• Following Us

  • Categories

  • Check out the Archives









  • Awards & Nominations

New Escapist Column! On “Masters of the Universe: Revelation” and the Paradox of Spoiler Culture…

I published a new column at The Escapist today. The release of Masters of the Universe: Revelation generated some controversy last week, owing to a major twist at the end of the first episode that caught some fans entirely off-guard.

This is interesting, because it gets at one of the central tensions of modern fan culture, particularly the obsession with spoilers. Many fans are obsessively worried about having the film and television that they enjoy spoiled for them ahead of time, of having secrets revealed before release. However, that narrative doesn’t really fit with the outrage over Revelation, where it seems like many of those fans most vocally protesting the big twist at the end of the first episode seem frustrated that something like that development was preserved as a surprise for them and that it did catch them off-guard. So do fans really want to be surprised?

You can read the piece here, or click the picture below.

New Escapist Column! On the Eternal Battle Between Good and Evil in “Masters of the Universe”…

I published a new In the Frame piece at The Escapist this evening. With the release of Masters of the Universe: Revelation on Netflix this weekend, it seemed like a good opportunity to take a look at the larger franchise.

The He-Man franchise originated as a toy line from Mattel, obviously taking its cues from a host of contemporary pop culture like Conan the Barbarian and Star Wars. However, the franchise’s origins as a toy rather than a book or a feature film led to an interesting tensions. He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is a classic epic fantasy about the battle between good and evil, but it is a story without a predetermined origin or ending. Good may win individual battles against evil, but it will never triumph completely. As a result, He-Man presents the struggle of good against evil as eternal and unwinnable, but worth fighting.

You can read the piece here, or click the picture below.