Tag Archives: geek cultures

Paramount Copyright Battle: Legal Issues or Fan Fiction Surpasses Studio Efforts?

Fan cultures have existed for decades and have produced their own versions and variations of expression as they drew upon pre-existing genre fiction elements. Star Trek is perhaps one of the best examples of this. Fan fiction production went on without the concern of the entities that owned the material. It was largely seen as […]

Tor.com on respectful criticism in fandom

Recently Tor.com included an article that brought together my interests in the fantastic as well as respectful engagement even in criticism. The article is “Protecting What You Love: On the Difference Between Criticism, Rage, and Vilification” by Emily Asher-Perrin. The author acknowledges a place for criticism within fandom, but rightly takes issue with demonizing creators […]

Dungeons & Dragons and Ancient Bestiaries

Religion Dispatches recently published an interesting article by Robert Geraci that contrasts the The Monster Manual from Dungeons & Dragons with ancient bestiaries and tales of monsters and miracles. The essay is titled “Monstrous Futures: Dungeons & Dragons, Harbinger of the “None” Generation, Turns 40.” Two quotes of note: “We wish for an enchanted world, […]

Fandom and Religion Conference at University of Leicester

Fandom and Religion: An international, inter-disciplinary conference University of Leicester (UK) · 28th – 30th July 2015 A conference exploring interactions between religion and popular culture. How does fandom work? Has fandom replaced or become a form of religion? This event will provide opportunity for participants to explore these and other questions about popular culture […]

Salt Lake Comic Con Expands to Include Second Event for 2014

I attended the 2013 Salt Lake Comic Con as a media representative, and was invited to their press conference today but was unable to attend. After the event they released the following press release. Salt Lake City will see not one, but two fan conventions in 2014! Salt Lake Comic Con Is Baaack! With Great […]

“William Shatner’s Get a Life!” documentary

For a while now I’ve been waiting to see the William Shatner’s Get a Life! documentary. This film is part of the EPIX Originals series, and Shatner serves as one of the executive producers. He also wrote and directed this piece. After doing his documentary The Captains as part of a process of self-discovery, this […]

Who Are the Next Titans of the Imagination?

Earlier this week Ray Harryhausen passed away. There was a wealth of coverage all over the media, and as expected, the fan community expressed a lot of appreciation and a sense of loss with his passing. But this has got me wondering. In the past I interviewed Paul Davids who produced the documentary The Sci-Fi […]

Hotel Transylvania Release and Its Glaring Omission

Hotel Transylvania is now out on DVD and Blu-ray. My wife and I picked up a copy of the latter yesterday and watched it today. We had already seen it in the theaters and found it worthwhile. (My previous review can be read here.) I was especially looking forward to the Blu-ray extras. While these […]

TOR.com: J.J. Abrams and the Homogenization of Geek Pop

Many fans enjoyed J.J. Abrams work on revisioning Star Trek with his 2009 film and thereby rebooting the franchise. Others, such as myself, were not so pleased with the efforts. After Disney purchased the Star Wars franchise from George Lucas it announced plans for a new film, and the search for a director began. After […]

Kirk Hammett on the Inspiration of the Horrific

Kirk Hammett has a new video out promoting his book Too Much Horror Business. Not only does the viewer get a look at some of Hammett’s pieces in his collection, but the commentary associated with it is of interest. Along the way Hammett notes the influence of Bob Wilkins, the Bay Area horror host of […]

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