*Spoiler warning for The Hunger Games trilogy, including the latest film, Mockingjay Part 1* Oh, the tears. There are probably reasons why these novels and films hit me so hard. I just finished a class about happiness (or the lack thereof) in Romantic literature led by a professor who feels so acutely that many members … Continue reading Some Thoughts on Katniss Everdeen and Female Emotion
Post-apocalyptic fiction continually attempts to project itself into the future by resisting endings; each ending becomes instead an opportunity for continuation. Storytelling is the main method by which post-apocalyptic fiction attempts to resist closure, and this method can be traced back to the roots of the genre itself. Mary Shelley’s The Last Man, published in … Continue reading “If you can read this, LEAVE!!!” Storytelling in Left 4 Dead and Zone One
“That’s my last Duchess painted on the wall, Looking as if she were alive.” Robert Browning, “My Last Duchess” (1842) *SPOILER WARNING* In the latest Legend of Zelda title, Link saves a total of nine people from the villain, Yuga. They are (in no particular order): Gulley, the blacksmith’s son and Link’s childhood friend Queen … Continue reading My Last Princess: Women as Objects in The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
“Human sperm cells were seen with the earliest microscopes in the seventeenth century. The human egg is several thousand times larger, but — despite earlier postulates — it was not visualized until 1827. […] For something to be found, it must first be imagined and sought.” (Duffin, Jacalyn. A History of Medicine, (Toronto, ON: Toronto … Continue reading It’s a Man’s World: The Implications of Makeup in Mass Effect
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is, by many accounts, a feminist text. But what does that mean? Many would argue it means that it features a “strong female character.” But what does that mean? Buffy is certainly strong physically: she kicks ass (everyone knows that). But the fact that its heroine kicks ass — is that … Continue reading The Stake Is Not The Power: Patriarchal Power Systems in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Arkham City
bigtallwords 