For audiences to see themselves beyond every awkward misstep of their own teenage years, and instead be swept into an idealized adolescence is more than refreshing; it is needed.
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All articles filed in Essay
‘Ticked-Off Trannies with Knives’ (2010): Flipping the Script for Trans Women in Horror
Perfectly imperfect and wonderfully cheesy, Ticked-Off Trannies With Knives actively pushes back on the rarely questioned trope of trans women as murderers in a wildly entertaining way. The campy classic highlights the issues with the treatment of trans women on and off the silver screen while making trans women the vigilante heroes of the story in a fight against transphobic attackers.
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A Love Letter to the Superhero Genre: ‘Sky High’ (2005) 15 Years Later
Especially in times of stress, there’s comfort in the familiar—and in the current world of movies, there’s nothing more familiar than superheroes. Fifteen years later, although Sky High (2005) is unmistakably of a different era, the movie wears its age very well.
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Now That’s What I Call Kino #1 – The Illustrious Career of Olivia de Havilland
Welcome to Now That’s What I Call Kino, a column ready to take a deep dive into movie classics. These weekly features will take a look into a certain person or theme of classic movies. Hollywood lost a true icon last week when the late Olivia de Havilland died at the grand age of 104.…
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Netflix’s ‘The Politician’ (2020) and the Problems With Modern Democracy
The Voters is not only the story of mother and daughter, but of two starkly different generations in conversation, each trying to win the other over to their political point of view.
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‘Mulholland Drive’ (2001) and the Artifice of the American Dream
How David Lynch tricks the audience and dismantles the American Dream in Mulholland Drive.
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Framing the Unknown: The Mind-Bending Films of Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead
Framing is everything, especially in the world of cinema. Films are bound by how the camera frames people, actions, and relationships. Filmmakers take advantage of the restrictions of the frame to highlight specific details and omit our view of others. The separation drama What Maisie Knew (2012) is deeply rooted in the perspective of its…
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Jeepers! It’s Queer Censorship in Children’s Entertainment!
Everyone knows the drill when it comes to Scooby Doo mysteries: there’s an unnerving presence haunting a spooky house – maybe it’s taken the form of a sludge monster, or a deep sea diver, or a gh-gh-gh-GHOST. Either way, the eventual conclusion is usually the same, the Mystery Inc. gang catches the creature in an…
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“One is not born, but rather becomes, woman”: Identity and Performativity in Céline Sciamma’s ‘Water Lilies’ (2007)
Water Lilies paints a simple but effective picture of womanhood that is still rarely found in contemporary cinema.
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‘Sisters’ (1973) is a Reminder of Today’s Not-So-New Discussion
Liberation. Movement. Abolition. Accountability. These are just a few words circulating the atmosphere today. These words bring out a feeling, a feeling that breeds reflection and conversation in so many, including myself. They’ve been circulating the inner workings of my mind. Constantly. They were prevalent in my mind when I sat down to watch the 1973 film Sisters on HBOMAX, and I found those words plastered over every scene, warping every line spoken, and leaving me with that feeling for some reflective conversation.
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