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Illusionist v Wizard, Part 2

"It is more than entertainment," the stage magician Vinovich declares in Lord of Illusions. "We are bringing miracles back into their miserable little lives." Fellow illusionist Robert Angier, villain-protagonist of the aforementioned film's spiritual successor, echoes that declaration in his parting words to archrival Albert Borden. "You never understood why…
May 20, 2021
Illusionist v Wizard, Part 1

Illusionist v Wizard, Part 1

The illusionist who simulates preternatural feats through sleight of hand and the wizard who actually wields powers not intended for man - both loom large in the human imagination. Since one is a deliberate counterfeit of the other, those occasions when illusionists and wizards share the spotlight in one story…
April 19, 20214 Comments
Gaming Ground Zero

Gaming Ground Zero

In which author David V. Stewart takes the Cultural Ground Zero ball and advances it ten years down the field: Maybe you’ve heard of cultural ground zero: 1997.     Now let’s talk games, because unlike other institutions of culture, the games industry kept on growing and innovating for another…
April 7, 202111 Comments
Backsliding

Backsliding

Any honest man who's found his way into dissident politics will admit that seeing the Left-Right paradigm he grew up with unmasked as kabuki theater was one of the hardest red pills to swallow. With the exception of the Zoomers, every living generation of Americans was conditioned to support the…
March 24, 202111 Comments
Pacing Lessons from Fury Road

Pacing Lessons from Fury Road

Many writers labor under a common misconception about what makes a book feel fast-paced. Slamming chapters together with no space in-between doesn't necessarily give readers a sense of speed. In fact, it can do the opposite by bringing on action fatigue. Pacing has less to do with keeping lots of…
March 10, 20216 Comments
Aughts Nostalgia

Aughts Nostalgia

The accepted wisdom among creators in the new counterculture holds that there will be no aughts nostalgia movement as there is for the last decades of the 20th century. Western cultural development stagnated and finally started eating itself circa 1997. Therefore, the lion's share of media products after that point…
March 9, 202131 Comments
How to Popcorn

How to Popcorn

Regular readers will be aware that I worked for a local movie theater chain in my dissolute youth. During my time there, I learned how to make professional-grade popcorn whose addictiveness one friend equated to crack. At least I think that's what he said. His mouth was full of popcorn…
March 2, 202113 Comments
Shapiro – Carano

Shapiro – Carano

In a follow up to the news of Disney's latest middle finger to their audience, it's now been reported that inveterate white knight Ben Shapiro has swooped in to sign fired actress Gina Carano. It's a testament to Con Inc's influence that anyone on the Right met this news with…
February 16, 20217 Comments
Y2K Music Curse

Y2K Music Curse

In response to yesterday's post, reader Scott W.  solicits learned opinions on music producer Rick Beato's claims of a Y2K Curse. For those in too much of a rush to watch the video, Rick observes that a whole slew of bands that hit it big in the 90s fell off…
February 11, 202115 Comments
The Music Men

The Music Men

The more I learn about popular music, the convinced I become about 1997 being ground zero for pop culture's decline. Like all sectors of the entertainment industry, pop music suffered a marked collapse--not just in sales, but in quality--in the late 90s. What happened ca. 1996-1999 that brought popular music…
February 9, 202124 Comments