Nathanael T. Booth (he/him)
@nathanaeltbooth.bsky.social
Pretty damn queer.
nathanaeltbooth.com
Author, GOD AND THE GREAT DETECTIVE: ELLERY QUEEN’S STRUGGLE WITH THE DIVINE, 1945-1965 (McFarland 2023)
Co-host, THE PROJECTIONIST’S LENDING LIBRARY
Academic
nathanaeltbooth.com
Author, GOD AND THE GREAT DETECTIVE: ELLERY QUEEN’S STRUGGLE WITH THE DIVINE, 1945-1965 (McFarland 2023)
Co-host, THE PROJECTIONIST’S LENDING LIBRARY
Academic
There’s an omnidirectional cruelty to the administration, but for some reason it’s the most pointless cruelties that seem the most striking.
December 19, 2025 at 3:39 PM
There’s an omnidirectional cruelty to the administration, but for some reason it’s the most pointless cruelties that seem the most striking.
Oh, yeah. I agree with you there.
December 19, 2025 at 1:29 PM
Oh, yeah. I agree with you there.
Tell someone that Huston was a hit-and-run drunk driver and they’ll probably say “Yeah, that fits.”
December 19, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Tell someone that Huston was a hit-and-run drunk driver and they’ll probably say “Yeah, that fits.”
The phenomenon of children being stolen to be sold into adoption is a real thing. It has been for a while.
December 19, 2025 at 1:16 PM
The phenomenon of children being stolen to be sold into adoption is a real thing. It has been for a while.
If I remember the story right, Ford spent a lot of time on the LIBERTY VALANCE set dragging Wayne because Jimmy Stewart was a war hero and Wayne never even served.
December 19, 2025 at 1:15 PM
If I remember the story right, Ford spent a lot of time on the LIBERTY VALANCE set dragging Wayne because Jimmy Stewart was a war hero and Wayne never even served.
That said, his performance in THE SEARCHERS is god-tier. And LIBERTY VALANCE is good too.
December 19, 2025 at 1:09 PM
That said, his performance in THE SEARCHERS is god-tier. And LIBERTY VALANCE is good too.
Famously Ford exclaimed after seeing RED RIVER that he never knew Wayne could act.
December 19, 2025 at 1:09 PM
Famously Ford exclaimed after seeing RED RIVER that he never knew Wayne could act.
I’m firmly in the camp that Wayne was at once a terrible person, probably very complicated, and a better actor than he gets credit for.
December 19, 2025 at 1:03 PM
I’m firmly in the camp that Wayne was at once a terrible person, probably very complicated, and a better actor than he gets credit for.
Incidentally, I feel the same way about TRIUMPH OF THE WILL. It’s a mediocre movie that had the good fortune of inspiring shots in much better movies, like David Lynch’s DUNE.
December 19, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Incidentally, I feel the same way about TRIUMPH OF THE WILL. It’s a mediocre movie that had the good fortune of inspiring shots in much better movies, like David Lynch’s DUNE.
The sidewalks in Wuhan are neither wide nor really smooth enough for a wheelchair. And the e-bike riders are constantly using them instead of the (admittedly rare) bike lanes, so they’re generally a hazard.
December 19, 2025 at 12:40 PM
The sidewalks in Wuhan are neither wide nor really smooth enough for a wheelchair. And the e-bike riders are constantly using them instead of the (admittedly rare) bike lanes, so they’re generally a hazard.
I wouldn’t be doing literature if I thought symbols don’t matter.
December 19, 2025 at 12:36 PM
I wouldn’t be doing literature if I thought symbols don’t matter.
Basically, my point is that it’s ok to have problematic influences (Burroughs, Cooper) but you should be a little critical of them.
December 19, 2025 at 11:24 AM
Basically, my point is that it’s ok to have problematic influences (Burroughs, Cooper) but you should be a little critical of them.
(And I’m not a Cooper hater! There’s a lot to like in LAST OF THE MOHICANS. It’s also a deeply flawed work)
December 19, 2025 at 11:23 AM
(And I’m not a Cooper hater! There’s a lot to like in LAST OF THE MOHICANS. It’s also a deeply flawed work)
And no, the fact that the other natives are mystical warriors doesn’t fix the problem. If you think it does, you have to say that Cooper is totally unproblematic.
December 19, 2025 at 11:22 AM
And no, the fact that the other natives are mystical warriors doesn’t fix the problem. If you think it does, you have to say that Cooper is totally unproblematic.
And it’s not subtle about it. Like, at all. You’ve got scalping, you’ve got the *word* “savages,” you’ve got the guy selling guns to these savages…. It’s just straight-up anti-native stuff grafted on to a planetary fantasy.
December 19, 2025 at 11:21 AM
And it’s not subtle about it. Like, at all. You’ve got scalping, you’ve got the *word* “savages,” you’ve got the guy selling guns to these savages…. It’s just straight-up anti-native stuff grafted on to a planetary fantasy.
That also means that they do shit like basically port blood-thirsty savages straight from the most backward Westerns onto the planet.
December 19, 2025 at 9:12 AM
That also means that they do shit like basically port blood-thirsty savages straight from the most backward Westerns onto the planet.