pop culture
Modern popular culture topics in the geek sphere.
Jorge Luis Borges, the Maker
As a long time fan of comic books, fantastical situations, and trips into the unknown, the work of Argentine literary master Jorge Luis Borges should become everyone's obsession. Why, you ask? In many ways, his work left not only an indelible mark on the literary world but also on the wider world of arts and entertainment as well. The work of director Christopher Nolan with films such as Inception, Memento, and The Prestige resemble some of the best Borges stories such as "The Garden of Forking Paths" and "The Aleph". His works are full of duplicity and metaphysical mysteries as much as they are filled with the symbols that he was obsessed with, namely mirrors, infinite libraries, and planes of existence that may or may not exist. Take into account as well the time Borges was born (1899) and you begin to see just how amazingly futuristic they were in depicting the world we are living in today. Perhaps one of the reasons Borges had such a far-reaching vision of things material and immaterial is the fact he was such a bibliophile. He famously said that " I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library". He spent thousands of hours in those hallowed places when he became head of the National Public Library in Buenos Aires in 1955, writing many of his immortal stories during this period.
By Ryan Madej9 years ago in Geeks
Carrie Fisher Causes Of Death Released
Star Wars fans across the globe mourned when word of Carrie Fisher's death spread Dec. 27, 2016, and people wanted to know how the actress and writer, who seemed very much to be at the top of her game, ultimately died. Nearly six months later, the Los Angeles County Coroner has been able to shed some light on the sad news.
By Christina St-Jean9 years ago in Geeks
Me and Cinema...It's Complicated
Like many of you, I like going to the movies. What a shocker...(a little-known secret I also enjoy other things like watching television and stuff like that but don't go around letting anyone). I connect some special and fun memories with cinema, and movies in general; from sleepovers with friends where we saw utter garbage like "Superhero Movie", "Disturbia", and those nights where we saw movies that completely changed my mind like "Fight Club" (yeah I know that this makes me a basic bro...but I really love it). Same can be said about those lazy Sundays where me and my family just potato couched our way into all sorts of genres.
By Tomás Brandão9 years ago in Geeks
American Cinema, Technology and Cyborg Embodiment
Iron Man 2 is about Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) a businessman who in the previous film made a device that kept him alive when he was kidnapped. Furthermore, he made a metal superhero suit to help him escape, whenever Tony wears the suit people call him Iron Man. In this film, he refuses to sell it to the military and tries to reassure them that there is no threat from other countries because of this technology. However, Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) makes another version of the suit with the same kind of technology and battles with Tony. Ivan is defeated and sent to prison where he breaks free. The military finds him and pays him to make the suits. Nevertheless, at the presentation of the suits, Ivan makes one suit but double crosses the military and turns the other suites into drones to battle with Tony. Luckily, Iron Man and his friend Lt. Col. James 'Rhodey' Rhodes (Don Cheadle) defeat him and the drones he created. Throughout the film, it is also emphasised that the device that is keeping Tony alive is not sustainable as a result of increased blood toxicity. He does not tell his love interest Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) about his imminent death so she does not worry. However, a couple of Avengers find out and Tony creates a new more sustainable device to keep him alive.
By Victoria-Louise Sweet9 years ago in Geeks
Twin Peaks 2017: The Gifted and The Damned
Twin Peaks: The Return Parts 5&6, titled 'Case Files' and 'Don't Die' respectively, continue the trend of using a variety of digital techniques to enhance the visual storytelling; here I'll be taking a look at a few specific scenes and what they say about the world of Twin Peaks.
By James Giles9 years ago in Geeks
Best Marvel Comics Television Series
Marvel Comics is, and always will be, one of my favorite businesses of all time. They are literally in the industry of telling stories, giving us heroes to look up to, and just creating amazing works of art involving great plots, incredible characters, and twists at every pace.
By Riley Raul Reese9 years ago in Geeks
5 Media Trends That Will Reshape Entertainment
In 1968, a documentary was released entitled The Shape of Films to Come. It was an overview of the film entries for Expo ’67 and its various attempts to predict the future of cinema, both technically and artistically. In the nearly fifty years since these ideas were first put forth, not much has changed. However, many of the concepts filmmakers of the time were attempting to tackle have suddenly become possible.
By Joshua Yancey9 years ago in Geeks
Anatomy of a Murder Exhibits Stark Change in America’s Sociological Perspective
Anatomy of a Murder says a lot about how much things have changed in America since it was made in 1959 and makes for a very interesting study in the vast difference in sociological perspective. At the same time, the reluctant charm of Jimmy Stewart holds up as well as ever and still finds no actor today who can carry a movie by simply asserting uncertainty.
By Rich Monetti9 years ago in Geeks
Roblox - The Birth of a New Era of Gaming?
Roblox is a massively multiplayer online gaming platform that allows it's users to browse through a selection of games and play them. The difference with this type of gaming is that the games on the front page change quite frequently and I wondered why. It is in fact, due to the ever-changing frequency of new games being made by none other than the users them self. The community that forms Roblox's fan base are made up of people who like to simply play the games, but there is another core part of Roblox that appeals to people as well and that is the fact that anyone can make a game and get paid for it.
By Peter Gray9 years ago in Geeks
My Review of 'The Belko Experiment'
The Belko Experiment comes to us from the director of Wolf Creek and The Darkness and is written by James Gunn of Guardians of the Galaxy fame. This film is about 80 employees and a small office building; suddenly large metal doors around the building and a voice comes over the intercom saying if you guys don't kill a certain amount of people then we're going to kill double that amount. Have fun! And, from that moment on we have The Purge meets Battle Royale meets The Hunger Games meets Office Space, I guess. Jhansi McKinley's even in it. All we need is Milton to kill somebody with his stapler.
By Loni Beach9 years ago in Geeks
Exposing the KK
Exposing the KK... Let’s be honest, the Kardashians and Jenners are no strangers to the appropriation of any of the cultures of the world. It seems that their favorite location of cultural appropriation appears to be sourced in Black Culture. From their "boxer braids" aka corn-rows, full lips via injections, dreadlocks, Bantu knots, and a long list of wrongfully credited "trends" and their lifeless imagination they may finally get exposed for their undeserved fame.
By LaVee Johnson9 years ago in Geeks
