Thoughtful Heckler – The Tory Party

3 Animators That Will Explode Your Brain

Tory — Fri, 10 Apr 2015 13:00:46 +0000

You work hard. You show kindness. You pay your taxes. You just remembered you have to pay your taxes. You deserve to meet three animators that will explode your brain. There are no fluffy 3D clouds or meet-cute plots here. But there are unforgettable images and squealing rapture. Time Consumption Advisory: these artists’ work is… Continue reading 3 Animators That Will Explode Your Brain

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Spring 2015 Cartoon Preview

Tory — Fri, 13 Mar 2015 13:00:35 +0000

This article first appeared as a “Chick on the Draw” column in Luna Station Quarterly, March 6, 2015. This year’s animated lineup is out of control. There is no controlling it. Don’t try. You will hurt yourself. There are two Disney/Pixar movies coming out this year: INSIDE OUT (June 19) and THE GOOD DINOSAUR (Nov… Continue reading Spring 2015 Cartoon Preview

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In 2015, You Will Read Interactive Fiction… and Maybe Write It

Tory — Fri, 23 Jan 2015 14:00:10 +0000

This post first appeared as a Chick on the Draw Column at Luna Station Quarterly, January 9, 2015. You may not know it when it happens, because it will sneak up on you in your browser or Kindle or mobile device. You were reading a thing, and then it gave you some kind of choice,… Continue reading In 2015, You Will Read Interactive Fiction… and Maybe Write It

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8 Things Arguing on the Internet Taught Me About People

Tory — Fri, 12 Dec 2014 14:00:01 +0000

This article first appeared as a Chick on the Draw column Dec 5, 2014 at Luna Station Quarterly For the past two years, between watching cartoons and doing other crazy crap, I’ve helped moderate an online support group forum for survivors of family trauma. In that time the community has grown from fewer than a… Continue reading 8 Things Arguing on the Internet Taught Me About People

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5 Stages of a White Person Trying to Write a Person of Color

Tory — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 17:00:15 +0000

This article first appeared as a Chick on the Draw column Nov 7, 2014 at Luna Station Quarterly I am white. I make drawings and stories. I get some of these published. I take up bandwidth. So I try to make those drawings and stories reflect the people who are stuck looking at them. Continually… Continue reading 5 Stages of a White Person Trying to Write a Person of Color

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28 Silly Things About Interstellar

Tory — Tue, 11 Nov 2014 14:00:49 +0000

Oh my. I don’t always have beefs. I saw Big Hero 6 this weekend and was rendered nearly beefless. But the thing about beefs is once you have one good beef core, more beefs tend to snowball around it, until you are in the middle of the second act taking out your notepad because the… Continue reading 28 Silly Things About Interstellar

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Drawn in Drag: Examining Male Voice Actors Cast in Female Roles

Tory — Fri, 10 Oct 2014 15:00:24 +0000

This article first appeared October 3, 2014 in my Chick on the Draw column at Luna Station Quarterly. Sometimes animation is sort of like SNL in the early 90s–it assumes men dressed as women are funnier than actual women. I’m not saying Cross-Dressing Voices is always men-as-women. Where would animated boy roles be without June Foray, Nancy Cartwright,… Continue reading Drawn in Drag: Examining Male Voice Actors Cast in Female Roles

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The Bechdel Test Revisited: Women in a Hero’s Journey

Tory — Fri, 12 Sep 2014 13:00:16 +0000

This article first appeared as Luna Station Quarterly’s Chick on the Draw column, September 5, 2014 There are three reasons Alison Bechdel’s famous test–one canny gag in an indie comic strip from 1985–has been embraced by entertainment critics, theorists, and journalists as the gold standard for determining whether a film has, Feminist Frequency describes it,… Continue reading The Bechdel Test Revisited: Women in a Hero’s Journey

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5 Best Current Animated Series That Pass the Mako Mori Test

Tory — Fri, 08 Aug 2014 15:00:40 +0000

This article first appeared in Luna Station Quarterly’s Chick on the Draw column on August 1, 2014. Maybe you’re out of the cartoon loop. Maybe you don’t have cable TV. Maybe you’re a former fan who got super distracted by Breaking Bad. Well, there’s been no better time to reconnect. We live in a golden… Continue reading 5 Best Current Animated Series That Pass the Mako Mori Test

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4 Reasons Why Cartoons Matter

Tory — Fri, 11 Jul 2014 15:00:20 +0000

This article first appeared in Luna Station Quarterly’s Chick on the Draw column on July 4, 2014. It’s a pleasure to join Luna Station Quarterly’s new content lineup. I’ll be your friendly neighborhood animation commentator and theorist. Why? I’m so glad you asked. Of all popular media, animation is the truest mirror of our culture.… Continue reading 4 Reasons Why Cartoons Matter

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