I'm seeing some discourse claiming Predator Badlands is "critical of toxic masculinity," and although I liked the movie, sorry but no. It still glorifies dominator masculinity (as the ending proves). Learning to accept help when enacting violent domination rituals isn't actually a good critique.

I'm seeing some discourse claiming Predator Badlands is "critical of toxic masculinity," and although I liked the movie, sorry but no. It still glorifies dominator masculinity (as the ending proves). Learning to accept help when enacting violent domination rituals isn't actually a good critique.

For no particular reason I thought I'd re-post my video about David Harbour's character in Stranger Things being abusive and belligerent towards his love interest in season 3: www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3cB...

I was trying to remember why I lost interest in stranger things...but I think this was a big reason (to be clear: I felt this way prior to the Pop Detective video, he just put it into a lovely, shareable video essay format)

For no particular reason I thought I'd re-post my video about David Harbour's character in Stranger Things being abusive and belligerent towards his love interest in season 3: www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3cB...

AOC: And they are able to radicalize a generation of young boys in particular, away from healthy masculinity and into an insecure masculinity that requires the domination of others who are poorer, browner, darker, or a different gender than them.

hell yeah

Just finished reading. Poignant and troubling. I’ll be quoting the chapter on “AI girlfriends” in an upcoming video essay I’ve been working on this summer.

This book is extremely important and spot on in how it pinpoints the latent misogyny emended in AI chatbots and other new tech. Check out “The New Age of Sexism” by Laura Bates

This book is extremely important and spot on in how it pinpoints the latent misogyny emended in AI chatbots and other new tech. Check out “The New Age of Sexism” by Laura Bates

The Sound of Music (1965)

The Sound of Music (1965)

Javier Bardem at the #Emmys: "Here I am today denouncing the genocide in Gaza... Free Palestine!" (via @Variety)

"I just want to say, go birds, fuck ICE and free Palestine," "Hacks" star Hannah Einbinder at the #Emmys

An important thing to understand about this is that Apocalypse Now is not an "antiwar" film. Francis Ford Coppola said so himself. It's a "war is hell" narrative. The film and especially the cool surfing scene has been co-opted by the US Military and conservatives to promote imperialism for decades.

Working on a new thing…

The "This is awesome!" trend in family films is a silly pet peeve of mine. A character loudly exclaims that something is awesome. The obligatory line typically comes during, or right after, they do said awesome thing. I've collected almost 200 examples so far: letterboxd.com/popdetective...

80s nostalgia AI slop: A niche like any other, reverse engineered by 20-something digital nomads in Bali to boomerfy the masses as they astral project to a fake past in service of making fractions of a cent per view on Zuckerberg's cultish algorithmic slop machine www.404media.co/80s-nostalgi...

Next time you run into anyone who thinks it doesn't matter that slop machines have no brains, maybe show them this. CEOs and senior management in #education who integrate this into their institutions are incompetent - or getting kickbacks. #academicsky

New video essay examining the myth of the "alpha male" and how that false ideal propagates through popular culture: www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpvp...

Tech Bros have turned the internet into an hellscape of bullshit. At the top of every google search we're greeted with an "AI Overview," which is an avalanche of misinformation, fabricated drivel, and hallucinated nonsense. None of the data returned by "generative AI" can be trusted as reliable.

Marlene Dietrich performing masculinity in the pre-Code Hollywood film "Morocco" from 1930

Marlene Dietrich performing masculinity in the pre-Code Hollywood film "Morocco" from 1930

You can follow on Patreon for free to see the full supercut BTW, you don’t really have to donate to the channel. Shhh don’t tell anyone 🤫

Your videos are always a treat

Followers on Patreon get a peak behind-the-scenes of my researching process for creating video essays. This montage features 12 minutes of media references to the old cliché where a caveman clubs a woman over the head and drags her back to his cave. www.patreon.com/posts/behind...

Don Bluth, Gary Goldman and John Pomeroy pose among the storyboards for 'The Secret of NIMH', the subject of our latest deep dive – with special guest, Jonathan McIntosh of @popdetective.bsky.social #secretofnimh #donbluth

Is it good for kids movies to be a little scary? We discuss this and much more during our episode on The Secret of NIMH with @popdetective.bsky.social! Check it out at www.movieoubliette.com

Had a lot of fun returning to the @movieoubliette.bsky.social podcast to talk about The Secret of NIMH, which was one of my favorite movies as a kid. We start discussing the 1982 animated classic around the 11:15 mark: movieoubliette.com/episode/the-...

This week we're joined by @popdetective.bsky.social to investigate the Secret of NIMH! Can this underrated Don Bluth classic scurry its way out of the Oubliette? Find out at www.movieoubliette.com!

Given the criticism has emerged that the new Superman movie is woke (I hope it is), people might be interested in this great video essay by @popdetective.bsky.social. It makes a good argument that superhero narratives generally aren’t woke (or, at least, not progressive). youtu.be/LpitmEnaYeU

What a headline.

Maybe unpopular to say but I don't particularly care for this list. Some great films no doubt, but it's a very self-serious collection leaning towards the cynical. Shockingly few fun, life-affirming, hopeful, or romantic movies are listed. Plus, the same male auteur directors appear over and over.

If you’re interesting to know more about the history behind the Alpha male myth check out this great video by @popdetective.bsky.social youtu.be/kpvpadX5mwM?...

The book that quote is from, incidentally, is one of the best books on the culture I've read. Highly recommended. www.amazon.com/Toxic-Merito...

Since we seem to be having the same arguments about pop singers again, I'm reminded of bell hooks critique of how in the early 1990s Madonna tried to reinvent herself by aligning her brand with patriarchal imagery. (Clip contains some nudity from Vanity Fair magazine).

I posted a video clip on TikTok using footage of Charlie Chaplin and Jojo Rabbit to condemn fascism and my video got removed for “promoting hate.” The irony would be funny if we weren’t living in such dangerous times.

Really sharp and insightful take 👇

Y'all weren't kidding, Blue Prince is absolutely Game of The Year. Already on day 25. Maybe just one more run today...Maybe two...or three...

Should I turn this thread into a short video essay? I feel like the mainstream conversation around this series is lacking in a few important ways.

Male Identification - Patriarchy 101 youtube.com/shorts/uNaHe... via @popdetective.bsky.social

FINALLY got around to watching this with my fiance and it is a MUST watch!

Not long enough imo

As unlikely as it seems, these two videos work really nicely together. I thought about the Fortnite one a lot while watching the one on the "Alpha Male".

New video from @popdetective.bsky.social !!! This might be my favorite yet. m.youtube.com/watch?v=kpvp...

Been waiting for this. Terrific. Entertaining and powerful and so important.

Todo vídeo do Pop Culture Detective é bom, e o que saiu ontem não é exceção.

I think it's really important for guys to see this and think about the fact that a lot of this alpha male pseudo-science crap encourages behavior that denies your social needs and also stunts your social development in a way that dooms you to an unhappy, lonely and confused life.