Probably the least bloody scene in the whole episode.
Holy cow y’all, I was not prepared for the violence and uncomfortable moments in this episode. Are you strapped in? Good, let’s put a bucket of rats on your chest and get started. This is a particularly triggering episode (and recap), involving more physical and sexual violence than usual. Continue reading
Here’s a bit of trivia about yours truly: my Netflix queue is stocked with revenge and horror films. There’s nothing quite as cathartic at the end of a bad day like retreating into my room and watching a movie where people get eaten, hacked apart, or majorly damaged in some way, as an act of vengeance. When I ran a list of potential revenge horror movie reviews by Tanya, laughingly saying that I seem to have a subconscious preoccupation with the genre, she pointed out that maybe this is something I should explore.
I am definitely fixated on the revenge film as a genre, which is even more evident when I put together movie recommendation lists (solicited or not). It’s a very noticeable theme with me, and the category is usually dominated by films from South Korea. In my opinion, as an amateur film buff, revenge films from specific regions are pretty indicative of the underlying national psyche. Obviously, this isn’t an entirely original observation, that filmmakers are influenced by their environments and life experiences, but it’s just another aspect of these movies that for me seems worth exploring. Thus, I am embarking on a series of reviews to explore the themes and inspirations behind revenge films, and through writing these, I might uncover what motivates me as a viewer to keep watching these films.
In putting together the list of movies to review, I am going to keep a few parameters in mind to help narrow the focus.
First, I’m going to try and keep to movies with a certain “human touch.” I’m really into horror movies that involve the paranormal, and it’s a given that in the majority of supernatural movies, revenge is the motivating factor for the hauntings, etc. I’m going to to try and branch out beyond my genre preference and try to also look at some revenge movies that focus on the psychological motivations behind revenge – the base needs, desires, and emotions, without necessarily involving the supernatural.
Most of these movies are probably going to center around women, because I’m biased and women just dominate everything. Plus, there’s a lot to be discussed about the psychology of women and vengeance.
Speaking about the act of revenge itself, it should be a premeditated reaction, not some cosmic accident setting wrongs right.
When I say “Asian,” it’s not as a blanket term for all things Eastern; my “Asian” films are from South Korea, unless specified otherwise.
Revenge is a dish best served cold. Like octopus.
Have a title that I should absolutely add to this list? Let me know and I’ll see if it’s a viable option.
Coming up first for review: Arang, and the Confucian-Catholic dichotomy in this intense movie.
Are you guys ready for more tripods, red weed, and heat rays, and all that with a bad-ass lady journalist taking on the system and exposing the sins of the British Empire? The Great Game picks up another 30 years from where Scarlet Traces left off. Robert Autumn has faded into obscurity and insanity, and his discoveries have long since been covered up and forgotten. The war against the Martians has been taken to their home planet, in order to secure complete dominance for Queen and Country.
The Great Game follows photojournalist Charlotte Hemming, a woman whose name strikes fear in the hearts of government officials. Charlotte returns from a recent expose trip to find the BBC destroyed and a hit put out on herself and her boss. Her life is saved at the last minute by a mysterious old man with a missing an arm and a small dog for a companion. Robert Autumn, as he’s revealed, is there to give Charlotte the story of a lifetime, and so she embarks on a trip to Mars, uncovering the deepest secrets of the British Empire, as well as the Martians.
Naturally, I love that the heroine in The Great Game is a no-nonsense Indiana Jones type. Charlotte swears like a sailor and takes her whisky neat, while still being a Lady who manages it all with fabulous hair (and footwear appropriate for an adventuress). She responds to talk of conspiracy and foul play the way I would, by jumping head first into the fray and getting to the bottom of things, at all costs.
The Great Game presents a lot more character diversity and inclusivity. Charlotte’s boss and editor of The Interceptor, Bernie Goldman, is openly gay. Robert Autumn, despite missing an arm, is a key character in setting the events of this story in motion. Still, like the previous volume, and even on Mars, it’s just… white people forever. Still, I am again impressed by the story and art, and recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of War of the Worlds. I think even H.G. Wells himself would have enjoyed it.
Monster art by Chris McMahon
Corgi overload!
What’s on your radar this week? Tell us in the comments!
Check out our previous Geeking Out posts.
Last Saturday night, Geekquality’s San Francisco crew (Alice Marie, Rick G and I) went to Writers With Drinks, a monthly reading series hosted by Charlie Jane Anders (io9.com, author of Choir Boy). This isn’t your tempered event at a neighborhood library, but a boozy literary cabaret. Anders is a hilarious MC, spinning yarns of her own as she introduces each guest, and the authors span genres from sci-fi to poetry, erotica to memoirs. Writers with Drinks, proceeds from which benefit San Francisco’s Center for Sex and Culture, is now in its 11th year and has a dedicated audience, some of whom have missed few (if any) evenings.
We got to the Make-Out Room early enough (a good hour before curtain call) to snag a booth, and within half an hour the venue was filled with people. Charlie circled the crowd, asking people to move closer to the stage, as more and more people filed into the bar. The room was abuzz with excited (and tipsy) anticipation of the evening’s line up.
Photo of our lovely MC by the equally lovely Bonnie Burton (www.grrl.com)
The first to the stage was Sarah Kuhn, author of One Con Glory (currently being developed for the big screen). Kuhn’s excerpt was a hilarious anecdote of the main character losing her prized Glory Gilmore collectible figure to a poser ex-boyfriend. Next up was Malinda Lo, author of Ash and Huntress – which we previously gushed about here on the site – and the upcoming sci-fi novel Adaptation. Lo shared a chapter that perfectly captured the awkward, sexy moment of budding lust and affection between two San Francisco girls, Reese and Amber. Noted erotica author Rachel Kramer Bussel followed with “A Slap in the Face,” a short, steamy story about a bar alleyway encounter between two women (Amber and Jade), that starts with a slap (and ends with a need for some Handi Wipes).
After the break, Glen David Gold (Carter Beats the Devil) read an excerpt from his upcoming memoir. Set in in 1970’s San Francisco, we were introduced to Gold as a precocious, comic book-loving kid overwhelmed with “feelings of unreality” and adolescent ennui. The evening’s closing reading was courtesy of Amber Benson, a geekdom triple threat – she acts (Tara on Buffy: The Vampire Slayer), she writes (Ghosts of Albion; Calliope-Reaper Jones novels), she directs (Drones). Benson read a funny, oh-so-true bit about panelists and con goers, and the personality clashes and encounters that abound.
The thing that resonated the most about the evening (besides the fondness for the name Amber) was the feeling of community. An excited, intimate gathering of geeks and friends, everyone tossed back drinks, cheered and blushed together. The guests mingled with the audience, clearly appreciative of this community of lit nerds and geeks, as well as inspired by their own creative peers. It was a riotous good time, basically. Alice Marie and I also each picked up Sarah Kuhn’s book, so there’s sure to be a write up fairly soon.
The next Writers With Drinks takes place Saturday, May 12, with Barry Gifford and Greg Rucka on the roster. Check out the Writers With Drinks site for details and future updates.
UPDATE: Well, mass shaming on the Internet really DOES work sometimes! Matthew wrote an apology, which we are happy to see. You can still read our original criticism, as x-posted from our reaction on Tumblr, below. We’re happy to have contributed to better understanding between geeks.
(TW for misogynistic language, rape threats, mansplaining)
If you’re a fellow Tumblr user, you’ve probably seen this latest from The Oatmeal going around today:
I’ve loved the site in the past, but when I read this one, the only thing I could think was, “WTF? Excuse me?” The strip is steeped in oblivious male privilege and misogyny, and Matthew’s reply to the shitstorm, which he added to the Tumblr post, doesn’t really help things:
A lot of people seem grumpy about my latest comic about online gaming as a girl.
I wasn’t implying that girls suck at games. I was implying two things:
When girls play, often times no one takes them seriously.
If they screw up, often times the room is filled with lonely dudes who say things like “LOL that’s okay! Will you marry me?” If I screw up I get eviscerated.
In short: a terrible female gamer gets away with way more than a terrible male gamer (like me).
This came from my recent escapades playing Left4Dead online.
Again, I meant no ill toward lady gamers.-Matthew
Given the grandiose contact policy on The Oatmeal’s site, a catch-all for anyone who might be “grumpy” about the content, it doesn’t seem like there’s much interest in being open to an involved dialog. However, if for some reason you are reading this, Matthew, I want to remind you that you will NEVER know what it’s like to be a woman gamer. Let me try to explain this in terms you can understand.
In WHAT world is the above comic a reality? Female gamers get away with FAR less than male gamers. When you screw up a raid or bring the team down, you get called out on it. But on top of that, even when a woman is an excellent gamer, there’s still tons of hate. There are countless stories of women being subject to name-calling, threats of violence and rape, and horribly sexist declarations like “Get off the console and back into the kitchen!” from male gamers. They still get demands for nude photos and detailed descriptions of the sexual acts their male counterparts intend to force the women into. They get called “slut”, “whore”, “bitch”, “dyke”, and a whole slew of other terrible things. Check out Fat, Ugly or Slutty, a blog dedicated to women telling the tales of their experience in gaming, and then tell me that guys “go easier on women”.
The Oatmeal might be full of hits, but the big misses like the above comic make me angry enough never to read The Oatmeal again.
It’s a rarity to find a person who has watched Avatar: The Last Airbender and not fallen in love with the series. The show has been praised for its exceptional plot and character development, as well as its attention to detail with regard to the various environments and cultures that exist within the Avatar universe.
The series has a significant Asian influence, and the creators took care to get martial arts experts to make sure the cultural aspects were represented accurately. Consultants, cultural experts, and researchers should really be the standard for any creative endeavor which draws from a different culture. Avatar went above and beyond, however, with the thoughtful and subtle way the creators integrate borrowed cultural influences into the fictional universe, which hasn’t gone unnoticed by fans. There’s an entire Tumblr dedicated to the historical and cultural nods scattered throughout Avatar. The critical success and popularity of the series, particularly among people of color, speaks volumes for how grateful we are to see characters who look like us, acting in ways that are familiar and reflective of the subtle ways in which our experiences differ from white members of society.
Though animation unfortunately tends to be a lesser respected medium, often judged as being strictly for children, Avatar is sophisticated enough for adult viewers and has gained a large following. In fact, it would be fair to say that the show has transcended the realm of children’s programming and entered the arena of general media.
This makes it all the more exciting to see the new series from the creators of Avatar, Legend of Korra, whose main character is a young woman of color. In Korra, we see a confident, talented, and powerful woman. Her story takes place in a new setting of Republic City, an industrial and stylized design influenced by big East Asian cities like Hong Kong and Shanghai. Because the show comes from the same folks who took so much care with the original series, I trust that it will be a thoughtful and respectful portrayal of Asian history and culture. To know that the main character of a popular show is a person of color – a well-rounded, positively, and accurately depicted one at that – within an ensemble cast full of other people of color is kind of a big deal, because it’s a sad rarity in mainstream Western media.
These portrayals matter to us and we need more of them. It’s a common observation that one can tell a lot about a society by the its choices of entertainment. Ideally, our media would reflect the diverse cultural landscape of our times. It’s important to see characters with whom we can identify, in the TV shows and movies we consume; it affirms that we are valued and are accepted as members of society. In the case of A:TLA and Legend of Korra, it also affirms that the customs and mythology referenced in the show hold an important meaning, and are both interesting and entertaining enough to serve as the backdrop for an epic fantasy series. People of color want to be recognized! We want to see our stories reflected in the media, our histories and lives acknowledged and respected through multiple genres and narratives. A:TLA did it right, though its successes were slightly lost in the transition to film, due to the unfortunate trend of whitewashing. Based on the track record of the show’s creators, and the two episodes that were released a few weeks ago, I can only imagine that Legend of Korra will continue to exceed my expectations, and that Korra herself will come to be recognized as an exceptionally memorable and relatable heroine of color. That’s a good feeling.
You must not know 'bout me
This week in Westeros, there are new characters and plenty of new plans being set in motion. The plot thickens and the tension continues to build as the season advances and war looms. Continue reading
Scarlet Traces is Ian Edginton’s series that expands on H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds, and it’s the kind of story I wish would continue forever, because it’s just that badass.
The plot picks up ten years after the Martian invasion of Great Britain. The British were victorious, and in their victory inherited a great deal of Martian technology which has advanced them to be the No. 1 Worldwide Superpower. Things aren’t all tea and biscuits, however, as the mysterious disappearance of a young women sparks the curiosity of Major Robert Autumn, as well as his manservant Arthur Currie, whose niece is counted among the missing. What these men find is the gruesome truth behind all of the technology that has bolstered Britain’s place in the world.
There is a lot to love about Scarlet Traces: the steampunk setting, the references to other works (see if you can spot Tintin, Captain Haddock, and Snowy), and the fantastic imagining of how modern technology would look, had our sources come from beyond the stars. It’s fascinating to consider how people in the early 1900s would have approached space travel or automobiles. D’Israeli’s art style is perfect for this story, the boldness of it really reflecting the audacity of the British Empire in this timeline.
My one concern is that there is not a single person of color that I can remember seeing in the entire series. I mean, the British Isles have never been 100% lily white, yet diversity just was not reflected in this story at all. It really makes me wonder about people who are all about including aliens, but for some reason a person of color doesn’t even cross their mind.
At any rate, despite its shortcomings, I enjoyed this book greatly. As a huge fan of War of the Worlds, it’s great to see an interpretation of the aftermath that is well-written and thought out.
I've been in dozens of domestic & foreign movies AND acted on Broadway, and all you remember is me in my mom's wig
What’s on your radar this week? Tell us in the comments!
Check out our previous Geeking Out posts.
Hello friends of Geekquality! Tonight, at 7pm Pacific time, we’ll be gathering to record episode 4 of our podcast. The topic for this episode is to discuss costuming, from our favorite costume and armor designs in films, TV, games, comics, etc, to cosplay and issues cosplayers experience at conventions, to ongoing flaws in costume design across various geek media.
This is your opportunity to participate. Drop us a question or comment relating to our topic (or comments/questions of general nature relating to our project) in our Tumblr Ask box, comment here, or email info@geekquality.com. If you send your question in before 7pm Pacific time, we will pick a couple of questions or comments to respond to on the podcast.
Sorry for the last minute nature: We JUST thought up of this, and if it works out, this may end up being a regular feature of our recordings.
We’d love to hear from you!
Art by Afu Chan
I can’t quite recall how I stumbled onto the online comic Spera, but once I had, I was hooked. The original online comic is a collaboration between writer Josh Tierney and an impressive score of artists (too many to mention individually, but all delightful and talented, with a unique style). The story follows the adventure of two young princesses, Lono and Pira. The girls are forced to flee their warring kingdoms and decide to make their journey towards the city of Spera, accompanied by Yonder, a fire spirit. Their personalities are very different but both girls develop a tender, supportive friendship and learn something new about each other. Pira is a bit of a tomboy, dreaming of the adventurous life of treasure hunting and travel, while Lono is a bit more demure but book smart and open minded. Through their friendship, the girls are able to talk about their dreams and hopes, and in Lono’s case, she bravely overcomes her fears and blossoms on their journey.
Art by Christina Siravo
The writing and the plot of Spera remind me of the sort of fantasies I used to dream up as a kid, reading adventure and fairy tale books, imagining myself on a daring and magical journey. Lono and Pira occupy a world where they make the rules, an escapism many kids would welcome. They make new friends as they journey, and Yonder provides a level of protection and gruff affection: just enough guidance to make do. However, the girls have to learn and make up the rules as they go along, and they often face danger. The stories sometimes take a turn for the dark, while at other times several pages are devoted to dreams and conversations. Each segment is interpreted in unique ways: Angie Hoffmeister‘s dark and subtle water colors, Muura‘s whimsical touch, Kyla Vanderklugt‘s picture book style.
Art by Kyla Vanderklugt
After the initial collaboration that set the stage, Lono and Pira’s adventures continue in individual stories posted online fairly regularly. Earlier this year, Archaia Entertainment published Spera: Volume 1, a beautiful hard-cover book. Besides being a fun, enjoyable read, Spera also is an exciting example of collaborative fiction, where art and story serve as a constant back-and-forth influence. Recently, I caught up with Josh Tierney, the author, and we chatted about his background as a writer, his inspiration for the characters, and his future plans. Continue reading
I loved Daria growing up, which really isn’t that big of a surprise because who didn’t love Daria, right? At the time, the show was exactly what I needed to cope with middle school (and life in general). Daria was sarcastic, monotone, and aware of being too smart and self aware to deal with everyone around her: a familiar scenario I empathized with deeply. As I’ve been rewatching the show recently, reminded of how perfectly it captured how I felt as a kid and still feel to this day, I noticed that this time it’s not Daria and Jane who command my attention. Instead, I found myself focusing on a girl just as intelligent and snarky as Daria, but even more fringe and alternative than either could possibly fathom: Jodie Landon.
Look at her. Gaze upon the one person who is even more aware of the irony and hypocrisy of the world than Daria Morgendorffer. This is the one person who has even more right and insight to call everyone out on their shit. Meet Jodie Landon – popular girl, home coming queen, model student, and young woman of color.
I used to bask in the Daria comparisons. To be called “Daria” was considered an acknowledgment of your mental acumen, acerbic wit, and general allure as a disgruntled misanthrope. Now that I’m grown, I can’t help but think that however “Daria” I may be, the person I truly relate to is Jodie. In a sea of white faces, who couldn’t even begin to comprehend the term “privilege,” yet alone unpack it, she was the lone POC girl.
Daria is a feminist show with a feminist main character, with that teen angst telegraphed through sarcastic quips. Jodie isn’t really that different from Daria, except she’s black, more tolerant of her less-than-stellar classmates, and further out in the sidelines. Although it’s Jodie’s standing as one of the “cool kids” that makes her a secondary character, her marginalization is an accurate reminder of the real life standing WOC often have in feminist spaces. Continue reading
Balon Greyjoy is not impressed with your fancy outfit.
The second episode of Game of Thrones picks up right where the season premiere left off, following Arya as she tries to make her way discreetly back to Winterfell. Continue reading
There’s no doubt that The Simpsons remains popular due to the witty allusions to culture and history. Flavorwire has narrowed down all the numerous art history references to just 10 shining examples. (How they managed to stick to just 10 is beyond us.)
What’s on your radar this week? Tell us in the comments!
Check out our previous Geeking Out posts.
