a collection of excellent readings

[thedeadparrot]

Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Shooter - this is an great article exploring one of the most interesting first person shooter games (Spec Ops: The Line) to come out of the current crop. I found it both powerful and moving, which is something that I didn't think I would ever say about video game journalism. I'm not sure how well it reads to someone who has never played a shooter before, but it is not particularly long, and I hope you give it a shot.

Fear of a Black President - This is just a stunning examination of the Obama presidency through the lens of race, both black and white. It delves into the past, both distant and recent, to explore the way in which blackness and Obama are very much intertwined. I find it hard to summarize this piece. It's long and it covers a lot of ground. TNC is a writer I already really respected, but this just blew me away. I feel like it expanded my mind.

Film Crit Hulk: What the Fuck Is It About Batman? (warning: Hulk-style writing aka ALL CAPS) - I really like Film Crit Hulk. He's such a thoughtful, intelligent writer really willing to try to dig into the heart of the issue. I was looking around for some good discussion on the ever-eternal Batman vs. Superman debate, and this post really clarified it for me and gave me another way of looking at it. I think it will be one of my go-to references the next time a dude tells me that Superman is boring.


Found anything really good yourself? Drop me a link. I'd love to read it.

Comments

[louderandlouder]

I highly recommend everything else Tom Bissell has written, if "Thirteen Ways..." is your introduction to him! I've just finished his new collection Magic Hours. He's great on every subject.

[thedeadparrot]

I have read a few of his other video game reviews (which were good, but were also rather like most video game reviews), and I had Extra Lives on my list of things to read. If he's this good on other subjects as well, I will definitely check out his other stuff on top of that.

[louderandlouder]

In addition to Extra Lives (which is much more like "Thirteen Ways..." than like his other game criticism) and Hours, I liked his bleak but humane travel book about Central Asia, Chasing the Sea.

[metonymy]

Oh man, that Film Crit Hulk article. Definitely hits on a lot of what I've been feeling and thinking about after TDKR, and somehow writing fic in that universe while not actually using Bruce Wayne ever. (John Blake: way more compelling than Bruce, to me.)

I really enjoyed Critics Who Explain Things, which starts with the "critics are too nice" thing, zooms through the Giraldi flaming of Alix Ohlin's books, and finishes up with "Men Explain Things to Me." Just very well tied together.