Jan 25, 2016 | Arts and Entertainment, Gender and Sexism, mic
Published: Salon (January 25, 2016) After it became apparent that the character of Rey had been excluded from game sets for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” critics quickly accused Lucasfilm – which was purchased by Disney in 2012 – of making sexist assumptions when developing its product line. Although Hasbro denied these claims in a statement to Entertainment Weekly about their “Star Wars...
Jan 23, 2016 | Arts and Entertainment, Internet Culture, mic
Published: The Daily Dot (January 23, 2016) If there is any silver lining to the Amy Schumer plagiarism scandal, it is that it establishes one of the ways in which the Internet can be an unequivocal force for good. Thanks to social media and online activism, the days in which the powerful can rip off the powerless with impunity are long gone. Just to recap: Three female comedians have accused...
Jan 9, 2016 | Arts and Entertainment, mic
Published: The Good Men Project (January 9, 2016) Okay, I don't really mean that. There has been so much written about the upcoming Spider-Man movie that I felt a little hyperbole would help attract your attention. If you're reading this, though, that means I wasn't wrong... so let me explain why the inclusion of Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is, in fact, a terrible thing for...
Jan 7, 2016 | Arts and Entertainment, Elections, Elections - Presidential (2016)
Published: The Good Men Project (January 7, 2016) For the record, I don't believe Donald Trump is going to be our next president. Similarly, I would be shocked if the Democratic Party nominated Kanye West as their presidential candidate in 2020, despite his declared intention to run. That said, I can't help but wonder... What if? What if Trump manages to stave off Ted Cruz and win the Republican...
Jan 5, 2016 | Arts and Entertainment, Gender and Sexism, mic
Published: The Good Men Project (January 5, 2016) Warning: This entire article is one big spoiler! If you want to understand why men are reluctant to discuss their emotions, look no further than the response to Kylo Ren from "Star Wars: The Force Awakens." On Twitter, there is a popular (and media-lauded) account called "Emo Kylo Ren," in which the Star Wars antagonist makes comments like "Darth...
Jan 3, 2016 | Arts and Entertainment, President Obama
Published: The Daily Dot (January 3, 2016) In the most recent episode of his hit webseries Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, Jerry Seinfeld featured a guest who is not a professional comedian: President Barack Obama. At one point in the show, Seinfeld asked the president what was his most embarrassing moment in office so far. “This may be it,” Obama joked. The thing is, though, that some other...
Dec 13, 2015 | Arts and Entertainment, mic, Race and Racism
Published: Salon (December 13, 2015) As I watched “The Ridiculous Six,” my mind kept returning to an old episode from the popular Web series “Half in the Bag.” While reviewing the comedy “Jack and Jill,” critic Jay Bauman came up with a list of stale tropes that predictably appear in all of Adam Sandler’s movies. Nestled between entries like “general whorish product placement” and “scenes of...
Dec 1, 2015 | Arts and Entertainment, Elections - Presidential (2016), mic
Published: The Good Men Project (December 1, 2015) When future cultural historians look back on the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I suspect they will find the character arcs of Iron Man (aka Tony Stark) and Captain America (aka Steve Rogers) to be particularly fascinating. Whether intentionally or otherwise, each superhero has wound up embodying distinct aspects of our contemporary political...
Nov 24, 2015 | Arts and Entertainment, Elections - Presidential (2016), Race and Racism
Published: The Good Men Project (November 24, 2015) - co-authored with Jill Di Donato Donald Trump’s ascent as a presidential frontrunner is, without question, one of the major political events of our lifetime. Even if he doesn’t ultimately win the Republican nomination next year, he has already dominated in the polls long past the time when most experts believed his star would wane. As a...
Nov 12, 2015 | Arts and Entertainment, Asperger's Syndrome, Autobiographical, Mental Illness
Published: The Good Men Project (November 12, 2015) I recently discovered some lyrics from a Beatles song that resonated so strongly with me that I needed to include them here. Courtesy of "Eleanor Rigby": Eleanor Rigby, picks up the rice In the church where a wedding has been Lives in a dream Waits at the window, wearing the face That she keeps in a jar by the door Who is it for? For a moment,...