Category Archives: Popular Culture

Rampant Geekery: Star Wars Thoughts [SPOILERS]

Posted on May 24, 2005 by Timothy Burke

Inspired by Gary Farber’s interesting comparison of what is supposed to be the full script and the actual theatrical version of “Sith”, I thought I’d list some of the things that occurred to me about the film and the overall … Continue reading →

Posted in Popular Culture | 13 Comments

It Doesn’t Suck

Posted on May 19, 2005 by Timothy Burke

“Sith” isn’t the best time I’ve ever had at the movies, but I enjoyed myself quite a lot. If that’s the right word for it: as many early reviews and a minimal knowledge of the timeline of the Star Wars … Continue reading →

Posted in Popular Culture | 15 Comments

Tote that Barge, Lift that Bale

Posted on May 17, 2005 by Timothy Burke

The wave of cultural criticism about how “Star Wars” changed American popular culture is now flowing at full tide, if not quite up to full tsunami intensity yet. There is not much new to say amid that flood. There’s been … Continue reading →

Posted in Popular Culture | 10 Comments

Trope Trove, or Colonial Fairy Tales

Posted on May 17, 2005 by Timothy Burke

I’m teaching my “Image of Africa” course again next semester, and I’ve decided to try and work some more on a pedagogical strategy that has had pretty good results in several of my cultural history classes. Basically, I take a … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Popular Culture | 14 Comments

And Then What Happened?

Posted on May 13, 2005 by Timothy Burke

The pull of narrative is very strong. Once I’ve started a story, I need to know what happens next even when the story becomes quite bad or irritating. I stuck with Robert Jordan’s awful, awful fantasy series for six books, … Continue reading →

Posted in Popular Culture | 23 Comments

Built to Last

Posted on May 13, 2005 by Timothy Burke

One of the few blog discussions that I followed pretty closely during my blog-vacation was the spiralling conversation that came out of initial reactions to The Valve. It drew a number of comments from me at various sites, and I … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Books, Popular Culture | 3 Comments