London Philosophy Collective

Poor Things is a 2023 film directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and written by Tony McNamara, based on the 1992 novel by Alasdair Gray. A co-production between Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States, the film stars Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, Ramy Youssef, Christopher Abbott, and Jerrod Carmichael. It focuses on Bella Baxter, a woman in Victorian London who is brought back to life via brain transplant and embarks on an odyssey of self-discovery. Poor Things was named one of the top ten films of 2023 by the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute, and received various accolades, including four wins at the 96th Academy Awards, two wins at the 81st Golden Globe Awards, and five wins at the 77th British Academy Film Awards, with Stone winning Best Actress at each of these ceremonies.

The East London Film Club is like a book club for films. Make sure you watch the film before you attend and then come and join in with the conversation. Please note we will not be showing the film at the meeting.

We will be meeting in the Function Room upstairs in the Star of the East.

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Philosophy in the Park is a philosophical discussion group. Open to all. No previous philosophical experience necessary.

We will meet at the Baroness Burdett Coutts Drinking Fountain in Victoria Park (East Park). It is marked down as "13" on the official maps found in the park.

Here's how it works:

• At the start of each hour vote on which questions to discuss. You can vote for more than one question if you'd like. The questions with the most votes are the questions we discuss.
• We then break up into groups and each group does a different question. The question is just a starting point and it's cool if you go on tangents and up end talking about different things. You're welcome to join in and participate or if you'd prefer you're welcome to sit back and enjoy the conversation.

After an hour we all come back together, take a quick break and then repeat all over again. So in 3 hours we go around 3 times.

The aim is to have fun, meet new people, generate interesting and thought-provoking conversations, have your horizons expanded, challenge your preconceptions and who knows - you might even learn something?

In order to make the conversations as fun, interesting and productive for everyone as possible please follow these simple guidelines:

1. Keep it Philosophical
   (No Science, no History, no Evolutionary Psychology, no contestable facts, personal anecdotes etc).
2. Think for Yourself
   (No phones, no looking up definitions, no name dropping Philosophers / books you've read).
3. Tangents are Cool
   (Don't worry too much if the subject drifts and you don't answer the question).
4. Keep it Succinct
   (Like this).
5. Be Excellent to Each Other
   (But of course).

Philosophy is about conceptual analysis. It's thinking about thinking. It's not about empiricism or the real world. It's about abstractions, concepts and ideas.

To terms of the right attitude: It's not about debating and trying to win - it's about listening to people and working collaboratively to increase our collective understanding.

No homework or prior knowledge or reading is necessary - simply come and enjoy the discussions.

After the event finishes you are welcome to stay for more chat and drinks.

If you would like to submit a question please join the Whatsapp group. Question submissions take place on the Thursday before the meeting.

We hope to see you there.

Nice one.

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In his first-ever short story collection, which spans forty years of work and features many never-before-published pieces, international bestselling author and legendary creator of From Hell, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and other modern classics, Alan Moore, presents nine stories full of wonder and strangeness, each taking us deeper into the fantastical underside of reality. In A Hypothetical Lizard, two concubines in a brothel for fantastical specialists fall in love, with tragic ramifications. In Not Even Legend, a paranormal study group is infiltrated by one of the otherworldly beings they seek to investigate. In Illuminations, a nostalgic older man decides to visit a seaside resort from his youth and finds the past all too close at hand. And in the monumental novella What We Can Know About Thunderman, which charts the surreal and Kafkaesque history of the comics industry over the last seventy-five years through several sometimes-naive and sometimes-maniacal people rising and falling on its career ladders, Moore reveals the dark, beating heart of the superhero business. From ghosts and otherworldly creatures to theoretical Boltzmann brains fashioning the universe at the big bang, Illuminations is exactly that - a series of bright, startling tales from a contemporary legend that reveal the full power of imagination and magic.

Available from all good libraries and book shops.

You don't have to have read it to join us - but it'll probably help.

We will be meeting in the Function Room upstairs in the Star of the East. It is a 3 minute walk from Westferry DLR station. It has a wide selection of food and drinks: https://thestaroftheeast.co.uk/

We hope to see you there.

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Cloud Atlas is a 2012 epic science fiction film written and directed by the Wachowskis and Tom Tykwer. Based on the 2004 novel by David Mitchell, it has multiple plots occurring during six eras in time. Cast members perform multiple roles in these time periods. It was produced with a budget between US$100 million and US$146.7 million provided by independent sources, making it one of the most expensive independent films ever produced. Critics were polarized, causing it to be included on various "Best Film" and "Worst Film" lists.

The East London Film Club is like a book club for films. Make sure you watch the film before you attend and then come and join in with the conversation. Please note we will not be showing the film at the meeting.

We will be meeting in the Function Room upstairs in the Star of the East.

...