fandom, Media Literacy and Analysis, Social Deconstruction

You Really Need to Move on from Harry Potter, I’m So Serious

Last week, J.K. Rowling revealed her ass, yet again, around a UK supreme court ruling. This ruling being that, when referencing the Equality Act, “women” specifically means “biological women.” Effectively, legally stripping trans-women then status of “woman” in regards to the application of the protections of this act. And I’m seeing people not quite understand… Continue reading You Really Need to Move on from Harry Potter, I’m So Serious

comics, fandom, Media Literacy and Analysis, Writing Theory

Spectacular Spider-Man: The Hunger-A Case study in Major Narrative Shifts (Short Version)

Note: There are two versions of this: a shorter outline view and more detailed one describing my logic. This is the shorter version. I've determined there're two ways comics can approach a Big Narrative Change. There's the unexpected and the out of character. And this has nothing to do with fandom response or the quality… Continue reading Spectacular Spider-Man: The Hunger-A Case study in Major Narrative Shifts (Short Version)

comics, fandom, Media Literacy and Analysis

The Failed Villain to Hero Pipeline as a Pop Culture Thermometer

The Punisher, Frank Castle, began as a Spider-Man antagonist. I don’t think this is secret knowledge. If anything, it’s one of the key issues of Amazing Spider-Man. The kind that people slab and grade. The kind of issue whose cover gets homages in other comic runs twenty years down the line. This is not unknown… Continue reading The Failed Villain to Hero Pipeline as a Pop Culture Thermometer

fandom, Media Literacy and Analysis

A Year in Forums: Fake Fans and the Proliferation of Non-Analysis

I spent some time in a lot of new pop media forums this year. This is what I observed. In comic book circles, it's a very difficult time to be someone who actually liked the movie Madame Web. Who didn't think Morbius was "that bad, damn, y'all need to calm down." Some of the Spider-Man… Continue reading A Year in Forums: Fake Fans and the Proliferation of Non-Analysis

Fan Theory and Transformative Works, fandom, Personal

A Year in Forums: I Don’t Know How Collecting Works Now

I spent some time in a lot of new pop media forums this year. This is what I observed. So I’ve always been the collectory sort. Snow globes and statuettes from around the country. We’ve got magnets from each installation of our favorite art exhibit. I like picking up cool, pulp covers of my favorite… Continue reading A Year in Forums: I Don’t Know How Collecting Works Now

Books and Literature, Education and Literacy, fandom

A Year in Forums: People Don’t Know Anything About Stuff They Like

I spent some time in a lot of new pop media forums this year. This is what I observed I have this pet peeve that shows up the most in my more text-based book forums, and science fiction book readers are the worst offenders. Someone will come into a science fiction reading forum and make… Continue reading A Year in Forums: People Don’t Know Anything About Stuff They Like

Fan Theory and Transformative Works, fandom

How does fanfic emerge?

James Cameron’s Avatar is still the top grossing movie of all time even fifteen years after its release. It’s followed in the top five by Avengers: Endgame, Avatar: The Way of Water, Titanic, and Star Wars: Episode VII. While Marvel and Star Wars, as properties, have massive transformative fan communities around them, the James Cameron… Continue reading How does fanfic emerge?

Fan Theory and Transformative Works, fandom, Writing Theory

I Hate Alternative Universe Fanfiction

Hot take.I don’t like fanfiction AUs.Now what am I talking about exactly?In the parlance of the fanfiction community, “AU” means “Alternate Universe.” It is a work in which the characters of the original IP are placed into a completely new setting unlike their original one. Not to be confused with something like a crossover or… Continue reading I Hate Alternative Universe Fanfiction