Shakespeare and Political Commentary in 2017

So I was reading a Shakespeare play today (Richard II) and came across this line:   For heaven’s sake let us sit upon the ground And tell sad stories about the death of kings: How some have been deposed, some slain in war, Some haunted by the ghosts they have deposed, Some poisoned by their…

The Problem of a “Gay” Babadook

Recently, due to an error on Netflix’s part, the 2014 Australian horror film, The Babadook, was listed under LGBT films. The film, about a single mother and her struggles as they involve an evil monster (the eponymous Babadook) bent on destroying her child, is anything but an LGBT-themed film. However, when a photo of Netflix’s…

Losing Our Common Sense

If you have ever been a student of history or literature of the United States you have probably heard of the author Thomas Paine.  Hailed as a genius by Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine published the pamphlet Common Sense in 1776.  One of the most incendiary and revolutionary pieces ever written, selling over a half a…