really lame Blade Runner replicant

i. the monster's body is a cultural body

ii. the monster always escapes

iii. the monster is the harbinger of category crisis

iv. the monster dwells at the gates of difference

v. the monster polices the borders of the possible

vi. fear of the monster is really a kind of desire

these are all direct quotes from jeffrey jerome cohen's "monster culture (seven theses)" (full pdf linked) i highly encourage you to read it yourself!

that said, while i think cohen's writing is evocative, it can be a little dense, so while i'm here, here's my capsule summary (you can also hear me talk about this in the first episode of my podcast) (listen to @ghostswerepeopletoo)

i. the monster's body is a cultural body - The monster is a work of fiction to be analyzed through tools of literary and sociological theory.

ii. the monster always escapes - As long as the cultural fear from which the monster stems persists, the monster will reappear in retellings, reimaginings, and sequels.

iii. the monster is the harbinger of category crisis - Monsters defy binaries and challenge easy comprehension or categorization.

iv. the monster dwells at the gates of difference - The monster represents the Other.

v. the monster polices the borders of the possible - Tales of the monster exist to discourage unacceptable or taboo behaviors.

vi. fear of the monster is really a kind of desire - Subjects can vicariously participate in the disruption of the social order through the monster.

Did some early arcade games cause people to suffer hallucinations, memory loss, and short-term personality changes? Yes, they did – because many folks who played them were experiencing close range exposure to bright, rapidly flashing lights for the first time in their lives, and – at the time – public awareness of photosensitive epilepsy was practically nonexistent. Most who had it were undiagnosed, and its symptoms often weren’t recognised when they arose – and if you have no idea what photosensitive epilepsy is, those symptoms might look a lot like alien mind control!

Were early video arcades frequented by serious-looking men in dark suits? Again, yes they were – because they were suspected of being money-laundering fronts for illegal gambling rings, and thus were routinely placed under federal surveillance. And those suspicions weren’t unfounded – it later transpired that many early video arcades were, in fact, money-laundering fronts for illegal gambling rings.

Did arcade cabinets with strange titles and indecipherable gameplay quietly pop up in out-of-the-way places, then vanish shortly thereafter, never to be seen again? Absolutely – because a thriving black market in off-brand bootlegs arose almost immediately. Quality control was nonexistent, so many such cabinets had operational lifespans measured in weeks, and you’d most often see them in arcades with poor locations simply because they were cheap.

Saturday Night, Ollie Jones

here is why they are good

Spider-Man saves people. These movies were refreshing because they reawakened the understanding of a superhero as someone who serves their community and does good in a way that an ordinary person could not do.

Spider-Man is part of a community. Spider-Man's relationships with others are absolutely central in each movie, whether that is with Aunt May, MJ, his acquaintances and friends, or random strangers he interacts with. The relationship of reciprocity between the people of New York and Spider-Man is an especially important theme in the second film, exemplified in the scene where the passengers on the train carry an unconscious and unmasked Spider-Man to safety and give him his mask back. Spider-Man is strong enough to stop the train from crashing, but he collapses in the aftermath, and his wounded body has to be supported by the hands of the many anonymous people whose lives he saved.

I just absolutely adore how "weakness" is treated in these films. There are many scenes where helpless people are threatened or held hostage and have to be saved by Spider-Man, but these people are almost always given some level of agency, and sometimes help Spider-Man in a crucial way. For example, Aunt May hitting Doctor Octopus with her cane, the New Yorkers on the bridge throwing objects at Green Goblin, and the people on the train protecting Spider-Man with their bodies when Doctor Octopus threatens him. In the second movie there is a scene where Peter Parker, having rejected his identity as Spider-Man, is trying to save a little girl (barely older than a toddler) from a burning building. When he nearly falls through a collapsing floor, the little girl, who has been carried in Peter's arms the whole time and was paralyzed with fear, reaches out to grab onto Peter's hands and tries to help pull him up, even though she doesn't have the strength to. This scene is so good, it makes me want to cry.

Spider-Man is actually dorky and awkward in a way that feels genuine.

Spider-Man messes up in ways that feel realistic and goes through genuine character growth. He actually has character flaws and has to work through them.

The way socioeconomic class affects the characters is shown.

There's something just very campy and dramatic and Shakespearean about the plots. MJ breaking up with her fiance on her wedding day and meeting Spider-Man in his apartment in her wedding dress. Harry preparing to kill Spider-Man with a dagger and then stumbling back in shock as he unmasks him. Eddie in the church looking like death warmed over begging God to kill Spider-Man. The love triangles, the hidden identities, Dr. Osborne hallucinating in a room full of creepy masks and then Harry having hallucinations of his dead father... everything is a little over-the-top in a way that is like we're not self conscious about the innate silliness of this story.

I love the way Harry pouts and broods and has such a bitchy Byronic hero look.

Y'all know I love a character who is a science experiment gone wrong and these movies delivered beautifully.

I appreciate the way it's sort of implied that Aunt May knows Peter is Spider-Man but there's not a big reveal, you could really interpret it either way.

LIVE WALLPAPER: wallpaper engine. only thing on here that costs any money (its like 5 bucks on steam). im sure theres free alternatives but this one has a lot of presets and stuff so its less hassle and its what i use. might be a bad idea for lower end pcs tho

CUSTOM TASKBAR: retrobar on github (lots of different options)

CUSTOM CURSOR: theres a lot of places to find these, but rw-designer open cursor library is a good place to start

DISCORD: betterdiscord, im using the clearvision v7 theme with a custom background

EXTENSIONS (these are for firefox, might or might not exist on other browsers):

tabliss for the new tab theme

stylus for tumblr -> specifically the 'tumblr - custom dashboard pallette' theme for colors + bg, and this for the pre-twitterifcation layout

enhancer for youtube for custom youtube colors

The young woman's micro-blog loads on your screen.

PERCEPTION [Trivial: Success] - This *is* an attractive one.

ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Easy: Success] - It's been too long. Your flesh craves hers.

SUGGESTION [Trivial: Success] - Slide into her DMs right now.

YOU - They're closed.

SUGGESTION [Medium: Success] - Has that ever been a problem for us?

VOLITION [Challenging: Success] - Get in her ask-box instead.

YOU - What would I even say?

ENCYCLOPEDIA [Medium: Success] - This one's a *Communard*.

RHETORIC [Godly: Failure]

- "You're hot as hell."

- "Can I DM you?"