pop culture
Modern popular culture topics in the geek sphere.
My Top 10 Food Network Crushes
Food Network is hands-down my most watched channel, and for good reason. Food Network hosts and chefs come from diverse backgrounds and have varied personalities. Their charm, wit, humor, and relatability all take center stage. Plus, there is rarely anything sexier than someone who knows how to cook. Granted, a self-proclaimed hobbit is stating this, so please take that into consideration. With that being said, I'd like to introduce you to a romantically charged countdown of my favorite Food Network crushes and a long list of reasons why they're worth falling in love with-just in time for Valentine's Day.
By E.L. Martin4 years ago in Geeks
Ace Erasure on the Screen
Asexual characters and those on the ace spectrum are a rare find in TV and film. I can count all of them with my fingers, half of them almost irrelevant to the plot, and a few show a very negative on asexuality. However, the negative impact on the ace community through media goes beyond bad representation, a lack of characters with said identities, or the elimination of this identity for adaptation purposes. *cough* Jughead *cough*. If you’re wondering how, let’s take a look at the regular approach for relationships on screen.
By Angie Loveday4 years ago in Geeks
How Backwards are the Seven Dwarves? The Snow White Dwarfism Row.
Disney’s frequently criticised but highly profitable factory of live-action remakes is still going strong, and the next live-action remake to enter production will be a new take on their 1937 classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. West Side Story breakout star Rachel Zegler will play the title role, with Gal Gadot getting to vamp it up as the Evil Queen. The traditional story is also receiving some substantial changes, as Broadway star Andrew Burnap will play a new male protagonist – a Robin Hood/Flynn Rider style rouge called Johnathan. In addition, the film will be feature new songs from Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, the duo behind the iconic music featured in La La Land and The Greatest Showman. After 5 ½ years in development hell, Snow White will finally begin production the middle of the year. However, before the cameras start rolling, Disney have to deal with one problem that is already giving them a real headache – In an age where increasing attention is being paid to the struggles of minority groups, is the traditional portrayal of the Seven Dwarves too un-PC for today’s sensibilities? The issue came out into the open after a complaint from America’s most famous and respected Dwarf celebrity, the actor Peter Dinklage. In an interview with Marc Maron on the WTF podcast, the Game of Thrones icon claimed that the story was “F-ing backwards” and argued that it was hypocritical that a company boasting about casting Latina actress Rachel Zegler as its lead character would preserve an inherently problematic take on dwarfism. In response, Disney issued a fairly generic corporate statement promising a more progressive depiction of Snow White’s companions. They stated they have been “taking a different approach with these seven characters” and claimed they held meetings with “members of the dwarfism community”. We still have no idea what changes have been made due to these routine discussions. An online article shortly afterward Disney’s statement suggested that the dwarves will be replaced by a new collection of unspecified fantasy creatures. On the other hand, the dwarf actor Martin Klebba (who was in the 2012 non-Disney Snow White retelling Mirror Mirror) has been rumoured to take over the role of the sceptical dwarf Grumpy. We still have to wait a few months for the start of filming, which will give us more time and the information necessary to make a clearer judgement over Disney’s approach towards dwarfism in their Snow White reimagining. Unsurprisingly, Dinklage’s complaints have created strong divides in the dwarfism community - several commentators in the dwarfism community have supported him, whilst others (including a few dwarf celebrities such as WWE star Dylan “Hornswoggle” Postl) have accused him of trying to “cancel” the story of Snow White. As trivial as the argument over Dinklage’s comments may seem in comparison to other issues, it shined a valuable spotlight on the way Dwarfism is portrayed in the media, and the effect it has in the real world. Why do people believe that an escapist fantasy like Snow White perpetuates negative stereotypes about people with the condition, how can this be mended?
By Fairy Tale Fanboy4 years ago in Geeks
Thanos WAS NOT Right: Debunking The 'Good Points' Of The Mad Titan's Plan
In his role as the ultimate Big Bad of the first three phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thanos has become one of the most iconic movie villains of all time. After a few cameo appearances in earlier films depicting he and his followers on the hunt for the Infinity Stones, Avengers: Infinity War revealed the full, horrifying nature of Thanos's plan: He wants to use the Stones to wipe out half of all life in the Universe, and tragically, he succeeds.
By Kristy Anderson4 years ago in Geeks
The 10 most-watched YouTube videos of all time
From Baby Shark (do, do-do-do-do) and CoComelon Nursery Rhymes, to Luis Fonsi and Ed Sheeran, these are the recordings that keep every one of us, for reasons unknown, returning for additional. Here is a gander at the 10 most-watched YouTube recordings ever.
By Technical Sad4 years ago in Geeks
The Lip-Synching Scene in David Lynch's 'Blue Velvet' as a Touchstone Transcendent Moment
David Lynch was 76 years yesterday -- happy birthday! That made me think about my favorite scene in all of David Lynch's great work, and, for that matter, probably in any movie I've ever scene: Dean Stockwell lip synching Roy Orbison's "In Dreams" in Blue Velvet back in 1986, with Dennis Hopper doing a fine job as that deeply sick guy, who tries to join in the lip-synching, but whose demons won't allow him the succor of dreams.
By Paul Levinson4 years ago in Geeks
Flintstones Vitamins: Yabba Dabba Doo they're good to chew!
Yabba dabba doo they're good to chew If you were a child or parent of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s you no doubt saw one or all of the various cartoon ads where Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble promoted vitamins for children. The duo initially began advertising One A Day vitamins but this evolved into Flintstones chewables.
By Cheryl E Preston4 years ago in Geeks
The 20 Greatest Best Picture Winners of All-Time. Top Story - January 2022.
In view of the upcoming 94th Academy Awards, I decided to compile a small list. Having officially watched every single film to take home the prestigious Best Picture award, here is what I deemed were the 20 best to ever win it. (I limited it to presenting my top 20 since to say a word on all 93 films would prove tedious, and I also opted not to include Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans which would assuredly have been in my top 5).
By Gabriele Del Busso4 years ago in Geeks
Where have all the Good Commercials Gone?
Recently I read a column on American Thinker about modern day commercials and how much they are trying to incorporate political correctness. I started to think about commercials of the past and how different they were back then.
By Gary Rathbun4 years ago in Geeks
Finding a New Home
An MCU movie releases and the rumours fly! We’ve heard two major things, 1) Tom is signed on for 3 more movies and immediately after that we heard 2) That Tom was stepping away from the role and taking a break. Now the more likely option is that he is in fact signed on for more movies, there is so much more that I would love to see from Tom’s spiderman and I think that No Way Home set him up perfectly for not only more character development but also bringing in more of the Spider-verse characters into the MCU. Tom has been pushing hard for either some of the Spider woman and/or Miles Morales, here's hoping that we see both!
By Alexandrea Callaghan4 years ago in Geeks
