Opinion

Dean Winchester is the Bisexual Hero Supernatural Deserves

August 2, 2018 // 0 Comments

Dean Winchester wearing a medieval costume

Warning: Supernatural spoilers ahead. It’s been more than a decade. It’s been thirteen seasons of the Winchester brothers killing monsters along the lower forty-eight. Of booze-fuelled sex romps and bro hugs. Of monsters and men. And thirteen years has certainly taken its toll on Sam and Dean — they’ve been chewed up by Lucifer and spit out by the Almighty Chuck himself. Dean has been in dire straits since season four, when he returned from Hell — his alcoholism //

‘Once Upon a Time’ Has a Consent Problem

December 7, 2017 // 1 Comment

For seven seasons, Once Upon a Time has grouped together packs of fairytale characters and allowed us to catch a glimpse of how they interact, solve problems, and slay monsters (both real and internal ones). We have seen characters find love, experience heartbreak, deal with self-doubt, find and lose their magic, and literally kill dragons. And when dealing with magic, Once Upon a Time has showed us that some villains put on disguises to get something out of another character that they //

Is There Such Thing as “Required Reading” for Shipping?

October 2, 2017 // 2 Comments

Fan art of Dean Winchester holding a hand-written letter from Castiel.

“Saving people, hunting things, the family business.” Dean Winchester’s tagline in “Wendigo” (1×02) is one of the most iconic and memorable lines from the CW’s Supernatural. It sets up the series for a wild ride of horror, heartbreak, and eventually, heavenly interference. Speaking of heavenly interference, Castiel’s revelation to Dean in “Lazarus Rising” (4×01) — “I’m the one who gripped you tight and raised you from //

Will Riverdale’s Faux-Progressivism Continue in Season Two?

August 18, 2017 // 0 Comments

Not every story is what it seems. When the teaser for season one of the CW’s Riverdale first appeared, audiences were intrigued and delighted by the cornucopia of progressiveness. The cast, while still predominantly white, suggested an attempt on the CW’s part to cast minorities — Ashleigh Murray (Josie) and her Pussycats are black women, Ross Butler (Reggie) is Asian-American, Camila Mendes (Veronica) is Latina. Furthermore, the teaser highlighted a fleeting kiss between Betty and //

Finding Hope in the Impossible: How Star Trek Will Save the World

August 4, 2017 // 2 Comments

To save the world, Star Trek needs a reboot. When Star Trek: The Original Series debuted in 1966, fans were awed by the futuristic technology and equipment featured on the show. From the starship Enterprise to the tricorder, Trek established a yet unforeseen view into the future; one that was possible to attain. And now, 50 years later, we have seen exactly how much of a lasting effect Trek had on our development as a species. 3-D printing, the Internet, Wi-fi, Bluetooth, cell phones, //

All Was Well: How Popular Media Renders Mental Illness Invisible

July 27, 2017 // 12 Comments

Imagine with me for a moment. Let’s say you’re a 13 year old girl, a little awkward, a little lonely, trying to find yourself in the world, so you run to TV shows and books, taking every line, word, and letter to heart. You find yourself (and who you want to be) in these strange worlds, but not quite everything. Missing from these realities you find yourself lost in, is something that’s becoming a frightening and familiar part of teenagers’ lives. Mental illness. Anyone //

In Defence of Supernatural’s “Bugs”

May 10, 2017 // 5 Comments

Hate-Watch is a column by FAN/FIC Editor Malory Beazley. In this column, Malory defends some of the most hated episodes of popular fandom shows, including Supernatural, X-Files, Firefly, and Sherlock. Two brothers road-tripping across America in a ’67 Chevy Impala, killing witches, demons, monsters, and other supernatural beings. Mythology, lore, rebirths, and reincarnations — the premise alone is fodder for hundreds of stories. Indeed, the CW’s Supernatural itself is //

The Ethics of Real Person Fiction

March 6, 2016 // 2 Comments

“Here’s my opinion on people writing sexually oriented fanfiction about real people. It’s WRONG, CREEPY, VERY EXTREMELY ICKY, and should be ILLEGAL.” This impassioned statement by Nightrunner author Lynn Flewelling in a 2004 response to fans is a clear indictment of Real Person Fiction or RPF. A lot is made in fan culture about the ethics behind RPF, a branch of fan writing defined by Fanlore as “fanfiction written about actual people, rather than fictional characters.” Both the //

E. L. James is My Hero, Kinda

October 21, 2015 // 1 Comment

In 2005, I told my friends I had written some fanfiction. They laughed, but it was too late to deter me from continuing, and ten years later I write romance novels for a living and they all have office jobs. Who’s laughing now, is what I’m saying. In 2011, 50 Shades of Grey hit the shelves and became everyone’s favorite controversial subject, whether they’d ever had contact with fanfic, romance novels, or BDSM before. There’s still a thinkpiece about it every week, so this week, //