Category: Essays

Posted on in 2018, Current Writing, Essays, Film, Literary

Harry Potter’s Epilogue Doesn’t Feel Right

Alright! Welcome to 2018. Now, time to talk about a book that came out eleven years ago and a movie that came out eight years ago. Now, in case you missed the whole thing I am going to spoil the series as a whole. So, let’s recap. Harry Potter is the story of a racist dictator, obsessed with immortality who was defeated by a teenager. Voldermort’s belief system is based on a belief that only ‘pure-blood’ wizards are true wizards and that ‘mudbloods’ are dirty pretenders and usurpers. This, despite the fact that he’s a Muggle-born wizard himself. That little hypocrisy is part of the theming used within the series. Overall, JK Rowling is very wise with her theming. There is a general throughline in the text about respect for those are downtrodden and discriminated against. Racism is bad! Yay! Only the worst of the worst people would utterly disagree with that sentiment.

However, I believe that there’s another aspect of Harry Potter that falls by the wayside a bit. Now, before I talk about my issues with the epilogue of Harry Potter, first I’m going to talk about S.P.E.W. (more…)

Posted on in 2017, Current Writing, Essays, Film, Guest Writer

Best Films of 2017

So, once more the Earth makes it way around the Sun. 2017 was tumultuous, to say the least. However, as we approach 2018 and the day that Disney finally buys everything under the sun, it’s time to get introspective about the pop culture we loved this year. Joining me this year is my partner, Zoe, as we reflect on the pop culture on the past year.

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Posted on in 2017, Current Writing, Essays, Internet

Ok, Let’s Talk About Patreon

I was actually planning to write this retrospective for next week. However, Patreon did some things that have made me reflect on my relationship with the crowdfunding platform. So, a week early, here is my Patreon retrospective.

Firstly, I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to the Patreon over the past year. Your support has been a bedrock of this website. If there is one thing I have lacked in my previous creative pursuits it has been consistency. The key to the success of any creative project is continuous engagement with the project. There have been weeks were my motivation to write for this website has been non-existent. The thought that people have put money on the table for my writing each month has dragged me through those bouts of non-creativity. If there’s one thing that I hate doing, that’s disappointing people. For me, the people are what’s important about Patreon.

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Posted on in 2017, Comics, Current Writing, Essays, Film

Why Can’t We Have a Queer Superhero?

You might have been following the news recently when there was talk of Valkyrie in Thor Ragnarok being bisexual. You, like me, might have seen the movie and thought ‘well, when it comes to representation, that was a whole lot of nothing’. Later interviews revealed that the scene had been cut for timing, or pacing, or such. However, it might have struck you about how often that we might hear about a character potentially being LGBT or such in a major blockbuster and then nothing comes of it. And why you may ask?

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Posted on in 2017, Comics, Current Writing, Essays, Film, Literary

Thor Ragnarok and Colonialism

[Spoilers for Thor Ragnarok]

So, some weeks ago I was watching the latest offering in the Marvel Cinematic Universe about a superhero whose mythos and supporting cast are drawn from Norse mythology. Here’s the thing. I know most of the work of director Taika Waititi and eagerly awaited Thor Ragnarok purely because of the comedy stylings of its director meeting the solid structure powerhouse that is Marvel Studios. The film was loved for its humour and action. For my money, it’s not my favourite Taika Waititi film (What We Do in the Shadows) or my favourite Marvel movie (Captain America The First Avenger), but that’s a matter of personal taste and there’s certainly lots to love about the film. The thing I want to discuss in regards to Thor Ragnarok is a couple of scenes in particular. However, first, I have to talk about Hela.

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Posted on in 2017, Current Writing, Essays, Gaming

What Does the Switch Mean for Pokémon?

So, last week, Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon released on the Nintendo 3DS. I’ve been playing through them. Don’t worry, no spoilers here. The reason I mention these games is that these games have been revealed to be the last Pokémon games for the 3DS. Now I’m very new to the Pokémon games due to having neither Nintendo consoles or handheld consoles as a kid. The handhelds were withheld due to a belief of my parents that I would play the games all night. They weren’t wrong, but now I’m an adult and can make my own poor life decisions.

So, a couple years ago I bought a 3DS and played through Pokémon X and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire. Through these games, I completed the Pokédex and got invested in the series. You can read about some of my experiences with going back to play Pokémon Blue in my first post on this site. Anyway, I’m fairly tied to the series now. A friend recently suggested that I post my theories about what the Switch will do to the main Pokémon formula and so, this piece exists.

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Posted on in 2017, Current Writing, Essays, Literary

Who Should You Write About?

I find myself being very introspective of late. Perhaps it’s just that time of year. Perhaps it’s the fact that I have a short one-act play burning in my back pocket that’s all about the responsibility of writers and the power that writers have over the grand narrative. It might have been disingenuous of me to eliminate social media into that above creative thesis. Anyway, I’m getting off track thinking about a project that most of you haven’t even seen. Let’s focus on what you might have actually seen. My website has quite a few pieces on it that I’ve noticed fall into a broad catergory: Men thinking about their past and their relationship with the women in their life. Now, upon this realisation I thought to myself: God, am I really that boring? Then it lead me to the thesis point of this whole piece: Who Should You Write About?

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