PinnedThe Cruel Dystopia of Success AcademyGather ‘round, children. I was recently terminated from my job at New York City’s largest network of charter schools, and I never signed an NDA. Up until Thursday, March 2nd, I was the 8th grade English teacher at Ditmas Park Middle School, one of the 14 schools in Success Academy’s…Education22 min readEducation22 min read
PinnedI Wonder What a Woman Is: a Superheroine Subject to the Male GazeFilm began (in its earliest form) in the late 19th century as a way to settle a bet between two rich horse breeders. Since then, it has slowly and gradually transformed into the art form we know, love, and study today. Since the Great Depression, when movie studios decided that…Movies13 min readMovies13 min read
PinnedMember-onlyWhy Can’t Queer Stories Just Be Stories?In 1992, film scholar B. Ruby Rich coined the term New Queer Cinema to describe the film movement consisting of independent filmmakers using new technologies to make stories about a previously under- or poorly- represented group. The movement emerged largely due to rage at the Reagan administration (and later Bush…LGBTQ8 min readLGBTQ8 min read
PinnedThe Falcon and the Winter Soldier lied to its audienceSpoilers for all of Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Very light spoilers for some non-recent comic books. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier finale left me, as it did many people, disappointed. Underwhelmed, if I’m feeling more charitable. Mostly with a strong feeling of… that’s it? That’s… the climax? I…Falcon And Winter Soldier13 min readFalcon And Winter Soldier13 min read
PinnedIs There Such a Thing As Neutral Representation?Warning: Spoilers for Game of Thrones and Supernatural The question of representation has been around for as long as there have been identities that challenged the status quo. For a long time, the push was simply to get any representation, especially for non cis-het sexual and gender identities, in a…Representation19 min readRepresentation19 min read
Apr 25, 2022Why the Gay Pirates Hit DifferentSpoilers for OUR FLAG MEANS DEATH on HBO Max I love Taika Waititi, period queer romances, and ensemble comedies, so I was already primed and loaded to love Our Flag Means Death when it came out in March. However, I really wasn’t expecting to start crying in episode 5 and…LGBTQ7 min readLGBTQ7 min read
Jul 4, 2021I Just Watched Netflix’s “Young Royals” Three Times In a Row and I Need to Talk About ItSpoilers for the entire show. It’s only 4-5 hours long altogether. Watch and come back. Netflix released their original Swedish show Young Royals on July 1st, 2021. I have watched it three times through in as many days and I’m really in my feelings about it. Since nothing means anything…Young Royals11 min readYoung Royals11 min read
Jun 19, 2021The Absolute Unhinged Downhill Rollercoaster That Is The Hitman’s Wife’s BodyguardSpoilers for this movie. Complete and total spoilers. Literally the entire plot. Listen. I like dumb things. We all like dumb things. We need dumb things. Especially in a year like this one, with all the horrible things going on in the real life world, I really don’t need to…Movies8 min readMovies8 min read
Dec 18, 2020Dear Hollywood: Please Stop Casting the Same Five Kids in EverythingI am imploring studios, which are already becoming more and more centralized, to stop casting the same few teenagers in every movie. This is far from a new phenomenon. For a while, at the start of this decade, it was Shailene Woodley, Miles Teller, and Ansel Elgort in every movie…Movies4 min readMovies4 min read
Dec 29, 2018Nicolas Winding Refn: The Color PornographerThe idea of authorship (or auteurism) is often measured in time and iconicity. In his essay “Notes on the Auteur Theory in 1962,” Andrew Sarris names his list of top twenty auteurs and states that the list is “somewhat weighted toward seniority and established reputations.” He explains that the auteur…Film9 min readFilm9 min read
