Semoy Booker
Bio
I'm a Buddhist, Elizabeth Bishop fan, film enthusiast, and all things that make storytelling magical.
Stories (10)
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'One Missed Call': When an Ornyō Goes Digital
From the 1990s to the 2000s, J-horror has become everyone’s latest obsession. But unlike its predecessors, there was something new and trendy about this international genre. Most of the famous J-horrors we’re familiar with are called onryō. These Japanese films would often have a vengeful female spirit or a cursed plot, and it’s up to the characters to escape their fate. What made these films trendy was incorporating an element that was impossible to escape from… technology, or in One Missed Call (2003) cell phones. In a world where we hear ringers and beepers at every corner, technology feels inescapable, which is why technology is often an enemy in these Digital J-horrors. I say, Digital J-horror because many Onryō J-horrors use technology as a way for the spirit to communicate with the living or to pass a curse from one recipient to another. In One Missed Call, people are getting missed calls by their own numbers and a voicemail that was sent two days into the future; when they play back the message, they can hear their own voice followed by a scream. The horror in One Missed Call spans from the traditional folklore of the onryō to cell phones.
By Semoy Booker about a year ago in Horror
The Truth Behind Wonder Woman’s Lasso of Truth: A Buddhist Perspective
In Buddhism, truth holds great significance. It reveals falsehoods, deceptions, and the genuine nature of reality. It wasn't until I delved into my recent study of The Noble Eightfold Path (the path to enlightenment) that I recognized the correlation between the right of speech (one of the eight practices) and Wonder Woman's lasso of truth.
By Semoy Booker about a year ago in Geeks
What Really Turned Anakin Skywalker into Darth Vader: A Buddhist Take on Star Wars
Being a Buddhist has made me look at the Star Wars franchise through a Buddhist lens, including its characters. In the original Star Wars trilogy, Darth Vader is depicted as a ruthless, treacherous, formidable villain. In the Skywalker saga, we see what events led Anakin Skywalker to the dark side. While we can say numerous factors contributed to his Sith ways, it’s not so much the events or people Anakin faced, but the emotions and thoughts that led to his future actions. Both Jedi and Buddhists share the belief that positive emotions and thoughts can bring enlightenment and alleviate suffering.
By Semoy Booker about a year ago in Geeks
Stories I Tell My Sister To Sleep: Patricia's Ghost
Do you remember your first ghost? You probably wouldn’t. It’s like remembering being a baby or your imaginary friend; eventually, the memory slips away. But, like imaginary friends, ghosts appear in the early stages of life. Mom believed ghosts gravitate toward the young because of the immense energy that is produced from them. “Think of ghosts as lost ships and children like lighthouses,” she said. “Lost souls wander about, searching for a warm, effervescent light to guide them to the Elsewhere.” Children create a similar energy that unintentionally draws lost souls. I was nine when I saw my first ghost. Most children wouldn’t remember or probably thought they had dreamt it, but we weren’t most children. You were sound asleep. I would have been too if I hadn’t heard a wail coming from outside the house. When I peered out from the window, I saw a bride roaming near our lake. The fog perfectly coalesced with her dress. It was from that moment I knew who she was; the stories our grandmother told us about are true. There was no mistaking her for none other than a Wondering Widow.
By Semoy Booker 2 years ago in Chapters
How Women Spectatorship in ‘Run Sweetheart Run’ Makes it the Most Relatable Horror Film for Women
Reaching nearly Halloween, Amazon Prime released Run Sweetheart Run (2020), the most relatable horror film for women. Shana Feste directed Run Sweetheart Run, a horror film that follows Cherie, a single Black mother. Cherie aspires to become a lawyer but ends up being demoted to a secretary at a prestigious law firm. Cherie’s boss sets her up for a business meeting with a new client. But this meeting quickly turns into a date, and Ethan (the client) seems to be the perfect man a woman could ever want… almost too perfect. Ethan shows his dark side when he attacks Cherie after inviting her to spend the night with him.
By Semoy Booker 2 years ago in Horror
'Lady in the Water' Ventures into the Mythopoeia Genre
It began with a pool. Imagine the black sky, the crickets singing, and you’re about to snuggle into your bed until you hear little splashes in your pool. You look out your window and realize how deep and inconspicuous your pool is at night. You get startled because something just moved in the water, in a panic you rush downstairs to your front door; by the time you’ve reached the pool you see nothing there, nothing but a lock of hair floating in the water. M. Night Shyamalan created this bedtime story for his daughters just by looking at his pool, little did he know this bedtime story would be retold in a motion picture.
By Semoy Booker 2 years ago in Critique
5 Cerebral Gore Films Featuring Women: When Slasher Meets Women's Horror. Top Story - January 2024.
Horror has a long history of murdering its woman characters. This happens because horror films uphold the gender ideology that women are far less superior to men. One might argue that the lack of a woman’s gaze or relatable women characters leads many women spectators to not fall in love with the slasher genre. While Carol Clover’s coined Final Girl trope might make women pumped up about seeing a woman survive a horror film, that doesn’t mean all women would identify with the Final Girl (especially if she’s written stereotypically). I’ve discovered that there’s a new horror genre: a genre that combines slasher, cerebral (psychological horror), or women’s horror that is often directed, written, produced, and/or starring women. Coined by Amy Jane Vosper comes a new hybrid horror genre: cerebral gore.
By Semoy Booker 2 years ago in Horror
