The WWACers have a wide array of likes and dislikes in the fandom worlds, and when we really love something, we’re not afraid to share it with our readers. Take a peek at the articles below and find out if some if our enthusiasm matches yours.
Loving Steven Universe, February 17, 2014,
Once upon a time, a dear friend and cartoon animation buff recommended a new Cartoon Network show called Steven Universe. As one who was mostly ignorant of but eager to experience a new generation of cartoons, and having previously fallen head over heels for Adventure Time, Bee and Puppycat, and Gravity Falls thanks to this same dear friend, I obliged, and together we watched the pilot episode of Steven Universe.
If you asked me now what the pilot was about, you would find me shamefully consulting Wikipedia for the answer. I honestly don’t remember much about this initial viewing, nor do I remember the reason why it didn’t immediately stick. I found Steven to be a bit grating, and, for whatever reason, I couldn’t situate myself in the world of Beach City and the Crystal Gems. I didn’t hate it, but I couldn’t say I loved it either.
One Year Later: I am talked into watching the most recent Steven Universe episode with my dear animation friend and now, roommate.
And I don’t know what happened between the pilot and that episode, but after watching “Alone Together” I needed Steven Universe to be my everything. READ MORE
Loving Half Resurrection Blues, February 17, 2014,
Half Resurrection Blues
Daniel José Older
Roc
January 6 2015Full disclosure: I am enthusiastic about the things I like. Being a fangirl is part of the reason why I love this WWAC gig. I went straight-smooth-serious into fanning hard for this book: I looked for the TV Tropes page; there was none yet, so I created it. I did fan art. I am only passingly acquainted with Daniel José Older on Twitter. I took issue with the idea that comparing Daniel José Older with Cassandra Clare is supposed to be a compliment to him. There is nothing derivative about this debut novel.
That said, this book, the first in the Bone Street Rumba series, flows like lyrical poetry. There’s a subtle sub-soundtrack that resonates with the reader through the words; it’s in phrases like “you can almost taste the bursting molecules in the air.” For all that, it’s really hard to review the book because for the review I want to try to be detached and analytical, but the story keeps drawing me in, like someone convincing my wallflower self to get out on the floor and dance to a beautiful song I can’t help but move to. So, I’m reviewing it from where it reaches me.
Any native New Yorker is going to have a similar reaction, particularly if they know Brooklyn. It comes alive under Older’s narrative in a way that’s difficult to describe. Just saying “it’s diverse” does a disservice to the vibrant life happening around the protagonist Carlos, with people of all ages, races, and lifestyles. And not just the people, but everything around them: what they eat, what they drink, what they smoke—they are written in such rich detail that I got a little homesick for New York foods I can’t get here in Georgia. Older doesn’t spoon feed his readers, nor does he other his characterizations. When someone begins speaking Spanish, he expects you to know it from your own experience, or to Google that shit, understand it, and keep it moving. The book pulls no punches either: Carlos calls it like he sees it with regard to the varying ethnicities in his world and what gentrification is doing to his stomping grounds.
The book sort of hip-bumps other genres. I’ve heard it described as noir, urban fantasy, and I’ve heard people invent genre names, because Half Resurrection Blues has elements of them all, but combines them in a way that is fresh. The Council of the Dead is a bureaucracy that deals with the dead and the living only inasmuch as they have to prevent the dead from affecting them. The ghosts being fully intelligent and affected by the methods of their deaths is not completely new, but it seems new under Older’s deft stylistic touch. The ngk, a freaky little ghoul and harbinger of disaster, which chuckles hideous laughter to itself while it rides a stationary bike, produces a mental image I have never had anywhere else. READ MORE
And loving Rec, February 17, 2014,
I was bullied by my grandmother into successfully watching my first horror movie. It was Scream, and when I got too scared and tried to leave, my Taiwanese grandma snapped at me, “SIT DOWN. It’s only a movie.” My cousins and grandma had always loved spooking me into crying with Hong Kong B horror, but this time, the lovely old lady would not let me back out. I stayed, and it changed my movie viewing forever. I still spook easily, and a good jump scare can still get me, but for the most part, I’ve realized that it’s only a movie. It’s always only a movie.
Of course, there are exceptions: films where immersion and my suspension of disbelief are woven together so beautifully that I forget this simple credo that helps my little, skittish heart through most horror media. Here’s a chart to illustrate the distinction, for me:
Scary, but “only a movie” GET ME OUT OF THIS ROOM Note: all links go to IMDB, in case you’re wondering if they’re “the original version or the remake?”
Observant horror fans will notice a tiny trend: there are a lot of foreign movies in that right column. For me, American horror provides an easy scare: American movies love pointing out what you should be afraid of and saying over and over again, “See how spoooooky this is?” Japanese movies tend to focus on the idea of scariness by forcing the audience’s eye only on what’s scary.
Compare the Japanese version of The Ring with its American equivalent. In the Japanese version, Sadako appears from the TV. The film cuts exclusively between Ryuji and Sadako. Even when the phone rings (as it does in the American version), we hear it off screen, and Ryuji gropes for it, showing it as a useless lifeline to the outside world. READ MORE
