Newsletter | Politics
An Ugly, Monstrous Election Newsletter
By the way, there’s an election coming up
I don’t know if ALL media is political, but I know that A LOT of media is political.
Since there’s an election coming up, here are six articles that examine movies, TV, games, and comics with a political bent.
‘Andor’ and Fighting Fascism
“It is not news that the Empire in Star Wars is fascist. George Lucas modeled the empire after the Nazis, not only in its design and terminology but also in its ideology and function. At the same time, the rebels were inspired by the guerilla fighters in Vietnam and other leftist revolutionaries. Star Wars is explicitly political in many aspects.”
All the President’s Men: The Washington Post Vs. Richard Nixon
“With so much talk and discourse that come with names and procedural details, All the President’s Men has a lot of details playing at once. The film, however, never loses its momentum, with creeping anxiety and suspense increasing as each discussion becomes more significant. Meanwhile, the truth becomes more difficult to locate, thanks to alternative news surfacing everywhere, false information through tv, “non-denial denials”, and informants who only give hints rather than clear explanations.”
Eat the Reich: Nazis are Bad
“The mission is fairly straightforward — drink all of Hitler’s blood. The game is a frantic dash through Paris to get to Hitler’s zeppelin while leaving a bloody smear of fascist swine the whole way.
On the surface, Eat the Reich looks and sounds like one of those satanic games they warned you about in the 80s, but it’s all OK because you’re the good guys and the bad guys are literal nazis.”
Get Ready for the Heel Turn: WWE meets GOP
“[Vince] McMahon’s wife Linda even served as head of the Small Business Administration while Trump was in office. The fact that wrestling treats its wrestlers as independent contractors and gives them no health insurance should sum up both the wisdom behind that appointment and the potentially dreadful future of employment in America if Trump wins again.”
Transmetropolitan: A Gonzo Sci-Fi Masterpiece
“The best part of the series is Spider Jerusalem, who’s a walking embodiment of the phrase “the truth will set you free, but first it’s going to piss you off”. He’s essentially Hunter S. Thompson if he were living in the future and completely hairless.”
U.S. Agent and Marvel’s Complex Relationship with the US Military
“While critiques like U.S. Agent exist within the MCU and Captain Marvel might be the best promotional material outside of Top Gun the USAF has had in decades, let’s not forget that the MCU effectively started with a story about an arms manufacturer realizing that ‘the military-industrial complex is bad actually’.”
