pop culture
Modern popular culture topics in the geek sphere.
Why Are We Still Watching Transformers?
I was eleven when the first Transformers movie came out. It took me three years to see it, and for a fourteen-year-old kid just discovering movies, it wasn't bad. It looked cool, had pretty people in it, and had just enough of a story to be engaging. It was no The Rock, but still. I skipped the second one despite a glowing review from my cousin, saw the third for a laugh, and my friend dragged me to the fourth because it was Friday and we weren't cool or old enough to drink.
By Zane DeYoung9 years ago in Geeks
For Whom the 'Anthem' Tolls
Let's begin with some nostalgia. It's June 2006, you're a pimply-faced teenager fresh into the summer vacation and you're hyped about this year's E3 (Electronics Entertainment Expo). Once the convention begins, every major publisher of AAA gaming announces their flagship title, and as you're already ecstatic nerves absorb all of the video game glee of hearing names like Assassin's Creed, Bioshock, Gears of War, and Mass Effect, you think this is the meaning of being a part of this community, a community of dreamers.
By Devon Falls9 years ago in Geeks
Ken: He’s Just an American Guy
The artifact historically known as Ken — a template for male American imagery for generations — has always been something of a moving target. From his early days as a miniature stand-in for the ideal guy next door in the parallel dollhouse America of 1961 (paired up with his girlfriend, female analog and fellow everyday archetype, the legendary Barbie), Ken would slowly, in some ways glacially, come to symbolize variations in the idea of the average American guy.
By Michael Eric Ross9 years ago in Geeks
Social Trolling
In a matter of opinions, so often us social media users share memes, pictures, or post on our personal pages to express our thoughts on a particular topic. With the intentions of having our followers agree or disagree with our post and possibly share it. However, more often than not, one can occasionally get a "troll." (Troll – A troll is someone or a group of people that sings, or utters in a full, rolling voice. dictionary.com)
By Cerra White9 years ago in Geeks
WTF Comic Books
A lowly South Yorkshire town such as the one I live in doesn't have much access to comic book conglomerates like "Forbidden Planet" and so I get my reading material from a very nice gentleman on the market. Mr Y, we'll call him, has an excellent array of stock from his many travels - some of it dating back few decades, much of it is quite obscure.
By Billy Marsden9 years ago in Geeks
Saddest Deaths in the Harry Potter Series
J.K. Rowling, the literary genius behind the Harry Potter series has a talent for writing tragic death scenes. As any true Harry Potter fan knows, the series is full of sadness. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was an absolute bloodbath. I still get emotional when I think of how some of these characters passed away. You would think in a fantasy magical world there would be an easy way to prevent death or to bring people back to life, but there isn't. We all know how using Horcruxes worked out for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Rowling seems to have enjoyed making her readers cry because the deaths in the series are absolutely gut-wrenching. Here's a reminder of the most upsetting deaths in Harry Potter, in case you had forgotten what it was like to cry. WARNING: this post includes spoilers!
By Madeline Basirico9 years ago in Geeks
Pop Culture Guy Episode 7: Unknown Spotlight—Andrea Romano
One of my early videos for my Pop Culture Guy series, this one is about Andrea Romano. She is a well-known voice acting casting director who helped cast some of the most well-known voices in both 1990s and modern animation. The writing below is taken from a project I had to do wherein I had to research the career of any casting director.
By Daniel Brizuela9 years ago in Geeks
Nightmare: Dr. Strange's First Enemy in the Shadow of Sandman
Nightmare, the likely villain of the Dr. Strange movie sequel, proves that Doc has one of the greatest rogues galleries in comics. I would describe Nightmare to any DC fan as the Joker with the power of Morpheus from Sandman though Nightmare's depiction over the years has been even more jarringly inconsistent than Joker's: at times Nightmare has been essentially the most powerful villain in the Marvel Universe (when he incapacitated Eternity, the embodiment of existence, during a classic Roy Thomas story), but at other times Hulk can beat him to death for some reason. In the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon, Spider-Man beats Nightmare by simply not being afraid of him. When I saw that episode, I imagined a thickly sarcastic Benedict Cumberbatch saying, "If only the embodiment of all of existence had realized he could simply not be afraid. If only he had a teenage spider bite victim to teach him how to so simply beat a fellow god."
By F. Simon Grant9 years ago in Geeks
Have You Caught The Riverdale Bug?
If you grew up in the 90’s, surely you remember reading the beloved Archie Comics. The main premise of the comic books revolved around four lovable characters – Betty, Archie, Jughead and Veronica. Throughout the series, these adolescent characters navigate their way through high school and early adulthood.
By Nicole (Nikki) M.9 years ago in Geeks
6 Things VR Storytellers Need to Know. Top Story - June 2017.
If you’ve already figured this stuff out, then hurray for you! Also, you’re lying. Nobody has developed the language of the VR story yet. This is just a primer, briefly touching on the history of film and how it relates to VR and what that might mean for the future. If you’re interested, you can find a more in-depth look at that particular topic here.
By Joshua Yancey9 years ago in Geeks
The Many Versions of Cinderella
I have always been fascinated by fairy tales. Like many other children, Disney cultivated a love of classic stories. When I got older, I became more curious in hearing the original fairy tales, before Disney changed them. I loved learning the differences between versions, and even versions from different cultures.
By Amora Jones9 years ago in Geeks
