Film – Page 3 – bigtallwords

Apr 27, 2015Mar 19, 2017

The Fascist We Deserve: The Authoritarian Ideology of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy

Director Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy is one of the most respected works of fiction in the past decade, uniting popular and critical audiences in rarely agreed celebration of its value and importance to contemporary fiction. Its exclusion from the 2009 Academy Award “Best Picture” category sparked considerable controversy and even prompted the Academy … Continue reading The Fascist We Deserve: The Authoritarian Ideology of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy

Jan 5, 2015Jan 5, 2015

Some Thoughts on Katniss Everdeen and Female Emotion

*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

Jul 22, 2014May 9, 2015

Fighting Games and the Power of Motion

[Originally posted on PopMatters] It’s strange what can become normal when disbelief is suspended. So much of what is culturally understood about guns, government, science, other people, and so on is informed by the liberties taken by popular fiction. Fiction reflects reality. People can tell fiction from reality, but each still informs the other. Video … Continue reading Fighting Games and the Power of Motion

Jun 17, 2014Apr 24, 2015

“The sole ray of hope” and Other Platitudes

Superheroes are cool. I only read the occasional comic book and usually only if it’s a self-contained story because that’s a deep (and expensive) rabbit hole to fall into but I still love movies based on superhero comics and I especially enjoy reading about the history and mythos from more knowledgeable writers. There are several … Continue reading “The sole ray of hope” and Other Platitudes

Dec 4, 2012Apr 13, 2015

The Inelegance of the Videogame Satire

[Originally posted on PopMatters] Theoretically, there’s nothing holding back games from being an excellent vehicle for satire. Because they require the player to simulate a behavior—rather than just view that behaviour performed by someone else—games should be in a great position to illustrate how ridiculous or destructive certain behaviours are. I say in theory because there … Continue reading The Inelegance of the Videogame Satire