a spectre is haunting the machine.

'We're Gonna Need a Bigger Backrooms': Archetypes, Masculinity, and the Maladaptive Hunt

The Backrooms (2026) has real script problems, but its concept is interesting enough to warrant some analysis. Using Frentz and Rushing's reading of Jaws as a framework, this post argues for Clark as Quint and discusses the film's inversion of the hunter myth's "sacred marriage."

Severance and Squid Game: A Tale of Two Season Twos

Season two of Severance and Squid Game built on the anti-capitalist critique of their first seasons, but in vastly different directions. This post explores how they diverge.

The Stella Zine Riot Grrrl Collection: Notes from a conference paper

This post is a companion piece for a paper I presented on an archive at UGA.

Protesting Azeroth: Notes from a conference paper

This post is a companion piece for a paper I presented on player protest in World of Warcraft.

The Idiot Plot, Madman Theory, and Late American Empire

This post explores US policy towards Iran through the lenses of the idiot plot, madman theory, and theories of American executive power.

Everyone's a Hero in a Fascist Reading of Popular Media: Iran Strikes, Call of Duty, and Dudecore Soundbites

The White House has been gloating through montage videos after striking Iran. This post disentangles some of the meaning-making involved in the properties they are posting.

Retrobaiting Azeroth: Notes from a conference paper

This blog post is a companion piece for a paper I presented at a conference in February (which I am working to publish in a journal in the coming year). Nostalgia is a contested space, including in and around World of Warcraft, a video game that has been running for

ICE the Mannerbund: Music, Authoritarianism, Hate

Trump’s federal agencies love putting catchy songs alongside their content on social media. While they usually post pop songs, phonk edits, or whatever viral sound is hitting on TikTok six months prior, on January 9, the DHS and ICE jointly posted an ICE recruitment image on Instagram with a

Reanimating the Bones 4: The Unholy Trinity -- Guns of the Father, Sins of the South, and the Haunting Spirit of White Supremacy

Hayley Williams's "True Believer" performance on Jimmy Fallon's show was a force. This last of several essays examines some of Williams's laments and hopes for the South.

Reanimating the Bones 3: Acid Nashville and Post-Neoliberalism

Hayley Williams's "True Believer" performance on Jimmy Fallon's show was a force. This third of several essays examines some of Williams's laments and hopes for Nashville.

Reanimating the Bones 2: Death and Tourism in the Music Scene

Hayley Williams's "True Believer" contends with the dynamics of tourism and death in her city of Nashville. This second of several essays examines how.

Reanimating the Bones: Hayley Williams, Jimmy Fallon, and a Confrontation with Nashville’s Living Ghosts

Hayley Williams's "True Believer" performance on Jimmy Fallon's show was a force. This first of several essays examines some of the context of the show before providing a list of the other essays about Williams's indictment of Nashville.