Hawkeye Recap: Dawn of Justice (Episodes 5 & 6)
The Hawkeye Scrooge faced his past, burned the suit, and gained something of a daughter in the process.
Spider-Man: No Way Home and Stories of Hopeful Restoration
Even criminals deserve a chance at redemption, and there is always hope where there is new life.
Hawkeye Recap: Out for Blood (Episodes 3 & 4)
It’s an almost impossible task, to give up your right to another’s life.
A Castle for Christmas: Netflix, Hallmark, and the “Christmas Rom-Com” of Advent
A Castle for Christmas is hopeful in the same way that Advent is a season of hope.
Hawkeye Recap: I Could Do This All Day! (Episodes 1 & 2)
Now that Ronin is “out there” again, Clint can’t let the wrath reserved for Ronin fall on someone else, let alone a kid who needs his help.
Eternals: Marvel’s Impersonal Metamyth
Eternals is a movie that purports to be about human exceptionalism, but doesn’t give us anything exceptional about humans to cheer for.
“Paul Atreides Must Die”: Dune as Bildungsroman
Immaturity and innocence must die, Dune says, for children to become adults.
Nate the Not-So-Great: Character Development and Disappointing Viewer Expectations in Ted Lasso Season 2
Nate’s finally getting a taste of what it feels like to be on top, and he likes it.
LuLaRich and the Alluring Fantasy of MLMs
With an MLM, you give yourself over; you sell yourself to the business because you are the product. They make money off you and if you make any money, it’s off your downline.
Look to the Survivors: 9/11: One Day in America
Certainly grief fatigue is real and present with so many of us right now, but even in the midst of ongoing, present tragedy, we must pause when we can to remember why life is sacred at all.
Shang-Chi and the Mythopoeic East Asian Superhero Story
Shang-Chi’s actualization into an MCU superhero gives us a hero who comes from a culture that is more we-focused than me-focused, and I see that as a good thing.
The Suicide Squad: Dehumanizing the Superhero Story
The Suicide Squad is a genuinely bad movie because it plays on war and death for laughs in irreverent, dehumanizing ways.
The Mysterious Benedict Society Recap: You Are Seen (Episode 8)
In a variety of ways, The Mysterious Benedict Society series is more emotive and less disciplined than its print counterpart.
The Mysterious Benedict Society Recap: Go! (Episode 7)
In The Mysterious Benedict Society,“going” isn’t intrinsically good or bad: it depends on how you are going…and whom you are going with.
My Last Name, Timeless Rhythms, and the Grace of Memory
What I discovered in My Last Name is a story that has continued to help me process not just the grief and disillusionment of these last several months, but diagnose some of our current cultural ills, as well.
The Mysterious Benedict Society Recap: Truth Be Told (Episode 6)
The Mysterious Benedict Society poses deep, perhaps insoluble, questions related to the subject of truthfulness.
