I mentioned it as a joke last week, but this week we’re going for it. I’m so sorry. Zombies have long been used as a means to comment on the perils of consumerism. Mindless hordes doing things without thinking for the few capable of independent thought to stand up against. Zombieland takes the conceit one… Continue reading Zombieland: A Treatise on Life in a Post-Consumer Society
Tag: Zombieland
For Want of a Glass of Water
Kurt Vonnegut once said, “every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.” This piece of advice functions as a very simple and straightforward way to ensure a character has some semblance of depth. What's important about a goal? A goal gives a character purpose and gives an audience a… Continue reading For Want of a Glass of Water
Humanity, Hubris, and Canceling The Apocalypse
Did you ever read The Day of the Triffids? It’s by John Wyndam and was probably the first piece of proper post-apocalyptic fiction I read ten years ago. It’s typical of the genre. We’ve got the world impairing event, the monsters that begin wiping out humanity, and of course the few survivors who band together… Continue reading Humanity, Hubris, and Canceling The Apocalypse
Earn Your Ending
Did you see Warm Bodies? Because you really should. It’s a great movie (and has zombies). And I mean a really great movie. We’re talking that sucker gets added to my BluRay collection the day it comes out. Of course, the comparisons to Zombieland are inevitable and rightly so: both have the same ‘genre’ and… Continue reading Earn Your Ending
And I Feel Fine
I live in New York City. Also, last week New York City and much of the US’ East Coast was hit by a hurricane. Power went out, plumbing failed in the higher floors of NYU’s dorms (that is: mine), and classes were cancelled. Of course, I find this all terribly exciting: this sort of event… Continue reading And I Feel Fine
Storytelling Lessons from Jesus
Doesn’t matter what you think of Jesus, gotta admit the guy could tell a story. Or the people who recorded them spiffed them up. Either way, Jesus often communicated (religious and otherwise) points through stories in ways that were not heavy handed yet still managed to tell a good story. See, Jesus knew his audience.… Continue reading Storytelling Lessons from Jesus
In Between
Most stories are about going somewhere. The quest in The Lord Of The Rings is to get to Mordor and destroy the ring. In any Indiana Jones movie he’s trying to get whichever artifact it is he’s after this time. A New Hope is about getting the princess and defeating the Empire. But sometimes a… Continue reading In Between
Essays, Not Rants! 