Utilitarian Review 10/25/14

On HU

Featured Archive Post: Shonté Daniels on cosplaying and race.

Paul Mullins with drawings of guys, dogs, and cars for the gay utopia.

Me on how British abolitionism was used in favor of racist imperialism.

Adrian Bonenberger on how Lovecraft influenced his war memoir.

Chris Gavaler on Ghost Rider and selling your soul to your corporate overlords.

Josselin Moneyron on forthcoming classic manga from Breakdown Press, including work by Maki.

Me on Philip Sandifer’s critical history of Wonder Woman, and WW and the male gaze.

Me on Hunger Games, Ann Halam’s lovely Dr. Franklin’s Island, and the best music you’ve never heard. (A sideways introduction to our upcoming roundtable on the Best Band You’ve Never Heard Of.)

 
Utilitarians Everywhere

At the Atlantic:

— I reviewed Jill Lepore’s Wonder Woman book.

—I talked about how gamergate is mirroring comics history (Sarkessian= Groth, sort of.)

—I talk about Annie Lennox and how sex and feminism is for white women.

At Pacific Standard I wrote about why men don’t read romance novels.

At Reason I talked to sex workers and experts to see if the U.S. should adopt Canada’s C36 bill on prostitution.

At Splice Today I argued that the GOP opposes Obamacare because Obama.
 
Other Links

Mistress Matisse on Seattle’s End Demand campaign against johns.

Mariame Kaba on Ferguson, justice, and applauding black death.

Dear Author on why pseudonyms are necessary.

Sara Benincasa on feeling unwelcome in games.
 

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Utilitarian Review 10/17/14

On HU

Featured Archive Post: Subdee on Homestuck as metatext of doom.

Me on what happens when you take racism out of Gone with the Wind and H.P. Lovecraft.

Me on how Columbus was a genocidal monster.

Ng Suat Tong on how Snowpiercer the film is cheerier than Snowpiercer the comic.

Alex Buchet with a collection of his favorite TCJ covers.

Kim O’Connor on comics crit and solipsism.

Brian Cremins on curating a show featuring work by Edie Fake, John Porcellino, and Marnie Galloway.

Chris Gavaler on fictional Bath, past, present and future.
 
Utilitarians Everywhere

At Pacific Standard I wrote about the right-wing whackos who think Michelle Obama is a trans woman, and how black women are denied femininity.

At Esquire I wrote about Jose Alaniz’s book Death, Disability and the Superhero, and superheroes as disempowerment fantasy.

At the Atlantic I wrote about gender, race, and the Snoop/Iggy twitter beef.

At Splice Today I wrote about

— a great electronica/dance label, Soulection.

— politicians spouting nonsense and the press spouting more nonsense.
 
Other Links

Ambrose Bierce on Columbus.

Sean T. Collins interviewed Anita Sarkeesian.

Ben Casselman on why 538 doesn’t cover markets.

Victoria Law on the failures of carceral feminism.

Mary McCarthy on paying to buy twitter followers.
 

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Utilitarian Review 10/11/14

On HU

Featured Archive Post: Allan Haverholm on comics definitions.

A few of us talked about the best music of the year so far.

Me on Nick Cave’s The Boatman’s Call.

Nicholas Labarre on the history of the history of meta-Godzilla.

Me on Alexis Coe’s book about a lesbian murder in Memphis, Alice and Freda Forever.

Ng Suat Tong on the crappiness of the Dishonorable Woman.

Christopher Lehman on warnings about racist content on Tom and Jerry episodes.

Chris Gavaler on Les Mis, superheroes, and the closet.
 
Utilitarians Everywhere

At Reason I wrote about how Internet activism helps sex workers.

At Pacific Standard I wrote about

—Emma Watson being wrong about Beyoncé performing for the male gaze

Steven Salaita and how the university doesn’t care about teaching

At Splice Today:

— I finally saw the Avengers and it sucked.

— I finally saw the Game of Thrones pilot and it wasn’t so great either.Center for Digital Ethics I argued that it’s unethical to look at stolen celebrity nudes.

At the Chicago Reader, a brief review of Marketa Irglova.

A short music mix for Publik Private.

 
Other Links

A comic on stripping and stigma.

Samantha Field on Buffy and Riley’s abusive relationship.

Jamie Nesbitt Golden on grieving for her mom.

Olga Khazan on Nickelodeon and white guys.
 

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Utilitarian Review 10/4/14

On HU

Featured Archive Post: Deb Aoki on selling manga to grown ups.

Me on cartoonists drawing blindfolded to make high art.

Me on race, class and Iggy Azalea.

Kate Polak on Jeremy Love’s Bayou and the persistence of racism.

Chris Gavaler on being swamped with superheroes.

Kristian Williams on the anti-imperial message of the 2012 Red Dawn.

Kailyn Kent on what Lois Lane was drinking, and wine vs. cheerios.

Michael A. Johnson on Fabrice Neaud and autobiographical comics.
 
Utilitarians Everywhere

At Reason I wrote about a new report which suggests that police engage in racial profiling in prostitution arrests.

At the Awl I argue that H.P> Lovecraft’s racism is the reason to read him.

At Esquire I wrote about Left Behind and Terminator and the joys of apocalypse.

At the Pacific Standard I explained why Gone With the Wind should be out of copyright.

At Splice Today I wrote about

— Gary Hart, Willie Horton, and how campaigns matter.

— Walter Mondale, and how voters don’t care if you promise to raise taxes.

— the New York Times and why you need to make a commitment if you want diverse writers.

For the Chicago Reader a brief review of alt country stalwart Todd Snider.
 
Other Links

John Gray neatly eviscerates Richard Dawkins.

Nicole Rudick on Anya Davidson’s School Spirits.

syvo on Black Adam.

Charles Davis on unpaid internships in the film industry.

Miles Klee on sexism in the alt lit scene.

Tracy Q. Loxley on Fox News and dim-witted misogyny.
 

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Utilitarian Review 9/27/14

On HU
Featured Archive Post: Caroline Small on why David Lowery is a lousy spokesman for the future of music.

Chris Gavaler on Superman in France.

A list of 10 books that have stayed with me (or possibly more than 10.

Kim O’Connor on Gabrielle Bell and how men and women’s autobio comics are treated differently by critics.

Ng Suat Tong on how to read Luke Pearson’s Hilda, for adults.

Chris Gavaler on how Watchmen lowered the number of words per page in superhero comics.

Qiana Whitted talks about how she self-censored the comics she taught to elementary school students.

James Romberger reviews comics he found at SPX.
 
Utilitarians Everywhere

At Pacific Standard I wrote about stigma against sex workers and stigma against black women and how the two affect each other. N’jalie Rhee and Pia Glenn have a discussion about the article on TWIB Nation.

At the Atlantic I wrote about J. Lo and Nicky Minaj and lesbian eroticism.

I was on CNN talking about Emma Watson and misogyny; the Daily Caller made fun of my hair.

At Splice Today I write about:

—why people are more worried about inflation than unemployment.

— gamersgate and knowing the critics you review.

At the Chicago Reader I have a brief review of Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives.
 
Other Links

Alexis Coe interviews Karen Abbott on historical nonfiction and the differences in the way that historical nonfiction by women is treated.

Russ Smith on the greatest hippie song ever.

Jillian Keenan on how spanking should be for sex, not for kids.
 

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Utilitarian Review 9/20/14

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On HU

Featured Archive Post: Kinukitty on what’s wrong with Daniel Clowes’ Ghost World.

Me on Colson Whitehead’s Zone One and the dream of zombie assimilation.

Rebecca Field makes a militant homosexual dress and talks about dyke marches.

Ng Suat Tong argues (contra me) that the Morales/Baker Truth, and its take on the black Captain America, really is not very good.

Tracy Q. Loxley argues (contra me) that rock is too dead.

Stacey Donovan, author of the wonderful YA novel Dive, talks about how she became a writer.

Roy T. Cook asks, was Spider-Woman harmed by that Milo Manara cover?

Sean Michael Robinson on the songwriting of Kate Bush.
 
Utilitarans Everywhere

At Pacific Standard I argued that online harassment of women isn’t a gamer problem.

At Splice Today I wrote about

A.O. Scott, children’s lit and how the patriarchy loves stories about dead patriarchs.

— the most influential male country singer of all time.

The folks at the Center for Digital Ethics collected some of their essays (including a few of mine) into a dead tree thing. So if you want to read my prose embedded in dead trees, here’s your chance.

At the Chicago Reader I make some recommendations for things to see at the Chicago art expo.
 
Other Links

Brendan Nyhan on why science journals need to report negative results.

Tressie McMillan Cottom on feminism, class, Lean In, and other matters.

Nice piece evaluating Hauerwas’ theological contributions at First Things.

Darren Chetty on why non-white kids need to see themselves in children’s lit.

Will Wilkinson points out that Tom Frank doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

Mary McCarthy on losing her house.

Nicky Smith, on how Steely Dan is still great.
 

Utilitarian Review 9/13/14

On HU

Featured Archive Post: Comics vs. Fashion editorials.

Kim O’Connor with a brief take on Bianca Bangarelli’s brief comic “Fish”.

Conseula Francis and Qiana Whitted on the disappointing ending to the story of the black Captain America in Truth.

Kim O’Connor on R. Crumb’s unpleasant influence on comics criticism.

Ng Suat Tong on crying at the skating drama “Ice Castles.”

Alex Buchet on Sherlock Holmes and the women.

Adrielle Mitchell on science comics and page layout.

Chris Gavaler on Pride and Prejudice and Superman.
 
Utilitarians Everywhere

At the Atlantic:

— I tell Gene Simmons that rock isn’t dead.

—I interviewed Beverly Tatum, the president of Spelman, about race and education.

—I review the documentary “Take Me To the River” and explain why Britney pops up in a film about Memphis soul.

At Pacific Standard I talk about Mike Brown, “no angel”, Harriet Beecher Stowe and stereotypes of black men.

At Splice Today I talk about:

Air Supply, the Beach Boys, and the virtues of musical inauthenticity.

— how I could been a thespian.

At the Reader I have a short review of rapper Lizzie, who is great.

The Gone With the Wind study guide I worked on for Shmoop is online.
 
Other Links

Can’t remember if I posted this before, but I really like this piece by Alice Bolin on Miranda Lambert and Beyonce.

Dee Lockett on FKA Twigs.

Amanda Hess on Taylor Swift.

And Fantagraphics is going to publish Fukitor, if folks want to talk about that.
 

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