pop culture | the m0vie blog

Blessed are the Geek, For They Shall Inherit the Earth…

Posted on July 28, 2009 by Darren

It’s a good time to be a nerd. When exactly did it happen? How did Star Trek become cool again? When did nearly half of all blockbusters find their roots in the oft-mocked comic book artform? When did Comic Con become a major event in the Hollywood calendar? When did it become truly hip to be square?

Haute culture?

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Filed under: Comics, Movies, Opinion | Tagged: arts, blockbusters, comic book movies, comic books, comic con, culture, films, geeks, graphic novels, mainstream, Movies, nerds, pop culture, popular consciousness, popular culture, popular taste, prestige | 2 Comments »

The Love of Richard Nixon…

Posted on June 25, 2009 by Darren

I’m not American, but I feel a strange fascination with Richard Milhouse Nixon. He’s a figure of almost Shakespearean complexity, driven to phenomenal heights and fantastic accomplishments, but never able to do enough to placate the insecurity gnawing at him. I had the pleasure of reading Conrad Black’s rather even-handed summary of his life and career last summer, and he seems as much a mystery as ever. The recent news item about another of his paranoid ramblings has grabbed media attention, but I’m amazed that there doesn’t seem to be much debate over the true impact of Nixon’s Presidency beyond the obvious shadow cast by Watergate. What is the American fascination with painting Nixon as a villain or a fiend? Why can he not embody something just a tad more complex?

Richard Nixon unsuccessfully attempts to distract from the Watergate scandal by declaring "It's behind you!" during a Press Conference...

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Filed under: Opinion | Tagged: film, frost/nixon, history, Movies, nixon, oliver stone, pop culture, richard m. nixon, richard nixon, watchmen, watergate, watergate tapes | 1 Comment »

King of the World: Thoughts on Stephen King and Popular Culture

Posted on May 26, 2009 by Darren

How does Stephen King do it? He manages to churn out an astonishingly prolific back catalogue, but maintains a reasonably high quality. As with all authors, he soars above and he dips below, but – taken on average – he is a very strong writer than manages to churn out up to four books a year. How does the man do it?