Oscars Y2K
Hoo boy, those Oscar nominations. Here’s my take: they don’t matter. But they do matter. In what world is Ford v. Ferrari an important movie? Ahem, film?...
Dystopian AF
You wake up in your house. A house. But there’s only a few rooms. An apartment? It resembles something like an apartment that used to be….decorated in clean...
I don't like fun or whimsy.
A list of things I don’t do: karaokebowlingamusement parksbars, especially at night, when crowdedhikingAnything animated (except for cartoons for...
Citations needed
There was a twitter post few weeks go asking “what is something that is known in your profession but never talked about because it would unravel everything”...
The Delight of Watching the Demise of an Organization
The romance genre is still not taken seriously— no surprise since its a feminized genre. But while we hail Jedis and Yodas as the icons of culture, romance...
Do you use that to call your mother?
Lately I’ve been thinking about this clip from 1999, when Triumph the Insult Comic Dog roasted Star Wars fans waiting in line to see The Phantom Menace. It’s...
What to read instead of Harry Potter if you just now realized that JK Rowling is a bigot
Literally any other book.
Culture school
Hello inner-circle, A-list only readers: There have been SO many hot takes about so much culture, there’s a lot to weed through. Here are the ones I think...
Top films of the decade, although the markers are arbitrary times stamps of the Gregorian calendar
My top 50 of the decade!!! I do this to not only show off my sophisticated cultural knowledge, but maybe have others discover something they might not have...
End of Line
Continuing my completely subjective decade end film follies! Now, the best movies (films? Should I say films?) that have an ending that made me squeal with...
Fatally Flawful
I love a film that makes me angry. Especially when parts are so good paired with garbage. Here are the best inconsistent films of the decade. Circle (2015)...
The call is coming from inside the newsletter
Yesterday, I told you what films of the decade made me cry. Today, ones that fill me with joy: best horror films of the decade! This one is near and dear to...
An arbitrary list that could just as well be random
I was just complaining that all the arguing over best-of lists and the point of the Golden Globe awards, and most people don’t actually know how to talk...
Song, from the South
I know the field is changing, but I still can’t help but think of academic historians as men concerned with deciphering old land deeds to see what the...
I am a professor in a movie
I wander the aisles of the lecture hall as I speak.I always end on something dramatic. “And that….was how Lincoln was shot.”The blackboard behind me is...
pay for your podcasts for f*ck's sake
I am a member of fan Facebook groups for several podcasts. If you’d like to lose interest and joy in a podcast, just join some fan groups. They take the joy...
the world's latest hot take
I’m back for a late hot take. You’ve all read Caroline Calloway’s friend’s manifesto on being the less confident friend, and read all the takes on the state...
the advice returns
Dear FYOGS: I want to make a difference with my research, and to me, that means doing on-depth field work. I believe that in order to write about a group of...
I am a very famous person who is not allowed to be criticized
I have the platform of the world’s most prestigious publication. I get paid to write my opinions, I have full health insurance. One of my opinion columns...
Stop, collaborate, and listen
Have you ever found a pop culture thing that is so completely your jam that you both love it and resent it because the idea is so good? I just learned, via...