Despite the friendship between J.R.R. Tolkien & C.S. Lewis, their worlds of “Middle-Earth” and “Narnia” feel quite different. This video essay examines the role allegory plays in making Aslan’s country feel less ‘real’ — now, here’s the part of the description where I use the term ‘Rings of Power’ because it might the algorithm like me! But rest assured, this video has nothing to do with Amazon or the recent, equally-clickable term of ‘Tom Bombadil.’ Onto the video.

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Dune: Part 2 received criticism from some fans for being an ‘unfaithful’ adaptation of Frank Herbert’s novel. This video essay, however, examines how the changes Denis Villeneuve made to his film’s ending actually made it more faithful to Herbert’s intentions.

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Blade Runner is known as a film that can give a horrible first impression. But what’s less known, is that this initial hatred for Blade Runner was shared by its own creators.

This video essay / documentary explores Blade Runner’s crazy production history — consisting of feuds, firings, and untimely deaths. It reveals how, against all odds, the initial hatred for Blade Runner that consumed Harrison Ford, Philip K. Dick, and Ridley Scott eventually transformed into a deep love.

Amidst the film’s chaotic story, there is only one takeaway: if you don’t already love Blade Runner... you will.

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-Love Theme (cover) by Vita Activa

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#videoessay #bladerunner

Modern special-features don’t feel very “special.”

This video essay gets to the bottom of why DVD extras became a lost art form, as well a new medium that picked up its slack.

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Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves received tons of praise for ‘capturing the spirit’ of its tabletop game. This video essay explores whether or not that’s actually a good thing.

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Stand-alone episodes of TV are tough to crack. This video essay explores two reasons The Bear rose to the challenge where Ted Lasso didn’t.

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#thebear #thebearfx #videoessay

In this video essay, we’re getting to the bottom of why “The Bear” and “Chef” feel completely different despite having identical premises.

Hollywood spends millions of dollars buying Intellectual Property, but does it actually matter? This video essay explores something that’s more important than IP. It’s the secret thing responsible for the success of “Succession”, “The Bear”, and/or “Andor".

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There aren’t many artists who have transformed themselves as complexly as Bo Burnham. This video essay explores how Bo reinvented himself between his first YouTube song in 2006 and his 2021 release of “Inside”, while still scratching the same itches that made his audience love him in the first place. Speaking for myself, Bo gives me them good scritches dog.

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People complain that minimaps “break immersion”, but to me they always build immersion. This video essay explains why while also exploring the difference between subtle and overt mini-maps. (e.g., Breath of the Wild vs Witcher 3.)

Also I don’t actually think you’re a dork. It was just to lure you into my web of content. And now that you’re stuck, perhaps slip into your favorite pair of sweatpants (difficult with the “web” analogy but you’ll manage), and prepare to watch a grown man authentically try his best.

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