Spencer

Spencer

Contributing writer for The Artifice.

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Latest Articles

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30
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51
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51
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49
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17
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29
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40
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27

Latest Topics

7

Gender and Sexuality in Metal Gear Solid

The fifth instalment of Metal Gear Solid being received with huge praise, take a look over the series and how sexuality, and particularly queer masculinity, has influenced the action. Metal Gear Solid has often, somewhat surprisingly, included queer masculinity, from Vamp in the second instalment to the Extra Ops incident between Snake and Kaz in IV. Explore the place of this, and what it brings to the overarching story and characters.

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    J. K. Rowling and her Harry Potter post-mortems

    J. K. Rowling has given fans of the Harry Potter franchise plenty of extra details well after the series of books were finished. Most recently she’s revealed Moaning Myrtle’s full name, but has also stated that Dumbledore is gay and said she regrets killing Florean Fortescue. What is the purpose of these additional details, and is she right to give them?

    • It is good to keep in mind that some writers make their world so big, that they have to leave out a lot of small, but interesting details. This why fans love Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, because there is so much fun and interesting facts hidden in these series. – Aaron Hatch 9 years ago
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    • Is it ever possible to create a world so fully developed that no details go unquestioned? Rowling feeds the Harry Potter-starved masses by giving little snippets of the untold story in short bursts and I think she does it because she genuinely loves that world and the audience who embraced that world. There is however, 5% of me that says she is leveraging her audience to maintain relevant in literature - and I applaud her for it. If your hard work created this huge fanbase, use it! – CDASUN 9 years ago
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    • As to the purpose/existence of these tidbits: Rowling created a whole universe, and thus she would have known these kinds of facts for years as she was writing. Releasing this info after the fact ought not to change one's attitude or perspective of the character--the trait existed all along despite our lack of awareness. This universe was so expansive that she would have HAD to know information like this to keep her characters from blending into one another. For example, I've heard that George RR Martin has massive, copious notes about all of his characters (yes, ALL of them) in order to keep the most integrity with each character's portrayal. Is she right to announce this? Well, who else would be! As one who grew up with Harry, Ron, & Hermione, I love hearing these little snippets as she releases them. It's like getting an update about lifelong friends who have only just kept in touch. It also is probably cathartic for her to revive the magic on occasion for herself and her fans. – Nicole 9 years ago
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    Stephen King's Children

    A lot of Stephen King’s early work is heavily from the perspective of children – IT, The Shining, Salem’s Lot, Pet Sematary and even Cujo all have children as prominent characters. What does this mean in terms of how he creates fear? The antagonists are usually based on childhood fears and made-up monsters, so how does he use children to exaggerate this? Could also mention Children of the Corn too, with the children as the antagonists.

    • Would Carrie also count? I mean she is teenager which is that weird in between place of adulthood and childhood. – Cagney 9 years ago
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    Sofia Coppola's The Little Mermaid and the Grim Reality of Fairy Tales

    Sofia Coppola is set to direct a live-action version of The Little Mermaid, apparently complete with all the gruesome details from the original stories. These kinds of myths are often much more bloody than their disney (and similar) adaptations let on – are there any other horrific fairy tales that deserve an uncensored adaptation?

    • I believe most of them need to be viewed in a different way. It would be interesting to have a look at Coppola's previous films. I always thought there was something quite 'fairytaley' about Virgin Suicides for example, or Marie Antoinette. It's in the style, the characters' psychology and the sets/colours. Would be interesting to examine that closely – Rachel Elfassy Bitoun 9 years ago
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    • In the last few months I've seen different adaptations of Grimm fairy tales and I've been upset that they aren't as true to form. I want to see something like the original Cinderella tale in movie form, or any other Disney created movie turned into it's original form. Snow White, Rapunzel, any other "princess" movie needs an uncensored adaptation. – KatrinaRose1816 9 years ago
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    Batman Without Bruce

    DC have just announced that Bruce Wayne will no longer be Batman. Obviously this is huge, but on the surface, what are the initial implications of this?

    • Lets not forget, Dick Grayson was Batman for a while in the comics. So is someone replacing Batman, or is Bruce Wayne just going into retirement? – Aaron Hatch 9 years ago
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    • Must admit to a certain amount of fatigue with the comic industry's "radical change" announcements; they never "stick". Superman died; came back. Batman's back was broken; got fixed. This is one of the biggest problem with ongoing, serial franchises: you can't make and keep real changes. Maybe an approach to this topic could include the struggle against that kind of reader fatigue. – Monique 9 years ago
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    Aging in Film

    The recent release, The Age Of Adaline, focuses on a protagonist who has been unable to age since an accident in her youth. What other films are there that look at the disruption of aging? Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a definite possibility, but are there any others? And what are they trying to say with this theme?

    • The Highlander franchise popularized the immortal character in the late 1980s and 90s. Now we've also got the show Forever on television. Might be interesting to look at the differences in origin story of immortal monsters (like vampires) vs. immortal heroes or everyman characters and see what commonalities or differences lie between those two poles. – Monique 9 years ago
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    • Maybe a stretch, but Interstellar might work for this because it deals with the concept of characters aging extremely quickly due to gravitational time dilation., so that while only a few hours pass for the heroes on the planet, 23 years pass on Earth. This time dilation continues throughout the whole film, and it eventually gets to a point that the main protagonist (mid-to-late 30's?) meets up with her elderly daughter (over 100 years old) after having not seen her since she was 10 years old. Could be worth talking about. – Daniel Hein 9 years ago
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    • I was also going to suggest Interstellar. Very compelling idea... maybe it's reflective of societal fear of time's passage? I think that's a theme that can be traced a lot further back than films even, but those are great looks at it. – Helen Parshall 9 years ago
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    • There was an adaption of Tuck Everlasting if i recall correctly. – wolfkin 9 years ago
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    Why A Female Robin Makes Sense

    Rumour has it that Robin in Batman Vs Superman will be a woman. Have a look at some of the mythology of Robin (incl. the recent great article on The Artifice (link) ) and state the advantages of having a female Robin for this new instalment.

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      Jurassic Park: Myth vs. Reality

      With critics of the Jurassic World teasers hating on the non-reality of many of the dinosaurs, take a look back at previous dinosaurs and scenarios in previous Jurassic Park films which do not match with what science has to say.

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        Latest Comments

        Spencer

        Yes! The characters in TLOU were so well written, and then the DLC gave them another side which was just so awesome!

        Emotionally Investing in Games and Their Characters
        Spencer

        Super interesting, great article!

        Women in Refrigerators: Killing Females in Comics
        Spencer

        Really enjoyed this analysis, great work on what is usually a well-tread topic!

        Comparing Nosferatu and Dracula: I Want to Suck Your Blood
        Spencer

        I’ve been meaning to watch this since it came out – interesting exploration of how it’s a set apart from his other films.

        Tim Burton's Big Eyes: A Grounded Film from an Unusual Director
        Spencer

        I initially thought the live-in remakes were a bit of a cash-in but you’ve made this sound very interesting – may give it a look now! 🙂

        Cinderella (2015): An Old-Fashioned Heroine in Modern Times
        Spencer

        Informative article – I haven’t seen many of these so will definitely check them out!

        Autism In Modern Media
        Spencer

        Enjoyed this a lot – great idea that zombies aren’t the antagonist but the environment, forcing humans to work in a different way. Very interesting!

        Zombies: The Undying Genre
        Spencer

        Love this article – I’d always placed both of these shows into the pro-feminist category, and it’s so interesting (if a little saddening) to see an alternative perspective!

        Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Charmed: The Re-Feminization of Female "Superheroes"