I think it’s a lot more accurate to compare Israel to 1930s Germany. They’re not committing genocide. They’re just pushing their hated minority group into ghettos, passing baldly discriminatory legislation, and committing the occasional pogrom.

Genocide is really bad, and the Israeli government has been drifting in…

Also more cynically, “the point of FOIA” isn’t actual transparency, it’s the illusion of transparency which is meant to blunt public inquiry instead of enhancing it.

There are actually a lot of holes in FOIA that let the government decline requests. This one was declined under an exemption for records created pursuant to the “deliberative process.” The rationale for the exemption is that government officials need to be able to brainstorm and raise potential problems with the…

I had assumed that IGH was still out there, and that Griffin was working with them. I mean, it’s understandable that Jessica and Trish would stop investigating with “doctor who did the experiments and also Jessica’s long-lost mom”. But who was paying for all those experiments? Who was doing all the administrative work…

I agree with this, and I think it makes a really great contrast to the first season. Kilgrave is also about control, but he’s a more overt and explicit (and masculine-coded) kind of top-down control. But in this season, the control is more subtle and less overt. And it’s couched in positive-sounding emotional terms so…

Why is Alisa so dead set on killing Trish? Well, there’s basically no reason other than to add some stakes and action to the series. ... A crucial aspect of storytelling is exploring why characters act the way they do. This season of Jessica Jones has spent far too much time answering the question of “Why?” with…

I’m not sure its tied in with the rise of Trump, the Alt. Right, etc. as much as it is this strain of nostalgia has been going on for nearly 20 years now.

I think superheroes are kind of a weird example, just because they’re such a beautiful mutt of a genre in the first place. There’s not really a classical, pure version of cape comics - as long as they’ve existed, they’ve constantly been changing and reinventing themselves, and pulling in elements from every other…

I feel like both of these takes could be true for different people.

I love that episode where Billy’s nemesis steals the red rubber ball from the “Please Please Tell Me Now” video, because he assumes it’s the source of all their powers.  And I especially love that conversation that Billy and Pete have as they’re walking home (having traded their whole company for the ball, including…

When Cordelia compares Xander to Zeppo Marx, it’s because it’s an apt comparison, even if it doesn’t make sense for mean girl Cordelia Chase to have an intimate knowledge of the Marx. Bros.

Charlie: Look, buddy. I know a lot about the law and various other lawyerings. I’m well educated. Well versed. I know that situations like this- real estate wise- they’re very complex.

Art doesn’t exist in a vacuum, though. It’s inextricably shaped by its outside context. In particular, I think there’s a good argument that the Internet has shifted all pop culture toward a more detail-focused and intertextual mindset than it used to be. If that influence shows up in the art, then I think it’s…

Similar examples are “the battle against cosmopolitanism” in the Soviet Union and “anti-zionism” in today’s anglophone regions.

Come on, baby! I told you when I met you, as a worshipper of Zeus I have a religious duty to sleep with other women!

“Free will” isn’t really a relevant concept here, though. Prosecutors have tons of structural advantages in a court setting. They have a ton of wiggle room to overcharge people; they have the police on their side; they have all the evidence, and then get to decide which bits to dribble out to the defense. And for…

Gosh, I think Cheers was super dated and topical. Not in a bad way - it’s great. But so much of the dynamic between Sam and Diane is based in how people were rethinking gender roles as 70s feminism trickled down into the lives of normal, not-very-political people. And a lot of the dynamic between Diane and everyone…

Surprise twist: it turns out Sherlock was the Hound the entire time

Garry Shandling didn’t die, he just faked his death and became a microbiologist.

I was going to make a joke about that movie and TMBG, only to learn that the band apparently got its name from the movie! So thank you for inspiring me to learn something.