10 June 2015-16 June 2015
Notices
If you have meta to submit or rec, please comment to this post or to the screened Submissions Post. If you'd like to give us blanket permission to link your meta please comment to the Blanket Permissions Post. If you have feedback or questions, check out our FAQ, Contact the Mods, or PM/email. If you'd like to volunteer to link-find or mod, please comment to the Volunteers Post.
General Fandom
Colorblind: On The Witcher 3, Rust, and gaming's race problem: Tauriq Moosa (blog) - "When white gamers are forced to play people not of their race, it's "forced politics"; when I'm forced into the same scenario, it's business as usual."
fandom:gaming, topic:race, topic:racism
Mad Max: Fury Road Makes Your Rape Arguments Invalid: Carrie S. (blog) - "I have not seen either the rape of Sansa in Game of Thrones nor the rape of Jamie in Outlander. I have no opinion on the scenes themselves. I don't always think that it's a bad thing to depict rape and without having seen the shows, I can't comment on how well it's handled. What I do find interesting is that whenever rape is depicted, many people offer reasons for why they think that it is not only desirable but also necessary to include it, and of course with two shows in one week featuring rape people were quick to proffer the usual defenses."
warning:rape
On social media, "Mary Sue RPF" and consent: Bertha Chin (blog) - "For how do you begin to reconcile the work and the research with the realities when fans deliberately tweet what looks like real person fan fiction to the celebrities - not that there is anything wrong with that. But when the tweets are incessant, and the fan has inserted herself into the - at times, explicit - fantasy, something which Kristina Busse has suggested is a recurring mode of fannish narrative (2006, p. 256), it got me thinking about boundaries, consent, and social reciprocity."
topic:fanfic, topic:marysue, topic:twitter, topic:rpf
How Do We Talk About Strong Female Characters?: Liz Bourke (blog) - "And I'm starting to think that volition and equal significance are better ways to think about, and to talk about, women's narratives and storylines and presences in fiction. Not just women's, mind, but very often when we talk about agency and strength we are talking about women."
topic:femalecharacter
Why everyone should just read those spoilers anyway: Christina Vasilevski (blog) - "I like spoilers, goddammit. In fact, I actively seek them out. I'll go to wikis and click link after link into an endless rabbit hole. I'll go to pop culture sites and read episode recaps. I'll go to Tumblr and watch repeatable GIFs of important moments."
topic:spoilers
Finding the Right (White) Actor to Cast in that Non-White Role: Eddylhong (blog) - "It goes without saying that we already know how extremely problematic it is that these producers and studio execs are annoyed about the heightened awareness on "ethnic" casting."
topic:whitewashing, topic:race
Breaking Fanfiction's Unspoken Rules: Jenny Cee (blog) - "So it's past time that we all sit-down and examine if the unspoken rules we judge fanfiction by is still helping us or is now just holding our community back as a whole."
topic:fanfic
Television's Conversation with Masculinity: Rachel Catlett (blog) - "Masculinity is being explored and re-defined to fit a modern context, and TV is at the apex of this dialogue."
topic:television, topic:masculinity
Magical Mondays: Using Magic to Punish Female Sexuality: Lady Geek Girl (blog) - "I have noticed more than once how authors have used magic as a way to punish women when they have sex. Whether it's in fantasy or horror, more often than not, women are punished with curses or death for enjoying sex, and it's a trope that really needs to be put to rest."
topic:magic, topic:sex, topic:misogyny
Sexualized Saturdays: Powerful Women and the Men Who Love Them: Lady Saika (blog) - "Meanwhile, there are very few pairings in which the woman is the super-strong punchy one, and the man is just a regular dude with non-combat skills that's occasionally in awe of his lady's powers."
topic:femalecharacter, topic:superheroes
How to Get Your Fic Fix Quicker, or, Why 'Update Soon' Isn't Worth the Time it Takes You to Type: thegreatpumpkin(AO3) - "We've all been there: staring at a WIP that has everything we want out of a fic, wondering when, when there will be another chapter so we can get our fix. But maybe--just maybe--there are some tricks to speed it along."
topic:fanfic
Tropes of Love: Gender Roles in Romance Novels: Alex Townsend (blog) - "But there is something special to be said about bad romance novels: they illustrate gender roles better than any other form of media."
topic:fiction, topic:romance, topic:tropes
@TheMarySue Casually Smears Romance: Twitter and I Respond: Heidi Cullinan (blog) - "Today we'll unpack an article from The Mary Sue. "Tropes of Love: Gender Roles in Romance." Sounds like a wonderful topic. We need more discussion of romance, and gender roles, and tropes are the best! Let's go."
topic:fiction, topic:romance, topic:criticism
Emotional Shift: beccaelizabeth (DW) - "I'm reading a multi book series that keeps baffling me in its basic assumptions about human nature. Granted, some of the beings think they're not human, but since they can have kids with humans I'd say close enough."
topic:books, topic:writing, topic:worldbuilding
Fanworks and Irony: foxinthestars (DW) - "It seems like when I see transformative works that are acknowledged as "artistic" or similarly virtuous (not to mention legally legitimate), they always have this kind of hipster irony about them."
topic:fanfic, topic:fanart
Specific Fandoms
Adventure Time
Is Adventure Time Getting Too Reckless with Their Episodes?: MarchHareMoe (blog) - "I can't tell if the writers are genuinely trying to make a more developed world with complex characters, or if they're just twisting the story into whatever they desire. By the end of this season, I questioned whether this show meant to use depression as a joke, and how much of an element of horror they were willing (or were allowed) to use."
fandom:adventuretime
Aliens
The dead dads and twisted moms of Aliens: Tasha Robinson (blog) - "This is the world James Cameron inherited when he wrote and directed the 1986 sequel Aliens: a gender-swapped world where men have horrible babies (the android Ash even quietly refers to Kane's emerged parasite as his "son") and women are creatures of implacable logic and sudden violence."
fandom:alien
Amadeus
Amadeus: Killing Mozart: aelarsen (blog) - "So the film is somewhat coy about exactly what Salieri might have done to orchestrate Mozart's death. So what really happened to Mozart?"
fandom:amadeus, topic:history
Amadeus: Strange but True: aelarsen (blog) - "It seems so implausible that it has to have been invented by Peter Shaffer, the playwright whose play formed the basis for the script.
And yet, it's almost true."
fandom:amadeus, topic:history
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Legacy and Endings: be-compromised (LJ) - Discussion of legacy and ending in The Avengers: Age of Ultron.
fandom:mcu
Babylon 5
B5 Rewatch: Infection: jedi-of-urth(LJ) - Discussion and analysis of the episode in question.
fandom:babylon5
Batman
Ep. 59: "Blind as a Bat": The Arkham Sessions (podcast) - "In this episode of The Arkham Sessions, we discuss Batman's inflexible personality, his insistence on working "impaired," and his ability to work with the new deficit of blindness."
fandom:dcanimated
The Complicated Legacy of Batman Begins: David Sims (blog) - "Ten years after Christopher Nolan reinvented the superhero movie, studios are trying to emulate its darker mood without seizing on what really makes it special."
fandom:dccu
The Black Swan
Black Swan and The Art of Self-Destruction: Britt Hayes (blog) - "Darren Aronofsky's transcendent film explores the art of killing yourself to live."
fandom:theblackswan
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Spike and the Vegeta Effect: goodmorningsunnydale (tumblr) - "Fiction is wish fulfillment, and the Vegeta Effect has some pretty powerful wish fulfillment. Because if an evil bastard can gain a soul, be forgiven, and learn to love, then there's hope for us all."
fandom:btvs
Thoughts on Spike and Joyce's relationship: buffyboeyn (tumblr) - "It's almost blasphemy in this fandom to try to sully this relationship, but Spike clearly "cared" more about Joyce than she did him."
fandom:btvs
Fanon Element: The Orgasmic Vampire Bite (NC-17): feliciacraft(LJ) - "Discussion of the trope of the orgasmic vampire bite in BTVS canon and fanfiction."
fandom:btvs
By the Sword
Heralds of Valdemar Reread: By the Sword, Skybolts: Ellen Cheeseman-Meyer (blog) - Summary, discussion and analyis of the section in question.
fandom:valdemar
Chronicles of Narnia
Narnia: His Name Was Golg: Ana Mardoll (blog) - Deconstruction of chapter 14 of The Silver Chair.
fandom:chroniclesofnarnia, topic:deconstruction
Cosmere
Words of Radiance Reread: Chapter 42: Alice Arneson (blog) - Summary, discussion analysis of the chapter in question.
fandom:cosmere
Daredevil
Non-spoilery things I like about Daredevil: laporcupina(tumblr) - Analysis of the character of Matt Murdock.
fandom:daredevil
DC Comics
Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy Kissing in a Tree: Steve Morris (blog) - "A few days ago DC casually outed two characters that everybody had always thought were a couple, even if it had never been actually stated on-panel anywhere."
fandom:dccomics, topic:lgbt, topic:relationships
Deep Impact
A Scientist Responds… To Deep Impact: Mika McKinnon and Ria Misra (blog) - "Deep Impact actually features something close to a realistic look at how our society might face a major impact event - although in our world, it'd probably be much, much worse."
fandom:deepimpact, topic:science
Dragon Prince
Rereading Melanie Rawn: Sunrunner's Fire, Chapters 23 and 24: Judith Tarr (blog) - Summary, discussion and analysis of the chapters in question.
fandom:dragonprince
Empire Trilogy
Rereading the Empire Trilogy: Mistress of the Empire, Part 14: Tansy Rayner Roberts (blog) - Summary, discussion and analysis of the section in question.
fandom:empiretrilogy
First Law Trilogy
Rereading Joe Abercrombie's First Law Trilogy, Last Argument of Kings: "Authority" and "The Circle": Justin Landon (blog) - Summary, discussion and analysis of the chapters in question.
fandom:firstlawtrilogy
Game of Thrones
Race for the Iron Throne: Steven Attewell (blog) - Rather than linking to each article at this site, we're linking to the site in general. It only posts articles related to Game of Thrones.
fandom:gameofthrones
Tower of the Hand: Various (blog) - Rather than linking to each article at this site, we're linking to the site in general. It only posts articles related to Game of Thrones and A Song of Ice and Fire. This week, it skews toward more articles about Game of Thrones.
fandom:gameofthrones, fandom:asoiaf
Game of Thrones Discussion, S5, E9: Love and Sacrifice: Laura Fletcher, Corrin Bennett-Kill, Cheryl Collins (blog) - "Take a deep breath and join us for a discussion of "The Dance of Dragons" with three fans with different perspectives: Laura Fletcher, a casual fan of the television and book series; Corrin Bennett-Kill, a dedicated fan of the book and TV series (she has read all the books four times!); and Cheryl Collins, who does not read."
fandom:gameothrones, warning:spoilers
Mother's Mercy: Philip Sandifer (blog) - "More broadly, taking "cliffhanger" in the sense of talking about where all the characters are, it's almost jarring to end up so close to the state of play in the books after a season that has felt this defined by its departures."
fandom:gameofthrones, warning:spoilers
A Brief Treatise on the Rules of Thrones 2.04: Garden of Bones: Philip Sandifer (blog) - "Three episodes of buildup based around the magical scraping at the edges of the world pay off in several regards. This is signified straightforwardly by the episode's structure, which both opens and closes with forces within the War of Five Kings being attacked by amazing and uncanny things."
fandom:gameofthrones
Return to Westeros: "Mother's Mercy" Review: MadameAce (blog) - ""Mother's Mercy" was by no means this season's worst episode, and I even found myself partially invested in it. Hell, there were a few things about it that I actually liked."
fandom:gameofthrones, warning:spoilers
Welcome to Being Done With A Game of Thrones: Chris Lough (blog) - "Unfortunately, the nature of this common ground is bleak and TV viewers are left wondering, just as book readers were after the 2011 publication of A Dance With Dragons, if there's anything more to this series than repetitive brutality."
fandom:gameofthrones, fandom:asoiaf
Gaslight
The Terrifying Legacy of Gaslight: Andrew Todd (blog) - "A film noir in the true, thematic sense, Gaslight is all about insidious psychological games."
fandom:gaslight
H.P. Lovecraft
The Lovecraft Reread: If We Knew What We Were… - "Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family": Ruthanna Emrys and Anne M. Pillsworth (blog) - Summary, discussion and analysis of the story in question.
fandom:lovecraft
Hannibal
Hannibal Review: 3.02 "Primavera": Meredith Borders (blog) - "In both "Antipasto" and "Primavera," Hannibal takes a tip-toeing approach back into its procedural roots."
fandom:hannibal, warning:spoilers
Harry Potter
An Open Letter to J.K. Rowling about the American Wizarding School in Fantastic Beasts: Dr Adrienne Keene (blog) - "The problem, Jo (can I call you Jo? I hope so), is that we as Indigenous peoples are constantly situated as fantasy creatures."
fandom:harrypotter
The Harry Potter Reread: The Order of the Phoenix, Chapters 17 and 18: Emily Asher-Perrin (blog) - Summary, discussion and analysis of the chapters in question.
fandom:harrypotter
iZombie
iZombie and Playing with Identities: Sparky (blog) - "The problem with all of these depictions is how utterly shallowly they were treated. After all, Liv is trying on this identity for the space of a few days and the scope of a single episode, which has to be conveyed to us quickly and heavily to show a distinct personality change. The easiest and laziest way to do this is through blatant stereotyping…"
fandom:izombie
Jacob's Ladder
Purgatory and PTSD In Jacob's Ladder: Meredith Borders (blog) - "Adrian Lyne's film meets madness, death, grief and trauma in one nightmarish symphony."
fandom:jacobsladder
James Bond
Bond Girl: Re-Watching and Re-Evaluating The Spy Who Loved Me: Zina Hutton (blog) - "The Spy Who Loved Me is the tenth film in Eon Production's James Bond series and Roger Moore's third film in the franchise. The only thing it has in common with Fleming's original novel is the title and perhaps a few henchmen made larger than life for the film."
fandom:jamesbond
Joss Whedon
Joss Whedon Roundtable Index: The Hooded Utilitarian (blog) - Index to The Hooded Utilitarian's current series of articles analyzing the work of Joss Whedon.
fandom:josswhedon
Jupiter Ascending
Jupiter Ascending: The Matrix Regendered: Foz Meadows (blog) - "Specifically: while I've seen a great deal said about the absolute comic insanity of JA's wordlbuilding - bees that recognise royalty! flying space werewolves! floating sofas! - nowhere have I seen it pointed out that actually, Jupiter Ascending is basically an equally batshit redo of The Matrix."
fandom:jupiterascending
Jurassic Park
Jurassic World Explained - Analysis, Science, Easter Eggs, Sequels & More: Insightful Panda (blog) - "The kids journey to the park, Claire and her dealings in corporate and Owen's raptor training all represent the deeper viewpoints of Dinosaurs as Wonders, Dinosaurs as Products and Dinosaurs as Animals."
fandom:jurassicpark, warning:spoilers
The Strangely Cruel and Unusual Death in Jurassic World: Devin Faraci (blog) - "Why does [redacted] have to die so horribly in JURASSIC WORLD?"
fandom:jurassicpark, warning:spoilers, topic:death
Jurassic World Review: The Park Should Have Stayed Closed: Devin Faraci (blog) - "Jurassic World is a movie that is kind of disgusted with its own existence, a blockbuster reboot that finds the whole concept of blockbuster reboots distasteful."
fandom:jurassicpark, warning:spoilers
Episode 363: Velociraptor, You're a Loose Cannon But You're a Damn Good Cop: Overthinking It (podcast) - "Peter Fenzel, Mark Lee, and Matthew Wrather join special guest Diona Reasonover to discuss Jurassic World starring Chris Pratt, and dinosaurs in general."
fandom:jurassicpark, warning:spoilers
Jurassic World and the genetically modified blockbuster: Scott Tobias (blog) - "In other words, Jurassic World is part sequel, part reboot, and Trevorrow and company have no interest in reconciling the inherent contradictions."
fandom:jurassicpark, warning:spoilers
Movie Review: Jurassic World: Smart Bitches, Trashy Books (blog) - The bloggers discuss the movie. They loved the dinosaurs and hated the people.
fandom:jurassicpark, warning:spoilers
Imagining a better alternate universe in which James Cameron made Jurassic Park: Mike D'Angelo (blog) - "Nobody had yet pronounced Spielberg to be past his prime, but my friends and I were much more stoked about the prospect of a hypothetical Jurassic Park from the director of The Terminator and Aliens."
fandom:jurassicpark
Jurassic World's Mother of a Problem: Lesley Coffin (blog) - "Well, the movie's out and, unfortunately, it seems the scene isn't what we were promised by the film's director - and the movie does feel sexist. A lot more sexist than I expected."
fandom:jurassicpark, topic:femalecharacter, warning:spoilers
Jurassic Park science review: Phil Plait on how Spielberg's dinosaur blockbuster is wrong: Phil Plait (video) - "In the video above, Bad Astronomer Phil Plait digs into Steven Spielberg's very entertaining but very wrong movie, just in time for the likely even wronger Jurassic World, due out this weekend."
fandom:jurassicpark, topic:science
Jurassic World's Use of High Heels Is Better Than You Think: Kenzie Bryant, Susana Polo (blog) - "We turned to Susana Polo, the entertainment editor of Racked sister site Polygon, to break down why she thinks running in heels is a more graceful costuming decision than critics give Jurassic World credit for."
fandom:jurassicpark, warning:spoilers, topic:costumes
Kingsman
Kingsman vs Heteronormativity: Foz Meadows (blog) - "Kingsman takes all of Bond's hallowed trappings - the spy gadgets, the sharp suits, the suave badassery - and explicitly removes both the misogyny and the classism that traditionally underpins them. Being a Kingsman, or gentleman spy, as explained by veteran Harry Hart to protégé Eggsy Unwin, isn't about having the right accent or upbringing, but "being comfortable in your own skin" - the exact opposite of Bond's womanising, macho façade and aristocratic heritage."
fandom:kingsman
London Road
London Road: a deadly serious song and dance round the houses: Alex von Tunzelmann (blog) - "Rufus Norris's adaptation of the National Theatre musical, about the murders of five prostitutes in Ipswich in 2006, offers a unique, disturbing take on tragedy."
fandom:londonroad, topic:history
Mad Max
Oh, My Pop Culture Religion: The Faith of Fury Road: stinekey (blog) - "In this case, I was pleasantly surprised at the complexity of the film's use of religion. It shows us how the power of faith can be used both to inspire the best in humanity and to utterly destroy it."
fandom:madmax, topic:religion
Filmmaking Intent v. Film Theory: superhumandisasters (Tumblr) - "Even if you're a lay person, reading/watching all the behind the scenes, something that comes up is George Miller spends so much time playing with framerate and zoom and color to make sure the audience can always focus what's going on-
And yet never focuses our attention on women's bodies in a way that's not directly tied in with storytelling (Angharad's belly, the chastity belt, Valkyrie being used as bait)."
fandom:madmax, topic:movies
Madoka Magica
Psychopathy, Feminism, and Narrative Agency in Madoka Magica: Kyubey's Story: Rachael Verret (blog) - "On the feminist side of things (yes), Kyubey is an agent to systems that are specifically designed to remove control from young women. He takes the "power" of these women, both physically and mentally, into his own control and has no qualms about disposing them for his own needs when they become useless to him."
fandom:madokamagica
Malazan
Malazan Reread of the Fallen: Blood Follows, Part Two: Amanda Rutter and Bill Capossere (blog) - Summary, discussion and analysis of the section in question.
fandom:malazan
Marvel Cinematic Universe
Dear Marvel Cinematic Universe Writers: Black Widow Is Not Buffy: Alice Meichi Li (blog) - "I'm not here to curse him out or wish him death as others have, but to get to the root of how Whedon's dependance on his familiar Strong-Female archetype - and one that may not even be that strong - actually weakened Natasha Romanoff's character arc."
fandom:mcu, topic:femalecharacter
Once Upon a Time
Jenny's Rants: WTF Once Upon a Time?!!: Jenny Cee (podcast) - "A special audio version of Jenny's Rants, where I ramble about Once Upon A Time's fuckery in season 1 and 2 (I'm still watching season 3), and where I basically let's loose all types of angry tangents about the lack of GLBT diversity, the ridiculousness over Regina's storyline so far, and the huge big fucked up dysfunctional family tree."
fandom:onceuponatime
Orphan Black
Victims and Villains: The Women of Orphan Black: Foz Meadows (blog) - "No; it's the underlying tension of nature versus nurture: the idea that people-that women-don't just contain a single, pre-determined version of themselves, but endless possibilities."
fandom:orphanblack
Orphan Black Science Recap: "Ruthless in Purpose, and Insidious in Method": Casey Griffin and Nina Nesseth (blog) - "Welcome to our Orphan Black science recaps, where Casey, a graduate student in genetics and developmental biology, and Nina, a professional science communicator, examine the science in each episode of OB and talk you through it in (mostly) easy-to-digest terms."
fandom:orphanblack, topic:science, warning:spoilers
Orphan Black: "Insolvent Phantom of Tomorrow" Review: Lady Saika (blog) - "One thing this episode definitely had going for it was that, unlike a lot of this season, the clone's storylines actually intersected in an interesting way."
fandom:orphanblack, warning:spoilers
Sense8
Sense8 and the Failure of Global Imagination: Claire Light (blog) - "To put it plainly: Sense8's depiction of life in non-western countries is built out of stereotypes, and of life in non-American western countries is suffused with tourist-board clichés."
fandom:sense8, warning:spoilers
A Song of Ice and Fire
Tower of the Hand: Various (blog) - Rather than linking to each article at this site, we're linking to the site in general. It only posts articles related to Game of Thrones and A Song of Ice and Fire. This week, it skews toward more articles about Game of Thrones.
fandom:gameofthrones, fandom:asoiaf
A Read of Ice and Fire: A Dance With Dragons, Part 24: Leigh Butler (blog) - Summary, discussion and analysis of the section in question.
fandom:asoiaf
Star Wars
Always in Motion, the Saga Is: Paul Depaola (blog) - "As much as we want to claim ownership over Star Wars it doesn't belong to us. We have no right to tell the creator what to do with his art than we would to tell a painter what and how they should paint."
fandom:starwars, topic:canon
Untitled: dyingsighs (Tumblr) - "Can you and/or Pan explain the difference between the Living and the Unifying Force?"
fandom:starwars
Untitled: dyingsighs, kotorswtor (Tumblr) - "When I'm looking for interstitial Jedi culture things that the canon material doesn't address, primary-source stuff (or as primary as I can get without being able to speak Japanese) on samurai and some of the martial-minded sects of monks from that era is one of the first places I go."
fandom:starwars
Thor
Who's paying for all of this?! Thor: the Dark World Part 1: Christopher Chan (blog) - "This will be the first part of an analysis looking at whom the University of Greenwich ("the Claimant") may sue under the tort of negligence for loss suffered."
fandom:mcu, topic:law
Who's paying for all of this? Thor: the Dark World Part 2: Christopher Chan (blog) - "Here, we take a look at whether the Claimant may still be compensated for its loss by suing the employer of the film's protagonists, S.H.I.E.L.D., under the doctrine of vicarious liability."
fandom:mcu, topic:law
Two -Lane Blacktop
Episode 31: Two-Lane Blacktop: The Canon (podcast) - "This week's episode of The Canon features guest Noah Segan - whose movie The Redeemer was just plastered all over this site over the weekend - to discuss the merits of Two-Lane Blacktop, Monte Hellman's 1971 road race movie starring James Taylor, Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys and Warren Oates."
fandom:twolaneblacktop
Wheel of Time
The Wheel of Time Reread Redux: The Great Hunt, Part 4: Leigh Butler (blog) - Summary, discussion and analysis of the section in question.
fandom:wheeloftime
If you have meta to submit or rec, please comment to this post or to the screened Submissions Post. If you'd like to give us blanket permission to link your meta please comment to the Blanket Permissions Post. If you have feedback or questions, check out our FAQ, Contact the Mods, or PM/email. If you'd like to volunteer to link-find or mod, please comment to the Volunteers Post.
General Fandom
Colorblind: On The Witcher 3, Rust, and gaming's race problem: Tauriq Moosa (blog) - "When white gamers are forced to play people not of their race, it's "forced politics"; when I'm forced into the same scenario, it's business as usual."
fandom:gaming, topic:race, topic:racism
Mad Max: Fury Road Makes Your Rape Arguments Invalid: Carrie S. (blog) - "I have not seen either the rape of Sansa in Game of Thrones nor the rape of Jamie in Outlander. I have no opinion on the scenes themselves. I don't always think that it's a bad thing to depict rape and without having seen the shows, I can't comment on how well it's handled. What I do find interesting is that whenever rape is depicted, many people offer reasons for why they think that it is not only desirable but also necessary to include it, and of course with two shows in one week featuring rape people were quick to proffer the usual defenses."
warning:rape
On social media, "Mary Sue RPF" and consent: Bertha Chin (blog) - "For how do you begin to reconcile the work and the research with the realities when fans deliberately tweet what looks like real person fan fiction to the celebrities - not that there is anything wrong with that. But when the tweets are incessant, and the fan has inserted herself into the - at times, explicit - fantasy, something which Kristina Busse has suggested is a recurring mode of fannish narrative (2006, p. 256), it got me thinking about boundaries, consent, and social reciprocity."
topic:fanfic, topic:marysue, topic:twitter, topic:rpf
How Do We Talk About Strong Female Characters?: Liz Bourke (blog) - "And I'm starting to think that volition and equal significance are better ways to think about, and to talk about, women's narratives and storylines and presences in fiction. Not just women's, mind, but very often when we talk about agency and strength we are talking about women."
topic:femalecharacter
Why everyone should just read those spoilers anyway: Christina Vasilevski (blog) - "I like spoilers, goddammit. In fact, I actively seek them out. I'll go to wikis and click link after link into an endless rabbit hole. I'll go to pop culture sites and read episode recaps. I'll go to Tumblr and watch repeatable GIFs of important moments."
topic:spoilers
Finding the Right (White) Actor to Cast in that Non-White Role: Eddylhong (blog) - "It goes without saying that we already know how extremely problematic it is that these producers and studio execs are annoyed about the heightened awareness on "ethnic" casting."
topic:whitewashing, topic:race
Breaking Fanfiction's Unspoken Rules: Jenny Cee (blog) - "So it's past time that we all sit-down and examine if the unspoken rules we judge fanfiction by is still helping us or is now just holding our community back as a whole."
topic:fanfic
Television's Conversation with Masculinity: Rachel Catlett (blog) - "Masculinity is being explored and re-defined to fit a modern context, and TV is at the apex of this dialogue."
topic:television, topic:masculinity
Magical Mondays: Using Magic to Punish Female Sexuality: Lady Geek Girl (blog) - "I have noticed more than once how authors have used magic as a way to punish women when they have sex. Whether it's in fantasy or horror, more often than not, women are punished with curses or death for enjoying sex, and it's a trope that really needs to be put to rest."
topic:magic, topic:sex, topic:misogyny
Sexualized Saturdays: Powerful Women and the Men Who Love Them: Lady Saika (blog) - "Meanwhile, there are very few pairings in which the woman is the super-strong punchy one, and the man is just a regular dude with non-combat skills that's occasionally in awe of his lady's powers."
topic:femalecharacter, topic:superheroes
How to Get Your Fic Fix Quicker, or, Why 'Update Soon' Isn't Worth the Time it Takes You to Type: thegreatpumpkin(AO3) - "We've all been there: staring at a WIP that has everything we want out of a fic, wondering when, when there will be another chapter so we can get our fix. But maybe--just maybe--there are some tricks to speed it along."
topic:fanfic
Tropes of Love: Gender Roles in Romance Novels: Alex Townsend (blog) - "But there is something special to be said about bad romance novels: they illustrate gender roles better than any other form of media."
topic:fiction, topic:romance, topic:tropes
@TheMarySue Casually Smears Romance: Twitter and I Respond: Heidi Cullinan (blog) - "Today we'll unpack an article from The Mary Sue. "Tropes of Love: Gender Roles in Romance." Sounds like a wonderful topic. We need more discussion of romance, and gender roles, and tropes are the best! Let's go."
topic:fiction, topic:romance, topic:criticism
Emotional Shift: beccaelizabeth (DW) - "I'm reading a multi book series that keeps baffling me in its basic assumptions about human nature. Granted, some of the beings think they're not human, but since they can have kids with humans I'd say close enough."
topic:books, topic:writing, topic:worldbuilding
Fanworks and Irony: foxinthestars (DW) - "It seems like when I see transformative works that are acknowledged as "artistic" or similarly virtuous (not to mention legally legitimate), they always have this kind of hipster irony about them."
topic:fanfic, topic:fanart
Specific Fandoms
Adventure Time
Is Adventure Time Getting Too Reckless with Their Episodes?: MarchHareMoe (blog) - "I can't tell if the writers are genuinely trying to make a more developed world with complex characters, or if they're just twisting the story into whatever they desire. By the end of this season, I questioned whether this show meant to use depression as a joke, and how much of an element of horror they were willing (or were allowed) to use."
fandom:adventuretime
Aliens
The dead dads and twisted moms of Aliens: Tasha Robinson (blog) - "This is the world James Cameron inherited when he wrote and directed the 1986 sequel Aliens: a gender-swapped world where men have horrible babies (the android Ash even quietly refers to Kane's emerged parasite as his "son") and women are creatures of implacable logic and sudden violence."
fandom:alien
Amadeus
Amadeus: Killing Mozart: aelarsen (blog) - "So the film is somewhat coy about exactly what Salieri might have done to orchestrate Mozart's death. So what really happened to Mozart?"
fandom:amadeus, topic:history
Amadeus: Strange but True: aelarsen (blog) - "It seems so implausible that it has to have been invented by Peter Shaffer, the playwright whose play formed the basis for the script.
And yet, it's almost true."
fandom:amadeus, topic:history
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Legacy and Endings: be-compromised (LJ) - Discussion of legacy and ending in The Avengers: Age of Ultron.
fandom:mcu
Babylon 5
B5 Rewatch: Infection: jedi-of-urth(LJ) - Discussion and analysis of the episode in question.
fandom:babylon5
Batman
Ep. 59: "Blind as a Bat": The Arkham Sessions (podcast) - "In this episode of The Arkham Sessions, we discuss Batman's inflexible personality, his insistence on working "impaired," and his ability to work with the new deficit of blindness."
fandom:dcanimated
The Complicated Legacy of Batman Begins: David Sims (blog) - "Ten years after Christopher Nolan reinvented the superhero movie, studios are trying to emulate its darker mood without seizing on what really makes it special."
fandom:dccu
The Black Swan
Black Swan and The Art of Self-Destruction: Britt Hayes (blog) - "Darren Aronofsky's transcendent film explores the art of killing yourself to live."
fandom:theblackswan
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Spike and the Vegeta Effect: goodmorningsunnydale (tumblr) - "Fiction is wish fulfillment, and the Vegeta Effect has some pretty powerful wish fulfillment. Because if an evil bastard can gain a soul, be forgiven, and learn to love, then there's hope for us all."
fandom:btvs
Thoughts on Spike and Joyce's relationship: buffyboeyn (tumblr) - "It's almost blasphemy in this fandom to try to sully this relationship, but Spike clearly "cared" more about Joyce than she did him."
fandom:btvs
Fanon Element: The Orgasmic Vampire Bite (NC-17): feliciacraft(LJ) - "Discussion of the trope of the orgasmic vampire bite in BTVS canon and fanfiction."
fandom:btvs
By the Sword
Heralds of Valdemar Reread: By the Sword, Skybolts: Ellen Cheeseman-Meyer (blog) - Summary, discussion and analyis of the section in question.
fandom:valdemar
Chronicles of Narnia
Narnia: His Name Was Golg: Ana Mardoll (blog) - Deconstruction of chapter 14 of The Silver Chair.
fandom:chroniclesofnarnia, topic:deconstruction
Cosmere
Words of Radiance Reread: Chapter 42: Alice Arneson (blog) - Summary, discussion analysis of the chapter in question.
fandom:cosmere
Daredevil
Non-spoilery things I like about Daredevil: laporcupina(tumblr) - Analysis of the character of Matt Murdock.
fandom:daredevil
DC Comics
Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy Kissing in a Tree: Steve Morris (blog) - "A few days ago DC casually outed two characters that everybody had always thought were a couple, even if it had never been actually stated on-panel anywhere."
fandom:dccomics, topic:lgbt, topic:relationships
Deep Impact
A Scientist Responds… To Deep Impact: Mika McKinnon and Ria Misra (blog) - "Deep Impact actually features something close to a realistic look at how our society might face a major impact event - although in our world, it'd probably be much, much worse."
fandom:deepimpact, topic:science
Dragon Prince
Rereading Melanie Rawn: Sunrunner's Fire, Chapters 23 and 24: Judith Tarr (blog) - Summary, discussion and analysis of the chapters in question.
fandom:dragonprince
Empire Trilogy
Rereading the Empire Trilogy: Mistress of the Empire, Part 14: Tansy Rayner Roberts (blog) - Summary, discussion and analysis of the section in question.
fandom:empiretrilogy
First Law Trilogy
Rereading Joe Abercrombie's First Law Trilogy, Last Argument of Kings: "Authority" and "The Circle": Justin Landon (blog) - Summary, discussion and analysis of the chapters in question.
fandom:firstlawtrilogy
Game of Thrones
Race for the Iron Throne: Steven Attewell (blog) - Rather than linking to each article at this site, we're linking to the site in general. It only posts articles related to Game of Thrones.
fandom:gameofthrones
Tower of the Hand: Various (blog) - Rather than linking to each article at this site, we're linking to the site in general. It only posts articles related to Game of Thrones and A Song of Ice and Fire. This week, it skews toward more articles about Game of Thrones.
fandom:gameofthrones, fandom:asoiaf
Game of Thrones Discussion, S5, E9: Love and Sacrifice: Laura Fletcher, Corrin Bennett-Kill, Cheryl Collins (blog) - "Take a deep breath and join us for a discussion of "The Dance of Dragons" with three fans with different perspectives: Laura Fletcher, a casual fan of the television and book series; Corrin Bennett-Kill, a dedicated fan of the book and TV series (she has read all the books four times!); and Cheryl Collins, who does not read."
fandom:gameothrones, warning:spoilers
Mother's Mercy: Philip Sandifer (blog) - "More broadly, taking "cliffhanger" in the sense of talking about where all the characters are, it's almost jarring to end up so close to the state of play in the books after a season that has felt this defined by its departures."
fandom:gameofthrones, warning:spoilers
A Brief Treatise on the Rules of Thrones 2.04: Garden of Bones: Philip Sandifer (blog) - "Three episodes of buildup based around the magical scraping at the edges of the world pay off in several regards. This is signified straightforwardly by the episode's structure, which both opens and closes with forces within the War of Five Kings being attacked by amazing and uncanny things."
fandom:gameofthrones
Return to Westeros: "Mother's Mercy" Review: MadameAce (blog) - ""Mother's Mercy" was by no means this season's worst episode, and I even found myself partially invested in it. Hell, there were a few things about it that I actually liked."
fandom:gameofthrones, warning:spoilers
Welcome to Being Done With A Game of Thrones: Chris Lough (blog) - "Unfortunately, the nature of this common ground is bleak and TV viewers are left wondering, just as book readers were after the 2011 publication of A Dance With Dragons, if there's anything more to this series than repetitive brutality."
fandom:gameofthrones, fandom:asoiaf
Gaslight
The Terrifying Legacy of Gaslight: Andrew Todd (blog) - "A film noir in the true, thematic sense, Gaslight is all about insidious psychological games."
fandom:gaslight
H.P. Lovecraft
The Lovecraft Reread: If We Knew What We Were… - "Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family": Ruthanna Emrys and Anne M. Pillsworth (blog) - Summary, discussion and analysis of the story in question.
fandom:lovecraft
Hannibal
Hannibal Review: 3.02 "Primavera": Meredith Borders (blog) - "In both "Antipasto" and "Primavera," Hannibal takes a tip-toeing approach back into its procedural roots."
fandom:hannibal, warning:spoilers
Harry Potter
An Open Letter to J.K. Rowling about the American Wizarding School in Fantastic Beasts: Dr Adrienne Keene (blog) - "The problem, Jo (can I call you Jo? I hope so), is that we as Indigenous peoples are constantly situated as fantasy creatures."
fandom:harrypotter
The Harry Potter Reread: The Order of the Phoenix, Chapters 17 and 18: Emily Asher-Perrin (blog) - Summary, discussion and analysis of the chapters in question.
fandom:harrypotter
iZombie
iZombie and Playing with Identities: Sparky (blog) - "The problem with all of these depictions is how utterly shallowly they were treated. After all, Liv is trying on this identity for the space of a few days and the scope of a single episode, which has to be conveyed to us quickly and heavily to show a distinct personality change. The easiest and laziest way to do this is through blatant stereotyping…"
fandom:izombie
Jacob's Ladder
Purgatory and PTSD In Jacob's Ladder: Meredith Borders (blog) - "Adrian Lyne's film meets madness, death, grief and trauma in one nightmarish symphony."
fandom:jacobsladder
James Bond
Bond Girl: Re-Watching and Re-Evaluating The Spy Who Loved Me: Zina Hutton (blog) - "The Spy Who Loved Me is the tenth film in Eon Production's James Bond series and Roger Moore's third film in the franchise. The only thing it has in common with Fleming's original novel is the title and perhaps a few henchmen made larger than life for the film."
fandom:jamesbond
Joss Whedon
Joss Whedon Roundtable Index: The Hooded Utilitarian (blog) - Index to The Hooded Utilitarian's current series of articles analyzing the work of Joss Whedon.
fandom:josswhedon
Jupiter Ascending
Jupiter Ascending: The Matrix Regendered: Foz Meadows (blog) - "Specifically: while I've seen a great deal said about the absolute comic insanity of JA's wordlbuilding - bees that recognise royalty! flying space werewolves! floating sofas! - nowhere have I seen it pointed out that actually, Jupiter Ascending is basically an equally batshit redo of The Matrix."
fandom:jupiterascending
Jurassic Park
Jurassic World Explained - Analysis, Science, Easter Eggs, Sequels & More: Insightful Panda (blog) - "The kids journey to the park, Claire and her dealings in corporate and Owen's raptor training all represent the deeper viewpoints of Dinosaurs as Wonders, Dinosaurs as Products and Dinosaurs as Animals."
fandom:jurassicpark, warning:spoilers
The Strangely Cruel and Unusual Death in Jurassic World: Devin Faraci (blog) - "Why does [redacted] have to die so horribly in JURASSIC WORLD?"
fandom:jurassicpark, warning:spoilers, topic:death
Jurassic World Review: The Park Should Have Stayed Closed: Devin Faraci (blog) - "Jurassic World is a movie that is kind of disgusted with its own existence, a blockbuster reboot that finds the whole concept of blockbuster reboots distasteful."
fandom:jurassicpark, warning:spoilers
Episode 363: Velociraptor, You're a Loose Cannon But You're a Damn Good Cop: Overthinking It (podcast) - "Peter Fenzel, Mark Lee, and Matthew Wrather join special guest Diona Reasonover to discuss Jurassic World starring Chris Pratt, and dinosaurs in general."
fandom:jurassicpark, warning:spoilers
Jurassic World and the genetically modified blockbuster: Scott Tobias (blog) - "In other words, Jurassic World is part sequel, part reboot, and Trevorrow and company have no interest in reconciling the inherent contradictions."
fandom:jurassicpark, warning:spoilers
Movie Review: Jurassic World: Smart Bitches, Trashy Books (blog) - The bloggers discuss the movie. They loved the dinosaurs and hated the people.
fandom:jurassicpark, warning:spoilers
Imagining a better alternate universe in which James Cameron made Jurassic Park: Mike D'Angelo (blog) - "Nobody had yet pronounced Spielberg to be past his prime, but my friends and I were much more stoked about the prospect of a hypothetical Jurassic Park from the director of The Terminator and Aliens."
fandom:jurassicpark
Jurassic World's Mother of a Problem: Lesley Coffin (blog) - "Well, the movie's out and, unfortunately, it seems the scene isn't what we were promised by the film's director - and the movie does feel sexist. A lot more sexist than I expected."
fandom:jurassicpark, topic:femalecharacter, warning:spoilers
Jurassic Park science review: Phil Plait on how Spielberg's dinosaur blockbuster is wrong: Phil Plait (video) - "In the video above, Bad Astronomer Phil Plait digs into Steven Spielberg's very entertaining but very wrong movie, just in time for the likely even wronger Jurassic World, due out this weekend."
fandom:jurassicpark, topic:science
Jurassic World's Use of High Heels Is Better Than You Think: Kenzie Bryant, Susana Polo (blog) - "We turned to Susana Polo, the entertainment editor of Racked sister site Polygon, to break down why she thinks running in heels is a more graceful costuming decision than critics give Jurassic World credit for."
fandom:jurassicpark, warning:spoilers, topic:costumes
Kingsman
Kingsman vs Heteronormativity: Foz Meadows (blog) - "Kingsman takes all of Bond's hallowed trappings - the spy gadgets, the sharp suits, the suave badassery - and explicitly removes both the misogyny and the classism that traditionally underpins them. Being a Kingsman, or gentleman spy, as explained by veteran Harry Hart to protégé Eggsy Unwin, isn't about having the right accent or upbringing, but "being comfortable in your own skin" - the exact opposite of Bond's womanising, macho façade and aristocratic heritage."
fandom:kingsman
London Road
London Road: a deadly serious song and dance round the houses: Alex von Tunzelmann (blog) - "Rufus Norris's adaptation of the National Theatre musical, about the murders of five prostitutes in Ipswich in 2006, offers a unique, disturbing take on tragedy."
fandom:londonroad, topic:history
Mad Max
Oh, My Pop Culture Religion: The Faith of Fury Road: stinekey (blog) - "In this case, I was pleasantly surprised at the complexity of the film's use of religion. It shows us how the power of faith can be used both to inspire the best in humanity and to utterly destroy it."
fandom:madmax, topic:religion
Filmmaking Intent v. Film Theory: superhumandisasters (Tumblr) - "Even if you're a lay person, reading/watching all the behind the scenes, something that comes up is George Miller spends so much time playing with framerate and zoom and color to make sure the audience can always focus what's going on-
And yet never focuses our attention on women's bodies in a way that's not directly tied in with storytelling (Angharad's belly, the chastity belt, Valkyrie being used as bait)."
fandom:madmax, topic:movies
Madoka Magica
Psychopathy, Feminism, and Narrative Agency in Madoka Magica: Kyubey's Story: Rachael Verret (blog) - "On the feminist side of things (yes), Kyubey is an agent to systems that are specifically designed to remove control from young women. He takes the "power" of these women, both physically and mentally, into his own control and has no qualms about disposing them for his own needs when they become useless to him."
fandom:madokamagica
Malazan
Malazan Reread of the Fallen: Blood Follows, Part Two: Amanda Rutter and Bill Capossere (blog) - Summary, discussion and analysis of the section in question.
fandom:malazan
Marvel Cinematic Universe
Dear Marvel Cinematic Universe Writers: Black Widow Is Not Buffy: Alice Meichi Li (blog) - "I'm not here to curse him out or wish him death as others have, but to get to the root of how Whedon's dependance on his familiar Strong-Female archetype - and one that may not even be that strong - actually weakened Natasha Romanoff's character arc."
fandom:mcu, topic:femalecharacter
Once Upon a Time
Jenny's Rants: WTF Once Upon a Time?!!: Jenny Cee (podcast) - "A special audio version of Jenny's Rants, where I ramble about Once Upon A Time's fuckery in season 1 and 2 (I'm still watching season 3), and where I basically let's loose all types of angry tangents about the lack of GLBT diversity, the ridiculousness over Regina's storyline so far, and the huge big fucked up dysfunctional family tree."
fandom:onceuponatime
Orphan Black
Victims and Villains: The Women of Orphan Black: Foz Meadows (blog) - "No; it's the underlying tension of nature versus nurture: the idea that people-that women-don't just contain a single, pre-determined version of themselves, but endless possibilities."
fandom:orphanblack
Orphan Black Science Recap: "Ruthless in Purpose, and Insidious in Method": Casey Griffin and Nina Nesseth (blog) - "Welcome to our Orphan Black science recaps, where Casey, a graduate student in genetics and developmental biology, and Nina, a professional science communicator, examine the science in each episode of OB and talk you through it in (mostly) easy-to-digest terms."
fandom:orphanblack, topic:science, warning:spoilers
Orphan Black: "Insolvent Phantom of Tomorrow" Review: Lady Saika (blog) - "One thing this episode definitely had going for it was that, unlike a lot of this season, the clone's storylines actually intersected in an interesting way."
fandom:orphanblack, warning:spoilers
Sense8
Sense8 and the Failure of Global Imagination: Claire Light (blog) - "To put it plainly: Sense8's depiction of life in non-western countries is built out of stereotypes, and of life in non-American western countries is suffused with tourist-board clichés."
fandom:sense8, warning:spoilers
A Song of Ice and Fire
Tower of the Hand: Various (blog) - Rather than linking to each article at this site, we're linking to the site in general. It only posts articles related to Game of Thrones and A Song of Ice and Fire. This week, it skews toward more articles about Game of Thrones.
fandom:gameofthrones, fandom:asoiaf
A Read of Ice and Fire: A Dance With Dragons, Part 24: Leigh Butler (blog) - Summary, discussion and analysis of the section in question.
fandom:asoiaf
Star Wars
Always in Motion, the Saga Is: Paul Depaola (blog) - "As much as we want to claim ownership over Star Wars it doesn't belong to us. We have no right to tell the creator what to do with his art than we would to tell a painter what and how they should paint."
fandom:starwars, topic:canon
Untitled: dyingsighs (Tumblr) - "Can you and/or Pan explain the difference between the Living and the Unifying Force?"
fandom:starwars
Untitled: dyingsighs, kotorswtor (Tumblr) - "When I'm looking for interstitial Jedi culture things that the canon material doesn't address, primary-source stuff (or as primary as I can get without being able to speak Japanese) on samurai and some of the martial-minded sects of monks from that era is one of the first places I go."
fandom:starwars
Thor
Who's paying for all of this?! Thor: the Dark World Part 1: Christopher Chan (blog) - "This will be the first part of an analysis looking at whom the University of Greenwich ("the Claimant") may sue under the tort of negligence for loss suffered."
fandom:mcu, topic:law
Who's paying for all of this? Thor: the Dark World Part 2: Christopher Chan (blog) - "Here, we take a look at whether the Claimant may still be compensated for its loss by suing the employer of the film's protagonists, S.H.I.E.L.D., under the doctrine of vicarious liability."
fandom:mcu, topic:law
Two -Lane Blacktop
Episode 31: Two-Lane Blacktop: The Canon (podcast) - "This week's episode of The Canon features guest Noah Segan - whose movie The Redeemer was just plastered all over this site over the weekend - to discuss the merits of Two-Lane Blacktop, Monte Hellman's 1971 road race movie starring James Taylor, Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys and Warren Oates."
fandom:twolaneblacktop
Wheel of Time
The Wheel of Time Reread Redux: The Great Hunt, Part 4: Leigh Butler (blog) - Summary, discussion and analysis of the section in question.
fandom:wheeloftime