Category: Criticism

Criticism

Says I: Against the Repetitive of Use of “Says” and “Said” in Prose

Something has happened in the writing world recently. A sudden sea change in favor of the repetitious use of a particular four-letter word…describing characters’ utterances. Said. Where once it would have been unthinkable to see such lazy writing (and it is lazy, not “simple,” as many writers are fond of using as a defense), it’s now deemed the norm for “straightforward, unpretentious” writing. Writing that … Continue reading Says I: Against the Repetitive of Use of “Says” and “Said” in Prose

Genna Rivieccio1 Comment
Criticism, Essay

The Woman In Me: Britney Spears Reckons With Exploitation and the Double Standard She Was Subjected to Her Entire Career

“Hello. Oh my goodness, ew. Strong Britney!” These were the words an on-the-verge-of-tears, twenty-one-year-old Britney Spears uttered while forced into doing an episode of Primetime on November 13, 2003 with Diane Sawyer. And oh, how strong (stronger than yesterday) she had to make herself in the years spent under a microscope that followed. The word “forced” vis-à-vis Primetime feels applicable because, as Spears tells it, … Continue reading The Woman In Me: Britney Spears Reckons With Exploitation and the Double Standard She Was Subjected to Her Entire Career

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Criticism

Do Tell Is All About Showing…How The Past Is Prologue

As Lindsay Lynch (easy to misread as Lindsay Lunch on the book cover) does tell it, her drive to write the novel that became Do Tell stemmed from the media headlines that were percolating circa 2016 to 2017. And especially at the end of 2017, with the #MeToo movement being resparked (Tarana Burke had already coined the phrase and its meaning in 2005) amid Ronan … Continue reading Do Tell Is All About Showing…How The Past Is Prologue

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Criticism

Jewel’s “Daddy” Would Not Exist Without Sylvia Plath’s

Long before Lana Del Rey made the word and concept of “Daddy” her bitch, there was Jewel with a song from 1995’s Pieces of You called “Daddy.” And long before her, there was, of course, Sylvia Plath. With a poem called, you guessed it, “Daddy.” One that would become among her most illustrious and frequently cited, especially by women who could feel the same pain. … Continue reading Jewel’s “Daddy” Would Not Exist Without Sylvia Plath’s

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Criticism

In Bad Gays, The Argument Is Made That Homosexuality Is a Political Construct Designed to Be Criminalized or “Accepted” Whenever It Suits Those in Power

As Pride Month commences with a rocky start in the U.S. thanks to various corporations getting spooked by a conservative backlash against parading any “rainbow merchandise,” one book that bears a revisit amid this climate is Huw Lemmey and Ben Miller’s Bad Gays. While some would be hesitant to dredge up this title at a moment when the LGBTQIA+ community is already being maligned enough … Continue reading In Bad Gays, The Argument Is Made That Homosexuality Is a Political Construct Designed to Be Criminalized or “Accepted” Whenever It Suits Those in Power

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Criticism

As The #MeToo Backlash Continues, Let Us Remember the Short Stories of Emma Cline’s Daddy

In his 2017 book, Kids These Days, Malcolm Harris predicts, among other things, the eventual raging return of on-blast misogyny (what he refers to as the “misogynist backlash”). Mainly as a result of looking for a scapegoat to blame for the way things are when, in fact, things are that way as a direct result of the patriarchal, male-spewed “values” we all still adhere to … Continue reading As The #MeToo Backlash Continues, Let Us Remember the Short Stories of Emma Cline’s Daddy

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Criticism

Tate Carmichael’s Review of Paris Hilton’s Memoir, Oh So Originally Called “Paris: The Memoir”

Tate Carmichael is the star of her own memoir, Lindsay Lohan Stole My Life, which depicts perhaps a more honest view than most of the period known as the aughts. The Opiate Books does not necessarily agree with or condone the opinions expressed and contained herein (complete with what many would call “strong language”), however we believe in freedom of speech and that, as Paris … Continue reading Tate Carmichael’s Review of Paris Hilton’s Memoir, Oh So Originally Called “Paris: The Memoir”

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Criticism

Moby-Dick Splooges All Over The Whale

It’s easy to forget that the title of Herman Melville’s most major work, Moby-Dick, has another component to it: Moby-Dick; or, The Whale. Fittingly, Samuel D. Hunter’s adaptation of his own play, The Whale, has plenty of nods to Moby-Dick. And not just because Charlie is “the whale” in question that everyone seems intent on “getting”—particularly a missionary named Thomas (Ty Simpkins), who wants to … Continue reading Moby-Dick Splooges All Over The Whale

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Criticism

New York Is A Town of Ghosts (You’ve Fucked): Cult Classic

It’s no secret that staying at the fair that is New York for too long (to paraphrase Joan D.) will lead to irreparable damage. Usually of the emotional variety—though you might also need a liver transplant after all the drinking expected of you as well. Sloane Crosley is here to crystallize that fact in literary form with her sophomore novel, Cult Classic. In contrast to her … Continue reading New York Is A Town of Ghosts (You’ve Fucked): Cult Classic

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Criticism

Don’t Hide Your Pride (and Prejudice): The Gay-ification of Jane Austen in Fire Island

Some might offer the idea that Jane Austen was already the pinnacle of gay. What with all of her main characters forced to stifle their true desires and feelings due to the pressures of a subjugating society that not only looked down upon the free expression of sexuality, but especially the free expression of sexuality on the part of women. Who might end up “making … Continue reading Don’t Hide Your Pride (and Prejudice): The Gay-ification of Jane Austen in Fire Island

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