Guardians of the Galaxy: Echoing Trauma in the Main Story
Guardians of the Galaxy is about several damaged characters, and the writers very cleverly make their trauma integral to the story.
Search
- Apr 30
- 4 min
Captain America: The Winter Soldier: Bringing Real-World Fears into Genre Fiction
How does Captain America 2 use real-world dread to structure a compelling thriller?
- Apr 16
- 7 min
Thor: The Dark World: Flipping the Script in Your Sequel
Thor: The Dark World may be the most maligned Marvel film ever. But I think we can learn a lot from the film - both the good and the bad.
- Apr 9
- 5 min
The Gender Imbalance of Fantasy Protagonists
You may not realize it, but young boys and girls are framed VERY differently in fantasy coming-of-age stories.
- Apr 2
- 6 min
Iron Man 3: Wrestling with Problematic Source Material
There's a real issue with Iron Man 3, with the way the Mandarin is handled. Let's discuss.
- Mar 27
- 6 min
I Don't Want To, But We Need To Discuss Joss Whedon
It turns out, the behavior of Joss Whedon makes him the perfect example of why I make the kind of content I do.
- Mar 19
- 6 min
The Avengers: Efficiency in Exposition
If you've perused my site or listened to my podcast, you might be aware that I like superheroes and superhero movies. And for almost 13...
- Mar 12
- 6 min
A Decade of Terrible Twists Villains
For about ten years, big movies kept including predictable, ill-advised reveals of secret villains. I hope the trend is over.
- Mar 5
- 4 min
Captain America: The First Avenger: Being Good for the Sake of Good
Let's talk about what a good character Steve Rogers is, and how well he's established.
- Feb 26
- 7 min
Why I'm Growing Disinterested in Generational Sequels
There are ways to do generational sequels well, but so many people don't, so maybe we need to stop doing it with literally every franchise.
- Feb 19
- 4 min
Thor: Let Your Hero Look Foolish
Why was everyone surprised when Chris Hemsworth started appearing in comedies? The first "Thor" movie was the perfect audition.
- Feb 5
- 4 min
Iron Man 2: Make a Sequel, Not a Prequel
Iron Man 2 isn't a perfect movie, and as writers, we can learn something from that, too. These MCU essays won't all be glowing praise.
- Jan 29
- 6 min
Three-Act Structure is Simpler Than it Seems
Did you know we've been secretly teaching children perfect story structure for generations? I can explain.
- Jan 22
- 6 min
The Incredible Hulk: A Perfect Proactive Protagonist
This week we're talking about "The Incredible Hulk" and what a great job it does at making its main character proactive.
- Jan 15
- 3 min
- Jan 8
- 6 min
Iron Man: Sympathy for the Devil
In the first of our series about the Marvel Cinematic Universe films, we examine what makes the opening sequence of Iron Man work so well.
- Jan 1
- 2 min
New Content Schedule for 2021
Happy New Year! I'm planning a bunch of stuff for 2021!
