Category: Pop culture
The Tomorrowland Promise
Somehow, we were all convinced to abandon the idea of Utopia, to give up on the notion that the future would be better than today. The reason Disneyland’s Tomorrowland was allowed to become quaint and kitsch and eventually retro-cool is that it couldn’t be updated, because we’ve had no vision for the future since the mid-1970s. Or at least not for a future that’s nicer than our present.
Atomic Roundtable: Stuff We Don’t Get
Together, we at the Junk Shop have a great deal of knowledge about a great many things in the SF/fantasy genre … but there are some odd gaps in our nerd cred. Here we confess to completely missing out on classic shows or movies or whatever that are givens for most people in fan culture. Whether it’s lack of time or lack of access or just plan lack of interest, these are the normally-beloved things we don’t get.
Who Are You Calling a Boomer?
There’s been this trend of late, blaming this generation or that for all the world’s problems — “Boomers destroyed the economy!””Millennials are killing [everything]!” “Gen Xers all want participation trophies!” — and that’s not what this post is about. What it is about is recognizing and appreciating the influences and factors that contribute to some of the trends and attitudes associated with certain generations, and pointing out why some of those generational groupings may be too broad and/or inaccurate.
Finding Elseworlds on the small screen
The Elseworlds (or ‘imaginary story’) concept is a tried and tested formula in comics, but it also exists in other media, although nobody calls it that. In particular, it has frequently appeared in (mainly American) serial television productions since the 1960s at least.
Atomic Roundtable: The highs and lows of 2018
So we are entering the tail end of 2018, a tumultuous year in many ways; from social change, political upheaval, international crises, deaths of respected public figures, some great comics …
On the Way to ETEWAF
After reading Hatcher’s “Non-Existent Gift Guide” I got to thinking about all the movies and stuff I’ve searched in vain for over the years, thinking I’d add to his list with a list of my own. Then I thought I should check one more time just to be sure on a few items. Turns out Patton Oswalt was right. He called it ETEWAF: Everything That Ever Was–Available Forever. And it seems like almost everything is available now.