There's probably a good case to make that it reinforces bad ideas about history, but it's also an easy way to give Western readers unfamiliar with the given region's history a sense of the setting. "Oh, it probably has knights and princesses, or something like them. I bet they live in castles, while everyone else…

They tried shooting in Toronto, but it looked too much like Boston.

It's hard to remember now that every year seems to feature a new attempt at bringing the Bible to the Big Screen, but in 1998 "The Prince of Egypt" was the first adaptation of Moses to hit movie theaters since the 1950s film with Charlton Heston. There were a few TV movies or miniseries, mostly in Europe, but it was…

Maybe this will get me to finally revisit the books. I loved them growing up, but I was about 8, so a lot of the religious commentary went over my head. It was really popular with some friends of mine who precisely liked it because of its humanistic elements, and I've been worried that I would make me angry if I went…

There's a part of me which is a bit annoyed at how insulated people today are from their very hide-oriented past, but that isn't the world we live in today, so it doesn't really matter. I think the use of tallow is kind of nifty, but that hardly overrides someone's moral complaints.

Is it weird that I think we largely agree, even if I disagree eventually? I think there's a lot interesting things in Campbell, but at some point he was elevated into a Theory God when he doesn't need or deserve it. I don't even see how someone could get that impression from his works, because (at least in the books…

I don't get the criticism when it comes to "is the material funny", but I do when it comes questions of "how do we view the material". It postulates that whatever behavior is occurring is primarily comedic, which can absolutely obscure whether it is also, for example, cruel.

I'm a bit torn about the piece. It does a nice job cataloging gay subtext, but it doesn't convince me of the issue's urgency. I'm probably overlooking something in the article, since it's been a couple days since I read it, but it felt like there were three arguments for why there truly should (as opposed to merely…

The actor who played Malcolm Reed, the security officer on Enterprise, claims he played the character as if he was. Whether that counts, I don't know.

I'm not entirely convinced that any of the crew of regulars is entirely safe from becoming "the gay character". Especially with characters who don't receive protagonist-level development.

I, uh… My bad. I didn't know that.

There's some bits here that go beyond criticizing the creative output, though, like when Hanna suggests that the song was an attempt by Chapin to make make up for his own absence. I think those are the bits that are probably more objectionable, the ones which suggest that not only is it a bad song, but that it clearly…

Yeah, there really is no such thing as a permanent creative decision in comics. That said, I think this round of diversity has a better chance than previous ones. I think a lot of the old characters have increasingly rickety backstories, which I think makes changing characters more appealing for the time being.

It's partly the transmission of cultural capital, right? It says, "This isn't just some new hero who will soon just show up in group shots, but the heir to one of our major characters. See how serious we are about it?"

I largely really agree with your analysis, but I got my idea of guys being excited by lesbian subtext from watching guys be excited by lesbian subtext, mostly in animation fandom. I knew a lot of straight cis men who were really into Korrasami, for example.

I… Sort of do? If they're interesting as characters then I find them interesting, but I absolutely don't get why so many other men go nuts over lesbian relationships or subtext. It's very confusing, personally.

That first bit, at least, is basically the plot of CW's short-lived series "Cult".

Wait, if Samus' character is best "written" when it is implied through the player's growing skill with the game, doesn't that mean that it's best when Zack's discovery of his ability to move left is also a moment of discovery for Samus? Am I misunderstanding the argument, or is Zack saying that Best Samus is Samus Who…

And now you can hear what it might be like!

Hm, its knowing appropriation seemed to me to start fairly close to the beginning of the movie, though I never really felt like the movie's heart was in the anti-corporate bits (because, as you note, it's such a mind-boggling absurd thematic statement for something called "The Lego Movie". Do you mind if I ask when…