“I set many of my stories in a gritty "realist" world, but one that is plagued by an overuse of technology, which is akin to the world we find ourselves living in now.” WorldStoriesTechnologyRealist Author:Alexander Weinstein
“The environmental catastrophes we're presently seeing are considered "normal" though they're horrific. Fracking has made drinking water flammable, families are dying from planned lead poisoning in Flint, Michigan, mountaintop removal is killing families throughout Appalachia, and oil/mining companies continue to denigrate Native American and indigenous rights throughout the world (see North Dakota Pipeline presently). This is horrific - and yet we somehow consider it normal.” WorldMadeWaterCompanyRightsSeeingDyingNormalDrinkingEnvironmentalKillingOilNativeNative AmericanCatastropheIndigenousMichiganPoisoningHorrificRemovalMiningDrinking WaterPipelineDakotaAppalachiaFrackingNorth Dakota Author:Alexander Weinstein
“We're being asked to continually be "authentic" and "honest" with the world through social media. There's a demand to post our wedding pictures, baby pictures (only minutes after the birth), our relationship status, and our grief and joys on Facebook and Instagram. Similarly, we construct persona through dating apps and networking sites. All of these social media networks exert pressure on us to share the personal details of our lives with unknown masses. So the pressure on the characters in "Openness" isn't merely romantic, but public/social as well.” WorldWellsCharacterJoySocialGriefOur LivesShareMinutesHonestMediaBabyBirthDemandMassDatingPressureDetailsSocial MediaPostsOpennessOur RelationshipSiteConstructsNetworkingInstagramPersonaAppsOur WeddingNetworking SitesBaby PicturesWedding Pictures Author:Alexander Weinstein
“We shuffle out of office buildings after being laid-off by draconian bosses; we sit on hold for ten minutes only to be told by a supervisor that the charge on our cable bill can't be removed; we click a crying emoji on Facebook as our last whimper of protest. So rather than end the story ["Ice Age"] with the expected violence and destruction of evil, I wanted to focus on the way the characters end up sabotaging their own community though their attachments to the consumerism of the old world.” WorldWayEndsCharacterStoriesAgeWantedLastsEvilCommunityFocusViolenceMinutesCryBuildingTenOfficeDestructionBillsExpectedIceProtestAttachmentBossConsumerismCablesClicksOld WorldIce AgeShuffleSupervisorsLaid OffDraconianOffice Buildings Author:Alexander Weinstein