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Category: Deep Dives

Reflecting on the nerd I once was…

So, Comic-Con came back last month. Yes, the Mecca of Nerdom after a two-year hiatus due to COVID (which is still a thing btw) returned in its full(ish) glory as……

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Published August 1, 2022
Categorized as Culture, Deep Dives

DS9 questions and reaffirms Star Trek’s legacy

WARNING: Spoilers for a nearly 30-year-old TV show ahead. This will be the first of a series of write-ups under the name Deep Dive Space 9 Here’s a fun fact!……

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Published July 1, 2022
Categorized as Deep Dive Space 9, Deep Dives

The MCU, Disney, and the Gentrification of Hollywood

In my hometown, there used to be a really good restaurant called “Baja Fish Tacos” I frequented quite often not too long ago. It was a local joint that specialized……

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Published June 22, 2022
Categorized as Deep Dives

“Berserk” and why we choose to struggle

CW: SPOILERS for “Berserk” and discussion of suicide and mental health. Don’t know if you’ve noticed but the world is getting increasingly more difficult to live in these days. Without……

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Published June 16, 2022
Categorized as Deep Dives

The insidious nature of how “Complex” Villains are written

CW: Police, State, and Racial violence discussed and presented ahead. I’ve always had at best a middling opinion of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Even before my big shift in my……

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Published April 12, 2022
Categorized as Deep Dives

Disney is not an ally…

Source: hellogiggles.com Disney’s newest animated feature, “Turning Red,” caused a considerable amount of positive buzz online last weekend. The film, which premiered last Friday, garnered widespread praise for featuring a……

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Published March 16, 2022
Categorized as Deep Dives

Rebellion is not a metaphor

In the early goings of “Star Wars: A New Hope,” we get to see the humble origins of Luke Skywalker at his moisture farm on Tatooine alongside his uncle Owen……

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Published February 14, 2022
Categorized as Deep Dives

Why I love Film Music

When I was nine years old, I REALLY liked “The Phantom Menace.” I loved it so much as a snot-nosed 4th grader at the time that I dragged my father,……

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Published January 27, 2022
Categorized as Culture, Deep Dives

How the US created Godzilla

For most movie-watching audiences Godzilla is something of a caricature representing the hokiness of Japanese giant monster cinema. Watching dudes in rubber suits awkwardly smash model buildings isn’t exactly high……

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Published January 6, 2022
Categorized as Culture, Deep Dives

Sam Raimi’s “Spider-man” is both Dated and Refreshing

It might not feel like it, but Sam Raimi’s original “Spider-man” will be 20 years old by May of 2022. It feels like a short time ago in some ways……

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Published December 22, 2021
Categorized as Deep Dives

My Top 5 Favorite Characters

WARNING: Some spoilers for these characters ahead if you haven’t seen them. Growing up I was always known as a bit of a space case. My teachers would often take……

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Published December 11, 2021
Categorized as Top 5

My Top 5 Favorite Movies

Many moons ago, I was out on a date with a girl in my senior year of college and took her out to see a movie. That movie was “Immortals”……

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Published November 9, 2021
Categorized as Deep Dives, Reviews

“Young Frankenstein”: How to tell a Sincere Story in a Funny Way

One of the things that has always irked me about the Marvel Cinematic Universe is how adrift the entire franchise is in bathos. What is bathos, you might ask? Bathos……

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Published October 31, 2021
Categorized as Deep Dives

Growing Old Sucks and So do Mummies in “Bubba Ho-Tep”

Warning: Some Spoiler Clips Ahead Each year seems to feel shorter and shorter than the last as we get older. This isn’t too surprising, of course. When we really stop……

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Published October 17, 2021
Categorized as Deep Dives

“Princess Mononoke’s” Pacificism is Admirable but a bit Naive

If there is one film that describes director Hayao Miyazaki’s entire ethos and philosophy the most, it’s probably “Princess Mononoke.” The film showcases Miyazaki’s love of nature and spirituality in……

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Published September 27, 2021
Categorized as Culture, Deep Dives

How Martial Arts and Identity Merge in “The Matrix”

A few years back I was wrapping up a session at karate practice when one of my senseis brought me to the side to speak with me. I had done……

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Published September 14, 2021
Categorized as Deep Dives

“Shang Chi” and Hollywood “Representation”

When I first started this blog a few years ago my initial goal was to give the pop culture community a new Asian American voice and perspective, I felt it……

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Published August 22, 2021
Categorized as Culture, Deep Dives

“Starship Troopers”: You’re Not Immune to Propaganda

Not sure how many you remember the early 2000s, but I remember it now as the era our news media truly became the powerful, manipulative engine that it is today.……

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Published July 31, 2021
Categorized as Deep Dives

“The Grandmaster”: Life, Martial Arts, and Living with our Regrets

One of my biggest fears these days is what kind of legacy am I going to leave behind. When I’m old and can no longer move around as I used……

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Published July 25, 2021
Categorized as Culture, Deep Dives

Hollywood and the Pentagon: A love story

Trigger warning: Discussion of war crimes and some disturbing images ahead… One of the better later season Simpsons jokes comes in an episode called “New Boys on the Blecch” in……

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Published July 9, 2021
Categorized as Deep Dives

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