News
My exploitation film ebook Fecund Horror is out on Monday, July 11! Kate Skow wrote a review! If you can’t, can’t wait, you can contibute to my Patreon at $3/mo and get it earlier!
Or! if you pledge $2/mo, you can see my essay on Under the Skin and alien domesticity right away, rather than waiting for the ebook to come out.
On HU
Featured Archive Post: Sina on Robert Kirby.
James Romberger on how Huston’s The Dead is more sexist than the Joyce story.
Chris Gavaler wonders whether Warhol’s Monroe paintings are comic strips.
Jimmy Johnson on the colonial subtext of animal attack movies like The Shallows.
Utilitarians Everywhere
At Quartz I wrote about Dallas and the myth that good guys with guns will stop gun violence.
At Random Nerds I wrote about Wonder Woman’s sword and feminine superpowers.
At Splice Today I wrote about
—the fascism of Mr. Smith goes to Washington (beginning a series on political films)
—Ross Douthat and how anti-elitism stumbles into anti-Semitism.
At the Reader a short review of Castle Freak, grindcore true believers.
Other Links
Amanda Ann Klein and Kristen Warner argue (contra me) that pop culture writers need to read and talk to academics.
Great interview with Mariame Kaba, prison abolitionist.
Kelly Lawler on why Tom Hiddleston fans aren’t happy with him dating Taylor Swift.
I’m sympathetic to some parts of Klein and Warner’s argument (and also Noah’s initial argument). But they gloss over a really key point, which is how to get access to scholarly work even if one were so inclined: “Academics love sharing our work. Just ask.” That comment might be true of Klein and Warner, but — in my experience, at least — not “academics” in general. Almost every time that I write to one who does not know me I get no response at all. And I’ve been teaching a series of upper year undergraduate seminars for the past few years that require them to contact all sorts of folks out in the world for information, advice, perspectives, etc. Know who never replies to these students’ queries? Academics.
I’m a humanities scholar, and the academics I’m referring to are mostly also in the humanities, some in the social sciences. Maybe science folks are more responsive? (I suspect not though.)
We often complain about the poor thinking on subjects in popular media by non-scholars. But on the whole I don’t think we aren’t doing much to actually improve things.
They do mention the problem with closed access to academic articles. I have had decent luck contacting academics…but people are busy. And under deadline pressure, it’s not always possible to wait for people to get back to you unfortunately.