essays

• Aristotle Was Wrong: Why "The Purge" Is The Most Important Film of the Year
  An analytical look at how The Purge presents the morality of violence.
   

• The Fallen Kingdom Is Our Own: Jurassic Park Confronts the Rise of Trumpism
  An essay on the political themes of Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom in the wake of the 2016 election.
   

• History of Film: Apocalypse Now
  A retrospective look at one of the greatest war movies after made.
   

• History of Film: Back to the Future
  A look back at the classic time travel flick.
   

• How "The Purge" Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Violence
  An exploration of how the Purge movies eventually became what they criticized.
   

• Ouch, My Balls! The Philosophy of Crank: High Voltage
  A look at gender roles and video-game culture in Crank: High Voltage.
   

• Reality Bites: In Defense of Kick-Ass
  In which I argue that Kick-Ass is pro-women, pro-art, and pro-America.
   

• Tony Stark Is A Villain: How the "Iron Man" Films Subvert Traditional Views of the War on Terror
  An essay exploring the political themes of the Iron Man trilogy.
   

• Why "13 Hours" Respecting The Troops Doesn't Make It Good
  A look at how 13 Hours functions as imperialist propaganda.
   

• Why Rian Johnson's "Looper" Is Really A Subversive Anti-Violence Film
  What the time-travel thriller has to say about the myth of redemptive violence.