Kit MacFarlane has a PhD in English Literature, Film and Popular Culture, and teaches film and media as a freelance academic. He writes cultural criticism, commentary and relentless tirades, and has published regular cultural and higher education commentary in Australian media. He writes monthly-ish column Retro Remote at PopMatters. A full list of his writing can be found on his very ugly webpage. Why not follow him on Twitter? Off-the-clock, he shouts at the TV incessantly.
Features
Friday, May 22 2009
Star Trek's Lost Legacy of Literary Pretension
What's a Kirk without Earth-poet Shakespeare? Has the awkward Star Trek quotation spat its last breath? Trek's lost legacy of literary pretension.
Wednesday, May 6 2009
Who Needs an Oscar Anyway?: Mickey Rourke's Homeboy
Dismissed as too depressing in 1988, Mickey Rourke's self-penned turn in Homeboy brings an aura of sorrow more nuanced and poetic than that of his celebrated performance in The Wrestler.
Columns
Tuesday, February 26 2013
Retro Future: Reviving 'Have Gun -- Will Travel' and 'The Rifleman'
It looks like classic TV Westerns "Have Gun -- Will Travel" and "The Rifleman" might be on their way back to screens. Any chance the 30-minute drama might make a return, too?
Wednesday, February 13 2013
A Blackly Sardonic Telling of Abe Lincoln: 'Crime Classics, The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln'
You think Steven Spielberg's Lincoln is compelling? Try upping the ante with Crime Classics: The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln.
Monday, December 10 2012
Love-Drenched Gunfighters in 'The Guns of Will Sonnett'
For a couple of rough 'n tough gunfighters, these guys sure do talk about love a lot.
Thursday, August 9 2012
The Three Stooges' Chaotic Neutrality in 'I Can Hardly Wait'
I Can Hardly Wait stretches the Three Stooges' "chaotic neutral" alignment into an uncomfortable fever dream of pointless violence with an undertone of sadistic cruelty. A failed Stoogesperiment in literary naturalism? or just a bad day?
Friday, June 1 2012
No Contract for Old Men: 5 'Old Folks' in Pop Culture That Are 5Xs Tougher Than You
It'd be a shame if the endless emphasis on youth results in a lack of "grown-up" concerns in pop culture. Here are five examples of the old kicking ass and refusing to give way to the young in mainstream pop culture.
Blogs
Friday, April 27 2012
Joss Whedon's 'Avengers' Reaches Apex of Averageness, True Believers
The Avengers may be awesome, but that doesn't mean it's any good. The new standard for superhero films seems to be that they don't suck as opposed to actually containing any ideas of interest.
Friday, October 14 2011
The Thing (2011): Bringing Quiet Tones and Space Vaginas Back from the '80s
Matthijs van Heinjningen Jr.'s prequel to John Carpenter's The Thing summons the chilly vibe and the cinema-sexual psychoanalytic undertone of the best of '80s genre cinema. It's only the generic modern "female empowerment" story that seems dated.
Friday, September 30 2011
WWE's Heels -- the Jerks, Cowards and Miscreants -- vs. Corporate Hedonism
Mainstream culture's failure to examine professional wrestling seriously -- in this case, workplace safety issues -- lets the WWE get away with all kinds of ridiculous villainy that no other media organisation could. And pocket a tidy profit while doing it.
Wednesday, March 30 2011
Homophobia Is Alive and Well on TV at the WWE
With the WWE's biggest event of the year on the horizon, fans and sponsors might want to take a closer look at its blatant homophobia and reconsider the wisdom of handing over their money to a bigoted and retrograde institution.
Wednesday, October 6 2010
'Sesame Street' Has More to Be Worried About Than Katy Perry's Low-Cut Top
Unfortunately, all debates about breasts ever seem to do is draw attention away from the real points of concern.
