Meta links 05/18/2015 - 05/252015
Notices
If you have meta to submit or rec, please comment to this post or to the screened Submissions Post. If you'd like to give us blanket permission to link your meta please comment to the Blanket Permissions Post. If you have feedback or questions, check out our FAQ, Contact the Mods, or PM/email. If you'd like to volunteer to link-find or mod, please comment to the Volunteers Post.
Links
General Fandom
Untitled: mmanalysis (Tumblr) - "To look at these kinds of questions as attacks on you means Pegg is right - you’re not absorbing your entertainment intelligently. You’re only using it as escapism, and you’re being infantilized. And there’s more - as Pegg points out in his reply, you’re being coopted by a massive consumerist machine that has turned you into a pliable, exploitable resource - a resource that puts money into their system in exchange for an endless supply of plastic garbage and shitty t-shirts."
topic:fandom, topic:remakes, topic:socialjustice
Fan Theories, Deep Reads And Second Guessing: Devin Faraci (blog) - Explanation of the three different ways the author sees for approaching a canon.
topic:canon, topic:fanon, topic:headcanon
Control Your Gun In Comics: Don’t Put the Muzzle There!: Melinda Pierce (blog) - "If you’d like a frank discussion over gun legislation, Second Amendment rights, or violence in comic books, this is not the article for you. There is a place for each of these, but what I’d like to bring to the table is a discussion about the respect given to the representation of firearms in comic books. Specifically covers."
fandom:comics, topic:comics
The On-Screen Response and Reaction to Televised Rape and Sexual Assault Needs to Change: The Mary Sue Contributor (blog) - "The issue comes down to using rape as an interchangeable plot device, and not addressing the long-term effects it would have. That is when rape becomes "gratuitous.""
topic:television, topic:movies, topic:literature, warning:rape
Magical Mondays: Purity and the Magical Girl Genre: Tsunderin (blog) - "However, it’s not the costumes that interest me today. Instead, it’s what gives these magical teens their powers in a virtuous sense because, let’s face it, you’re probably not going to see a magical warrior with the powers of burning rage, even though that would be really cool."
fandom:anime, fandom:manga, topic:superheroes
How HBO Killed Art: Michael Carson (blog) - "What is interesting is how this formula has garnered so much critical acclaim. At what point did the mere display of sex and violence become the equivalent of aesthetic sophistication?"
topic:sex, topic:violence, topic:television
From the Birth of a Queen to The END: Female Foils in Mecha Anime: Paige Sammartino (blog) - "Mecha anime and manga are a goldmine for series about political intrigue, the powers of love and friendship, and the giant robots that tie stories and characters together. One trend I’ve noticed across this genre is the female foil: two female characters who fit a similar profile yet directly oppose one another in almost all characteristics-logical versus emotional, distant versus affectionate, combative versus sidelined."
fandom:anime, topic:femalecharacter
Temba, his arms wide...: morgandawn (LJ) - "A while back I did a series of posts about how technology has shaped - and continues to shape - our fandom culture. The short version: We do not use technology, technology uses us. And I am not alone in blogging about this."
topic:technology
Specific Fandom
Angel
3.06 Billy: theangelewatch (tumblr) - "This is a great episode for Cordelia. Particularly because she doesn’t have to be strong in the face of a man or Billy’s cruelty. Cordelia is on a woman mission the entire episode and she’s not overly emotional or aggressive. She’s very calm, very collected and doing this because it has to be done. "
fandom:angel
Avatar
Avatar: The Biggest Movie Ever! (Why?): Siddhant Adlakha (blog) - "Why then did more people watch this movie than any other in history? Why was it such a massive success despite the fact it only ever comes up in conversation when Cameron talk about its potential sequels or if somebody mentions the fact that it made money?"
fandom:avatar
Avengers
Do You Feel Loki? Hypnosis, Brainwashing, and The Avengers: Eugenia Hu (blog) - "Stereotypes and misconceptions of hypnosis and brainwashing pervade not just movies, but public discourse and even scientific communities. But happily and maybe unexpectedly, Whedon got a couple big things right."
fandom:mcu, topic:psychology, topic:science
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Age of Ultron, Part 2: James Daily (blog) - "Now we turn to Ultron itself: could Ultron be held legally liable for damage that it caused?"
fandom:mcu, topic:law
"The Kinematics AOU Meta You Didn’t Know You Needed": quiescentire (blog) - "I listened to Ultron monologue about his dastardly plan of dropping a rock onto the Earth in order to wipe out the human race like the Biblical flood and thought to myself: really? Because the reason celestial impact events are so destructive is that celestial objects (comets, meteors, asteroids, and other space junk) are going really, really fast when they hit the Earth."
fandom:mcu, topic:science
On "canon fanfic": buckyballbearing (Tumblr) - "So recently I mentioned that I consider Joss Whedon a "fanfic writer" in relation to the MCU. Which seems like a weird thing to say, yeah, given that he’s in charge of setting the actual canon for Age of Ultron. At worst, it may seem like I’m using fanfic as a slur. So I thought I’d go a little more in depth about what it means to be a "canon fanfic writer", and why I felt that so heavily in AoU."
fandom:mcu, topic:tropes, topic:canon
Babies, Natasha Romanoff and "mosnters":fenchurchstudent (tumblr) - "The point of Natasha’s revelation in this scene (however heavy-handed and clumsily handled) is not to convey the message that being unable to bear children is somehow monstrous."
fandom:mcu, topic:canon
Untitled:plain-flavoured-english (tumblr) - "OK so now that I’ve had a chance to cool off and get some perspective, here’s the main reason I left Age of Ultron really pissed off at Joss Whedon"
fandom:mcu
Natasha + Red Room:blueincandescence (tumblr) - "More people are responding to the Red Room part of AoU, and one thing I read was very thoughtful, but I think missing some key elements that are essential to keep in mind to contextualize the scene"
fandom:mcu
Some Doylist Responses to AoU:cesperanza (tumblr) - "I’ve already done a couple of posts but this one is me collecting some of my more Doylist thoughts about Age of Ultron."
fandom:mcu
Reactions to Age Of Ultron: eponis (tumblr) - "I came out of the movie feeling ambivalently positive: "that was a fun use of 2.5 hours, but I don’t have the immediate urge to rewatch it or write/read All the Fic." The more that I think about it, though, the more troubled I am, and I think the reasons revolve around two big ways in which it’s hugely ideologically problematic."
fandom:mcu
Natasha + Romantic Arc = Hero's Journey: blueincandescence (tumblr) - "Okay, but even if you don’t like the pairing, even if you prefer Natasha as a Badass Female Character Who Don’t Need No Man, consider this:
Natasha Romanoff was not reduced by her romantic arc; she was tested by it.
"
fandom:mcu
Batman
Ep. 56: "The Mechanic": The Arkham Sessions (podcast) - "Although the episode is full of action-packed chases and hostage situations, there’s still a lot of psychology to discuss! Is The Penguin a sociopath? And what’s a sociopath anyway? What does all this destruction say about Batman?"
fandom:dcanimated, topic:psychology
Why Cassandra Cain is the True Successor to the Bat Mantle: Drupkins (blog) - "With Batman being the most human of DC’s Trinity, there’s always the looming question of who takes over once Batman either retires or makes his final stand as the Caped Crusader. More than that, who could truly replace the Batman?"
fandom:dccomics
Between
Between, Season 1, Episode 1: School’s Out: Sparky (blog) - Episode recap followed by some meta comments.
fandom:between, warning:spoilers
Bones
Why I Stopped Watching Bones:fozmeadows (tumblr) - "I’m interested in your thoughts on Bones cause I haven’t been able to describe what exactly it is that changed but something has felt off for quite some time, and hadn’t thought of Brennan being the focal point. Could you possibly illuminate further?"
fandom:bones
Braveheart
Why There’s No Such Thing as an Historically-Accurate Movie, part 1: aelarsen (blog) - "So I’ve said a couple times that there is no such thing as an historically-accurate movie, and it’s time for me to start explaining what I mean by that. And let’s use that most irritating of historical movies, Braveheart, as an example to illustrate the issues involved."
fandom:braveheart, topic:history, topic:adaptations, topic:movies
Why There’s No Such Thing as an Historically-Accurate Movie, part 2: aelarsen (blog) - "But let’s put all those cinematic conventions aside. Let’s concede the need to make our hypothetical historically accurate movie watchable in the short space of 2-3 hours, and to offer a coherent and satisfying narrative to the viewer. Even with all of that granted, it’s still impossible to make a truly historically accurate film. Let’s get back to Braveheart to see why."
fandom:braveheart, topic:history, topic:adaptations, topic:movies
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Cordelia Chase: ESTJ:typologicalmusings (tumblr) - Cordelia is a blunt and straightforward person who takes shit from no one. She knows what she wants in life and strives to make it happen through the manipulation of her external environment. She is open with her attitudes and opinions, often to the point of offensiveness to other people, and is energised by interactions with others, becoming bored when left to her own devices for too long.
fandom:btvs
Thoughts on-- no surprises here-- Buffy the Vampire Slayer: patrickshand (tumblr) - But this most recent time, rewatching both Buffy and Angel, having gone through so much more myself, I feel for Buffy in season six and seven on a deeper level than perhaps any of the other characters.
fandom:btvs
Prophecy Girl: unclenintendos (tumblr) - It’s strange. I remember hating this episode the first time around. Now I think it may be my favorite in the first season, or up there.
fandom:btvs
Cosmere
Words of Radiance Reread: Chapter 39: Alice Arneson (blog) - Recap, analysis and discussion of the chapter in question.
fandom:cosmere
Daredevil
Giving The Devil His Due: Diversity in Daredevil Season 1: Jamie Kingston (blog) - Analysis of representation in Daredevil season 1.
fandom:daredevil, topic:diversity
Doctor Who
The Randomiser: The Ark: louisedennis (LJ) - "Way back when, near the beginning of this Randomiser lark, we watched The Savages and I was struck by how strong Dodo was when I had mentally classed her with a lot of the sixties girly screamers*. The Ark is her first proper story and she's really good here too - robust, cheerful, and a lot less clingy than a lot of sixties teenage companions end up being."
fandom:doctorwho
Dragon Prince
Rereading Melanie Rawn: Sunrunner’s Fire, Chapter 18: Judith Tarr (blog) - "This week we’re focusing on one long, dense chapter. Rohan and Sioned reach some uncomfortable conclusions, and Pol reveals his true intentions."
fandom:dragonprince
Dragonlance
The Dragonlance Chronicles Reread: Dragons of Autum Twilight, Chapters 19 and 20: Mahvesh Murad and Jared Shurin (blog) - Recap, analysis and discussion of the chapters in question.
fandom:dragonlance
Ex Machina
Ex Machina: A (White) Feminist Parable for Our Times: J.A. Micheline (blog) - "Though Caleb is our protagonist, it is Ava who is our true hero. Her escape at Caleb’s expense is a complete victory because-and I really believe this-the point of this entire film is to say one thing:
A truly actualized female consciousness is one who feels completely free to use her oppressors to achieve her own ends."
fandom:exmachina
Far From the Madding Crowd
Movie Review: Far From the Madding Crowd: Carrie S. (blog) - "Far From the Madding Crowd is a drama set in the Victorian period about Bathsheba Everdeen, a prosperous farmer with three very different suitors. Here are our impressions"
fandom:farfromthemaddingcrowd
First Law Trilogy
Rereading Joe Abercrombie’s First Law Trilogy, Last Argument of Kings: "The Seventh Day" and "Too Many Masters": Justin Landon (blog) - Recap, discussion and analysis of the chapters in question.
fandom:firstlawtrilogy
The Flash
A Closer Look: The Flash - "Fast Enough": The Insightful Panda (blog) - "I am completely confident in saying that The Flash won the title of Greatest Season Finale of the ’14-’15 Season. Although the excitement doesn’t end there because this Season Finale closed things off just as well as it set things up. So let’s take one last Closer Look at The Flash - Season One - "Fast Enough"."
fandom:theflash, warning:spoilers
The First Season of CW’s The Flash Was a Massive Pop-Paradox: Ryan Britt (blog) - "In contrast with something like Marvel’s new Daredevil series, The Flash comes across a little schmaltzy-like the guy who is pretending to like hardcore rock, but who gets freaked out at a real mosh pit. In truth, I am always that guy in real life, so I like The Flash more than Daredevil even though I’d have to admit Daredevil is "better.""
fandom:theflash
Forbidden Empire
Forbidden Empire Review: Something Wacky This Way Comes: Meredith Borders (blog) - "But Forbidden Empire opens with a wonderful energy right off the bat, and maintains stamina over the next near two hours, with a boisterous drive barreling us from one scene to the next."
fandom:forbiddenempire
Game of Thrones
We’re More Theon than Sansa: Game of Thrones’ "Subtle" Viewer Trolling: Kate Polak (blog) - "She does, however, neglect one major point that made me appreciate the scene in an unexpected way-we as viewers are asked to identify with-or empathize with-the right character given the viewership."
fandom:gameofthrones, warning:rape
Sexualized Saturdays: Game of Thrones and the Sansa-Theon-Ramsay Atrocity: MadameAce (blog) - "For those of you who don’t know what happened, Game of Thrones dug itself into yet another hole with the episode "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken". That episode’s ending scene is the worst thing ever. It’s so bad that I’m not even sure I can accurately represent my rage and disgust logically."
fandom:gameofthrones, warning:rape
The Gift: Philip Sandifer (blog) - "All the same, when one plot is being brilliantly accelerated it makes the fact that we're stuck in a banal plot in which nothing happens save for a desperately unpleasant character ruling with cruel impunity over more interesting characters all the more frustrating."
fandom:gameofthrones, warning:spoilers
Tailgate, Taste of Winter: Johnny (blog) - "Welcome back to our Game of Thrones tailgate! Here we collect the best headlines from the past week, preview the next episode, and provide a fresh thread to chat in while we await the next episode."
fandom:gameofthrones
The Gift Open Thread: Johnny (blog) - Open discussion of The Gift.
fandom:gameofthrones, warning:spoilers
Should Game of Thrones be boycotted forever more?: msunyata (blog) - "In the 24 hours immediately following the airing of "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken," Game of Thrones's latest - and highly controversial - episode, a conversation spontaneously broke out amongst several of the writers and editors here at the Tower that very quickly prompted us to stop and say, "Hey - wouldn't this make for a perfect roundtable?""
fandom:gameofthrones, warning:rape
"Game of Thrones" politics: "All rulers are butchers - or meat": Steven Attewell (blog) - "However, we’re finally starting to see momentum gathering, as the characters are being pushed to the brink as we find out what they are willing to sacrifice to achieve victory, and whether the gods will view those sacrifices favorably."
fandom:gameofthrones, topic:politics, warning:spoilers
Game of Thrones Discussion: S5, E6 and E7: "Guys, Where Are We?": Laura Fletcher, Corrin Bennett-Kill, Cheryl Collins (blog) - Three way discussion of the two episodes.
fandom:gameofthrones, warning:spoilers, warning:rape
Bowed, Bent, and Broken: Responses to THAT Episode of Game of Thrones: Sarah Richardson (blog) - Several contributors discuss the episode in question, the book canon, and the choices the creative team behind Game of Thrones made.
fandom:gameofthrones, warning:rape
Review: The Gift: ghostlovesinger (blog) - ""The Gift" played out like a paint-by-numbers kit, and while some colors were brighter than others, there was never any point where you couldn't figure out the basic shape of the picture. In some cases, this predictability was the result of less-than-subtle foreshadowing earlier in the season."
fandom:gameothrones, warning:spoilers
A Brief Treatise on the Rules of Thrones 2.01: The North Remembers: Philip Sandifer (blog) - "The first sequence of play moved with deliberateness, driven forward by two breathtakingly beautiful dramatic engines: the transition from ice in the cold open to fire in the closing shot and the death of Eddard Stark."
fandom:gameothrones
Episode Review: "The Gift": Theresa DeLucci (blog) - Analysis and discussion of the episode.
fandom:gameofthrones, warning:spoilers
Return to Westeros: "The Gift" Review: MadameAce (blog) - "In "The Gift", the writers continue to show us how not aware they are of anything that they are writing."
fandom:gameofthrones, warning:spoilers
Game of Thrones, Season 5, Episode 7: The Gift: Sparky (blog) - Episode recap followed by meta comments.
fandom:gameofthrones, warning:spoilers
Ghost
"Ditto": The Pop Motion Picture Catharsis of Ghost: Jacob Knight (blog) - "Ghost takes the idea of the horror movie and morphs it into something peculiarly saccharine; a chronicling of one prematurely deceased’s inability to say goodbye to the woman he loves. However, even on an aesthetic level, it asks the audience to consider choices they make in their everyday lives."
fandom:ghost
Grimm
Grimm: Oh Hell No: Sparky (blog) - "So we come to the fourth season of Grimm and a terrible dilemma - there’s just so much wrong here that touching on any one issue wouldn’t give the full depth of a season that left us yelling "oh hell no" at the screen every episode."
fandom:grimm, warning:spoilers, warning:rape
Harry Potter
The Harry Potter Reread: The Order of the Phoenix, Chapters 11 and 12: Emily Asher-Perrin (blog) - "We’re back at Hogwarts and we’re about to get a closer look at the new DADA teacher! (oh no.) It’s chapters 11 and 12 of The Order of the Phoenix-The Sorting Hat’s New Song and Professor Umbridge."
fandom:harrypotter
The Beginning: author_by_night (LJ) - "Now, in the past I've wondered why the HP fandom took off the way it did. I've listed a number of possible factors - timing (it was the AOL/AIM/Yahoo IM/messageboard/everything else techie tekky), similar fandoms co-inhabiting "cyberspace" as we called it, and so on"
fandom:harrypotter, topic:fandom
The Imitation Game
The Imitation Game: marta_bee (LJ) - "Basically, this movie was two stories (at least two), one triumphant and one tragic - which made for a kind of unsatisfying climax and structure. It felt like I was supposed to pity the waste of ... the talent, just the tragedy of this man's untimely death? And, I don't know, in a war story where tragedy is all around, that's a bit underwhelming at the end of the day."
fandom:theimitationgame
iZombie
iZombie, Season 1, Episode 10: Me Berserk: Sparky (blog) - Episode recap followed by some meta comments.
fandom:izombie, warning:spoilers
James Bond
A View to a Kill at 30: Phil Nobile Jr (blog) - "Which brings us to A View To A Kill, Moore’s 1985 swan song/last gasp in the role, released on this day in 1985. Once again, it feels like the film was penned with a younger actor in mind."
fandom:jamesbond
Bond Girl: Re-Watching and Re-Evaluating Diamonds Are Forever: Zina Hutton (blog) - "I’m going to miss Sean Connery’s Bond showing up in the Eon Production films, but Diamonds Are Forever is basically the best movie on which to send him out. It exemplifies all the good and bad about Connery’s Bond films and the franchise as a whole. I definitely lost track of how many times I watched the film, but it was definitely worth it."
fandom:jamesbond
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell: "The Friends of English Magic": Emily Asher-Perrin (blog) - "Unfortunately, this premiere offering is too crammed with information to be coherent, and perhaps too timid as well."
fandom:jonathanstrangeandmrnorrell, topic:adaptations, warning:spoilers
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, Season 1, Episode 1: The Friends of English Magic: Sparky (blog) - Episode recap followed by some meta comments.
fandom:jonathanstrangeandmrnorrell, warning:spoilers
Joss Whedon
untitled: trainsinanime, downtoolong (tumblr) - "There is a lot of valid criticism to be made about Joss Whedon’s body of work, especially (but not only) when it comes to depiction of women and so on…[b]ut then, a lot of the criticism also seems to be "how dare he challenge his characters? How dare he involve women in drama?""
fandom:josswhedon
JRR Tolkien
Dying Young in the House of During: andhehandedhimthetobaccojar (forum) - "I was looking at the House of Durin Family Tree, and it stood out to me that a lot of the dwarves listed die at a tragically young age."
fandom:jrrtolkien
Kingsman
We Pause This Discussion for a Rant About Kingsman: Jennifer Crusie (blog) - "It’s what they do to Roxy as a character that makes me want to shoot the people who made this with an umbrella set to "Stun.""
fandom:kingsman
Legend of Zelda
Piece of Heart: Heartaches and Sick Days: Alexis Anderson (blog) - "Illnesses are rarely named in Zelda, though they’re usually caused by a curse or something of that sort. However, we’ve had antagonists die from shots through the heart, and we’ve even had a case of amnesia. So let’s pick apart the symptoms that our dear characters exhibit, and make informed literary diagnoses!"
fandom:legendofzelda
Mad Max
Crone Wars: on the Mythology of Fury Road: Lashes and Stars (blog) - "Because what the world of Fury Road ultimately needs is to clear away the Sky Gods to make room for Maiden, Mother and Crone."
fandom:madmax, warning:spoilers
Mad Max: Fury Road is Great. Here’s Why It’s Also Important: Leah Schnelbach (blog) - "Multiple reviews referred to the film as "thin." I would disagree-first, Miller is telling a symbolic story, not a linear one. That story happens to be about war and its aftermath, slavery, the objectification of human beings, and PTSD."
fandom:madmax, warning:spoilers
Mad Max: Fury Road, As Reviewed By My 70-Year-Old Mother-In-Law: Mary (blog) - "One thing I can say for the new Mad Max, Mad Max Fury Road, is that it didn’t put me to sleep. I usually find a few moments to nod off during movies now that I’m older, but Mad Max Fury Road kept me wide awake the whole time. And I like the new guy, Tom Hardy. Mel Gibson was always so grubby. I don’t like grubby."
fandom:madmax, warning:spoilers
Mad Max Fan Theory Will Make You Want To See Fury Road Again: James Wallace (blog) - "Though there are obvious things that connect them together, with Mad Max himself of course being the throughline…but what if Tom Hardy’s Mad Max in Mad Max: Fury Road isn’t THE Mad Max?!"
fandom:madmax, warning:spoilers
Why The Latest Mad Max "Fan Theory" Is A Crock Of Shit: Devin Faraci (blog) - "Before I completely debunk this, I have to ask why this theory even exists. Part of it is because the Mad Max films have profoundly loose continuity, and this bothers people."
fandom:madmax
Furiosa (5): fasterthanlight427 (blog) - "Until then, here are a few short descriptions of elements I loved and would like to examine/discuss more closely in future."
fandom:madmax, warning:spoilers
Mad Max: Fury Road and Narrowing the Gender Gap in Hollywood: Kat Green (blog) - "This is the only action film I’ve ever seen that has more than one female that is relevant to the story, and doesn’t build them all up to be either some perfect looking badass virgin looking for the right man to tame her, or a dominatrix. It shows multiple female characters, with different strengths and vulnerabilities, having a character arc that is not just about getting laid."
fandom:madmax, warning:spoilers
"We are not things" in Mad Max: Lindsey Loree (blog) - "Mad Max: Fury Road is everything an action movie should be, and it expands the boundaries of what an action movie can be. It’s the darling of the media circuit, for good reason, and this post will probably be lost in the sea of Furiosa worship."
fandom:madmax, warning:spoilers
Mad Max: Fury Road: Hello, Tailor (blog) - "It fulfills my desire to see women work together to protect each other, and for people to overthrow their destructive and abusive leaders. It works on a fundamental level because I know what it's like to live in a world ruined by centuries of pollution, controlled by a cruel patriarchal culture that disregards the souls and bodies of women."
fandom:madmax, warning:spoilers
Is Fury Road Really All That Feminist?: Phillip Smith (blog) - "What concerns me is that one is presented as though it excuses the other - that once the film has established its feminist credentials it feels that it has a free pass to indulge the male gaze and present certain female characters as the prize in a wholly phallic contest between male agents."
fandom:madmax, warning:spoilers
We Are Not Things: Mad Max: Fury Road Is A Feminist Masterpiece: Lady Saika (blog) - "Mad Max is a victory for representation on approximately a million levels."
fandom:madmax, warning:spoilers
Fury Road as Feminism or Strong Female Caracters: Gabrielle Patterson (blog) - "But since the release there has been a rising commentary from notable feminist critics that, though there are a lot of great things about Mad Max, including the well-written female characters, it’s not a feminist movie."
fandom:madmax, warning:spoilers
My Reaction to Mad Max: Fury Road and the Utter Perfection that is Imperator Furiousa: nospockdasgay (Tumblr) - "Watching Fury Road, I felt like I was watching my own struggle brought to life (albeit in a very fantastical setting), and I don’t think I ever realized how truly profound that could be for me."
fandom:madmax, warning:spoilers, topic:disability
Mad Max as Feminist Ally: Tansy Raynor Roberts (blog) - "I still don’t know if I can put into words how amazing it felt to see a movie like Fury Road that was not getting it wrong. It wasn’t just putting one strong, powerful, interesting woman into a genre that so often uses women as scraps and baggage and window dressing. It was telling a whole story where women were the centre, women were everywhere you looked. Different women. Surviving terrible things and living to tell the tale, or sacrificing themselves nobly for other women."
fandom:madmax, warning:spoilers
Sleeps With Monsters: Mad Max: Fury Road: Liz Bourke (blog) - "There’s a layer of the film that challenges you to see these women as objects, that puts you directly in the shoes of the film’s villain, Immortan Joe, if you do: if you don’t heed the words the characters themselves speak: WE ARE NOT THINGS."
fandom:madmax, warning:spoilers
"Mad Max" Is A Feminist Playbook For Surviving Dystopia: Laurie Penny (blog) - "But Fury Road reminds the viewer that the liberation of women is not just a prerequisite for social equality - it’s is also a damn good story. Patriarchy, it turns out, is prettiest when it’s on fire."
fandom:madmax, warning:spoilers
The Canon Episode 28: The Road Warrior vs Mad Max: Fury Road: Devin Faraci (podcast) - "This episode was originally supposed to be Mad Max vs The Road Warrior, neither of which Amy had seen. We wanted to get the show on the air after the release of Mad Max: Fury Road and tap into what we expected would be some resurgent interest in the films. Then Amy watched the two movies and couldn't figure out how anybody would vote Mad Max over The Road Warrior... then she saw Fury Road and decided that we had to bring that movie into the conversation."
fandom:madmax, warning:spoilers
Mad Max/Game of Thrones
We Are Not Things: Mad Max Versus Game Of Thrones: Chuck Wendig (blog) - "If both are male-driven worlds, you can then take a pretty good guess how women are viewed in these worlds?"
fandom:madmax, fandom:gameofhrones
Mad Max/Tomorrowland
How Fury Road Debunks Tomorrowland: Devin Faraci (blog) - "Tomorrowland has the bad luck to be released the week after Mad Max: Fury Road. Not for box office reasons - I’m not sure that a PG-rated family film is truly competing with an R-rated action picture - but because Fury Road so totally refutes the case made by Tomorrowland… before the movie even has a chance to make it."
fandom:madmax, fandom:tomorrowland
Mad Men
http://www.themarysue.com/ode-to-feminism-of-mad-men/">An Ode to the Feminism of Mad Men: Rachel Catlett (blog) - "The seventh and final season of Mad Men proved to me that it is a show about feminism. The characters are not necessarily feminists, but Mad Men is, at its core, a series primarily concerned with the struggles of women in the 1960s."
fandom:madmen
Marvel Cinematic Universe
Untitled: of-aether-and-earth (Tumblr) - "As Marvel’s comics become slowly more diverse they become increasingly at odds with the more limited representation in Marvel’s films."
fandom:mcu, fandom:marvelcomics, topic:diversity
Fitzskimmons Lament Part One: Marvel and the Endlessly Straight Path: Sam Keeper (blog) - "Marvel and Disney apparently can make a movie about a talking raccoon and his tree friend but can't introduce a single queer character. Or make a movie starring a woman. But that's a rant for another day."
fandom:mcu, fandom:daredevil, fandom:agentsofshield, topic:queer
Fitzskimmons Lament Part Two: Satisfaction: Sam Keeper (blog) - "So let's take this week to talk about the various ways in which Marvel, a studio that seemingly can do anything, continues to do, in a myriad of ways, absolutely nothing to support its queer fans."
fandom:mcu, fandom:agentsofshield, topic:queer
The Messengers
The Messengers, Season 1, Episode 6: Metamorphosis: Sparky (blog) - Episode recap followed by some meta comments.
fandom:themessengers, warning:spoilers
Midsomer Murders
Midsummer Conspiracies: lizcommotion (DW) - "I've always thought that people would have to be nuts to live in Midsummer (of fictional Midsummer Murders). Small communities, about three people die per episode, there's four-ish episodes per series, and 17 series so far. That's roughly 204 fictional murders since 1997, and all the British police have done is assign two rather bumbling detectives to the cases. Surely that much of a crime spike deserves a closer investigation...unless it's intentional?"
fandom:midsomermurders
Olympus
Olympus, Season 1, Episode 7: Love and Time: Sparky (blog) - Episode recap followed by some meta comments.
fandom:olympus, warning:spoilers
The Originals
The Originals, Season 2, Episode 22: Ashes to Ashes: Sparky (blog) - Episode recap followed by meta comments.
fandom:theoriginals, warning:spoilers
Orphan Black
Orphan Black Science Recap: "Scarred by Many Past Frustrations": Casey Griffin and Nina Nessith (blog) - "Welcome to our Orphan Black science recaps, where Casey, a graduate student in genetics and developmental biology, and Nina, a professional science communicator, examine the science in each episode of OB and talk you through it in (mostly) easy-to-digest terms."
fandom:orphanblack, topic:science, warning:spoilers
Orphan Black: "Certain Agony of the Battlefield" Review: stinekey (blog) - "I was a bit worried when this season began that it was getting too complex for itself, but since then everything has been directed toward a more streamlined trajectory. And now, with "Certain Agony of the Battlefield," I think we’ve hit an emotional peak."
fandom:orphanblack, warning:spoilers
Orphan Black, Season 3, Episode 6: Scarred by Many Past Frustrations: Sparky (blog) - Episode recap followed by some meta comments.
fandom:orphanblack, warning:spoilers
Outlander
Outlander Episode 15: Wentworth Prison: Smart Bitches, Trashy Books (blog) - "Torture, sexual assault. Even beyond those things, it’s a dark, dark episode with a lot of terrible things happening."
fandom:outlander, warning:spoilers, warning:rape, warning:torture
Poltergeist
Poltergeist Review: Built On The Burial Ground Of A Much Better Movie: Meredith Borders (blog) - "Gil Kenan's Poltergeist remake changes the name of the afflicted little girl from Carol Anne to Madison, and while, on the outside, that's a pretty innocuous change, it also feels like a perfect symbol of the blandification of Steven Spielberg and Tobe Hooper's extraordinary original: Carol Anne is such a quaint and specific character name. And how many of your friends' kids are named Madison? All of them, right?"
fandom:poltergeist, topic:remakes
Review: Poltergeist Is the Definition of an Unnecessary Remake: Lesley Coffin (blog) - "The films being remade now aren’t being made because the filmmaker leading the charge sees an opportunity to improve, modernize, or take another view; they are remaking movies they love in order to pay homage to them. And Poltergeist may be guiltier of this than any film of this kind in recent years."
fandom:poltergeist, topic:remakesReal Genius
30 Years Later Real Genius is Still the Geek Solidarity Film That Nerd Culture Deserves: Emily Asher-Perrin (blog) - "For one, the movie is better at portraying geeks in ways that don’t just melt down to old tropes of pocket protectors and bow ties and awkwardness. It communicates that having an outrageous IQ can be isolating, but doesn’t make all smart people out to be socially undeveloped shut-ins."
fandom:realgenius
A Royal Night Out
A Royal Night Out: as fluffy and sugary as a Victoria sponge: Alex von Tunzelmann (blog) - "A Royal Night Out is a fluffy, sugary, royalty-loving, historically preposterous confection, which will delight those who like that sort of thing - and leave those who don’t feeling like they’ve just spent 97 minutes being force-fed Victoria sponge."
fandom:aroyalnightout, topic:history
Salem
Salem, Season 2, Episode 7: The Beckoning Fair One: Sparky (blog) - Episode recap followed by some meta comments.
fandom:salem, warning:spoilers
Sherlock
"Sherlock, Sally and Otherness": pennypaperbrain (blog) - "Far more meaningfully than any of the show’s villains are, Sally is Sherlock’s polar opposite - to the extent that the extremity of their defensive posturing reveals a common humanity. I doubt this symbolism was intended by the show runners, but it works for me."
fandom:bbcsherlock
A Song of Ice and Fire
Chapter-by-Chapter Analysis: Bran V, ACOK: Steven Attewell (blog) - "As I’ve touched on a bit in the past, ACOK gives us many parallel chapters where we see the impact of one character’s decisions or events through another characters eyes. With this chapter, we’re heading into a section where the parallels are flying at the reader faster and faster as we move towards convergence on Winterfell and King’s Landing."
fandom:asoiaf
Top Characters #12 Stannis Baratheon: RenlySupporter16 (blog) - "There is no black and white in the world of Ice and Fire, only shades of grey, and Stannis, is amongst the greyest."
fandom:asoiaf
Eddard Stark’s Other Bastard: MGonen (blog) - "I believe this to be only half the story - Jon and Aegon have their paternity precisely reversed."
fandom:asoiaf
A Read of Ice and Fire: A Dance with Dragons, Part 21: Leigh Butler (blog) - "Today’s entry is Part 21 of A Dance With Dragons, in which we cover Chapter 35 ("Jon") and Chapter 36 ("Daenerys")."
fandom:asoiaf
The Sound of Music
The Beige Ubiquity of The Sound of Music: Andrew Todd (blog) - "And indeed, as a narrative drama, barely anything actually happens in this goddamned movie. At three hours, it takes way longer to tell its true* story than necessary."
fandom:thesoundofmusic
Star Trek
Paramount Wants To Ruin Star Trek! Or Maybe They Want To Just Make It Star Trek: Devin Faraci (blog) - "What is Star Trek? I have been fascinated to see this question playing out in the media and fandom every since JJ Abrams rebooted the series. Over the last couple of years I've begun to suspect something about how people (in general, not everybody) are defining Star Trek: in the light of the tedious Star Trek: The Next Generation."
fandom:startrek, topic:remakes
Star Trek is a Television Progam - Period: Shawn Taylor (blog) - "There is something that all Trek fans have to come to terms with: Star Trek should not be a film franchise. Never. Ever. The evidence is out there."
fandom:startrek, topic:movies, topic:movies
How The Replicator Destroys The Federation And Leads To Humanity Becoming A Slave Race To The Vulcan: ryannorth and Zach Feinstein (Tumblr) - Pretty much what the title says.
fandom:startrek, topic:economics
Star Wars
Luke Skywalker and Beyond: Tosche Station Radio (podcast) - "Heath joins us this week for a discussion of all things Luke Skywalker!"
fandom:starwars
How Did The Empire Build A Second Death Star So Quickly?: ryannorth and Zach Feinstein (Tumblr) - "What economic systems would permit the Empire to build a second Death Star in only a few years when the first one took decades?"
fandom:starwars, topic:economics
Star Wars: Symbolic Cycles of the Moon: Becca Benjamin (Blog) - "One of the ongoing topics for discussion is the lack of women that are represented or portrayed within the storyline, that, and the lack of a storyline within the Prequels. Perhaps, those that feel so strongly about both accusations are going about it all wrong …"
fandom:starwars
The Evolution of Women in the Star Wars Universe: Episode IV: A New Hope: Amy Richau (Blog) - "In Episode IV: A New Hope, there were two women with speaking roles and less than ten other women can be spotted, if you look for them, in the background. Three women can be spotted in the deleted scenes from A New Hope, one of whom even had a few lines. Who are these women and where can you find them? Let’s take a look."
fandom:starwars
Revisiting the Star Wars Prequels: Anthony Parisi (Blog) - "I love all six episodes and have grown to appreciate the mosaic they create even more as an adult. They are remarkably layered and interesting, forming a dazzling piece of pop art that’s as thoughtful and sincere as it is entertaining.
fandom:starwars
The Lesson Nobody Learned from Empire Strikes Back: Darren Franich (Blog) - "The Empire Strikes Back is faster and more intense-but only because it’s smaller and more personal."
fandom:starwars
Supergirl
A Closer Look: Supergirl "Pilot" - Analysis, Easter Eggs & More: The Insightful Panda (blog) - "As such, here is a Closer Look at Supergirl’s "Pilot" episode in the hopes that you too will become more excited about this series and give it your full attention when it releases later this year."
fandom:supergirl, warning:spoilers
Supernatural
Supernatural ‘Brothers Keeper’ Review: Uve (blog) - "Let’s start with stating one thing clear: no, I’m not satisfied with this season finale, the main problem being that it didn’t feel like a finale at all. Nor I’m satisfied with this season, but that’s a whole other matter."
fandom:supernatural, warning:spoilers
SPN 10.22 The Prisoner: blackcat333-99 (LJ) - "Some promises are made to be kept. Some promises are made from empty intentions. Some promises can't be kept. And some promises are strictly up to the maker, to keep or break."
fandom:supernatural
Stream of Consciousness, Epi 10.22: gaelicspirit (LJ) - "However, before I delve into how Dean beating on Cas in this episode was almost a mirror image of Cas beating on Dean in S8's "Goodbye Stranger," or how cruel words spoken to a loved one when wrapped in a cloud of anger of pain are soon laced with regret, I want to talk about the title, "The Prisoner." That caught me almost immediately when I saw it on my DVR. I'm sure there are many and varied theories out on the interwebs right now about who the title is referring to -- and with as meta as our fandom can get, I'm almost certain they will each be wonderfully well-thought-out. But...this is my Ramble so you're stuck with my theory."
fandom:supernatural
Failed Expectations: Supernatural Season 10: Alex Brown (blog) - "Season 10 wasn’t the worst thing ever created, but it was far from good. We need to have a heart-to-heart, Supernatural. Your fans, we love you, but you’re throwing away your best years on pointless distractions and meaningless philosophizing."
fandom:supernatural, warning:spoilers
Supernatural, Season 10, Episode 23: Brother’s Keeper: Sparky (blog) - Episode recap followed by some meta comments.
fandom:supernatural, warning:spoilers
Tintin
Tintin’s travel traumas: Health issues affecting the intrepid globetrotter: Caumes E, Epelboin L, Leturcq F, Kozarsky P, Clarke P. (abstract) - Abstract of a scholarly medical article looking at Tintin’s canonical injuries and their (lack of) long term effects.
fandom:tintin, topic:medicine
Tomorrowland
Review: Tomorrowland is a Disneyfied Take on The Disaster Film: Lesley Coffin (blog) - "All this is to say, the fact that Tomorrowland is the closest we’ll get to Disney taking on the apocalypse and the end of the world on screen seems fitting, considering it is coming out in-between Mad Max: Fury Road and San Andreas."
fandom:tomorrowland
Siderea Reads Watership Down: Introduction, Part One, and Part Two: Siderea (LJ)
- "Watership Down is my favorite book. It may be the best novel I have ever read. Certainly it had the most profoundly, seriously interesting things to say, and rocked my world when I first read it and subsequently over and over on re-reads.."
fandom:watershipdown, warning:spoilers
If you have meta to submit or rec, please comment to this post or to the screened Submissions Post. If you'd like to give us blanket permission to link your meta please comment to the Blanket Permissions Post. If you have feedback or questions, check out our FAQ, Contact the Mods, or PM/email. If you'd like to volunteer to link-find or mod, please comment to the Volunteers Post.
Links
General Fandom
Untitled: mmanalysis (Tumblr) - "To look at these kinds of questions as attacks on you means Pegg is right - you’re not absorbing your entertainment intelligently. You’re only using it as escapism, and you’re being infantilized. And there’s more - as Pegg points out in his reply, you’re being coopted by a massive consumerist machine that has turned you into a pliable, exploitable resource - a resource that puts money into their system in exchange for an endless supply of plastic garbage and shitty t-shirts."
topic:fandom, topic:remakes, topic:socialjustice
Fan Theories, Deep Reads And Second Guessing: Devin Faraci (blog) - Explanation of the three different ways the author sees for approaching a canon.
topic:canon, topic:fanon, topic:headcanon
Control Your Gun In Comics: Don’t Put the Muzzle There!: Melinda Pierce (blog) - "If you’d like a frank discussion over gun legislation, Second Amendment rights, or violence in comic books, this is not the article for you. There is a place for each of these, but what I’d like to bring to the table is a discussion about the respect given to the representation of firearms in comic books. Specifically covers."
fandom:comics, topic:comics
The On-Screen Response and Reaction to Televised Rape and Sexual Assault Needs to Change: The Mary Sue Contributor (blog) - "The issue comes down to using rape as an interchangeable plot device, and not addressing the long-term effects it would have. That is when rape becomes "gratuitous.""
topic:television, topic:movies, topic:literature, warning:rape
Magical Mondays: Purity and the Magical Girl Genre: Tsunderin (blog) - "However, it’s not the costumes that interest me today. Instead, it’s what gives these magical teens their powers in a virtuous sense because, let’s face it, you’re probably not going to see a magical warrior with the powers of burning rage, even though that would be really cool."
fandom:anime, fandom:manga, topic:superheroes
How HBO Killed Art: Michael Carson (blog) - "What is interesting is how this formula has garnered so much critical acclaim. At what point did the mere display of sex and violence become the equivalent of aesthetic sophistication?"
topic:sex, topic:violence, topic:television
From the Birth of a Queen to The END: Female Foils in Mecha Anime: Paige Sammartino (blog) - "Mecha anime and manga are a goldmine for series about political intrigue, the powers of love and friendship, and the giant robots that tie stories and characters together. One trend I’ve noticed across this genre is the female foil: two female characters who fit a similar profile yet directly oppose one another in almost all characteristics-logical versus emotional, distant versus affectionate, combative versus sidelined."
fandom:anime, topic:femalecharacter
Temba, his arms wide...: morgandawn (LJ) - "A while back I did a series of posts about how technology has shaped - and continues to shape - our fandom culture. The short version: We do not use technology, technology uses us. And I am not alone in blogging about this."
topic:technology
Specific Fandom
Angel
3.06 Billy: theangelewatch (tumblr) - "This is a great episode for Cordelia. Particularly because she doesn’t have to be strong in the face of a man or Billy’s cruelty. Cordelia is on a woman mission the entire episode and she’s not overly emotional or aggressive. She’s very calm, very collected and doing this because it has to be done. "
fandom:angel
Avatar
Avatar: The Biggest Movie Ever! (Why?): Siddhant Adlakha (blog) - "Why then did more people watch this movie than any other in history? Why was it such a massive success despite the fact it only ever comes up in conversation when Cameron talk about its potential sequels or if somebody mentions the fact that it made money?"
fandom:avatar
Avengers
Do You Feel Loki? Hypnosis, Brainwashing, and The Avengers: Eugenia Hu (blog) - "Stereotypes and misconceptions of hypnosis and brainwashing pervade not just movies, but public discourse and even scientific communities. But happily and maybe unexpectedly, Whedon got a couple big things right."
fandom:mcu, topic:psychology, topic:science
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Age of Ultron, Part 2: James Daily (blog) - "Now we turn to Ultron itself: could Ultron be held legally liable for damage that it caused?"
fandom:mcu, topic:law
"The Kinematics AOU Meta You Didn’t Know You Needed": quiescentire (blog) - "I listened to Ultron monologue about his dastardly plan of dropping a rock onto the Earth in order to wipe out the human race like the Biblical flood and thought to myself: really? Because the reason celestial impact events are so destructive is that celestial objects (comets, meteors, asteroids, and other space junk) are going really, really fast when they hit the Earth."
fandom:mcu, topic:science
On "canon fanfic": buckyballbearing (Tumblr) - "So recently I mentioned that I consider Joss Whedon a "fanfic writer" in relation to the MCU. Which seems like a weird thing to say, yeah, given that he’s in charge of setting the actual canon for Age of Ultron. At worst, it may seem like I’m using fanfic as a slur. So I thought I’d go a little more in depth about what it means to be a "canon fanfic writer", and why I felt that so heavily in AoU."
fandom:mcu, topic:tropes, topic:canon
Babies, Natasha Romanoff and "mosnters":fenchurchstudent (tumblr) - "The point of Natasha’s revelation in this scene (however heavy-handed and clumsily handled) is not to convey the message that being unable to bear children is somehow monstrous."
fandom:mcu, topic:canon
Untitled:plain-flavoured-english (tumblr) - "OK so now that I’ve had a chance to cool off and get some perspective, here’s the main reason I left Age of Ultron really pissed off at Joss Whedon"
fandom:mcu
Natasha + Red Room:blueincandescence (tumblr) - "More people are responding to the Red Room part of AoU, and one thing I read was very thoughtful, but I think missing some key elements that are essential to keep in mind to contextualize the scene"
fandom:mcu
Some Doylist Responses to AoU:cesperanza (tumblr) - "I’ve already done a couple of posts but this one is me collecting some of my more Doylist thoughts about Age of Ultron."
fandom:mcu
Reactions to Age Of Ultron: eponis (tumblr) - "I came out of the movie feeling ambivalently positive: "that was a fun use of 2.5 hours, but I don’t have the immediate urge to rewatch it or write/read All the Fic." The more that I think about it, though, the more troubled I am, and I think the reasons revolve around two big ways in which it’s hugely ideologically problematic."
fandom:mcu
Natasha + Romantic Arc = Hero's Journey: blueincandescence (tumblr) - "Okay, but even if you don’t like the pairing, even if you prefer Natasha as a Badass Female Character Who Don’t Need No Man, consider this:
Natasha Romanoff was not reduced by her romantic arc; she was tested by it.
"
fandom:mcu
Batman
Ep. 56: "The Mechanic": The Arkham Sessions (podcast) - "Although the episode is full of action-packed chases and hostage situations, there’s still a lot of psychology to discuss! Is The Penguin a sociopath? And what’s a sociopath anyway? What does all this destruction say about Batman?"
fandom:dcanimated, topic:psychology
Why Cassandra Cain is the True Successor to the Bat Mantle: Drupkins (blog) - "With Batman being the most human of DC’s Trinity, there’s always the looming question of who takes over once Batman either retires or makes his final stand as the Caped Crusader. More than that, who could truly replace the Batman?"
fandom:dccomics
Between
Between, Season 1, Episode 1: School’s Out: Sparky (blog) - Episode recap followed by some meta comments.
fandom:between, warning:spoilers
Bones
Why I Stopped Watching Bones:fozmeadows (tumblr) - "I’m interested in your thoughts on Bones cause I haven’t been able to describe what exactly it is that changed but something has felt off for quite some time, and hadn’t thought of Brennan being the focal point. Could you possibly illuminate further?"
fandom:bones
Braveheart
Why There’s No Such Thing as an Historically-Accurate Movie, part 1: aelarsen (blog) - "So I’ve said a couple times that there is no such thing as an historically-accurate movie, and it’s time for me to start explaining what I mean by that. And let’s use that most irritating of historical movies, Braveheart, as an example to illustrate the issues involved."
fandom:braveheart, topic:history, topic:adaptations, topic:movies
Why There’s No Such Thing as an Historically-Accurate Movie, part 2: aelarsen (blog) - "But let’s put all those cinematic conventions aside. Let’s concede the need to make our hypothetical historically accurate movie watchable in the short space of 2-3 hours, and to offer a coherent and satisfying narrative to the viewer. Even with all of that granted, it’s still impossible to make a truly historically accurate film. Let’s get back to Braveheart to see why."
fandom:braveheart, topic:history, topic:adaptations, topic:movies
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Cordelia Chase: ESTJ:typologicalmusings (tumblr) - Cordelia is a blunt and straightforward person who takes shit from no one. She knows what she wants in life and strives to make it happen through the manipulation of her external environment. She is open with her attitudes and opinions, often to the point of offensiveness to other people, and is energised by interactions with others, becoming bored when left to her own devices for too long.
fandom:btvs
Thoughts on-- no surprises here-- Buffy the Vampire Slayer: patrickshand (tumblr) - But this most recent time, rewatching both Buffy and Angel, having gone through so much more myself, I feel for Buffy in season six and seven on a deeper level than perhaps any of the other characters.
fandom:btvs
Prophecy Girl: unclenintendos (tumblr) - It’s strange. I remember hating this episode the first time around. Now I think it may be my favorite in the first season, or up there.
fandom:btvs
Cosmere
Words of Radiance Reread: Chapter 39: Alice Arneson (blog) - Recap, analysis and discussion of the chapter in question.
fandom:cosmere
Daredevil
Giving The Devil His Due: Diversity in Daredevil Season 1: Jamie Kingston (blog) - Analysis of representation in Daredevil season 1.
fandom:daredevil, topic:diversity
Doctor Who
The Randomiser: The Ark: louisedennis (LJ) - "Way back when, near the beginning of this Randomiser lark, we watched The Savages and I was struck by how strong Dodo was when I had mentally classed her with a lot of the sixties girly screamers*. The Ark is her first proper story and she's really good here too - robust, cheerful, and a lot less clingy than a lot of sixties teenage companions end up being."
fandom:doctorwho
Dragon Prince
Rereading Melanie Rawn: Sunrunner’s Fire, Chapter 18: Judith Tarr (blog) - "This week we’re focusing on one long, dense chapter. Rohan and Sioned reach some uncomfortable conclusions, and Pol reveals his true intentions."
fandom:dragonprince
Dragonlance
The Dragonlance Chronicles Reread: Dragons of Autum Twilight, Chapters 19 and 20: Mahvesh Murad and Jared Shurin (blog) - Recap, analysis and discussion of the chapters in question.
fandom:dragonlance
Ex Machina
Ex Machina: A (White) Feminist Parable for Our Times: J.A. Micheline (blog) - "Though Caleb is our protagonist, it is Ava who is our true hero. Her escape at Caleb’s expense is a complete victory because-and I really believe this-the point of this entire film is to say one thing:
A truly actualized female consciousness is one who feels completely free to use her oppressors to achieve her own ends."
fandom:exmachina
Far From the Madding Crowd
Movie Review: Far From the Madding Crowd: Carrie S. (blog) - "Far From the Madding Crowd is a drama set in the Victorian period about Bathsheba Everdeen, a prosperous farmer with three very different suitors. Here are our impressions"
fandom:farfromthemaddingcrowd
First Law Trilogy
Rereading Joe Abercrombie’s First Law Trilogy, Last Argument of Kings: "The Seventh Day" and "Too Many Masters": Justin Landon (blog) - Recap, discussion and analysis of the chapters in question.
fandom:firstlawtrilogy
The Flash
A Closer Look: The Flash - "Fast Enough": The Insightful Panda (blog) - "I am completely confident in saying that The Flash won the title of Greatest Season Finale of the ’14-’15 Season. Although the excitement doesn’t end there because this Season Finale closed things off just as well as it set things up. So let’s take one last Closer Look at The Flash - Season One - "Fast Enough"."
fandom:theflash, warning:spoilers
The First Season of CW’s The Flash Was a Massive Pop-Paradox: Ryan Britt (blog) - "In contrast with something like Marvel’s new Daredevil series, The Flash comes across a little schmaltzy-like the guy who is pretending to like hardcore rock, but who gets freaked out at a real mosh pit. In truth, I am always that guy in real life, so I like The Flash more than Daredevil even though I’d have to admit Daredevil is "better.""
fandom:theflash
Forbidden Empire
Forbidden Empire Review: Something Wacky This Way Comes: Meredith Borders (blog) - "But Forbidden Empire opens with a wonderful energy right off the bat, and maintains stamina over the next near two hours, with a boisterous drive barreling us from one scene to the next."
fandom:forbiddenempire
Game of Thrones
We’re More Theon than Sansa: Game of Thrones’ "Subtle" Viewer Trolling: Kate Polak (blog) - "She does, however, neglect one major point that made me appreciate the scene in an unexpected way-we as viewers are asked to identify with-or empathize with-the right character given the viewership."
fandom:gameofthrones, warning:rape
Sexualized Saturdays: Game of Thrones and the Sansa-Theon-Ramsay Atrocity: MadameAce (blog) - "For those of you who don’t know what happened, Game of Thrones dug itself into yet another hole with the episode "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken". That episode’s ending scene is the worst thing ever. It’s so bad that I’m not even sure I can accurately represent my rage and disgust logically."
fandom:gameofthrones, warning:rape
The Gift: Philip Sandifer (blog) - "All the same, when one plot is being brilliantly accelerated it makes the fact that we're stuck in a banal plot in which nothing happens save for a desperately unpleasant character ruling with cruel impunity over more interesting characters all the more frustrating."
fandom:gameofthrones, warning:spoilers
Tailgate, Taste of Winter: Johnny (blog) - "Welcome back to our Game of Thrones tailgate! Here we collect the best headlines from the past week, preview the next episode, and provide a fresh thread to chat in while we await the next episode."
fandom:gameofthrones
The Gift Open Thread: Johnny (blog) - Open discussion of The Gift.
fandom:gameofthrones, warning:spoilers
Should Game of Thrones be boycotted forever more?: msunyata (blog) - "In the 24 hours immediately following the airing of "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken," Game of Thrones's latest - and highly controversial - episode, a conversation spontaneously broke out amongst several of the writers and editors here at the Tower that very quickly prompted us to stop and say, "Hey - wouldn't this make for a perfect roundtable?""
fandom:gameofthrones, warning:rape
"Game of Thrones" politics: "All rulers are butchers - or meat": Steven Attewell (blog) - "However, we’re finally starting to see momentum gathering, as the characters are being pushed to the brink as we find out what they are willing to sacrifice to achieve victory, and whether the gods will view those sacrifices favorably."
fandom:gameofthrones, topic:politics, warning:spoilers
Game of Thrones Discussion: S5, E6 and E7: "Guys, Where Are We?": Laura Fletcher, Corrin Bennett-Kill, Cheryl Collins (blog) - Three way discussion of the two episodes.
fandom:gameofthrones, warning:spoilers, warning:rape
Bowed, Bent, and Broken: Responses to THAT Episode of Game of Thrones: Sarah Richardson (blog) - Several contributors discuss the episode in question, the book canon, and the choices the creative team behind Game of Thrones made.
fandom:gameofthrones, warning:rape
Review: The Gift: ghostlovesinger (blog) - ""The Gift" played out like a paint-by-numbers kit, and while some colors were brighter than others, there was never any point where you couldn't figure out the basic shape of the picture. In some cases, this predictability was the result of less-than-subtle foreshadowing earlier in the season."
fandom:gameothrones, warning:spoilers
A Brief Treatise on the Rules of Thrones 2.01: The North Remembers: Philip Sandifer (blog) - "The first sequence of play moved with deliberateness, driven forward by two breathtakingly beautiful dramatic engines: the transition from ice in the cold open to fire in the closing shot and the death of Eddard Stark."
fandom:gameothrones
Episode Review: "The Gift": Theresa DeLucci (blog) - Analysis and discussion of the episode.
fandom:gameofthrones, warning:spoilers
Return to Westeros: "The Gift" Review: MadameAce (blog) - "In "The Gift", the writers continue to show us how not aware they are of anything that they are writing."
fandom:gameofthrones, warning:spoilers
Game of Thrones, Season 5, Episode 7: The Gift: Sparky (blog) - Episode recap followed by meta comments.
fandom:gameofthrones, warning:spoilers
Ghost
"Ditto": The Pop Motion Picture Catharsis of Ghost: Jacob Knight (blog) - "Ghost takes the idea of the horror movie and morphs it into something peculiarly saccharine; a chronicling of one prematurely deceased’s inability to say goodbye to the woman he loves. However, even on an aesthetic level, it asks the audience to consider choices they make in their everyday lives."
fandom:ghost
Grimm
Grimm: Oh Hell No: Sparky (blog) - "So we come to the fourth season of Grimm and a terrible dilemma - there’s just so much wrong here that touching on any one issue wouldn’t give the full depth of a season that left us yelling "oh hell no" at the screen every episode."
fandom:grimm, warning:spoilers, warning:rape
Harry Potter
The Harry Potter Reread: The Order of the Phoenix, Chapters 11 and 12: Emily Asher-Perrin (blog) - "We’re back at Hogwarts and we’re about to get a closer look at the new DADA teacher! (oh no.) It’s chapters 11 and 12 of The Order of the Phoenix-The Sorting Hat’s New Song and Professor Umbridge."
fandom:harrypotter
The Beginning: author_by_night (LJ) - "Now, in the past I've wondered why the HP fandom took off the way it did. I've listed a number of possible factors - timing (it was the AOL/AIM/Yahoo IM/messageboard/everything else techie tekky), similar fandoms co-inhabiting "cyberspace" as we called it, and so on"
fandom:harrypotter, topic:fandom
The Imitation Game
The Imitation Game: marta_bee (LJ) - "Basically, this movie was two stories (at least two), one triumphant and one tragic - which made for a kind of unsatisfying climax and structure. It felt like I was supposed to pity the waste of ... the talent, just the tragedy of this man's untimely death? And, I don't know, in a war story where tragedy is all around, that's a bit underwhelming at the end of the day."
fandom:theimitationgame
iZombie
iZombie, Season 1, Episode 10: Me Berserk: Sparky (blog) - Episode recap followed by some meta comments.
fandom:izombie, warning:spoilers
James Bond
A View to a Kill at 30: Phil Nobile Jr (blog) - "Which brings us to A View To A Kill, Moore’s 1985 swan song/last gasp in the role, released on this day in 1985. Once again, it feels like the film was penned with a younger actor in mind."
fandom:jamesbond
Bond Girl: Re-Watching and Re-Evaluating Diamonds Are Forever: Zina Hutton (blog) - "I’m going to miss Sean Connery’s Bond showing up in the Eon Production films, but Diamonds Are Forever is basically the best movie on which to send him out. It exemplifies all the good and bad about Connery’s Bond films and the franchise as a whole. I definitely lost track of how many times I watched the film, but it was definitely worth it."
fandom:jamesbond
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell: "The Friends of English Magic": Emily Asher-Perrin (blog) - "Unfortunately, this premiere offering is too crammed with information to be coherent, and perhaps too timid as well."
fandom:jonathanstrangeandmrnorrell, topic:adaptations, warning:spoilers
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, Season 1, Episode 1: The Friends of English Magic: Sparky (blog) - Episode recap followed by some meta comments.
fandom:jonathanstrangeandmrnorrell, warning:spoilers
Joss Whedon
untitled: trainsinanime, downtoolong (tumblr) - "There is a lot of valid criticism to be made about Joss Whedon’s body of work, especially (but not only) when it comes to depiction of women and so on…[b]ut then, a lot of the criticism also seems to be "how dare he challenge his characters? How dare he involve women in drama?""
fandom:josswhedon
JRR Tolkien
Dying Young in the House of During: andhehandedhimthetobaccojar (forum) - "I was looking at the House of Durin Family Tree, and it stood out to me that a lot of the dwarves listed die at a tragically young age."
fandom:jrrtolkien
Kingsman
We Pause This Discussion for a Rant About Kingsman: Jennifer Crusie (blog) - "It’s what they do to Roxy as a character that makes me want to shoot the people who made this with an umbrella set to "Stun.""
fandom:kingsman
Legend of Zelda
Piece of Heart: Heartaches and Sick Days: Alexis Anderson (blog) - "Illnesses are rarely named in Zelda, though they’re usually caused by a curse or something of that sort. However, we’ve had antagonists die from shots through the heart, and we’ve even had a case of amnesia. So let’s pick apart the symptoms that our dear characters exhibit, and make informed literary diagnoses!"
fandom:legendofzelda
Mad Max
Crone Wars: on the Mythology of Fury Road: Lashes and Stars (blog) - "Because what the world of Fury Road ultimately needs is to clear away the Sky Gods to make room for Maiden, Mother and Crone."
fandom:madmax, warning:spoilers
Mad Max: Fury Road is Great. Here’s Why It’s Also Important: Leah Schnelbach (blog) - "Multiple reviews referred to the film as "thin." I would disagree-first, Miller is telling a symbolic story, not a linear one. That story happens to be about war and its aftermath, slavery, the objectification of human beings, and PTSD."
fandom:madmax, warning:spoilers
Mad Max: Fury Road, As Reviewed By My 70-Year-Old Mother-In-Law: Mary (blog) - "One thing I can say for the new Mad Max, Mad Max Fury Road, is that it didn’t put me to sleep. I usually find a few moments to nod off during movies now that I’m older, but Mad Max Fury Road kept me wide awake the whole time. And I like the new guy, Tom Hardy. Mel Gibson was always so grubby. I don’t like grubby."
fandom:madmax, warning:spoilers
Mad Max Fan Theory Will Make You Want To See Fury Road Again: James Wallace (blog) - "Though there are obvious things that connect them together, with Mad Max himself of course being the throughline…but what if Tom Hardy’s Mad Max in Mad Max: Fury Road isn’t THE Mad Max?!"
fandom:madmax, warning:spoilers
Why The Latest Mad Max "Fan Theory" Is A Crock Of Shit: Devin Faraci (blog) - "Before I completely debunk this, I have to ask why this theory even exists. Part of it is because the Mad Max films have profoundly loose continuity, and this bothers people."
fandom:madmax
Furiosa (5): fasterthanlight427 (blog) - "Until then, here are a few short descriptions of elements I loved and would like to examine/discuss more closely in future."
fandom:madmax, warning:spoilers
Mad Max: Fury Road and Narrowing the Gender Gap in Hollywood: Kat Green (blog) - "This is the only action film I’ve ever seen that has more than one female that is relevant to the story, and doesn’t build them all up to be either some perfect looking badass virgin looking for the right man to tame her, or a dominatrix. It shows multiple female characters, with different strengths and vulnerabilities, having a character arc that is not just about getting laid."
fandom:madmax, warning:spoilers
"We are not things" in Mad Max: Lindsey Loree (blog) - "Mad Max: Fury Road is everything an action movie should be, and it expands the boundaries of what an action movie can be. It’s the darling of the media circuit, for good reason, and this post will probably be lost in the sea of Furiosa worship."
fandom:madmax, warning:spoilers
Mad Max: Fury Road: Hello, Tailor (blog) - "It fulfills my desire to see women work together to protect each other, and for people to overthrow their destructive and abusive leaders. It works on a fundamental level because I know what it's like to live in a world ruined by centuries of pollution, controlled by a cruel patriarchal culture that disregards the souls and bodies of women."
fandom:madmax, warning:spoilers
Is Fury Road Really All That Feminist?: Phillip Smith (blog) - "What concerns me is that one is presented as though it excuses the other - that once the film has established its feminist credentials it feels that it has a free pass to indulge the male gaze and present certain female characters as the prize in a wholly phallic contest between male agents."
fandom:madmax, warning:spoilers
We Are Not Things: Mad Max: Fury Road Is A Feminist Masterpiece: Lady Saika (blog) - "Mad Max is a victory for representation on approximately a million levels."
fandom:madmax, warning:spoilers
Fury Road as Feminism or Strong Female Caracters: Gabrielle Patterson (blog) - "But since the release there has been a rising commentary from notable feminist critics that, though there are a lot of great things about Mad Max, including the well-written female characters, it’s not a feminist movie."
fandom:madmax, warning:spoilers
My Reaction to Mad Max: Fury Road and the Utter Perfection that is Imperator Furiousa: nospockdasgay (Tumblr) - "Watching Fury Road, I felt like I was watching my own struggle brought to life (albeit in a very fantastical setting), and I don’t think I ever realized how truly profound that could be for me."
fandom:madmax, warning:spoilers, topic:disability
Mad Max as Feminist Ally: Tansy Raynor Roberts (blog) - "I still don’t know if I can put into words how amazing it felt to see a movie like Fury Road that was not getting it wrong. It wasn’t just putting one strong, powerful, interesting woman into a genre that so often uses women as scraps and baggage and window dressing. It was telling a whole story where women were the centre, women were everywhere you looked. Different women. Surviving terrible things and living to tell the tale, or sacrificing themselves nobly for other women."
fandom:madmax, warning:spoilers
Sleeps With Monsters: Mad Max: Fury Road: Liz Bourke (blog) - "There’s a layer of the film that challenges you to see these women as objects, that puts you directly in the shoes of the film’s villain, Immortan Joe, if you do: if you don’t heed the words the characters themselves speak: WE ARE NOT THINGS."
fandom:madmax, warning:spoilers
"Mad Max" Is A Feminist Playbook For Surviving Dystopia: Laurie Penny (blog) - "But Fury Road reminds the viewer that the liberation of women is not just a prerequisite for social equality - it’s is also a damn good story. Patriarchy, it turns out, is prettiest when it’s on fire."
fandom:madmax, warning:spoilers
The Canon Episode 28: The Road Warrior vs Mad Max: Fury Road: Devin Faraci (podcast) - "This episode was originally supposed to be Mad Max vs The Road Warrior, neither of which Amy had seen. We wanted to get the show on the air after the release of Mad Max: Fury Road and tap into what we expected would be some resurgent interest in the films. Then Amy watched the two movies and couldn't figure out how anybody would vote Mad Max over The Road Warrior... then she saw Fury Road and decided that we had to bring that movie into the conversation."
fandom:madmax, warning:spoilers
Mad Max/Game of Thrones
We Are Not Things: Mad Max Versus Game Of Thrones: Chuck Wendig (blog) - "If both are male-driven worlds, you can then take a pretty good guess how women are viewed in these worlds?"
fandom:madmax, fandom:gameofhrones
Mad Max/Tomorrowland
How Fury Road Debunks Tomorrowland: Devin Faraci (blog) - "Tomorrowland has the bad luck to be released the week after Mad Max: Fury Road. Not for box office reasons - I’m not sure that a PG-rated family film is truly competing with an R-rated action picture - but because Fury Road so totally refutes the case made by Tomorrowland… before the movie even has a chance to make it."
fandom:madmax, fandom:tomorrowland
Mad Men
http://www.themarysue.com/ode-to-feminism-of-mad-men/">An Ode to the Feminism of Mad Men: Rachel Catlett (blog) - "The seventh and final season of Mad Men proved to me that it is a show about feminism. The characters are not necessarily feminists, but Mad Men is, at its core, a series primarily concerned with the struggles of women in the 1960s."
fandom:madmen
Marvel Cinematic Universe
Untitled: of-aether-and-earth (Tumblr) - "As Marvel’s comics become slowly more diverse they become increasingly at odds with the more limited representation in Marvel’s films."
fandom:mcu, fandom:marvelcomics, topic:diversity
Fitzskimmons Lament Part One: Marvel and the Endlessly Straight Path: Sam Keeper (blog) - "Marvel and Disney apparently can make a movie about a talking raccoon and his tree friend but can't introduce a single queer character. Or make a movie starring a woman. But that's a rant for another day."
fandom:mcu, fandom:daredevil, fandom:agentsofshield, topic:queer
Fitzskimmons Lament Part Two: Satisfaction: Sam Keeper (blog) - "So let's take this week to talk about the various ways in which Marvel, a studio that seemingly can do anything, continues to do, in a myriad of ways, absolutely nothing to support its queer fans."
fandom:mcu, fandom:agentsofshield, topic:queer
The Messengers
The Messengers, Season 1, Episode 6: Metamorphosis: Sparky (blog) - Episode recap followed by some meta comments.
fandom:themessengers, warning:spoilers
Midsomer Murders
Midsummer Conspiracies: lizcommotion (DW) - "I've always thought that people would have to be nuts to live in Midsummer (of fictional Midsummer Murders). Small communities, about three people die per episode, there's four-ish episodes per series, and 17 series so far. That's roughly 204 fictional murders since 1997, and all the British police have done is assign two rather bumbling detectives to the cases. Surely that much of a crime spike deserves a closer investigation...unless it's intentional?"
fandom:midsomermurders
Olympus
Olympus, Season 1, Episode 7: Love and Time: Sparky (blog) - Episode recap followed by some meta comments.
fandom:olympus, warning:spoilers
The Originals
The Originals, Season 2, Episode 22: Ashes to Ashes: Sparky (blog) - Episode recap followed by meta comments.
fandom:theoriginals, warning:spoilers
Orphan Black
Orphan Black Science Recap: "Scarred by Many Past Frustrations": Casey Griffin and Nina Nessith (blog) - "Welcome to our Orphan Black science recaps, where Casey, a graduate student in genetics and developmental biology, and Nina, a professional science communicator, examine the science in each episode of OB and talk you through it in (mostly) easy-to-digest terms."
fandom:orphanblack, topic:science, warning:spoilers
Orphan Black: "Certain Agony of the Battlefield" Review: stinekey (blog) - "I was a bit worried when this season began that it was getting too complex for itself, but since then everything has been directed toward a more streamlined trajectory. And now, with "Certain Agony of the Battlefield," I think we’ve hit an emotional peak."
fandom:orphanblack, warning:spoilers
Orphan Black, Season 3, Episode 6: Scarred by Many Past Frustrations: Sparky (blog) - Episode recap followed by some meta comments.
fandom:orphanblack, warning:spoilers
Outlander
Outlander Episode 15: Wentworth Prison: Smart Bitches, Trashy Books (blog) - "Torture, sexual assault. Even beyond those things, it’s a dark, dark episode with a lot of terrible things happening."
fandom:outlander, warning:spoilers, warning:rape, warning:torture
Poltergeist
Poltergeist Review: Built On The Burial Ground Of A Much Better Movie: Meredith Borders (blog) - "Gil Kenan's Poltergeist remake changes the name of the afflicted little girl from Carol Anne to Madison, and while, on the outside, that's a pretty innocuous change, it also feels like a perfect symbol of the blandification of Steven Spielberg and Tobe Hooper's extraordinary original: Carol Anne is such a quaint and specific character name. And how many of your friends' kids are named Madison? All of them, right?"
fandom:poltergeist, topic:remakes
Review: Poltergeist Is the Definition of an Unnecessary Remake: Lesley Coffin (blog) - "The films being remade now aren’t being made because the filmmaker leading the charge sees an opportunity to improve, modernize, or take another view; they are remaking movies they love in order to pay homage to them. And Poltergeist may be guiltier of this than any film of this kind in recent years."
fandom:poltergeist, topic:remakesReal Genius
30 Years Later Real Genius is Still the Geek Solidarity Film That Nerd Culture Deserves: Emily Asher-Perrin (blog) - "For one, the movie is better at portraying geeks in ways that don’t just melt down to old tropes of pocket protectors and bow ties and awkwardness. It communicates that having an outrageous IQ can be isolating, but doesn’t make all smart people out to be socially undeveloped shut-ins."
fandom:realgenius
A Royal Night Out
A Royal Night Out: as fluffy and sugary as a Victoria sponge: Alex von Tunzelmann (blog) - "A Royal Night Out is a fluffy, sugary, royalty-loving, historically preposterous confection, which will delight those who like that sort of thing - and leave those who don’t feeling like they’ve just spent 97 minutes being force-fed Victoria sponge."
fandom:aroyalnightout, topic:history
Salem
Salem, Season 2, Episode 7: The Beckoning Fair One: Sparky (blog) - Episode recap followed by some meta comments.
fandom:salem, warning:spoilers
Sherlock
"Sherlock, Sally and Otherness": pennypaperbrain (blog) - "Far more meaningfully than any of the show’s villains are, Sally is Sherlock’s polar opposite - to the extent that the extremity of their defensive posturing reveals a common humanity. I doubt this symbolism was intended by the show runners, but it works for me."
fandom:bbcsherlock
A Song of Ice and Fire
Chapter-by-Chapter Analysis: Bran V, ACOK: Steven Attewell (blog) - "As I’ve touched on a bit in the past, ACOK gives us many parallel chapters where we see the impact of one character’s decisions or events through another characters eyes. With this chapter, we’re heading into a section where the parallels are flying at the reader faster and faster as we move towards convergence on Winterfell and King’s Landing."
fandom:asoiaf
Top Characters #12 Stannis Baratheon: RenlySupporter16 (blog) - "There is no black and white in the world of Ice and Fire, only shades of grey, and Stannis, is amongst the greyest."
fandom:asoiaf
Eddard Stark’s Other Bastard: MGonen (blog) - "I believe this to be only half the story - Jon and Aegon have their paternity precisely reversed."
fandom:asoiaf
A Read of Ice and Fire: A Dance with Dragons, Part 21: Leigh Butler (blog) - "Today’s entry is Part 21 of A Dance With Dragons, in which we cover Chapter 35 ("Jon") and Chapter 36 ("Daenerys")."
fandom:asoiaf
The Sound of Music
The Beige Ubiquity of The Sound of Music: Andrew Todd (blog) - "And indeed, as a narrative drama, barely anything actually happens in this goddamned movie. At three hours, it takes way longer to tell its true* story than necessary."
fandom:thesoundofmusic
Star Trek
Paramount Wants To Ruin Star Trek! Or Maybe They Want To Just Make It Star Trek: Devin Faraci (blog) - "What is Star Trek? I have been fascinated to see this question playing out in the media and fandom every since JJ Abrams rebooted the series. Over the last couple of years I've begun to suspect something about how people (in general, not everybody) are defining Star Trek: in the light of the tedious Star Trek: The Next Generation."
fandom:startrek, topic:remakes
Star Trek is a Television Progam - Period: Shawn Taylor (blog) - "There is something that all Trek fans have to come to terms with: Star Trek should not be a film franchise. Never. Ever. The evidence is out there."
fandom:startrek, topic:movies, topic:movies
How The Replicator Destroys The Federation And Leads To Humanity Becoming A Slave Race To The Vulcan: ryannorth and Zach Feinstein (Tumblr) - Pretty much what the title says.
fandom:startrek, topic:economics
Star Wars
Luke Skywalker and Beyond: Tosche Station Radio (podcast) - "Heath joins us this week for a discussion of all things Luke Skywalker!"
fandom:starwars
How Did The Empire Build A Second Death Star So Quickly?: ryannorth and Zach Feinstein (Tumblr) - "What economic systems would permit the Empire to build a second Death Star in only a few years when the first one took decades?"
fandom:starwars, topic:economics
Star Wars: Symbolic Cycles of the Moon: Becca Benjamin (Blog) - "One of the ongoing topics for discussion is the lack of women that are represented or portrayed within the storyline, that, and the lack of a storyline within the Prequels. Perhaps, those that feel so strongly about both accusations are going about it all wrong …"
fandom:starwars
The Evolution of Women in the Star Wars Universe: Episode IV: A New Hope: Amy Richau (Blog) - "In Episode IV: A New Hope, there were two women with speaking roles and less than ten other women can be spotted, if you look for them, in the background. Three women can be spotted in the deleted scenes from A New Hope, one of whom even had a few lines. Who are these women and where can you find them? Let’s take a look."
fandom:starwars
Revisiting the Star Wars Prequels: Anthony Parisi (Blog) - "I love all six episodes and have grown to appreciate the mosaic they create even more as an adult. They are remarkably layered and interesting, forming a dazzling piece of pop art that’s as thoughtful and sincere as it is entertaining.
fandom:starwars
The Lesson Nobody Learned from Empire Strikes Back: Darren Franich (Blog) - "The Empire Strikes Back is faster and more intense-but only because it’s smaller and more personal."
fandom:starwars
Supergirl
A Closer Look: Supergirl "Pilot" - Analysis, Easter Eggs & More: The Insightful Panda (blog) - "As such, here is a Closer Look at Supergirl’s "Pilot" episode in the hopes that you too will become more excited about this series and give it your full attention when it releases later this year."
fandom:supergirl, warning:spoilers
Supernatural
Supernatural ‘Brothers Keeper’ Review: Uve (blog) - "Let’s start with stating one thing clear: no, I’m not satisfied with this season finale, the main problem being that it didn’t feel like a finale at all. Nor I’m satisfied with this season, but that’s a whole other matter."
fandom:supernatural, warning:spoilers
SPN 10.22 The Prisoner: blackcat333-99 (LJ) - "Some promises are made to be kept. Some promises are made from empty intentions. Some promises can't be kept. And some promises are strictly up to the maker, to keep or break."
fandom:supernatural
Stream of Consciousness, Epi 10.22: gaelicspirit (LJ) - "However, before I delve into how Dean beating on Cas in this episode was almost a mirror image of Cas beating on Dean in S8's "Goodbye Stranger," or how cruel words spoken to a loved one when wrapped in a cloud of anger of pain are soon laced with regret, I want to talk about the title, "The Prisoner." That caught me almost immediately when I saw it on my DVR. I'm sure there are many and varied theories out on the interwebs right now about who the title is referring to -- and with as meta as our fandom can get, I'm almost certain they will each be wonderfully well-thought-out. But...this is my Ramble so you're stuck with my theory."
fandom:supernatural
Failed Expectations: Supernatural Season 10: Alex Brown (blog) - "Season 10 wasn’t the worst thing ever created, but it was far from good. We need to have a heart-to-heart, Supernatural. Your fans, we love you, but you’re throwing away your best years on pointless distractions and meaningless philosophizing."
fandom:supernatural, warning:spoilers
Supernatural, Season 10, Episode 23: Brother’s Keeper: Sparky (blog) - Episode recap followed by some meta comments.
fandom:supernatural, warning:spoilers
Tintin
Tintin’s travel traumas: Health issues affecting the intrepid globetrotter: Caumes E, Epelboin L, Leturcq F, Kozarsky P, Clarke P. (abstract) - Abstract of a scholarly medical article looking at Tintin’s canonical injuries and their (lack of) long term effects.
fandom:tintin, topic:medicine
Tomorrowland
Review: Tomorrowland is a Disneyfied Take on The Disaster Film: Lesley Coffin (blog) - "All this is to say, the fact that Tomorrowland is the closest we’ll get to Disney taking on the apocalypse and the end of the world on screen seems fitting, considering it is coming out in-between Mad Max: Fury Road and San Andreas."
fandom:tomorrowland
Siderea Reads Watership Down: Introduction, Part One, and Part Two: Siderea (LJ)
- "Watership Down is my favorite book. It may be the best novel I have ever read. Certainly it had the most profoundly, seriously interesting things to say, and rocked my world when I first read it and subsequently over and over on re-reads.."
fandom:watershipdown, warning:spoilers