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We Need More Hope-Filled Media
Whenever anyone asks me what kinds of movies and shows I like, I tend to just give the vague umbrella answer of “fun and feel-good,” occasionally followed up with, “if I wanted to be depressed, I’d just watch the news.” This usually returns a mixed bag of recommendations, since of course different things make different…
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What Happened to Competence Porn?
In 2009, Leverage writer John Rogers wrote in a blog post about how viewers enjoyed “watching competent people banter and plan,” something his team had come to refer to as “competence porn.” This phenomenon, now named, has loosely cropped up throughout all forms of media over the years, from Odysseus escaping the Cyclops to Sherlock…
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Should You Write a Manic Pixie Dream Girl?
You’re reading this on the internet, so you’ve probably heard of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl. You probably have a decent idea of what she is and where she exists in the world of fiction. There’s like a seventy percent chance you immediately associate the term with Zooey Deschanel, and considering most of her well-known…
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Get Off Your High Horse, the Book Is Not Always Better Than the Movie
It is common knowledge among book readers that the movie version will almost always be inferior to the book it’s based off of. It’s a popular refrain by moviegoers, dinner guests and librarians everywhere. And to some degree this belief is well justified. There are a lot of bad or utterly forgettable book adaptations out…
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How Spirited Away Is About Unflinchingly Accepting Adolescence
Miyazaki’s masterful storytelling and fine-tuned artistic vision is apparent in many if not all of the Studio Ghibli films, especially in one of the most iconic, Spirited Away. I remember watching Spirited Away for the first time in middle school. I had to ask my mom to buy it off the cable’s pay-per-view, patiently waiting…
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Why Woody Deserves the Ending of ‘Toy Story 4’
*Spoilers included for Toy Story 4* Like most people, I thought the Toy Story franchise would end with the tear-jerker of Toy Story 3. What could be better than ending their tale with them saying goodbye to Andy as he drives off toward college and adulthood? So it came as a surprise when Pixar announced…
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The Beginner’s Guide to Anime: The Art of Respect
My very first anime was not Pokémon, Sailor Moon, or Dragonball Z. It was Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland. Look it up. It was preciously beautiful (and terrifying, thanks to the Nightmare King), but as I grew from Pokémon dweeb to Moonie to anime club official, I’ve learned a few things. First off, anime is…
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‘Fantastic Beasts’ Is Better Than ‘Harry Potter.’ Duel Me.
Spoilers included for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald received a lot of backlash, especially on social media, after its release in theaters. Whether fans were confused by the plot, angry with J.K. Rowling for adding in a not-so-surprising twist, or wondering why Dumbledore is wearing suits instead of…
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Atticus Finch Is the Male Hero We Need Today
Male protagonists are a dime a dozen, but not a particularly diverse bunch. Take any popular movie or video game and the marketing for it will likely feature a tall muscular white man with short dark hair holding a weapon, staring towards whatever enemy looms on the horizon. Plenty of exceptions exist, but when in…
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The Problem with Catering to Fans
When was the last time you saw someone on the internet ranting about The Last Jedi? Nitpicking Infinity War? Making an argument about some other movie or show that was a huge disappointment and shouldn’t have been made? Probably not that long ago. Since the rise of the internet, there has been an increasing trend…
The Lit Nerds 