Gulliver's Travels: Michael Moore the Explorer in Who to Invade Next

America is identified as a nation of immigrants. These immigrants are thought to be the source of its subcultures. It is also a nation of individual explorers and inventors. Their activities are also a source of diverse subcultures. Many notable movies have made heroes of such innovators in different fields of endeavor. Michael Moore's movie Who to Invade Next is a documentary about his trips to other countries in search of more successful institutions of work, education, health services, and incarceration. The premise of the movie is Moore has come to invade the other countries and steal the secrets of their successes in order to reform similar American institutions. Moore finds only mild amusement rather than amazement from his “victims.” He discovers the advances he attributes to other countries were originally American innovations, adopted in other societies but abandoned in America, which has become strangely timid about progress and reform.     

Outcasts of Echo Park,Heroes of Brentwood: Quinceañera,Keeping Up with the Steins and Coming of Age in Ethnic L.A.

The challenge of maintaining a national identity as a subculture in America is most evident in connection with special occasions, like transition rites. Coming of age is such an event. The continuity and transformation of the subculture is at stake. In American cities, as exemplified by Los Angeles, the ethnic neighborhood becomes a New Old Country. Those who welcome change and those who resist change may belong surprisingly to unexpected categories, and the roles of the generations can also be more nuanced than popular stereotypes suggest.     

After the Fall: Awakening from the Dream in The Rider and Red Sparrow

Two recent movies, The Rider and Red Sparrow, are in contrast to a large number of movies celebrating the triumph of afflicted persons over obstacles that seem insurmountable. Through commitment, hard work, and determination, these characters are able to do the impossible. However, these two movies instead focus on the dire consequences of an inability to overcome obstacles. This change may reflect an increasing pessimism about current challenges and individuals’ ability to meet them.     

No Company for Old Men: Adventures in Unemployment in The Company Men

Cultural diversity is often attributed to groups in a society from a variety of cultural backgrounds. Assimilation then blends subcultures into a mainstream culture. However, history and circumstance give rise to new groups whose experiences and activities produce new diversity. Big events and big changes give rise to important differences between groups. Popular culture brings new subcultures to the attention of the mainstream. Examples are The Grapes of Wrath, The Best Years of Our Lives, and The Company Men, discussed as a step in bringing awareness of current unemployment issues.     

Dopaminerge Modulation striataler Plastizität

This article attempts to outline the neuronal foundations of movement automatization. In particular, it is shown that an increase in automaticity corresponds to processes of synaptic plasticity in the corticostriatal and corticocortical system. This mechanism is supposed to induce changes in the neuronal representations of the respective skill. Furthermore, the role of phasic dopamine release will be discussed with respect to its modulating effect on processes of plasticity.     

Runaway Train: Ex Machina and the Rebel Girls

Courtship is a fertile setting for culturally defined strategies. A common form of competition is criticizing the other group for being inadequate mates. Stories about romance between human beings and non-human participants allow such criticism. Movies about men finding mechanical partners are common. Non-human females are seen as more satisfactory than women, especially when women are transforming their roles to be less subservient.