I’m gonna be crystal-clear on this: being a fan is a market-induced mentality. The word is derived from “fanatic“, which is an early-Modern Latin derivative referring to religious zealotry. Late Modernity, having removed religion from the public square, substitutes devotion to entertainments as simulacra to the epics and sagas of old. That’s why they’re using… Read More Destroy all Fandoms
Adam Manstroianni has written an article on his Experimental History Substack about a thing long lamented, how everything in pop culture is on repeat. In every corner of pop culture––movies, TV, music, books, and video games––a smaller and smaller cartel of superstars is claiming a larger and larger share of the market. What used to be winners-take-some has… Read More The Hidden Masters of Pop Culture
I come to the chilly end of April and realize how little of pop culture has any impact on me anymore. The front page of Variety may as well be intel from another planet. For example, James Corden leaving “The Late Late Show” is the first time I realize that he was the host of… Read More Cultural Dissociation is the new Rite of Spring
That’s the kind of spicy headline that brings in clicks, I hear. I have a complicated relationship with Star Trek. I enjoy it. I watch it upon occasion. I recognize the quality of it’s early works. I cannot stand its fandom. I have often said that I refused to get that deep into Star Trek… Read More Anyone Who Willingly Watches Star Trek: Picard is the Reason the Terrorists Hate Us
Last night I sat through a YouTube video nearly as long as a feature-length film, discussing a cartoon cat I haven’t cared about in decades. When I was a young fellow, I had a whole slew of Garfield books, at least the first 14 or so. Adolescence brought changes, and the existence of Calvin &… Read More Garfield and the Consumer Event Horizon
I skip blogging about the Oscars for one year, and this happens? This has been the news all day. Not Ukraine, not Coronavirus. Twitter glommed onto this like a starving man set loose in a donut factory. So did I. Ever since I heard about it this morning (I didn’t watch the telecast, because of… Read More Will Smith is Not Okay
Recorded the new Shallow & Pedantic podcast last night, and put it up today. What a masterpiece of efficiency! It’s mostly us gibbering about which of Cannon Film’s vast vault is actually worth watching, and several times blaming them for Chuck Norris’ film and TV career. But we had fun. In other news, I’ve uploaded… Read More Let’s Have Another Cup of Podcast, Let’s Have Another Slice of ‘Zine
Playing as much CK2 as I do, I took notice of this Netflix show when it first popped up. I love the Early Medieval Period as the Wild West of Europe, when kingdoms were new and ambition was the way forward. When I first tried to watch it, I was turned off by the low… Read More Quick Review: The Last Kingdom
I’m on my seventh or eighth rewatch of this show. It may be the only show from this era I was a fan of that I’m still a fan of (other than Breaking Bad, which I don’t rewatch nearly as much). In many ways it’s an anti-sitcom, that manages to have all the satisfaction a… Read More A Series of Thoughts on Community
Of course I watched it. And I laughed really hard. Tiger King is the best mockumentary since Spinal Tap. All mockumentaries rely on filming the Dunning-Kruger Effect, the gap between someone’s perceived competence and their actual competence. All the principle characters are not in on the Joke: Joe Exotic is a lunatic, a narcissist, a… Read More When Humans Attack – Tiger King 2
Content Blues 