Category Archives: Pop-Culture Trends

The Medieval As Genre

Posted on May 19, 2019 by Thomas Mets

The Western is probably one of the best settings in film, due to the storytelling opportunities of a lawless land, the cinematic wide open spaces, and the iconography. It’s become one of the few settings that has become its own … Continue reading →

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Oscar Ratings And Popular Films

Posted on April 8, 2018 by Thomas Mets

The ratings for the most recent Academy Awards were the lowest-ever by a large margin. This leads to some questions about why that is. Is there too much focus on material that isn’t commercial? Is Hollywood liberalism turning off moderate … Continue reading →

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The Left’s Confederate Flag

Posted on May 29, 2017 by Thomas Mets

Tim Graham of Newsbusters wrote about a topic I’ve been thinking about: how the left opposes confederate flags, while supporting similarly problematic soviet imagery. Two years ago, a Kevin Williamson piece on Bernie Sanders got some angry responses from the left, … Continue reading →

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American Sniper and Socially-Conscious Criticism

Posted on April 23, 2017 by Thomas Mets

Jamie Weinman’s piece on socially conscious criticism got me thinking about the flaws of the approach: it has a preference for bluntness over subtlety. I’m reminded on one relatively recent example: the years-old debate about whether American Sniper was too … Continue reading →

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What Comedy Central Should Do With Trevor Noah

Posted on May 31, 2015 by Thomas Mets

The problem with Trevor Noah as host of the Daily Show is that he would be a better fit to replace Larry Wilmore as Stephen Colbert’s successor rather than John Stewart’s. Continue reading →

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When the Same People Keep Winning Emmys

Posted on August 26, 2014 by Thomas Mets

The Emmys are notorious for rewarding the same people over and over again. Yesterday might have been the most egregious example. Seven of the eight actors to win for their performances in dramas and comedies had won the same Emmys … Continue reading →

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On Robin Williams

Posted on August 12, 2014 by Thomas Mets

Aladdin is the first movie I saw in theaters, and Robin Williams has been a constant presence for me on TV and movie screens since then. As a result, the news of his death was rather surprising, especially since it … Continue reading →

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Capital and Bestsellers

Posted on April 22, 2014 by Thomas Mets

The top story on the Huffington Post right now is the success of an unlikely bestseller, a translation of the French Economist Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-First Century. What interests me right now is the quoted sales figures. Jia Lynn … Continue reading →

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August 21 2013 Round-Up

Posted on August 21, 2013 by Thomas Mets

Swedish artist Simon Stalenhag has an interesting style, depicting things that sorta look like they could exist. Matt Soller Zeitz of New York suggests it’s a great time for TV criticism. Matt Wilistein notes improvements in the second season of … Continue reading →

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August 5 2013 Round-Up

Posted on August 5, 2013 by Thomas Mets

Another piece about the end of movie stars, this one inspired by the way The Lone Ranger flopped, with an emphasis on images of masculinity. In July, The Wolverine, helmed by supposed movie star Hugh Jackman, opened to relatively underwhelming figures. 2 … Continue reading →

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