I've been writing since fourth grade and blogging since 2014. I've been a nerd my whole life.
Correspondent I
Pending | Are Detectives the Main Characters in their Own Stories?An interesting trend in mystery fiction is the "outsider" nature of the classic detective. These characters – Hercule Poirot, Sherlock Holmes, Adrian Monk, Shawn Spencer, Scooby Doo, etc – seem to exist for the purpose of helping other people’s stories reach resolution. Although they are often the perspective characters in their stories, it can be argued that the main characters are the victims and the perpetrators of the crimes being investigated. Those are the characters who are causing events to happen and having events happen to them. |
Pending | Urban Fantasy vs Cosmic HorrorIn the Urban Fantasy genre – Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, etc. – magic and magical creatures exist alongside humans, but humans don’t know about them. |
The Dark Knight: How Do You Measure The "Best" Sequel?The Dark Knight is widely regarded as one of the best movies of its kind. It is officially a sequel to Batman Begins, but unlike most sequels, audiences don’t really need to watch the first movie to understand or enjoy the plot of the second. The only major plotline that continues between the two (apart from Bruce Wayne Being Batman, of course) is Bruce and Rachel’s relationship ("If there is ever a time when Gotham doesn’t need Batman, we can be together.")
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Why Are There So Many Neurodivergent Super-Detectives?The list of fictional characters with relatable representation of neurodivergence (ADHD, autism, OCD, et cetera) has a lot of detective characters on it. Examples include Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Benoit Blanc, Adrian Monk, Shawn Spencer, and Sonja Cross from The Bridge. |
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency: Hard to Adapt?Douglas Adams’ foray into detective fiction, with his iconic twist of science fiction and extremely British absurdist comedy, was a novel called Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency and its sequel, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul. These books have been adapted into two TV shows, one on BBC4 and one on BBC America. The books and TV shows are all quite different from each other; even the character of Dirk Gently changes a bit between adaptations. |
The Red Ten vs The BoysFrom 2011 to 2017, Tyler James and Cesar Feliciano created a ten-issue comic book series in which a parody of the Justice League were mysteriously murdered in a plot eerily similar to Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. As in Christie’s novel, it was slowly revealed that the superheroes were being killed because they were guilty of dark secrets. |
"Gods" in the MCU: Are Any of Them Worthy?In Thor: Love and Thunder, Gorr the God Butcher wanted to destroy all the deities in the MCU. His motivation was he had found the god of his civilization quite disappointing, and he assumed all deities were just as selfish and uncaring. The movie hoped the audience would think Gorr was wrong because Thor, the god of Thunder, is not selfish. Unfortunately, we have not met many other "god" characters in the MCU with redeeming qualities. |
Do Disabled Characters Need to be Played by Disabled Actors?Movies and TV shows often feature able-bodied actors/actresses playing disabled characters. Some audience members with disabilities are not content to see characters who are like them; some of them believe these characters must be played by people who actually have the disability they are portraying. Discuss the validity of this argument and the validity of the counterargument: representation doesn’t matter any less if it’s just acting.
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Marvel Movies and the Multiverse: Different Worlds, Same People | |
I imagine the trick with YA fiction in particular is how quickly young adults grow up. If an author takes “too long,” the intended audience of the first book in a series may not be in the target demographic anymore by the time the story is complete. Imagine if A Song of Ice and Fire or the Kingkiller Chronicles were intended for young audiences. There would be a lot of kids growing up to be very disappointed adults. | How Does a YA Series Remain Whole as it Grows? |
Analog Horror: Analyzing an Eerily Nostalgic Genre | |
As a Christian, I personally can’t abide the way media suggests sex outside of marriage is okay, and even sex scenes featuring married people can put unclean images in people’s minds, tempting them to unclean thoughts and sinful actions. | The Portrayal of Sex Scenes in Media |
The Manic Pixie Dream Girl: Manipulative or Unrealistic? | |
As female empowerment increases, proponents of female empowerment care more about how women are represented in the movies. The fact that this trend has existed in some form for a long time just raises the question of whether it should still exist or how much it should have changed in recent decades. | The Manic Pixie Dream Girl: Manipulative or Unrealistic? |
I loved the Thor movie’s take on the Hero’s Journey. At first, it seems like the trip to Jotunheim is the Call to Adventure, but it’s actually Thor’s way of Refusing the true Call to Adventure. It shows he’s not ready for the throne and needs to go on a character-development journey. | Thor's Worthiness to Wield the Hammer |
Disney Protagonists and the Seven Deadly Sins |
I recommend Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. I’d say that movie takes the multiverse concept to some very good conclusions, such as mixing different animation styles to visually show different universes intersecting and exploring ideas of destiny through the lens of Spider-Man, Spider-Gwen, and their relationship. It goes even deeper than the first movie in the series.
I wish I’d had the chance to include that movie in my article, but the two were released at about the same time.