Zujaja

Yes! Zeke is the best incarnation of Baz Luhrmann’s writer-hero, and I agreed with your comparison of him with Christian. I hadn’t thought of Nick though, so your take was really interesting! Thanks for writing this, good to see a positive discussion about such a fantastic show.

Hi Sydnee, a really good article! I like how you’ve adapted Eco’s essay for an interesting discussion of contemporary memory studies and U.S. tourism. There’s a lot of debate amongst Holocaust historians as to whether exhibitions like the one you’ve talked about weaken the cultural importance of the Holocaust, and hollow out its meaning for capital gain; or if they in fact make this history more accessible and relevant to the contemporary world. I wonder whether the discussion would be different if we considered these kinds of exhibitions elsewhere in the world- would that problem of being ‘lost in hyperreality’ still exist if we were closer to where that hyperreality was trying to take us (in this case, Germany)?

All in all, really enjoyed reading!

While I take issue with the claim that Disney films reinforce gender conventions (Mulan, Hercules, The Princess and the Frog, and Tangled come to mind), this is an very enlightening article! I did not grow up with Charlie Chaplin and was only introduced to him in my late-teen years, but your comparison here sheds some interesting light on his work. Might have to take a look at some of his stuff!

Definitely agree about the profoundly enlightening preface, I’m glad you mentioned it!

I completely agree with your comment about Bridge to Terabithia. The film’s beauty is derived from the friendship that formed outside of their ‘magical kingdom’, and the loss of that friendship is even stronger when the escapism Jesse seeks from the forest doesn’t change that Leslie is gone. To market it as a magical adventure is detrimental to the film’s legacy, and ignores the story’s message- that you need to find and hold onto the good in the world you live in rather than a fantasy because only that can be truly fulfilling.

And great article, your choices were spot-on!

I’ve just started listening to Night Vale and I completely agree! The fandom that surrounds it certainly adds to the enjoyment- I’ve been particularly impressed by the insistence in fanart to retain Carlos’ skin-colour, as it happens all too often that characters of colour are white-washed into oblivion. I agree as well about the atmosphere the podcast’s sound effects, narrator, and music evoke, it’s brilliant. And it has a very ‘Lemony Snicket vibe’ to it, if you think about it, with its black humour.