Did anyone else know that this is the second episode of 2 Broke Girls that Fred Savage, of that-little-kid-being-read-the-story-in-The-Princess-Bride fame, has directed? The first being last week’s. I don’t think there’s been any discernible spike or dip in quality, but it is kind of neat. I also feel like I need to mention that he’s 38 years old and his Wikipedia picture is of him at age 13.

This week the show decides to completely do away with the “Current Total” at the end of each episode by blindsiding us with the fact that Max and Caroline’s account is below zero. I’m going to spoil two of my feature at the end of this review to just lay it on you, because they go from a Current Total of $975 to a brand new low of -$14. And no, there are no solid explanations as to how this happens. Caroline mentions that their business loan payments are eating away at them, but the fact that she mentions it in passing makes the fact that they lost almost a grand in a week pretty jarring.

Their salvation comes in the form of the pastry school character you’ve all been clamouring for! Sorry, it’s not Deke. No, it’s also not Judy with the Booty. It’s John, AKA Big Mary, Max’s large gay classmate who was given a handful of lines last season. When the going gets tough the tough get a third job, and so the two girls are off to try their hand at working for The High, the new restaurant opening out of the High Line Park in Manhattan.

At this point the episode kind of . . . falls to pieces. There’s at least one laugh-out-loud moment, which I one hundred percent give them full credit for, but as far as the narrative it gets pretty unwieldy. Two different plots are introduced, and they neither reach any sort of satisfying conclusion nor interact with one another significantly. They are:

• Han, Earl, Sophie, and Oleg all showing up at the restaurant to support their friends/coworkers/employees.
• the never before mentioned fact that Max “can’t bake not baked”, which leads to her very short search to locate weed. Vaguely reminiscent of “Wasted Talent”, an episode of Family Guy where Peter could only play the piano while drunk.

The former isn’t really wrapped up at all, though it is far funnier. Max somehow finds some way to quiet everyone down and it is literally never explained. As far as the former, she gets weed from Rico in the kitchen and that’s it. There’s no frantic search for drugs or any indication that she wouldn’t have been able to do her job without being on any substances. Caroline merely finds out that she’s sober and insists she do something to correct that fact. I don’t think it takes up even three minutes of the episode as a whole.

It’s a mess. That’s all I really have to say about that. We end things and Caroline gets promoted from waitress to hostess and Max gets to keep being a pastry chef [those were the jobs they were working I did not mention that earlier]. I’m sure we’ll find out next week how they’re managing to juggle all three at once, probably with a Time-Turner or something like that. Harry Potter nerds, you know what’s up.

Before I put a solid cap to things I want to very quickly shine a little light on the LGBT characters in this episode. Big Mary [they call him that more often than John] appears to be interested in Han, and very explicitly refers to him as a “she”. I’m not going to claim to be any expert on gay culture, but is that common at all? It felt wrong to me. There was also the chance at a subplot when he’s sent to the kitchen, ostensibly because he’s not as attractive as Max is. This isn’t really followed up on, though. Also the owner of the restaurant, Joedth [the D, T, and H are silent] is portrayed as being in a lesbian multi-generational relationship, which is . . . progressive, I guess? She doesn’t appear to have any strong affection for her significant other. Either way, both appear to be the latest semi-regular cast members to grace our screens. It remains to be seen whether they’ll last anywhere as long as Luis, who has essentially evaporated into thin air.

Current Total: $975.

New Total: -$14. This is literally the lowest the total has ever been. The lowest it has ever been prior to this was back in Season 2 Episode 18, when it was a single dollar.

The Title Refers To: Allie, Joedth’s girlfriend, who shows up to the restaurant opening both high and drunk. Possibly also a reference to Max, though there is never anything said about a zero tolerance policy at The High.

Stray Observations:

• Modern Family did a drone episode almost four full weeks ago. Catch up, 2 Broke Girls.
• “I mean, if I wanted to be spied on I’d change my name to Achmed and buy a condo near the airport.”
• “Cupcakes. Buy cupcakes! BUY CUPCAKES!“
• The show’s philosophy encapsulated in an exchange between Max and Joedth: “Everything you just said offended me.” / “That’s my brand.”
• Big Mary’s three elder siblings all came out to his Mormon parents.
• For someone who’s emotionally attached to her pearls Caroline sure hasn’t been wearing them much lately.
• “Do I have any weed? Let me check my hump.”
• “Wow, this dishroom is cleaner than Chris Christie’s plate after lunch!” There was a very audible “WHOA” from a member of the studio audience at this joke.
• “If i could act I’d sell the restaurant and get cast in two-line roles as the doctor in any network television show!”
• “GIRLS LOOK, OLEG IS WEARING HIS NAPKIN AS A PARTY HAT!”
• “I’m gonna go have sex in the ladies room, unless you two prudes have a problem with that, too.”
• “Excuse me, can I get a latte and a red wine. ‘Cause I got a vicodin stuck in my throat.”
• “Bill Cosby has ruined it for all Black men over 70 who are just trying to buy a gal a drink.”
• Maybe It’s Maxoline: Retiring this post next week if nothing new happens.
• 2 Broke Girls Cheesecake Menu: Oh, yeah, Caroline and Max try to seduce Joedth after finding out she’s a lesbian.

Today marks the what would have been Christopher Hitchens’ 66th birthday. While the controversial writer lost his long battle with cancer in 2011, nearly half a decade later his legacy continues to remain a puzzle to most. To some, Hitchens was a brilliant iconoclast, fearlessly proclaiming truth and reason in a world crippled by political correctness and blind sentimentality. To others, Hitchens was a traitor who abandoned his radical roots in favor of jack-booted imperialism and  militarism. After all this time, the question remains: Who was Hitchens?

Born in Porstmouth, England, Hitchens first began his prolific career as a writer for a number of leftist magazines, eventually joining New Statesman in the early 70s, where he quickly made a name for himself as a fiery critic of the the Vietnam War. Hitchens would go on to become an acclaimed foreign correspondent, frequent contributor to The Nation and Vanity Fair, and unapologetic critic of most of the political establishment. No one- from Ronald Reagan to Bill Clinton, from Jerry Falwell to the royal family- escaped Hitchens’ unique blend of unimpeachable logic and acidic invectives. Hitchens made a name for himself in particular by viciously decrying Henry Kissinger, who he argued (not without cause) was a power-worshiping war criminal…

…to the devotees of Princess Diana, who he considered an embarrassment…

…to even Mother Theresa, who he asserted, far from being saintly, was actually willfully dismissive of much of the suffering of those in her care.

All to say, the man wasn’t pulling any punches when it came to speaking up for what he thought was immoral, indecent, and irredeemable.

And had that been it, there might very well be no question as to the legacy Hitchen’s left behind. A menace to conservatives and traditionalists, a hero to radicals and the left. Perhaps Hitchen’s would have even been only a footnote in the culture war- merely an eloquent (if extreme) commenter in the vein of Hunter S. Thompson or Howard Zinn.

But it was not to be.

The attacks of September 11th claimed thousands of casualties- and perhaps among them one might find the person who Christopher Hitchens once was. While Hitchens would claim that the attack “exhilarated” him into action, the rabidly Socialist author so many once lauded had disappeared. Formerly of the most outspoken critics of imperialism, Hitchens began to tout an unambiguously interventionist line, fully supporting the Bush administration and it’s war on terror. When it came to Afghanistan (and later, Iraq) there was no one more red-white-and-blue than Hitch’.

He was not, however, a Conservative.

In spite of the accusations hurled by his former colleagues and comrades, Hitchens could hardly be called a neocon. The same impetus that had led him to throw his support behind Bush also catalyzed his vehemently anti-religious sentiments. While a skeptic and an atheist since a very young age, it was in the wake of the 9/11 attacks that he would become most vocal in his rejection of religion, which he cast as perhaps the greatest cause of fanaticism and violence in history. Indeed, a spate of works (God is Not Great, being the most famous) saw him shape the ranks of the “new atheism” movement, dedicated to not only rejected religion on a personal basis, but seeking to eradicate it from society altogether. While savagely attacking Islam, Hitchens was not shy of directing his attacks at Christianity as well- certainly making him as much a puzzle to those on the right as on the left.

It is possible that Hitchens, stubborn as he was, would’ve altered his views at the prospect of yet more intervention in the Middle East. Possible, and only ever just “possible”. His untimely death in 2011 will keep us from ever knowing for certain what his ultimate conclusions were. We are left to sort it out for ourselves.

So what do we make of him?

I’ve been turning that question over in my head since I decided to write this article a few weeks ago. Hero? Villain?

Neither category seems fitting or fair. To cast Hitchens as a saint would be to ignore his wholehearted endorsement of disastrous wars which have caused untold suffering. To decry him as a monster would be to ignore his tireless advocacy for free speech, reason, and democracy- all of which he championed to his dying day. Still, it’s perhaps here, in his intentions, rather than his outcomes, that we can most accurately see the man.

Just take his points on religion.

I am not (repeat not) an atheist, but I can still appreciate conviction. If you believe something’s true, if you really and truly believe it, then it should cause you to act on it- I can hardly fault anyone for that. I read Hitchens’ crowning work God is Not Great, and I honestly can’t argue with a lot of what he says. I think he fails utterly to make a strong argument against the existence of a god, but his points on organized religion can (and should) be respected by even the most devout. Even at his most uncharitable, I don’t believe Hitchens spoke out of much else than a genuine dedication and appreciation of what he saw as decency and liberty, even if his conclusions were all wrong.

For all his support of the Iraq war, and his often blind condemnation of Muslims (which we’ve argued against on this blog), it’d be hard to cite Hitchens on any hypocrisy.The same ideals that led him to decry the oppression of Iraqis led him to decry the oppression of Palestinians and Kurds. The humanist principles which had him dismiss all faith as superstition also caused him to ardently speak out against the death-penalty and censorship.

Now the question of legacy is one what we at Culture War Reporters have grappled with time and time again. How do we handle our very imperfect and deeply flawed predecessors?

The argument that I’ve made in the past I’ll make again here- simply put, would you call this person good or bad. Split decision, gut reaction, gun-to-your-head, did this person do more good or harm to the world by his or her existence? Is the world richer or poorer for have had ’em?

My reaction is yes.

What do you think?

This is a bad episode.

In all seriousness, though, this episode is awful. I honestly don’t think I’ve been as unsatisfied with an installment of 2 Broke Girls since “And Just Plane Magic”, where I listed off what happened in bullet points to avoid actually writing out what happened in multiple paragraphs. A bunch of stuff took place this week, sure, but to seemingly no end whatsoever. It says a lot that the writers were able to introduce a new recurring character [who will be reappearing in three more episodes] in such a thoroughly unforgettable fashion.

Anyway, I’m getting a little bit ahead of myself. The new character in question is Nashit, a handsome young man played by Austin Falk whose name is attributed to his being half-Indian and half-Irish [he very clearly isn’t]. Joedth, the joy which I get out of typing her name being the only saving grace of this review, hires him as a new waiter at The High. His stunning good looks create a ruckus and also causes Max to lust after him with a tenacity and passion she only ever devotes to . . . being snarky, I guess.

That’s pretty much the foundation of a lot of the humour on this show, with the words “doing it” escaping Dennings’ lips more times than I cared to count. Now two years ago I wrote a short post about our cultural double standard when it comes to male and female sexuality, specifically referencing how Barney Stinson’s getting around on How I Met Your Mother was viewed as, if not being outright laudable, at least noteworthy, and how Chloe on Don’t Trust the B—- on Apartment 23 helped counterbalance that by portraying female promiscuity in a similar light. I wish I could say Max did the same here.

The reason I don’t think she does is because her desire for Nashit has no depth to it. That isn’t to say that Chloe’s one night stands were presented with a lot of nuance or were necessarily meant to further her character development, but they were the actions of an adult. Max wants to have sex with the new guy the same way that a kid wants candy, and the comparison is one she makes herself throughout the course of the episode.

She wants to get down with Nashit, a desire only stymied by Joedth’s assertion that her restaurant is “about fine pastry not someone’s sordid lovelife,” ie. the help are not to shack up with one another. Caroline in her desire to attain quasi-manager status does all she can to keep their genitals far apart from one another and ultimately fails. She receives that promotion, however, and fires Max’s boy toy. Who is then hired by Han to work at the diner.

Sorry, let me finish that thought about the portrayal of Max’s sexuality and her relationship, such as it is, with Nashit, because man shall not get by on the joy of typing Joedth’s name alone. The issue here is that the latter has no personality. He’s handsome and homeless [a very recent immigrant] and has an Irish accent, and he thinks Max is lovely and therefore is fine with her wanting to sleep with him. While she at the very least lusts after him pretty intensely he is pretty much there and along for the ride. There’s no substance to their interactions, he’s not so much as a person as he is a plot device, and a very weak one at that.

The episode closes with Max and Nashit finally doing the dirty, presumably in the diner’s walk-in freezer. Caroline appears to be enjoying the monetary fruits of her labour. End scene. Honestly I’m not really sure what else to write, so we should just get straight to the Stray Observations-

Oh, sorry, before we get there. . . Actually, nah, I don’t care enough this week. Carry on-

Current Total: $-14.

New Total: -$286. Joedth gives Caroline three hundred dollar bills. The first two are to take care of the former’s junkie girlfriend. The third is out of pity.

The Title Refers To: The new restaurant Max and Caroline are working at, The High, and the hooking-up that one would assume would be a big deal but really wasn’t.

Stray Observations:

• The two girls are fine with letting the diner burn down because . . . they have new jobs now, I guess?
• The first in a long line of jokes from people not wanting to hear Caroline talk, but easily the best: “Honey, I’ll download an audiobook if I want to hear a story.”
• Nashit is “everything in a hot Irish coffee boy band package.”
• “”I love him, he’s my favourite. If I did men he would’ve been done by now.”
• “I went to pastry school, I’m not Shrek.”
• Oh, also Han was spying on the girls for some reason that is literally never explained.
• Max Bugs-Bunnying Han is funny the second time she does it.
• It doesn’t work on Caroline, though- “Please, I went to Wharton.”
• “I took you in when you had no one!“
• “Why hello, is it too late to be gay?”
• Joedth and her girlfriend Allie met at Coachella. They were both “on Molly, this intensely hot Filipino girl.”
• Maybe It’s Maxoline: This feature is dead. Say good-bye, everyone.
• Joke That Made Me Physically Frown: “This is impossible, it’s like putting an Oscar dress on Precious.”
• 2 Broke Girls Beefecake Menu:

Before we really delve into this review, can we please pause for a moment and gush over its cover? Jake Wyatt returns after providing art duties for issues 6 and 7 last year, reminding us that if he wasn’t doing his own thing with his creator-owned Necropolis we would fully welcome him back with open arms. No offence to Alphona, of course, but Wyatt’s about as great a fill-in artist as you can get for whenever the Canadian needs to take a break.

Which of course isn’t to deride current artist Takeshi Miyazawa, because he is likewise killing it. We’ll get there when we get there, though, because this latest arc, “Crushed” is a ride.

Yes, the very handsome Kamran is very much still a factor, and yes, he is also an Inhuman. Just in case it wasn’t a big enough deal that he is also a nerdy Pakistani-American it just so happens that he too was given powers by the Terrigen Mist that gave Kamala the ability to embiggen, etc. How his story intersects with our heroine’s and proceeds is fairly straightforward, so I thought I would draw your attention to two parts of the narrative that can be told given who Ms. Marvel is, specifically.

“You think you know how to go about your day without hurting people by accident.”

The first is that this issue focuses on some of the fallout of Kamala’s throwdown with Kaboom. As you can see in that panel on the left her oversized fists ended up doing a significant bit of damage, and she opens up to Kamran later telling him that: “I’ve never hit somebody that hard before. Not hard enough to really hurt them.” She’s a teenage girl with the ability to deliver a punch with the force of a battering ram, but that doesn’t mean that she enjoys hurting people. It’s an observation that Noah Berlatsky made months before Issue #14 in his article “What ‘Ms. Marvel’ Gets Right About Comic Book Violence”.

In it he notes the oft-made connection between violence and “maturity”, wherein realism and bruised knuckles and bloody noses go hand in hand. While her story is being told in a medium that is predominantly preoccupied with over the top melees this Ms. Marvel is concerned with not hurting anyone. In spite of the fact that this other Inhuman was attacking innocents she “[felt] pretty gross about it.”

I will readily admit that other bit of narrative has been told a thousand times before, but probably never with it being spelled out so explicitly, and from one man to another. In fact, out of 20 pages of story exactly 1/10 are devoted to Aamir telling Bruno exactly why things will never work out between him and Kamala.

“Because they don’t want our heritage to die out. They want their grandkids to feel connected to their religion, their language–“

What Kamala’s older brother tells her classmate is brutally honest, and he’s able to bring to light what her parents would never so readily offer up. The fact remains that Bruno is a “gora”, a White person, and as such was never going to be considered a suitable match by Mr. and Mrs. Khan. There’s no actual difference in values, it has nothing to do with this American boy doing everything he can to pull this Pakistani girl out from under her parents’ tyrannical rule; it’s just that when the aim is homogeneity this kid was never an option. G. Willow Wilson lays out pretty plainly a lot of what is felt and thought and rarely ever spoken aloud, and it remains to be seen if anything romantic will ever take place between Bruno and Kamala, especially because . . .

Kamran is bad news.

Which isn’t the biggest surprise, really. Ever since his introduction he’s been moving fast, from someone with similar passions to another Inhuman to a boy taking her out on nighttime rooftop excursions to a person trying to get her to skip class to, well, a straight-up kidnapper. It turns out that not only does Kamran not disagree with Kaboom’s assertion that they’re a higher tier of being, they’re straight-up allies. The last page reveals that the big bad behind all of this is a pink, horned guy named Lineage.

Now he should be no stranger to anyone reading the Inhuman title, but as I’ve only skimmed a few issues here and there I cannot really help you. At the very least his presence is a sign that Kamala can’t stick to her own little world forever; she is a member of Marvel’s latest race of superpowered people. Not only that, but she’s also incredibly popular in real life, a fact that the publisher has not ignored given her presence on the All-New All-Different Avengers roster [on the right], the first issue of which drops on Free Comic Book Day [May 2nd]. Kamala’s universe will only get bigger, and it’s my hope that we’ll continue to get stories about a superheroine who takes no joy in putting fists in faces, whose family background directs her personal life in a very real way.

Fights, Panelling, Action!: Miyazawa makes great use of action lines here, which communicate movement and add to the dynamism of the fight scene. Once again he draws your eye across each panel using the characters, with the panel on the left encouraging us to follow Kamala’s body from the bottom left-hand corner to where it ends in the Inhuman guard’s midsection in the upper right. Props to Ian Herring on colours as well, as washing everything else out keeps the focus solely on the combatants.

Ms. Marvel #14
Written by G. Willow Wilson
Art by Takeshi Miyazawa
Colours by Ian Herring
Letters by Joe Caramagna
Edited by Sana Amanat
Marvel Comics

As I plainly state in the alternate title to this post, everyone and their [tenuously and amusingly connected other person] has been raving about the trailer that dropped about a week ago for the latest upcoming film in the Star Wars franchise. If, for some reason, you haven’t seen it, here it is:

Since April 16th we have had eight days for the internet to collectively lose their minds over it. Generally in the positive way one does such a thing. I don’t typically like to follow up one YouTube video with another, but this very clever mashup that went viral soon afterwards sums it up a little too well:

Long story short, people are excited. Not even just excited, but actually and honestly emotional about this upcoming film. My Facebook feed was awash with friends raising the hype to what looked like unsustainable levels, yet I can see it only building in fervour the closer we get to December 18th of this year. Don’t get me wrong, I am also looking forward to it, but I’m tempering my enthusiasm for a number of reasons.

The risk I very clearly run with writing this post is regurgitating the entirety of what Tim O’Neil said on twitter and then consolidated into a Storify post on his blog. To be fair, though, I did write 2,200 words on Fast Five and Asians in cinema last week, so I’m trying to take it a little easier this time around [especially since there’s an interview coming up next Friday for the site if all goes well]. That being said, I’m going to try to cite a maximum of three of his tweets in this post.

We start with this:

Which he later goes on to assert is not a bad thing. He cites nostalgia as being “the lifeblood of [Star Wars]”, and that there’s no way of beginning this new trilogy without acknowledging the feelings that we have towards the franchise as a culture. O’ Neil later goes on to underscore the kind of attention the film’s production has been receiving.

I’m an enormous fan of practical effects [Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy movies, anyone?], but as a writer and editor my primary concern is the narrative. What is The Force Awakens going to be about, is it going to be all sizzle and no steak, just [another idiom in which something does not measure up to expectations]?

This is the last tweet of his that I’m pulling, after which I’m going to elaborate and add a few more of my own thoughts:

Now it has been a while since I wrote about this, but I need to reaffirm the fact that while Star Trek was passable Star Trek Into Darkness is what I would refer to as “hot garbage”. It’s not even Alice Eve’s gratuitous T&A scene,  but more the fact that the plot made precious little sense. SPOILERS FOR A MOVIE THAT CAME OUT TWO YEARS AGO, but the finale involves them “curing” death, and when asked about this narrative decision completely avoiding the question. If you really wanted a thorough rundown of why this film makes almost no sense then Rob Bricken over at i09 has you covered.

None of this is to say that directors who have been responsible for bad movies cannot produce good work, since the opposite is certainly true. Brian Singer handled the first two X-Men films which were very well received, then gave us Superman Returns which people like to pretend never happened. Within that example we even have a director dealing with superhero properties just as Abrams has been put in charge of two space operas. One thing to take note of, however, is that the similarities between the two franchises in question are not encouraging.

What Into Darkness was primarily criticized for was heavily referencing 1982 film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, to the point where moviegoers were given a number of payoffs that had no build up. It was a case of creators knowing what people wanted and giving it to less than stellar results. I’m not putting Trekkies down, but people in general, not just Wookieepedia contributors, have been waiting for Force Awakens for literally a decade. Will the film merely meet expectations in terms of visuals and character moments [“Chewie, we’re home.”] or will it do more than that?

My last point, and one that I realize I should have centred this entire post around, is the screenplay itself. Yes, J. J. Abrams directed Into Darkness, but he was not in fact responsible for writing the story. In the case of Force Awakens however he shares that credit with Lawrence Kasdan.

Lawrence Kasdan wrote the screenplays for the original trilogy, which most would argue are at least pretty good. What has he done since, though? The three most recent films of his that I could find on Rotten Tomatoes have an average score of 36%. He wrote, directed, and produced every one of them [Mumford (1999), Dreamcatcher (2003), and Darling Companion (2012)]. Just something to consider. On that same note George Lucas had a great deal to do with the original trilogy and we all know how the prequels turned out.

At the end of the day this is a pretty choppily written warning not to get expectations too high, especially when considering the people behind the creation of this upcoming film. I’m not saying that it can’t or won’t be good, but I’d rather be cautious and surprised than hyped up and ultimately disappointed.

I like DC Pierson. He’s one of the members of Derrick Comedy, a YouTube comedy group that featured the now relatively famous Donald Glover, AKA Troy from Community, AKA Childish Gambino. He actually appeared in a few episodes of the former-NBC-sitcom, and it saddens me to see him again here. Mostly because he doesn’t do anything of note.

No, DC Pierson merely serves as yet another eccentric diner customer, and one who doesn’t contribute to the overall plot at all. As far as I can tell, anyway. He plays “a legit psychic” who doesn’t tip Max but does end up reading Caroline’s palm where he initially sees two M’s and then “a small failure”. What could those letters represent? She comes up with “male”, “model”, “making (it with)”, and “Max”. That’s all pretty relevant to the happenings in this episode, except that she misses out on one key word: “Mother”.

[I’d just like to very quickly mention that Pierson has his own Wikipedia page, so who am I to criticize, really {and I mean that sincerely}]

Now I’m sure you were wondering just as much I was what the “minor problem” alluded to in the title of this episode was referring to and, well . . . it’s Nashit. Except it’s not really Nashit, is it? See, his mother, Maeve [there’s another “M”!] barges onto the set of his photoshoot to drag him back to Ireland and announces that she’s allowed to do so because “he’s just now 18!”

Admittedly, I am not a lawyer or a student of law or anything like that. Having stated that, they definitely treat him like a child, comparing Max’s sleeping with him to the actions of “Woody Allen, Roman Polanski, pretty much any of your big time 70s movie directors.” By making that comparison the writers are basically forcing us to view what took place as statutory rape at best, which seems like something they would not want us to do. But hey, they also had an episode that centred around a man who kept women captive presumably for sex and skimmed over the horrifying ramifications there, so I suppose it’s all par for the course.

In trying to continue this review I’ve come to the realization that this episode is a mess. Which isn’t something I’ve said since four episodes ago so maybe I’m allowed? See, Nashit’s mother spiriting him away is a big deal because it’s puts them in the bad books of Joedth’s girlfriend, which of course puts them in hot water with Joedth, which isn’t something they want since the owner of The High is planning on opening up a new location and wants Caroline to manage it who wants Max to be head pastry chef there. It’s this whole thing.

So of course Max and Caroline race off to the airport to stop Nashit not for love, but for their own brighter futures. They’re literally in the middle of a scheme to sneak him away from his mother when Joedth lets Caroline know that they are not in fact getting fired and oh, by the way, Nash has been replaced by some other model, a “hot orphan” with no parents. He and Max exchange a few words and that’s that.

Now we all know that Deke didn’t exit the show gracefully because they straight-up disappeared him suddenly without giving us any time to grieve. With Nash it’s completely different, because what we’re apparently supposed to do is be fine with what they had ending due to him being a little young. And no, he isn’t a minor in the sense of the age of consent, but he is a minor when it comes to drinking age [in the States, anyway]. And no, I’m not all that torn up about it because who was Nashit [Presumably-Indian-Surname], really? The closest we ever got to him wanting anything was him telling his mother he wanted to stay in America. He doesn’t even really look like he wants the girls to sneak him away.

It’s also revealed at the episode’s close that the new location for The High is actually the terminal where they were going to separate Nash away from his mother. This is seen as a horrible thing.

I am aware that we have two more episodes left before this season comes to an end. Two more weeks before I can enjoy a span of months where 2 Broke Girls is nowhere on my mind. I know this, yet I feel like I still need to let out some frustration at what I had to watch tonight. Fair warning for people who don’t need anymore negativity in their lives [I know that I don’t, so I’m just letting you know] what comes below is going to really pick this apart.

Current Total: $1,211.

New Total: $2,261. How did they make $1,050? If anything this should be an episode where their total drops drastically because Caroline bought them both first class tickets to Paris in order to get into the airport.

The Title Refers To: Nash being a minor. Which makes zero sense because if anyone had done their research they would have seen that in Ireland you can leave home at age 18 without parental consent. That’s right, legally his mother could not have forced him home, he’s only a minor in the sense that, as mentioned, in America he cannot drink alcohol. Wow, this episode sucks.

Negative Stray Observations:

• Use of the word “gay” in a derogatory fashion: “Well, not to me, but I’m sure the Amish are pissed that you’re gaying up their look.”
• An exchange between Oleg and Sophie, “Oleg, I think you crushed my seating arrangement.” / “I’d like to think so.” elicited such emphatic oh’s from the crowd that it sounded like they were reacting like normal human beings to any of the numerous rape jokes that’ve been uttered in past episodes.
• Lesbian jokes: “Of course she did, we’re lesbians, talking is most of what we do.”
• More lesbian jokes: “an embarrassment in the lesbian community is worse than not owning a dog.”
• Max makes the following joke and the live studio audiences acts like it is the Second Coming of Christ: “the right [breast] just started a Fleetwood Mac cover band. You know how I know? When I take my bra off it goes its own way.”
• There is a stereotypical Black female TSA agent working at the airport. That’s all I have to say about that.
• The writers tear into Will and Jada Pinkett-Smith, Tom Cruise, and Bruce Jenner in a way that actually feels cruel.
• Max utters the words “Oh my god I screwed a baby.” I’m just going to leave that line there for you to mull over.

I feel like I got most of that out of my system, so here are the gems, few and far between, that I took note of:

• In spite of my irritation that he puts up with them at all, I do enjoy Han dishing out what he receives [too much of]: “If you two quit the diner how will I ever replace you? Unless I hire literally anyone else.”
• I strongly dislike Joedth’s new girlfriend, but I did kind of enjoy her lines: “Oh, do girls eat now? Wow, Lena Dunham changed everything.”
• On the same note, Maeve’s accent is actually worse than her son’s, but this still amused me a fair bit: “Y’checked into america on Facebook y’bleedin’ idiot!”
• Props to the show for making me believe for a few short seconds that Max and Caroline might actually be leaving to go to Paris. Pretty impressive, actually.
• No other features, though I think it fair to present what may be the last item in the 2 Broke Girls Beefcake Menu for some time:

Sorry it’s so grainy.

I want to end by saying that while I think the character he played was just awful I really do wish Austin Falk all of the best. He is a real life existing person and as far as I can tell a pretty decent one. How can you hold anything against a guy who pinned this specific tweet on his page? Just adorable.

So ends the three-issue story arc “Crushed” and any semblance of a relationship that Kamala Khan and family friend [not cousin/blood relative] Kamran once had, not with a bang but with a helping hand. Let me backtrack a little-

Really, this plot in this issue is fairly simple. As I mentioned pretty explicitly in my last review the newest character to be introduced is bad news, his closeness with our heroine seemingly acting as a way for him to more easily serve his master, Lineage. That’s where things get a little less simple, so I suppose I should backtrack yet again and try to explain what’s been happening outside of Jersey City for those of you who are only reading this book out of Marvel’s many, many titles.

To start with, on the recap page you may have noticed the final line: “These events take place between Inhuman #14 and the Inhuman Annual.”

It’s evidence that when it comes to the Inhumans there’s much more going on outside of Kamala’s fairly small world. The line right before it mentions offhand that “Lineage is starting a coup…”, which the issue only very briefly touches upon in a panel where the pinkish, purplish horned man answers her question of whether or not her friends are okay.

Based on his words, that she shouldn’t be “[taking orders] from a big dog and a queen on a power trip,” we can judge for ourselves that he appears to be an enemy to the Inhuman royal family. Beyond that, however? There have never really been any editor’s boxes compelling us to check out the title chronicling the goings on of those other characters, and G. Willow Wilson hasn’t exactly been heavily seeding what Medusa does in her spare time. That’s obviously not a bad thing, but it does make this entire storyline all the more jarring for people used to Kamala sort of doing her own thing. What I can tell you directly is that when it comes to the Inhumans things aren’t exactly politically peaceful, with conflicting groups gathering up those recently affected by the Terrigen Mists and bolstering their respective ranks.

All that having been said, in this issue Ms. Marvel contacts Bruno to help her and then escapes on her own, rescuing her rescuer in the process. She also has a very brief showdown with Kamran in which she announces that they are “so breaking up”, which I feel like would’ve been much more of a mic drop if there had been a stronger indication that they were actually dating. As I said, it’s pretty cut and dry stuff, getting slightly more complicated when we take into account the final panel of the last page:

Kamala admits to having been heartbroken by Kamran’s betrayal of her, and that she’s never really had to wrestle with these emotions before. She clearly has a lot of emotional support in Bruno, but the fact is that he’s much more than that at this point. He jets out of his chemistry class after she signals him on his phone [last seen in Issue #11] and then pays a guy in a dinghy to bring him all the way to New Attilan. It’s a pretty big deal especially considering that he has no superpowers to speak of; he was planning on running headfirst into the belly of the beast. At this point Kamala may be grateful for all he can do for her as a friend, but as time goes she she’ll have to deal with the fact that he wasn’t an ideal rescuer for her now, and very likely won’t be in the months to come.

The biggest reveal of the entire issue, of course, takes place in a conversation between Kamran [who really needs a nom de guerre of his own] and Lineage-

One of the other Khans also has the latent ability to become a full-fledged Inhuman and gain powers of their own, but who? Most people would assume it to be Aamir, but I suppose there are a wealth of stories regardless of which family member it turns out to be. At this point Kamala’s brother and parents all have targets on their backs if this group of people plans on forcibly conscripting them. Add that to the liability that I can already see Bruno becoming and it looks like Ms. Marvel is going to have just as difficult keeping her loved ones safe as Spider-Man, if not moreso given how many more there are [I mean, Peter could only fail at saving Uncle Ben’s life once].

Given how relevant it is, I should end with a link to a response G. Willow Wilson wrote to an article published in The New Yorker that covered the first issue A-Force, which she is also writing. I strongly recommend reading Lepore’s op-ed first before getting into Wilson’s rebuttal.

Fights, Panelling, Action!: Given that this is Miyazawa’s last issue before Adrian Alphona returns with Issue #16 I decided to keep things really simple. This panel makes excellent use of negative space, with Kamala occupying the bottom right-hand corner while Kamran takes up the opposite one. As Western readers we read left to right, and it’s very effective in that we first see him flying through the air, then her outstretched arm as she hurls him as far away from her as she can. I’m going to miss this art, but absolutely can’t wait to have Alphona back. That said, take some time to re-read this issue not just for the dynamic action scenes but also for a plethora of visual gags. Miyazawa throws out about half as much as Alphona does, which is saying a great deal.

Ms. Marvel #15
Written by G. Willow Wilson
Art by Takeshi Miyazawa
Colours by Ian Herring
Letters by Joe Caramagna
Edited by Sana Amanat
Marvel Comics

Here we are at last, presented with nearly twenty-two full minutes of television to cap off the fourth season of 2 Broke Girls and set the stage for the fifth. As I’ve pointed out in the past few weeks leading up to this one there is a lot riding on season finales, so it really pains me to say that this one does not deliver.

In my review of last season’s finale I listed off the momentous events that closed off the show’s first two years, which are as follows:

• Season 1 –  they meet Martha Stewart, a gigantic leap forward when it comes to them opening their cupcake store
• Season 2 – the decision is made to open a new store in a hidden room adjacent to the rest of the diner [given their old location having a car in one wall]

I also noted the way that that particular season ended:

• Season 3 – Max passes a US History final and gets her GED

Which, let’s all be fair, is and was not the biggest deal. I mean, yes, it’s great that Max now has a high school diploma, but what does it mean for her and Caroline moving forward? Absolutely nothing, that’s what. This season’s finale does at least include both girls, but can unfortunately be summed up as:

• Season 4 – Max and Caroline remember that they have a dream of their own, ie. their cupcake shop

That’s right, it dawns on them that they once had a plan to start their own business, a plotline that can actually be traced back to the very first season. What’s really jarring about this epiphany is that they’ve been in possession of their very own cupcake shop with its new storefront from the beginning of Season 3 to the end of Season 4. To have that fact in mind and then hear Caroline say that they “haven’t abandoned it, [they] just haven’t paid attention to it in three months” only makes it that much weirder.

Even when looking back through the season any episodes that had to do with their business were directly connected to their new venture focused on apparel. The $10k loan that they take out doesn’t have anything to do with baked goods and everything to do with t-shirts. Then that was swiftly abandoned due to bad press and they began work at The High to do what they could to pay off the aforementioned loan.

Creator and executive producer Michael Patrick King returns to both direct and write this episode in the hopes of trying to put things back on track, and he really has his work cut out for him. On one hand he needs to bring the story arc of Sophie and Oleg’s marriage to a close in a satisfying manner, and on the other he needs to, as I keep saying, set things up for for the fifth season. King needs, needed, to leave us in a place where we’re counting down the days until we can find out what happens to Max and Caroline!

To skip over the wedding completely [some of it will make it into my Stray Observations I’m sure] it’s two airline hostesses who are the cause of Max’s realization, with one saying to the other:

“Bonnie, let’s admit it, we’re never going to go for our dream. [. . .] If we really wanted our own business we would’ve done it already. Just like Max and Caroline did.”

Which results in her rewarding them with coconut macadamia cake and rushing to the back to tell Caroline:

“We have our own business. The High isn’t our failure. We already have our very own failure- called max’s homemade cupcakes! And if we stay here we’ll be building someone else’s dream not ours.”

Having laid out exactly how it happened what I really want to get into is why it happened. Was it the writers’ plan all along to bring attention away from their cupcake shop so that they could have this sudden realization that they’ve been neglecting it? Why does it feel like it’s not just the characters who are backtracking but those in charge of the show’s narrative as well?

As someone who is basically locked into watching 2 Broke Girls until it’s one day pulled off the air I’m actually very invested in it being a good show. I do want to see Max and Caroline grow as characters and move in a particular direction and I’m disappointed that this season has been so centred on them losing their way. Or maybe, as someone stuck in a job he enjoys very little, I’m just making my own dissatisfaction with my current stage in life clearly apparent by projecting on these fictional characters. That being said just because their situation may be realistic and even relatable does not make it good television.

Having said all that, come back in the fall when I will be covering the fifth season of the show and however it unfolds. While this season has been a pretty shaky one I actually have some hope that the writers will be serving up something more cohesive given what Max tells her [only?] friend:

“Well, partner, after all we’ve been through this year, whatever comes next I kinda feel ready for it.”

Also, please feel free to make Caroline Boob Pic memes to pass the time between now and then!

Current Total: $3,261.

New Total: $89. Max and Caroline totally do what I predicted would happen two episodes ago and head off to Paris, France. Which explains why they’re back in the double digits when it comes to whatever this amount is supposed to represent.

The Title Refers To: The airport branch of The High and how it isn’t doing well. I’d really been hoping that this episode was going to be more Storage Wars-related.

Stray Observations:

• I’m going to get this out of the way early, but we double down on the sexual abuse jokes [“I thought family style service was what I had to do with my uncle.”] when Han acknowledges it in a jab back at Max [“I don’t know what your uncle saw in you.”].
• That doesn’t keep the audience from shrieking with laughter, however. They’re a lot more lively than usual, likely due to it being the last episode of the season.
• “Wow, business is slower than the third season of House of Cards.”
• Big Mary/John is back to talk about his sex life [surprise, surprise], this time sharing about his new Grindr account.
• One of the stewardesses is played by Caroline Rhea, who was one of the aunts on Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. What a great show.
• Also their thing is high fiving and wow, it is too much.
• As someone who has travelled a fair bit Caroline’s list of their establishment’s many services really got me:

“Welcome to The High, the finest in high quality desserts. We also have yogurts, cappuccinos, lattes, coffee, herb teas, or smart waters. And did I mention we’re a Boingo hotspot!“

• Evidence they’ve been neglecting their cupcake shop: Earl has a grow op in the closet.
• Chestnut makes an appearance as the steed Oleg rides down the aisle!
• And has to be decked out in pink ribbons, much to his owner’s chagrin. “I guess there’s a reason ‘horse’ sounds so much like ‘whore'”.
• The waiter Caroline hired is named “Mohammed Mehdinejad” and keeps getting held up by the TSA. “This whole Middle East situation is just so inconvenient for me!” she says.
• Pop Culture Put-Downs: a new feature that I hope to continue into Season 5, this episode featured jokes at the expense of: the Pitt-Jolie children, Anne Hathaway on The Tonight Show, and some woman named Meredith Baxter-Birney.
• Max says “I’ve never been in coach” but we all know she’s flown on an actual private jet so don’t start with me about this it doesn’t make any sense-
• Come back on Friday for a special exclusive 2 Broke Girls-related interview! You don’t want to miss it!

Three days ago I posted the first half of my interview with actor Federico Dordei, which largely concerned how his character ended up departing 2 Broke Girls. In the second we talked about how the regular cast handles criticism, the future of multicamera sitcoms, and how in the end absolutely everything is up to Michael Patrick King.

Just like last time, my questions and comments are in bold, with his responses as regular text.

So in a lot of my reviews I often hold the writers’ room accountable for any jokes that I feel go a little bit too far-

Michael Patrick King has the final say. There’s even a picture of him on set that says “Godfather”! [laughs]

Really?

There’s a pyramid on the wall of photos and his at the very top and says “Godfather” on it.

Every episode one writer comes up with an idea. So one writer goes to the writers’ room with the thing he wrote and then all together the writers pitch in to make it something that Michael Patrick King will like. He also supervises the whole thing saying I don’t like this or I don’t like that. So the completed work is a mix between what the writers wants and what he wants.

For every multicam show the creator has the ultimate say, and he’s a writer, too.

I do know that he’ll be credited for writing full episodes from time to time, like last week’s season finale.

One episode that he wrote I wasn’t very happy with. I remember someone in the audience told me “Great job!” and I said “What do you mean? I had no funny lines!”

Maybe that also did not ring well with him… [laughs]

But when it comes to the writers for the most part they’re great. I once told one of them they wrote a great episode and he said “No, no, no. It’s not just me.” They give credit to everyone, never taking credit for the whole thing.

A little earlier I sort of mentioned that the writing doesn’t always land for me, but people really seem to love it-

People love the show in different parts of America. But just a few here [Los Angeles] watch the show, the same in Miami, New York, Chicago, the big cities. Middle America, the majority of America, they love the show. Big towns don’t like it, but small towns love it. In Italy they love the show but it’s the same thing, not much in the big cities.

That’s just my personal opinion, though. The style is over the top and everything. People are a bit more modern in big towns, need to be satisfied by something newer instead of something that’s a bit old fashioned. Now people like Louis, The Comedians, Happyish – reality shows, slower shows that have a different kind of style that’s fashionable now.

I remember Jonathan [Kite] once said “I’ve been on this show for two seasons and it’s only when I travel through towns for work that people recognize me. But in China and some European countries we’re huge!”

At the very least 2 Broke Girls has been popular enough to be renewed for a fifth season.

Reports say that both 2 Broke Girlsand Mike and Molly have been benched until mid-season.CBS is going to start the week, primetime, without a comedy for the first time in decades. Now they’re going in a different direction. There’s a new show with Calista Flockhart, Supergirl. That’s going to take their place in the Monday night timeslot.

I mean, Supergirl is a comic book property which really appears to be the latest trend.

They’re really changing their direction. Although some nights they have eight, nine million viewers, comedies do much worse than dramas now. Dramas have up to ten million viewers. That’s the direction they’re going in, there aren’t that many comedy pilots being picked up anymore-

Personally I’ve noticed less and less new sitcom pilots with each passing fall.

Exactly. It’s a little worrying, because that’s my specialty.

But with 2 Broke Girls it’s benched until mid-season, so it’s probably returning in January. CBS will most likely pick it up for 6 seasons being that the show was sold for syndication to TBS. I believe that at least 6 seasons are needed for a syndication deal.

Michael Patrick King sold it for syndication in the second season.

To go back to your experience on the show, what was it like starring in a three camera sitcom in front of a live audience?

Parks and Recreation – “Sister City” (S2E5)

I had done Parks and Rec, Raising Hope, etc., all single camera shows. My multicam experience at first was a combination of watching them and auditioning for them, and then 2 Broke Girls.

Personally I’m not into multicam. Whenever I get an audition I’m not that excited for it. You have to get a bit character-y, and the blocking is very stiff. It’s not really my thing, I don’t even watch them often. Except Friends and Seinfield … Legends!

And they’re bowing out. The era is over, when there was no Hulu or Netflix. Now when kids want to laugh they’ll go on YouTube, they don’t sit down and watch shows on TV. And they’re the most desired audience for the networks, 16-22. Sadly these shows are a dying breed.

I have very limited experience acting in school productions, but I remember the best part being performing in front of a live audience. What was that like for you?

Fucking amazing. It’s great to do a multicam in front of an audience. Michael Patrick King would make you feel anxious and yell at you, but it was like a party filming the actual show. You felt right away if the audience laughed or didn’t laugh.

On 2 Broke Girls I was always so stressed, though. After the third episode aired I was embarrassed to even come out; I was not as confident. After the second or third they weren’t as excited about me and I could feel it. When an actor feels it that’s bad news because it affects their performance.

Thank God after that I got five amazing episodes with funny shit and I got the audience back. Even though Michael Patrick King ended up cutting Luis out of all of them…

There’s definitely something to be said about instant feedback, especially when it comes to comedies-

When the audience doesn’t laugh, that actually happens all the time. The writers get in front of the audience for 2-3 minutes and Michael Patrick King tells the actors their new lines just once-

Michael Patrick King on set

I remember he came to me and told me my lines. I have English as a second language, I’m not American and it’s not my first language. He comes to me and said it once. I asked if I could get a pen and paper to write it down and he said “What!?” Kat and Beth heard the lines, thank God, and they told me what they were.

They change dialogue all the time and Kat is like a computer. They give her a whole fucking speech one time and the girl knows it all. She’s straight edge, super focused like a computer and just a good person. She helped me out a lot, but I got better, I got used to it.

With lines I would be rehearsing the whole night before, and that was tough on me.

Running over lines is obviously pretty important, but were there any ways you and others would prep before filming?

Jonathan’s preparation was talking! [laughs]

Matthew likes to be in his room with the lights off in total blackness to meditate for a bit. Don Scardino, one of the directors, he’s the best man on earth, so cool and an angel of a man. He takes time to meditate before the show as well.

Beth takes a B12 shot drink. Kat doesn’t need shit she’s straight edge, and with nerves of iron.

Me, the couple of hours before showtime I’m in Jennifer’s room gossiping and smoking cigarettes, it works for us. [laughs]

I just want to address a few last things before our time is up, with one of them being the amount of criticism the show has received, in particular due to racist jokes and writing surrounding Matthew Moy’s character.

There was an Asian group that did not like it at all. Many people hated my character and that was like getting a heart attack before the show. He told me “Who gives a fuck, you don’t know these people, there are always gonna be haters.” By the third season he had already made peace with it. Jennifer Coolidge doesn’t even read the comments, doesn’t even watch the show.

Kat and Beth they read stuff .They’ll retweet what their fans are saying about the show and that sort of thing. Nobody bashes Kat.

Speaking of artists being bashed Max’s latest love interest last season, Nashit, received a lot of flak for having a terrible Irish accent.

A 2 Broke Girls table read.

If they didn’t like him chances are he’ll disappear very soon [and he did. –Evan]. If there are a lot of critics on a guest star from the get-go then he’s not gonna be back for sure. At a table read if a guest star doesn’t do well it’s bad news. They fire people on every episode, you have to give the performance of a lifetime.

The first day’s in front of producers, second in front of the studio, the third the studio network, the fourth to set up blocking, and the fifth for the final shot.

To end with, I know you appeared in some of the same episodes that Eric Andre did. Did you get a chance to interact with him at all, and what’s he like in person?

He actually became one of my very good friends. We hang out at every party he does. He’s a work friend, but a work friend that I see outside of work. He’s another guy that likes having fun like me. And same as me likes to have a friendly family style time on set.

He always had fun with it, made shooting like a party. Michael Patrick King was always going on about focus, that things needed to be serious. He sucks the FUN out of FUN! [laughs]

One of the search terms people use to find my blog is “what happened to Max and Deke [the character Andre played]”. People really loved him on the show-

Of course, but they’re not gonna bring him back.  Michael Patrick King asked him to stay but he was producing his own show on Adult Swim, he went to go do his own thing.

As far as my personal experience on 2 Broke Girls I was actually told from the very beginning what this would all be like. The casting director told me, “Just so you know, it’s a very special set. It’s kind of intense.” If only I had known. [laughs]

I couldn’t and can’t thank Federico Dordei enough for the opportunity to talk to him about 2 Broke Girls, and it’s an amazing way to end another season of the show. He was able to answer a lot of the questions I had about how the show is written in particular and it’s going to be an entirely different experience reviewing future episodes with that knowledge in mind.

Fed [again, I can call him that] hasn’t been sitting back since exiting the show, either, so stay tuned to his iMDB page to see what upcoming projects he has on the horizon!

So . . . Secret Wars. I’m sure there are a number of articles out there that could explain what exactly this event is to those new to the medium, but I’m going to try to do it in as few sentences as possible. Basically multiple earths have been colliding with and destroying one another. The last two earths to play interstellar chicken are Earth 616 [the primary Marvel universe] and Earth 1610 [the Ultimate Marvel universe].

That’s pretty much all the context you need, honestly, because what you should really be focusing on is that the world is ending. The tagline to the event as it started out was “Everything Dies” and the Last Days issues for a number of Marvel titles concern how the characters we know and love will spend what time they have left. Throughout the past fifteen issues we’ve seen Kamala Khan own her identity as a superhero; it goes without saying how she plans on facing the apocalypse.

For the Illuminati, a shadowy group of Marvel’s brightest and most powerful, absolutely everything has been counting down to this final incursion. For Ms. Marvel recent events are also coming to a head as her falling for and subsequent falling out with Kamran has left her in a pretty dark place. Heartbreak plays an enormous role in the life of the average teen and she even admits that it’s “affecting [her] work” to a listening bartender hot dog stand vendor.

With another planet looming above Manhattan all that is soon washed away as Kamala is reminded that she has another city entirely to protect. She directs Bruno and others to Cole Academic High School and then tends to her number one priority: her parents.

What really surprised me this issue was how storylines you thought were wrapped turn out to be currently ongoing [and how perfectly villainous Kamran looks in his glassy form and wearing a pea coat]. Her former crush has knocked out her parents, kidnapped her brother with the intent of unleashing his latent Inhuman abilities and recruiting him to his cause, and said exactly what he needed to in order to hurt her. She doesn’t even bother attacking him or following him; if all her emotional pain is like a bruise she’s been nursing his presence and words are a well-aimed fist. While no one would fault Kamala for being overcome with joy and relief that her parents weren’t harmed and crumpling into their arms she does the opposite. She ensures the school is secured, she puts her own hurt aside for the time being and focuses on protecting others.

Speaking of storylines that we I thought had run their course, we even have my least favourite issue redeem itself. Issue #12 culminated with Loki placing a ward of protection over the high school and now, when it’s truly in danger, we see exactly what those mystical defences look like-

Look, it’s still far and away the installment I enjoyed least, but the payoff is just delightful.

Having guaranteed the safety of all she cares for, Aamir not withstanding, Kamala heads to the rooftop to clear her head and come up with a game plan. Standing there waiting for her is the woman she’s been dying to meet her entire life.

There’s more on that next month with Ms. Marvel #17, which I should explain is very likely the end of this title before it’s reborn once again with a new #1 issue. A lot of things are changing with Secret Wars and there isn’t a title that’s making it through unscathed. That doesn’t mean that fans of Kamala Khan have any reason to be worried, she’s not going anywhere anytime soon. And seeing as how we’re talking about comic books I’d like to offer a quick shout-out to the Last Days issue of Captain America and the Mighty Avengers, written by Al Ewing and drawn by Luke Ross. It’s this beautiful, heartfelt finale to the final moments of some true heroes. I recommend anyone read it even without having checked out any other issues.

The Ms. Marvel Visual Gag You Shouldn’t Have Missed: Man, doesn’t it feel great having Adrian Alphona back? He hasn’t been on art duties since Issue #11 and it’s been altogether too long. There was honestly so much, but I’m going to have to go with the condiments at the Soulsonic Franks hot dog stand. As a lover of spiciness I couldn’t pass up the “MILD SAUCE FOR SUCKA M.C.’S”.

Ms. Marvel #16
Written by G. Willow Wilson
Art by Adrian Alphona
Colours by Ian Herring
Letters by Joe Caramagna
Edited by Sana Amanat
Marvel Comics

When I was much younger my mother taught me that “hate” is a strong word and should be used as sparingly as possible. It’s for that reason that, while it’s pretty apparent that Bryce Dallas Howard’s character was portrayed in a decidedly sexist fashion, I cannot agree that Jurassic World hates her. It doesn’t think particularly highly of her as a woman or of mothers in general, but it does not hate her.

No, if there is any one woman that Jurassic World holds in the lowest regard it is the character of Zara Young, played by Katie McGrath. While the video below is only the last twenty seconds of a trailer do be warned, the full video spoils huge chunks of the film. That said, read everything below the clip at your own risk if you have not seen it or any others in the series.

First of all, how hilarious is it that the video is titled “Jurassic World Trailer #2 Starring Katie McGrath”? I mean, she literally only appears in the short snippet you all just watched. Second of all, it’s even more hilarious what little Wikipedia has to say about Ms. Young:

“Claire’s assistant Zara is their guide, as Claire is too busy recruiting more corporate sponsors with bigger dinosaur attractions to maintain the park’s attendance.”

“Gray and Zach arrive at the main park as the pterosaurs begin attacking the visitors, killing Zara in the mayhem.”

Which seems pretty cut and dry, honestly. That is until you read the actual death scene described in an article over at Yahoo Movies, which says that she-

“-gets scooped up by a Pteranodon, dropped into the grasp of another, and ultimately devoured by the massive Mosasaurus, which surges out of the lagoon to munch both Zara and the flying beast.”

That same piece has Bryce Dallas Howard pointing out that this is the first ever woman killed by a dinosaur in the franchise. She also notes that “…boy, is it gory. She gets tortured!” Director Colin Trevorrow believes that it’s “one of the all-time dinosaur deaths in a movie.”

Howard gets the closest to describing how long it takes for this poor woman to die by describing it as being “tortured”. In the io9 comments section of a synopsis of the film one of the editors asks “Why does Merlin’s Morgana need to spend five minutes dying?” [Katie McGrath played that character in the BBC series]

To intersperse some of my own reactions when watching Jurassic World this past Tuesday, it’s by no means a short scene. Zara is tossed from pteranodon to pteranodon like a Starbucks-holding ragdoll before plunging into the mosasaurus tank. When her life is finally ended it’s just as she’s about to be yanked back out of the water, presumably to be flung back and forth for the entire rest of the film. If I wanted to sum it up in one word it would be “brutal”. The second word would be “unnecessary”.

What really stuck with me, however, is how undeserved it felt. When David Gennaro, who masterfully owns the “blood-sucking lawyer” role in the OG Jurassic Park dies you don’t feel terribly sympathetic. He hated the kids and later proves to be kind of a coward. Survival of the fittest and all that-

Now over at TV Tropes they’ve dubbed one particular trope “The Scourge of God”, which is a killer of some sort that targets not terrible people, but instead “those ‘guilty’ of comparatively minor foibles.” Even when putting it that way it’s hard to say that Zara deserved what was coming to her.

As mentioned she’s Claire’s assistant and put in charge of the two kids, and certainly doesn’t seem too thrilled at the responsibility. That being said, she isn’t mean to them at all, and isn’t even really all that neglectful. She’s talking on her cell phone when they decide to run away from her. That’s right, she doesn’t lose them, they lose her. When Claire calls Zara to find out where they’ve gone she’s crying, clearly remorseful for not having taken better care of them.

Over in the Jurassic World discussion on /r/comicbooks there’s an entire comments thread dedicated to this. I’ve pulled a few of choices ones for you below:

“Yeah, it was pretty horrifying. The character didn’t even deserve it, so there was zero satisfaction and it just left me feeling violated. Which I suppose it was meant to..”

“That scene genuinely made me uncomfortable. It just felt almost…too much. I mean, it was completely realistic, because dinosaurs obviously wouldn’t concern themselves with the comfort of spectators, but damn. I’ll be honest, I did not expect them to go that far with this movie.”

“Yeah, I guess logically it works, but cinematically it was just cruel and unnecessary.”

“I thought maybe I was overreacting to that scene, it made me so uncomfortable. It was just so…extended. Most deaths in the Jurassic Park series are quick and adding to the thrill of the scene. This just felt cruel. Glad to see I’m not alone in in this opinion. (That being said…still loved the movie.)”

“I asked my buddy what the fuck did she do to deserve that death.”

I’m not going to pretend I didn’t pull comments that all followed a certain perspective, but the vast majority of redditors shared the same sentiment. It wasn’t just the question of why this had to happen but the added fact that watching it made them feel awful. That’s particularly interesting considering the fact that Trevorrow was doing it to “misdirect the audience”; his goal was “to subvert people’s expectations based on assuming their intelligence.” In other words we didn’t think she was going to die, at least in that fashion, but then she did. Well done, Trevorrow.

I didn’t stumble across it until I was almost finished writing this, but Devin Faraci over at Birth.Movies.Death. says pretty much all that I have and just a bit more. He provides an exceptional breakdown at character deaths in film and how they must be proportional to who the character is, and the reason we’re so put off by Zara’s demise is that it doesn’t jive with the cinematic language we’re all so familiar with. Zara was a tertiary character at best but was given a death scene worthy of a Disney villain.

Which is to say that for all of its many, many problems with the way it presents women the issue that most people, feminists or otherwise, will walk away with is how Zara Young became one of the park’s exhibits. While it may be heavily debated whether or not Jurassic World hates women it will go without saying that at the very least it hated one of them.

Rest in mostly one piece, Zara, we hardly knew you.

So after four months of dragging my feet I finally got around to watching
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, a Netflix exclusive show I had been meaning to check out if only to join in the conversation that Em Liu over at Fiction Diversity started surrounding the character of Dong Nguyen, played by Ki Hong Lee. Before I really get into things it has come to my attention that I can be negative, so allow me to preface this post with a list [CAUTION: spoilers from here onwards]:

1. I liked [and continue to like] Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. It not only succeeds, but soars on the merits of Tina Fey and Robert Carlock’s comedy as well as Ellie Kemper’s unbridled performance.

2.  I’m grateful a character like Dong Nguyen exists. Asian characters are rare enough on TV, let alone as romantic leads [something we desperately need].

3. I wish nothing but the best for Ki Hong Lee and have absolutely nothing against the guy. Similar to how I feel about Austin Falk on 2 Broke Girls my criticisms of a character do not affect my opinions about the actor portraying them. I think it’s great that he made #4 on People‘s 2014 Sexiest Man Alive list and hope it’s the first milestone of many.

I also want to mention that Em, whose article I linked to up above, has primarily approached Dong Nguyen as a character who subverts, instead of embodies, stereotypes. That’s ultimately not something I’m going to be delving into. Instead what I’d like to address is how Dong holds up as a believable Asian character, specifically as a Vietnamese person, and how this reflects on the show’s creators.

Authenticity Is Important

You should’ve watched that video above. If you can’t, however, you should know that Kumail Nanjiani is a very funny comedian and most of the time you are the only one who’s really in command of what you can and cannot do. You should also know that this snippet of stand-up is all about how Call of Duty®: Black Ops 2 has a level that takes place in Karachi, Pakistan, where he grew up.

While he riffs on the cognitive dissonance of how “[his] hometown is now a battlefield” what really irks him is how all of the street signs are in Arabic. In case you didn’t know, the official language of Pakistan is Urdu.

“”[The creators of the game] were literally like ‘What language do they speak in Pakistan?’ ‘I don’t care…”

The reason I’ve chosen to spotlight the video isn’t just to introduce you to a hilarious person you may not have known of, it’s also to really hammer the point home that authenticity matters. What’s more, it matters particularly to those who expect to be able to relate to whatever piece of art they’re engaging with. It’s why my first point has to be:

Korean Ki Hong Lee, Vietnamese Dong Nguyen 

As Gordon’s bio reveals he spent a good number of years in the Middle East, and as a result is no stranger to what an Arab person looks like. It’s why he takes such umbrage whenever Indians like Danny Pudi on Community or Naveen Andrews on Lost are passed off as such.

For him there is a very clear and obvious difference between the two. I’m the same way when it comes to Koreans and Vietnamese people.

As my bio reveals I happen to be neither [as a Filipino-Chinese person], but have lived around both for long enough to be able to make a distinction. The truth is that while there are similarities not all Asians look the same. In fact Vietnam is a South East Asian country [alongside Thailand, Burma, the Philippines, etc.] whereas Korea is East Asian [joining China and Japan]. The aesthetic differences between the two are apparent to anyone who have lived in that part of the world.

Now what I don’t want this to boil down to a conversation about whoever is most talented, and I hate to reiterate my positive list up above so soon but I honestly do think that Ki Hong Lee is just great. Why he was cast isn’t the question I want answered, what I’m really curious is about is what came about first: the character of Dong Nguyen or the casting of Ki Hong Lee? Was it the Vietnamese character or the Korean actor? Was this merely another example of one-size-fits-all casting?

Nothing about Dong really requires him to be Vietnamese, so why not simply have him play a Korean? Nothing about him except for, well . . .

What’s In A Name? One Tired Joke, Over and Over Again, Apparently

I couldn’t find a video clip on YouTube and don’t have the time or skill to make one, so this photoset from tumblr will have to suffice as a recap for Dong’s introduction:

For those of you who haven’t seen the show [and really, I recommend it] this is a comedic well they pump dry. This scene takes place in the sixth episode, and in the next four or five we’re treated to such gems as the protagonist exclaiming “I need Dong!” followed by others commenting on it in an expected fashion.

While I’m not impressed that they wrung ever drop of humour out of that joke, I don’t actually have any issues with it. Foreign names can sound funny; that’s life. What really bothered me was how the showrunners sought to subvert the joke, seen below with what follows immediately afterwards:

I’ll readily admit that what clued me into this apparently being complete and utter BS was the same tumblr post I pulled the images from. The person who posted it, Vietnamese themselves, had something to say about the accuracy of the joke [emphasis theirs]:

“moreover, the show is attempting to make a terrible joke here – ‘kim mi’ does not mean penis in vietnamese, it is literally just a gibberish phrase. it’s obvious that they were just trying to make fun of the fact that the man’s name ‘dong’ in english is a euphemism for penis and making up ‘vietnamese’ words to sort of mitigate the racist joke because hahahaha kim mi is penis too!”

A discussion on /r/KimmySchmidt contains a few more people confirming that, no, “Kimmy” or “kim-mi”, however you spell or say it, does not mean penis. One person in that thread posited that they are referring to “chim” which means “bird”. Further research on my part yielded a Yahoo Answers page where a number of users, ostensibly Vietnamese themselves, state that “lon chim”, which translates to “birdcage”, is slang for vagina. Yet another Yahoo Answers page further backs that definition.

Really, no matter how you try to work it out it doesn’t make sense. If it’s solely the thought that counts I applaud the idea behind flipping the script. Two people from vastly different cultures may find each other’s names hilarious for different reasons. As I said above that really is life, but the inaccuracy really damages what good they were trying to go for. What’s really unfortunate is that in addition to noticing that Ki Hong Lee is visibly not Vietnamese, and on top of the faulty translation joke, there’s the fact that his-

Accent Ain’t-Good [That’s Funnier If You Know French]

I guess Ki Hong Lee is actually a lot more like Austin Falk on 2 Broke Girls than I thought, because every time he opened his mouth I-

Again, no offence to the guy at all, but accents are not his strong suit. It’s not recognizably Vietnamese, which I’m familiar with given the woman who lives with my granddad, who I in turn lived with for a number of years. It’s not even a very good Korean one, though that’s obviously not what he should have been going for.

Initially I didn’t want to spend that much time on this point as it appeared fairly cut and dry to me, appearing to have more to do with Lee’s abilities than the showrunners’. What gave me pause, however, is that there is a shining example of a show where effort was made in this regard.

Fresh Off the Boat has garnered some criticism due to Randall Park and Constance Wu putting on a Taiwanese accent when they can both speak unaccented American English. When asked about that on Twitter Wu responded with:

In an interview with Time she further elaborated that they had “two different dialect coaches” and that she had to “break [her] accent work down like a drama student does, in a phonetic and rhythmic way.” It’s obvious that nailing down accents is not easy, and that a lot of work went into having the show skew as close to real life as possible. What throws me is when a little bit of work isn’t done to attend to the simplest details [see: the language of Pakistan] or, even more mindbogglingly, when a lot of work is done for a nonsensical reason.

“I’ll Be There for You” (Korean version) from Friends Six White Complainers

This is ultimately what convinced me to write this post. In the eighth episode the following scene takes place-

-and honestly I shouldn’t have had to look into it at all, since turning on the subtitles would have revealed the words “[In Korean]” above the translated lyrics. I did look into it, though, and found an interview with Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt composer Jeff Richmond on TV Guide. He comments on a number of the original songs featured on the show, and had this to say about what went into the creation of the tune that headlines this section [emphasis added]:

“So no one told Richmond songwriting was gonna be this way. By far the toughest song to write was the Korean version of the iconic tune. ‘Oh, jeez. That was crazy,’ he says. ‘We were like, “We have to get Korean singers, professional voiceover singers.” We jumped through a lot of hoops to get an American voiceover singer to learn Korean to sing that song, and to work with a Korean dialect coach so that it’d sound correctly. It was very hard. It’s not an easy language.'”

So yes, credit where it is due, Richmond and others really went above and beyond to create an authentically Korean version of “I’ll Be There For You” as a theme song to the show their Vietnamese character used to watch.

That’s still so hard for me to wrap my head around.

I’m not even going to say any more about that. Instead I’m going to type out another line or two to let you mull it over [and you should, because it is nonsense] and give me time to build up to my conclusion and answer the question:

“So What Was the Point of Picking Apart Dong Nguyen, You Pedant?”

It should go without saying if you’ve read this blog for any length of time [or if you at least read the blog post I linked to in the second point of my list of positives] you know that I am for more Asians on television. We need more Koreans and more Vietnamese people and more Thais, Filipinos, Taiwanese, you name it. It’s important that the art we create and consume/engage with reflects the world we live in, a world that isn’t solely populated by straight White men.

My issue is when attempts at diversity are made that fall flat. There are some fun moments that actually ring true, like Dong’s discomfiture and disgust at innocuous hand gestures that are actually pretty offensive in parts of South East Asia, but as a whole he isn’t all that believable.

An easy way to gauge the importance of this, without simply reiterating my point up above with Nanjiani’s stand-up, is to put yourself in the shoes of a Vietnamese person who has heard that the latest Netflix show features a character named Dong Nugyen. The first thing you see is an actor who clearly isn’t Vietnamese, and the first thing you hear is an accent that isn’t Vietnamese either. The second line he utters is a language joke that you know isn’t true. Much later they begin to play the Friends theme Dong grew up with in, while you’re primed to hear your native tongue, Korean. What little expectations you had for authenticity are accuracy are shattered. On the basis of a name you were promised some and given very, very little.

It’s particularly disappointing because of what Dong does add to the show. Kat Chow for NPR’s Code Switch commented on how Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is ultimately all about foreignness, which is what allows him to fit in seamlessly with its narrative. The world is strange and new for Kimmy due to over a decade spent in a bunker, and it feels the same way to Dong as an immigrant to America.

Nothing that I’ve written so far even takes into account a very troubling narrative revolving the White, blonde Jane Krakowski playing a Lakota woman. Looking back on the thirteen episode season it becomes starkly apparent, unfortunately, how clumsy the show’s attempts at dealing with race really are. At this point I’d like to think that you’re asking a different question than the one up above, that being: “Does the poorly handled race stuff in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt mean I shouldn’t watch it?”

Look, when I started this entire post off by saying that I liked, and like, this show I meant it. It’s exceptionally funny and a true blessing to anyone who thoroughly enjoyed watching 30 Rock. My purpose in writing this is to underscore the fact that authenticity matters and that people notice. This doesn’t invalidate a piece of art as a whole, but it is evidence that the entertainment industry still has a lot to work on and that effort needs to be made, if only so that we don’t have those who don’t know any better believing for the rest of their lives that “Kimmy” really is Vietnamese for “penis”.

I’ve been waiting for this issue to come around since Ms. Marvel first hit local comic book stores roughly two years ago. Kamala Khan fights crime under the moniker that once belongs to Carol Danvers, and idolizes her to the point that the first ever usage of her powers was actually to transform into the blonde, blue-eyed superwoman. While she’s since realized a lot about her own identity as a hero [and as a person] the fateful meeting between the two is nonetheless a momentous event.

If only it wasn’t being overshadowed by, well, the end of the world.

That’s not to say that it’s being poorly handled, only that this isn’t the way many imagined the two would see each other face to face for the first time. Kamala sees Carol at what is hands-down the lowest point of her short career in vigilanteism. The world is, as mentioned, ending, but more importantly to her Jersey City is in danger. That’s only compounded by the fact that her brother has been kidnapped by her “ex-crush” AKA Kamran. And you thought your teen years were overwhelming.

She first spots Captain Marvel in the monochromatic costume she can first be seen wearing in Avengers #35, published last November. For anyone wondering why her look differs so much from the cover to this issue . . . Long story short, this was when Danvers was part of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Avengers during a time when the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes were split into multiple factions, with one striving to prevent the apocalypse in secret, another trying to apprehend the first, a third with the aim of bringing everyone under one banner . . .

Comic books, everyone!

It’s a complete narrative that you would need to read two separate titles to fully understand [Avengers and New Avengers] and that was told over the span of a few years. And that’s why Captain Marvel is in grey! The more you know.

Carol agrees to stick around and help Kamala for one hour before jetting to New York. While there’s a brief detour with the vandals who were chased off by Loki’s ward of protection, the moments to really pay close attention to are when Ms. Marvel gets to learn about heroism from Captain Marvel in person.

Wolverine taught her that more often that not in order to help people you have to hurt people and that a secret identity hurts those you keep it from, but the lesson that Danvers delivers is a different one. On their way to rescue her brother they come across a bunch of abandoned kittens. Concerned for their well-being Kamala picks one up asking if they can somehow take them along the way even though she already knows the answer-

“You don’t want to pick and choose. You want to save everybody.”

You can’t save everybody. You can only stretch yourself so far, and you need to remember to take care of yourself. On the surface it looks like generic, run-of-the-mill advice, but when viewed in context it’s a minor issue that reveals a larger problem. Saving Aamir means leaving Cole Academic High School and her friends and parents behind for a while. Carol’s words are meant for her just as much as they are for the teenage girl, she can set aside an hour to help but the rest of the Avengers need her to try to save the world.

What proceeds is a minor scuffle with Kaboom, who I still think should’ve been named “Kilowatt”, drawn beautifully here for the first time by Adrian Alphona. The way her design translates so beautifully between artists is evidence of a solid character design, and it made me wonder how large of a presence she’ll have going forward in Ms. Marvel. Anyway, that’s not the point-

The point is that Marvels Ms. and Captain find Aamir unconscious and floating, seemingly by his own power, amidst a cloud of Terrigen Mist. What this means is seemingly obvious, but not what it could mean for her adventures moving forward. What sort of powers will her brother manifest, and what will he use them for? Lineage and the rest of the Inhuman villains are eager to conscript him, but will he be so easily swayed?

Contrary to what I said in my last review the final issue of Ms. Marvel Vol. 3 will actually be #19, after which a new Issue #1 will be hitting stands as a brand new jumping on point. Ms. Marvel is dead, long live Ms. Marvel!

The Ms. Marvel Visual Gag You Shouldn’t Have Missed: There were a lot of really fantastic ones in this issue, particularly in the panels where Ms. Marvel and Captain Marvel leap and fly, respectively, over the city. With that in mind I decided to keep this one pretty low-key and spotlight the cat food that was left behind. Nermal is, of course, Garfield’s adorable nemesis from the popular comic strip by Jim Davis. The food is also “Great 4 Kids!” which is a big plus.

Ms. Marvel #17
Written by G. Willow Wilson
Art by Adrian Alphona
Colours by Ian Herring
Letters by Joe Caramagna
Edited by Sana Amanat
Marvel Comics

So the world is still ending. While the final incursion was revealed back in Issue #16 New Jersey, and consequently the rest of the Marvel universe, continues to exist. That’s not to say that Ms. Marvel is alone in dragging its feet towards the apocalypse given that Bucky Barnes: The Winter Soldier and All-New Hawkeye are just two other titles that haven’t yet wrapped things up. No, my observation has more to do with it appears to be one to two days stretched out over the course of four issues [with next month’s #19 being the last before the book’s new #1].

Turn with me, if you will, all the way back to the second issue of Ms. Marvel that I ever reviewed. One thing that I pointed out was how G. Willow Wilson’s storytelling was “decidedly decompressed“, or focusing heavily on characterization in a way that often results in stories being stretched out longer than they might usually. While I believe it worked at the book’s inception, with many readers being brand new to comics and needing to be eased in, it feels overdone here in the final issues.

The main justification for those two hefty paragraphs above is how little actually happens in this issue. If you think back to what happened last month you’ll recall that we left things off with her brother Aamir, having been captured by Kamran, floating in what looks like Terrigen Mist. To sum things up in a single sentence: Aamir gains powers and declines the offer to join his sister’s former crush--falls unconscious due to his reaction to what is apparently not Terrigen, Captain Marvel heads back to the school with them before leaving, and the Khan family is reunited. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not as cut and dry as all that- Aamir’s psychic force field armour and throwdown with Kamran is very cool, and Captain Marvel gives Kamala two gifts before leaving, a pendant and the advice that she should make the best use of what time is left.

To inject some positivity into this review before I continue, allow me to state all I loved about it. Adrian Alphona goes above and beyond in this issue, with the one fight scene in particular rendered in a series of spectacular wide shots. Ian Herring’s colours are likewise on point, especially surrounding Aamir’s powers contrasting with the surrounding mist. As far as the writing the talk Carol has with Kamala before flying off is very well done, with the Avenger admitting that she “came here for [her], but […] stayed for [Kamala].”

It is a very good comic book, the problem I have just falls on pacing. Aamir’s kidnapping and subsequent rescue could have been contained to a single issue, and Kamala’s ultimate decision to slip out of her costume and spend her final hours with her family don’t appear to leave much of a conclusion for Issue #19.

I suppose I should also mention that the final page is a splash page with Mrs. Khan embracing her daughter and telling her that she knows about her secret identity. It’s a reveal that is full to the brim with potential and one I am very, very excited to see play out. If only there wasn’t just one issue left next month before the book starts over again [in terms of numbering, not narrative].

All this to say that Ms. Marvel continues to be one of the best books on the stands, but its meandering plot as it slowly reaches the end makes this one of the lowest points in the title’s run since Issue #12. I’ll be back to cover the end of this volume in October, but after that, who knows? Possibly another title, which is an exciting prospect in and of itself. We’ll see!

The Ms. Marvel Visual Gag You Shouldn’t Have Missed: Everyone’s doing their level best to get as far away from NYC as possible, and the resulting traffic jam leads to quite a bit of downtime in which to get some reading done. This gentleman’s book of choice: “So You Were Wrong About The Zombie Apocalypse And You’ve Wasted Your Life”.

Ms. Marvel #18
Written by G. Willow Wilson
Art by Adrian Alphona
Colours by Ian Herring
Letters by Joe Caramagna
Edited by Sana Amanat
Marvel Comics

This week Marvel announced that their new Black Panther title, dropping next spring, would be drawn by Brian Stelfreeze and, more importantly to many, penned by Ta-Nehisi Coates. For those of you unfamiliar with the latter Coates was at one point most well-known for his contributions to The Atlantic, in particular the contentious “The Case for Reparations”. More recently, however, a significant amount of attention has been given to his second published book, Between the World and Me, which was released just this past July.

The various news outlets that have covered this story, those dedicated to comic book journalism and otherwise, have taken note of the fact that both Coates and Stelfreeze are African-American. While the character himself hails from the fictional African nation of Wakanda he is nonetheless Black, and many have praised the publisher for allowing top-of-their-game, Black creators to take the reins of the person soon to be their most famous Black hero [due to his appearance in the upcoming film Captain America: Civil War].

This announcement comes, while not necessarily hot on the heels of, soon after Marvel breaking the news that the latest character to hold their own Hulk title will be Amadeus Cho. A Korean-American character and one of the smartest people on the planet despite his years, his adventures were also given to another match made in comic book A-list heaven. Writer Greg Pak and artist Frank Cho are both Korean-Americans themselves, with the former being of mixed descent. In the very same vein as next year’s Black Panther this December’s Totally Awesome Hulk bears a creative team that has a lot racially, as well as culturally, in this case, in common with their book’s titular character.

Fan art by cheshineko.tumblr.com

Similar strides have been made with last year’s All-New Ghost Rider, which starred a Mexican-American young man and was written by Jamaican-Nicaraguan-American writer/artist Felipe Smith. As you should all probably know by now Ms. Marvel, which I’ve written quite a few reviews for, casts Muslim Pakistani-American teen Kamala Khan front and centre. While not of Pakistani descent herself comics scribe G. Willow Wilson is a practicing Muslim, and has touched on the way that faith has influenced their heroine in a number of issues. Over at their Distinguished Competition Midnighter follows the eponymous Batman-analog’s exploits, who just so happens to be a homosexual, just like its writer Steve Orlando.

All of this is amazing, and is solid honest-to-goodness proof that comic books, as an industry, is actively moving forward. For its narratives to reflect the world its audience lives in behooves the various publishers to have such stories told by those most familiar with them. I couldn’t be happier about it all, honestly. Except that I can’t help but notice a particular trend-

Writer who are non-White, female, and not straight appear to be relegated to the books that feature characters who they share traits with. At the same time, straight White male writers handle books that star superpowered individuals of every race, creed, or colour.

Which isn’t to say that the latter cannot result in exceptional work. British writer Al Ewing penned 14 issues of Mighty Avengers and 8 issues of the sequel title Captain America and the Mighty Avengers, both books that featured a primarily non-White cast. During his tenure on both titles Ewing covered issues of classism and what it meant to be a person with less privilege than what popular culture considers the “norm”. While neither Black nor American himself Ewing did everything in his power to raise the statuses of those heroes who were, and very effectively. It’s not to say that the majority of comic book writers [the aforementioned straight White males] cannot create great, and even accurate, narratives. On that same note simply because a creator is Black or Korean or transgender does not mean they will be responsible for good stories.

The issue again, as I was saying, is that minority creators appear to be relegated to “minority titles”. To finally elaborate on the title of this blog post, it looks like these men and women, as talented as they are, have been placed in a ghetto of sorts. One that awards them work and all the fame and notoriety that goes with it, but a ghetto nonetheless.

To give credit where it’s due, and play devil’s advocate as well, there are a few examples to the contrary. Ms. Marvel‘s Wilson penned four issues of X-Men and is currently writing [and will write, after the renumbering] A-Force. That of course breaks down when considering that both books feature an all-female cast. While not forced into a ghetto labelled “Muslims Only” all of her recent work for the publisher has very decidedly been writing women.

To actually do what I said I would do, DC has hired Gene Luen Yang of American Born Chinese fame to steer Superman, which is no small act. While an alien from another planet the Last Son of Krypton is one of the most famous White characters, superhero or otherwise, of all time, and now written by a Chinese-American man. Though when considering DC it should be noted that the openly gay Marc Andreyko was hired to write Batwoman, a lesbian herself, starting with Issue #25. While that book ended with Issue #40 he still writes for the publisher, albeit for Wonder Woman ’77. Whether or not he would like to write straight male characters is unknown, while he certainly has in the past with Batman, Conan, Captain America, and others.

In decades past exceptions to the rule have without a doubt presented themselves. Dwayne McDuffie, who wrote and produced many an episode of Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, also wrote the comic book that starred that very team, among many others, a number of which did not focus on primarily Black characters. While he often lent a spotlight to them in these books when he could the publishers he wrote for [and he did work for both of the Big Two] largely thought him talented enough to do well with whatever he was given.

Which isn’t to say, and I hate to start yet another paragraph this way, that both Marvel and DC are only hiring minority talent for minority books and don’t think highly enough of them to tackle their more lucrative IPs. Only that it seems that way.

I don’t want to fool myself, or you, either. All writers, pencillers, inkers, colourists, et cetera must be tested for great power before being given great responsibility. Their names need to be recognizable enough for comic book store customers to see on a cover and to be enough of a hook to get them to pick it up. Except that whether they ever attain that level of notoriety is up to the publisher as well.

Over at Marvel writers like Sam Humphries have been given opportunity after opportunity to do well, and while some of his books have been quite good he’s received a fair share of criticism. Kathryn Immonen, on the other hand, wrote 12 issues of Journey Into Mystery that were not pushed by the company, with a run that began at Issue #646 instead of #1 [in spite of starring a new lead character] like many other titles on the stands. It was also very, very good. Most recently she wrote the Agent Carter: S.H.I.E.L.D. 50th Anniversary one-shot that was released last Wednesday, with an almost two-year gap between the two gigs.

Speaking of S.H.I.E.L.D. 50th Anniversary one-shots, Marvel actually gave writer Chelsea Cain an ongoing starring Mockingbird after she penned the one starring the character. While it is indicative of their confidence in both her abilities and the heroine to draw in viewers, how long will it take for her to ascend the ranks, given that she has the ability? If Mockingbird takes off will Chelsea Cain one day write Iron Man, or Captain America, or, even more impressively, Amazing Spider-Man? Could her name one day be spoken in the same breath as Mark Waid, Grant Morrison, or Scott Snyder? For Chelsea Cain, as well as others, are female-led books a ghetto, or are they a stepping stone?

Representation, it should go without saying, is good. Diversity that results in fresh, and authentic, narrative voices is good. Having both your books as well as those creating the books be reflective of the real world is very definitively good. You know what else is good, though? Hiring minority talent and trusting them with more than just this little slice of the pie. Success with heroines and Black heroes is perfectly fine, but is it ever in the purpose of raising these creators to the big leagues? Only time will tell.

“Qiyamat ka din to nahin hain.” It’s not like it’s the end of the world, Mr. Khan muses aloud to his family in Urdu. But it is, at least until next month when the first issue of Ms. Marvel Volume 4 hits stands everywhere. This issue effectively marks the destruction of the universe for these characters, but it’s everything the finale could be and more.

It’s now that I’m forced to eat some of the words I published in my last review, those concerning the “meandering plot as it slowly reaches the end”. Yes, Issue #18 ended with the reveal that Kamala’s mother knew about her vigilantism, but there are so many other relationships that are fleshed out and given the closure they need as this chapter closes [in preparation for the next one beginning].

The first involves, as mentioned, our heroine and her parents of course. Kamala opts not to tell them about the impending apocalypse and simply enjoy their company. Following up with that are two female friends, one of which felt like a blindside but not in a bad way. We’ve seen so little of Nakia since Issue #1 that it’s easy to forget that she’s one of Kamala’s closest friends, and she voices her concerns that they might be drifting apart. It feels real because, as anyone in any kind of relationship can attest to, it can and has and will happen to all of us. And since we’re coming full circle back to the first issue we have Zoe-

-who threw some pretty blatant microaggressions towards our heroine and who was the first life Ms. Marvel saved. Here we have her admitting how she was motivated by her insecurities, and that she wants to be better. Kamala admits that it’s been “the most super-intense day” of her life, but I guess that goes hand in hand with people thinking/knowing their existence is coming to a halt.

Then, of course, there’s Bruno.

Poor, sweet Bruno, an Alfred of sorts to Kamala’s Batman. Or an Oracle to her Batman. Or the Harold to her Batman. The point is that she’s Batman and he’s supported her from the beginning, as well as harboured some pretty serious unrequited[?] feelings. On the top of Coles Academic High School the two have a heart-to-heart and it’s . . . it’s not what you’d expect.

If pressed I would probably describe Ms. Marvel as being a book skewed towards a younger audience, going as low as ten-years-old and up. It’s keeping that in mind that makes reading these two teenagers discuss their relationship that much more shocking. It’s arguably one of the most adult, mature discussions about the subject I’ve ever read in the medium and that’s a lot considering it kicks off with two high schoolers saying the “L-word” to each other.

“I’m not ready to be anything else, to anyone else. I need to give this everything I’ve got.” Bruno is someone that Kamala wants to be with, romantically, but she has bigger responsibilities on her plate. She’s a superhero.

It may be a wait of three months, give or take, until we see Kamala’s solo title return, but when she does you can guarantee that it will be surrounded by people she loves and who love her back, and that Jersey City can only get better and better having her around.

To tack on just one last paragraph, I’ve barely even skimmed the sheer number of gems in this issue, from the all-time high for words/terms that need translating [4], a sharp reminder of the specific cultural story being told, to the joy and positivity in their decision to meet the end with an enormous dance party. If you haven’t read this book, seriously, do something about that.

The Ms. Marvel Visual Gag You Shouldn’t Have Missed: Honestly, the entire artistic team was on point this issue, with kudos going out to colourist Ian Herring in particular. Spotted in the gymnatorium’s designated non-denominational, nonjudgmental prayer area” [yet another gem] is this guy right here. His book says . . . something about baseball? “Baseball Homers“? Either way, don’t judge him. To each their own at the end of the world and otherwise.

Ms. Marvel #19
Written by G. Willow Wilson
Art by Adrian Alphona
Colours by Ian Herring
Letters by Joe Caramagna
Edited by Sana Amanat
Marvel Comics

So that’s that, the first 19 issues of Ms. Marvel reviewed, the first nineteen issues of the world’s first-ever Muslim Pakistani-American superheroine book. It’s been well over a year since Issue #1 dropped and now, with Volume 3 wrapping up, I think it’s probably for the best that I move on.

Come next month I will still be buying Ms. Marvel, but will no longer be reviewing it. I do, however, plan on reviewing another book starting from #1, preferably another Marvel comic given my buying habits. Stay tuned to find out what it is!

Also, for anyone wondering how to get their Kamala Khan fix, as mentioned Ms. Marvel #1 drops in November with both Takeshi Miyazawa and Adrian Alphona on art [Wilson remaining as writer]. Alongside that is All-New, All-Different Avengers #1 which stars Ms. Marvel alongside some of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Mark Waid is on storytelling duties and given how well he’s doing on Archie he knows how to handle teenage characters. If you’ve been waiting for the opportunity to get even more of Kamala’s adventures month in and month out your opportunity is just around the corner.

Last Friday was such an outpouring of emotions [alongside a fair amount of research] that even with roughly 2,700 words there was bound to be something I missed. While I had initially planned on making room for it, an omission was made starkly apparent to me once I began sharing the post. As those of you who read it [and you should, before continuing on with this one] it ended with a call to action: kickstarting the discussion about diversity and representation through asking others to read what I’d written [or however else they felt led].

That’s a risky thing to ask of anyone, for obvious reasons.

One of my friends shared the post on Facebook, and was immediately faced with another friend of theirs who had an issue with a small section that I’ve since amended. Here it as it was originally written:

“Chiwetel Ejiofor is an Academy Award winning actor. He’s also a Black [not African American] man, part of a demographic that has not struggled in Hollywood compared to many others.”

Going back you’ll notice that it now refers to Ejiofor as being “Nigerian English”, which is of course much more accurate. The issue that the person had with the original was that by going so far as to state that other actors were “Asian” and even “East Indian” I was snubbing Ejiofor’s own background. I was even accused of doing racebending of my own by overlooking this fact.

I should probably take at least a few sentences to explain my intent. What I wanted to do was explain how Black males actually have a significant presence in Hollywood, at least compared to most other minorities. I elaborated that he was not in fact African American since many in the States assume that the two terms are interchangeable. The truth is that many Black actors from other parts of the world [primarily the UK] have been breaking into the industry lately, with Idris Elba, David Oyelowo, and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje being the biggest names.

To go back to the conversation taking place on Facebook, I tried explaining that the purpose of this post was to focus on the minorities with little or poor representation in the media, ie. those of South and East Asian descent. While I have a passion for representation of all ethnicities that was another discussion for another time. This person refused to relent, however. For them I had slighted both Ejiofor and, ostensibly, all existing Black talent. I needed to own up to my actions and admit my wrongdoing.

So I did.

I made the change, as you can see, and immediately began regretting what I had left out of my final draft. Under the section “I’m Tired of Being Told What to Be Angry About” I had yet another gripe that I was never able to air out. To write it up as it may have appeared in the post:

“And I’m tired of Hollywood’s view that dark-skinned people are interchangeable turning us against one another. This shouldn’t be a victory for Black talent and a loss for South Asians, we’re all in this together.”

This should never be a competition where we’re dragging others down to lift ourselves up, and it’s always the ugliest sort of situation when that’s what it boils down to. The ultimate goal is every one of us moving upward and onward. As for the conclusion, echoes of High School Musical aside, it’s a sentiment I fully stand by.

Two years ago I wrote about the Boston Marathon bombing, but with a specific focus on how we processed the news. While obviously a tragic event, it brought to mind instances where

“I’ve watched the news where a small plane goes down in Europe, killing all passengers, and the story is delivered with the words that ‘a single Canadian was on board.'”

To put it more simply, problems are only problems when we are somehow affected. If it doesn’t at least tangentially have to do with me and mine then why bother talking about it. I posted what I’d written to the subreddit /r/asianamerican in my efforts to share my thoughts, and one of the few comments my submission received was this one:

“It’s an easy choice for me: If you whitewash your Asian characters, I will 100% not watch your movie no matter what.”

It’s a commendable stance, and one I wish more people would espouse. My issue with it, and what I responded with, was that it was so remarkably narrow a position. Would dragon_engine, the redditor in question, still watch a movie like Pan which cast Rooney Mara as Tiger Lily? Did they not have a problem with the overwhelmingly whitewashed Exodus: Gods and Kings?

Being vocal about diversity and representation and a whole slew of other issues is very clearly important and most definitely a good thing. How good a thing is it, though, when there’s such a singular focus? Of course it’s good, but couldn’t it be better?

The ever-reliable Wikipedia defines “intersectionality” as being “the study of intersections between forms or systems of oppression, domination or discrimination.” It’s also a subject that Kat looks like she’s covering next Wednesday, specifically in regards to feminism. Having said that, and very much looking forward to how she covers the topic, I leave you with a final question: when the option of what’s good for all doesn’t diminish or detract from what’s good for you, is there really any other choice?

Earlier this month LA-based artist Luka Fisher reached out to me through the site’s email, calling my attention to an art project that may be the first of its kind. Christopher Zeischegg, more commonly known online as porn star Danny Wylde “On The Moral Imperative To Commodify Sexual Suffering“. Accompanying the short story was a silkscreen print created by Fisher, which was in turn featured in a high-concept art commercial directed by Matthew Kaundart. Through this correspondence I was given the wonderful opportunity to discuss the story with Zeischegg, as well as pick his brain on a number of other topics.

Before proceeding onto the interview I would strongly encourage you to read his story, or at least watch the video, which I’ve embedded below. I would also like to warn you that both are decidedly not safe for work before proceeding.

So before we really get into things, Luka Fisher, the artist who emailed me and who collaborated with you on the release of your short story, described you as a “BuzzFeed sensation”. Would you say you live up to that title?

[laughs] Well, I would say I don’t live up to that title. I mean, Luka is a friend of mine and he’s an artist producer in LA. I think more than anything he was just trying to get press and attention for this thing we did; trying to get keywords. As far as being a “Buzzfeed sensation”, I’ve been in a few videos about porn stars, et cetera.

I didn’t participate in that press release. I would not call myself one.

I also noticed that in their [Buzzfeed’s] feature they describe you as a “porn star”, whereas most places I could find state that you’re no longer an active part of the industry. I was wondering if you could clear that up for both me and my readers.

I retired actually about two years ago from mainstream porn. Though I have been submitting videos to Make Love Not Porn. I also do some other sex work that I’m not going into for legality issues. I retired two years ago. But, y’know, stuff is out there forever on the internet, so people kind of associate that with you.

So the reason for this interview even existing is because of your short story, “On The Moral Imperative To Commodify Sexual Suffering” [which I’ve asked my readers to check out first], which of course presented alongside a piece of static visual art-

-as well as a short film. On top of all that you’re also one half of a Chiildren, a metal band, so I think it probably goes without saying that you’re by most definitions an artist-

Yeah, I guess so, I would agree to that.

–before we really dive into the story I thought it would be cool to hear your thoughts on pornography as art.

Well, in general I don’t think it is. I can say that there are some examples of people who are doing art within porn, and I guess one of them is even my current employer, or one of them, James Deen. I work for him a lot in production and last year we did some higher end art films [7 Sins, we made a porn version but there’s also a cut-down version going around].

But my interest in porn did not really participate in art, especially in the beginning. It was just something to get through school. And then continued doing that for some years after. Because it pays better in retail, you know what I mean.

I don’t think typically it is, though. It’s just entertainment to jerk off to. That’s what most porn is. I don’t have anything more to say about it. We’re not doing anything important with it, there’s no real higher cause. We’re just making stuff so people can jerk off to it.

Which I guess you could call art. It’s a nuanced conversation. It’s entertainment.

“On The Moral Imperative To Commodify Sexual Suffering” is at least partly fictional, given that you’re alive and talking to me today. Some of it is rooted in reality, however, particularly the section about your retirement. Can you reveal anything about your decision to splice what I can only describe as “horror” onto your actual life-

I don’t think Matthew, the filmmaker, knew this going into it, but I think my aesthetic in working with a lot of art forms, literary or otherwise, is related to that. I enjoy the horror aesthetic and so forth.

Violence as a metaphor is something I’ve used as a kid, since I was into horror movies and metal music, stuff that uses those tropes. Growing up and moving away from porn, at least as a performative career, I’m also looking at trying to do visual art in those contexts. Even, and maybe especially, through this piece. I wouldn’t actually say it’s fiction at this point. At least in terms of dying, all the way up to the end where I get murdered. It more or less is real.

Fisher’s silkscreen print was made using Zeischegg’s blood.

And maybe I don’t have those certain feelings 100% of the time, but yeah. I don’t know, it’s kind of a literal and visual art angle I’ve gone with for a while. I released a book earlier with a similar tone. An autobiography of sorts with a lot of violent fiction.

I know you just said that your interest in the genre goes back to childhood, but do you think there’s any sort of relationship between horror and porn? I’ve been thinking about how there are a few genres where your success can be gauged by the audience’s reaction, comedy and horror, and maybe porn is sort of the third one. I know that your book that you mentioned, The Wolves That Live in Skin and Space second book, sort of explores these themes.

Yeah, they both kind of work on these novelty and spectacle ideas. Especially with something like splatter horror films or something like that, where the gore is a big deal. In cinema we see every year that these things get more and more severe. Maybe in porn it’s the same way. You do a gangbang, and then double anal; people are always trying to one up the spectacle. It also involves the viewer where they’re sort of taking on this visual fetishism as a spectator.

I think there are similarities between porn and horror in that way. Mostly the spectacle nature of it.

The email I first received for this opportunity was titled as “Ex-Porn star takes on pornhub in his film+essay for somesuch stories”, which very clearly frames it as in indictment of the website. As far as your purpose for the story, and knowing that art’s message is in the eye of its beholder, would you say that’s accurate?

In that case, sure. I mean, I don’t think that my essay is going to do anything in the public eye to change their minds about PornHub. But I do think that MindGeek [the corporation that owns and runs the site] has totally fucked the porn industry. I’m not the only one that holds that opinion.

Slate ran an article called “Vampire Porn” about MindGeek and how they’ve become a monopoly in the industry by abusing production distribution practices. One of the quotes in there was, “imagine if Warner Bros. owned The Pirate Bay,” or something along those lines, which I think is a pretty accurate description of what they do. Because they own the majority of larger [porn] studios in the industry and they also own most of the bigger tube sites which operate, at least in part, on pirated content. These days they’ve kind of roped in production companies to advertise content there in hopes of bringing legal traffic to their respective websites.

Ironically the short film is featured on PornHub, and is shown here with a banner ad reading “It’s finally worth paying for”.

I do think that they’re no more evil than any sort of pirated content website, but in terms of porn, porn doesn’t have mainstream advocates. No one in the “real world” is really talking about it so anyone who fights that shit [PornHub’s business practices] is usually from the inside, and it’s hard to explain that to someone else because it’s already deemed a morally ambiguous industry.

If you were to get into porn right now it wouldn’t be worth it.

Following up on that idea, would you say that at one point it was worth getting into porn?

Financially speaking, at least, yeah. At least up to 2008 when MindGeek came into the picture and, along with a lot of other factors around that time, started this collapse. The economic situation, in the US at least, and the housing market crash affected a lot of things. Around that time this company was moving in and no one really paid attention to it. Now they own Xtube, YouPorn, some of the most highly trafficked site on the internet.

From my understanding you’re not even able to advertise on the main page from a different company. Most everything- Brazzers, Mofos, Twistys, Men.com- a lot of their actual production studios are featured on the ads you see on these different tube sites that they already own. Or they’re hidden as a cam site they operate, or some fake shit like “grow 12 inches in a month” or something like that.

They’re definitely shooting themselves in the foot in a way by making porn free. Making everyone comfortable with that. Music is essentially free now and has been since the turn of the century. And I think every young person is used to that; buying music is unheard of. It’s the same thing with porn, so what could MindGeek’s economic strategy be going forward?

I’ve heard some insidious rumour, and I can’t verify this. I heard from someone that they’re basically a datamining company. So if they have a 68 Alexa rating [66 at the time of this writing] at large percentage of the world traffics your website. If you have a key researching their browsing patterns, whatever, they could sell that. It’s feasible, but again, completely unsubstantiated.

You mentioned earlier that you work in part for James Deen. Would you say that his business has been affected by MindGeek?

I would. But I don’t know the exact figures and I won’t speak on behalf of his company. I just work in production and post-production, so I think it would be stupid to say what we’re making. And I don’t want to ruin his relationship with people. I say this not as an official employee, and again he’s not my only employer, though he is my primary one. I think very highly of him and I think we do good work, just on a pretty small scale.

I think he’s probably the biggest male porn star in the world right now. And I think it’s kind of weird that there’s any real struggle to have a foothold in the industry with how much time and effort and energy he puts into it. If you go to PornHub or some other site there are model profiles and he has like 8 million views or something like that. What’s actually turning into paid consumerism is a very small percentage of that if any. And it’s a relatively small company, he only employs a few people on a regular basis.

Right now as far as who’s on set most of the time it’s just James and me. That’s our production crew. We update a little bit and add more people depending on the project. You can ascertain due to overall budget cuts in the industry (he operates outside of MindGeek) that the money’s not there that used to be. There used to be more than two people on set to make a movie. That’s just my experience from being on set, sometimes as a performer, for the past 10 years or so.

We still do good work, we make it happen. But from a financial point of view, yeah, it probably affects us.

Now I’m pretty sure the reason Luka reached out to me in the first place was because of a post I wrote back in 2013, about your part in The Walking Dead porn parody (that featured you in some pretty unfortunate makeup). In it I quoted your acknowledgement of the problem [racism in pornography] in the industry:

“So this is my lesson and my apology. I obviously can’t just do whatever I want in a porno and say, ‘Hey, it’s just a stupid porno.’ People are paying attention. Thank you for paying attention. I hope I don’t disappoint you again.”

Now that you find yourself on the other side of the camera would you say that things are any different from the way they were just two years ago?

Let me just say that I don’t necessarily think anything’s changed since then. As far as that situation goes you have to see my headspace. First of all I think it’s very easy as a White person, certainly as a White male, in the US. You hold a privileged position. That is not a very unpopular purview; it’s true.

I arrived on set and didn’t know what was going on. Someone says “you’re gonna be this Asian guy on The Walking Dead.” I’m like, okay, that’s kind of weird. [laughs] Everyone is like, “haha, you’re gonna be great, it’s funny.” We’re all really in this context of being that it doesn’t affect anyone, it’s just funny. We’re not doing anything bad. It’s stupid, I was stupid. It’s embarrassing in the aftermath. I don’t know if I can say anything besides I fucked up and people pointed it out. And I’m happy people like you are willing to make that a conversation.

As far as in porn I’m aware of the same thing still happening. Maybe not yellowface specifically but other things I pointed out in my apology. Porn kind of fetishizes racist and ethnic tropes. And I grapple with that in certain ways. It’s interesting in terms of certain marginalized populations. If you’re gay for example you can internalize homophobia, which in my own sexuality I’ve done in the past; I’m not 100% straight.

I have had clients in the past who get off by asking me to call them “faggots”. I’ve done that in my own sex life. I had a black client in the past who, uncomfortably, liked delving into race play. A dominatrix friend of mine used to have a Hasidic Jewish client who would have her storm around in basically SS regalia, yelling out anti-Semitic remarks. In my head I don’t want to police anyone’s ability to have a fantasy, however fucked up that may be. At the same time the weird dynamic in the porn industry, like many others to this day, is that it’s White male producers. There are exceptions to that rule, but it’s common in most media.

If you’re the standard White guy making racist porn it’s, y’know . . . I don’t know what to say exactly but it’s tricky. Some of us made the argument in the past that we employ more Black male actors than any other company, but in most situation it’s presented like “My Daughter’s Fucking a Nigger”. We’re putting that out into the world. It’s a very complicated thing to talk about.

Talk to the guys [Black male adult performers], some of them won’t do it, and some of them will if it’s presented. I always wish this situation in its entirety was different. I don’t necessarily want to speak on behalf of those people because if you’re Black male talent and you’re doing this job you have a reason. Maybe you don’t have a lot of alternatives.

I feel like at this point in time I’d rather not say I know what the answer is. It’s best to speak to the people who are doing that work, or not doing that work, or who that work affects.

One facet of racism in the industry that not many people know about is interracial porn, or the high price that’s set on it. The idea that having sex with a Black man is the sort of act that’s on par with anal or a gangbang or something along those lines, and therefore pays more-

It depends on who you work for. We don’t do that, we [James Deen] don’t pay more for interracial scenes. That is an actual thing in the industry, though. I see girls on Twitter say “I’m doing my first interracial!”

I’m not faulting them for making money. At the same time it’s one of those social tropes in porn. It makes you want to bite your tongue and it is treated as this big deal, extra stuff, sex with a Black person. Which I think is pretty fucked up. I don’t even really understand, when you break it down, why that is necessarily. Even trying to consider the racist motivations behind why it’s more expensive to have sex with a Black guy, I dunno.

I’ve dated girls in the industry and some of the responses on social media from porn fans are not even subtly racist, but outrightly so. My first girlfriend had guys who would call her a “nigger-lover” for having sex with Black guys on camera. It just feeds into this whole thing. It’s 2015 and this shouldn’t be an issue, but it is. And obviously two or three years ago I was doing yellowface on film and I didn’t think to say no. I can’t then go and be surprised that this shit is still happening. It is.

As you’ve said a few times you’re currently still working production on porn films. Have you ever considered stepping away from the industry entirely?

Kind of at first, when I first quit performing. Then it was this large scale immediate rush just to find work. When you’re in the industry you get to know people, it’s easier to do a job for someone you know. Working for James was the best situation overall. I have flexibility with my schedule and decent pay. I just think he’s kind of the best at what he does, so it’s more or less easier to shoot for him. With James you get a good scene almost always. I don’t know at this point that I’d want to work for anyone else in the industry.

As far as stepping away entirely, I have thoughts about that but don’t think it’s feasible in the near future. Not sure what I’d do for money outside of that. Besides writing, all of these other things. It’s difficult to make a living doing that-

[laughs] Everyone wants to be the next great American Author-

-[laughs] I’m not holding my breath on that. It’s just something I enjoy.

Would you say that being at least a semi-successful writer and musician has been easier due to your career in porn?

Kind of. I don’t know if my work is more financially viable than anyone else’s. But y’know, these days publishing and everything else is in the toilet. It’s difficult to get people to pay for media. So having any kind of celebrity attached to your name is a selling point.

Before my first book had been published I’d been writing a blog for four years to get attention for my own writing and so forth. Eventually someone reached out to me when I started publishing excerpts from my book, a small press called Queer Young Cowboys. So it was kind of a nice thing to happen. But yeah, I think it’s definitely because they’d seen my porn, saw that I was writing about porn, and saw an opportunity to work together there. And certainly with my second book it was with the publishing company that did autobiographies for other porn stars. I was able to be introduced that way.

Finally I’d like to thank you for what has been a legitimately fascinating look into the industry, as well as your own career and art. To close things off is there any work of yours you’d like our readers to check out?

Yeah, sure. I mean, I’ll plug the book and the band I guess. There is that book that came out this year, The Wolves that Live in Skin and Space, I guess an autobiography horror hybrid. And then I have a band called Chiildren which is an industrial metal band out in LA. You can check us out on Facebook, and you can find other stuff through there.

A lot of the time, when I wish I had implemented a grading system into these reviews when I first started two years ago, it’s because I want to underscore how truly bad an episode was. Not this week. This week I wish that I was able to qualify how good 2 Broke Girls usually is so that I could give “And the Gym and Juice” an A.

And no, this isn’t a particularly groundbreaking twenty-something minutes of situation comedy, but it is exactly what it needs to be, which is to say that it’s funny. Just two episodes into their fifth season and 2 Broke Girls appears confident in allowing its titular characters to truly carry the show, and they do so in a truly admirable fashion. I’m not sure if there was a shake-up in the writers room, but whatever happened it has me generally looking forward to future installments of the show.

The premise this week is a solid one as well, and one that’s a natural fit given the the series’ title. Their shower breaks down one fateful morning, and a glimpse into a room we’ve never seen before [in my recollection] helps cement a point that’s often told  instead of show: these characters aren’t doing so hot financially.

As far as solutions go the option of using the facilities at a gym is simple, but also one ripe with storytelling potential. It may sound like I’m gushing over what appears to be standard television writing, but this is the sort of narrative that I’ve been looking for since things first started. A problem born out of living just above the poverty line prevents itself and steps are taken to solve that. It’s a very simple formula, but one they’ve rarely gone to.

There are a number of twists and turns which involve them landing jobs at the gym, losing said jobs, and eventually getting Oleg to fix their shower, but as mentioned a few paragraphs earlier what’s truly important is how funny the girls make it.

While longtime readers will know that I usually offer the prize of comedic MVP to Beth Behrs, I actually think that Kat Dennings snags the coveted title this time around. Two laugh-out-loud moments in this episode are concerted group efforts, with the first being Caroline’s gagging leading to Max’s gagging and the second, my personal favourite, Max frantically flipping on blenders and even banging pots together in order to drown out her friend’s tirade. On top of that, however, is Max’s freshly showered personality affecting her ability to be surly. Her halfhearted grimaces, meant to be threatening scowls, are slightly off-putting at best, and it’s the sort of performance that reminds me that, yes, she does deserve to be the star of a sitcom. It’s just that oftentimes I don’t think that it’s this one.

Elsewhere Oleg has lowered the age rating of his speech to “G”, and the pains he takes to affirm listeners that know innuendo was intended is handled deftly by Jonathan Kite. Matthew Moy engages in a gag surrounding his inability to get be seen and order anything at the juice bar that could have been better communicated with more customers blocking him, but all in all is acted out well. On almost all fronts the cast appears to be giving it their 120% and it really shows.

As my second paragraph states, this isn’t groundbreaking stuff. At the same time, this week’s 2 Broke Girls isn’t so much “not bad” as it is actually “pretty good”.We can all only hope that whatever’s going on behind the scenes continues and that we can keep seeing these actors do what they do best.

Current Total: $164.

New Total: $264. Max and Caroline work at the juice bar for a little over a day, I think, before being let go. Maybe they given $100 for whatever was done in that time.

The Title Refers To: Han’s gym, Physique Total Body, as well as the juice that’s served there.

Stray Observations:

• “Max, remind me, what separates us from homeless people?” / “We’re not as tan?”
• “Well, well, well, Caroline, I didn’t know it was Bring Your Boyfriend to Work day?”
• Their shower is a place to cry and to hide from their roommate, for Caroline and Max respectively.
• “Well, I have two Friends and Family 1-day passes that I was saving for my parents’ trip. But last month they littered in Korea so they’re in jail.”  This joke would’ve landed with me more if they’d been vacationing in Singapore.
• “Bring me something green, bitch.”
• YBBBB with Brian. Yoga Booty Ballet Boxing and Beyond.
• “And make out with you? Joke. I’m kind of married.”
• The two “old” ladies they face off against bought their trainer a car.
• “Suck it down, baby! But not in a sexual way.”
• “Oh, you’re not the only person who can be threatening. Let me go get my threatening friend.”
• Raquelle, the janitor, has a pretty great line about how the women’s husbands are “silent partners in the gym and in their marriages.”
• Han says “Max, go away, you’re interrupting my flow” while sweating a literal puddle and they don’t make any obvious jokes about it. Weird.
• Having Chestnut gag along with Max and Caroline was the funniest joke they’ve ever pulled off, as far as having a horse on set.

“Eeeaaauuuggghhhhhh.”

• Pop Culture Put-Downs: The Might Be Giants, their genitals in particular.

As soon as I saw the promo pictures on the CBS website I began dreading this week’s episode of 2 Broke Girls. “And the Inside Out Situation” centres entirely around LGBT discrimination and political correctness, and let’s just say that the writers on this show have not exactly shown the tact of John Oliver and co. at Last Week Tonight or the biting satire of the South Park people.

From the very beginning things look rough, as the LGBT character they chose to put front and centre, I, introduces themselves:

“To be clear, I am neither he nor she, mister nor misses, male nor female. And the only part of me that is transitioning are my heels from day to evening. I am simply ‘I’. And I cannot be labelled. I am gender fluid.”

The issue with this is when the audience chooses [and/or is prompted] to laugh. After the first joke, the reference to heels, is a given. The second, on the other hand, comes right after I tells the two girls that they are gender fluid. Now this is a word that has garnered a good amount of negative connotations in the past few years, but that is problematic to say the least.

All of this of course falls in line with co-creator and showrunner Michael Patrick King who believes that there is ultimately nothing that can’t be poked fun at. While it’s true that humour is a great way of exposing the inherent ridiculousness of bigotry, among other things, the main issue is that so many of the jokes on 2 Broke Girls start out with asking the audience to laugh at racial minorities, members of the LGBT community, etc. and do a very poor job in transitioning that into laughing with them.

While Max embodies King’s theory that no one is free from being roasted her comments towards I go far beyond simply being microaggressions. As a follow-up to one of Caroline’s comments about pieces she quips to I, “Yeah, we’re still not even sure you have one.” The audience laughs along, and the idea is introduced and strengthened that, hey, gender fluid people are weird and we can laugh about it.

After I is turned away because Caroline doesn’t want their cupcakes used in performance art a large number of LGBT people begin protesting their business [“No cake equals hate!”]. The difficulty with Max and Caroline having to prove that they’re not bigots is that so much of the way Max interacted with them actually did border on hate speech. Okay, I realize that sounds strong, but the fact is that for both transgender and gender fluid people having a complete stranger comment on what’s in your pants is a literal nightmare. Caroline also doesn’t help much with her aside that “the gays will hate us forever, and when I get an interior I want it decorated.”

Both the girls and the show’s writers try to offset all of this by having them be approached by the Family Foremost Foundation, a thinly veiled Westboro Baptist Church analogue. When the two girls are provided with a cheque for $10,000 they decide to stay and collect it before being informed that “right now millions of people are watching as we stream live around the world.” Ultimately they decide to, well-

– lock lips for the first time since the finale of the second season. While it’s ostensibly a brave move on both of their parts it ignores the fact that mere seconds before they were more than okay with taking this money from what’s pretty clearly a hate group.

Back at the diner I apologies to both Max and Caroline for being “a little overly sensitive” and all is well. Their last line is equally troubling as well, though, with Max elaborating on her approach to life by stating that “At the end of the day we are all just trying to get by” and I replying with “Bi. Now those people I don’t trust.” The fact that bisexual people very commonly face erasure from both sides of the hypothetical fence is, of course, entirely overlooked.

Overall the entire episode is pretty troubling, beginning with a the mockery of a gender fluid person and ending with said character doing all of the apologizing. The show’s referral to “the gay community” overall is simplistic at the best of times, and is protected from scrutiny by King [or at least he would like to think so], himself a gay man.

Current Total: $215.

New Total: $110. There’s a large cupcake order for I that presumably goes to waste, and then another 500 cupcakes that they baked for the FFF without payment. While that’s a huge loss, the Cher impersonator said that the former protesters took up a collection for the girls. Either way it’s a lot of downs, one up, and no actual cash amounts explained onscreen.

The Title Refers To: A bad transgender joke that was ultimately written out, probably.

Stray Observations:

• I gave up on the 2 Broke Girls Cheesecake Menu with Season 4, and here we are with a cold open that focuses on Caroline forgetting to wear pants.
• They remind Han of when he saw his mom’s sideboob, for whatever reason.
• I’s performance art involves asking audience members to eat a pretty pink femme cupcake, only to find a cocktail wiener hidden inside.
• “Well, I don’t have to stand here to tell you how upset I am. That’s what Yelp is for.”
• Caroline tries singing some Les Misérables to calm the protesters and does a passable “I Dreamed A Dream”.
• Not mentioned above, but important, the drag queens among the protesters. The Cher impersonator is Chad Michaels, who starred on RuPaul’s Drag Race and received a fair number of lines this episode.
• Terry, the first member of the FFF that the girls meet, is played by Travis Schuldt, who I will perpetually recognize as Keith Dudemeister from Scrubs. Also as Subway and Honda, respectively, a corporate entity in human form.
• Brother Dan, the head of the FFF, cites Max and Caroline as “the girls who are standing up against the deviants, the divorcers, the scientists, the hiphop lovers, and [pause] the doobie smokers!”
• A funny short joke this week! “I can’t keep up with all these drinks. I’m running out of tiny umbrellas!” / “How will you get home if it rains?”
• Pop Culture Put-Downs: President POTUS Barack Obama and Presidential “hopeful” Donald Trump are on the receiving end of the writers’ jabs this week.