A Brief History of Queer Coding in Film: Part 2
Weirdly, post-Hays films were sometimes worse than Hays-era films, both creatively and in how they deal with LGBTQIA+ topics and characters! Let’s look at some of these films, from The Exorcist to First Cow.
On Midnight Mass and Genre Expectations
The first problem with Midnight Mass is it doesn’t deliver on its promises. That’s not a problem with the show, but happens because its promises are wholly inaccurate. This is becoming a universal problem, exacerbated by handing all advertising responsibilities to detached departments wholly interested (and job-dependent) in getting people to watch a film, rather than … Continue reading
Divide and Conquer
I’ve wanted to stay away from the C word on this blog, at least outside of practical on-set situations and discussion of how it has impacted storytelling on various shows – SUPERSTORE incorporating masks in their blue-collar cast of characters, LEGENDS OF TOMORROW creating cast bubbles and so writing fewer overlapping ventures, KEVIN CAN F**K … Continue reading
#OrphanBlack: Sex, Drugs, Genetic Programming
This is written by Dale and myself, cross-posted from TVquila. In honor of Orphan Black’s Season 2 premiere, we present you with the first part of a three-part overview of Season 1. Part 2 (Orphan Black: Literary Themes, Structure, and Genre TV) and Part 3 (Orphan Black: Performance, Production, and Post) are coming over the next two … Continue reading
Lost Girl, Social Media, and the Nature of Bias
A Cohesive Response Last week, I got a lot of feedback on Twitter. Within my reply page were a lot of people who disliked something I said and who responded by suggesting the review was ‘biased.’ It mostly did feel angry, though some of that can be translation and the medium. Whatever its impetus, it … Continue reading
My Album of the Year: The Electric Lady
I started to write a post on why Janelle Monae’s The Electric Lady may be the best album of the year, but I ended up scribbling “Thesis: Ideas of Non-Violence and Violence in Janelle Monae’s Album The Electric Lady,” and the whole thing took on a mind of its own. This isn’t going to be … Continue reading
Lost Girl: Season 2, Episode 16, School’s Out
You know the drill. Possible spoilers through 03.13. All reviews here. Immediately upon discovering the premise for this episode, I groaned. Adults undercover, school dance, hot for teacher, Romeo and Juliet; I love episodes which play on tropes, but the back-to-high-school thing is ohmygosh so overdone. And indeed, all the big things are fairly predictable. It’s … Continue reading
Misogyny In The Newsroom
I wrote about The Newsroom last season, and it’s back on tonight! In preparation for this event, friend Dale and I have published a commentary over at our new venture, tvquila. Below is an excerpt. But if Will is Sorkin’s platonic form of masculinity, the show balances that out with characters that embody the ideals … Continue reading
Sexuality on Television: Part 2
Last week I wrote a little bit to introduce a podcast I was invited to do about sexuality in television; specifically in relation to female characters. Out of the five subtopics, we covered one in the first podcast. This is part 2 of the podcast, which covers a bit more ground. As always, please feel free … Continue reading
Lost Girl: Season 01, Episode 11, Faetal Justice
Possible spoilers through 03.13. All reviews here. The episode opens in Vex’s bar with so much testosterone, it’s almost tangible. Threats, pushing, literal growling. Dyson snarls, thanks Vex sarcastically for the drink, and leaves. Jump to an ominous shot by the light of a flickering streetlamp outside the clubhouse. Turns out it’s not just predicting Dyson’s … Continue reading
Mel Killingsworth - Film and TV blog 