For some, the concept of domestic bliss is an ideal to which they are willing to work, while for others, it is nothing more than a myth perpetuated by decades of cultural lecturing and blatant marketing, which the nuclear family was seen as the ultimate aspiration, and anything less was seen as a sign of…
Tag: comedy
The Out-of-Towners (1999)
For most parents, the moment when your child moves out of home is one that is both joyful and melancholy, and many have discussed the concept of empty-nest syndrome, where parents have to acclimate themselves to the knowledge that their offspring is out, living their own lives and that the family has entered a period…
Texas, Brooklyn and Heaven (1948)
While he was more known for his experimental work in horror and science fiction, where he intended to push the medium to its literal breaking point (including employing the use of practical effects in the cinemas themselves to make the experience all the more immersive for the unsuspecting audience), William Castle did do his fair…
Single, Married, Divorced (2014)
Navigating life as a singleton can be quite a challenge – for some, the fierce independence that comes with fully being in control of your narrative can be celebrated, while others will view it as a shortcoming, with the failure to attract a potential partner being considered a flaw, and something that should be immediately…
College (1927)
As part of our ongoing retrospective of Buster Keaton’s work, we continue to press on and explore all the hilarious and irreverent avenues down which his career travelled. Today’s discussion takes us to the Ivy League, in the form of College, the off-the-wall satire that Keaton directed alongside James W. Horne (who would leverage this…
Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010)
It takes a lot of courage – and even more skill – to unsettle beloved myths, presenting them as unique and daring works. We tend to gravitate towards what we find familiar, and it can therefore be tricky to embrace those which attempt to redefine what particular concepts mean. This is the foundation on which…
Is This Thing On? (2025)
Finding a romantic partner is easy, but keeping them is much more challenging – a sentiment that often arises whenever the subject of romance is discussed. There are as many films about falling in love as there are about maintaining that spark. Unfortunately, as idealistic as we may want to be when it comes to…
Kenny (2006)
It’s often been said that there is a sub-section of people within any given society that are referred to as the “labouring invisible”, meaning those working-class individuals that take on jobs or positions that are often dismissed by those who are unable to ever envision being in a line of work that is decidedly lacking…
Only the Lonely (1991)
The boundary between loneliness and being alone is so narrow, yet they can result in profoundly different emotions and experiences. Many artists have attempted to use their canvas of choice to create an image of what it feels like to be truly lonely, since it is one of those universal experiences that affects all of…
Ella McCay (2025)
Politics is one of the few career choices where the more successful you are, the less people tend to like you – and in the case of career politicians, they tend to be seen as outdated remnants of the past, put in positions where they dictate the lives of their constituents, and too stubborn to…
The Postmodern Pelican 