What if I said I do not believe in desire? As the holidays wind down, and with them the inundation of images of midnight smooches on New Year’s Eve and nuclear families unwrapping presents by the tree, I am always left with that seasonal-depression-idea that I’ve somehow failed to live up to the status quo—those unreachable expectations. And then I pause and think, “Wait, why do I care? That’s not even what I want.” I’m thrown by how much those desires feel, momentarily, like my … [Read more...] about Things American: Authentic Desire & the Root of Sexuality in HBO’s “Girls”
THINGS AMERICAN
Things American: Yeah Science Breaking Bad!
Like many, many others, we dived into the k-hole that is breaking down Breaking Bad. What follows is a series of gchat conversations between Jess Stoner and Carmiel Banasky about the show, its fiction connections, and our obsession.
[We start from the very first scene of "Blood Money"]
CB: I love this intro (I'm rewatching as we chat). It keeps with the pool motif. The pool has become a way to track the passage of time in the series.
JS: I know! It brings you right back to the first … [Read more...] about Things American: Yeah Science Breaking Bad!
Things American: From Post-Black to Postmortem–The Tragic Death of Trayvon Martin
Trayvon Martin’s death and George Zimmerman’s acquittal are further proof that Obama’s two-term presidency and the spike in interracial marriage have not magically transformed America into some post-racial Shangri-la free of the demons of prejudice and discrimination. The country is post-black, as cultural critic Touré demonstrates in his book Who's Afraid of Post-Blackness? Blacks, he explains, are post-black in that they are “like Obama: rooted in but not restricted by Blackness.” Rejecting … [Read more...] about Things American: From Post-Black to Postmortem–The Tragic Death of Trayvon Martin
Things American: How Mad Men & Upstairs Downstairs Negotiate History
Every so often a show comes along that attempts to take stock of and reflect upon the moral predicaments of the last half century—serving as a reminder for how far we’ve come, or how far we have yet to go. The strength of Mad Men—one of many strengths—comes from the show’s use of history not for plot, but for setting. In this way, the show is able to move its characters in and (mostly) out of the line of fire, the larger-than-life events the period is known for, allowing for distance and … [Read more...] about Things American: How Mad Men & Upstairs Downstairs Negotiate History
Introducing “Things American”
We're fiction people. We know that. You know that. We're American Short Fiction, after all. Today, though, we're launching a new essay series we're calling "Things American," which will feature authors tackling all manner of topical and literary issues in an attempt to heed Kurt Vonnegut's warning that "Literature should not disappear up its own asshole, so to speak." In truth, we’re interested in the broader experience of what it is to be an "American"—that funny, fuzzy-edged word. Inspired … [Read more...] about Introducing “Things American”