It’s Not About What It’s About: Dissecting Some Cult Classics

Buckaroo Banzai is really more fantasy than SF. Where Star Wars is the classic Quest fantasy, Buckaroo Banzai follows a different story; there is a hidden world we don’t know about, and in that world, forces of good and evil are waging a war with our world hanging in the balance. Our hero, a surprisingly resourceful person, has the ability to enter that world and fight for us, along with a team of allies, each of whom is an expert in a different area with skills that the team needs. By recasting this trope in the form of urban legends and conspiracy theories, Buckaroo Banzai responds to anxieties about things out of our control and assures us that we have a champion in the hidden battle. It’s religion for a post-supernatural world.

When You GISH Upon a Star….

Back in 2017, my friend and sometimes co-worker, Bethany, asked me if I wanted to be on her GISH team. “What the hell is GISH?” I asked. She told me, and now I’m telling you, so that you can sign up and do weird things in public and on social media, possibly win prizes, have a lot of fun, and help to make the world a better place.

In Defense of ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’

Let’s take a second look at ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’, the much-derided Star Wars movie that carefully (perhaps too carefully) tied up just about every little detail of Han Solo’s early life, from where he got his blaster to how he got his name, giving more attention to what’s happening on the sidelines.

Pointless Fanboy Speculation: MCU Fantastic Four

One area of perennial speculation in fandom revolves around how (or if or when) Marvel will integrate the characters whose rights were formerly held by other studios into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I don’t have any inside knowledge on the subject, but there are a lot of things we can presume based on Marvel’s previous decisions. So with that in mind, let’s engage in Pointless Fanboy Speculation!