Sam Bartos received a bachelor’s degree from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, where he double majored in film and philosophy. There, he shot several short films, including the black comedy film, “The Forest Friends - Live!” Afterwards, he received his master’s degree in philosophy from Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, through which he wrote his thesis on Soren Kierkegaard’s existential philosophy and how it relates to the films: There Will Be Blood (Director: Paul Thomas Anderson) and A Serious Man (Directors: Joel and Ethan Coen). In philosophy, he has strong interests in existentialism and ethics, more specifically how these areas intertwine with film/media. He has also taught various courses in Intro to Philosophy and Ethics at several other universities.