Nov 30Oral and the beauty of unfulfilled fantasiesWhat Björk’s trying to tell us about kissing and salmon — Written and recorded in the late nineties, Björk and Rosalia’s Oral was recently released to the public. The accompanying music video shows both singers deepfaked on two dancers sparring with samurai swords. Their song’s poppy electronic beat complements its sensual lyrics, suitably so with its suggestive title. …Music4 min readMusic4 min read
Nov 24An abused child’s idea of a strong manThe Incredible Hulk’s incredibly toxic masculinity — What does our kid-friendly green screen giant have in common with unhealthy masculinity? In Ang Lee’s often-forgotten Hulk (2003) film, the audience sees Bruce Banner’s childhood from his perspective, watching his parents fight behind closed doors, with only rageful screams passing through the walls. His father then attempts to kill…Comics7 min readComics7 min read
Nov 18True Love Waits 21 yearsFor Radiohead — There’s a quote supposedly from Leonardo Da Vinci roaming around the internet: “Art is never finished, only abandoned.” How about a song that has debuted in live shows and has been in the works since earlier than 1995, only being released in a studio album as recently as 2016? Well…Music4 min readMusic4 min read
Nov 16Past Lives and the banality of loveRomanticizing the magical mundane — You see what seems like a couple sitting across from you, they don’t look all that special, no grand acts of love on display. You don’t understand their language, but love always has a vocabulary all on its own, one only the couple knows to speak. But their eyes alone…Cinema4 min readCinema4 min read
Nov 11How Gen V carries the X geneOr what if the X-Men live in a world with Twitter (X)? — Gen V on Amazon Prime is the most recent superhero show among the many commercial streaming “contents.” This one stands apart not by bringing in a surprise cameo — previously accused of assault — at the finale, but by being relevant, and focusing on character work rather than fan service…Superheroes4 min readSuperheroes4 min read
Oct 4Metal Gear Solid V as a metaphor for narcissismHow video games regulate the creation of the false self — Games9 min readGames9 min read
Sep 9Superheroes are dying and what that meansWhy My Adventures With Superman is a perfect shot in the arm for the genre. — What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Superman, the colloquial first superhero? Arguably, it used to be his kindness, Christopher Reeve’s warm smile, or a friendly super-friend giving you his hand. Now, you’d probably think of his visually awe-inspiring powers, laser vision in the…Superheroes8 min readSuperheroes8 min read
Aug 20Elden Ring is a metaphor for current-day cinemaYes, the Erdtree is Disney. — The Leaves Last year’s newest video game hit by FromSoftware: Elden Ring, presents players worldwide with a dark fantasy full of metaphors built around gold and trees. The protagonist is aptly called The Tarnished, meaning a gold that has corroded to reveal a discolored dark underneath. The game world that the player…Cinema6 min readCinema6 min read
Jul 31Being in Games and Becoming in FilmsComparison of character development and progression from two art mediums — I’d like to take these twin perspectives, of games and films, to study a single character and his arc from the beginning of each medium to its end. And that character… is Batman, a man famous for existing simultaneously in multiple media. Starting as a comic book superhero, his character…Film6 min readFilm6 min read
Mar 9The Batman Part II: The Second Person(a)Bruce Wayne’s Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. — Secret identities Throughout his 84-year tenure as a fictional character, the Batman has always had two identities: the masked vigilante and the billionaire playboy. As is customary with superheroes as a trope, these caped people do usually have an alter-ego or “other self.” This is precisely what is missing or intentionally omitted…Philosophy5 min readPhilosophy5 min read
