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metanews2015-05-22 01:49 pm
metanewsmods) wrote in metanews2015-05-22 01:49 pm
Entry tags:
- fandom:acdsherlock,
- fandom:agentcarter,
- fandom:agentsofshield,
- fandom:americancrime,
- fandom:angel,
- fandom:anime,
- fandom:arrow,
- fandom:asoiaf,
- fandom:babylon5,
- fandom:bbcsherlock,
- fandom:btvs,
- fandom:chroniclesofnarnia,
- fandom:comics,
- fandom:cosmere,
- fandom:daredevil,
- fandom:darna,
- fandom:dcanimated,
- fandom:dccomics,
- fandom:dccu,
- fandom:doctorwho,
- fandom:dragonlance,
- fandom:elementary,
- fandom:empiretrilogy,
- fandom:gameofthrones,
- fandom:gaming,
- fandom:graceandfrankie,
- fandom:grimm,
- fandom:harrypotter,
- fandom:holymotors,
- fandom:ithappenedonenight,
- fandom:izombie,
- fandom:jamesbond,
- fandom:janethevirgin,
- fandom:jemandtheholograms,
- fandom:josswhedon,
- fandom:jrrtolkien,
- fandom:jupiterascending,
- fandom:kingsman,
- fandom:legendofzelda,
- fandom:lovecraft,
- fandom:madmax,
- fandom:madmen,
- fandom:malazan,
- fandom:manga,
- fandom:marvelcomics,
- fandom:mcu,
- fandom:naruto,
- fandom:orphanblack,
- fandom:outlander,
- fandom:penitentiary,
- fandom:pennydreadful,
- fandom:phantasm,
- fandom:pitchperfect,
- fandom:saga,
- fandom:salem,
- fandom:shameless,
- fandom:shingekinokyojin,
- fandom:starwars,
- fandom:sunrise,
- fandom:supernatural,
- fandom:theflash,
- fandom:themessengers,
- fandom:theoriginals,
- fandom:theredshoes,
- fandom:thesoundofmusic,
- fandom:thetencommandments,
- fandom:thevampirediaries,
- fandom:thewaterdiviner,
- fandom:tomorrowland,
- fandom:twinpeaks,
- fandom:valdemar,
- fandom:wheeloftime,
- fandom:x-men,
- fandom:yellowbrickroad,
- fandom:zeromotivation,
- topic:adaptations,
- topic:ao3,
- topic:au,
- topic:canon,
- topic:censorship,
- topic:comics,
- topic:copyright,
- topic:criticism,
- topic:deconstruction,
- topic:disability,
- topic:disease,
- topic:diversity,
- topic:fanfic,
- topic:fanon,
- topic:fantasy,
- topic:femalecharacter,
- topic:feminism,
- topic:fiction,
- topic:gender,
- topic:history,
- topic:infertility,
- topic:language,
- topic:law,
- topic:lgbt,
- topic:malegaze,
- topic:marysue,
- topic:motherhood,
- topic:movies,
- topic:noir,
- topic:psychology,
- topic:publishing,
- topic:queerbaiting,
- topic:race,
- topic:racism,
- topic:religion,
- topic:representation,
- topic:science,
- topic:sex,
- topic:sexism,
- topic:sexuality,
- topic:slash,
- topic:superheroes,
- topic:television,
- topic:tumblr,
- topic:villains,
- topic:writing,
- warning:rape,
- warning:spoilers
13 May 2015-19 May 2015
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.
General Fandom
It's time for Hollywood to embrace the female super villain: Cher Martinetti (blog) - "Yes, women need to have a strong, positive presence in pop culture, but what about the bad guys -- or, more specifically, bad girls? It's time for Hollywood, and audiences, to embrace the villainess."
How The "Godfather of Anime" Screwed Up Modern Anime: Toshi Nakamura (blog) - "Basically, Tezuka did a George Lucas and supported his creation through merchandising and his own money. This lay the groundwork for the anime production model: Make an anime a cheaply as possible and make up the loss through tie-in goods and character merch. Because Tezuka was basically the God of manga in Japan, no one questioned his methods and this became the norm."
Figures of Empire: On the Impossibility of Superhero Diversity: James Lamb (blog) - "Whether as friendly bystanders, costumed sidekicks, everyday henchmen or caped vigilantes, race and gender minorities exist in superhero comic media to validate and define the normative Whiteness central to the genre's narratives."
Please Don't Hunt Me Down and Harass Me: Chris Gavaler (blog) - "It was published in England's Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics in 2013, and its argument is part of the book: superheroes are descended from the KKK. Actually superheroes are descended from all kinds of things, and the Klan is just one of them, an idea Major Spoilers still found "hard to swallow.""
If You Perceive "Girly" Superheroes as Lesser, isn't the Problem You?: Keith Chow (blog) - "While I understand why some folks feel like the Supergirl preview gave off a rom-com vibe — particularly from the music cues in its first half — I don't know why that's necessarily a bad thing."
Fantasy must shake off the tyranny of the mega-novel: Damien Walter (blog) - "The triumph of George RR Martin has made publishers greedy for multi-volume stories, but not all authors can write them – and why should they?"
Fantasy cannot build its imaginary worlds in short fiction: Natasha Pulley (blog) - "'Mega-novels' are not a marketing wheeze, but a necessarily giant scaffolding for vast imaginative reach"
Untitled: mmanalysis, nicolerichiesuberdriver, five-quid (Tumblr) - "I have been trying to go back to stuff I watched when I was a kid, to see if it's actually good or I'm just succumbing to nostalgia."
Inside China's Insane Witch Hunt For Slash Fiction Writers: Kevin Tang (blog) - "Eight erotic fiction sites, or "slash fiction sites," have been shut down and their staff arrested in China's newest anti-porn sweeps."
Why Is Fan Fiction So Powerful: Kaye Toal (blog) - "We talked to Rainbow Rowell, author of Fangirl and the forthcoming Carry On, about the power of taking what you love into yourself."
The Invisible Man(liness): Eva Hayles Gledhill (blog) - "In this model, femininity becomes something that is added to someone, measured against the assumed neutrality of invisible masculinity."
It's-A Me, Mary Sue: Why She's An Important Figure For Fanfic And Fangirls: Sam Maggs (blog) - "Why isn't it okay to hate on Mary Sues?"
May I Kill Him? Lisbeth Salander and the Rise of Feminist Noir: Zack Budryk (blog) - "As I got older, something sort of similar happened: I both fell in love with both the noir* genre and learned more about intersectional feminism (a process that isn't, and will never be, complete), and I encountered a sort of dilemma: a lot of noir and neo-noir is kind of extremely misogynistic."
The Problem with Hollywood Super-Dudes: Chris Gavaler (blog) - "So to analyze the nature of Hollywood superheroes, I'm calling in two experts from opposite ends of the literary spectrum: Fyodor Dostoyevsky, one of the most acclaimed novelists of Russian literature, and Blake Snyder, a third-rate screenwriter that Sylvester Stallone once likened to a flatworm."
All I Want Are Chicks with Agency Blowing Shit Up!: Ginnis Tonik (blog) - "And it's not enough, because of the continued dearth of female heroes and villains in our contemporary pop culture landscape."
Watch Out! She's Got Science!: On the Portrayal of Female Scientists in Media: Alex Townsend (blog) - "But just what kind of role models do we have out there for a world that desperately needs more female scientists? Well, there's more than you might think, both good and bad, in the worlds of fiction."
Advice for Robert Downey, Jr.: Richard Brody (journal) - "Actually, both Iñárritu and Downey have recently delivered great caricatures, not on screen but in speech. Iñárritu, in the interview last fall that featured the "cultural genocide" charge, caricatured superhero movies even better than he did in "Birdman." Then, last week, Downey caricatured independent films."
Untitled: mmanalysis, ununnilium, oshkeet (Tumblr) - "One thing I wish people would get less in a huff about is when they say 'alternative interpretations against canon ultimately hurt canon because doesn't learn from it and continues to perpetuate whatever dumb/gross thing we were trying to explain away'"
Oh, My Pop Culture Judaism: King Solomon the Superhero: mikelywhiplash (blog) - "But while his predecessors stayed within their own narrative arcs, Solomon built his own canon. He has an origin story, he has adventures, he fights monsters, and he even comes with his own set of accessories."
Why Are You Writing a Rape Scene?: Robert Jackson Bennett (blog) - "This isn't an accusation. This is a genuine question. And it's also a subject that's been on my mind just about since I got started writing."
Two books on copyright: rivkat (DW) - "The editors suggest that the things that the "entertainment industry" values don't map very well onto the law, but that industry members nonetheless deploy/interact with the law to get what they want. I like their working definition of franchises: franchises involve connected cultural content that some entity tries to exploit and keep profitable over time."
Why We Still Need Strong Female Characters: Jenny Cee (blog) - "Some think that in this post Buffy, and Xena generation that we have won the fight, but with the recent release of 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' that it has pretty much shown that the fight for strong, and flesh out female characters is still very important."
Jenny Cee's Top Five Favorite AO3 Hacks!: Jenny Cee (blog) - "Yet, despite being ahead of the competition, the A03 seems to be missing some vital things that would browsing for and reading fanfic a hell of lot more easier."
How To Free Yourself of Tumblr Wank!: Jenny Cee (blog) - "Tumblr can be full of squee and awesome one minute, and more vicious than a lion hunting a gazelle the next."
Silly little girls: Slash Fanfiction and Female Sexuality: teresa-dances-in-sequins (Tumblr) - "I'm not saying everything I've written holds true for every slash fan - or for every slash fandom, for that matter. These are just the observations I've gleaned from intense academic research, from my own analysis, and from what other folks in the slash community have kindly shared with me. I wrote this because I care a lot about slash, and frankly, I'm tired of feeling like it's something to be ashamed of."
Meta Monday : I don't drink coffee, a post about AUs: dhampyresa (DW) - "In that post, I outlined three different kinds of AUs, although I am not entirely sure one of them counts as an AU."
What Is Fiction For?:mild_lunacy (tumblr) - "The desire for pure self-expression (as opposed to socially-oriented moralism) is largely self-explanatory, though the avant-garde impulse gets a lot less attention, especially in discussions within fandom. "
Technothriller Book Review Sumana: (blog) - "I am glad I read Hackster: The Revolution Begins..., a technothriller by Sankalp Kohli and Paritosh Yadav taking place in modern-day India"
Specific Fandoms
Agent Carter
4 More Ways to #DiversifyAgentCarter: Leigh Anne (blog) - "Curious and inspired, I turned to the library collection for more information. Here are four more character concepts that would be historically accurate if they appeared in Agent Carter."
#DiversifyAgent Carter Reminds Us That "Because History" Isn't a Reason to Whitewash a Show: Teresa Jusino (blog) - "But even the best shows aren't immune to criticism, and there is one area in which Agent Carter could use some improvement. There are zero characters of color on that show."
The Mission: Agent Carter, Diversity in Superhero TV, and a Colorful History: Joseph Phillip Illidge (blog) - "However, while "Agent Carter" succeeds on that front, it clearly has more work to do on another, which is the historical accuracy involving the presence of people of color."
Agents of SHIELD
How Agents of SHIELD Blew It With The Inhumans: Devin Faraci (blog) - "And why SHIELD feels like a bad guy organization."
Diversify Cast Regulars on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: A.L. Baroza (blog) - "Here's the problem; as I mentioned in my previous post, the splinter S.H.I.E.L.D. inner council is made up of mostly people of color, as opposed to Coulson's S.H.I.E.L.D., whose MVPs are mainly white. In other words, Gonzales' S.H.I.E.L.D. group, who are represented on screen by POC, are not only positioned as the antagonists to Coulson's S.H.I.E.L.D. — they forcibly took over the organization! — but they are also portrayed as the face of intolerance."
Declassified: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - "Scars": The Insightful Panda (blog) - "As the dust settles from the near-cataclysm that was Avengers: Age of Ultron's finale battle, we see how it and its lessons have crossed once again into Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."
Declassified: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - "S.O.S. Part 1 & 2": The Insightful Panda (blog) - "So let's break this fantastic episode down and look at the good, the bad and the Inhuman."
'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 2 finale ends with start of a new war: Gavia Baker-Whitelaw (blog) - "Before we get into the the nitty-gritty of what this all means for next season, let's make one thing abundantly clear: This show is now Skye's superhero origin story."
American Crime
American Crime: In Defense of Barb Hanlon: Faith Pennick (blog) - "In my opinion, the most compelling character on television right now is Barb Hanlon. Her presence looms large over the shape-shifting ABC drama American Crime."
Angel
Untitled: kikibluemay (Tumblr) - "Okay, but how do you deal with the fact that Angel is basically an endless tale of manpain told by the perpetrator?"
Arrow
Where 'Arrow' Season 3 Went Wrong: Kevin Fitzpatrick (blog) - "Now, we attempt to pinpoint where Arrow went astray, including a character absence that may surprise you, and what hope we might find for Season 4."
Arrow: "This Is Your Sword" - Looking Ahead: The Insightful Panda (blog) - "There is only one more episode of Arrow this season and a greater plan has been set into motion. Through deception and desperation, the most unlikely of alliances has formed. Though is everything that follows going according to plan or horribly wrong."
Arrow: "My Name Is Oliver Queen" - Looking Ahead: The Insightful Panda (blog) - "Though despite the predictability – and a LOT of time spent of Olicity – this was still a fun season and a spectacular season finale. In many ways, it could have been considered a Series Finale."
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Earth's Mightiest Monsters: The Character Arcs of Avengers: Age of Ultron: Devin Faraci (blog) - "Most of my niggling problems with the film simply melted away on a second viewing, and many of the lingering questions felt answered."
Helen Cho, Age of Ultron, and Representation Feels: Nicole Soojung Callahan (blog) - "I've seen several tweets and a few reviews panning the movie, and I admit that in the initial heady afterglow of seeing a Korean actor on the silver screen, I couldn't even begin to understand the disappointment."
Age of Ultron, Part I: James Daily (blog) - "Although the Avengers eventually succeed in destroying Ultron, questions remain: are Stark and Banner in any way liable for the damage caused by Ultron's actions?"
Avengers AOU - What Makes a Monster: Jamie Kingston (blog) - "The movie asks over and over what makes a monster. It even makes some faltering attempts to answer."
Spoiler Alert: We Are All Monsters: Ashley Reed (blog) - "This is one writer's opinion on the treatment of and response to Black Widow's storyline in Age of Ultron."
A guide to the growing controversy over Joss Whedon's Avengers and Marvel's gender problem: Todd VanDerWerff (blog) - "Whedon has been a geek hero for years now, but a few of his directorial choices in Avengers: Age of Ultron have caused many to accuse him of misogyny and call for his head."
The Black Widow that I saw in the theater: Scott Sigler (blog) - "AGE OF ULTRON has become a focal point in an ongoing discussion about sexism in entertainment."
Black Widow, Scarce Resources And High-Stakes Stories: Linda Holmes (blog) - "We were never going to avoid gender politics with a character named "Black Widow.""
Untitled: allofthefeelings (tumblr) - "Here's the thing about Natasha's arc in AoU: it actually had a lot of potential to be really good, using what we've learned about her from the past few films, without changing any of the major beats, with a little bit of extrapolation."
Untitled: teapotsahoy (tumblr) - "Or even just a general discomfort with other people having more control over the Hulk than he does."
Untitle: septemberbiseur (tumblr) - "I've just returned from seeing Age of Ultron, which proved to be both formally a shambles and so ideologically toxic on every level that I found it difficult to enjoy even those isolated moments that provide competent entertainment"
Untitled: septemberbriseur (tumblr) - "For me, it wasn't so much the blandness as the shallowness of the thinking."
Untitled: septemberbriseur (tumblr) - "Of course, the trope of the child in danger gets dragged out a lot in action movies"
Untitled: septemberbriseur (tumblr) - "To be less grim and depressing: things I enjoyed in AoU!"
Age Of Ultron Meta and Contrarian Natasha Thoughts:lynnenne (LJ) - "Saw the movie this weekend, and while I didn't quite enjoy it as much as the first Avengers, I think that in many ways it's a better-made film, and hangs together more cohesively. Much of this has to do with the theme of puppetry which runs throughout, so let's get meta-ing."
The Black Widow Conundrum: Darren Franich (other) - "But if we're being a bit pedantic about the definition of "superhero"—derives from a comic book, has a codename, wears a trademark costume, hangs out with a superteam—then Black Widow reigns supreme. "
Babylon 5
B5rewatch: Soul Hunter: jedi_of_urth (LJ) - "Okay, that wasn't a very good promo either. It did make me realize something that I probably should have put words to ages ago: this is a bad concept for such an early episode."
Batman
The Dark Knight: An Influential And Prophetic Blockbuster: Siddhant Adlakha (blog) - "It was an important film to a lot of people who were entering film culture at the time, but its significance to Mumbai, my home city, is also rather unfortunate."
Episode 55: "Zatanna": The Arkham Sessions (podcast) - "In this episode of The Arkham Sessions, we're excited to analyze Zatanna for the first time, delving into her magical role, not only as Batman's companion, but also as a beloved character in the Bat-verse!"
Beyond Good and Evil
Jade - Beyond Good & Evil: Anita Sarkeesian (video with transcript) - "This episode of our series on Positive Female Characters focuses on Jade, the protagonist of Ubisoft's 2003 action-adventure game Beyond Good & Evil. We examine how plot elements, gameplay mechanics and smart dialogue work together to make Jade a relatable protagonist who is defined by her professional talents, her altruistic convictions, and her bonds with friends."
Buffy
Darth Rosenberg: Ms Buffy Buff (blog) - "In my opinion, Dark Willow had been a long time coming, so it wasn't a huge surprise to me when everything finally reached breaking point."
Untitled: apprenticebard (Tumblr) - "Do you ever think about the fact that Spike might well have been the first friend Dawn ever made, ever"
Random Dawn & Spike Thoughts: apprenticebard (Tumblr) - "Anyways, you know how Dawn and Spike stop interacting in S6, for the most part? We know they had at least some significant offscreen interaction during 'Wrecked', when Spike took Dawn to the hospital, but as far as what we see, their interactions pretty much stop."
Untitled: shadowcon (Tumblr) - "I have a big problem with the "Are you ready to be strong?" speech in "Chosen", wherein she rallies the Potentials and tells them of her plan, and I'd thought I'd run my feelings by you, since you're obviously someone who enjoys the show and loves to talk about it."
Untitled: apprenticebard (Tumblr) - "OK but how does Spike's chip even function"
Untitled: muchbuffy, apprenticebard (Tumblr) - "Seeing Red: The infamous bathroom scene will always be a very loaded topic. Not just because of the horror, but because everyone tends to disagree about it."
Second Chances: Faith as Drusilla 2.0: womanaction (Tumblr) - "Therefore, I wanted to write a little piece on Faith and Drusilla and their treatment within the text, especially in relation to Angel(us)."
Untitled: muchbuffy (Tumblr) - "I see the slayer powers as a metaphor for all the things society use against women in order to look down on them."
Untitled: muchbuffy (Tumblr) - "I have grave issues with most love stories. They all tend to gloss over problematic and downright creepy behavior, all in the name of love."
Buffyverse Characters in Every Hogwarts House: Dawn Summers: apprenticebard (Tumblr) - Essays on how Dawn does and doesn't fit in each of the Hogwarts houses.
By the Sword
By the Sword: We're Not In Valdemar Anymore: Ellen Cheeseman-Meyer (blog) - Introduction to the book for those unfamiliar with it.
Captain America
Sexualized Saturdays: Captain America & Male Virginity: Lady Geek Girl (blog) - "For our pop culture to have a character who doesn't follow these rules is rare and frankly revolutionary. That's why I am so happy that Steve Rogers, Captain America himself, is a virgin."
Chronicles of Narnia
Narnia: There Is No Son Sun: Ana Mardoll (blog) - Deconstruction of chapter 12 of The Silver Chair.
Cosmere
Words of Radiance Reread: Chapter 38: Alice Arneson (blog) - "This week, we pick up in the middle of the same sentence from Shallan's perspective, and watch Shallan and Dalinar drop their respective bombshells."
Daredevil
Fiskal Responsibility: How a Supervillain Did Right by Autistic Characters: Zack Budryk (blog) - "D'Onofrio's Fisk is the exact inverse: he's a very bad man whose apparent disability humanizes him, showing us just how vulnerable he is emotionally."
Darna
Darna: 'The Filipino Wonder Woman': Philip Smith (blog) - "Conversely, there are those who maintain that Mars Ravelo, Darna's creator, was pitching the idea of a female superhero in 1939, two years before Wonder Woman's first comic book appearance. In such a timeline Darna is not a Wonder Woman clone, but a character who emerged independently around the same time."
Doctor Who
NuWho Rewatch: Amy's Choice: louisedennis (LJ) - "It's a lot less interested in playing the science-fictional game associated with dream realities than it is in show-casing the dynamics around the three central characters."
NuWho Rewatch: Vampires of Venice: louisedennis (LJ) - "Vampires of Venice is, well, oddly unremarkable."
NuWho Rewatch: Time of the Angels/Flesh and Stone: louisedennis (LJ) - "To be honest the most notable thing about this episode is the things that were to reoccur, such as the church militant, River's imprisonment, and her habit of leaving messages for the Doctor on historical artefacts, and the things that were, apparently, to be quietly abandoned - the various new powers the angels seem to have gained."
Dragonlance
The Dragonlance Chronicles Reread: Dragons of Autumn Twilight, Chapters 17 and 18: Mahvesh Murad and Jared Shurin (blog) - "This week—gully dwarves and draconians."
Elementary
Elementary 3.24: selenak (DW) - "Still chewing on this one, as a season finale and as an episode both."
Empire Trilogy
Rereading The Empire Trilogy: Mistress of Empire, Part 10: Tansy Raynor Roberts (blog) - "This week's chapter is surprisingly untraumatic. I know, right? It's like a lovely holiday from the grief, torture and murder."
The Flash
The Flash Review 1.22 "Rogue Air": Meredith Borders (blog) - "The lesson in this episode: never doubt THE FLASH writers."
A Closer Look: The Flash - "Rogue Air": The Insightful Panda (blog) - "With only 1 episode left until the Season 1 finale, this episode of The Flash had a lot to accomplish; and that is exactly what it did. Though some could wonder if the pacing of this episode was the best planned."
Game of Thrones
The naked hypocrisy of Game Of Thrones' nudity: Caroline Siede (blog) - "Yet as Game Of Thrones is crafting nuanced storylines for its female characters, the show is simultaneously presenting nameless naked women for the show's audience to ogle. And that's more than a little disappointing."
Game of Thrones Discussion, S5E5: Fear Not: Laura Fletcher, Corrin Bennett-Kill, and Cheryl Collins (blog) - "Can our fears set us free? Or do they always enslave us? Does maturity mean not only stepping away from parental protection, but facing – and embracing – the things that terrify us?"
Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken: Philip Sandifer (blog) - "Except, of course, that this is a lie. There were an infinity of ways for that to be played. And they chose to do it this way. They chose specific alterations to the books that made this inevitable, and so it happened."
Deconstructed: Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken: Stefan (blog) - "This week, despite some very strong elements, suffers greatly from the total falling apart of one storyline and the divisive use of rape as a plot device by another."
Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken Open Thread: Johnny (blog) - Open thread to discuss the most recent episode.
Tailgate, Blood Orange Punch: Johnny (blog) - Compilation of links to discussion of the episode Kill the Boy.
"Game of Thrones" politics: Secret missions, desperate lies and the dangerous art of the double-cross: Steven Attewell (blog) - "In this episode, we are constantly reminded of the necessities of lying"
How "Game of Thrones" ruined Loras Tyrell: HBO's "gay cartoon" is so much more in the books: Steven Attewell (blog) - "George R.R. Martin wrote Loras as roundly as any other Westerosi man, but on HBO, he's just Maergery's gay brother"
Game of Thrones podcast: Season 5, Episode 5 - "Kill the Boy": (podcast) - What it says on the tin.
We Will No Longer Be Promoting HBO's Game of Thrones: Jill Pantozzi (blog) - "Before we dive into why we felt this was a choice which would cause us to stop promoting the show, allow us to say something very important: rape is not a necessary plot device. Really think about that before shouting "creative freedom" in our direction, please."
Why fans are so upset about Sansa's plot on 'Game of Thrones': Michelle Jaworski (blog) - "Anyone hoping for some sort of happiness for Sansa Stark this season, who finally returned home to Winterfell, had that reality yanked from them, stabbed, and probably stomped on for good measure at the end of "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken.""
What is greyscale, the illness looming over 'Game of Thrones': Michelle Jaworski (blog) - "But by showcasing greyscale so heavily this season does that mean that it may hint that the white walkers aren't the only looming threat to Westeros in future seasons and books?"
Episode Review: "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken": Theresa DeLucci (blog) - "Far be it from me to question the wisdom of George R. R. Martin—and I won't because the books are his story—but I would really love to know why the showrunners changed so much of Martin's novels in interesting ways only to negate all their work by not changing events enough."
Game of Thrones podcast: Season 5, Episode 6 - "Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken": (podcast) - Analysis of the episode.
Game of Thrones: Sansa Stark's Misery Has Gone Too Far: Julia Hartmann (blog) - "Last release of Game of Thrones ended with a terrible image we cannot erase from our minds. Sansa Stark has been unlucky with men until now, but her marriage with Ramsay Bolton puts a lot of things into perspective."
Review: Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken: ghostlovesinger (blog) - "It was a microcosm of this entire season so far: brief stretches of greatness punctuated with complete incompetence; last week's masterpiece followed by this week's atrocity. Season 5 has hit a few peaks, but its valleys have been staggering in depth, and to be brutally honest, I'm not sure Game of Thrones is coming back up from this one."
Game of Thrones, Season 5, Episode 6: Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken: Sparky (blog) - Episode recap followed by some meta comments.
Return to Westeros: "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken" Review: Tsunderin (blog) - "If last week Game of Thrones was "heading into darker territory", this week the show did a kick flip off the deep end into some terrible shit."
Game of Thrones recap: season five, episode six - Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken: Sarah Hughes (blog) - "The harrowing final scene was a major deviation from the books and will undoubtedly upset many readers but I wish solely to discuss whether it worked in terms of the story being told on television – and I would argue that, while horrific and hard to watch, it did."
Why Sansa Really Kneeled: how sexism shaped Sansa Stark's arc long ago: gotgifsandmusings (Tumblr) - "This difference in approach serves as a commentary on the experience of a girl with the right family name vs. one without, and it is also done with respect to their individual personalities."
GoT rant - I feel like I'm the odd one out with my reaction: lordhellbore (LJ) - "I wonder: If somebody who was raped wrote about how the depiction of rape on GoT actually helps them cope, would all the people railing against it even consider this person's opinion?"
Grace and Frankie
Netflix's 'Grace and Frankie' targets an older generation, then crushes their spirits: Tom Harrington (blog) - "And it's this obvious neediness that makes Grace and Frankie confusing. It's an odd opening salvo for what is essentially Netflix staking its claim on older viewers. So, sure, the stockpiling of decomposing star power makes sense. But did they have to make it so depressing?"
Grimm
The Psychology of Inspirational Women: Grimm's Juliette Silverton: Dr Janina Scarlet (blog) - Psychological analysis of the character in question.
Grimm, Season 4, Episode 22: Cry Havoc: Sparky (blog) - Episode recap followed by some meta comments.
H.P. Lovecraft
Epic Cosmic Vistas and Scary Houses - Impressions So Far in the Lovecraft Reread: Ruthanna Emrys and Anne M. Pillsworth (blog) - "Today, not marking any particularly blogging milestone—the Great Race of Yith not-so-gently remind you that time is relative—we're pausing to collect our thoughts and share our impressions of Lovecraft's ouvre so far."
Harry Potter
The Harry Potter Reread: The Order of the Phoenix, Chapters 9 and 10: Emily Asher-Perrin (blog) - "This week we're going to find out how one is named a Hogwarts prefect and get our first glimpse of a butterbeer cap necklace. It's Chapters 9 and 10–The Woes of Mrs. Weasley and Luna Lovegood."
The Dursleys Were Mean to Harry Because They're Terrible, Not Because He Was a Horcrux: Emily Asher-Perrin (blog) - "It would be nicer to believe that their abuse was the result of outside sources beyond their control. That said, the theory doesn't stack up when we take a closer look."
Magical Mondays: When Magical Education is Lacking: MadameAce (blog) - "Yeah, looking back, Hogwarts is nowhere near as wonderful as it first seemed. In fact, it's actually a really horrible place."
Holy Motors
Recent Film: Holy Motors: rushthatspeaks (DW) - "This is pretty much the standard critical reaction. Everyone agrees that it's a really good movie, but beyond that, things become more difficult."
It Happened One Night
The Push-Pull Perfection of It Happened One Night: Meredith Borders (blog) - "How Frank Capra skipped the schmaltz and delivered an all-time romantic comedy."
iZombie
On Brains and Surviving: iZombie As An Allegory For Surviving Sexual Assault: Eli Keel (blog) - "But take all things explicitly zombie out of the formula, and you realize that Liv Moore's story is the same story thousands of women experience every year. Liv is a coded survivor of sexual assault."
iZombie, Season 1, Episode 9: Patriot Brains: Sparky (blog) - Episode recap followed by some meta comments.
James Bond
Bond Girl: Re-Watching and Re-Evaluating On Her Majesty's Secret Service: Zina Hutton (blog) - "Aside from a few incidences of violence towards women and racism, I found a lot to like about the film and Lazenby's Bond."
Jane the Virgin
How Jane the Virgin makes "OMG moments" work: Vivian Obarski (blog) - "The show is seriously filled with OMG moments — I mean, the insemination that kicks off the whole show is the original OMG moment — and it hasn't let up at all."
Jem and the Holograms
Outrageous: How the Jem and the Holograms Movie Completely Misses the Point: Cat Conway (blog) - "This film presents us little more than yet another anemic tale of Girl Bands Gone Mild and completely misses the point of what made Jem so significant in the first place."
JRR Tolkien
Tolkien would have wanted his works to inspire fanfiction: jaredmith (LJ) - He knew full well no great mythology is formed entirely from the mind of only one person. And I include in that both adding to the continuity and creating alternate continuities.
One does not simply fly into Mordor Benita J. Prins (blog) - "Sure, The Lord of the Rings is a great story, but you have to admit that it does have a huge plot hole. Why didn't they just fly on the Eagles into Mordor and drop the Ring into Mount Doom? That would've been so much easier, as well as quicker!"
From where did the dragons came in Tolkien lore?: The One Ring Forums (forum) - Discussion of dragons in Tolkien
"I sit beside the fire and think" interpretations: The One Ring Forums (forum) - "I was interested in people's interpretations and reactions to reading this poem."
Science's Love Affair with The Lord of the Rings: Julie Beck (journal) - Mostly notable for the other meta it links.
Jupiter Ascending
Review: Jupiter Ascending: Jenny Cee (blog) - "Jupiter Ascending, you either hate it with a passion or you are love it. There is no in-between with this movie."
Kingsman
Review: Kingsman: The Secret Service: Jenny Cee (blog) - "No one can quite put their finger on why Kingsmen went from a small obscure fandom, to being the next it movie fandom."
Legend of Zelda
Gossip Stone: The Various Cultural Influences in the Zelda Series: Andrew Kiser (blog) - "Despite being created by a Japanese company, the Zelda series is predominately influenced by European medieval fantasy."
Zelda Dungeon Talks: Is It Necessary For Zelda, Link and Ganondorf To Be Present In Each Zelda Game?: Josh Tasaico (blog) - "With all this being said is it really necessary to include Link, Zelda and Ganondorf in each Zelda game? Nintendo apparently didn't think so but how about you?"
Mad Max
The Hype is Real. Mad Max: Fury Road is One of The Best Films of the Year: Leah Schnelbach (blog) - "The first half hour of Mad Max: Fury Road may be the greatest action movie I've ever seen. But then the film keeps going, keeps piling on more cars and more explosions and more perfectly choreographed fight scenes, and quickly becomes one of the best movies I've ever seen, period."
Untitled: lierdumoa, for-the-other-shoe, eabevella (Tumblr) - "None of the people, including the villains, call Furiosa a "bitch" for all I can remember, which is a common thing for movie villains to say to a female protagonist."
Movie Review: Mad Max Fury Road: Carrie S. (blog) - "RedheadedGirl and I saw Mad Max Fury Road and now we are all ready to storm the barricades of patriarchy with improbable vehicles."
Myth vs. Continuity In The Mad Max Series: Evan Saathoff (blog) - "Why it doesn't really matter that Mel Gibson isn't in FURY ROAD."
NOC Reviews Mad Max: Fury Road: Ren Hsieh (blog) - "Miller has taken the uncompromising arthouse nature of the original Mad Max movies, and combined it with 30 years of experience and the technology to create the fully realized, seemingly impossible world of Fury Road."
The Mad Max Trilogy: Look Back in Anger: Hubert Vigilla (blog) - "Let's look at each Mad Max film individually and figure out how they riff on and complement each other."
Oops! I Made a Feminist Manifesto: George Miller and "Mad Max": Sara Stewart (blog) - "Even more intriguing, though, is the way the director himself described how feminism apparently snuck its way into "Fury Road.""
Don't Tell Me Anything Else About Fury Road's Doof Warrior: Devin Faraci (blog) - "Knowing more about a cool character isn't always a good thing."
Episode 359: Mad Max: The Threat of Abrasion is Ever Present: The Overthinking It Podcast (podcast) - Analysis of Mad Max: Fury Road.
Mad Max: Fury Road: George Miller's Feminist Answer to His Own Franchise?: Sasha James (blog) - "Calling it "feminist propaganda," Men's Rights Activists boycotted the latest Mad Max installment in advance of its film release, citing Furiosa's apparent "replacement" of Max in his own franchise as enough justification to use the word propaganda as a descriptor for a summer blockbuster."
Review: Mad Max: Fury Road Is a Lovely Orgasm for Your Eyes: Jill Pantozzi (blog) - "You've watched the trailers. You've heard the feminist buzz and the anti-feminist cries. Now let us tell you what we thought about George Miller's Mad Max: Fury Road."
Incredibly Peeved Men's Rights Activists Call for Boycott of Mad Max, Are Unintentionally Hilarious: Carolyn Cox (blog) - "If a movie's depiction of women is upsetting to Men's Rights Activists, then said movie is probably awesome. A+ performance, Charlize Theron. Dudes are literally terrified that you'll act them all into becoming feminists."
'Mad Max: Fury Road' is everything you've heard and so much more: Aja Romano (blog) - "By now, you've probably heard an incredible amount of hype for Mad Max: Fury Road: that it's a non-stop car chase, an unabashedly feminist thrill ride, the bane of misogynists, and a critic's wet dream."
'Mad Max: Fury Road' doesn't live up to the hype: Spike Friedman (blog) - "In exchange for visuals that are occasionally mind-blowing, you'll be forced to give up any sense of characterization or a coherent world."
Everything you need to know about Mad Max before 'Fury Road': David Wharton (blog) - "Well, if you're in that camp but you've been intrigued by Fury Road's bonkers-epic trailers and the solid pre-release buzz, consider this your primer for everything you need to know about Mad Max before you see Fury Road."
Wives, Warlords and Refugees: The People Economy of Mad Max: Kameron Hurley (blog) - "And this is where this film gets all the violence-against-women stuff right, because it boldly and frankly positions it for what it is, stripping it of the male gaze, of sexuality, of uncontrollable male urges."
'Mad Max: Fury Road' Review: The Ultimate Car Chase Movie: Matt Singer (blog) - "Fury Road is an incredible achievement, one that strains so hard at the leash of the possible that it eventually breaks free and barrels headlong into the realm of insane genius."
Review: Mad Max: Fury Road Is A Bonkers Masterpiece: Rebecca Pahle (blog) - "What it also is, as my friends and I marveled after seeing the movie, is a two-hour car chase that never gets boring once."
The most shocking thing about Mad Max: Fury Road is its restraint: Susana Polo (blog) - "The most surprising is the fact that in a film full of vehicular slaughter and in which the titular character is imprisoned for the value of his blood, visible gore in the film is reserved exclusively for major plot moments."
what a lovely day: ladysisyphus (LJ) - "Yes, it is as good as everyone is saying. Yes, it takes everything that doesn't pass the Bechdel test, douses it in gasoline, and sets it on fire. No, you don't have to know a single ding-dang thing about the other movies first."
Why Fury Road is most certainly feminist: yukinoko (Tumblr) - "this is a response to Feminist Frequency's (Anita Sarkeesian) slew of tweets about Mad Max: Fury Road, which I first saw here on rubycue's blog (tweet photo credit to rubycue, I tried to reblog this traditionally as a response but either i am ignorant or you just can't do it, so I am creating my own post)"
Mad Men
The Speculative Fiction of Mad Men: Gilbert Colon (blog) - "Weiner's seven-season reality-based ad-men drama is so rife with references that at times it almost threatens to rocket into realms of fantastique fiction."
The Annotated Mad Men: Don Draper Buys The World A Coke: Devin Faraci (blog) - "The final episode of Mad Men is perhaps the greatest finale in the history of television, a last episode that works on a character level - we see all these characters we love coming to a places of happiness that leave us satisfied - and that works on a thematic level, a final bit that wraps up so much of what Matthew Weiner has been saying all along… and still leaves us with deep, and sort of endless, questions."
Mad Men Series Finale Discussion: "Person to Person": Dan Van Winkle (blog) - "We don't usually cover Mad Men, but we couldn't contain our feelings about the finale, and we're guessing some of you feel the same!"
The problem with Matthew Weiner's 'Mad Men' finale: Aja Romano (blog) - "Although it was overshadowed by fan theories like the popular D.B. Cooper theory and the Megan-as-Sharon-Tate theory, last night's Mad Men series finale ended with a twist that many people have predicted over the years."
The Mad Men Finale and The Mantra Of Don Draper: Film Crit Hulk (blog) - "Hulk on how the final episode was the exact conclusion this series deserves."
On The Finale of Mad Men: Rachel A (blog) - "There is a very narrow middle ground at which a finale remains both emotionally and narratively substantive, while also providing genuine catharsis and resolution. Matthew Weiner stuck that very difficult landing last night and preserved his show's brilliant legacy with grace and poise."
Malazan
Malazan Reread of the Fallen: Orb Sceptre Throne, Book Wrap: Amanda Rutter and Bill Capossere (blog) - "In this article, we'll cover our overall responses to Ian Cameron Esslemont's Orb Sceptre Throne."
Marvel Cinematic Universe
'Avengers: Age of Ultron' Character Report Card: Andrew Wheeler (blog) - "Now millions know these characters and could probably pick them out of a line-up. But the non-comics audience knows slightly different versions of the characters than the ones we might be used to."
Marvel Cinematic Universe/DC Cinematic Universe
The Avengers vs. 'Man of Steel': Sonny Bunch (newspaper) - "All of which is to say that I think Kate Erbland is basically right when she suggests that the real foe in "Avengers: Age of Ultron" isn't a super-powered AI but 2013's "Man of Steel.""
Marvel Comics
Apologies for all the random Daredevil thoughts:__marcelo (LJ) - "I keep thinking what a great kingpin Matt could have been. Not in the sense of the comics' Daredevil-as-Kingpin storyline, which was basically "Daredevil hits people until they leave," but as a Fisk-like character. If he dedicated himself to it, he could know every secret whispered in the city."
The Messengers
The Messengers, Season 1, Episode 5: Eye in the Sky: Sparky (blog) - Episode recap followed by some meta comments.
Naruto
Birthing the Ninja Way: Motherhood, Sons, and War in Naruto: Vernieda Vergara (blog) - "I'm talking about how the world of Naruto is one characterized by war, violence, and a thirst for power, and how it is ultimately reflected in the relationships mothers have with their sons."
The Originals
Klaus And Betrayals:ineeddatkayley (tumblr) - "Betrayal is the breaking or violation of a presumptive contract, trust, or confidence that produces moral and psychological conflict within a relationship amongst individuals, between organizations or between individuals and organizations."
Orphan Black
Orphan Black, Season 3, Episode 5: Scarred by Many Past Frustrations: Sparky (blog) - Episode recap followed by some meta commentary.
Orphan Black: "Scarred by Many Past Frustrations" Review: Lady Saika (blog) - "This week's episode was titled "Scarred By Many Past Frustrations", and it's totally on point, as it seems the story is structured around how our characters are reacting to and growing from their Past Frustrations."
Outlander
Outlander Episode 14: The Search: Redheadedgirl (blog) - Episode recap followed by discussion among the bloggers at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books.
Penitentiary
Everyone's Into Weirdness: Penitentiary (1979): Jacob Knight (blog) - "Jamaa Fanaka's prison boxing movie packs a bigger punch than you might think."
Penny Dreadful
Penny Dreadful, Season 2, Episode 2: Verbis Diablo: Sparky (blog) - Episode recap followed by some meta content.
Penny Dreadful, Season 2, Episode 3: The Nightcomers: Sparky (blog) - Episode recap followed by some meta comments.
Five Things About Penny Dreadful Are Better Than Ever (And One's Not): Genevieve Valentine (blog) - "Last night, High Gothic returned to TV, as Penny Dreadful picked up its second season almost exactly where it left off and threw an even campier enemy at Vanessa Ives and company. Here's the five best parts, and one problem."
London Throws An Amazing Date Night On Penny Dreadful: Genevieve Valentine (blog) - "In Penny Dreadful, the world's so small almost any characters work well together, and the show knows. "Verbis Diablo" turns London into a date night – by turns charming, campy, and creepy as hell."
Penny Dreadful Gives Us An Amazing Superhero Origin Story: Genevieve Valentine (blog) - "So far, Penny Dreadful's flashbacks exist to be as Gothic as possible. But while "The Nightcomers" is definitely that, it's also one of the best superhero origin stories on TV this year."
Phantasm
A Look Back At The Deliberate Uncertainty of The Phantasm Films: Brian Collins (blog) - "As far as unlikely franchises go, Don Coscarelli's Phantasm has to be near the top of the list, at least for horror films."
Pitch Perfect 2
Review: Pitch Perfect 2 Is Funny, Catchy, and Aca-Uncomfortable: Carolyn Cox (blog) - "It's easier to turn off the critical part of your brain and give yourself permission to enjoy a movie despite its problematic elements when you're not going in with the intent to review it, so there's a fair chance you're going to like Pitch Perfect 2 more than I did."
Pitch Perfect 2: Aca-Alright: Emi M (blog) - "With compelling characters and a promising premise, Pitch Perfect 2 had all the makings of a great film. However, half-formed plotlines and some misdirected attempts at comedy made the movie lukewarm at best."
Pitch Perfect 2: Another One for the Forgettable Sequel Pile: Rebecca Pahle (blog) kind of wish I absolutely hated Pitch Perfect 2, so I could title this review "Pitch Perfect Ew" or, if I'm feeling particularly saucy, "Pitch Perfect Poo.""
The Red Shoes
The Real Tragedy of The Red Shoes Is That We'll Never Have Another Blockbuster Like It: Britt Hayes (blog) - "Continuing this month's blockbuster film coverage, a look back at a masterpiece that could never be nearly as successful today."
Saga
Saga and Trauma: Phillip Smith (blog) - "Saga is a comic about war, not only the actuality of war but the politics, and, perhaps most profoundly, the psychological and social reverberations of conflict."
Salem
Salem: The Real Problem with the Show: aelarsen (blog) - "But for all the serious errors the show makes, I think the real problem lies elsewhere, with the very concept of the show."
Shameless
Untitled: ohjafeeljadefinitelyfeel (tumblr) - "what I feel most strongly about fanfiction is its direct relation to romance writing. before I discovered fanfiction, romance fiction was my genre. there are so many parallels between romance fiction and fanfiction,"
Sherlock
On Wank: marta_bee (tumblr) - "Sometimes wank can be an artform, it can be fun if done well, and it can keep people from taking themselves too seriously."
Untitled: ivyblossom (Tumblr) - "Yeah, analysis is good. Not sure it's a duty, to be honest, but I'm in favour of close textual reading. Let's do some of that on this "queerbaiting" argument you've presented to me."
Untitled: ivyblossom, enjoytheelephant, mathildia (Tumblr) - "While we might be in "johnlock hell," which, I presume, is best described as the tension we feel as an audience when John and Sherlock's relationship remains unresolved, I feel compelled to point out that making characters suffer, and then suffer some more, and then making them fall apart psychologically, and then forcing them to suffer again, is one of the most enjoyable things in life for writers."
Sherlock Holmes
Canon Discussion - The Yellow Face: sherlock60 (LJ) - "This week we're having a look at The Yellow Face."
Shingeki no Kyojin
SnK 69 Thoughts: ghostmartyr (Tumblr) - "This chapter fleshes out a lot of different things, but I think that Kenny being a cowboy remains a complete mystery."
A Song of Ice and Fire
A Read of Ice and Fire: A Dance with Dragons, Part 20: Leigh Butler (blog) - "Today's entry is Part 20 of A Dance With Dragons, in which we cover Chapter 33 ("Tyrion") and Chapter 34 ("Bran")."
Untitled: asoiafuniversity (Tumblr) - "I do believe every single Northern Lord outside of Winterfell's walls think that Jeyne is Arya. And that includes Moors (Crowfood) Umber. Because it's clear that those on the outside are willing to wage war for her and raise an army."
Top Characters #13 Bran Stark: Big Little Grandpa (blog) - "He could be so many different things. And, really, he already is so many different things - we've been watching him grow and change this whole time."
Chapter-by-Chapter Analysis: Jon IV, ACOK: Steven Attewell (blog) - "Jon IV is a bit of an odd duck, in that it's really more about setting a mood and describing an environment rather than exploring character, and there's really only one plot point that happens."
On George Martin, ladies of ASOIAF, and being 'feminist writer': qvcksilver (Tumblr) - "This long-ass post was brought to you by me starting my latest ASOIAF reread focusing exclusively on the ladies, plus some acutely on-point tag meta by him-e re: Martin's approach to female characters."
Daario's Ominously Mysterious Past: madeinmyr (Tumblr) - "Daario repeatedly boasts of his physical prowess but tells no tales of his past exploits and travels, a fairly significant bit of information to withhold in light of what we know about other far ranging sell swords"
The Terrible Tale of Jeyne Poole: leftways (blog) - "Of all the tales told throughout the A Song of Ice & Fire series, the one that stands out as the most tragic has to be that of Jeyne Poole."
Untitled: poorquentyn (Tumblr) - "Great question; a Stark-Tyrell alliance is one of my favorite ASOIAF hypotheticals to play around with, and it's explicitly teased more than once in the text"
Dornish Letter Theory: amin-j (Tumblr) - "I think that there are nuggets of truth in the descriptions on what the Dornish Letter was about."
The Sound of Music
Episode 27: The Sound of Music: The Canon (podcast) - "Each episode of the show has found us sort of struggling with what the boundaries of the Canon are, with how much a movie needs to be important versus how much it needs to be good, and I think The Sound of Music really tests us."
Star Wars
Rethinking The Phantom Menace:Doug (blog) - "It wasn't perfect, and there is valid criticism,2 but I genuinely enjoyed seeing the Phantom Menace. I like the movie. I said it."
Sunrise
Tribeca Film Festival Review: Sunrise: Siddhant Adlakha (blog) - "Partho Sen-Gupta's Sunrise really is a technical marvel, one that paints images that are simultaneously surreal and picturesque, while capturing the debaucherous heart of Mumbai's back alleys in the most operatic manner."
Supernatural
Supernatural, Season 10, Episode 22: The Prisoner: Sparky (blog) - Episode recap followed by some meta comments.
Supernatural: The Tree and The Apple: cupidsbower, pimp-shark (Tumblr) - "The question is, are they really Team Free Will, or are they actually Team Determinism?"
Random unpredictable thoughts after seeing "Dark Dynasty.": tyrsibs(LJ) - "Another criticism of the show's storytelling is that it has become repetitive, but again, I think this is a short-sighted view. I see a cyclical pattern, a wheel of fate or destiny centering on the Winchesters that they are either unwilling or unable to stop.."
The Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments and The Death Of Epics: Andrew Todd (blog) - "There are no epics anymore; no films that take up the entirety of your night, that span epochs in their narratives and inspire total awe in audiences."
Tomorrowland
Tomorrowland Review: There's No Future In This Movie: Devin Faraci (blog) - "The future ain't what it used to be, says Tomorrowland, and it says it again and again."
Brad Bird Fails To Take Flight With Tomorrowland [Review]: Rebecca Pahle (blog) - "Within its very first scene, Tomorrowland commits a cardinal storytelling sin: It nukes it stakes."
Twin Peaks
The Twin Peaks Log: S.2 E.9: Romona Williams (blog) - "It was bittersweet watching this episode, considering the now uncertain fate of Twin Peaks season 3."
Usagi Yojimbo
What's So Great About Usagi Yojimbo? Everything: Chris Sims (blog) - "But since you asked, here's the big deal with Usagi Yojimbo: Stan Sakai's been doing this comic for over thirty years, and he hasn't done a bad issue yet."
The Vampire Diaries
Vampire Diaries, Season 6, Episode 22: I'm Thinking of You All The While: Sparky (blog) - Episode recap followed by some meta comments.
Untitled: lostgirltamsin (tumblr) - "SO like I am loving, loving seeing Damon and Bonnie redefine the parameters of their relationship now that they're not in 1994"
The Water Diviner
Movie Review: The Water Diviner: Redheadedgirl (blog) - "This is a WWI drama about a father who lost his three sons to the Gallipoli campaign, and goes, after the war, to find their bodies and bring them home."
Wheel of Time
The Wheel of Time Reread Redux: The Great Hunt, Part 1: Leigh Butler (blog) - "Today's Redux post will cover the Prologue of The Great Hunt"
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman and the Paternal Narrative: the Rise of Wonder Woman, the Fall of Women: Doctor Bifrost (blog) - "But it's actually a discussion of the almost-universal Paternal Narrative, the scarce-as-hen's-teeth Maternal Narrative, and the way female-centric stories are represented (or not) in DC Comics and elsewhere—all seen through the lens of Wonder Woman #1-35."
X-Men
Why the death of Wolverine is good for 'X-Men': Dan Marcus (blog) - "As Ethan Anderson of FirstShowing.Net says, "[Jackman's departure is] the perfect way to set up the First Class franchise to continue and have plenty of mutants to keep the story going.""
Yellowbrickroad
Yellowbrickroad (2010) - Expectations and disappointments: yuuago (DW) - "This was one of those films that starts off with a great idea, but doesn't manage to pull it off. Sometimes, films like that almost succeed - they aren't as good as they could be, but they still manage to put together a coherent story. This wasn't one of those."
Zero Motivation
Zero Motivation (2014): marina (DW) - "Because there is this huge, gaping, chasm-like lack of narrative films about women in the IDF, because essentially any movie you make on this theme is going to get recognition for being groundbreaking and will be popular simply because people hunger to see themselves represented (the same thing happened with the first movie about gay men in the IDF, which was a huge commercial success), I assumed that Talia Lavie's film would be the story of an average girl caught amidst wacky characters in the middle of nowhere. It would an uncomplicated, fairly generic, appealing-to-a-broad-audience film, it would be successful and remarkable. "
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General Fandom
It's time for Hollywood to embrace the female super villain: Cher Martinetti (blog) - "Yes, women need to have a strong, positive presence in pop culture, but what about the bad guys -- or, more specifically, bad girls? It's time for Hollywood, and audiences, to embrace the villainess."
topic:femalecharacter, topic:villains
How The "Godfather of Anime" Screwed Up Modern Anime: Toshi Nakamura (blog) - "Basically, Tezuka did a George Lucas and supported his creation through merchandising and his own money. This lay the groundwork for the anime production model: Make an anime a cheaply as possible and make up the loss through tie-in goods and character merch. Because Tezuka was basically the God of manga in Japan, no one questioned his methods and this became the norm."
fandom:anime
Figures of Empire: On the Impossibility of Superhero Diversity: James Lamb (blog) - "Whether as friendly bystanders, costumed sidekicks, everyday henchmen or caped vigilantes, race and gender minorities exist in superhero comic media to validate and define the normative Whiteness central to the genre's narratives."
topic:superheroes, topic:race, topic:diversity, topic:history, topic:comics
Please Don't Hunt Me Down and Harass Me: Chris Gavaler (blog) - "It was published in England's Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics in 2013, and its argument is part of the book: superheroes are descended from the KKK. Actually superheroes are descended from all kinds of things, and the Klan is just one of them, an idea Major Spoilers still found "hard to swallow.""
topic:superheroes, topic:history
If You Perceive "Girly" Superheroes as Lesser, isn't the Problem You?: Keith Chow (blog) - "While I understand why some folks feel like the Supergirl preview gave off a rom-com vibe — particularly from the music cues in its first half — I don't know why that's necessarily a bad thing."
topic:superheroes, topic:femalecharacter, topic:sexism
Fantasy must shake off the tyranny of the mega-novel: Damien Walter (blog) - "The triumph of George RR Martin has made publishers greedy for multi-volume stories, but not all authors can write them – and why should they?"
topic:fantasy, topic:publishing
Fantasy cannot build its imaginary worlds in short fiction: Natasha Pulley (blog) - "'Mega-novels' are not a marketing wheeze, but a necessarily giant scaffolding for vast imaginative reach"
topic:fantasy, topic:publishing
Untitled: mmanalysis, nicolerichiesuberdriver, five-quid (Tumblr) - "I have been trying to go back to stuff I watched when I was a kid, to see if it's actually good or I'm just succumbing to nostalgia."
topic:television, topic:diversity
Inside China's Insane Witch Hunt For Slash Fiction Writers: Kevin Tang (blog) - "Eight erotic fiction sites, or "slash fiction sites," have been shut down and their staff arrested in China's newest anti-porn sweeps."
topic:censorship, topic:slash
Why Is Fan Fiction So Powerful: Kaye Toal (blog) - "We talked to Rainbow Rowell, author of Fangirl and the forthcoming Carry On, about the power of taking what you love into yourself."
topic:fanfic
The Invisible Man(liness): Eva Hayles Gledhill (blog) - "In this model, femininity becomes something that is added to someone, measured against the assumed neutrality of invisible masculinity."
topic:language, topic:feminism, topic:gender, topic:superheroes
It's-A Me, Mary Sue: Why She's An Important Figure For Fanfic And Fangirls: Sam Maggs (blog) - "Why isn't it okay to hate on Mary Sues?"
topic:fanfic, topic:marysue
May I Kill Him? Lisbeth Salander and the Rise of Feminist Noir: Zack Budryk (blog) - "As I got older, something sort of similar happened: I both fell in love with both the noir* genre and learned more about intersectional feminism (a process that isn't, and will never be, complete), and I encountered a sort of dilemma: a lot of noir and neo-noir is kind of extremely misogynistic."
topic:noir, topic:feminism
The Problem with Hollywood Super-Dudes: Chris Gavaler (blog) - "So to analyze the nature of Hollywood superheroes, I'm calling in two experts from opposite ends of the literary spectrum: Fyodor Dostoyevsky, one of the most acclaimed novelists of Russian literature, and Blake Snyder, a third-rate screenwriter that Sylvester Stallone once likened to a flatworm."
topic:movies, topic:superheroes, topic:criticism
All I Want Are Chicks with Agency Blowing Shit Up!: Ginnis Tonik (blog) - "And it's not enough, because of the continued dearth of female heroes and villains in our contemporary pop culture landscape."
topic:superheroes, topic:femalecharacter
Watch Out! She's Got Science!: On the Portrayal of Female Scientists in Media: Alex Townsend (blog) - "But just what kind of role models do we have out there for a world that desperately needs more female scientists? Well, there's more than you might think, both good and bad, in the worlds of fiction."
topic:science, topic:femalecharacter
Advice for Robert Downey, Jr.: Richard Brody (journal) - "Actually, both Iñárritu and Downey have recently delivered great caricatures, not on screen but in speech. Iñárritu, in the interview last fall that featured the "cultural genocide" charge, caricatured superhero movies even better than he did in "Birdman." Then, last week, Downey caricatured independent films."
topic:movies
Untitled: mmanalysis, ununnilium, oshkeet (Tumblr) - "One thing I wish people would get less in a huff about is when they say 'alternative interpretations against canon ultimately hurt canon because doesn't learn from it and continues to perpetuate whatever dumb/gross thing we were trying to explain away'"
topic:canon, topic:fanon
Oh, My Pop Culture Judaism: King Solomon the Superhero: mikelywhiplash (blog) - "But while his predecessors stayed within their own narrative arcs, Solomon built his own canon. He has an origin story, he has adventures, he fights monsters, and he even comes with his own set of accessories."
topic:religion, topic:history, topic:superheroes
Why Are You Writing a Rape Scene?: Robert Jackson Bennett (blog) - "This isn't an accusation. This is a genuine question. And it's also a subject that's been on my mind just about since I got started writing."
topic:writing, warning:rape
Two books on copyright: rivkat (DW) - "The editors suggest that the things that the "entertainment industry" values don't map very well onto the law, but that industry members nonetheless deploy/interact with the law to get what they want. I like their working definition of franchises: franchises involve connected cultural content that some entity tries to exploit and keep profitable over time."
topic:copyright
Why We Still Need Strong Female Characters: Jenny Cee (blog) - "Some think that in this post Buffy, and Xena generation that we have won the fight, but with the recent release of 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' that it has pretty much shown that the fight for strong, and flesh out female characters is still very important."
topic:femalecharacter, topic:feminism
Jenny Cee's Top Five Favorite AO3 Hacks!: Jenny Cee (blog) - "Yet, despite being ahead of the competition, the A03 seems to be missing some vital things that would browsing for and reading fanfic a hell of lot more easier."
topic:ao3
How To Free Yourself of Tumblr Wank!: Jenny Cee (blog) - "Tumblr can be full of squee and awesome one minute, and more vicious than a lion hunting a gazelle the next."
topic:tumblr
Silly little girls: Slash Fanfiction and Female Sexuality: teresa-dances-in-sequins (Tumblr) - "I'm not saying everything I've written holds true for every slash fan - or for every slash fandom, for that matter. These are just the observations I've gleaned from intense academic research, from my own analysis, and from what other folks in the slash community have kindly shared with me. I wrote this because I care a lot about slash, and frankly, I'm tired of feeling like it's something to be ashamed of."
topic:slash
Meta Monday : I don't drink coffee, a post about AUs: dhampyresa (DW) - "In that post, I outlined three different kinds of AUs, although I am not entirely sure one of them counts as an AU."
topic:fanfic, topic:au
What Is Fiction For?:mild_lunacy (tumblr) - "The desire for pure self-expression (as opposed to socially-oriented moralism) is largely self-explanatory, though the avant-garde impulse gets a lot less attention, especially in discussions within fandom. "
topic:fiction, topic:writing
Technothriller Book Review Sumana: (blog) - "I am glad I read Hackster: The Revolution Begins..., a technothriller by Sankalp Kohli and Paritosh Yadav taking place in modern-day India"
topic:writing
Specific Fandoms
Agent Carter
4 More Ways to #DiversifyAgentCarter: Leigh Anne (blog) - "Curious and inspired, I turned to the library collection for more information. Here are four more character concepts that would be historically accurate if they appeared in Agent Carter."
fandom:agentcarter, topic:diversity, topic:history
#DiversifyAgent Carter Reminds Us That "Because History" Isn't a Reason to Whitewash a Show: Teresa Jusino (blog) - "But even the best shows aren't immune to criticism, and there is one area in which Agent Carter could use some improvement. There are zero characters of color on that show."
fandom:agentcarter, topic:diversity
The Mission: Agent Carter, Diversity in Superhero TV, and a Colorful History: Joseph Phillip Illidge (blog) - "However, while "Agent Carter" succeeds on that front, it clearly has more work to do on another, which is the historical accuracy involving the presence of people of color."
fandom:agentcarter, fandom:mcu, fandom:marvelcomics, topic:diversity
Agents of SHIELD
How Agents of SHIELD Blew It With The Inhumans: Devin Faraci (blog) - "And why SHIELD feels like a bad guy organization."
fandom:agentsofshield
Diversify Cast Regulars on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: A.L. Baroza (blog) - "Here's the problem; as I mentioned in my previous post, the splinter S.H.I.E.L.D. inner council is made up of mostly people of color, as opposed to Coulson's S.H.I.E.L.D., whose MVPs are mainly white. In other words, Gonzales' S.H.I.E.L.D. group, who are represented on screen by POC, are not only positioned as the antagonists to Coulson's S.H.I.E.L.D. — they forcibly took over the organization! — but they are also portrayed as the face of intolerance."
fandom:agentsofshield, topic:racism
Declassified: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - "Scars": The Insightful Panda (blog) - "As the dust settles from the near-cataclysm that was Avengers: Age of Ultron's finale battle, we see how it and its lessons have crossed once again into Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."
fandom:agentsofshield
Declassified: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - "S.O.S. Part 1 & 2": The Insightful Panda (blog) - "So let's break this fantastic episode down and look at the good, the bad and the Inhuman."
fandom:agentsofshield, warning:spoilers
'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 2 finale ends with start of a new war: Gavia Baker-Whitelaw (blog) - "Before we get into the the nitty-gritty of what this all means for next season, let's make one thing abundantly clear: This show is now Skye's superhero origin story."
fandom:agentsofshield, warning:spoilers
American Crime
American Crime: In Defense of Barb Hanlon: Faith Pennick (blog) - "In my opinion, the most compelling character on television right now is Barb Hanlon. Her presence looms large over the shape-shifting ABC drama American Crime."
fandom:americancrime, topic:femalecharacter
Angel
Untitled: kikibluemay (Tumblr) - "Okay, but how do you deal with the fact that Angel is basically an endless tale of manpain told by the perpetrator?"
fandom:angel
Arrow
Where 'Arrow' Season 3 Went Wrong: Kevin Fitzpatrick (blog) - "Now, we attempt to pinpoint where Arrow went astray, including a character absence that may surprise you, and what hope we might find for Season 4."
fandom:arrow, warning:spoilers
Arrow: "This Is Your Sword" - Looking Ahead: The Insightful Panda (blog) - "There is only one more episode of Arrow this season and a greater plan has been set into motion. Through deception and desperation, the most unlikely of alliances has formed. Though is everything that follows going according to plan or horribly wrong."
fandom:arrow
Arrow: "My Name Is Oliver Queen" - Looking Ahead: The Insightful Panda (blog) - "Though despite the predictability – and a LOT of time spent of Olicity – this was still a fun season and a spectacular season finale. In many ways, it could have been considered a Series Finale."
fandom:arrow, warning:spoilers
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Earth's Mightiest Monsters: The Character Arcs of Avengers: Age of Ultron: Devin Faraci (blog) - "Most of my niggling problems with the film simply melted away on a second viewing, and many of the lingering questions felt answered."
fandom:mcu
Helen Cho, Age of Ultron, and Representation Feels: Nicole Soojung Callahan (blog) - "I've seen several tweets and a few reviews panning the movie, and I admit that in the initial heady afterglow of seeing a Korean actor on the silver screen, I couldn't even begin to understand the disappointment."
fandom:mcu, warning:spoilers, topic:representation
Age of Ultron, Part I: James Daily (blog) - "Although the Avengers eventually succeed in destroying Ultron, questions remain: are Stark and Banner in any way liable for the damage caused by Ultron's actions?"
fandom:mcu, topic:law, warning:spoilers
Avengers AOU - What Makes a Monster: Jamie Kingston (blog) - "The movie asks over and over what makes a monster. It even makes some faltering attempts to answer."
fandom:mcu, warning:spoilers
Spoiler Alert: We Are All Monsters: Ashley Reed (blog) - "This is one writer's opinion on the treatment of and response to Black Widow's storyline in Age of Ultron."
fandom:mcu, warning:spoilers, topic:infertility
A guide to the growing controversy over Joss Whedon's Avengers and Marvel's gender problem: Todd VanDerWerff (blog) - "Whedon has been a geek hero for years now, but a few of his directorial choices in Avengers: Age of Ultron have caused many to accuse him of misogyny and call for his head."
fandom:mcu, fandom:josswhedon, warning:spoilers
The Black Widow that I saw in the theater: Scott Sigler (blog) - "AGE OF ULTRON has become a focal point in an ongoing discussion about sexism in entertainment."
fandom:mcu, warning:spoilers
Black Widow, Scarce Resources And High-Stakes Stories: Linda Holmes (blog) - "We were never going to avoid gender politics with a character named "Black Widow.""
fandom:mcu, warning:spoilers, topic:femalecharacter
Untitled: allofthefeelings (tumblr) - "Here's the thing about Natasha's arc in AoU: it actually had a lot of potential to be really good, using what we've learned about her from the past few films, without changing any of the major beats, with a little bit of extrapolation."
fandom:mcu, warning:spoilers
Untitled: teapotsahoy (tumblr) - "Or even just a general discomfort with other people having more control over the Hulk than he does."
fandom:mcu, warning:spoilers
Untitle: septemberbiseur (tumblr) - "I've just returned from seeing Age of Ultron, which proved to be both formally a shambles and so ideologically toxic on every level that I found it difficult to enjoy even those isolated moments that provide competent entertainment"
fandom:mcu, warning:spoilers
Untitled: septemberbriseur (tumblr) - "For me, it wasn't so much the blandness as the shallowness of the thinking."
fandom:mcu, warning:spoilers
Untitled: septemberbriseur (tumblr) - "Of course, the trope of the child in danger gets dragged out a lot in action movies"
fandom:mcu, warning:spoilers
Untitled: septemberbriseur (tumblr) - "To be less grim and depressing: things I enjoyed in AoU!"
fandom:mcu, warning:spoilers
Age Of Ultron Meta and Contrarian Natasha Thoughts:lynnenne (LJ) - "Saw the movie this weekend, and while I didn't quite enjoy it as much as the first Avengers, I think that in many ways it's a better-made film, and hangs together more cohesively. Much of this has to do with the theme of puppetry which runs throughout, so let's get meta-ing."
fandom:mcu, warning:spoilers
The Black Widow Conundrum: Darren Franich (other) - "But if we're being a bit pedantic about the definition of "superhero"—derives from a comic book, has a codename, wears a trademark costume, hangs out with a superteam—then Black Widow reigns supreme. "
fandom:mcu, warning:spoilers
Babylon 5
B5rewatch: Soul Hunter: jedi_of_urth (LJ) - "Okay, that wasn't a very good promo either. It did make me realize something that I probably should have put words to ages ago: this is a bad concept for such an early episode."
fandom:babylon5
Batman
The Dark Knight: An Influential And Prophetic Blockbuster: Siddhant Adlakha (blog) - "It was an important film to a lot of people who were entering film culture at the time, but its significance to Mumbai, my home city, is also rather unfortunate."
fandom:dccu
Episode 55: "Zatanna": The Arkham Sessions (podcast) - "In this episode of The Arkham Sessions, we're excited to analyze Zatanna for the first time, delving into her magical role, not only as Batman's companion, but also as a beloved character in the Bat-verse!"
fandom:dcanimated
Beyond Good and Evil
Jade - Beyond Good & Evil: Anita Sarkeesian (video with transcript) - "This episode of our series on Positive Female Characters focuses on Jade, the protagonist of Ubisoft's 2003 action-adventure game Beyond Good & Evil. We examine how plot elements, gameplay mechanics and smart dialogue work together to make Jade a relatable protagonist who is defined by her professional talents, her altruistic convictions, and her bonds with friends."
fandom:gaming, topic:femalecharacter
Buffy
Darth Rosenberg: Ms Buffy Buff (blog) - "In my opinion, Dark Willow had been a long time coming, so it wasn't a huge surprise to me when everything finally reached breaking point."
fandom:btvs, topic:femalecharacter, topic:villains
Untitled: apprenticebard (Tumblr) - "Do you ever think about the fact that Spike might well have been the first friend Dawn ever made, ever"
fandom:btvs
Random Dawn & Spike Thoughts: apprenticebard (Tumblr) - "Anyways, you know how Dawn and Spike stop interacting in S6, for the most part? We know they had at least some significant offscreen interaction during 'Wrecked', when Spike took Dawn to the hospital, but as far as what we see, their interactions pretty much stop."
fandom:btvs
Untitled: shadowcon (Tumblr) - "I have a big problem with the "Are you ready to be strong?" speech in "Chosen", wherein she rallies the Potentials and tells them of her plan, and I'd thought I'd run my feelings by you, since you're obviously someone who enjoys the show and loves to talk about it."
fandom:btvs
Untitled: apprenticebard (Tumblr) - "OK but how does Spike's chip even function"
fandom:btvs
Untitled: muchbuffy, apprenticebard (Tumblr) - "Seeing Red: The infamous bathroom scene will always be a very loaded topic. Not just because of the horror, but because everyone tends to disagree about it."
fandom:btvs, warning:rape
Second Chances: Faith as Drusilla 2.0: womanaction (Tumblr) - "Therefore, I wanted to write a little piece on Faith and Drusilla and their treatment within the text, especially in relation to Angel(us)."
fandom:btvs, fandom:angel
Untitled: muchbuffy (Tumblr) - "I see the slayer powers as a metaphor for all the things society use against women in order to look down on them."
fandom:btvs
Untitled: muchbuffy (Tumblr) - "I have grave issues with most love stories. They all tend to gloss over problematic and downright creepy behavior, all in the name of love."
fandom:btvs
Buffyverse Characters in Every Hogwarts House: Dawn Summers: apprenticebard (Tumblr) - Essays on how Dawn does and doesn't fit in each of the Hogwarts houses.
fandom:btvs
By the Sword
By the Sword: We're Not In Valdemar Anymore: Ellen Cheeseman-Meyer (blog) - Introduction to the book for those unfamiliar with it.
fandom:valdemar
Captain America
Sexualized Saturdays: Captain America & Male Virginity: Lady Geek Girl (blog) - "For our pop culture to have a character who doesn't follow these rules is rare and frankly revolutionary. That's why I am so happy that Steve Rogers, Captain America himself, is a virgin."
fandom:mcu, topic:sexuality
Chronicles of Narnia
Narnia: There Is No Son Sun: Ana Mardoll (blog) - Deconstruction of chapter 12 of The Silver Chair.
fandom:chroniclesofnarnia, topic:deconstruction
Cosmere
Words of Radiance Reread: Chapter 38: Alice Arneson (blog) - "This week, we pick up in the middle of the same sentence from Shallan's perspective, and watch Shallan and Dalinar drop their respective bombshells."
fandom:cosmere
Daredevil
Fiskal Responsibility: How a Supervillain Did Right by Autistic Characters: Zack Budryk (blog) - "D'Onofrio's Fisk is the exact inverse: he's a very bad man whose apparent disability humanizes him, showing us just how vulnerable he is emotionally."
fandom:daredevil, topic:disability
Darna
Darna: 'The Filipino Wonder Woman': Philip Smith (blog) - "Conversely, there are those who maintain that Mars Ravelo, Darna's creator, was pitching the idea of a female superhero in 1939, two years before Wonder Woman's first comic book appearance. In such a timeline Darna is not a Wonder Woman clone, but a character who emerged independently around the same time."
fandom:darna, fandom:comics
Doctor Who
NuWho Rewatch: Amy's Choice: louisedennis (LJ) - "It's a lot less interested in playing the science-fictional game associated with dream realities than it is in show-casing the dynamics around the three central characters."
fandom:doctorwho
NuWho Rewatch: Vampires of Venice: louisedennis (LJ) - "Vampires of Venice is, well, oddly unremarkable."
fandom:doctorwho
NuWho Rewatch: Time of the Angels/Flesh and Stone: louisedennis (LJ) - "To be honest the most notable thing about this episode is the things that were to reoccur, such as the church militant, River's imprisonment, and her habit of leaving messages for the Doctor on historical artefacts, and the things that were, apparently, to be quietly abandoned - the various new powers the angels seem to have gained."
fandom:doctorwho
Dragonlance
The Dragonlance Chronicles Reread: Dragons of Autumn Twilight, Chapters 17 and 18: Mahvesh Murad and Jared Shurin (blog) - "This week—gully dwarves and draconians."
fandom:dragonlance
Elementary
Elementary 3.24: selenak (DW) - "Still chewing on this one, as a season finale and as an episode both."
fandom:elementary
Empire Trilogy
Rereading The Empire Trilogy: Mistress of Empire, Part 10: Tansy Raynor Roberts (blog) - "This week's chapter is surprisingly untraumatic. I know, right? It's like a lovely holiday from the grief, torture and murder."
fandom:empiretrilogy
The Flash
The Flash Review 1.22 "Rogue Air": Meredith Borders (blog) - "The lesson in this episode: never doubt THE FLASH writers."
fandom:theflash, warning:spoilers
A Closer Look: The Flash - "Rogue Air": The Insightful Panda (blog) - "With only 1 episode left until the Season 1 finale, this episode of The Flash had a lot to accomplish; and that is exactly what it did. Though some could wonder if the pacing of this episode was the best planned."
fandom:theflash, warning:spoilers
Game of Thrones
The naked hypocrisy of Game Of Thrones' nudity: Caroline Siede (blog) - "Yet as Game Of Thrones is crafting nuanced storylines for its female characters, the show is simultaneously presenting nameless naked women for the show's audience to ogle. And that's more than a little disappointing."
fandom:gameofthrones, topic:malegaze, topic:sex
Game of Thrones Discussion, S5E5: Fear Not: Laura Fletcher, Corrin Bennett-Kill, and Cheryl Collins (blog) - "Can our fears set us free? Or do they always enslave us? Does maturity mean not only stepping away from parental protection, but facing – and embracing – the things that terrify us?"
fandom:gameofthrones, warning:spoilers
Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken: Philip Sandifer (blog) - "Except, of course, that this is a lie. There were an infinity of ways for that to be played. And they chose to do it this way. They chose specific alterations to the books that made this inevitable, and so it happened."
fandom:gameofthrones, warning:spoilers, warning:rape
Deconstructed: Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken: Stefan (blog) - "This week, despite some very strong elements, suffers greatly from the total falling apart of one storyline and the divisive use of rape as a plot device by another."
fandom:gameofthrones, warning:spoilers, warning:rape
Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken Open Thread: Johnny (blog) - Open thread to discuss the most recent episode.
fandom:gameofthrones, warning:spoilers
Tailgate, Blood Orange Punch: Johnny (blog) - Compilation of links to discussion of the episode Kill the Boy.
fandom:gameofthrones
"Game of Thrones" politics: Secret missions, desperate lies and the dangerous art of the double-cross: Steven Attewell (blog) - "In this episode, we are constantly reminded of the necessities of lying"
fandom:gameofthrones, warning:spoilers
How "Game of Thrones" ruined Loras Tyrell: HBO's "gay cartoon" is so much more in the books: Steven Attewell (blog) - "George R.R. Martin wrote Loras as roundly as any other Westerosi man, but on HBO, he's just Maergery's gay brother"
fandom:gameofthrones, topic:lgbt
Game of Thrones podcast: Season 5, Episode 5 - "Kill the Boy": (podcast) - What it says on the tin.
fandom:gameofthrones
We Will No Longer Be Promoting HBO's Game of Thrones: Jill Pantozzi (blog) - "Before we dive into why we felt this was a choice which would cause us to stop promoting the show, allow us to say something very important: rape is not a necessary plot device. Really think about that before shouting "creative freedom" in our direction, please."
fandom:gameofthrones, warning:rape, warning:spoilers
Why fans are so upset about Sansa's plot on 'Game of Thrones': Michelle Jaworski (blog) - "Anyone hoping for some sort of happiness for Sansa Stark this season, who finally returned home to Winterfell, had that reality yanked from them, stabbed, and probably stomped on for good measure at the end of "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken.""
fandom:gameofthrones, warning:rape, warning:spoilers
What is greyscale, the illness looming over 'Game of Thrones': Michelle Jaworski (blog) - "But by showcasing greyscale so heavily this season does that mean that it may hint that the white walkers aren't the only looming threat to Westeros in future seasons and books?"
fandom:gameofthrones, topic:disease
Episode Review: "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken": Theresa DeLucci (blog) - "Far be it from me to question the wisdom of George R. R. Martin—and I won't because the books are his story—but I would really love to know why the showrunners changed so much of Martin's novels in interesting ways only to negate all their work by not changing events enough."
fandom:gameofthrones, warning:spoilers, warning:rape
Game of Thrones podcast: Season 5, Episode 6 - "Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken": (podcast) - Analysis of the episode.
fandom:gameofthrones, warning:spoilers, warning:rape
Game of Thrones: Sansa Stark's Misery Has Gone Too Far: Julia Hartmann (blog) - "Last release of Game of Thrones ended with a terrible image we cannot erase from our minds. Sansa Stark has been unlucky with men until now, but her marriage with Ramsay Bolton puts a lot of things into perspective."
fandom:gameofthrones, warning:rape, warning:spoilers
Review: Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken: ghostlovesinger (blog) - "It was a microcosm of this entire season so far: brief stretches of greatness punctuated with complete incompetence; last week's masterpiece followed by this week's atrocity. Season 5 has hit a few peaks, but its valleys have been staggering in depth, and to be brutally honest, I'm not sure Game of Thrones is coming back up from this one."
fandom:gameofthrones, warning:spoilers, warning:rape
Game of Thrones, Season 5, Episode 6: Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken: Sparky (blog) - Episode recap followed by some meta comments.
fandom:gameofthrones, warning:spoilers, warning:rape
Return to Westeros: "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken" Review: Tsunderin (blog) - "If last week Game of Thrones was "heading into darker territory", this week the show did a kick flip off the deep end into some terrible shit."
fandom:gameofthrones, warning:spoilers, warning:rape
Game of Thrones recap: season five, episode six - Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken: Sarah Hughes (blog) - "The harrowing final scene was a major deviation from the books and will undoubtedly upset many readers but I wish solely to discuss whether it worked in terms of the story being told on television – and I would argue that, while horrific and hard to watch, it did."
fandom:gameofthrones, warning:spoilers, warning:rape
Why Sansa Really Kneeled: how sexism shaped Sansa Stark's arc long ago: gotgifsandmusings (Tumblr) - "This difference in approach serves as a commentary on the experience of a girl with the right family name vs. one without, and it is also done with respect to their individual personalities."
fandom:gameofthrones, fandom:asoiaf, topic:adaptations, warning:spoilers, warning:rape
GoT rant - I feel like I'm the odd one out with my reaction: lordhellbore (LJ) - "I wonder: If somebody who was raped wrote about how the depiction of rape on GoT actually helps them cope, would all the people railing against it even consider this person's opinion?"
fandom:gameofthrones, warning:rape
Grace and Frankie
Netflix's 'Grace and Frankie' targets an older generation, then crushes their spirits: Tom Harrington (blog) - "And it's this obvious neediness that makes Grace and Frankie confusing. It's an odd opening salvo for what is essentially Netflix staking its claim on older viewers. So, sure, the stockpiling of decomposing star power makes sense. But did they have to make it so depressing?"
fandom:graceandfrankie
Grimm
The Psychology of Inspirational Women: Grimm's Juliette Silverton: Dr Janina Scarlet (blog) - Psychological analysis of the character in question.
fandom:grimm, topic:psychology, topic:femalecharacter
Grimm, Season 4, Episode 22: Cry Havoc: Sparky (blog) - Episode recap followed by some meta comments.
fandom:grimm, warning:spoilers
H.P. Lovecraft
Epic Cosmic Vistas and Scary Houses - Impressions So Far in the Lovecraft Reread: Ruthanna Emrys and Anne M. Pillsworth (blog) - "Today, not marking any particularly blogging milestone—the Great Race of Yith not-so-gently remind you that time is relative—we're pausing to collect our thoughts and share our impressions of Lovecraft's ouvre so far."
fandom:lovecraft
Harry Potter
The Harry Potter Reread: The Order of the Phoenix, Chapters 9 and 10: Emily Asher-Perrin (blog) - "This week we're going to find out how one is named a Hogwarts prefect and get our first glimpse of a butterbeer cap necklace. It's Chapters 9 and 10–The Woes of Mrs. Weasley and Luna Lovegood."
fandom:harrypotter
The Dursleys Were Mean to Harry Because They're Terrible, Not Because He Was a Horcrux: Emily Asher-Perrin (blog) - "It would be nicer to believe that their abuse was the result of outside sources beyond their control. That said, the theory doesn't stack up when we take a closer look."
fandom:harrypotter
Magical Mondays: When Magical Education is Lacking: MadameAce (blog) - "Yeah, looking back, Hogwarts is nowhere near as wonderful as it first seemed. In fact, it's actually a really horrible place."
fandom:harrypotter
Holy Motors
Recent Film: Holy Motors: rushthatspeaks (DW) - "This is pretty much the standard critical reaction. Everyone agrees that it's a really good movie, but beyond that, things become more difficult."
fandom:holymotors
It Happened One Night
The Push-Pull Perfection of It Happened One Night: Meredith Borders (blog) - "How Frank Capra skipped the schmaltz and delivered an all-time romantic comedy."
fandom:ithappenedonenight
iZombie
On Brains and Surviving: iZombie As An Allegory For Surviving Sexual Assault: Eli Keel (blog) - "But take all things explicitly zombie out of the formula, and you realize that Liv Moore's story is the same story thousands of women experience every year. Liv is a coded survivor of sexual assault."
fandom:izombie, warning:rape
iZombie, Season 1, Episode 9: Patriot Brains: Sparky (blog) - Episode recap followed by some meta comments.
fandom:izombie, warning:spoilers
James Bond
Bond Girl: Re-Watching and Re-Evaluating On Her Majesty's Secret Service: Zina Hutton (blog) - "Aside from a few incidences of violence towards women and racism, I found a lot to like about the film and Lazenby's Bond."
fandom:jamesbond
Jane the Virgin
How Jane the Virgin makes "OMG moments" work: Vivian Obarski (blog) - "The show is seriously filled with OMG moments — I mean, the insemination that kicks off the whole show is the original OMG moment — and it hasn't let up at all."
fandom:janethevirgin
Jem and the Holograms
Outrageous: How the Jem and the Holograms Movie Completely Misses the Point: Cat Conway (blog) - "This film presents us little more than yet another anemic tale of Girl Bands Gone Mild and completely misses the point of what made Jem so significant in the first place."
fandom:jemandtheholograms, topic:adaptations
JRR Tolkien
Tolkien would have wanted his works to inspire fanfiction: jaredmith (LJ) - He knew full well no great mythology is formed entirely from the mind of only one person. And I include in that both adding to the continuity and creating alternate continuities.
fandom:jrrtolkien, topic:fanfic
One does not simply fly into Mordor Benita J. Prins (blog) - "Sure, The Lord of the Rings is a great story, but you have to admit that it does have a huge plot hole. Why didn't they just fly on the Eagles into Mordor and drop the Ring into Mount Doom? That would've been so much easier, as well as quicker!"
fandom:jrrtolkien
From where did the dragons came in Tolkien lore?: The One Ring Forums (forum) - Discussion of dragons in Tolkien
fandom:jrrtolkien
"I sit beside the fire and think" interpretations: The One Ring Forums (forum) - "I was interested in people's interpretations and reactions to reading this poem."
fandom:jrrtolkien
Science's Love Affair with The Lord of the Rings: Julie Beck (journal) - Mostly notable for the other meta it links.
fandom:jrrtolkien, topic:science
Jupiter Ascending
Review: Jupiter Ascending: Jenny Cee (blog) - "Jupiter Ascending, you either hate it with a passion or you are love it. There is no in-between with this movie."
fandom:jupiterascending
Kingsman
Review: Kingsman: The Secret Service: Jenny Cee (blog) - "No one can quite put their finger on why Kingsmen went from a small obscure fandom, to being the next it movie fandom."
fandom:kingsman
Legend of Zelda
Gossip Stone: The Various Cultural Influences in the Zelda Series: Andrew Kiser (blog) - "Despite being created by a Japanese company, the Zelda series is predominately influenced by European medieval fantasy."
fandom:legendofzelda
Zelda Dungeon Talks: Is It Necessary For Zelda, Link and Ganondorf To Be Present In Each Zelda Game?: Josh Tasaico (blog) - "With all this being said is it really necessary to include Link, Zelda and Ganondorf in each Zelda game? Nintendo apparently didn't think so but how about you?"
fandom:legendofzelda
Mad Max
The Hype is Real. Mad Max: Fury Road is One of The Best Films of the Year: Leah Schnelbach (blog) - "The first half hour of Mad Max: Fury Road may be the greatest action movie I've ever seen. But then the film keeps going, keeps piling on more cars and more explosions and more perfectly choreographed fight scenes, and quickly becomes one of the best movies I've ever seen, period."
fandom:madmax
Untitled: lierdumoa, for-the-other-shoe, eabevella (Tumblr) - "None of the people, including the villains, call Furiosa a "bitch" for all I can remember, which is a common thing for movie villains to say to a female protagonist."
fandom:madmax, warning:spoilers
Movie Review: Mad Max Fury Road: Carrie S. (blog) - "RedheadedGirl and I saw Mad Max Fury Road and now we are all ready to storm the barricades of patriarchy with improbable vehicles."
fandom:madmax, warning:spoilers
Myth vs. Continuity In The Mad Max Series: Evan Saathoff (blog) - "Why it doesn't really matter that Mel Gibson isn't in FURY ROAD."
fandom:madmax
NOC Reviews Mad Max: Fury Road: Ren Hsieh (blog) - "Miller has taken the uncompromising arthouse nature of the original Mad Max movies, and combined it with 30 years of experience and the technology to create the fully realized, seemingly impossible world of Fury Road."
fandom:madmax
The Mad Max Trilogy: Look Back in Anger: Hubert Vigilla (blog) - "Let's look at each Mad Max film individually and figure out how they riff on and complement each other."
fandom:madmax
Oops! I Made a Feminist Manifesto: George Miller and "Mad Max": Sara Stewart (blog) - "Even more intriguing, though, is the way the director himself described how feminism apparently snuck its way into "Fury Road.""
fandom:madmax, warning:spoilers
Don't Tell Me Anything Else About Fury Road's Doof Warrior: Devin Faraci (blog) - "Knowing more about a cool character isn't always a good thing."
fandom:madmax, warning:spoilers
Episode 359: Mad Max: The Threat of Abrasion is Ever Present: The Overthinking It Podcast (podcast) - Analysis of Mad Max: Fury Road.
fandom:madmax, warning:spoilers
Mad Max: Fury Road: George Miller's Feminist Answer to His Own Franchise?: Sasha James (blog) - "Calling it "feminist propaganda," Men's Rights Activists boycotted the latest Mad Max installment in advance of its film release, citing Furiosa's apparent "replacement" of Max in his own franchise as enough justification to use the word propaganda as a descriptor for a summer blockbuster."
fandom:madmax, warning:spoilers
Review: Mad Max: Fury Road Is a Lovely Orgasm for Your Eyes: Jill Pantozzi (blog) - "You've watched the trailers. You've heard the feminist buzz and the anti-feminist cries. Now let us tell you what we thought about George Miller's Mad Max: Fury Road."
fandom:madmax, warning:spoilers
Incredibly Peeved Men's Rights Activists Call for Boycott of Mad Max, Are Unintentionally Hilarious: Carolyn Cox (blog) - "If a movie's depiction of women is upsetting to Men's Rights Activists, then said movie is probably awesome. A+ performance, Charlize Theron. Dudes are literally terrified that you'll act them all into becoming feminists."
fandom:madmax, topic:sexism
'Mad Max: Fury Road' is everything you've heard and so much more: Aja Romano (blog) - "By now, you've probably heard an incredible amount of hype for Mad Max: Fury Road: that it's a non-stop car chase, an unabashedly feminist thrill ride, the bane of misogynists, and a critic's wet dream."
fandom:madmax, warning:spoilers
'Mad Max: Fury Road' doesn't live up to the hype: Spike Friedman (blog) - "In exchange for visuals that are occasionally mind-blowing, you'll be forced to give up any sense of characterization or a coherent world."
fandom:madmax, warning:spoilers
Everything you need to know about Mad Max before 'Fury Road': David Wharton (blog) - "Well, if you're in that camp but you've been intrigued by Fury Road's bonkers-epic trailers and the solid pre-release buzz, consider this your primer for everything you need to know about Mad Max before you see Fury Road."
fandom:madmax
Wives, Warlords and Refugees: The People Economy of Mad Max: Kameron Hurley (blog) - "And this is where this film gets all the violence-against-women stuff right, because it boldly and frankly positions it for what it is, stripping it of the male gaze, of sexuality, of uncontrollable male urges."
fandom:madmax, warning:spoilers
'Mad Max: Fury Road' Review: The Ultimate Car Chase Movie: Matt Singer (blog) - "Fury Road is an incredible achievement, one that strains so hard at the leash of the possible that it eventually breaks free and barrels headlong into the realm of insane genius."
fandom:madmax, warning:spoilers
Review: Mad Max: Fury Road Is A Bonkers Masterpiece: Rebecca Pahle (blog) - "What it also is, as my friends and I marveled after seeing the movie, is a two-hour car chase that never gets boring once."
fandom:madmax, warning:spoilers
The most shocking thing about Mad Max: Fury Road is its restraint: Susana Polo (blog) - "The most surprising is the fact that in a film full of vehicular slaughter and in which the titular character is imprisoned for the value of his blood, visible gore in the film is reserved exclusively for major plot moments."
fandom:madmax, warning:spoilers
what a lovely day: ladysisyphus (LJ) - "Yes, it is as good as everyone is saying. Yes, it takes everything that doesn't pass the Bechdel test, douses it in gasoline, and sets it on fire. No, you don't have to know a single ding-dang thing about the other movies first."
fandom:madmax, warning:spoilers
Why Fury Road is most certainly feminist: yukinoko (Tumblr) - "this is a response to Feminist Frequency's (Anita Sarkeesian) slew of tweets about Mad Max: Fury Road, which I first saw here on rubycue's blog (tweet photo credit to rubycue, I tried to reblog this traditionally as a response but either i am ignorant or you just can't do it, so I am creating my own post)"
fandom:madmax, warning:spoilers
Mad Men
The Speculative Fiction of Mad Men: Gilbert Colon (blog) - "Weiner's seven-season reality-based ad-men drama is so rife with references that at times it almost threatens to rocket into realms of fantastique fiction."
fandom:madmen
The Annotated Mad Men: Don Draper Buys The World A Coke: Devin Faraci (blog) - "The final episode of Mad Men is perhaps the greatest finale in the history of television, a last episode that works on a character level - we see all these characters we love coming to a places of happiness that leave us satisfied - and that works on a thematic level, a final bit that wraps up so much of what Matthew Weiner has been saying all along… and still leaves us with deep, and sort of endless, questions."
fandom:madmen
Mad Men Series Finale Discussion: "Person to Person": Dan Van Winkle (blog) - "We don't usually cover Mad Men, but we couldn't contain our feelings about the finale, and we're guessing some of you feel the same!"
fandom:madmen
The problem with Matthew Weiner's 'Mad Men' finale: Aja Romano (blog) - "Although it was overshadowed by fan theories like the popular D.B. Cooper theory and the Megan-as-Sharon-Tate theory, last night's Mad Men series finale ended with a twist that many people have predicted over the years."
fandom:madmen, warning:spoilers
The Mad Men Finale and The Mantra Of Don Draper: Film Crit Hulk (blog) - "Hulk on how the final episode was the exact conclusion this series deserves."
fandom:madmen, warning:spoilers
On The Finale of Mad Men: Rachel A (blog) - "There is a very narrow middle ground at which a finale remains both emotionally and narratively substantive, while also providing genuine catharsis and resolution. Matthew Weiner stuck that very difficult landing last night and preserved his show's brilliant legacy with grace and poise."
fandom:madmen, warning:spoilers
Malazan
Malazan Reread of the Fallen: Orb Sceptre Throne, Book Wrap: Amanda Rutter and Bill Capossere (blog) - "In this article, we'll cover our overall responses to Ian Cameron Esslemont's Orb Sceptre Throne."
fandom:malazan
Marvel Cinematic Universe
'Avengers: Age of Ultron' Character Report Card: Andrew Wheeler (blog) - "Now millions know these characters and could probably pick them out of a line-up. But the non-comics audience knows slightly different versions of the characters than the ones we might be used to."
fandom:mcu, warning:spoilers
Marvel Cinematic Universe/DC Cinematic Universe
The Avengers vs. 'Man of Steel': Sonny Bunch (newspaper) - "All of which is to say that I think Kate Erbland is basically right when she suggests that the real foe in "Avengers: Age of Ultron" isn't a super-powered AI but 2013's "Man of Steel.""
fandom:mcu, fandom:dccu, warning:spoilers
Marvel Comics
Apologies for all the random Daredevil thoughts:__marcelo (LJ) - "I keep thinking what a great kingpin Matt could have been. Not in the sense of the comics' Daredevil-as-Kingpin storyline, which was basically "Daredevil hits people until they leave," but as a Fisk-like character. If he dedicated himself to it, he could know every secret whispered in the city."
fandom:marvelcomics
The Messengers
The Messengers, Season 1, Episode 5: Eye in the Sky: Sparky (blog) - Episode recap followed by some meta comments.
fandom:themessengers, warning:spoilers
Naruto
Birthing the Ninja Way: Motherhood, Sons, and War in Naruto: Vernieda Vergara (blog) - "I'm talking about how the world of Naruto is one characterized by war, violence, and a thirst for power, and how it is ultimately reflected in the relationships mothers have with their sons."
fandom:naruto, topic:motherhood
The Originals
Klaus And Betrayals:ineeddatkayley (tumblr) - "Betrayal is the breaking or violation of a presumptive contract, trust, or confidence that produces moral and psychological conflict within a relationship amongst individuals, between organizations or between individuals and organizations."
fandom:theoriginals
Orphan Black
Orphan Black, Season 3, Episode 5: Scarred by Many Past Frustrations: Sparky (blog) - Episode recap followed by some meta commentary.
fandom:orphanblack, warning:spoilers
Orphan Black: "Scarred by Many Past Frustrations" Review: Lady Saika (blog) - "This week's episode was titled "Scarred By Many Past Frustrations", and it's totally on point, as it seems the story is structured around how our characters are reacting to and growing from their Past Frustrations."
fandom:orphanblack, warning:spoilers
Outlander
Outlander Episode 14: The Search: Redheadedgirl (blog) - Episode recap followed by discussion among the bloggers at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books.
fandom:outlander, warning:spoilers
Penitentiary
Everyone's Into Weirdness: Penitentiary (1979): Jacob Knight (blog) - "Jamaa Fanaka's prison boxing movie packs a bigger punch than you might think."
fandom:penitentiary
Penny Dreadful
Penny Dreadful, Season 2, Episode 2: Verbis Diablo: Sparky (blog) - Episode recap followed by some meta content.
fandom:pennydreadful, warning:spoilers
Penny Dreadful, Season 2, Episode 3: The Nightcomers: Sparky (blog) - Episode recap followed by some meta comments.
fandom:pennydreadful, warning:spoilers
Five Things About Penny Dreadful Are Better Than Ever (And One's Not): Genevieve Valentine (blog) - "Last night, High Gothic returned to TV, as Penny Dreadful picked up its second season almost exactly where it left off and threw an even campier enemy at Vanessa Ives and company. Here's the five best parts, and one problem."
fandom:pennydreadful, warning:spoilers
London Throws An Amazing Date Night On Penny Dreadful: Genevieve Valentine (blog) - "In Penny Dreadful, the world's so small almost any characters work well together, and the show knows. "Verbis Diablo" turns London into a date night – by turns charming, campy, and creepy as hell."
fandom:pennydreadful, warning:spoilers
Penny Dreadful Gives Us An Amazing Superhero Origin Story: Genevieve Valentine (blog) - "So far, Penny Dreadful's flashbacks exist to be as Gothic as possible. But while "The Nightcomers" is definitely that, it's also one of the best superhero origin stories on TV this year."
fandom:pennydreadful, warning:spoilers
Phantasm
A Look Back At The Deliberate Uncertainty of The Phantasm Films: Brian Collins (blog) - "As far as unlikely franchises go, Don Coscarelli's Phantasm has to be near the top of the list, at least for horror films."
fandom:phantasm
Pitch Perfect 2
Review: Pitch Perfect 2 Is Funny, Catchy, and Aca-Uncomfortable: Carolyn Cox (blog) - "It's easier to turn off the critical part of your brain and give yourself permission to enjoy a movie despite its problematic elements when you're not going in with the intent to review it, so there's a fair chance you're going to like Pitch Perfect 2 more than I did."
fandom:pitchperfect
Pitch Perfect 2: Aca-Alright: Emi M (blog) - "With compelling characters and a promising premise, Pitch Perfect 2 had all the makings of a great film. However, half-formed plotlines and some misdirected attempts at comedy made the movie lukewarm at best."
fandom:pitchperfect
Pitch Perfect 2: Another One for the Forgettable Sequel Pile: Rebecca Pahle (blog) kind of wish I absolutely hated Pitch Perfect 2, so I could title this review "Pitch Perfect Ew" or, if I'm feeling particularly saucy, "Pitch Perfect Poo.""
fandom:pitchperfect
The Red Shoes
The Real Tragedy of The Red Shoes Is That We'll Never Have Another Blockbuster Like It: Britt Hayes (blog) - "Continuing this month's blockbuster film coverage, a look back at a masterpiece that could never be nearly as successful today."
fandom:theredshoes
Saga
Saga and Trauma: Phillip Smith (blog) - "Saga is a comic about war, not only the actuality of war but the politics, and, perhaps most profoundly, the psychological and social reverberations of conflict."
fandom:saga
Salem
Salem: The Real Problem with the Show: aelarsen (blog) - "But for all the serious errors the show makes, I think the real problem lies elsewhere, with the very concept of the show."
fandom:salem, topic:history
Shameless
Untitled: ohjafeeljadefinitelyfeel (tumblr) - "what I feel most strongly about fanfiction is its direct relation to romance writing. before I discovered fanfiction, romance fiction was my genre. there are so many parallels between romance fiction and fanfiction,"
fandom:shameless
Sherlock
On Wank: marta_bee (tumblr) - "Sometimes wank can be an artform, it can be fun if done well, and it can keep people from taking themselves too seriously."
fandom:bbcsherlock
Untitled: ivyblossom (Tumblr) - "Yeah, analysis is good. Not sure it's a duty, to be honest, but I'm in favour of close textual reading. Let's do some of that on this "queerbaiting" argument you've presented to me."
fandom:bbcsherlock, topic:queerbaiting
Untitled: ivyblossom, enjoytheelephant, mathildia (Tumblr) - "While we might be in "johnlock hell," which, I presume, is best described as the tension we feel as an audience when John and Sherlock's relationship remains unresolved, I feel compelled to point out that making characters suffer, and then suffer some more, and then making them fall apart psychologically, and then forcing them to suffer again, is one of the most enjoyable things in life for writers."
fandom:bbcsherlock
Sherlock Holmes
Canon Discussion - The Yellow Face: sherlock60 (LJ) - "This week we're having a look at The Yellow Face."
fandom:acdsherlock
Shingeki no Kyojin
SnK 69 Thoughts: ghostmartyr (Tumblr) - "This chapter fleshes out a lot of different things, but I think that Kenny being a cowboy remains a complete mystery."
fandom:shingekinokyojin
A Song of Ice and Fire
A Read of Ice and Fire: A Dance with Dragons, Part 20: Leigh Butler (blog) - "Today's entry is Part 20 of A Dance With Dragons, in which we cover Chapter 33 ("Tyrion") and Chapter 34 ("Bran")."
fandom:asoiaf
Untitled: asoiafuniversity (Tumblr) - "I do believe every single Northern Lord outside of Winterfell's walls think that Jeyne is Arya. And that includes Moors (Crowfood) Umber. Because it's clear that those on the outside are willing to wage war for her and raise an army."
fandom:asoiaf
Top Characters #13 Bran Stark: Big Little Grandpa (blog) - "He could be so many different things. And, really, he already is so many different things - we've been watching him grow and change this whole time."
fandom:asoiaf
Chapter-by-Chapter Analysis: Jon IV, ACOK: Steven Attewell (blog) - "Jon IV is a bit of an odd duck, in that it's really more about setting a mood and describing an environment rather than exploring character, and there's really only one plot point that happens."
fandom:asoiaf
On George Martin, ladies of ASOIAF, and being 'feminist writer': qvcksilver (Tumblr) - "This long-ass post was brought to you by me starting my latest ASOIAF reread focusing exclusively on the ladies, plus some acutely on-point tag meta by him-e re: Martin's approach to female characters."
fandom:asoiaf, topic:femalecharacter
Daario's Ominously Mysterious Past: madeinmyr (Tumblr) - "Daario repeatedly boasts of his physical prowess but tells no tales of his past exploits and travels, a fairly significant bit of information to withhold in light of what we know about other far ranging sell swords"
fandom:asoiaf
The Terrible Tale of Jeyne Poole: leftways (blog) - "Of all the tales told throughout the A Song of Ice & Fire series, the one that stands out as the most tragic has to be that of Jeyne Poole."
fandom:asoiaf, warning:rape
Untitled: poorquentyn (Tumblr) - "Great question; a Stark-Tyrell alliance is one of my favorite ASOIAF hypotheticals to play around with, and it's explicitly teased more than once in the text"
fandom:asoiaf
Dornish Letter Theory: amin-j (Tumblr) - "I think that there are nuggets of truth in the descriptions on what the Dornish Letter was about."
fandom:asoiaf
The Sound of Music
Episode 27: The Sound of Music: The Canon (podcast) - "Each episode of the show has found us sort of struggling with what the boundaries of the Canon are, with how much a movie needs to be important versus how much it needs to be good, and I think The Sound of Music really tests us."
fandom:thesoundofmusic
Star Wars
Rethinking The Phantom Menace:Doug (blog) - "It wasn't perfect, and there is valid criticism,2 but I genuinely enjoyed seeing the Phantom Menace. I like the movie. I said it."
fandom:starwars
Sunrise
Tribeca Film Festival Review: Sunrise: Siddhant Adlakha (blog) - "Partho Sen-Gupta's Sunrise really is a technical marvel, one that paints images that are simultaneously surreal and picturesque, while capturing the debaucherous heart of Mumbai's back alleys in the most operatic manner."
fandom:sunrise
Supernatural
Supernatural, Season 10, Episode 22: The Prisoner: Sparky (blog) - Episode recap followed by some meta comments.
fandom:supernatural, warning:spoilers
Supernatural: The Tree and The Apple: cupidsbower, pimp-shark (Tumblr) - "The question is, are they really Team Free Will, or are they actually Team Determinism?"
fandom:supernatural
Random unpredictable thoughts after seeing "Dark Dynasty.": tyrsibs(LJ) - "Another criticism of the show's storytelling is that it has become repetitive, but again, I think this is a short-sighted view. I see a cyclical pattern, a wheel of fate or destiny centering on the Winchesters that they are either unwilling or unable to stop.."
fandom:supernatural
The Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments and The Death Of Epics: Andrew Todd (blog) - "There are no epics anymore; no films that take up the entirety of your night, that span epochs in their narratives and inspire total awe in audiences."
fandom:thetencommandments, topic:movies
Tomorrowland
Tomorrowland Review: There's No Future In This Movie: Devin Faraci (blog) - "The future ain't what it used to be, says Tomorrowland, and it says it again and again."
fandom:tomorrowland, warning:spoilers
Brad Bird Fails To Take Flight With Tomorrowland [Review]: Rebecca Pahle (blog) - "Within its very first scene, Tomorrowland commits a cardinal storytelling sin: It nukes it stakes."
fandom:tomorrowland, warning:spoilers
Twin Peaks
The Twin Peaks Log: S.2 E.9: Romona Williams (blog) - "It was bittersweet watching this episode, considering the now uncertain fate of Twin Peaks season 3."
fandom:twinpeaks
Usagi Yojimbo
What's So Great About Usagi Yojimbo? Everything: Chris Sims (blog) - "But since you asked, here's the big deal with Usagi Yojimbo: Stan Sakai's been doing this comic for over thirty years, and he hasn't done a bad issue yet."
fandom:manga
The Vampire Diaries
Vampire Diaries, Season 6, Episode 22: I'm Thinking of You All The While: Sparky (blog) - Episode recap followed by some meta comments.
fandom:thevampirediaries, warning:spoilers
Untitled: lostgirltamsin (tumblr) - "SO like I am loving, loving seeing Damon and Bonnie redefine the parameters of their relationship now that they're not in 1994"
fandom:thevampirediaries
The Water Diviner
Movie Review: The Water Diviner: Redheadedgirl (blog) - "This is a WWI drama about a father who lost his three sons to the Gallipoli campaign, and goes, after the war, to find their bodies and bring them home."
fandom:thewaterdiviner
Wheel of Time
The Wheel of Time Reread Redux: The Great Hunt, Part 1: Leigh Butler (blog) - "Today's Redux post will cover the Prologue of The Great Hunt"
fandom:wheeloftime
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman and the Paternal Narrative: the Rise of Wonder Woman, the Fall of Women: Doctor Bifrost (blog) - "But it's actually a discussion of the almost-universal Paternal Narrative, the scarce-as-hen's-teeth Maternal Narrative, and the way female-centric stories are represented (or not) in DC Comics and elsewhere—all seen through the lens of Wonder Woman #1-35."
fandom:dccomics, topic:history, topic:sexism
X-Men
Why the death of Wolverine is good for 'X-Men': Dan Marcus (blog) - "As Ethan Anderson of FirstShowing.Net says, "[Jackman's departure is] the perfect way to set up the First Class franchise to continue and have plenty of mutants to keep the story going.""
fandom:x-men
Yellowbrickroad
Yellowbrickroad (2010) - Expectations and disappointments: yuuago (DW) - "This was one of those films that starts off with a great idea, but doesn't manage to pull it off. Sometimes, films like that almost succeed - they aren't as good as they could be, but they still manage to put together a coherent story. This wasn't one of those."
fandom:yellowbrickroad
Zero Motivation
Zero Motivation (2014): marina (DW) - "Because there is this huge, gaping, chasm-like lack of narrative films about women in the IDF, because essentially any movie you make on this theme is going to get recognition for being groundbreaking and will be popular simply because people hunger to see themselves represented (the same thing happened with the first movie about gay men in the IDF, which was a huge commercial success), I assumed that Talia Lavie's film would be the story of an average girl caught amidst wacky characters in the middle of nowhere. It would an uncomplicated, fairly generic, appealing-to-a-broad-audience film, it would be successful and remarkable. "
fandom:zeromotivation