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My Hammer Dracula ebook is out! Alas, no one seems to want to read about vampires…but you can buy it and be one of the exclusive few who own it.
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I wrote about the first Black Mirror episode, Deliverance, and rape as a political program.
Utilitarians Everywhere
At the LA Times I wrote about Dr. Strange visiting Tibet like all the other superheroes in search of clichéd Asian awesomeness.
At the Guardian for Carrie’s 40th anniversary I wrote about horror films and female audiences.
At Quartz I wrote about:
—why empathizing with Trump voters is condescending and ugly.
—Peter Thiel, and why taking Trump seriously but not literally is dangerous.
—why we need to beat Grassley to end Republican obstruction (spoiler; it’s not ending.)
At Playboy I wrote about why we should lower the voting age.
At Splice Today I wrote about:
—A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, and the female vampire gaze.
—the terrifying Madea film and hating children.
At the Reader I wrote a little review of Lemaitre, a fun dance pop duo.
I don’t really agree that “The National Anthem” is “a snickering, victim-blaming depiction of sexual violence.” It has a snickering premise, but I think it’s played so straight that by the time we see the prime minister crying and vomiting, the show has gone beyond even black humor to the point of complete horror. In fact, it probably upset me more than any other fiction I’ve ever come across, and I’ve talked to other people who had similar reactions. Also, I’m not sure it endorses a double-standard for male and female rape victims so much as points it out. The show makes it clear that the prime minister’s rape is considered entertaining and he’s required to do anything to protect his family because he’s a man, and by the end, I hated the British public for caring more about their pretty, wholesome princess than about him.
Since you’ve been writing about political movies lately, I’d be interested to see your take on the other political-themed episode of Black Mirror, “The Waldo Moment.”
That’s interesting; I haven’t seen a lot of that reading online…
I may watch more black mirror shortly, we’ll see…
I also think Trump’s election gives “The National Anthem” extra resonance, as the sow depicts a ridiculous abstraction becoming horribly real.
I agree with you that “San Junipero” is mediocre, and I doubt you’ll like anything from the third season (you’ll especially hate the final episode, “Hated in the Nation,” which is kind of a mashup of Jon Ronson’s shaming book and “The Birds”). But the other episode I mentioned (season 2, episode 3) might be worth writing about in the context of Trump.
(I meant “show,” not “sow,” although the show does involve a sow.)