I have often wondered what it is about certain story lines that draw people to them. Personally, I think there are some stories and plots that need to be eliminated from popular media forms. One of which is the ever over used, and frankly insulting, sexual assault. Typically, it’s a female character that is burdened with this act, and she eventually becomes a strong woman because she overcame what happened to her and is able to function as if it never happened. With the exception of when the plot calls for her to suddenly face her attacker or relate to another character going through something similar. Now, I am not suggesting that surviving sexual assault makes anyone weak by ANY means. I am simply saying that as a plot device, this needs to be removed entirely. Quite frankly, adding rape culture is not something shows, and comics should be proud of. 

The idea that this happens so often that it should just be accepted as a norm is not acceptable. It never has been. And yet it still pops up in modern media all the time, and there is something about a character over coming sexual assault that should be credited. However, my issue is that 9 times out of 10, this little plot twist is somehow a female character’s defining characteristic. Surviving rape should never be taken lightly. Yes, there are positive ways to showcase this in a character. 

Yet most of the time, it is only ever shown as just a blip on that character to make to push a short-lived plot along. In other cases I find this topic thrown around in popular shows simply to get more ratings. When it comes to the ever, weirdly, popular show Outlander, I really do not get the draw. I attempted the show for two seasons and was not thrilled with it in the slightest. For starters their main character, Claire, is sexually assaulted and nearly raped to a ridiculous level. Which, for some, is a huge trigger. The show even went as far as to show their antagonist assaulting a younger child and later raping the protagonist’s love interest. Yes, it did show the after effects of rape and how people deal with it, especially male on male rape, but it was wholly unnecessary. Especially since these scenes aren’t skimmed over in the slightest. I was lucky enough to have someone with me who had previously watched the show to warn me of specific scenes, but that is not the case for other viewers., 

Game of Thrones is another show that does nothing but add to the rape culture. While I have not personally watched it, I have heard about the numerous sex scenes, including the rape ones, and the added bonus of incest. Now, I am not knocking anyone who likes this show, it is a matter of preference. But I cannot tell you how many times I have had people tell me to ‘just get past all that, it’s a good show.’ Clearly, many agree with that sentiment, given the show’s popularity. I, on the other hand, am not willing to ‘just get past all that’. A good show shouldn’t have to include rape. A good show should still be a really good show without all of that; because rape is not sexy. Being a rape survivor is not a characteristic. Yes, sadly these things do happen in real life. Yet, they do not need to be propagated in the media. Regardless of gender, a survivor should never be made to feel as if they are a novelty. There are ways to show a strong character, particularly a strong female character, without the added sexual assault. 

This subject should be talked about, yes, but the media needs to do its part and stop using rape as a plot device or a characteristic, and they must stop glorifying the act. Some shows are quick to share the after effects of victims, and truly showcase the reality of this devastating act. Yet there are still others who would rather cash in with a rating boost. Rape is not a fantasy. It is NEVER okay to force oneself onto another. And it is not something people secretly desire. Some media platforms would do wisely to change their use of rape. So many have become desensitized to it happening in shows that they do not even notice. The phrase ‘just get past that part’ will always ring in my head. Rape culture is a real thing and it is not something shows should be proud to capitalize on.

​Have fans taken things too far? The word itself is short for fanatic, which definitely applies to some. Fans have been the whole reason that many of the things we love exist. As our favorite fictional uncle would say, ‘with great power comes great responsibility.’ The power does rest in our hands but that isn’t always a good thing. Fans have asked and demanded and gotten their way, yet somehow it isn’t always good enough. 

Let’s talk Star Wars. With the disaster everyone claimed the prequels were, many fans were left angered. So angered that they took that fury out on the actors themselves. The film itself has such promise with budding stars like Natalie Portman, Ewan McGregor, and Veteran actor Liam Neeson. Jake Lloyd was slated to become the next kid star to storm the big screen; only things didn’t quite turn out that way. Jake was bullied by fans so harshly for his portrayal of young Anakin Skywalker that he quit acting for good. The hate didn’t stop there, however, as Ahmed Best was harassed so bad for playing Jar Jar Binks, he actually attempted suicide. The fan rage didn’t quit after that either. When it was announced that John Boyega would be a lead, fans called for a boycott simply because of the color of his skin. While Daisy Ridley was met with just as much anger for being a woman. Earlier this year, Kelly Marie Tran, who played Rose Tico, was cyber bullied for her character’s love interest in The Last Jedi, and her weight, to the point where she deleted her Instagram.

She’s not alone as Josh McDermott, who plays Eugene on The Walking Dead, also deleted his Instagram. Fans were so upset with his character’s actions on the show that they started to attack the actor personally. Fellow actor Seth Gillian, Father Gabriel, also received death threats for his character’s actions on the show. And the saddest chapter when it comes to the cast being treated poorly involves Laurie Holden who played Andrea. She started receiving death threats and coming to set so shaken that it took her fellow actors to calm her. While all these actors have openly explained that they are not their characters, each has had their own heartbreaking moments due to fans. When it comes to Rick and Morty Co-creator Justin Roiland had his personal life attacked by fans when there hadn’t been a quick enough renewal for season 4 of the popular show. On a Podcast, Roiland stated that one fan had gone as far to tweet ‘this is why your wife left you’ when he made a post regarding the show’s hiatus while negotiations were under way with the network in question. A far cry from death threats, yet still such an over the line comment from someone who supposedly loves something. Rick and Morty fans also were upset when McDonald’s stores ran out of their limited re-release of their Szechuan sauce. 

When it was announced the new Doctor would be actress Jodie Whittaker, fans started a petition to have her replaced with a male actor. Granted, that didn’t happen and Jodie will be returning as the Doctor for at least another season. However, this isn’t the first instance of fans trying to dictate how a show goes. When it comes to Supernatural, writers have admitted that main characters Sam and Dean always have their love interests either die or leave because fans do not like to see them with female counterparts for long. The strong sway of fans does not just stop at live action shows. The latest reincarnation of the ‘80’s show Voltron has brought its own fair share of angered fans. Many were furious by the end of season 7 when two of the main characters, that fans thought should end up together, did not. The show did offer its own openly gay main character with a seemingly non-binary character as well, depending on how fans chose to view that. Yet, boycotts of the show were still called for due to unhappy fans about the outcome of certain relationships.

These are just a drop in the bucket of fan interactions. Actors and voice actors have shared their own personal horror stories. One voice actress was very candid when she spoke of how a fan had physically tackled her to the ground. The power of fans is strong. Without us, some of what we love wouldn’t exist. Without that which we love, however, we wouldn’t exist. Where is the line of too far? Obviously, fans shouldn’t be threatening or taking their hate out on actors for doing their jobs. Do fans really have the right to sway the creative work of a person? How do writers and actors combat these crazed fans? This is not to say that all fans are bad, by any means, many are quite the opposite of those who have tackled actors and sent death threats. The majority seem to be quite laid back. Perhaps it’s time for the majority to stand up to the minority of the group and let them know, these behaviors are unacceptable, and we will not stand for it. After all, the whole point of any of this is that it’s something we love. Whether we like the creator’s decisions or not it is never okay to act out, send death threats, and make an actor feel unsafe to the point where they delete their social media. It’s a strange phenomenon to see those who have been bullied for their interests become the bullies of others.

Hey guys! It's been a while since I've done one these. So, I thought why not talk about those wonderful guilty pleasures that bring about all kinds of joy and today, I figured it would be fun to share with all of you my geeky Disney Guilty Pleasures. Because let's face it, deep down inside, I am a total Disney girl.

First up has to be the movie I annoyed my mom with by singing its soundtrack non-stop, The Little Mermaid. I was convinced at one point that if I put on enough cherry flavored chapstick, my lips would be as red as Ariel's. They never were and I have to tell you, that was really crushing. I also wanted my hair to be as bright red as Ariel's. Well, The Little Mermaid probably had a generation of us pretending to be mermaids in the pool. I can guarantee I tried to swim like I had a fin for years after seeing that movie. But it was, and still is, near and dear to my heart. As most princesses from that era, Ariel now gets a bit of a bad rep for being a silly girl who runs off with a prince. She wasn't just some moody teenager, she was a character that wanted more out of her life and a change of scenery. The prince was an added bonus. Plus, she was rebellious and always getting into trouble…which I kind of really related to.

Speaking of rebellious women, bring on Belle from Beauty and the Beast. A classic tale with a romantic twist and another catchy sound track. Not going to lie to you guys, this came out at a time where I was little enough to wrap a blanket around me and pretend it was a cloak. And I did. Every time I watched this movie. Unfortunately, no matter how many times I kissed my grandpa's dog on the nose, he never turned into a handsome prince. Nor did any of the dishes start to talk. That never stopped me from trying. Belle, though, was awesome. Her hair was brown like mine had eventually turned, she sang, she was scrappy….and she never fell for that jerk, Gaston. As a young impressionable kid, it was awesome. She taught that you should love/like a person for who they are on the inside, now what they are on the out. And, she fell for a beast who turned into a prince. That's not a terrible life lesson. Plus, there was some French…and by some French I mean, I learned to say Bonjour and that's about it. Belle was a great example of what a girl should be. She also read a lot and made reading look cool!

Reading is always fun, and being a princess is cool, but who wants to be a princess when you can save China? Enter, Mulan. This movie I was old enough to truly appreciate. I still made my parents take me to this. (There's really no force involved, really. They willingly see kid movies, sometimes). The movie was a blast. I never laughed so hard at an animated cartoon movie before. Mulan was a strong, independent, woman who entered the army so her elderly father didn't have to. She won friends, beat Hun's, and later won the affections of the hot general. Watching Mulan now, I see how she bends gender rules/roles and probably has Shang questioning his sexuality. However, cross dressing never seemed like a bad or wrong thing. Despite the fact that Mulan does cross dress, it's totally okay. Because it's funny. And really, who cares if you're a chick in dude’s clothes or a dude in chick clothes? Kids don't! 

Totally going out of timeline order here, but I have to mention The Lion King and I thought here would be a good spot for it. Despite The Lion King being an animated telling of Hamlet it is still one of the most fantastic films of all times. I saw this in theaters with my parents, and it is one of the fondest memories I have. Even they were blown away! (My mom's a tough critic!) The catchy music, lovable sidekicks, and heart wrenching death scene; The Lion King was the most amazing childhood movie. It had a great cast, fantastic animation, and a really cool set of action figures. Yeah, I owned all of them….why? I was 8…and they were cooler than Barbie.

Lastly, I have to comment on Tangled. It gets a bit of a bad rep for many reasons. I, however, love this movie. Yes, I'm an adult, but that means nothing when it comes to Disney. Tangled was fun, funny, and Flynn Rider is, so far, the best 'prince' out there. Plus, come on! Pascel!? He's awesome. Maximus is a little over the top as far as animal sidekicks go, but he's okay. Rapunzel's story has a new spin on it and she learns to be out in the world and finds her parents. Plus, she finds out she's a princess after she falls in love with our charming thief. Plus, there's the awesome Tangled Ever After which is an animated short that takes place over Rapunzel and Flynn's wedding. It was cute! If you haven't seen it, check it out!

What's your Favorite Disney Movies? Or your opinion on Princesses? 

Well my fellow nerds and geeks, I think it is finally safe to say, that we’ve outright saved the best for last when it comes to some of the movie locations that I’ve visited throughout the years. Sure, there are more, and maybe someday I’ll discuss those as well. But in the here and the now, it’s time to talk about the coolest movie location that I’ve ever visited; the Monroeville Mall from the 1978 horror classic, Dawn of the Dead. And well, this is a location that is near and dear to my heart because George Romero’s zombie opus is precisely why I got into writing in the first place, which means that arriving at the place where it was filmed, was quite the red-letter day.
 
It happened on a weekday in March in 2000 and oddly enough, it arrived on a whim. For I was in upstate New York, visiting a friend and one evening during my vacation, the movie in question came up, as did the ever casual mention that Pennsylvania was only a few hours away and well…that got the old brain cookin’ and I thought that maybe, must maybe…now might be the time to just hop into the rental car and head that way and the next morning, I did just that. It was ironically Dawn when I headed out, and I won’t lie. It felt like Christmas in that car and as the hours rolled on my excitement only grew, to the point where I was antsy in the car as I turned my car off of the Pennsylvania Turnpike and onto Business Route 22 toward Monroeville.
 
Now this leg of the journey, was downright excruciating. After all, I was so close, and I kept glancing out the window to see it in the distance. But in the end, that simply wasn’t in the cards. Instead this old mall had a far more dramatic reveal in mind. For there was a long and winding entrance to this mall, which oddly enough is nestled in a basin and well, that made my arrival as epic as it was for the characters in the film and to make it all the more eerie, the weather that day was similar to the group’s arrival in the movie. It was chilly, and bleak and silent at first and well, I once I finally picked a parking spot, I made a point a explore every nook and cranny of this place. I started with a full walk around the perimeter, just to get a feel for the enormity of the place and it was wild to see iconic stores from the movie still standing and eventually my travels took me to an important area featured in the film, the Southeast Lower Level Entrance.

For this is where several critical scenes took place, most of them involving the trucks that the main characters parked there and man, it was just incredible to find a bench next to those doors where I could sit and take the whole experience in. I mean this was it, this was THE mall and well, my adventures were only beginning because a funny moment reminded me that I still had an interior to explore. The reminder in question, was an elderly gentlemen moving about for exercise purposes behind the glass and well, that instantly reminded me of the story of how the special effects team had to work hard to have the zombies herded and away from the prying eyes of the elderly who came here to exercise in the morning to keep them from being shocked at the sight of a gory walking corpse and well, there was really no better hint than that to get my butt inside and well, that’s when the real magic happened.
 
Because in 2000, the mall hadn’t undergone the major renovations that are present today. Everything outside of the food court was as it was when Romero filmed there back in the day and it was eerie and humbling to walk the same halls as George Romero and see where every single scene was filmed. I got to walk down the main hallway that led to maintenance, which of course led to the group’s secret hideaway. I got see the water fountain where all kinds of critical moments happened in the third act and I even got to go inside Penny’s and ride the elevator where Flyboy died and well, this was nerdy heaven, and inspirational and everything in between.
 
In fact, I was so happy, that I spent the entire day there, enjoying lunch and dinner there and I even went so far as to buy a copy of the movie on VHS at Suncoast, which was a fun moment as well since the Cashier told me they thought this movie looked creepy, and I had the opportunity to recommend it and point out that it was filmed in this exact mall and well, in many ways, I simply did not want to go. This was a horrific Disneyland, where the dead once walked with vacant glee, and their slouched steps and empty eyes helped to terrorize and influence generations of writers and filmmakers and well, while the mall may continue to change, I have this moment to always reflect upon and this truly was, the coolest movie location I’ve ever seen and someday, I really need to go back and enjoy the wonder of the Monroeville Mall once again…

It’s funny how a single memory will sometimes send your mind into overdrive and I make mention of that simply because a blog I wrote the other day, one where I was able to geek out with you fine folks about my first ever visit to a movie location, by way of the Barringer Meteor Crater from Starman, really got me thinking. Because in reality, that was quite the formative moment for me as both a writer and a fan and going to that place not only helped me appreciate what a location can do for a story and its audience, but that these kinds of places can in fact hold special personal meaning to those that visit them.
 
Because these places helped bring to life incredible moments for fans, and seeing them in person, somehow allows for us to be closer to the stories we love, and feel as though we are part of them, depending on how much one loves for the story in question and for me…there are really only two places that have ever called to me in that fashion. One of them is the Monroeville Mall that was featured in the 1978 film Dawn of the Dead, which is a place and a visit we will talk about another time. Because today’s story, is going to revolve around a very personal moment for me as both a writer and a fan; my first overnight visit to The Stanley Hotel.
 
Now for those unfamiliar with this hotel, it’s nestled in Estes Park, Colorado, and it just so happened to serve as the inspiration for Stephen King’s The Shining and awesomely enough, it was the filming location for several segments of the 1997 made-for-TV movie iteration of that story and well, it’s a place that I honestly didn’t visit until I was well into adulthood. Which quite frankly, is my bad, because it’s in my backyard, it’s a place where Stephen King still hangs from time to time, so I should have moved my buns up there sooner, and what finally motivated me to spend time up there, was the fact that I was looking for a little creative stimulation since I  had just started writing my first novel and well, what started out as an attempt at inspiration ended up being quite the special moment in my life.
 
Granted, it took a little while to get to that point. Because I was hell bent on writing that novel, and I was going to lock myself in my room and just hammer as many words as I could out and well, that simply didn’t happen at first. I sat there, staring at the screen, so I ordered some room service thinking maybe I needed to eat, and that just made me sleepy. Which meant it was time for a walk, a clearing of the head if you will and that’s when the magic arrived. For as I stepped through the halls of this hotel and soaked up the atmosphere and let my mind wander, I came to realize that this was quite the special place. After all, one of modern America’s most prolific writers stayed here, ate here, likely wrote here and for a writer, that creates a bit of a kindred moment, one that humbles you when you realize that you’re in a place where creation thrives and honestly, that realization eventually removed my little bout of Writer’s Block.
 
However, what matters more is that I came to realize just what an iconic place The Stanley Hotel has become over the years. Because as I roamed and people watched, I saw the pictures people were taking of various parts of the hotel, something you don’t normally see happen at a hotel, and I heard conversations about Jack Nicholson and the remake and what they loved the most about The Shining and that’s when it hit me. I was in essence standing in a place of storytelling and motion picture history. Where Stephen King’s visual representation of The Overlook Hotel came to life and that was equally as humbling. Because The Shining is one of my favorite novels and having never been to The Stanley Hotel before, seeing the majesty and eeriness of the place, especially at night, and seeing the respect and regard that people paid to it, really helped me to understand what an honor it was to be there.
 
However, for a movie location that people flock to, it’s also quite peaceful, and the views help one’s mind relax as you get lost in the wonder of nature and perhaps what makes this place so special to me is that it has become a fixture in my life. Whenever I need to clear my head and feel inspired, I swing by there, and I’ve stayed there numerous times now with Scotty and Shae and, I’ve written plenty there and every single time I go up there it’s a wonderful experience. But nothing will ever top that first time I stepped through those doors and saw The Overlook Hotel with my own eyes, because seeing that iconic and fictional and evil hotel come to life really is the stuff of magic and as I write this, I’m reminded of the fact that I’m overdue for another voyage to The Stanley Hotel, and I’m thankful that a living legend in both print and T.V. just so happens to be in my backyard. 

Aquaman helps show us a shift in the presentation of how to deal with evil in the world of comics and comic characters.
 
If I wanted to talk about morality in film, I could take some time to praise Aquaman for presenting relevant environmental issues but not beating us over the head with them. They talk about the problem, but it doesn’t feel preachy. However, that’s not why I’m here. I’m here to talk about the shift we’ve seen in the way major Hero films are treating their villains. Sure, world-ending monsters of pure, inhuman evil are still around, but many villains have become more relatable, more sympathetic, and more real. They might be more accurately described as antagonists, rather than villains.
 
In Aquaman, our main antagonist Prince Orm uses the environmental problems created by humans as one of his (many) arguments to justify war with the surface world, but as the film progresses, we find that he is personally motivated less by the environment or by any concrete grievance and more by his own emotional anger, especially surrounding his mother and the existence of Arthur. Orm undoubtedly loved his mother, but she was cast away by the people of Atlantis to what surely seemed to be her death, all because she dared to tolerate, to consort with, and even to love a surface-dweller. Adding this to the fact that the surface-marriage was one of love, and not arrangement, and that she had another child, an older child, a child who she loved dearly, and Prince Orm lost sight of her teachings of unity as they were buried by his, frankly rather understandable, jealousy and hatred over the child he thought she loved more, who he also blamed for her death. His grief, his anger, his jealousy, all of these things were sharpened into a hatred for ‘the surface dwellers.’ And this is understandable; indeed, Arthur actually shares many of Prince Orm’s feelings, blaming himself - Arthur feels his very existence is at fault, for their mother’s apparent death, just as Prince Orm does. They both feel that their mother might have been better off if she had never fallen in love with a surface-dweller, and never had a ‘half-breed mongrel’ child.
 
Painting Prince Orm’s motivations as understandable isn’t entirely new – sympathetic villains have a long history. But how Arthur deals with him at the end of the movie is relatively new, especially on the scale of a huge, comic-inspired film like Aquaman, and it reflects the changing social factors of our time.
 
In the past, hatred was something easily caricatured, easily laughed at, easily dismissed. Villains were often literal or proverbial Nazis, whose point of view was never something to be taken seriously as a real-life possibility. There was the understanding that it had happened in the past, of course, and the acknowledgement that it wasn’t impossible for it to return in the future, but there was this general presumption that it would not, and an act of distancing ourselves from such terrible deeds. A collective sense that ‘Oh, sure, it’s possible, but nobody who can actually think would really do that.’
 
Real-world events have revealed to us, often painfully, that this is not the case. That people can and do believe these awful things, and carry out actions that are harmful to others, or sometimes downright villainous. What’s more, our outright dismissal of their ideas and feelings as ‘fictional hyperbole’ has only served to make them more determined, and to bring them together more resolutely in their desire to be taken seriously. In rejecting them, both consciously and unconsciously, they have withdrawn into their feeling of being ostracized from society and doubled down in their opinions, and found solace in others who share their ideas, creating tight-knit and rather sizeable communities of their own, determined to act, to be noticed, to be taken seriously and acknowledged.

A new approach has been needed – not one of dismissal, but one of education, conversation, collaboration, and understanding. When someone holds a hateful opinion, we must work not to dismiss them, to paint them in a villainous and inhuman light, thus ignoring their humanity and increasing and expanding their hatred, but instead try to affirm them as a participant in the society and to educate and discuss with them. When people feel valued by a society, they are more likely to listen, to learn, and to integrate. When they feel rejected or ostracized, they cease to communicate, and instead create their own little feedback loop of the ideas for which they were ostracized in the first place, thus increasing the magnitude of the problem. Welcoming and embracing people with such strong ideas can be difficult to do, but only by opening ourselves to them do we create the opportunity for reconciliation and change.
 
Film and comics are both large influential media, and act both as a reflection of society and a subtle guiding hand. When these are combined into the expansive and far-reaching comic-book-movie, their impact becomes even greater still. Thankfully, there are those in the industries who realize their influence. Take, for example, the Superman posters teaching children that Americans are made up of people of many different races, religions, and national origins, and even goes so far as to say that talking against someone because of these things is Un-American. Published during the height of the Red Scare, this was a serious and powerful message.
 
Aquaman harkens back to these ideals. The most on-the-nose line is probably: ‘A King fights for his nation, but a Hero fights for everyone.’ However, Aquaman has a more precise presentation in the film’s climax and Arthur’s treatment of Prince Orm. Instead of some faceless, unfathomable evil bent on destruction and hellfire, like the Steppenwolf of Justice League or the Loki-led army of Avengers, Prince Orm is a real person with feelings and thoughts that we can see and feel, and instead of simply lopping off his head and consigning him to the wastebasket of history, Arthur spares his life and even reaches out a hand of reconciliation and help. As Prince Orm is led off a prisoner, Arthur says to him ‘Brother, when you’re ready, let’s talk.’
 
We’ve seen this change reflected in Marvel movies, too. Black Panther in particular comes to mind: the lesson King T’Challa takes from Warmonger is one of outreach and help, rather than one of fear and isolation. He sees how his father’s angry punishment of Warmonger’s father created resentment and anger and fueled a desire for vengeance that led to Warmonger’s violent mindset and attack on Wakanda.
 
Certainly, more and more of our hero stories are taking a more nuanced approach to their antagonists. They are presenting more realistic enemies, who are to be helped or listened to, rather than blindly slaughtered or swept under the rug. Whether you view media as either a driver of social change or a reflection of it, this is good news, because it shows that our influences are driving us towards, (or we are already becoming,) a world with more acceptance, tolerance, patience, and empathy. And no matter how you slice it, that’s a future to look forward to.

​For long as I can remember, I have been outright fascinated by locations that have been featured in iconic motion pictures. Because there’s something supremely cool about the fact that a group of people huddled together near a particular part of our everyday world in order to create something that likely brought joy into people’s lives and my fascination with said locations has led to me seek out movie meccas through the years, to the point where I actually made a long and winding pilgrimage to visit the spot where my favorite movie of all time was filmed.
 
But that particular story and journey belong to another place and time, because today, I want to take a moment and geek out with all of you fine folks today about the genesis of my obsession with these amazing locales. Because before I started to seek out everyday places where stars stood before the cameras on my own, I had a helping hand from my equally geeky father, who quite frankly, did plenty to encourage my budding nerdiness while I was growing up, to the point where he once outright went out of the way to ensure that I saw one of the coolest movie locations to ever grace the silver screen; the Barringer Meteor Crater that was featured in the 1984 film, Starman.
 
For in that film, the crater in question is featured prominently in the third act of the story as (SPOILERS) the Starman and his newfound love Jenny Haden travel into its lowest point so that he can rendezvous with his people and return to his world, in turn saving his life. And well, I will never forget watching this movie on VHS growing up, with my father no less, and wondering aloud as to whether or not that crater was actually real or a movie set, and my dad was happy to let me know that it was real and that he knew exactly where the crater was in Arizona, since he was a native of the state and just like that, the light bulb went off in my brain and I didn’t even hesitate to ask as to whether or not I could see it the next time we drove toward Phoenix to visit my grandparents.
 
My father let me know that we just might, and at the time, that was all that I needed and since I often found myself digging into anything that I discovered in film, I made a point to learn more about the Barringer Crater by way of books from the library and any other materials I could get my hands on at the time since the internet had yet to be invented because hey, I’m old. But I digress. Because eventually, we started planning one of our bi-annual road trips to Phoenix, and of course, with the movie still on my mind I was quick to ask my dad once again if we would in fact get the opportunity to see the crater and all of its wonders. I of course, got the obligatory ‘maybe’, and let I be, but little did I know that my dad was already working out the route and the timing to make a visit to the crater happen.
 
Which naturally allowed for this voyage to grandpa and grandma’s seem like the usual road trip for my family, and while I had plenty of books to read and plenty of other things to keep my mind busy in the car, in the back of my mind I was still wondering if maybe, just maybe, we’d have time to stop in Winslow and see the crater in question. If anything, the early morning start we jumped upon after an evening stay in Albuquerque should have been a clue that something was up since we never hit the road at the absolute crack of dawn, but my cluelessness ended up working to my benefit, for a little while after we crossed the state line into Arizona, I couldn’t help but notice that my dad took the exit leading into Winslow. Of course, he said we needed gas, but my father loves to draw out a big moment in that fashion and once we pulled up to the little gift shop and restaurant that Jenny and the Starman visit in the film, ironically to enjoy some lunch with pie, my father revealed that the crater was our next stop and well, I was just over the moon.
 
Which meant that my face was glued to the window once we hit the road again, simply because I couldn’t wait to see it, and well…it was definitely worth the wait and the surprise. For it’s difficult to put into words the enormity of the Barringer Meteor Crater, which seemingly goes on forever once you step outside of the visitor’s center featured there, and while I thoroughly enjoyed the scientific learning available to me at the visitor’s center, nothing beats the fact that I was there. I was standing where the cast and crew of the movie did but a few years ago, as they crafted a beautiful story that resonated with so many and standing there and seeing that, allowed for movies to come to life in a way I never thought possible, and I am eternally grateful that my dad took the time to do this for me.
 
It’s a memory that quite frankly, hung out in the back of my mind until recently since I just picked up the new Shout Factory Collector’s Edition of Starman, and once they arrived at that gift shop in the film, those memories catapulted to the forefront of my mind and helped to remind me just how much I love visiting filming locations and well, this really is one of my favorite childhood memories, one that I clearly need to reflect upon more often since it helped for me to understand the power of a story, and how much I truly love the magic of cinema and what it does for an audience and this was truly the beginning for me. For there would be plenty more voyages to places where movies where filmed and we will discuss some of those, another time. Until then. 

As many of you may or may not know, I am legally blind. So I take the portrayal of blind characters very seriously. Granted, I’m fortunate enough to have a lot of sight and am not completely blind, but I am strongly opinionated on how we are shown in media. Many of you may know of my dislike for DareDevil. I actually find the character to be on the more insulting side of things. You have a superhero that’s blind, that’s great, yet he perpetuates the stereotypes most of us with visual impairments have come to deal with on a daily basis. He lost his sight, but can hear better than anyone else now, is super sensitive to touch, and can actually see with vibrations.

That’s all well and good, it’s all fiction of course, but some people will still ask if we hear better and what not. No, we don’t hear better or have an enhanced sense of smell, we can’t see with rain drops. We do pay more attention to those senses, making it seem like we might have advanced senses, but we don’t. Blind characters are always used as some kind of prophets in popular media, as though without their sight they can somehow see into the future. Also, not something we can do. Although, that would be quite the interesting additive. In many mythologies and even popular media, the blind character always has some secret way to 'see' in one way or another. 

Case and point, Avatar: the Last Airbender. While this show is amazing on multiple levels, there’s one character that stands out. Toph is tough, fierce, and completely independent; everything all visually impaired people strive for. Yet, she still is able to use the vibrations from the earth to see. While it’s not a total dig on the character, it is a sort of let down. She’s still a strong character that people should look up to and admire, yet it still feeds into this unspoken stereotype that somehow, if you’re blind, you can adopt an advanced sense to help you see.

Or in other cases, the blind character needs to be rescued and saved. As was the case in a recent episode of Doctor Who. The girl in question was tricked by her own father into thinking there were monsters outside, to keep her trapped in the house. On all levels, I have to admit, this bothered me. I was so weirdly mad about this issue that I had to watch the episode in question twice. Eventually I did finish it with less anger. I can tell you that the character still fell into this 'I need to be saved'  trope on an almost pitying level. I cannot stress enough how much of an issue this is. The character managed to have her own strong moment, knocking another character out to go find her dad on her own. Yet still, she needed to be saved. That is the issue at hand.

Yes, blind characters and people do have different needs than others. That does not make us weak. We are not the damsels in distress; we don’t need to be taken care of, nor are we the plucky comic relief with blind jokes spilling asunder. 

The main issue with blind people being portrayed in media is that nobody really seems to get it right. We don’t need super enhanced powers or people to rush in and save us. DareDevil had promise but still feeds into those stereotypes. If people with disabilities are going to be properly represented then we need to be asked, talked to. I’d love to see a superhero who’s visually impaired and her abilities are something not related to her sight or lack there of in any way. The other struggle I’ve come across is finding comics that do accommodate the visually impaired. I, personally, do a lot of reading on my phone or iPad. Thanks to certain apps, I’m able to read a comic’s fine print by enlarging it. However finding comics in Braille. It’s an issue that not many would even think about. But for those who live with a visual impairment and want to explore these worlds it’s a harsh reality. Getting books translated into Braille and/or even made into large print can be quite costly. You have to buy the book or comic you want and it is literally unbound while they go through and individually scan each page.

Being blind can be quite a costly and troublesome experience, let me tell you.

With all the modern leaps the wonderful geeky world we live in has taken, it would be nice for some more inclusion that doesn’t border on the offensive.