It isn’t difficult to make the argument that all things are connected. Everything that “matters” is on the planet Earth, it has been observed by human beings, can be described in at least an approximation of words, belongs to at least one or more sets of things, etc. And as such, every piece of media is a reaction to, contains references to, comments on, or otherwise draws from the rich and expansive history of stories and objects which exist in the world.
The usual tack taken by folks of this ilk is to systematically analyze every episode of a given series, every book by a given author, every issue of a given comic, etc. in direct order, with occasional digressions to discuss political or social situations relating to their creation, or to speak about other works which were influential or were influenced by the main topic of discussion. For one such as myself, down that path lies madness and ruin. I have tried and failed. I am to obsessive when it comes to detail, yet too easily lead astray, and too frustrated by incompleteness and the fragmentary nature of such things.
Thus, instead, what is proposed is a traipse through media of all sorts. A drunkard’s walk, a Poisson distribution, a bouncing ball to follow across the lyrics at the bottom of the screen so the audience can sing along. We will begin at the beginning (of sorts), and we will proceed through whatever is available, whatever is connected to whatever, high and low, print and video and sound and stationary and temporary and lost forever. Sometimes we will look at an entire movie, book, or television series. Sometimes a particular comic issue, television episode, or song. Sometimes a single panel, painting, or chapter. It might appear random, but there will always be some slender thread of continuity. Who knows when we will end?
What we will often attempt will be a holistic view, considering all points of view at once, considering a reading so we can tear it down and then tearing down that reading and tearing down that reading of that reading. Sometimes not. There is no particular philosophy being embraced in toto, in the sense of a “Marxist reading” or a “postmodern reading”, save that the project itself is by its very nature poststructuralist and due to the “continuity” hopelessly mired in historicism. It could move neither forwards nor backwards without them. But it is hoped that the works themselves will get discussed, rather than simply critical theory.
I will contradict myself. I will infuriate myself. I will revisit myself.
I will update when updates are ready; no schedule could be set. Some works take 22 minutes to consume, some take weeks to read, other seconds to listen to. I am a notoriously slow reader, and refuse to do anything else while watching things. This temporarily induced monomania itself will perhaps be a topic of discussion some day.
Words/phrases which will appear frequently: evolution, opinion, on the other hand, mirror, context, considering, change, life, window, Other, technology, cutting, water, viewpoint, picture, image, shaman, World Spirit, divide, externality, multifaceted, box, philosophy, hostile, ontology, permission, outside, compulsion, infinite, magic, obsession, considered, printed, framing, disorder, But then, So, because, and, a, the, then, with, also, because, why, in, that, have, I, for, not, on, go.
