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Elizabeth Sandifer

Elizabeth Sandifer created Eruditorum Press. She’s not really sure why she did that, and she apologizes for the inconvenience. She currently writes Last War in Albion, a history of the magical war between Alan Moore and Grant Morrison. She used to write TARDIS Eruditorum, a history of Britain told through the lens of a ropey sci-fi series. She also wrote Neoreaction a Basilisk, writes comics these days, and has ADHD so will probably just randomly write some other shit sooner or later. Support Elizabeth on Patreon.

8 Comments

  1. Aylwin
    March 18, 2016 @ 10:31 pm

    This is plainly not the time or the place to remark that I have what I believe a certain recent iteration of The Young People refer to as All Of The Feels about the end of The Man Who Wasn’t There. But I’ve been drinking.

    Reply

  2. Dusti
    March 19, 2016 @ 1:51 am

    I really love Fargo, the first season much more than the second, but the fact that it depicts police officers as morally unimpeachable Champions of God (but so does every cop show, even though Fargo isn’t that kind, the CBS kind, of cop show) is the single most troubling thing about it.

    I watched very little of Hannibal. But as soon as I saw attractive female victims meticulously splayed out in an elegantly designed crime scene, I gave up. Hannibal marked itself almost immediately as just another show that eroticizes violence against women.

    Reply

    • Dusti
      March 19, 2016 @ 1:52 am

      That’s “Champions of Good,” rather.

      Reply

      • Dustin
        March 19, 2016 @ 1:53 am

        And I even misspelled my name above, yikes.

        Reply

    • Elizabeth Sandifer
      March 19, 2016 @ 6:58 am

      Huh. I’m genuinely surprised by that critique; I think Hannibal by and large did an admirable job of desexualizing its violence. Notably, there’s not a single rapist in the entire run of the show, a rule held to with such dedication that they actually revamped Francis Dolarhyde to no longer explicitly rape his victims.

      Reply

    • Jane
      March 19, 2016 @ 1:06 pm

      Except this doesn’t hold true for all the police — aside from our protagonists, we see blowhards, jerks, quivering cowards, all people who are much more interested in their own personal agendas (if not self-aggrandizement) than in executing the law out of respect for what’s “good.”

      But I’d agree we don’t see any police who are… what’s the word… invested in the fascist possibilities of wielding power over other people, which is could well be the most important aspect of police that needs examination and, indeed, a spotlight.

      Reply

  3. Robert McKinlay
    March 20, 2016 @ 11:13 am

    hi Phil,

    long time lurker, first time posting…

    You say you haven’t seen the original Coen’s “Fargo” – yet state “Nobody in Fargo makes art” I’m sorry but

    (SPOILERS)
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    .
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    a key scene at the end of the movie has Marge Gunderson’s husband, Norm, telling her that his painting of a Mallard will adorn the US Post’s 3 cent stamp, an achievement belittled by him as he wanted the 29 cent stamp – but Marge rejoices at the news. This leads to one of the most memorable last-scene speeches in movie history (personally speaking): Marge’s “Whenever they raise the postage, people need the little stamps…” speech.

    Sorry Phil, but art – “Art” if you like – is there. Peppered through the movie and shoved front and centre at the end in counterpoint to Marge having solved a QUINTUPLE HOMICIDE ignored as she cuddles up to her man that night and reassures him all’s well with the world.

    While Norm, bless, doesn’t even think to ask about her day.

    I know this doesn’t excuse an overt lack of representational art in the television series but I just thought it a bit unfair to say; “Nobody in Fargo makes art”

    regards,
    Bob

    ps. adore the site, keeps me sane… sometimes.

    Reply

    • Elizabeth Sandifer
      March 20, 2016 @ 6:27 pm

      Ah, yes, I knew that – Jack talks about it in his essay. But probably should have returned the explicit focus to S2 for that claim.

      Reply

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