My latest column for BitchBuzz responds to a recent trend in lit commentary, including Alan Bissett’s book blog for the Guardian, the usual sort of ‘things have gone too far, and now the pendulum must swing the other way’ opinion. I think it’s got a way to swing yet, particularly because this has become a…
Category: popular culture
BitchBuzz: Vampire Cheese
My latest column for BitchBuzz on vampire shows to watch while waiting for the next installment of Twilight or True Blood, shows a little chutzpah considering my editor had tweeted earlier that same day that one of “the things we’re all sick of” included vampires. Have I got timing or what? She still published it….
Python Reunites!
The surviving Pythons will be reuniting in NYC on October 15th for the premiere of a new six-part doco series that will be airing on the IFC channel October 18th-23rd. In addition to the documentary and timed to 40th Anniversary of the creation of Monty Python, The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA)…
BitchBuzz: Repetition
My latest piece for BitchBuzz is all about repetition, i.e. our addiction to sequelitis. I manage to name check the Fall, Clive Barker and Doug Bradley. Pretty good record for this vicinity: “This is the three Rs, the three Rs,” Mark E. Smith sang back in the late seventies, “Repetition, repetition, repetition.” I think that’s…
Branding: Medievalist
Yes, the third prong of my branding identity, such as it is, has to be me the medievalist. I realise that all of my many attempts at branding only make it clearer that I have weird and esoteric tastes that resist any attempt to brand me for a potential audience. At least “medieval” is surely…
Horror Class: Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Yesterday we delved into the weird world of 70s horror with the classic Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Some of the students were familiar with the remake and had thoughtful comments about the ways the two differed. The film purports to be based on a “true story” although it’s only very loosely inspired by Wisconsin’s own Ed…
Branding: Popular Culture and New Media
I’ll blog later about today’s class (featuring Texas Chainsaw Massacre and feminist film critique), but for the moment (and that’s about all I have) I want to get back to the difficult task of “branding” as we have come to call it. While I’m still resisting the labeling, I am trying to be more conscious…
Kazoo Round-up
Just back from my meeting with the VP and the Dean, where I formally accepted the position of Coordinator of Women’s Studies. What was that I said about only suckers taking up administrative positions? 😉 Let’s consider it the first step in my plan for World Domination or perhaps as a new hat (we all…
Curse of the Demon
Day two of the horror class consisted of a full-on run through the 40s and 50s. While I talked about a lot of things, I concentrated on showing two films — not something I plan to do everyday, but as I was giving short shrift to the time period anyway, it only seemed fair. For…
BitchBuzz: When (Obsessive) Online Tribes Go Bad
My latest piece for BitchBuzz manages to fit in a little information about the Middle Ages (correctives to common misconceptions) as well as some well-earned hand-wringing about the easy tendency toward flame wars on-line. It’s irritating to realise that so many of these virtual brawls could be avoided by the use of good reading skills…