a story," Dolores says to William, who later provides the best possible Westworld answer, telling Dolores the life he's been living outside is a lie, and the most truth he's ever known is in Westworld with her. (Note that in this sentence, the italics denote the series, and the name Westworld denotes the place in the series.)
By Paul Levinson5 years ago in Futurism
Review of Twin Peaks: The Return 1.11
Well, Agent Cooper finally got a piece of cherry pie in Twin Peaks: The Return 1.11 last night -- in fact, two slices! -- as well as his life being spared by Jim Belushi's character and his dream. But, alas, even this double cherry pie is not enough to rouse Cooper out of his stupor. He needs to "wake up!" as that little man from the other dimension told him now some number of episodes ago.
By Paul Levinson5 years ago in Futurism
