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terramythos · 4 years

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TerraMythos' 2020 Reading Challenge - Book 22 of 26

Title: House of Leaves (2000)

Author: Mark Z. Danielewski

Genre/Tags: Horror, Fiction, Metafiction, Weird, First-Person, Third-Person, Unreliable Narrator

Rating: 6/10

Date Began: 7/28/2020

Date Finished: 8/09/2020

House of Leaves follows two narrative threads. One is the story of Johnny Truant, a burnout in his mid-twenties who finds a giant manuscript written by a deceased, blind hermit named Zampanò. The second is said manuscript -- The Navidson Record -- a pseudo-academic analysis of a found-footage horror film that doesn’t seem to exist. In it, Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Will Navidson moves into a suburban home in Virginia with his partner Karen and their two children. Navidson soon makes the uncomfortable discovery that his new house is bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. Over time he discovers more oddities -- a closet that wasn’t there before, and eventually a door that leads into an impossibly vast, dark series of rooms and hallways.

While Johnny grows more obsessed with the work, his life begins to take a turn for the worse, as told in the footnotes of The Navidson Record. At the same time, the mysteries of the impossible, sinister house on Ash Tree Lane continue to deepen.

To get a better idea try this: focus on these words, and whatever you do don’t let your eyes wander past the perimeter of this page. Now imagine just beyond your peripheral vision, maybe behind you, maybe to the side of you, maybe even in front of you, but right where you can’t see it, something is quietly closing in on you, so quiet in fact you can only hear it as silence. Find those pockets without sound. That’s where it is. Right at this moment. But don’t look. Keep your eyes here. Now take a deep breath. Go ahead and take an even deeper one. Only this time as you start to exhale try to imagine how fast it will happen, how hard it’s gonna hit you, how many times it will stab your jugular with its teeth or are they nails? don’t worry, that particular detail doesn’t matter, because before you have time to even process that you should be moving, you should be running, you should at the very least be flinging up your arms--you sure as hell should be getting rid of this book-- you won’t have time to even scream.

Don’t look.

I didn’t.

Of course I looked.

Some story spoilers under the cut.

Whoo boy do I feel torn on this one. House of Leaves contains some really intriguing ideas, and when it’s done right, it’s some of the best stuff out there. Unfortunately, there are also several questionable choices and narrative decisions that, for me, tarnish the overall experience. It’s certainly an interesting read, even if the whole is ultimately less than the sum of its parts.

First of all, I can see why people don’t like this book, or give up on it early (for me this was attempt number three). Despite an interesting concept and framing device, the first third or so of the book is pretty boring. Johnny is just not an interesting character. He does a lot of drugs and has a lot of (pretty unpleasant) sex and... that’s pretty much it, at least at the beginning. There’s occasional horror sections that are more interesting, where Johnny’s convinced he’s being hunted by something, but they’re few and far between. Meanwhile, the story in The Navidson Record seems content to focus on the relationship issues between two affluent suburbanites rather than the much more interesting, physically impossible house they live in. The early “exploration” sections are a little bit better, but overall I feel the opening act neglects the interesting premise.

However, unlike many, I love the gimmick. The academic presentation of the Navidson story is replete with extensive (fake) footnotes,and there’s tons of self-indulgent rambling in both stories. I personally find it hilarious; it’s an intentionally dense parody of modern academic writing. Readers will note early that the typographical format is nonstandard, with the multiple concurrent stories denoted by different typefaces, certain words in color, footnotes within footnotes, etc. House of Leaves eventually goes off the chain with this concept, gracing us with pages that look like (minor spoilers) this or this. This leads into the best part of this book, namely...

Its visual presentation! House of Leaves excels in conveying story and feeling through formatting decisions. The first picture I linked is one of many like it in a chapter about labyrinths. And reading it feels like navigating a labyrinth! It features a key “story”, but also daunting, multi-page lists of irrelevant names, buildings, architectural terms, etc. There are footnotes that don’t exist, then footnote citations that don’t seem to exist until one finds them later in the chapter. All this while physically turning the book or even grabbing a mirror to read certain passages. In short, it feels like navigating the twists, turns, and dead ends of a labyrinth. And that’s just one example -- other chapters utilize placement of the text to show where a character is in relation to others, what kind of things are happening around them, and so on. One chapter near the end features a square of text that gets progressively smaller as one turns the pages, which mirrors the claustrophobic feel of the narrative events. This is the coolest shit to me; I adore when a work utilizes its format to convey certain story elements. I usually see this in poetry and video games, but this is the first time I’ve seen it done so well in long-form fiction. City of Saints and Madmen and Shriek: An Afterword by Jeff VanderMeer, both of which I reviewed earlier this year, do something similar, and are clearly inspired by House of Leaves in more ways than one.

And yes, the story does get a little better, though it never wows me. The central horror story is not overtly scary, but eeriness suffices, and I have a soft spot for architectural horror. Even Johnny and the Navidsons become more interesting characters over time. For example, I find Karen pretty annoying and generic for most of the book, but her development in later chapters makes her much more interesting. While I question the practical need for Johnny’s frame story, it does become more engaging as he descends into paranoia and madness.

So why the relatively low rating? Well... as I alluded to earlier, there’s some questionable stuff in House of Leaves that leaves (...hah?) a bad taste in my mouth. The first is a heavy focus on sexual violence against women. I did some extensive thinking on this throughout my read, but I just cannot find a valid reason for it. The subject feels thrown in for pure shock value, and especially from a male author, it seems tacky and voyeuristic. If it came up once or twice I’d probably be able to stomach this more easily, but it’s persistent throughout the story, and doesn’t contribute anything to the plot or horror (not that that would really make it better). I’m not saying books can’t have that content, but it’s just not explored in any meaningful way, and it feels cheap and shitty to throw it in something that traumatizing just to shock the audience. It’s like a bad jump scare but worse on every level. There’s even a part near the end written in code, which I took the time to decode, only to discover it’s yet another example of this. Like, really, dude?

Second, this book’s portrayal of mental illness is not great. (major spoilers for Johnny’s arc.) One of the main things about Johnny’s story is he’s an unreliable narrator. From the outset, Johnny has occasional passages that can either be interpreted as genuine horror, or delusional breaks from reality. Reality vs unreality is a core theme throughout both stories. Is The Navidson Record real despite all evidence to the contrary? Is it real as in “is the film an actual thing” or “the events of the film are an actual thing”? and so on and so forth. Johnny’s sections mirror this; he’ll describe certain events, then later state they didn’t happen, contradict himself, or even describe a traumatic event through a made-up story. Eventually, the reader figures out parts of Johnny’s actual backstory, namely that when he was a small child, his mother was institutionalized for violent schizophrenia. Perhaps you can see where this is going...

Schizophrenia-as-horror is ridiculously overdone. But it also demonizes mental illness, and schizophrenia in particular, in a way that is actively harmful. Don’t misunderstand me, horror can be a great way to explore mental illness, but when it’s done wrong? Woof. Unfortunately House of Leaves doesn’t do it justice. While it avoids some cliches, it equates the horror elements of Johnny’s story to the emergence of his latent schizophrenia. This isn’t outwardly stated, and there are multiple interpretations of most of the story, but in lieu of solid and provable horror, it’s the most reasonable and consistent explanation. There’s also an emphasis on violent outbursts related to schizophrenia, which just isn’t an accurate portrayal of the condition.

To Danielewski’s credit, it’s not entirely black and white. We do see how Johnny’s descent into paranoia negatively affects his life and interpersonal relationships. There’s a bonus section where we see all the letters Johnny’s mother wrote him while in the mental hospital, and we can see her love and compassion for him in parallel to the mental illness. But the experimental typographical style returns here to depict just how “scary” schizophrenia is, and that comes off as tacky to me. I think this is probably an example of a piece of media not aging well (after all, this book just turned 20), and there’s been a definite move away from this kind of thing in horror, but that doesn’t change the impression it leaves. For a book as supposedly original/groundbreaking as this, defaulting to standard bad horror tropes is disappointing. And using “it was schizophrenia all along” to explain the horror elements in Johnny’s story feels like a cop-out. I wish there was more mystery here, or alternate interpretations that actually make sense.

Overall The Navidson Record part of the story feels more satisfying. I actually like that there isn’t a direct explanation for everything that happens. It feels like a more genuine horror story, regardless of whether you interpret it as a work of fiction within the story or not. There’s evidence for both. Part of me wishes the book had ended when this story ends (it doesn’t), or that the framing device with Johnny was absent, or something along those lines. Oh well-- this is the story we got, for better or worse.

I don’t regret reading House of Leaves, and it’s certainly impressive for a debut novel. If you’re looking for a horror-flavored work of metafiction, it’s a valid place to start. I think the experimental style is a genuine treat to read, and perhaps the negative aspects won’t hit you as hard as they did to me. But I can definitely see why this book is controversial.

#taylor reads #2020 reading challenge #6/10

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incarnateirony · 5 years

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Hey dude! Do you have any recommendations for LGBTQ+ movies in the romance genre that have like a happy ending. I really don't care how old they are. I'm feeling the Gay™ hence I need the Gay™. You feel me?

HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII NONNIE

First sorry for taking so long, not only did I have to timeline this :) but :) my computer :) froze :) after writing like :) 2 pages :) and I had to do it again :)

So anyway let it be said, the LGBT dialogue is one of osmosis and shared growth and awareness. Some of these films will be very poorly dated, but as you (thankfully) mentioned that them being old wasn’t a *problem*, expect a lot of old stuff. Because one of the most important things to have under your belt when talking about the LGBT media representation battle is the actual journey from A to B – be that incrementalization, subtextual inclusion, text-breeching features, outright evocative and groundbreaking films at the time (which is what MOST of this list will be) and an improvement in our dialogue; let us never forget that while tr*nss*xual is considered a slur and transgender is proper, tr*nss*xual was at one point the politically correct way to speak it – things like that breach in our growing understanding of the spectrum of human sexuality.

I *WILL* disclaimer these aren’t all romance, so if you explicitly want romance, google them and take a look if it sounds to appeal, but I’m taking this as a general cinema history plug considering what a confused mess fandom conversation about LGBT history in film or modern text as applicable, accepted or not.

Wonder Bar (1936) (I wouldn’t really call this queer cinema, but if you have the time to watch it too, I think it was the first explicit mention of homosexual engagement even if it was fleetingly brief. You might even call it Last Call style. A blink and you’ll miss it plug that was still decades ahead of its time)

Sylvia Scarlet (1936) (Again, I wouldn’t call this queer cinema, but a lot of the community takes it as the first potential trans representation on TV due to the lead literally swapping gender presentation, even if the presentation is… not what we would modernly call representation IMO)

Un Chant d'Amour (1950) (Worth it for the sheer fact that it pissed off fundies so bad they took it all the way to the US supreme court to get it declared obscene.)

The Children’s Hour (1961) (also known as the 1961 lesson to “don’t be a gossipy, outting bitch”)

Victim (1961) (The first english film to use the word “homosexual” and to focus explicitly on gay sexuality. People might look on it disdainfully from modern lenses, but it really helped progress british understanding of homosexuality)

Scorpio Rising (1964) (Lmao this one deadass got taken to court when it pissed people off and California had to rule that it didn’t count as obscene bc it had social value, worth it for the history if nothing else)

Theorem (1968) (Because who doesn’t wanna watch a 60s flick about a bisexual angel, modern issues and associations be damned)

The Killing of Sister George (1968) (by the makers of What Ever Happened To Baby Jane)

Midnight Cowboy (1969) (…have I had sassy contagonists in RP make a Dean joke off of this more than once, maybe)

Fellini-Satyricon (1969) (AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA THIS)

The Boys in the Band (1970) (This… this… this made a lot of fuss. Just remember leather)

Pink Narcissus (1971) (a labor of love shot on someone’s personal camera)

Death in Venice (1971) (This is basically a T&S prequel but whatever, based on a much older book)

Cabaret (1972)

Pink Flamingos (1972) (SHIT’S WILD)

The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972) (The title doesn’t lie, be warned)

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) [god I hope you’ve at least seen this]

Fox and His Friends (1975) (some really hard lessons that are still viable today, that just because someone acknowledges your sexuality doesn’t mean they give a shit about you as a person, and that some will even abuse the knowledge for gain)

The Terence Davies Trilogy (1983) (REALLY interesting history look it up, it’s sort of one of those “drawn from own experience” story short sets)

The Times of Harvey Milk (1984) (Documentary)

Desert Hearts (1985) (Pretty much the first film to put lesbianism into a good light as a true focus based on a novel from the sixties)

Parting Glances (1986) (the only film its creator got out before his death from the aids epidemic)

Law of Desire (1987) (two men and a trans woman in a love triangle, kinda ahead of its time)

Maurice (1987) (This one’s really interesting, cuz it was based on a book made about 15 years before it, but the book itself had been written half a century earlier and wasn’t published until after the guy died, he just thought it’d never get published Cuz Gay, so basically it’s based on a story written in like, the 20s finally getting screen time. It has a bittersweet but positive-leaning-ish ending without disregarding the cost that can come with it and even addresses class issues at the same time 100% DO RECOMMEND)

Tongues Untied (1989) (a documentary to give voices to LGBT black men)

Longtime Companion (1990) (This one’s title alone is history, based on a NYT phrasing for how they talked about people’s partners dying, eg longtime companion, during the AIDS epidemic)

Paris Is Burning (1990) (Drag culture and related sexual and gender identity exploration as it intersected with class issues and other privileges explored in a documentary)

The Crying Game (1992)( I should correct this that I guess it’s more, 1992 considered, “SURPRISE, DIL HAS A DILL!” – I guess I really didn’t do that summary justice by modern language and dialogue as much as how people in the 90s were talking about that and that’s a my bad. LIKE. SEE, EVEN I CAN FUCK UP MY LANGUAGE I’M SORRY CAN I BLAME THE STRAIGHTS T_T) #90skidproblems – I guess I should call it a trans film. And this alone tells me I should go watch it again to recode it in my brain modernly rather than like circa de la 2000 understanding.

The Bird Cage (1996) (So you mix drag culture, otherwise heterosexually connected lovebirds, and then realize the girl comes from an alt-rightish house and the guy comes from a Two Dads Home and does cabaret, how to deal with the issues OF this conflict when it’s between you and your happiness, even if the fight isn’t even your own as much as it is that of the person you love. The answer is PROBABLY NOT to dress in drag and pretend to be straight, but what are you going to do? – while played for laughs we’d consider modernly crude, the fact that they even dared to approach this narrative was pretty loud)

The Celluloid Closet (1996) (Ever heard of the Vito Russo test for LGBT representation? This is based on a book by Vito Russo.)

Happy Together (1997) (Ain’t this shit an ironic name; a mutual narrative, via chinese flick, of hong kong ceding to china and an irrevocably tangled MLM pairing as a giant mirrored metaphor)

Boys Don’t Cry (1999) (one of the most groundbreaking films about trans identity at the time)

Stranger Inside (2001) (As easy as it is to recoil to the idea of “black gays in jail”, the film makers actually went and consulted prisoners and put a great deal of focus into intersectional african american issues that really weren’t around even in straight films at the time)

Transamerica (2005) (While it made a bit of a fuss for not casting an actual trans actor, it was one of the first times a big budget studio really tried to tackle it which really pushed us forward)

Call Me by Your Name (2017) (since I’ve apparently leaned really heavy old cinema throw in a modern one lmaooooo)

Also honorable The Kids Are All Right (2010) mention for the sake of the fucking title alone.

And to any incarnation of “On the Road” by Kerouac, which

Was originally a book

Released a sanitized de-gayed edition because of the times

Later released the full homo manuscript

had a few film adaptations

Was one of Kripke’s founding inspirations for Supernatural once he left behind “Some reporter guy chases stories” and took the formula of Sal and Dean (and tbh later, Carlo) in a beat generation vibe gone modern as we know it today.

Reading both versions of this can actually help some folks currently understand that when you get confused over some shit (WHY IS CARLO SO UPSET? WHY IS HE ACTING LIKE AN UPSET GIRLFRIEND??? WHY IS HE SO JEALOUS AND SAD WHEN DEAN IS AROUND GIRLS???? WE JUST DONT KNOWWWWWWWWWWWWW) it’s because some big money asshat bleached the content, and sometimes, it takes a while for the full script to come out and again, surprise, it’s been GAY, they just didn’t want to OFFEND anybody. *jazz hands*

Now if you wanna go WAY WAY BACK, during 191X years, a bunch of gender role flicks came out like Charley’s Aunt, Mabel’s Blunder and the Florida Enchantment.

Also where is @thecoffeebrain-blog to yell about the necessity of watching Oz, for the next few hours? But no, seriously, just look into the entire LGBT *HISTORY* of Oz.

Beyond that though I’m gonna stop here cuz hi that’s a lot. I really don’t know how much counts as “happy ending” but if I had to give an LGBT cinema rec list, that’s it as a sum. I don’t really have like, a big portfolio of UWU HAPPY ENDING GAYS because 1. there aren’t a lot of those but 2. to me, it’s not about the ending, it’s about the journey. Be that in flick or through culture and history itself.

If you want more happy ending stuff, you definitely have to look at 2010+, but it’s not like we’re in a rich and fertile landscape yet so honestly just googling that would probably serve you better since I don’t explicitly explore romance genre or happy endings to really have a collection. LGBT life is hard and film often reflects that if we’re making genuine statements about it and really representing it, and we’re just now getting to a point of reliably having the chance at a happy ending. That or maybe someone can add like “Explicit happy endings” lists after this that has more experience in that subgenre.

Also, I can’t emphasize ENOUGH to remember what was progressive then is not what is progressive now, and frankly, what some people think is progressive now they’ll probably look back on what they said and feel really fuckin’ embarrassed. See: “It’s not text because by alt right homophobic dialogue, M/M sex isn’t gay if you do the secret handshake” MGTOW kinda crazy ass dialogue or parallel narratives they inspire that encourage self-closeting and denial based on the pure idea that being gay makes you somehow lesser, so It’s Not That. Like. I am. 99% sure. At least half of the people talking in this fandom. Are going to regret that the internet is forever. And maybe hope hosting servers end in the inevitable nuclear war that will annihilate this planet.

Also, edit: Speaking of mistaken dialogues and words aging poorly, I’d like to apologize from the poor description I rendered “The Crying Game” with, but that really goes to show how deep-seated the issue is we can so casually fuck up identifying a trans narrative as SURPRISE DICK IS GAY when we were all absorbing the content like 20+ years ago and HOW HARD it can be to de-code yourself from that kind of programming because here I am, writing a giant assed rep post and fucking it up because my brain hadn’t soaked that movie since Y2K. Guess what, time for me to go watch the Crying Game again.

#lgbtqia #representation #media #cinema history

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josephvirgin495-blog · 5 years

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Is Pop Music Dangerous For Your Health?

Music actually began to separate into totally different classes through the Fashionable period (1910-2000). However Nashville hasn't all the time been welcoming toward pop and digital music. In the early 2000s, now-defunct document sellers Cat's Music made a killing off Drum Machines Have No Soul" bumper stickers, a rallying cry for Volvo-driving rockists across the Midstate. In 2008, when a very rowdy Woman Talk show at Cannery Ballroom ended with a busted stage and flooded workplaces under, the venue's house owners stepped away from booking non-rock gigs. We are a rock 'n' roll venue, and we're going to play rock 'n' roll reveals from right here on out," Todd Ohlhauser informed the since-folded local leisure weekly All the Rage at the time. In standard music principle right now, the prevailing query is, What is the ‘tonality' of standard music?" Tonality, capitol T, is a really particular phrase in music idea, applying only to a selected use of specific chords (specifically, that the V is the chord that factors back to tonic). But well-liked music would not at all times do that. And yet, the chord progressions should not the chaos of avant-garde or 20th century music - so if they are organized in some style, what is it? What rules govern standard music chord progressions? These kinds of statistics - perhaps on a yet grander scale - might begin to plumb the depths of those questions. It's tempting to confuse pop music with in style music. The New Grove Dictionary Of Music and Musicians, the musicologist's ultimate reference resource, identifies popular music as the music since industrialization in the 1800's that's most consistent with the tastes and pursuits of the city center class. This would include an extremely big selection of music from vaudeville and minstrel reveals to heavy steel. Pop music, on the other hand, has primarily come into utilization to describe music that advanced out of the rock 'n roll revolution of the mid-1950's and continues in a definable path to today. To check these ideas, we estimated four yearly measures of range ( determine four ). We found that although all four evolve, two—matter range and disparity—present the most hanging changes, each declining to a minimum round 1986, but then rebounding and increasing to a maximum in the early 2000s. Because neither of those measures monitor tune number, their dynamics can't be as a result of varying numbers of songs within the Hot one hundred; nor, because our sampling over 50 years is almost complete, can they be because of the over-representation of latest songs—the so-called pull of the current 34 As an alternative, their dynamics are resulting from changes within the frequencies of musical styles. To measure the typical sales numbers of music types we use a dataset that incorporates data on the Amazon SalesRank of music albums as of 2006 27 The Amazon SalesRank can be regarded as a ranking of all information by the time-span since an merchandise last offered 28 Albums in the Discogs dataset are assigned their Amazon SalesRank by matching album titles between the two datasets. Because the Amazon SalesRank dataset solely incorporates information on album titles, it was matched to entries within the Discogs dataset by selecting solely albums whose title appears only as soon as in each datasets.

In spite of everything, genuine causes for disgrace are riddled by way of pop historical past: American standard tradition has its deepest roots in slavery, the blackface minstrel show, ethnic vaudeville comedy, brothels and burlesque, non secular revival movements, rural poverty, urban segregation, mob-run clubs and labels, wheeler-seller rip-offs and plenty of different not-so-fairly chapters. Cultural theft, pandering, shock and other crass strikes are bound up with pop innovation and creativity. Be essential, however do not get on excessive horses, because only a few of our creative heroes may be disentangled from these dubious, generally tragic associations. Just a few weeks ago, Ted Gioia wrote a bit for The Each day Beast taking modern music criticism to job, specializing in his commentary that people who would have once written about a musician's sound and approach are actually targeted on the star's way of life and fame. Then, this past weekend, the New York Instances Journal featured an essay by Saul Austerlitz about poptimism, " deriding the trend of music critics agreeing too readily with the taste of thirteen-year-olds." In their own ways, both essays make the point that at the moment's pop is getting a cross. In that narrative, there existed a great-previous-days time when critics have been unswayed by the lure of pop. Immediately, they argue, quite a lot of elements — maybe a need to reclaim the concept of a mass tradition despite the fracturing influence of the Web; possibly the economics of getting the maximum variety of clicks on an article — have conspired to let pop off that hook. Not solely did 80s pop music outline who we were, but the music held the anthems of our day by day lives. We woke up to Manic Mondays" with the Bangles just to seek out ourselves hangin tough" with the New Youngsters On The Block by the point Wednesday or Thursday rolled around. By the top of the week, it was Friday, I'm in Love." When the weekend got here, Kylie had us doing the Locomotive" and Debbie Gibson taught us that youth was electrical. One of the best ways to revisit all click the next page good pop music of the 80s is to re-watch the music movies of your favourite songs. In spite of everything, MTV was a product of the early 80s - what better solution to enjoy the fashions, dance moves and musical stylings of the last decade's music? We have a giant assortment of our favorite 80s music in our video section: watch 80s music movies right here. If pop's sound is changing into blasé and in need of disruption, so is its subject material. Almost without fail, the songs that ruled 2017 ignored the 12 months's dominant social and political themes in favor of zoned-out lifestyle music. Pop has all the time served an escapist function, but it has additionally been one of many simpler supply strategies for significant content material. So at a time of utmost national turmoil, it was surprising not to hear a single protest music amongst 2017's biggest hits (although bless her coronary heart, at the least Katy Perry tried). Nor have been there any big singles addressing gun violence or the opioid disaster, unless you rely Put up Malone glamorizing drive-by shootings and popping pillies." Though pop stars aligned for numerous charity concerts in response to terrorism, hurricanes, and deadly racist demonstrations, the music itself principally sidestepped weighty matters. By the late Seventies, most major U.S. cities had thriving disco membership scenes, and DJs would combine dance information at golf equipment resembling Studio 54 in New York Metropolis, a venue well-liked amongst celebrities Discothèque-goers usually wore expensive, extravagant and sexy fashions. There was additionally a thriving drug subculture in the disco scene, particularly for medicine that will improve the expertise of dancing to the loud music and the flashing lights, akin to cocaine and Quaaludes , murielproby44.wikidot.com the latter being so frequent in disco subculture that they had been nicknamed "disco biscuits". Disco clubs have been additionally associated with promiscuity as a reflection of the sexual revolution of this period in well-liked historical past.

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jamiehueblog · 4 years

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Web design trends to watch out for in 2020

If you used Facebook or pretty much most other social media a decade or half a decade ago, you remember how flat and boring their designs were. Websites were made with more practicality and efficiency in mind, as opposed to a blend of aesthetical and smart design. And if we looked at them again, chances are, they won’t be particularly pleasant to look at.

Unless you’re new to the industry of web design, you want to get all the updates on the latest and greatest design, so that your work matches the modern standards we’ve all come to expect. Sure, not everything is about following trends, but when we’re talking about aesthetics, it’s easy to get lost in the large variety of styles that people use for their websites.

So, we decided to highlight a few web designs we think are going to be big this year, so you have some idea of what you’ll be working with, or perhaps are working with right now.

1. A Little Darkness Never Hurt

We’ve reached a point of technological convenience, where you can use your electronics pretty much anywhere, one of the most famous places to use it on the bed, especially at night.

You’re sitting there in the darkness staring at the screen and the last thing you want is to be blinded by all these bright vibrant colors that make your retinas melt in their sockets. Which is why so many social media websites as well as tons of browsers allow you to turn on “Dark Mode”.

This is as practical as it is stylish, but there are many people out there who choose to have Dark Mode on all the time, even when there’s light around. It’s just so much more soothing to the eyes and less piercing. Sure, you could just turn down the brightness, but this may just make things hard to see.

Tip: Dark mode works best with minimalistic design since the entire point of it is to make it easier for your eyes to see the screen. By using minimalist design, you’re also making it simple for your eyes to track different areas of the page, making it even more pleasant to navigate.

2. Keeping Things Simple

An old design turned on its head with some zany colors that pop out, minimalist design has made a giant comeback in recent years and has won over many web pages with its simplistic practicality. This is where they say “less is more”.

Minimalism can mean many things in design, from a simpler font, to overall structure of the web page. Also, avoid being too wordy, as most individuals need very quick and immediate information, as opposed to paragraphs of text. Also, utilizing images and descriptions as a minimalist form of labeling can make your web page more accessible to people who don’t speak the language.

The minimalist design is not only pleasant to the eyes and considered to be stylish, but it also exists to improve users’ attention span and allow them to take in more of the web page without getting tired. Many people lose focus when there’s too much movement on the screen, so a minimalist design allows for better visual flow through each individual page.

Tip: Minimalism is a great style to use for web pages designed to give quick bursts of information, like a Q&A or FAQ page.

3. Keeping Things Even More Simple

Nothing beats the simple bliss of a basic, yet effective black and white style. This is a classic and it’s very hard to get it wrong, since it’s pretty much everywhere; in most books you read, this Word document I’m writing in, most documents in fact.

Tip: Use several shades of grey with the black and white to give the overall design more depth.

4. Vibrant Colors, Vibrant Life

We love that glow. We love that shine. Combine it together and you get these beautiful, strong colors, which take the overall aesthetic to a whole new level.

One of the best parts of this style, is that it looks futuristic and almost cyberpunk, with a lot of great designs which resemble a high-tech atmosphere and environment.

Tip: Neon colors are very vibrant, but sometimes too vibrant. Combine them with more somber colors, so they don’t get too tiring.

5. Getting Back to the Roots

When we talk about design, we talk about its roots in the craft of hand-drawn designs and illustrations. You can take the concept of style and design back to its roots with hand-drawn elements.

They may be a little cartoonish and look sloppy (on purpose, of course) but for many people, this is a very organic style, as it fits perfectly with their project. It brings more humanity and a little bit of personality to web pages. Sure: saying something is full of “soul” is a bit kitsch nowadays, you can’t look at hand-drawn design without giving yourself a little smirk.

Tip: Make sure you don’t force this style on people. Oftentimes, it can be quite distracting to see hand-drawn designs in every single corner of your website and could possibly be tiring for the eyes to take it all in. Be a little more conservative with this style.

6. Clean and to the Point

Some things need to be direct and to the point. This is exactly why so many web pages use Bold typography. A good UX design needs to communicate its message as clearly as possible. Hence why this design exists. Some people don’t need complicated designs and patterns. They need something formal, to the point and direct.

And nothing says this more than a simple bold typographic style that gets right down to business. You may find it boring, but then that means it’s not a web page meant for you.

Tip: Large letters and big blocks are easy to work with when it comes to building a website for the desktop, but it may cause problems on smaller screens, like phones and tablets. Be careful with how you design it so it’s easy to translate onto a mobile browser.

7. A Whole New Dimension

3D web designs have taken a backseat to flatter and more plain minimalism, but by no means is 3D obsolete. When used in the right areas, 3D elements can create a more dynamic UX. 3D allows for greater detail in designs, is super engaging and can catch a user’s gaze for longer.

This mostly comes from the depth of the shapes and patterns that catches the interest of the user, as they are interested in experiencing your website from different angles and perspectives.

Tip: 3D overload can cause longer load times on your website. Make sure that the webpages are optimized enough to handle such a high load.

8. Key is in the Detail

Speaking of depth, you can have a 3D experience on your website without the heavy load of actual 3D design, by cleverly using shadows, layers, and other floating elements to give users the illusion of 3D.

Despite the fact that this kind of style is clearly not 3D and only a façade, users will still appreciate the attention to detail, the light playfulness, as well as the practicality that comes with this style.

Tip: Shaders, layers and floating objects can be hard to work with, since wrong placements can cause your web design to look more noobie than old-school. You’ll need to play around with different kinds of shadows and layers before making the final design.

9. Some Satisfying Motion

You can keep things to a minimal, or you can go nuts with your animations. While many web designers are deciding to let animations take a back seat to practicality and better web page load times, animation is still one a favorite tool for many UX developers and is a very versatile tool.

Let’s be honest: we all love to play around with the different animations on the web page and see the little details the developers hid around.

Long story short: we find happiness in the little places, and when they move around, then we’re even more happy.

Tip: Much like 3D, fully animated web pages can also be very performance intensive. Be careful that you don’t overcrowd your page with animations and then find that it takes several minutes for them to load.

10. Old School Turned New School

Gradients are super old fashioned, but also really heartwarming. If you’ve ever had the opportunity to use the late 90s to early 2000s internet, you remember how wholesome it was to see all those out of place gradients and weird color placement.

You can take that style, modernize it, and make it sleek and smart. Gradients are still a great tool in design, so don’t be afraid of them. They’re a great way to add more color and style to your pages.

Tip: Do not use them randomly. Consider very carefully how you use them, so that they don’t look out of place or cluttered.

11. Videos Make Things Easier

Sure a decade or two ago, putting videos on your website could’ve completely destroyed your websites’ performance, as they are so demanding. But nowadays, everyone has some very powerful devices, capable of opening web page videos very quickly and without any hiccups.

There is basically no reason not to use videos in your design unless you are specifically instructed not to, as they’re a great way to communicate information without lengthy paragraphs that very few visitors will bother to read.

Imagine if instead of all these written descriptions there were videos that narrated and demonstrated all these design tips… You know, that’s not a bad idea at all.

Tip: Videos can still be somewhat demanding, so be careful with their amount, length and quality. You still have a lot of room to work with, but don’t overdo it.

To sum up

2020 is a year of big design diversity. Not only are some old-school designs and styles making some pretty big comebacks, but recently developed ones are also holding their own in recent trends. This means picking one out of the lot won’t mean regretting it after a couple years, when that particular design goes out of style.

If you’re a UX developer, just think about these following design ideas and see which ones best fit your project:

Dark mode A Little Darkness Never Hurt

Minimalism Keeping Thing Simple

Black & white Keeping Things Even More Simple

Luminous color schemes Vibrant Colors, Vibrant Life

Hand-drawn elements Getting Back to the Roots

Bold typography Clean and to the Point

3D elements A Whole New Dimension

Shadows, layers, and floating elements Key is in the Detail

User-triggered animation Some Satisfying Motion

Multi-colored gradients Old School Turned New School

Videos or text-only heroes Videos Make Things Easier

It’s looking like a promising year, so keep your eyes open to catch any new style or design that crosses your path. You never know where good ideas come from, so always remember to look all around you.

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junker-town · 4 years

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‘Quarterback Princess’ is the best sports movie about a girl playing football

Tami Maida (played by Helen Hunt) faces off with a cheerleader in Quarterback Princess. | Quarterback Princess/20th Century Fox

It’s the best cinematic representation of what it’s like for a girl to play football.

She walks onto the field for football tryouts in a pink shirt, in case you somehow missed that she is a girl. After patiently waiting for the boys to go first, she finally lines up to take a snap — and throws a tight spiral straight to the receiver.

“Hey little girl, where’d you learn to throw the ball like that?” one of the boys asks.

“My mom,” she replies.

It’s one of a few pitch-perfect lines in Quarterback Princess, the 1983 made-for-TV movie based on the true story of Tami Maida, a 14-year-old girl who made national headlines in 1981 for playing quarterback in a tiny Oregon town. The movie is the first in what’s become a somewhat fruitful subgenre: the only girl on the football team. And, nearly 30 years later, it remains the best of its kind, showing the hurdles many girls still face today when they want to suit up as evenly as it does the triumphs they experience when they do.

Quarterback Princess/20th Century Fox

A shot of (probably) the real Maida as Helen Hunt’s stunt double in Quarterback Princess.

The movie began as an irresistible story, one producers clamored for rights to as it happened: teenage girl goes 7-1 at QB on an otherwise all-boys team and wins homecoming princess. Maida would eventually appear on Good Morning America, NFL Today and in the pages of National Geographic, but oppressive media attention began as soon as she shared her intention to try out for the team in Philomath, Oregon. “If anybody pushes me around, I’ll drop ��em,” she told papers at the time.

She wasn’t the first or last girl to play high school football, but her story drew disproportionate interest that was only amplified by the movie, which was released while she was still in high school. “I got a lot of mail over that year: fan mail, hate mail, scary mail,” says Tami Maida O’Meara, 53. Today, she’s a counselor at Selkirk College in British Columbia. “People viewed me as abnormal. Someone sent a picture of me saying I was an abnormal Amazon, and that there was something wrong with my head. Remember, I was 14 at the time. I was just like, ‘What the heck?’”

A 1981 clip about Maida from the Sun.

“What the heck?”, as it happens, is still most people’s reaction to seeing girls and women play football, if the way they’re covered — primarily as novelties — is any indication.

Yet popular culture isn’t entirely to blame for this disconnect. Gridiron-obsessed women and girls have featured prominently in some of football’s most iconic movies, notably via Little Giants’ Icebox who also embodied the only girl on the team cliché. Sports movie parodies of middling (1991’s Necessary Roughness) and terrible (2007’s The Comebacks) caliber have co-opted the soccer-player-turned-placekicker trajectory as a way to get both eye candy and, unfortunately, an easy visual gag on-screen. Representation is as representation does.

Odder, yet more compelling, examples come via kids’ TV. Bella and the Bulldogs, a sitcom that ran for two seasons on Nickelodeon in the mid-aughts, tells the story of a cheerleader who winds up as the quarterback of her middle school football team. The titular Bella faces a new, predictable battle-of-the-sexes quandary with each episode, but the show doesn’t force her to choose between playing football and being traditionally effeminate. That in itself is something of a victory for nuance, given how many sports movies and shows insist that only tomboys take the field.

Lindsay Lohan also took a crack at the girl QB role in the profoundly strange Disney TV movie Life-Size (2000). Lohan’s character, like most sports-playing girls and women of cinema, is the daughter of a single father; in this case, she wants nothing more than to bring her mom back to life. So she steals a magic book to, um, reanimate her dead mother, but accidentally brings to life a Barbie-esque doll (which of course she hates, because she likes sports) instead.

Life-Size/Walt Disney Television

Lindsay Lohan as a young quarterback in Life-Size.

Shenanigans ensue, though the preternaturally talented Lohan was still able to wring real emotion out of the movie’s patent absurdity. Similarly surprising is that though some clichés persist — the single father, the hair tumbling down from the helmet — neither sexism nor insufficient girliness is central to the movie’s plot. If anything, the doll character (played by Tyra Banks) becomes less overtly feminine over the course of the movie; Lohan’s Hail Mary, in a refreshing twist, winds up just short of the goalline.

But none of them comes closer to showing the reality of what it’s like to be a girl playing football than Quarterback Princess. Maida’s fight began when she and her family moved to Oregon from Prince George, British Columbia, so her father, a psychologist, could take a sabbatical. She had been playing in Canada with no issue, but when Maida said she wanted to try out for the Pilomath High School team, all hell broke loose.

The way her story is told in the movie is quite close, Maida O’Meara says, to how she was received in real life. From sexist comments to gratuitous late hits to inescapable press attention, the movie shows that girls trying to play football face hurdles on all sides. Nothing comes easily: parents conspire to get her off the team, other girls in school are suspicious of her — even finding a place to change and retrofitting her football pads to cover her chest are challenges that have to be overcome.

The exception, perhaps surprisingly to viewers, tends to be in the locker room itself. In Quarterback Princess the team accepts Maida (played by Helen Hunt) almost immediately, a part of the movie that was particularly true to life — all the way down to her close friendship with the team’s center, who gives her a few enormously endearing pep talks. “It didn’t matter how hard I was hit, how many times I was hit, the taunts that were tossed at me — I didn’t react to much,” Maida O’Meara says now. “I actually took pride in being able to get smashed and bashed and stand up and say, ‘Let’s go, next play.’ I think that made a big difference in terms of how I was able to connect with my teammates.”

Maida O’Meara, who was just 16 at the time, and her family served as consultants on the film. She was also Hunt’s stunt double: most of the time you see Hunt actually throwing passes or taking snaps, that’s Maida O’Meara. Her close involvement with the production helps account for its verisimilitude — some lines of dialogue even came directly from things she told the writers. But Hunt, she says, didn’t make much of an effort to get to know her, and as a result the character’s affect is somewhat more reserved than her own. “She wanted to play the role the way she wanted to play the role,” Maida O’Meara says.

Quarterback Princess/20th Century Fox

The team holds up Maida (Hunt) after a win in Quarterback Princess.

What Quarterback Princess explores considerably more thoughtfully than most of its equivalents is how wrapped up gender norms are in the decision to play football.

“Everyone acts like I’m from Mars, except the guys on the team,” Maida tells her mother at one point.

“You can have everything — the trouble is, the attitudes just haven’t kept up with the opportunities,” her mother responds, with a sentiment that’s unfortunately evergreen.

“That’s a heavy load to hand someone,” Maida responds, sighing.

Maida’s conversations with her on-screen love interest, Scott (in reality, Maida O’Meara clarifies, they did not wind up together), also show the tug-of-war that sometimes comes along with a decision that, for boys, is straightforward.

“How am I supposed to know what you’re like?” he asks her after a botched first date. “You’re so different from other girls.”

“I’m not, but I sure get treated that way by everybody,” she retorts. “The coach treats me different because I’m not a boy, you treat me different because I play football, they treat me different because they don’t know what I am. Well here’s the news: I’m a girl. Have you got that?”

In another scene with Scott, things get still murkier when he punches an opposing player who comes in with a late hit. “Look: When I’m not playing, I’m a girl, but when I’m playing ... I’m not a male exactly, but I’m not a girl either,” she pleads, insisting he let her stand up for herself.

“It’s kind of confusing, isn’t it,” is all he can muster.

Though Maida seemed to wind up having it all — on-field success and validation of her girlhood as a member of homecoming court — she’s acutely aware of what a tricky line it can still be to walk for young girls. “There’s always sort of two camps,” she says now. “One side that’s quite supportive and thinks, ‘That’s great, girls can play whatever they want,’ and then there’s the other side, which is much smaller in number, but where people don’t have a lot of nice things to say. You still have to have a certain mindset that allows you to take some flack and let it roll off your shoulders.”

Quarterback Princess/20th Century Fox

Maida (Hunt) gets the game ball as she wins homecoming princess in Quarterback Princess.

Maida O’Meara was hired as a motivational speaker for athletes of all stripes while she was still in high school, and says the lessons she learned playing football wound up shaping much of her life. “I continued to do the things that I was interested in doing, regardless of whether they sort of fit with a norm,” she says, alluding to her time as an officer in the Canadian Armed Forces.

She also stayed involved with football, coaching with youth teams and eventually one of her three sons’ high school teams. No girl, though, ever came through her programs. “People would ask about their girls playing, and I’d always be very encouraging and say, ‘Yeah, come out and try,’” she says. “I always hoped that more girls would want to play, and I have no idea if there are more girls that wanted to but still won’t come out.”

Sometimes those parents of girls who have started to play football will come across Maida O’Meara’s story and reach out to her for advice — often, even now, facing adversity remarkably similar to what she went through. “It is still the same language, the same story, the same questions,” she says. “You think we’ve shifted in so many ways, but in some ways and places it’s still, ‘Yeah, the girl.’”

It’s that exceptionalism that stings, that proves unfortunately not enough has changed yet to make Quarterback Princess obsolete. “We hear about more girls playing,” she says. “But that’s the thing: We hear about it. There’s some sensationalism around that.”

“Seeing women commentating or coaching in men’s professional sports, I’m still like, ‘Oh yay!’ and then I’m like, ‘Man, I’m still saying yay’,” she concludes. “But everything takes time. We’re certainly further ahead than we were.”

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aion-rsa · 4 years

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Best DC Comics to Binge Read on DC Universe

https://ift.tt/2LjeV6J

With an enormous swath of the world involved in varying degrees of social distancing, many of us suddenly find ourselves with a lot of time on our hands. Never fear! There are more options for streaming comics than ever before, and that means we have access to more of comics history, more hidden gems and epochal runs than ever before. But the variety of options to read can be daunting. That’s why we’ve put together a recommendation list of some of our favorite comics binge reads to help you through quarantine.

DC Universe rolled out in 2017 as the first full-service entertainment streaming platform – old shows, old movies, new shows, new movies, and a huge library of comics. And while a lot of the excitement over the platform has been about that original or new shows (justifiably! Harley Quinn and Doom Patrol are amazing!), it also gave us access to a staggering catalog of old comic books.

If you’re coming to a comic streaming service like DC Universe, chances are you don’t need us to recommend the hits. Nobody who watches the CW shows needs to be told that Crisis on Infinite Earths is worth reading. Likewise Batman: Year One, or All-Star Superman or The Great Darkness Saga. We’re going to skip over some of the obvious ones and point you towards hidden gems, stories you might have otherwise skipped over but for a trusted recommendation. We are also looking for monster runs that will keep you occupied – you can read six issues in one sitting. Some of these might take you an entire round of social distancing to finish.

A quick note about the reading guides: Many of them may have their own separate entry under DC Universe’s reading lists – those are helpful, but these are definitive. We will occasionally link to non-Den sources, but if you like what you hear, you should be encouraged to find your own best path. A lot of these stories wend through crossovers that are of varying degrees of relevance to the main books. It’s your call if you want to read the whole thing.

The Death and Return of Superman

The Death of Superman Reading Order

I know I said we wouldn’t talk about obvious must reads, but I feel like The Death of Superman (and it’s aftermath, World Without a Superman, Reign of the Supermen, and Kal-El’s inevitable return) should be on here. They can’t really be recommended enough.

“The ‘90s” are often maligned as a wave of gimmicks and stunts, and killing the most important comic character in the history of superhero books definitely qualifies as a stunt. But what made The Death of Superman stand out (and several other ‘90s DC events, to be honest) is that it was actually very good. This era of Superman comics is actually a hidden gem – Clark is a joy, and all the weirdness and fun of the Superman universe is in full swing, like Cadmus, Mxyzptlk, and a truly bizarre (but surprisingly good) Justice League roster.

Movies

Men of Steel: 11 Actors Who Have Played Superman

By Mike Cecchini

How Brandon Routh Returned as Superman for Crisis on Infinite Earths

By Mike Cecchini

The four writers – Jerry Ordway, Louise Simonson, Roger Stern, and Dan Jurgens – move pretty seamlessly between them on the main Superman books, and the art teams (Jon Bogdanove, Jurgens, Butch Guice, and Tom Grummett especially in the Death story) do amazing jobs of telling the story. Don’t be fooled by how gimmicky this feels, The Death and Return of Superman actually lives up to the hype.

Batman & Robin

Batman & Robin #1-17, Annual #1, Batman #17, Batman & Robin #18-32, Robin Rises: Omega, Batman & Robin #33-37, Robin Rises: Alpha #1, Batman & Robin #38-40, Annual #3

The Pete Tomasi/Patrick Gleason run on Batman and Robin never got the love it should have, because it ran parallel to two of the most high-profile Bat-comics of all time in Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s Batman, and the back half of Grant Morrison’s story in Batman Incorporated. But in ten years, people are going to be looking back at this as a classic.

Comics

True Detective Creator Outlines What His Version of Batman Would Be Like

By John Saavedra

Movies

The Batman: Release Date, Cast, Villains, and More Details About the DCEU Movie

By Rosie Fletcher and 2 others

This is a controversial claim, but if you read this run, I think it holds up: Pete Tomasi writes the best Damian Wayne. He’s the right mix of arrogant little shit and not-actually-as-competent-as-Batman, and he actually learns lessons in this run that feel earned. He also dies during these stories, and Tomasi gets the chance to explore Bruce’s way of grieving, as well as drop in a series of guest stars that includes the best Two Face story I’ve ever read. Gleason and inker Mick Gray are utterly incredible, and do as much with one sixth-page panels with heavy inks and silhouettes as many art teams do with full page splashes. It’s a great, underrated run that I think you’ll love.

Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman (2006) #14-44, one story in #600

Oh my goodness Gail Simone’s Wonder Woman is exactly, precisely what I want out of a Wonder Woman comic. To me, Diana’s comics are an exception in that they should be as focused on how to avoid fighting as they are on the action. This run does that perfectly: she isn’t a belligerent meathead looking to stab everything in sight (but she does spend a little time with a neat Conan analogue, while we’re on the subject). She’s truly an agent of peace who then periodically has to kick some ass.

Movies

Wonder Woman Wasn’t Always Set During World War I

By Kayti Burt

Movies

Wonder Woman 1984: Who Is Maxwell Lord?

By Jim Dandy

The art is really good – Aaron Lopresti and Bernard Chang handle the bulk of it, and the storytelling and pacing are really well handled, but the panel borders stand out as especially interesting and visually entertaining. The guest stars are great – Black Canary brings Diana to Roulette’s fight club for a couple of issues, and there’s a big Power Girl punchup later in the run. This is just excellent, excellent Wonder Woman storytelling.

Suicide Squad

Suicide Squad on Comic Book Herald (end at issue #66)

John Ostrander, Kim Yale, and (mostly) Luke McDonough’s original Suicide Squad is a revelation. The concept is almost overdone at this point, and is a little bit ruined by putting big names like Harley Quinn on the team, but taking a batch of nobody villains and putting them on suicide missions to earn their freedom actually sets serious stakes, and this book does everything it should with those stakes. This is politics and espionage and force projection all wrapped into a story that makes the DC Universe feel more complete.

Movies

Suicide Squad 2 Cast, Release Date, News, Story, and More Details

By Mike Cecchini

Movies

The Many Deaths of The Suicide Squad

By Marc Buxton

Beyond the plotting, though, there are so many great characters that come out of these books. Amanda Waller is one of the single best characters in all of DC Comics, and this is the run that made her the badass who can face down Batman in the shower without flinching. Punch and Jewlee are hilarious running gags. Deadshot gets some incredible work. Hell, even Captain Boomerang gets multiple dimensions added to him (without ever losing his core concept: he’s a giant asshole). I promise you, I’m underselling how good this era of Suicide Squad is.

Legion of Super-Heroes

Legion of Super-Heroes Secret Files & Origins #2; Legion of Super-Heroes (1989) #122-125 alternating issues with Legionnaires (1993) #79-81; Legion Lost (2000) #1-12; Legion Worlds (2001) #1-5, The Legion (2001) #1-26, Legion Secret Files & Origins 3003; The Legion #27-33

If you loved Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning’s Marvel space work, when you read their Legion of Super-Heroes, you’ll be baffled at how Guardians of the Galaxy ended up on the big screen and not this.

The Legion of Super-Heroes is generally regarded as…not the most newbie-friendly superhero team in the world. Fair or not, this run of Legion comics is incredibly accessible and does as good a job integrating them into the larger DC Universe as any I’ve read. It’s also exactly like DnA’s Marvel cosmic work, in that it is wonderful space opera that happens to have superheroes. The first batch of stories deals with a wave of catastrophes hitting the galaxy in quick succession. Legion Lost has a group of Legionnaires get thrown outside of the galaxy as they’re trying to fix one of the first catastrophes. Legion Worlds serves as a series of check-ins with popular Legionnaires left behind in the United Planets and is a really effective way to hook you into the 31st century of the DC Universe.

And finally, The Legion is an outstanding team book following all of those. Legion Lost is an unquestionable highlight; Olivier Coipel’s art is incredible, and the story will make you launch your tablet/phone/computer across the room at a couple of twists. This run is incredible comics.

Justice League International

…you don’t have to read all of this, but if you feel like going for it, do it. You can stop at the red dots, though.

The Bwa-Ha-Ha era is half-superhero comic, half-workplace comedy, the template for greatness to come in Legends of Tomorrow, but a great superhero work in its own right. It’s an era of Justice League that takes itself (and its villains, and its stakes) much less seriously than just about any other era of the last 40 years. If you were raised on the post-Morrison “New Olympus” era of the League, the tone shift might be a little jarring. But that tone shift is part of what makes Keith Giffen, J. M DeMatteis, and Kevin Maguire’s run on Justice League special.

There are so many really good characters in this book, but one of the best parts is how much it does for both the League staples like Martian Manhunter and Batman, alongside the…less substantial…characters. Blue and Gold (Beetle and Booster, respectively) got their start here, and that one panel where Batman knocks out Guy Gardner that gets shared around the internet once a year is from this era.

Comics

Justice League Keeps Building the Wider DC Universe

By Mike Cecchini

Comics

New DC Universe Timeline Revealed

By Mike Cecchini

And besides being great comics, this run is also the favorite Justice League of a disproportionate amount of current comics writers, giving it an outsized influence on not just current books, but the rest of pop culture that superheroes have taken over – Wonder Woman 1984 is probably going to owe a HUGE debt to the Max Lord created by Giffen, DeMatteis, and Maguire.

Deathstroke

Deathstroke: Rebirth #1; Deathstroke (2016) #1-18; Titans (2016) #11; Teen Titans (2016) #8, Deathstroke #19-20, Teen Titans Annual #1, Deathstroke #21-42 (and when they go up, read The Lazarus Contract crossover and through issue #50 of the main series)

Priest’s Deathstroke is the best book that came out of DC Rebirth. Under normal circumstances, Slade Wilson sucks. He too often falls into a murder daddy archetype, a super cool anti-hero who goes big on the violence and the dysfunction as background statuses, and not as relevant parts of his story. Priest turned all that on its head and turned in a 50 issue run (plus a couple of specials, annuals and crossovers) that was about a father who loved his kids and didn’t know how to tell them, who also happened to be a top shelf mercenary and supervillain.

Movies

Deathstroke Solo Movie Details Revealed by Gareth Evans

By Kirsten Howard

Deathstroke: The Most Versatile Villain in the DC Universe

By Marc Buxton

That’s not to say there isn’t some super cool ass-whipping in it. Batman and Damian Wayne are recurring characters, as Priest sets up a mystery that might undo Damian as a character and gives more depth to Deathstroke’s issues with the Teen Titans. There’s an entire arc dedicated to him fighting various aspects of his own personality, personified in other villains from the rest of the DCU.

And it’s all so clearly and aggressively Priest – it has all the same style as his iconic Black Panther run, but with different storytelling to fit Slade’s tale. This is one of my favorite comics from recent years.

Starman

Starman Reading Order on ComicsBackIssues

For about three quarters of my entire life, DC had an absolute stranglehold on legacy in superhero comics. The entire DC Universe was littered with stories about someone new picking up an old cowl and an old title and having to grow into that role, whether it’s Jason Todd as Robin, Wally West as Flash, Dick Grayson as Batman, Kyle Rayner, Connor Hawke, Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown. The list is nearly endless. The thing is, it’s a really good story archetype and an excellent use of shared universe superhero trappings to give heft and depth to stories that are otherwise not really allowed growth.

DC’s Stargirl Reveals Justice Society of America and Villains

By Mike Cecchini

Comics

Inside the Return of the Justice Society of America to the DC Universe

By Mike Cecchini

No comics did it better than James Robinson and Tony Harris’ Starman. It tells us the story of Jack Knight, the extremely Gen X son of golden age Starman Ted Knight. Ted is retired and passed his cosmic rod onto his son David, who gets murdered at the end of the first issue. It’s a hit on Ted’s whole family by one of his old villains, and Jack has to take up the rod to survive. Then he gets thrown into the mythology of the DC universe explained through the Starman legacy. It’s beautiful, fun, sad, meaningful, and heartfelt, and I bet you $1 that you cry at least once.

The Question

The Question (1986) #1-15, Detective Comics Annual 1988 , Green Arrow Annual 1988 , The Question Annual #1, The Question #16-24, Annual #2, #25-36

Comics

The Question Bounces Through Time In New DC Series

By Jim Dandy

Everyone jokes about how much of scenic Gotham City is abandoned amusement parks and chemical plants, but Gotham City is a family-friendly resort compared to the Hub City of Dennis O’Neill and Denys Cowan’s The Question. “Atmospheric” doesn’t even begin to describe this run.

It takes The Question, a character created by Steve Ditko, co-opted and pastiched as Rorschach by Alan More and Dave Gibbons in Watchmen, and introduced him to the DC Universe proper by putting Vic Sage through a spiritual ringer. Everything about this book is incredible – Vic is a terrific character; his supporting cast is thoroughly real; the book ties into the greater DC Universe really well (via Richard Dragon, Lady Shiva, and the annual crossover in the middle with Batman and Green Arrow).

But the real star here is Hub City, a love letter that’s also hate mail to mid-80s urban blight as scenery. And Cowan and inker Malcolm Jones III’s art – it’s tremendous.

Orion

Orion (2000) #1-25

I’ve been a fan of Walt Simonson’s Thor since I first read it, because it’s obviously incredible. But I didn’t realize until Thor: Ragnarok and DC Universe came out that Simonson might be the best comic creator to follow up on Jack Kirby’s ideas of all time, and it was Orion that really did it for me.

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Simonson puts Orion, son of Darkseid raised on New Genesis by Highfather as part of the peace treaty between the two factions of New Gods, on his prophesied track to kill Darkseid, and finishes it pretty early on. The fifth issue is just Simonson drawing a huge blowout fight between the two, and it’s predictably gorgeous. But he sticks with the story past that battle and digs deep into Orion’s character, the mythology of the New Gods, and some of Kirby’s best creations (the Newsboy Legion has a running subplot and it’s awesome). It also has backups from some of the biggest superstars in comics (Frank Miller and Dave Gibbons, among others). This is a hefty run of comics, but you won’t be able to put it down.

The post Best DC Comics to Binge Read on DC Universe appeared first on Den of Geek.

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#aion-rsa #Comics – Den of Geek

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bluewatsons · 5 years

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Alan R. Teo, A New Form of Social Withdrawal in Japan: A Review of Hikikomori, 56 Int J Soc Psychiatry 178 (2010)

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to provide a clinical review of a unique, emerging form of severe social withdrawal that has described in Japan. It begins with a case vignette, then reviews the case definition, epidemiology, psychopathology, differential diagnosis, and treatment and management of the condition. Called hikikomori, it is well-known to both the psychiatric community and general public there but has never been reviewed in the English medical literature. Patients are mostly adolescent and young adult men who become recluses in their parents’ homes for months or years. They withdraw from contact with family, rarely have friends, and do not attend school or hold a job. Never described before the late 1970s, hikikomori has become a silent epidemic with tens, perhaps hundreds, of thousands of cases now estimated in Japan. The differential diagnosis includes anxiety and personality disorders, but current nosology in the Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders may not adequately capture the concept of hikikomori. Treatment strategies are varied and lack a solid evidence basis, but often include milieu, family, and exposure therapy. Much more study including population-based and prospective studies need to be conducted to characterize and provide an evidence basis for treatment of this condition.

Introduction

There is a Shinto myth about the sun goddess Amaterasu. She had a brother who went into a drunken rampage. In protest, she shut herself in cave, sealing herself off from the world with a giant rock. Darkness and death consumed Japan. Only with the efforts of millions of other gods was Amaterasu lured out of the cave and the world restored to light and health. Though Amaterasu's story is legend, today in Japan untold tens, perhaps hundreds, of thousands of youth and adults are sealing themselves in their own virtual caves. They are called hikikomori. Beginning with a case vignette, this paper provides a clinical review of this emerging, unique condition characterized by profound social withdrawal. By also highlighting the limitations of the available literature on hikikomori, it also suggests opportunities for further research to clarify and address this increasing problem in Japan.

Illustrative Case

The following is a hypothetical case vignette synthesized from several real cases of hikikomori that illustrates the key characteristics of the condition.

T.M. is a 19-year-old Japanese who lives with his middle-class parents in a two-bedroom urban apartment. For the last two years he has hardly ever left his room, spending 23 hours a day behind its closed door. He eats food prepared by his mother who leaves trays outside his bedroom. He sleeps all day, then awakes in the evening to spend his time surfing the internet, chatting on online bulletin boards, reading manga (comic books), and playing video games.

His academic performance was historically good, but two years prior to presentation T.M. dropped out of high school for lack of motivation. In middle school, he often skipped school and avoided mingling with peers, which he linked to experiences being bullied by classmates in elementary school.

Despite parental encouragement, T.M. has repeatedly resisted going to vocational school or taking a job. His parents took him to several local hospitals where he was variously diagnosed with “depression” and “negative-type schizophrenia.” On mental status exam, he has a flat affect, denies depressed mood or anxiety, and answers most questions by saying “I don't know.” Neuropsychological testing revealed no cognitive abnormalities. Brain imaging and standard screening laboratory studies for altered mental status were unremarkable. He failed trials of psychotropic medications including antidepressants and antipsychotics.

History and Etiology

A number of sociocultural factors may promote the development of cases like T.M. in Japan. Three primary social factors have been summarized elsewhere: first, the current generation of young adults have decreasing desire and motivation; second, the economic comfort of Japanese families has led to a declining sense of the value of work; third, parents are less strict in childrearing these days. (Ogino, 2004) Traditionally, children live with their parents until marriage, and unemployed hikikomori can survive for years on parental generosity. With the decline in total fertility rate in recent decades, children have tended to have their own bedroom, providing an additional layer of distance from the outside world. (Nakamura & Shioji, 1997)

Shyness and social anxiety are relatively common in Japanese culture, and avoidant personality disorder is reported to be the most common Axis II disorder in Japan, (Naoji Kondo, 1997) which may reflect genetic predisposition, environmental factors, a combination of both, or diagnostic favoritism. By comparison, in the U.S., Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder and Paranoid Personality Disorder are most prevalent. (Grant et al., 2004) Outside Japan, there are just two case reports of hikikomori syndrome, one in Oman (Sakamoto, Martin, Kumano, Kuboki, & Al-Adawi, 2005) and one in Spain. (Garcia-Campayo, Alda, Sobradiel, & Sanz Abos, 2007)

The first known study to suggest a new condition characterized by social withdrawal in Japan dates back to the 1978 when Yoshimi Kasahara described cases of “withdrawal neurosis” or taikyaku shinkeishou. (Hirashima, 2001; Kasahara, 1978; Ushijima & Sato, 1997) This term fell out of relative favor and by the late 1980s and early 1990s, a number of reports in the psychiatric literature began using the term “hikikomori” to describe cases of youth retreating into their rooms. Since then, it has been consistently translated as social withdrawal syndrome (Takahata, 2003) or simply social withdrawal. (Kobayashi, Yoshida, Noguchi, Tsuchiya, & Ito, 2003; Kuramoto, 2003) (The word is used as a noun to describe either the pathology or the patient, much like “schizophrenic” or “alcoholic” in English.) Recently, a sociologic review of the topic appeared. (Furlong, 2008) Nonetheless, hikikomori has never been reviewed by psychiatric or psychologist professionals in the English medical literature.

In contrast, the mass media have put hikikomori under much in the last decade. They were first brought to mainstream attention in 1998 when a prominent Japanese psychiatrist wrote a best-selling book bearing the word in its title, simultaneously ensuring its place in the lexicon. (Saito, 1998) The Japanese national broadcasting network NHK ran a three-year campaign from 2002 to 2005 to draw attention to the struggles of hikikomori. (Kaneko, 2006) The internationally acclaimed author Ryu Murakami placed a hikokomori as the central figure in one of his novels. (Murakami, 2000) Even the New York Times Magazine ran a feature article in 2006 about these masses devoted to “shutting themselves in.” (Jones, 2006) A cottage industry around the distressing malady has burgeoned. Largely targeting the parents of hikikomori, it is composed of support groups, self-proclaimed specialists (mostly psychologists and counselors), immersion camps, and books professing successful strategies in drawing out the shut-in hikikomori.

Definitions of Hikikomori

Tamaki Saito, the psychiatrist who popularized the term, defines hikikomori as “those who become recluses in their own home, lasting at least six months, with onset by the latter half of the third decade of life, and for whom other psychiatric disorders do not better explain the primary symptom of withdrawal.” (Saito, 1998)

In 2003, the Japanese government came out with a 141-page white paper containing guidelines on how to respond to hikikomori. In it, Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare experts established similar criteria for hikikomori: (Ministry of Health Labor and Welfare, 2003)

A lifestyle centered at home

No interest or willingness to attend school or work

Persistence of symptoms beyond six months

Schizophrenia, mental retardation or other mental disorders have been excluded

Among those with no interest or willingness to attend school or work, those who maintain personal relationships (e.g., friendships) have been excluded

Epidemiology

Reliable data describing the prevalence or incidence of hikikomori are frustratingly limited. One oft-quoted figure of prevalence is more than one million cases, but this must be interpreted with caution as it comes not from a population-based study but rather an expert's estimate. (Watts, 2002) Perhaps the most rigorous estimate, based on extrapolation of a population-based survey of over 1,600 families in 2002, is of 410,000. (Furlong, 2008) As for incidence, a government study of all mental health and welfare centers across Japan showed that there were over 14,000 consultations regarding hikikomori in a one year period. (Ministry of Health Labor and Welfare, 2003) This number, on the other hand, is likely a gross underestimate for at least two reasons: 1) it only includes hikikomori or their parents who presented to so-called health and welfare centers, (not, for instance, clinics or hospitals); 2) for every counted case of hikikomori there are likely several other undetected, as hikikomori by definition are socially isolative.

More is known about patient characteristics. The typical patient is a young adult male, often the eldest son in a family from a comfortable socioeconomic background. (Kawanishi, 2004) Multiple studies have borne out a heavy male predominance, up to a 4:1 male-to-female ratio. (Naoji Kondo, 1997; N. Kondo, Iwazaki, Kobayashi, & Miyazawa, 2007; Ministry of Health Labor and Welfare, 2003; Saito, 1998) Age at first presentation varies between about age 20 in one cohort of 80 patients to age 27 in a large government study, though onset of symptoms often occurs years before in adolescence. (Naoji Kondo, 1997; Ministry of Health Labor and Welfare, 2003; Saito, 1998) In the government study fully one-third refused to attend compulsory elementary and/or middle school. (Ministry of Health Labor and Welfare, 2003)

Psychopathology

A careful history often reveals an aversive or traumatic childhood experience among hikikomori. The most often cited example is difficulty in school. Bullying is a prominent social problem in Japan, and hikikomori relate stories of taunting, being shunned by social circles, or outright physical abuse by school peers. Refusal to attend school (called futoukou) is the most common diagnosis in child and adolescent psychiatry in Japan. (Honjo, Kasahara, & Ohtaka, 1992) Indeed, school truancy is often the first manifestation of withdrawal behavior and is often a harbinger of full-blown hikikomori, attributed to 69% of cases observed by one clinician. (Saito, 1998) Sociologists add that factors like Japan's economic destabilization and fundamental changes in the labor market resulting in irregular employment opportunities may also be a major contributor to the emergence of the phenomenon. (Furlong, 2008) Though hikikomori barricade themselves in their rooms, they are also known to have angry outbursts. One in five admit to violent behavior (Ministry of Health Labor and Welfare, 2003) such as punching holes in walls of their room or even violence against family members.

Disrupted family dynamics has also been attributed to the development of hikikomori. In a community study of the parents of 50 cases of hikikomori, family dynamics were assessed with the Family Asssessment Device (FAD). (Miller, Epstein, Bishop, & Keitner, 1985) Results indicated that family functioning was above accepted cut-off scores for not only general functioning but also all six subdomains of functioning. (Kobayashi et al., 2003) These families also reported a tendency for their hikikomori children to be rejecting (50%) and authoritative (31%) to at least one member of the family. (Kobayashi et al., 2003) However, as this was a cross-sectional study, whether dysfunctional family dynamics is a cause or result of hikikomori cannot be concluded. Another study of 88 hikikomori found that 60% lived with both parents, 18% with just their mother, 3% with their father, and 16% in a 3-generation household. (N. Kondo et al., 2007) The doting, protective parenting style embodied in the psychological concept of amae may foster dependency of a child on his mother (Doi, 1973), and authors have suggested overprotectedness is more common in families of hikikomori. (Nakamura & Shioji, 1997) Amae has been associated more with mothering in Japan, and in the vast majority of cases in which a parent of a hikikomori presents it is the mother, estimated at 87-88%. (Kobayashi et al., 2003; Takahata, 2003)

Hikikomori frequently acknowledge a profound and comprehensive sense of apathy, bordering on nihilism. Disillusioned by and estranged from school, society, and social circles, they lack motivation to engage in the world. They have difficulty describing their own identity. When asked about their own feelings, thoughts, ambitions, or interests, a typical answer is “I don't know.” (Nabeta, 2003) The more they withdraw and thus stray from their pre-morbid goals, the more difficult it becomes to return. (Ogino, 2004)

A psychodynamic formulation might comment on hikikomori feeling unable to assert their own identity and lacking desires and passions. (Kawanishi, 2004) They may feel they want to go against the grain of society but also feel intense anxiety about doing so, fear being judged ill-fit by society, or are afraid of failure. (Ogino, 2004) Their form of protest is quintessentially Japanese: no ostensible imposition is made on others, rather it is the refusal—withdrawal and negative symptomatology—that is characteristic. That is, isolation is used as a defense against transitioning from adolescence to adulthood in a society they disagree with.

As in any psychiatric condition, there is a wide spectrum of severity in isolative behavior. Some truly never leave their room, not bathing and relieving themselves in empty cans, for over a decade in some reported cases. Others are willing to emerge daily for essential shopping or at night when they are least likely to encounter people.

Diagnosis

Using the hypothetical case of T.M. from the beginning of this paper, a number of diagnoses for this type of social withdrawal behavior may be considered.

Some might diagnose an anxiety disorder. Indeed, hikikomori frequently endorse anxiety symptoms and avoid social situations, making social anxiety disorder an important consideration. Another possibility, particularly in Japan, is taijinkyofusho as some also endorse prototypical fears of making eye contact or emitting a displeasing body odor. (Saito, 1998) The negative symptoms of T.M. are very characteristics of hikikomori, and might lead a therapist to diagnosis a depressive disorder such as dysthymia or major depressive disorder, or even schizophrenia.

On Axis II, avoidant personality disorder is frequently used as a diagnosis—50% of cases in one case series of 18 hikikomori. (Naoji Kondo, 1997) Schizoid personality disorder is another possibility. These two diagnoses are supported by the patient's pervasive pattern of social inhibition and detachment. Like T.M., hikikomori typically pursue solitary activities. A preoccupation with inadequacy may or may not be present, though. Finally, associations with childhood disorders including persistent developmental delay, attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and learning disability in hikikomori have been pointed out. (Ministry of Health Labor and Welfare, 2003)

Nonetheless, it can be difficult to accurately diagnose a person who presents with the characteristics of social withdrawal seen in typical Japanese hikikomori. Indeed, in one survey of 103 Japanese child and adult psychiatrists conducted in 1992, 57% thought the traditional diagnostic categories could not completely capture the notion of hikikomori. (Saito, 1998) In one case series of young adults with social withdrawal, two out of 14 could not be assigned a DSMIV diagnosis and were instead described as examples of “primary social withdrawal.” (Suwa & Suzuki, 2002) Between 33 and 36% of hikikomori carry a co-morbid psychiatric diagnosis. (Ministry of Health Labor and Welfare, 2003) This implies, however, that the majority completely lack a psychiatric diagnosis that falls within the realm of currently accepted psychiatric conditions.

Whether hikikomori exists as an independent diagnostic entity is entirely debateable. Historically, the Japanese term shinkeishitsu (constitutional neurasthenia), with both popular and psychiatric connotations, has raised debate as to whether it is truly distinct from Western diagnostic categories or other factors favor usage of the term. (Russell, 1989) Hikikomori too may flourish as a term in part because it is less stigmatizing than other terms for mental illness. Such use of a ‘disguised diagnosis’ has been described in Japan. (Munakata, 1986) Patients or their family may be reluctant to report other significant symptoms that would lend support for traditional psychiatric diagnoses. As is the case with debate over various culture-bound syndromes, it is crucial to determine whether hikikomori represents a superficially-atypical variant of conventional psychiatric diagnosis. (Alarcon et al., 2002) That is, the dramatic and severe withdrawal into one's residence may merely be a Japanese-specific emphasis on the quality of withdrawal, and hikikomori may still be consistent with a core anxiety, mood, developmental, or other disorder.

Treatment and Management

Similar to many other psychiatric conditions, the treatment approach to hikikomori often involves a combination of psychotherapy and psychopharmacology. Family therapy including both the patient and his parents, exposure treatment to gradually increasing social contact, milieu therapy with other recluses, psychotherapy focused on childhood trauma, or vocational rehabilitation are all therapies employed by clinicians treating hikikomori. For those who are complete recluses, the first step usually involves repeated home visits in order to draw out hikikomori from their room.

Most success has been described with non-individual psychotherapy approaches. In a combined exposure and milieu therapy approach, therapists furnish a sort of open membership club, an environment perceived as a safe place for group interaction. Members may come daily or just once a week. Hired staff model social interaction skills, and after spending a year or more in that environment, some show improvement and are able to reintegrate into society. (Nabeta, 2003) Support groups that avoid labeling individuals as “patients,” avoid categorizing individual's role identity, and avoid rigid scheduling of activity, have reported increased self-confidence, participation in social activities, and partial re-integration into society. (Ogino, 2004) One public health center described success with a multi-phase treatment strategy that conducted a three-part lecture series about the condition for family of hikikomori and then required them to participate in support group for at least three months. (Naoji Kondo, 1997) Ten out of fourteen families reported improved family-patient communication; four of the ten also reported a return to school or work by the patient. (Naoji Kondo, 1997) One case study documented success with so-called nidotherapy, which uses a non-hostile, accommodating approach incorporating family members in psychotherapy. (Sakamoto et al., 2005) Unfortunately, none of these data can be generalized given their high potential for bias: no study describes a method of control or blinding, and exposures and primary outcomes are not pre-defined, among other study design weaknesses.

Antidepressants may also be employed, and paroxetine was effective in one case report of a patient diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder who withdrew in his room for ten years. (Shibata & Niwa, 2003) Unfortunately, data examining efficacy of antidepressants or randomized data comparing forms of psychotherapy are lacking.

Thus, there are numerous treatment strategies with various reports of success, but supporting evidence is of the lowest quality, not exceeding descriptive study designs.

Conclusion

Japan is in the midst of an epidemic of adolescent and young adults who have retreated into their bedrooms, in effect vanishing from the eyes of society. Though social withdrawal is a behavior that can be seen in a variety of conditions, the prevalence, level of impairment, and duration of symptoms argue for a closer examination of this psychiatric condition. And yet because it is relatively new, unstudied, and heretofore described almost exclusively in Japan, much remains a mystery about hikikomori.

Descriptive data regarding hikikomori are readily available. However, several other areas are sorely lacking. First, national, population-based cross-sectional and longitudinal study samples that can provide accurate epidemiologic characteristics are lacking. Second, debate on the case definition and how to classify hikikomori, either within the DSM or as a new, unique condition is warranted. Third, prospective cohort studies to attempt to establish environmental and/or genetic factors in causality would be helpful. And fourth, current clinical management of hikikomori is haphazard, anecdotal at best. Experimental study designs including randomized studies are essential in order to provide an evidence basis to treatment for this fascinating, unique condition.

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#japan #subcultures #cultural phenomena #neets #hikikomori #psychosocial dysfunction #social withdrawal

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thegeekcurmudgeon · 7 years

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The Steam-Driven Time Machine: My Adventures in Steampunk

As revealed in my previous post, I’m moderating the Steampunk panel at this weekend’s Comicpalooza. Newer folks may wonder why I’m moderating such a panel. (Or not, but I’m going to share this with you anyway).

Way back in 2008, I produced this little essay for Ann and Jeff VanderMeer’s bestselling, seminal anthology Steampunk. The magnificent book came out just at the beginnings of the latest Steampunk craze. After nine printings, one could argue it helped fan the flames of the movement.

Without further ado, here’s the unabridged piece.

The Steam-Driven Time Machine:

A Pop Culture Survey

Rick Klaw

When I was a child in the seventies, it seemed like the 1961 Ray Harryhausen special effects-laden The Mysterious Island played constantly on the TV. Not that I minded. Michael Craig leads a crew of Confederate P.O.W. escapees as they pilot a hot air balloon toward points unknown. Crash landing on an apparently deserted island, the castaways encounter giant animals: a crab, a flightless bird, bees and an cephalopod, all presented in Harryhausen’s dynamic stop motion animation. The group discovers the presumed dead Captain Nemo, who had mutated the animals as part of an experiment. Throw in the pirates that attack the island and you have the recipe for a near-perfect movie. By nine years old, after many repeated viewings the film entered my personal zeitgeist, informing my later tastes and many of my creative decisions.

Mysterious Island was my first exposure to steampunk, long before K. W. Jeter coined the word in the late 1980s.

Personally, I think Victorian fantasies are going to be the next big thing, as long as we can come up with a fitting collective term for [Tim] Powers, [James] Blaylock and myself. Something based on the appropriate technology of the era; like “steampunks,” perhaps… (Locus, #315 April 1987)

Featuring interviews with Jeter and Blaylock plus a cover by Tim Powers, the Winter, 1988 issue of Nova Express introduced me to the term “steampunk.” By that time Powers and Blaylock were both part of my reading repertoire. Jeter joined a few years later.

Among many of the advantages of living in Austin as a young science fiction fan in the late eighties and early nineties was the strong and fairly well organized creative community. The local science fiction literary convention, Armadillocon birthed though probably as a surrogate the Cyberpunk movement, as it was the first North American convention to feature William Gibson, Bruce Sterling, Lewis Shiner, and Pat Cadigan as guests of honor. Austinite Lawrence Person’s previously mentioned ‘zine Nova Express further encouraged science fiction critical studies with insightful interviews and reviews by professionals and fans alike.

Some twenty years later, pop culture has embraced steampunk. Publishing, film, and even the Internet embolden the term as a branding tool. Nary a week goes by without Boing Boing (www.boingboing.net), the venerable group blog, posting about some sort of steampunk inspired gadget, cartoon, or essay. A search of their archives generates almost 1500 articles. Subjects vary greatly: laptops, keyboards, watches, Transformers, planes, Car Wars, submarines, and so on. Many articles showcase functioning modern technology using steampunk methods and materials. Others present actual working machines from the 19th century. Images presenting artistic depictions of steampunk, paintings, sculptures, architecture and the like. Reinterpretations of popular shows such as Star Trek and Star Wars litter the listings. Original short films featuring steampunk tropes offer many amusing and sometimes exciting diversions.

The user-generated online encyclopedia Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org) contains lengthy, extensive entries for both “Steampunk” and “List of steampunk works”, citing an array of sources. The English language version of the Polish site Retrostacji, Steampunkopedia (steampunk.republika.pl) offers the most comprehensive steampunk works chronological bibliography available on the web along with numerous links to steampunk-inspired videos. Sadly, the site stopped updating in February, 2007.

Using the collaborative wiki-method, ﾆther Emporium (etheremporium.pbwiki.com) claims “to provide a onestop resource and archive for all things Steampunk”. Potentially very interesting, the sparse site supplies some intriguing information and views from the nascent steampunk subculture. Another online cultural source, SteamPunk Magazine (www.steampunkmagazine.com), dedicated to “promoting steampunk as a culture, as more than a sub-category of fiction”, produces a pdf format magazine and for-sale print version under the auspices of the Creative Commons license, an agreement that allows anyone to share and distribute the work as long as it is not for commercial or financial gain. Each of the three currently produced issues contain fiction, features exploring different aspects of the subgenre, and interviews with steampunk luminaries.

Even Wired (www.wired.com), home of the techno elite, lists some 930 archived pages about the subgenre. Often sharing similar coverage with its cyberculture cousin Boing Boing, the subjects run the pop culture gamut. Oddly, the domain name steampunk.com works as the home for The Speculative Fiction Clearing House, a portal for science fiction websites. The site has only a tangential relationship with the subgenre.

Back in the late eighties, I encountered my first steampunk role playing game. Featuring Victorian space travel and steam powered devices, Space 1889 (1988) was the first primarily steampunk rpg. At the time, I immersed myself in the rpg community, envisioning myself more of a gamer and possibly role play games creator than an essay or even a fiction writer. This delusion lasted for about two years, after which I decided to devote my creative energies toward other writing and editing pursuits.

Prior to Space 1889, steampunk elements frequently cropped up in games. Most Dungeons & Dragons campaigns contained various steam-powered devices, usually projectiles or vehicles. Hero Games’ pulp era adventure game Justice, Inc (1984) featured many steampunk-type props, most notably steam-powered robots. Cthulhu By Gaslight, Victorian era rules for the Lovecraft-inspired Call of Cthulhu game, premiered in 1986. While set in the 1890s, the supplement relied less on steampunk– beyond an odd section on time travel– and more on real-world settings.

In the ensuing years, steampunk routinely appeared in rpgs. Within the popular gaming universes such as Warhammer, GURPS, and Dungeons & Dragons, steam-driven devices and Victorian era tropes became commonplace. The cross-pollination of the American Old West and anachronistic devices thrived within several games, chiefly Deadlands and the Japanese title Terra the Gunslinger.

Even LARPers got in the act. Premiering May 21, 2004 near Baltimore, MD with a three-day episode, Brassey’s Game, a steampunk live action role playing game (LARP)1, involved approximately 30 players in Victorian garb, who relied on heavy character interaction. The initial campaign ran for six weekend-long episodes. Six other stand alone Brassey’s Game episodes took place during the first campaign. Since its introduction, several other groups from various parts of the US, using modified versions of the original rules, participated in their own Brassey’s Game events.

Another element of my seventies childhood, The Wild Wild West, the first, best, and longest running steampunk television series, forged my future love of the weird western. The show related the adventures of two Secret Service agents- James West, a charming, womanizing hero, and Artemus Gordon, inventor and master of disguise– as they protected, often in secret, the United States, its interests and citizens. In four seasons from 1965-1969, the duo encountered all sorts of odd villainy including a brilliant but insane dwarf, recurring arch-villain Dr. Miguelito Quixote Loveless, and bizarre weaponry such as cue stick guns and a triangular steam-powered tank with a barbed tip. Combining the best elements of traditional westerns and James Bond, The Wild Wild West spawned two late seventies TV movies with the original cast, a dreadful 1999 big screen movie, two separate comic book series (1960s Gold Key and 1991 Millennium Publications), and four novels, as well as influencing a generation of writers including Joe R. Lansdale, Norman Partridge, and Howard Waldrop.

The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr., the direct thematic descendant of The Wild Wild West, premiered on August 27, 1993, starring the cult actor Bruce Campbell of Evil Dead fame as the title character. Set in the 1890s, Brisco attempts to capture the members of the Bly Gang, the cutthroats responsible for his father’s death. The series sported an intriguing cast of characters: Lord Bowler, bounty hunter and rival, lawyer Socrates Poole, Dixie Cousins, con-woman and Brisco’s great love, and inventor/scientist Professor Wickwire, brilliantly portrayed by John Astin and supplier of Brisco’s steampunk-like gadgetry. Even with clever story lines, the show lasted for only one season.

Perhaps the most unexpected use of weird western steampunk tropes occurred in the second season of the animated Adventures of Batman & Robin. “Showdown” with a Joe R. Lansdale teleplay from a story by Kevin Altieri, Paul Dini, and Bruce W. Timm tells of the immortal Batman villain Ra’s al Ghul’s 1883 confrontation with the DC Comics gunslinger Jonah Hex. The battle centers around a plot to blow up the nearly-completed tracks of a transcontinental railroad using dirigibles loaded with cannons and other explosives.

Because starring in one Wild Wild West-inspired short lived TV series is never enough, Bruce Campbell portrayed the title character for two seasons in the disappointingly inane Jack of All Trades (2000). Jack Stiles, a secret service agent stationed by President Thomas Jefferson on the fictional French-controlled island of Palau-Palau, defends American interests while serving as the aide to a French aristocratic. Jack employs many steampunk-type weapons and gadgets. Loosely based on the classic 1919 novel, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World amazingly ran for three seasons (1999-2000) with poor special effects, bad acting, poorly crafted storylines, and some minor steampunk elements. The 1982 Q.E.D., set in Edwardian England, last for only six episodes. Voyagers!, a time travel adventure series with periodic steampunk bits, managed 22 episodes over one season (1982-1983). Steampunk materials appeared in several episodes of the various Doctor Who incarnations.

Under the premise that Jules Verne actually lived the adventures that he wrote about, The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne (2000) delivered steampunk action with airships, steam powered devices, and even a steampunk cyborg! Playing upon the inherent metafictional possibilities, several episodes featured “real life” authors and personalities such as Samuel Clemens, Queen Victoria, Alexander Dumas, Cardinal Richelieu (a time travel episode), and King Louis XIII. The promising show never jelled and was canceled after one season.

The Japanese have also embraced steampunk television, albeit the animated variety. Based on the long running manga Fullmetal Alchemist, set in an alternate late- 20th century society that practices alchemy and uses primarily early 20th technology, enjoyed a 51 episode run (2003-2004) and an 2005 anime feature film. Steam Detectives (1989-1990) follows the adventures of a young detective in a reality where the only source of energy is steam power. Set on a floating world with stylized Victorian fashions, Last Exile (2003) relates the story of airship pilots Claus and Lavie and their involvement in a plot about a mysterious cargo.

Another steampunk show derived from the works of Jules Verne, Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water (1989-1991) inspired a feature film sequel (1992) and a manga series. Set in 1889, circus performer Nadia, young inventor Jean Ratlique, and the famed Captain Nemo attempt to save the world from the Atlantean known as Gargolye who is bent on restoring the former underseas empire. Translated into eight different languages, the series achieved worldwide popularity.

Based on a series of popular video games, Sakura Wars relates an alternate 1920s reality that uses steam primarily to power all sorts of modern devices. Developed into numerous video games on several platforms, a manga, a tv series, five OVA2 tie-ins, and a feature length movie, Sakura remains a uniquely Japanese cultural phenomenon.

Back in the seventies, Mysterious Island opened my eyes to new worlds as I encountered many more steampunk films. The 1930s Universal monster pictures with lighting-powered monsters, chemically induced madmen, and animal-mutating mad scientists exploited the yet undefined genre. Beneath a Victorian backdrop, Victor Frankenstein empowered his creatures in both Frankenstein (1931) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935) using the highly unlikely method of electrocution. In the latter film, Dr. Pretorius joins forces with Frankenstein, attempting to create life through alchemical means. Director James Whale recognized the inherent Victorian melodrama and the treated the films accordingly, thus creating two masterpieces.

Two of H. G. Wells’ science gone-amok novels inspired a pair of 1933 Universal movies. The Invisible Man, directed under the masterful hand of James Whale, relates the story of a man who goes mad after imbibing his own creation: an invisibility potion. Starring Charles Laughton and Bela Lugosi, The Island of Lost Souls adapted The Island of Dr. Moreau for the first time. The story of Dr. Moreau and his rebellious mutations, like that of The Invisible Man speak to the Victorian notions of science and sadism. The Island of Lost Souls has been remade poorly twice as The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977, 1996).

Fittingly, the first film recognized as steampunk was the 1902 fourteen-minute French animated short Le Voyage dans la lune (A Trip to the Moon), based on Jules Verne’s From the Earth to the Moon and H.G. Wells’ The First Men in the Moon. Wildly popular upon its release, the Georges Méliès film– one of his hundreds of fantasy films– achieved canonical status within science fiction.

Hollywood rediscovered Verne with a vengeance in the 1950s and 1960s, making numerous film adaptations including the steampunk films 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954), The Fabulous World of Jules Verne (1958), Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959), Mysterious Island (1961), Master of the World (1961), Five Weeks in a Balloon (1962), and tangentially Captain Nemo and the Underwater City (1969). Wells was not far behind with most notably The Time Machine (1961). One of producer George Pal’s special effect spectaculars, The Time Machine thematically remained close to the source material especially the portrayal of the machine itself. An awful version of Wells’ book was made in 2002.

The seventies witnessed a severe drop in steampunk related films as whiz bang space science fiction became the norm. A notable exception, the entertaining Time After Time (1979) suggested that Wells invented a time machine and traveled to 1979 in pursuit of Jack the Ripper.

In 1986, Hayao Miyazaki released his groundbreaking anime Castle in the Sky (aka Laputa: Castle in the Sky). A magical tour-de-force featuring floating cities, airships, and pirates, the film follows a young girl, Sheeta, and boy, Pazu, on their quest for the mystical, missing city of Laputa. Miyazaki returned to steampunk in 2001 with his masterpiece Spirited Away, the highest grossing movie in the history of Japan. Easily the most awarded steampunk work in any medium, Spirited Away won the Academy Award for Best Animated Film, the Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival Silver Scream Award, the Nebula Award for Best Script, the San Francisco International Film Festival Audience Award Best Narrative Feature, five Mainichi Film Concours Awards, two Awards of the Japanese Academy, four Annie Awards, and many others. Miyazaki’s eagerly anticipated follow up was the steampunk Howl’s Moving Castle (2004), based on Diana Wynne Jones’ popular young adult novel. Successful both financially and critically, Howl’s plays as a traditional European fairy tale but with steampunk elements.

Sadly with a few exceptions, Miyazaki’s works represent the abnormal in modern steampunk. While movies such as Vidocq (2001), The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003), Hellboy (2004), Van Helsing (2004), Around the World in 80 Days (2004), Steamboy (2004), and The Brothers Grimm (2005) display strong stylings, they all fall short on substantive storytelling.

The third and perhaps weakest of Terry Gillum’s Trilogy of the Imagination, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988) recounts the legendary tales of eponymous Baron. Littered throughout with steampunk tropes and devices, Gillum displays a magical world in this delightful, if overlong film.

The French duo Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro created the strange, surrealist masterpiece 1995’s The City of Lost Children (La Cité des enfants perdus). Unable to dream, a mad scientist steals the dreams of children. The kidnapping of a circus strongman’s little brother leads to some bizarre and fascinating confrontations between the strongman, the children, and the scientist. Beautifully imagined within a late 19th century industrial city complex, The City of Lost Children magically envisions a dark steampunk society.

The disappointing film version of The Golden Compass, the first novel of Phillip Pullman’s extraordinary trilogy His Dark Materials, premiered in 2007 amidst a maelstrom of controversy, as various Christian groups–most notably The Catholic League– urged their members to boycott the movie citing the story’s perceived anti-God bias. The protesters had little to worry about since director/screenwriter Chris Weitz stripped the original tale of any complexity and relevant subtext, presenting a dull, lifeless movie. Even with gorgeous visual effects (particularly of the dæmons and the airships), superior acting (especially Dakota Blue Richards’ authentic portrayal of a fierce twelve year-old girl), and a $200 million budget, The Golden Compass offered yet another 21st century steampunk film failure.

Some thirty-five years after my initial discovery, steampunk still fascinates. I eagerly await to read about the new devices listed on Boing Boing. Even given the poor quality of most steampunk movies, films with airships and Victorian stylings still excite me. Clearly I am not alone as evident by the sheer amount of steampunk material continually being produced and the very existence of this anthology.

Vive la vapeur!

1a form of role-playing game where the players physically act out their characters’ actions.

2Original video adaption, a phrase coined by the Japanese for direct-to-video films.

The Steam-Driven Time Machine: My Adventures in Steampunk was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon

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Why The Fantastic Four Will Thrive in the Marvel Cinematic Universe

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The Fantastic Four are joining the MCU, and it's the one good thing that will come out of the Disney/Fox deal.

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Feature

Books

Mike Cecchini

Fantastic Four

Jul 27, 2018

Marvel

Stan Lee

Jack Kirby

20th Century Fox

The Fantastic Four are going to have their day now that Disney and Fox shareholders have approved the merger of the two studio giants. This is a deal that is terrible for cinema and even worse for news, but one that is certainly good for superhero fans. It just might require a different approach than Hollywood is generally willing to take with superhero movies as we know them. For the sake of this article, please spare me the "we already had two great Fantastic Four movies with The Incredibles," argument, because we all know that.

The failure of Josh Trank's 2015 Fantastic Four movie with critics, fans, and at the box office was a damning indicator of just how far the Fantastic Four brand has fallen since its comic book heyday of the 1960s and '70s. But maybe the issue is simply that the Fantastic Four don't lend themselves quite as easily to familiar superhero movie tropes as some of their more successful counterparts. The 2015 movie was the third big screen incarnation of the Fantastic Four, and the fourth movie overall. The first was the Roger Corman production, made for approximately one million dollars only so that a film studio could keep the rights out of the hands of Marvel long enough to make a more suitable movie. That movie was both faithful to the source material and sincere in its tone, but it may or may not have ever actually been intended for release.

In the mid-2000s, we were given two Fantastic Four movies from 20th Century Fox and director Tim Story. Fantastic Four and its sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer were similarly faithful in look and tone to the classic Marvel comic book. They were also dull, by-the-numbers blockbuster fare with a cast that (the fairly inspired choice of Chris Evans as Johnny Storm and Michael Chiklis as Ben Grimm aside) failed to capture the vitality or chemisty of the FF's traditional family dynamic. Worse, like the 2015 movie, they utterly wasted one of the greatest comic book villains of all time, Dr. Doom.

See related

The Roger Corman Fantastic Four Movie: The Most Faithful FF Ever

Why the X-Men Don't Belong in the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Full Marvel Movie Release Schedule

The Tim Story films weren't particularly interested in reinventing the wheel, and their deviations from the letter of FF mythology were no greater than those that made tried-and-true box office titans like Batman or Spider-Man more suitable for the big screen. Unlike a proven ticket and merchandise mover like Spider-Man, there's an increasingly vocal sentiment that the Fantastic Four are inherently old fashioned and faintly ridiculous, and that modern audiences simply don't have a place for them in their already superhero saturated hearts. On the surface, when your "coolest" member is a guy who can burst into flame, that kind of pales in comparison to some of the sexier heroes out there. The relatively grounded approach to Trank's Fantastic Four may have been an attempt to combat this, and it certainly calls back to what Bryan Singer did in the first X-Men film, which moved along at a similarly glacial pace during its first act and did away with the characters' more colorful garb.

But it wasn't that grounded approach that sunk the new FF franchise. The Tim Story movies, as faithful as they were to the comic book aesthetic, both made more than twice their budget back at the worldwide box office, but nobody, not even the most fervent superhero movie apologist, was ever particularly enthused about them. They earned middling reviews and tepid fan reaction, and there was never any sense of urgency to get Fantastic Four 3 into production.

While the Marvel Studios house style that blends witty banter, cosmic adventure, and family friendly bloodless violence is perfectly suited (even inspired by) the Fantastic Four, they've had enough on their plate over the last few years without trying to cram the X-Men or Fantastic Four onto their release schedules. But the release of Avengers 4 in 2019 not only marks the end of the latest "phase" of Marvel movies, it also ushers in an era where trilogies for heavy hitters Captain America, Thor, and Iron Man have run their course while audiences have thrilled to multiple Avengers movies. What was once impossible is suddenly commonplace, and this is where the Fantastic Four will have a chance to distinguish themselves.

Watch Fantastic Four on Amazon

The next Fantastic Four movie must genuinely offer audiences something different. And "different" is exactly what made The Fantastic Four "The World's Greatest Comics Magazine" when Stan Lee and Jack Kirby were at the controls for over 100 issues. Nobody needs another origin story (for this or any other franchise), and the elemental iconography of the Fantastic Four doesn't really need much more explanation than "a guy who can stretch, a woman who can turn invisible and project force fields, a human torch, and a tragic but powerful rock monster." Superheroes are now such a part of the cinematic vocabulary that spending thirty minutes explaining the hows and whys of superpowers is as wasteful as explaining how the hero of a Western learned to shoot and ride a horse.

So while every Fantastic Four movie has nailed the broad strokes, what is always lacking is the real soul of these characters and their world: one full of impossible adventure, surprises, and technology. The Four have never been known for solving their problems by hitting them, so you can eliminate the idea of a noisy, city-destroying climax. The FF is about big, cosmic, timey-wimey ideas, and the smart, quirky, friends and family who have to work through it all together. Need an example of how audiences might relate to that brand of non-traditional superheroics? Doctor Who is adored by loyal fans and it's a perfect example of how to depict awkward smart people finding (mostly) non-violent solutions to reality-warping problems.

The Fantastic Four comics of the Lee/Kirby team at their peak in 1966 to 1968 contain page after page of budget busting visuals and concepts that would send any Hollywood bean-counter to the poorhouse. Instead, we've been stuck with dull backlot slugfests (FF 2005), a purple cloud instead of Galactus (Rise of the Silver Surfer), and a hastily devised green screen nightmare (FF 2015). I'm giving the 1994 film a pass because that movie is lucky it had craft services, let alone special effects.

It's difficult to imagine a potential movie franchise more antithetical to current superhero movie trends than the Fantastic Four. The team is, quite literally, a family. Their adventures are almost uniformly intergalactic or interdimensional in nature. Half of the members have power sets that don't lend themselves to the brute force that has become shorthand for most superheroing. Done right, the Fantastic Four can and should be the property that Kevin Feige and Disney executives look to when they fear audiences are tiring of superhero movies. The FF is another Guardians of the Galaxy in waiting, and unlike those blockbusters, it comes with considerably more brand recognition out of the gate.

It's not rocket science or interdimensional travel. Someone will figure it out. See you at the Baxter Building in Marvel Phase Four.

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