I Binged “This is Us”: Nobody Met on a Dating App

Hope the title wasn't a spoiler? Well, it shouldn't ruin anyone's enjoyment of the show if they were planning to watch it. I also won't discuss specific plot points with specific characters until the very end, where I'll give a warning. So, the majority of this is a general discussion, and having watched the show …

Godmothered: Surprisingly Anti-Amatonormative

I decided to watch a random Disney+ movie one night when I needed mindless entertainment and Godmothered looked like it would fit the bill. Starring Jillian Bell and Isla Fisher, and directed and written by folks I've never heard of, I expected it to be an entertaining, but ultimately forgettable hour and a half of …

The Invitation, Bluebeard Stories, and Meghan Markle

I found The Invitation to be a curious movie. I couldn't quite understand the intended message. From my asexual perspective, it could ostensibly be read as a cautionary tale about out-of-control sexual attraction – Evie meets a hot rich guy and is immediately drawn to him and he to her and giving into those feelings …

Bigotry in fantasy worlds don’t need to reflect the bigotry in ours

OK that was a hot take in response to reviews for the recent Pixar movie Elemental. No spoilers in this discussion. There is this criticism about how the movie doesn't do a good job using non-human characters for human race allegories. I'm going to pick on the review by Schaffrillas as an example, although Schaffrillas …

Modern Fantasy and “Wokewashing”

The meaning of the term "woke" has been warped from its original meaning (in African American vernacular) of being aware of racial prejudice and discrimination, to being used ironically (by the right wing) to performative progressiveness by individuals or institutions (see more on Wikipedia). A more appropriate term, I think, for this latter usage, is …

Disney and Pixar’s Lack (?!) of Imagination

How can I possibly accuse Disney and Pixar, animation studios known for their creativity, for their lack of imagination?! Dear Reader, I am absolutely not claiming I think Disney and Pixar are unimaginative. But I do have one gripe with these animation studios, which is what this post is about. This gripe of mine came …

One True Ace Pairing: Wreck-It Ralph

I'm revisiting my One True Ace/Aspec Pairing series after a long time with a pair I'm surprised I overlooked: Ralph and Vanellope. I was surprised how much I enjoyed the chemistry between these two characters. They had a great dynamic and a great relationship arc. This is very clearly a platonic pairing, and the reason …

Everyone’s asking if Joel made the right choice. But Joel didn’t make one choice. He made many.

Please be aware that this post contains major spoilers for The Last of Us show (and consequently, the first game). This post will also assume you have watched the show and jump straight into discussion without providing any context. When people are debating whether Joel made the right choice, they are talking about the moral …

The Trouble with Ace (and Aro) Representation

This is my submission to the February 2023 Carnival of Aces hosted by Mia on the topic "Representation in Fiction". I have not read too many novels with asexual representation, so my examples will draw mostly from film and TV. Can't Show; Must Tell Asexuality has been sometimes referred to as "the invisible orientation" and …

Hotel Transylvania: Surprisingly Conservative And Amatonormative

Spoiler Warning for Hotel Transylvania (2012). Note: This post was written in 2022 and edited and published in 2023 due to procrastination. Hotel Transylvania was one of those movies that I wanted to watch when it came out, but I never got around to it for a whole decade. Overall, I thought it was entertaining, …