Column
I write Observer’s column, Look Again, which examines the hidden histories and deeper contexts of TV shows and movies.
Credit: Red Banks Films
From Carrie to Yellowjackets: Why Are We Fascinated By Fanatical Women?
Oct. 2023
In shows like The Handmaid's Tale, Game of Thrones, and Midnight Mass, the trope of the zealous woman has become a mainstay in recent years.
Credit: Disney+
On the 35th Anniversary of Willow, Make Onscreen Fantasy Fun Again
May 2023
In 1988, George Lucas and Ron Howard teamed up for Willow, an epic fantasy film more focused on being delightful than profound.
Credit: Nickelodeon
A Rugrats Passover Is the Definitive Jewish Holiday Special
Dec. 2022
Since its release in 1995, A Rugrats Passover remains the crème de la crème of holiday specials.
Credit: ABC
The Bachelorette Sells Girl Power, Then Doubles Down on the Tears and Suffering
Aug. 2022
This season is shaping up to be the same as the rest, except this time two women bear the burden of rehabilitating the image of the troubled franchise instead of one.
(Credit: UPN)
Revisiting Buffy Season 6: The Slayer vs. Toxic Masculinity
May 2022
The season’s Big Bad trio of misogynists, demands reconsideration in light of allegations against Joss Whedon.
Credit: Netflix
She-Ra and Catradora: If People Try to Murder You Maybe Don’t Date Them?
Feb. 2022
Redemption may be possible (just ask Firelord Zuko), but it takes time that Catra wasn’t given.
Credit: Pixar
Rewatching A Bug’s Life, the Coyly Marxist Film That Followed Pixar’s Gigantic IPO
Nov. 2021
Toy Story and the Pixar IPO made majority-shareholder Steve Jobs a billionaire in 1995. Pixar followed up by making a children's film about class consciousness.