#filmanalysis

Spider-Man: Hero of Perpetual Adolescence?

Spider-Man has become one of the most beloved superheroes in modern culture—but is Peter Parker really a model of masculine virtue?

In this video, I argue that Spider-Man doesn't teach boys how to become men. Instead, he embodies a fantasy of magical transformation, where power, status, and romantic success come through extraordinary abilities rather than years of discipline, responsibility, and sacrifice.

From the spider bite to "great power comes great responsibility," I examine whether Peter Parker's journey is actually one of mature manhood—or simply prolonged adolescence dressed up as heroism.

I watched this film while coincidentally writing a superhero Buddhist book and was amazed to see it use Buddhist concepts. I’ve seen films that have a somewhat Buddhist lens; the main one for me is the Star Wars franchise, which I’ve written an article about its Buddhist references. But this film was different. Everywhere Everything All at Once uses a very deep, profound exploration of Buddhist philosophy that is still hard to wrap our minds around, but don’t worry; we’ll go through them together, and maybe when you rewatch the film, instead of seeing it as an action-sequenced, sci-fi fantasy, save-the-universe film, you can see it's really a guide to living a meaningful life.

We Are Not a Fixed Self

One of the most confusing concepts in Buddhism is that there is no self, which sounds counterintuitive the more you think about it. In EEAAO, the movie straight up introduces us to a variety of versions of our main characters that are them and not them. Did I lose you yet? So, Evelyn (Michelle Yeoh) is a mother and wife who struggles to maintain her laundromat business and connect with her daughter, Joy. Throughout the film, Evelyn feels trapped in her reality, thinking that once she left her parents and China and got married, she missed out on opportunities for her life to be more successful. But when her mind is opened to all her counterparts’ lives- being a chef, famous singer, actress, and martial artist, does she harness those skills that were always a part of her, and she was never just one label. The film shows us that we aren’t fixed, permanent beings. Just as Evelyn comes to terms with the fact that she isn’t just one identity, we have to realize we aren’t just one version of ourselves. You weren’t the same person you were at 10 or even yesterday. You are ever-changing, which means you aren’t trapped by your past labels.

The Third Eye is Real… Sort of

When I say the third eye is real, I’m talking about ultimate wisdom. In Buddhism, almost all Buddhas have a third eye, hence the dot on their foreheads. It is said that when someone opens their third eye, not only do they see our reality as it truly is, but they can gain psychic powers—at least that’s the myth. We’ve seen Evelyn use her kung-fu powers harnessed from her counterpart that almost feels supernatural, but the film pivots. Near the end, Evelyn understands giving in to a void will not make her feel less miserable than she already felt, and dons her forehead with a googly eye she once disdained. She stops fighting her enemies by force and uses her compassion and transcendent wisdom that everyone is suffering and all it takes to live a happy life for herself and others is simply to be kind.

Emptiness is Actually a Superpower

What I love about this movie is Jobu Tupaki (Stephanie Hsu), Evelyn’s daughter’s counterpart, who has been causing chaos in the multiverse. No one knew why she wanted to destroy the multiverse or her search for Evelyn until it was revealed that Jobu, like all of us, is a suffering being. I like when Jobu takes Evelyn to The Everything Bagel, which is a spiraling, all-consuming black hole; she’s adorned with a circle at the top of her crown. For me, this is totally Sunyata (emptiness) that resembles an incomplete circle. Remember, we talked about not having a permanent self? Well, technically, in a cosmic ultimate truth way, the universe itself has no inherent meaning. Just as our identity is made of causes and conditions mostly done by us, we bring meaning to the universe. We’re the ones who said those bright things in the sky are stars, and we’re the ones who make up reality. Interestingly, when Jobu convinces her mom to join her in The Everything Bagel, she says nothing matters, that it's senseless. It sounds like she’s given up living in a universe she believes will never change, and because we don’t fully understand the universe anyway… what’s the point? This is a very common misunderstanding of the Buddha’s emptiness. Yes, we don’t know everything, and there’s a lot of things we can’t change, but there’s also a lot of things we can make. We are the creators of our own suffering, but we are also the creators of our joy—ironic. So whenever you hear emptiness or the phrase “nothing matters,” tell yourself that’s a really beautiful thing, because if our mind makes the world, and if we can generate positive thoughts for ourselves and for others, then the world can never be empty; that’s the real superpower.

Life is Suffering, But We Can Still Be Happy

« Backrooms » de Kane Parsons est un film très proche de nous, plus que quelqu'un pourrait le réaliser. Les Backrooms sont un espace déformé, tout comme notre esprit lorsqu'il touche à nos souvenirs. Il peut facilement changer la réalité sans que nous puissions nous en rendre compte.

Nous, les êtres humains, aimons réfléchir à un événement qui s'est produit, à une chose qui est arrivée ou à un mot que quelqu'un a dit. Notre cerveau est trop dramatique. Il aime exagérer les situations, trop y réfléchir. Et plus on réfléchit, plus on accepte nos sentiments comme des vérités inébranlables. Mais cela mène à des déformations de la réalité. Ces déformations causées par notre esprit nous rendent plus misérables.

Voilà : notre subconscient nous traite comme un ami à qui l'on raconte un moment. Il n'est pas possible que notre ami puisse visualiser ou comprendre cela exactement comme nous. Quelquefois, il peut percevoir les choses comme plus émotionnelles, plus exaspérantes ou plus effrayantes que ce que nous avons raconté.

Dans le film, ce problème est raconté à travers la métaphore de : « Demandez à quelqu'un qui n'a jamais vu de chien d'en dessiner un. » Les Backrooms créent tout ce qui existe, a existé et existera. Mais, tout comme notre esprit, elles déforment tout cela : les hommes, les objets, les lieux…

Sénèque dit à ce sujet : « On souffre plus dans l'imagination que dans la réalité. » Il était conscient de la manière dont nos pensées peuvent fausser les événements réels.

Translation:

Kane Parsons' Backrooms is a film much closer to us than most people realize. The Backrooms are a distorted space, much like our own minds when they come into contact with our memories. Our minds can easily alter reality without us even realizing it.

As human beings, we tend to dwell on an event that happened, something we experienced, or even a single word someone once said. Our brains are deeply dramatic. They love to exaggerate situations and overthink them. And the more we think, the more we begin to accept our feelings as unquestionable truths. Yet this process gradually distorts our perception of reality. These distortions created by our minds only make us more miserable.

In this sense, our subconscious treats us like a friend to whom we tell a story. That friend cannot visualize or understand the event exactly as we experienced it. Sometimes, they may perceive it as more emotional, more overwhelming, or more frightening than what we actually described.

The film expresses this idea through the metaphor: "Ask someone who has never seen a dog to draw one." The Backrooms recreate everything that exists, has existed, and will exist. But just like our own minds, they distort all of it: people, objects, places...

Starring Cristiana Dell’Anna, John Lithgow, & directed by Alejandro Monteverde (Sound of Freedom 2023)   Cabrini: A Saint in the Slums of New York City.  Receiving a 90% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes (a rating site fueled by “regular” viewers), this film was produced by Angel Studios and released in 2024. The official synopsis is as follows:  “(…)Francesca Cabrini [is] an Italian…

Citizen Vigilante is one of the most controversial films of 2026. Some see it as a courageous critique of institutional failure. Others see it as dangerous political propaganda.

I think both sides are missing the film's deepest message.

This isn't simply a debate about immigration or crime. It's about who has the authority to administer justice when governments fail—and why the answer the film gives is profoundly at odds with Christianity.

In this video, I break down the full plot, explain the ending, explore Uwe Boll's political philosophy, compare it to V for Vendetta, and examine why Citizen Vigilante functions as modern agitprop.