The point is deterrence.

I agree, but I would argue that JG Ballard’s The Crystal World fits just about every characteristic of modern “Zone fiction,” and that predates Roadside Picnic by half a decade or more.

I just remember that back in the day I couldn’t keep Liz Phair and Lilith Fair straight.

I can tell you right now I would never watch a show called Scrotal Recall.

I actually agree with most of that.

My point is that movie-making (and latterly, TV/streaming production) has always depended on collaboration between artistic and mercenary people, and that slamming this show ahead of time as creatively bankrupt because it’s backed by a ruthless capitalist while extolling the artistic purity of a project that was…

My point is that movie-making (and latterly, TV/streaming production) has always depended on collaboration between artistic and mercenary people, and that slamming this show ahead of time as creatively bankrupt because it’s backed by a ruthless capitalist while extolling the artistic purity of a project that was…

when you get to be as rich as jeff bezos, you stop having genuine interests or passions.

Yes, it’s inconceivable that anyone involved in this production is a genuine Tolkien fan (where in the world would you even find such a creature?); certainly not the former computer science student and bookstore founder who’s paying for it.

It’s not, though.

I remember reading an article about a secret online community where you have to contribute some number (I think 10) of previously unavailable movies in order to gain access. Those seeking membership would scour archives of obscure film festivals for films to digitize.

You value something more when you have to put in more effort to get it. Whether that’s the book you spend years looking for before you find it in a used book store or the video game you only get to play when you visit your cousins’ house.

My impression is actually that the cult of St. Ron is starting to fade among Republicans, as his version of conservatism becomes ever less relevant to today’s party. (They’ll always have racism, but although they’re still doing tax cuts for the rich and cuts to government services they’ve finally seen that this is not…

You’ll be happy to learn that Will Forte is in this movie as Jacob Tremblay’s dad.

It’s not properly Edwardian either, since King Edward died in 1910: the show all takes place during the reign of King George V. Even if the period is extended to the start of WWI (as is sometimes done), only the first season takes place in “Edwardian” England.

If time period is the only reason not to consider Downton Abbey, how about Ripper Street, Penny Dreadful, the Robert Downey Jr. Sherlock Holmes movies or Dickensian? Or, if we’re including the Downton Abbey period, how about the Fantastic Beasts series, or the indeterminate-period Series of Unfortunate Events?

Yeah, he’s great. I was fortunate to see an exhibition in Zurich a few years back, including a bunch of his originals and sketches. Really inspirational stuff.

But that’s pretty much just the definition of what a culture is: a set of ideas or customs shared within a community that find expression in cultural artifacts and behaviors that in turn serve to reaffirm those ideas and customs.

Going off the popular art cue, the advertising posters of Alphonse Mucha:

The difference is that Marvel/Disney don’t really care about the message the films communicate or the worldview they embody. They just care that people go see them (which in turn means that they don’t want them to be say anything so controversial that it would inspire widespread boycotts, or anything that gets them…