Desirae Embree

Desirae recently began freelance writing in order to keep her two cats living in the style to which they'd become accustomed. When not providing for their comfort, she is a PhD student at Texas A&M where she studies film and media with an emphasis on gender and sexuality. Her work has appeared on Autostraddle, Vague Visages, Write out of L.A., and PopMatters, where she is currently an Associate Film Editor. She can be kept up with on Twitter (@ZeeSayre) and on her personal site.
‘Feral’ Creator Morgan Jon Fox on Telling One’s Own Story

‘Feral’ Creator Morgan Jon Fox on Telling One’s Own Story

Fox discusses art, illness, community, and the importance of not losing touch with one's roots.
Feral: Season 1

Feral: Season 1

Feral offers a queer coming-of-age drama stripped of stereotypes.
If You’re Suspicious of the Pitch, Read ‘Mad Men, Death, and the American Dream’

If You’re Suspicious of the Pitch, Read ‘Mad Men, Death, and the American Dream’

If Mad Men’s slickness allow us to enjoy the existential emptiness at the heart of American identity without implicating us, Bronfen’s volume works to close that distance.
New Additions to Netflix Worth Watching in July

New Additions to Netflix Worth Watching in July

This month’s additions to Netflix’s roster are precisely the kind of fare one expects for summer: nostalgic fan favorites, Classic Hollywood romcoms, and easy '80s action flicks.
‘Gilda’ Is an Invitation to Look Deeper Into Pop Culture

‘Gilda’ Is an Invitation to Look Deeper Into Pop Culture

Beautiful, classic, important, and thoroughly complex, Gilda is a real “aficionado” film, and yet it has an undeniable popular appeal.

Empire: Season 2, Part 2

Empire: Season 2, Part 2

If Empirestretches audience goodwill a little too far, perhaps it can be forgiven; whatever its flaws, it never fails to entertain.
‘Fantastic Planets, Forbidden Zones, and Lost Continents’ Ranks 100 Greatest Sci-Fi Films

‘Fantastic Planets, Forbidden Zones, and Lost Continents’ Ranks 100 Greatest Sci-Fi Films

Not only does this collect all the film ephemera into one place for easy reference, it also serves as a springboard for the kinds of conversations that energize sci-fi fans.
Silent Film Speaks Up: This Newly Restored Chaplin Comedies Elicit New Laughs

Silent Film Speaks Up: This Newly Restored Chaplin Comedies Elicit New Laughs

Flicker Alley’s recent release of 15 newly restored comedies from Chaplin’s time at Essanay Studios is another priceless intervention in the decay of Hollywood history.
‘Cruising the Movies’ Is as Entertaining as the Movies That It Looks At

‘Cruising the Movies’ Is as Entertaining as the Movies That It Looks At

Cruising the Movies is film writing that delivers that magic with verve, wit, and self-deprecation.
Empire: Season 2, Episode 10 – “Et tu, Brute?”

Empire: Season 2, Episode 10 – “Et tu, Brute?”

Given this episode's recycling of season one's plot, it seems as though we’ve maybe seen most of what Empire has to offer.
Library of America Rethinks Women and the Hard Boiled Tradition in New Set of Women’s Crime Writing

Library of America Rethinks Women and the Hard Boiled Tradition in New Set of Women’s Crime Writing

This box set represents a nuanced perspective not only of the crime fiction genre, but of women's contributions to mid-century American culture.
Empire: Season 2, Episode 9 – “Sinned Against”

Empire: Season 2, Episode 9 – “Sinned Against”

This week's episode "Sinned Against" was aptly titled, as it seemed a blatant transgression against believability and audience investment in the show.