Why You Never Need To “Man Up”

Why You Never Need To “Man Up”

Posted inContributed Posts
Contributed Post Pixabay "Man up", is probably one of the most harmful phrases that you can tell a child, a teen, or an adult male, especially in their time of need. If a young child is crying because they fell over and it hurts, it's because they're dealing with an overwhelming situation or pain or shock, and they need to release it. This is a completely normal human reaction to something negative, and it shouldn't be covered up by those words. It installs in a young boy from very early on in life, that it's not okay to feel, or…
A Month of Kurosawa: Yojimbo (1961)

A Month of Kurosawa: Yojimbo (1961)

Posted inFilms
To celebrate the upcoming release of my book, Akira Kurosawa: A Viewer's Guide, due out Dec. 15 from Rowman & Littlefield -- preorder here! -- I'll be doing capsule reviews all month covering every single Kurosawa film and posting (very) brief excerpts. These will be short impressions and recommendations, nothing more. For a full, detailed analysis of each, grab the book! Yojimbo (1961) In 1957, Miles Davis released the album Birth of the Cool (though it was actually recorded in 1949 and 1950). It was a landmark record that helped change the face of jazz to come. Akira Kurosawa's 1961…
A Month of Kurosawa: The Bad Sleep Well (1960)

A Month of Kurosawa: The Bad Sleep Well (1960)

Posted inFilms
To celebrate the upcoming release of my book, Akira Kurosawa: A Viewer's Guide, due out Dec. 15 from Rowman & Littlefield -- preorder here! -- I'll be doing capsule reviews all month covering every single Kurosawa film and posting (very) brief excerpts. These will be short impressions and recommendations, nothing more. For a full, detailed analysis of each, grab the book! The Bad Sleep Well (1960) Following a string of period pieces, Akira Kurosawa jumped back to contemporary Japan for his look at corporate corruption, The Bad Sleep Well. It's been called by some a loose adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet,…
A Month of Kurosawa: The Hidden Fortress (1958)

A Month of Kurosawa: The Hidden Fortress (1958)

Posted inFilms
To celebrate the upcoming release of my book, Akira Kurosawa: A Viewer's Guide, due out Dec. 15 from Rowman & Littlefield -- preorder here! -- I'll be doing capsule reviews all month covering every single Kurosawa film and posting (very) brief excerpts. These will be short impressions and recommendations, nothing more. For a full, detailed analysis of each, grab the book! The Hidden Fortress (1958) The Hidden Fortress may be best known for being a major inspiration for Star Wars -- George Lucas says the inspiration for R2-D2 and C-3PO came from this movie, but in fact he lifted much…
A Month of Kurosawa: The Lower Depths (1957)

A Month of Kurosawa: The Lower Depths (1957)

Posted inFilms
To celebrate the upcoming release of my book, Akira Kurosawa: A Viewer's Guide, due out Dec. 15 from Rowman & Littlefield -- preorder here! -- I'll be doing capsule reviews all month covering every single Kurosawa film and posting (very) brief excerpts. These will be short impressions and recommendations, nothing more. For a full, detailed analysis of each, grab the book! The Lower Depths (1957) Kurosawa's interest in exploring the plight of the underclasses did not end when his exploration of postwar Japan ended, nor did his interest in western literature ever wane. The Lower Depths, an adaption of the…