corpus.blog
41554 blogs · [ { "id": "01a087dd-67e1-73a5-9204-58f88ed9cd9a", "title": "The City That Never Scoops:  On Getting the New York We Deserve", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/dog-shit-nyc/", "published_at": "2026-03-16T11:00:00+00:00" }, { "id": "01a087dd-67e2-7006-8569-a1f93f58c1ea", "title": "Ecohorror:  Is Nature Trying to Kill Us?", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/ecohorror/", "published_at": "2025-07-23T11:00:00+00:00" }, { "id": "01a087dd-67e3-70ee-b62c-6b98f2744597", "title": "Under the Influence, Part 2:  The Top Five Formative Cinematic Muses from My ’80s Childhood", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/under-the-influence-2/", "published_at": "2024-10-09T11:00:00+00:00" }, { "id": "01a087dd-67e3-70ee-b62c-6b98f3603688", "title": "Under the Influence, Part 1:  On Artistic Inspiration, Finding One’s Voice, and Tarantino’s Formative Faves", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/under-the-influence-1/", "published_at": "2024-06-26T11:00:00+00:00" }, { "id": "01a087dd-67e3-70ee-b62c-6b98f43afe32", "title": "No, Virginia, “Die Hard” Is Not a Christmas Movie", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/die-hard/", "published_at": "2023-12-20T12:00:00+00:00" }, { "id": "01a087dd-67e3-70ee-b62c-6b98f4be325f", "title": "“The Dogcatcher” Unleashed:  The Story behind My Debut Novel", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/dogcatcher-unleashed/", "published_at": "2023-09-20T11:00:00+00:00" }, { "id": "01a087dd-67e3-70ee-b62c-6b98f4f0a6b7", "title": "Highway to Hell:  Car Culture and Hollywood’s Hero-Worship of the Automobile", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/car-culture/", "published_at": "2023-06-21T11:00:00+00:00" }, { "id": "01a087dd-67e3-70ee-b62c-6b98f50e06a9", "title": "Into Each Generation a Slayer Is Born:  How the “Buffy” Franchise Demonstrates the Differences between Gen X and Millennials", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/buffy-movie/", "published_at": "2023-03-29T11:00:00+00:00" }, { "id": "01a087dd-67e3-70ee-b62c-6b98f5216f1d", "title": "Book Review:  “Heat 2” by Michael Mann + Meg Gardiner", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/heat-2/", "published_at": "2022-12-15T12:00:00+00:00" }, { "id": "01a087dd-67e3-70ee-b62c-6b98f59dbfa3", "title": "A History of the Blog (So Far)—and a Programming Update", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/history-of-the-blog/", "published_at": "2022-09-26T11:00:00+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca4f-fb7a-7027-bc2d-e6aabbafb2ca", "title": "Sorting through the Clutter:  How “The Girl Before” Misrepresents Minimalism", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/the-girl-before/", "published_at": "2022-08-29T11:00:00+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca4f-fb7a-7027-bc2d-e6aabc658de1", "title": "“Superman IV” at 35:  How the “Worst Comic-Book Movie Ever” Epitomizes What We Refuse to Admit about Superhero Fiction", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/superman-iv/", "published_at": "2022-07-24T11:00:00+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca4f-fb7a-7027-bc2d-e6aabd4f0fda", "title": "EXT. LOS ANGELES – ONE YEAR LATER", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/los-angeles/", "published_at": "2022-06-27T11:00:00+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca4f-fb7a-7027-bc2d-e6aabddd43d5", "title": "The Last Walking Infinity Throne Corrupts Infinitely:  How the Mega-Franchise Format Warps Creative Storytelling Goals", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/storytelling-goals/", "published_at": "2022-05-23T11:00:00+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca4f-fb7a-7027-bc2d-e6aabe94773f", "title": "Book Review:  “Blood, Sweat & Chrome” by Kyle Buchanan", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/blood-sweat-chrome/", "published_at": "2022-04-25T11:00:00+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca4f-fb7a-7027-bc2d-e6aabea969d5", "title": "“Young Indiana Jones” Turns 30:  Storytelling Lessons from George Lucas’ Other Prequel Series", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/young-indiana-jones/", "published_at": "2022-03-28T11:00:00+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca4f-fb7a-7027-bc2d-e6aabf2bec75", "title": "You Can’t Go Home Again:  Hopeful Reflections on Returning to New York after 20 Years Away", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/you-cant-go-home-again/", "published_at": "2022-02-28T12:00:00+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca4f-fb7a-7027-bc2d-e6aabf2c85a4", "title": "A Hollywood Ending: Hopeful Reflections on a Failed Screenwriting Career", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/screenwriting-career/", "published_at": "2022-01-24T12:00:00+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca4f-fb7a-7027-bc2d-e6aabf73af42", "title": "“Scream” at 25: Storytelling Lessons from Wes Craven’s Slasher Classic", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/scream/", "published_at": "2021-12-20T12:00:00+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca4f-fb7a-7027-bc2d-e6aabfd42bb8", "title": "There He Was… and in He Walked: Lessons on Mythic Storytelling from the Mariachi Trilogy", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/mariachi-trilogy/", "published_at": "2021-11-19T12:00:00+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca50-31bc-70a6-9c37-69a157364ccc", "title": "Patriarchal Propaganda: How Hollywood Stories Give Men Delusions of Heroism", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/patriarchal-propaganda/", "published_at": "2021-10-06T11:00:00+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca50-31bc-70a6-9c37-69a157a410b6", "title": "Entre Nous", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/entre-nous/", "published_at": "2021-09-01T11:00:00+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca50-31bc-70a6-9c37-69a157f5a8a2", "title": "The Ted Lasso Way: An Appreciation", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/ted-lasso/", "published_at": "2021-08-02T11:00:00+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca50-31bc-70a6-9c37-69a158c16ae8", "title": "The Year of Yes: Why the American Jobs Plan Must (and Will*) Become Law", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/american-jobs-plan/", "published_at": "2021-07-01T11:00:00+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca50-31bc-70a6-9c37-69a158f3f519", "title": "Too Much Perspective: On Writing with Moral Imagination", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/morally-imaginative-storytelling/", "published_at": "2021-06-07T11:00:00+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca50-31bc-70a6-9c37-69a15993eee0", "title": "In the Multiverse of Madness: How Media Mega-Franchises Make Us Their Obedient Servants, Part 2", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/mega-franchises-part-2/", "published_at": "2021-05-03T11:00:00+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca50-31bc-70a6-9c37-69a15a5c17d2", "title": "In the Multiverse of Madness: How Media Mega-Franchises Make Us Their Obedient Servants, Part 1", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/mega-franchises-part-1/", "published_at": "2021-04-26T11:00:00+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca50-31bc-70a6-9c37-69a15adf4d69", "title": "Here Lies Buffy the Vampire Slayer: On Letting Go of a Fan Favorite—and Why We Should", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/buffy-the-vampire-slayer/", "published_at": "2021-03-15T11:00:00+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca50-31bc-70a6-9c37-69a15b10d5fe", "title": "One Good Idea: Reflections on My Longest-Running Project—and Most Successful Creative Collaboration", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/one-good-idea/", "published_at": "2021-02-15T12:00:00+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca50-31bc-70a6-9c37-69a15b35f28a", "title": "Grounded and Elevated: Screenwriting Secrets for a Sure-Thing Hollywood Pitch", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/hollywood-pitch/", "published_at": "2021-01-18T12:00:00+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca50-6435-7338-ac7d-994862b7bbe5", "title": "The Biden Climate Plan: Some Key Goals and Considerations", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/biden-climate-plan/", "published_at": "2020-12-13T12:00:00+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca50-6435-7338-ac7d-99486368540c", "title": "The End: Lessons for Storytellers from the Trump Saga", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/catharsis/", "published_at": "2020-11-21T12:00:00+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca50-6435-7338-ac7d-994863c7dab5", "title": "Trick-or-Treating Is Canceled? Why Disrupted Halloween Traditions Are Nothing to Fear", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/trick-or-treating/", "published_at": "2020-10-26T11:00:00+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca50-6435-7338-ac7d-994864151d38", "title": "The Road Back: Revisiting “The Writer’s Journey”", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/the-writers-journey/", "published_at": "2020-09-28T11:00:00+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca50-6435-7338-ac7d-994864ca0a86", "title": "What Comes Next: Lessons on Democracy and Narrative from “Hamilton”", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/hamilton/", "published_at": "2020-08-18T11:00:00+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca50-6435-7338-ac7d-9948650028dd", "title": "The Lost Boys of the Bronx: A Tribute to Joel Schumacher", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/the-lost-boys/", "published_at": "2020-07-04T11:00:00+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca50-6435-7338-ac7d-994865363882", "title": "Forget It, Jake, It’s Tinseltown: A History of Hollywood’s Hero Detective", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/hero-detective/", "published_at": "2020-06-15T11:00:00+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca50-6435-7338-ac7d-9948655ca1b0", "title": "Challenging Our Moral Imagination: On Hollywood’s Crises of Climate, Conscience, and Creativity", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/moral-imagination/", "published_at": "2020-05-25T11:00:00+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca50-6435-7338-ac7d-994866508ccf", "title": "Misery Sans Company: On the Opportunities and Epiphanies of Self-Isolation", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/self-isolation/", "published_at": "2020-04-20T11:00:00+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca50-6435-7338-ac7d-9948666e61be", "title": "Some Assembly Required: Why Disciplined Creativity Begets Better Fiction", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/some-assembly-required/", "published_at": "2020-03-19T11:00:00+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca50-ac62-72f4-9dfe-c2a0ef286d74", "title": "Spirit with a Vision: A Tribute to Neil Peart of Rush", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/neil-peart/", "published_at": "2020-02-11T12:00:00+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca50-ac62-72f4-9dfe-c2a0ef2fac32", "title": "A 2020 Vision of Hope", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/climate-change-hope/", "published_at": "2020-01-21T12:00:00+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca50-ac62-72f4-9dfe-c2a0efbfe54f", "title": "The Nostalgist’s Guide to the Multiverse—and How We All Might Find Our Way Back Home", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/figure-ground-reversal/", "published_at": "2019-12-23T12:00:00+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca50-ac62-72f4-9dfe-c2a0f087b761", "title": "It’s Alive! Return of the Universal Classic Monsters", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/universal-classic-monsters/", "published_at": "2019-11-19T12:00:00+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca50-ac62-72f4-9dfe-c2a0f1767deb", "title": "Naomi Klein’s “On Fire” (Book Review)", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/naomi-kleins-on-fire/", "published_at": "2019-10-18T11:00:50+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca50-ac62-72f4-9dfe-c2a0f1dea56a", "title": "“It’s Over, Johnny”: The Thrill Is Gone in “Rambo: Last Blood”", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/rambo-last-blood/", "published_at": "2019-09-24T11:00:13+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca50-ac62-72f4-9dfe-c2a0f2c56361", "title": "Mirror/Mirror: On Seeing Ourselves in Fictional Characters", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/seeing-ourselves-in-fictional-characters/", "published_at": "2019-08-26T11:00:05+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca50-ac62-72f4-9dfe-c2a0f2da4712", "title": "Oh, Snap! The Nostalgia-Industrial Complex — ’90s Edition", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/nostalgia-industrial-complex/", "published_at": "2019-07-29T11:00:48+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca50-ac62-72f4-9dfe-c2a0f3401fef", "title": "Tim Burton’s “Batman” at 30—and the Cultural Legacy of the Summer of 1989", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/tim-burtons-batman/", "published_at": "2019-06-23T11:00:36+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca50-ac62-72f4-9dfe-c2a0f3ecb914", "title": "Game Over: Why an Unsatisfying “Game of Thrones” Resolution Was a Predictable Inevitability", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/unsatisfying-game-of-thrones-resolution/", "published_at": "2019-05-24T11:00:49+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca50-e7e5-70c5-9e39-4135f8acc31d", "title": "All That You Can’t Leave Behind: On Memories, Memorabilia, and Minimalism", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/minimalism/", "published_at": "2019-04-30T11:00:14+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca50-e7e5-70c5-9e39-4135f9996e19", "title": "Big News from a Small Climate Reality Chapter: Los Angeles Joins the County Climate Coalition", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/county-climate-coalition/", "published_at": "2019-03-31T11:00:59+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca50-e7e5-70c5-9e39-4135fa5f5ef2", "title": "Age of Innocence: On the Bygone Pleasure of Being City Kids", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/city-kids/", "published_at": "2019-02-28T12:00:28+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca50-e7e5-70c5-9e39-4135faadf88f", "title": "Well, There’s Bad News and Good News: On Matters of Human Extinction", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/human-extinction/", "published_at": "2019-01-29T12:00:40+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca50-e7e5-70c5-9e39-4135fb6c6c1b", "title": "Maybe It’s Time: Here’s to Making 2019 the First Official Year of the 21st Century", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/maybe-its-time/", "published_at": "2018-12-28T12:00:07+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca50-e7e5-70c5-9e39-4135fbae4050", "title": "“Almost” Doesn’t Count: On Trying and Losing (Repeat as Needed)", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/almost-doesnt-count/", "published_at": "2018-11-28T12:00:36+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca50-e7e5-70c5-9e39-4135fc9c5470", "title": "Dreaming Dreams and Seeing Apparitions: On Writing Horror and Fighting Climate Change", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/writing-horror-and-fighting-climate-change/", "published_at": "2018-10-30T11:00:46+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca50-e7e5-70c5-9e39-4135fce718aa", "title": "Living Here in “Allen Town”: The Fight to End Oil Drilling in Los Angeles", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/oil-drilling-in-los-angeles/", "published_at": "2018-09-30T11:00:51+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca50-e7e5-70c5-9e39-4135fdab87a2", "title": "Through the Looking Glass: How Johnny Depp’s Reclusive Tendencies Are a Funhouse Reflection of Our Own", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/johnny-depps-reclusive-tendencies/", "published_at": "2018-08-31T11:00:56+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca50-e7e5-70c5-9e39-4135fe3e8e2b", "title": "The Cat in the Sprawl: Blake Snyder’s Genres and Postnarrative Fiction", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/blake-snyders-genres/", "published_at": "2018-07-23T11:00:08+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca51-1b24-70a2-96aa-d2c00272eeb7", "title": "Changing the Narrative: Why Some of Our Most Popular Stories Affirm Our Most Pernicious Beliefs—and How Storytellers Can Rewrite This Bad Script", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/narrative-propaganda/", "published_at": "2018-06-25T11:00:31+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca51-1b24-70a2-96aa-d2c002f1542f", "title": "Counter Culture: Over the past Quarter Century, a Small Specialty Shop Became a Bronx Institution", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/magnum-comics-bronx/", "published_at": "2018-05-31T11:00:48+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca51-1b24-70a2-96aa-d2c003a9a98a", "title": "A Couple of Gen Xers Talk Movies, Screenwriting, and Zombie Prison Breaks", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/zombie-prison-break/", "published_at": "2018-04-20T11:00:38+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca51-1b24-70a2-96aa-d2c0041ef556", "title": "State of Grace: How a Movie No One Saw Heralded the Last Days of Old New York, Old Hollywood—and Even My Own Innocence", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/state-grace-movie/", "published_at": "2018-03-28T11:00:58+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca51-1b24-70a2-96aa-d2c004747a03", "title": "Artistic Originality: Is It Dead—or Was It Merely a Fallacy to Begin With?", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/artistic-originality/", "published_at": "2018-02-27T12:00:06+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca51-1b24-70a2-96aa-d2c004b2cfde", "title": "Won’t Get Fooled Again: “The Last Jedi” Incites a Fan Rebellion against Disney’s “Star Wars” Empire", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/star-wars-last-jedi-backlash/", "published_at": "2018-01-29T12:00:06+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca51-1b24-70a2-96aa-d2c0053112dc", "title": "Home for Christmas: (Not) a Hallmark Presentation", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/kingsbridge-bronx-christmas/", "published_at": "2017-12-15T12:00:21+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca51-1b24-70a2-96aa-d2c00546461f", "title": "Writers Groups—the Pros and Cons", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/writers-group-pros-cons/", "published_at": "2017-11-28T12:00:47+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca51-1b24-70a2-96aa-d2c0060c760a", "title": "Different Stages", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/different-stages/", "published_at": "2017-10-31T11:00:19+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca51-1b24-70a2-96aa-d2c006f9404d", "title": "Monster Hunting: Some Recent Movies Worth Watching This Halloween", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/recent-horror-movies/", "published_at": "2017-09-28T11:00:03+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca51-5273-7085-9467-7a648588022e", "title": "Short and Sweet: Talking Spinal Tap for Two-Plus Hours", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/spinal-tap-minute-podcast/", "published_at": "2017-07-17T11:00:51+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca51-5273-7085-9467-7a64864b59a1", "title": "Richard Matheson: The Man Behind the Famed Author", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/richard-matheson-gauntlet-press/", "published_at": "2017-06-15T11:00:37+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca51-5273-7085-9467-7a6486c8a917", "title": "A Conversation with “Shots Fired” Writer/Co-Producer Marissa Jo Cerar", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/marissa-jo-cerar-interview/", "published_at": "2017-05-16T11:00:29+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca51-5273-7085-9467-7a6486f151f1", "title": "Spring Fever: On Baseball Season and the Joy of Not Being an Expert on Some Things", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/dodger-baseball-season/", "published_at": "2017-04-25T11:00:04+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca51-5273-7085-9467-7a64876cc771", "title": "Foundations of Storytelling, Part 1: The Logline", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/storytelling-basics-part-1-logline/", "published_at": "2017-03-23T11:00:13+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca51-5273-7085-9467-7a64880dd173", "title": "Writing as Fast as I Can: On Time Management and Working More Efficiently", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/don-roos-kitchen-timer/", "published_at": "2017-02-17T12:00:47+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca51-5273-7085-9467-7a648818cb0a", "title": "This Counts, That Does Not: On Canonicity in Media Franchises", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/star-wars-canon/", "published_at": "2017-01-20T12:00:23+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca51-5273-7085-9467-7a648885e042", "title": "Classifying the “Star Trek” Movies by Their “Save the Cat!” Genre Categories", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/star-trek-save-the-cat-genres/", "published_at": "2016-12-16T12:00:46+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca51-5273-7085-9467-7a648960ee58", "title": "The Man Behind the Mask: On the Creation of Batman—and Rewriting Authorship Itself", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/kane-finger-batman-dispute/", "published_at": "2016-11-17T12:00:04+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca51-5273-7085-9467-7a648a5830bb", "title": "Ghosts of October", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/ghosts-of-october/", "published_at": "2016-10-21T11:00:36+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca51-81de-726f-abb1-ec7ecbe1bb09", "title": "Collapse of the Tentpole: Why Hollywood’s Grim Summer Is Good News for the Rest of Us", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/hollywood-tentpole-collapse-2016/", "published_at": "2016-09-07T11:00:48+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca51-81de-726f-abb1-ec7ecc418edb", "title": "Going Fishing: Classic Movies for the Summer Season", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/classic-summer-movies/", "published_at": "2016-08-16T11:00:41+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca51-81de-726f-abb1-ec7ecd30ff2f", "title": "“I Heard You Were Dead”: What the Career of John Carpenter Demonstrates about the Nature of Legacy", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/john-carpenter-lost-themes/", "published_at": "2016-07-25T11:00:08+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca51-81de-726f-abb1-ec7ece0dfa7a", "title": "Saving the Cat from Itself: On Deconstructing “Game of Thrones” and a Troubling Pattern of Misanalysis", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/save-the-cat-game-of-thrones/", "published_at": "2016-06-17T12:00:19+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca51-81de-726f-abb1-ec7ece627e3a", "title": "The Exodus Is Here: On Saying Goodbye to the Who", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/the-who-hits-50/", "published_at": "2016-05-31T19:00:17+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca51-81de-726f-abb1-ec7ecf3bcbf9", "title": "This Is 40: On the Goals I’ve yet to Attain and All the Friends I Haven’t Made", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/turning-40/", "published_at": "2016-04-27T10:00:36+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca51-81de-726f-abb1-ec7ed023c165", "title": "On Tap: What to Watch This Saint Patrick’s Day", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/st-patricks-day-movies/", "published_at": "2016-03-14T10:00:24+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca51-81de-726f-abb1-ec7ed03ab496", "title": "Challenge of the Super Friends: A Scholarly Counterpoint", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/superhero-cinema/", "published_at": "2016-03-04T18:35:48+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca51-81de-726f-abb1-ec7ed10850de", "title": "The Great Escape: What the Ascendancy of Comic-Book Culture Tells Us about Ourselves", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/batman-v-superman/", "published_at": "2016-02-22T11:00:13+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca51-81de-726f-abb1-ec7ed135b809", "title": "A Los Angeles Crime Saga/A New York Love Story", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/heat-20th-anniversary/", "published_at": "2016-01-13T11:00:29+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca51-abe5-71c1-953c-126fac112090", "title": "Solitary Consignment: A Christmas Story", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/home-alone-25th-anniversary/", "published_at": "2015-12-16T11:00:54+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca51-abe5-71c1-953c-126facae5715", "title": "Signals in the Noise: Finding Meaning through Storytelling", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/george-miller-on-filmmaking/", "published_at": "2015-11-17T10:00:50+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca51-abe5-71c1-953c-126fad58062d", "title": "Pop-Culture Digest: Musings on Annalise Keating, Postnarrativity, and “Twilight”", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/htgawm-ftwd-twilight/", "published_at": "2015-10-13T13:00:18+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca51-abe5-71c1-953c-126fae0d051f", "title": "“Grace” Notes: How Novelist J. Edward Ritchie Rediscovered a Fertile Lost Paradise", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/fall-from-grace-j-edward-ritchie/", "published_at": "2015-10-01T12:00:09+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca51-abe5-71c1-953c-126faeb4484e", "title": "Slouching Towards Bethlehem: A Tribute to Wes Craven", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/wes-craven/", "published_at": "2015-09-15T13:00:54+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca51-abe5-71c1-953c-126faecab8df", "title": "Book Review: “The Multiverse of Max Tovey”", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/max-tovey-alastair-swinnerton/", "published_at": "2015-08-27T13:00:46+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca51-abe5-71c1-953c-126faf5fbae6", "title": "The Lost World: An Unusual Hollywood Cautionary Tale", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/sky-captain/", "published_at": "2015-07-27T13:00:54+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca51-abe5-71c1-953c-126fb05d1c5c", "title": "He Said, She Said: Lessons in (Buddy) Love", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/buddy-love/", "published_at": "2015-07-03T15:03:00+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca51-abe5-71c1-953c-126fb076ff45", "title": "Journey’s End: Rushkoff and the Collapse of Narrative", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/rushkoff-and-postnarrativity/", "published_at": "2015-06-22T13:00:25+00:00" }, { "id": "01a0ca51-abe5-71c1-953c-126fb146b1e2", "title": "Rendering a Verdict: Annalise Keating of “How to Get Away with Murder”", "url": "https://www.seanpcarlin.com/annalise-keating-part-2/", "published_at": "2015-05-14T14:00:40+00:00" } ] posts Claim your blog
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2026

The City That Never Scoops:  On Getting the New York We Deserveoriginal ↗
16 Mar 2026

2025

Ecohorror:  Is Nature Trying to Kill Us?original ↗
23 Jul 2025

2024

Under the Influence, Part 2:  The Top Five Formative Cinematic Muses from My ’80s Childhoodoriginal ↗
9 Oct 2024
Under the Influence, Part 1:  On Artistic Inspiration, Finding One’s Voice, and Tarantino’s Formative Favesoriginal ↗
26 Jun 2024

2023

No, Virginia, “Die Hard” Is Not a Christmas Movieoriginal ↗
20 Dec 2023
“The Dogcatcher” Unleashed:  The Story behind My Debut Noveloriginal ↗
20 Sept 2023
Highway to Hell:  Car Culture and Hollywood’s Hero-Worship of the Automobileoriginal ↗
21 Jun 2023
Into Each Generation a Slayer Is Born:  How the “Buffy” Franchise Demonstrates the Differences between Gen X and Millennialsoriginal ↗
29 Mar 2023

2022

Book Review:  “Heat 2” by Michael Mann + Meg Gardineroriginal ↗
15 Dec 2022
A History of the Blog (So Far)—and a Programming Updateoriginal ↗
26 Sept 2022
Sorting through the Clutter:  How “The Girl Before” Misrepresents Minimalismoriginal ↗
29 Aug 2022
“Superman IV” at 35:  How the “Worst Comic-Book Movie Ever” Epitomizes What We Refuse to Admit about Superhero Fictionoriginal ↗
24 Jul 2022
EXT. LOS ANGELES – ONE YEAR LATERoriginal ↗
27 Jun 2022
The Last Walking Infinity Throne Corrupts Infinitely:  How the Mega-Franchise Format Warps Creative Storytelling Goalsoriginal ↗
23 May 2022
Book Review:  “Blood, Sweat & Chrome” by Kyle Buchananoriginal ↗
25 Apr 2022
“Young Indiana Jones” Turns 30:  Storytelling Lessons from George Lucas’ Other Prequel Seriesoriginal ↗
28 Mar 2022
You Can’t Go Home Again:  Hopeful Reflections on Returning to New York after 20 Years Awayoriginal ↗
28 Feb 2022
A Hollywood Ending: Hopeful Reflections on a Failed Screenwriting Careeroriginal ↗
24 Jan 2022

2021

“Scream” at 25: Storytelling Lessons from Wes Craven’s Slasher Classicoriginal ↗
20 Dec 2021
There He Was… and in He Walked: Lessons on Mythic Storytelling from the Mariachi Trilogyoriginal ↗
19 Nov 2021
Patriarchal Propaganda: How Hollywood Stories Give Men Delusions of Heroismoriginal ↗
6 Oct 2021
Entre Nousoriginal ↗
1 Sept 2021
The Ted Lasso Way: An Appreciationoriginal ↗
2 Aug 2021
The Year of Yes: Why the American Jobs Plan Must (and Will*) Become Laworiginal ↗
1 Jul 2021
Too Much Perspective: On Writing with Moral Imaginationoriginal ↗
7 Jun 2021
In the Multiverse of Madness: How Media Mega-Franchises Make Us Their Obedient Servants, Part 2original ↗
3 May 2021
In the Multiverse of Madness: How Media Mega-Franchises Make Us Their Obedient Servants, Part 1original ↗
26 Apr 2021
Here Lies Buffy the Vampire Slayer: On Letting Go of a Fan Favorite—and Why We Shouldoriginal ↗
15 Mar 2021
One Good Idea: Reflections on My Longest-Running Project—and Most Successful Creative Collaborationoriginal ↗
15 Feb 2021
Grounded and Elevated: Screenwriting Secrets for a Sure-Thing Hollywood Pitchoriginal ↗
18 Jan 2021

2020

The Biden Climate Plan: Some Key Goals and Considerationsoriginal ↗
13 Dec 2020
The End: Lessons for Storytellers from the Trump Sagaoriginal ↗
21 Nov 2020
Trick-or-Treating Is Canceled? Why Disrupted Halloween Traditions Are Nothing to Fearoriginal ↗
26 Oct 2020
The Road Back: Revisiting “The Writer’s Journey”original ↗
28 Sept 2020
What Comes Next: Lessons on Democracy and Narrative from “Hamilton”original ↗
18 Aug 2020
The Lost Boys of the Bronx: A Tribute to Joel Schumacheroriginal ↗
4 Jul 2020
Forget It, Jake, It’s Tinseltown: A History of Hollywood’s Hero Detectiveoriginal ↗
15 Jun 2020
Challenging Our Moral Imagination: On Hollywood’s Crises of Climate, Conscience, and Creativityoriginal ↗
25 May 2020
Misery Sans Company: On the Opportunities and Epiphanies of Self-Isolationoriginal ↗
20 Apr 2020
Some Assembly Required: Why Disciplined Creativity Begets Better Fictionoriginal ↗
19 Mar 2020
Spirit with a Vision: A Tribute to Neil Peart of Rushoriginal ↗
11 Feb 2020
A 2020 Vision of Hopeoriginal ↗
21 Jan 2020

2019

The Nostalgist’s Guide to the Multiverse—and How We All Might Find Our Way Back Homeoriginal ↗
23 Dec 2019
It’s Alive! Return of the Universal Classic Monstersoriginal ↗
19 Nov 2019
Naomi Klein’s “On Fire” (Book Review)original ↗
18 Oct 2019
“It’s Over, Johnny”: The Thrill Is Gone in “Rambo: Last Blood”original ↗
24 Sept 2019
Mirror/Mirror: On Seeing Ourselves in Fictional Charactersoriginal ↗
26 Aug 2019
Oh, Snap! The Nostalgia-Industrial Complex — ’90s Editionoriginal ↗
29 Jul 2019
Tim Burton’s “Batman” at 30—and the Cultural Legacy of the Summer of 1989original ↗
23 Jun 2019
Game Over: Why an Unsatisfying “Game of Thrones” Resolution Was a Predictable Inevitabilityoriginal ↗
24 May 2019
All That You Can’t Leave Behind: On Memories, Memorabilia, and Minimalismoriginal ↗
30 Apr 2019
Big News from a Small Climate Reality Chapter: Los Angeles Joins the County Climate Coalitionoriginal ↗
31 Mar 2019
Age of Innocence: On the Bygone Pleasure of Being City Kidsoriginal ↗
28 Feb 2019
Well, There’s Bad News and Good News: On Matters of Human Extinctionoriginal ↗
29 Jan 2019

2018

Maybe It’s Time: Here’s to Making 2019 the First Official Year of the 21st Centuryoriginal ↗
28 Dec 2018
“Almost” Doesn’t Count: On Trying and Losing (Repeat as Needed)original ↗
28 Nov 2018
Dreaming Dreams and Seeing Apparitions: On Writing Horror and Fighting Climate Changeoriginal ↗
30 Oct 2018
Living Here in “Allen Town”: The Fight to End Oil Drilling in Los Angelesoriginal ↗
30 Sept 2018
Through the Looking Glass: How Johnny Depp’s Reclusive Tendencies Are a Funhouse Reflection of Our Ownoriginal ↗
31 Aug 2018
The Cat in the Sprawl: Blake Snyder’s Genres and Postnarrative Fictionoriginal ↗
23 Jul 2018
Changing the Narrative: Why Some of Our Most Popular Stories Affirm Our Most Pernicious Beliefs—and How Storytellers Can Rewrite This Bad Scriptoriginal ↗
25 Jun 2018
Counter Culture: Over the past Quarter Century, a Small Specialty Shop Became a Bronx Institutionoriginal ↗
31 May 2018
A Couple of Gen Xers Talk Movies, Screenwriting, and Zombie Prison Breaksoriginal ↗
20 Apr 2018
State of Grace: How a Movie No One Saw Heralded the Last Days of Old New York, Old Hollywood—and Even My Own Innocenceoriginal ↗
28 Mar 2018
Artistic Originality: Is It Dead—or Was It Merely a Fallacy to Begin With?original ↗
27 Feb 2018
Won’t Get Fooled Again: “The Last Jedi” Incites a Fan Rebellion against Disney’s “Star Wars” Empireoriginal ↗
29 Jan 2018

2017

Home for Christmas: (Not) a Hallmark Presentationoriginal ↗
15 Dec 2017
Writers Groups—the Pros and Consoriginal ↗
28 Nov 2017
Different Stagesoriginal ↗
31 Oct 2017
Monster Hunting: Some Recent Movies Worth Watching This Halloweenoriginal ↗
28 Sept 2017
Short and Sweet: Talking Spinal Tap for Two-Plus Hoursoriginal ↗
17 Jul 2017
Richard Matheson: The Man Behind the Famed Authororiginal ↗
15 Jun 2017
A Conversation with “Shots Fired” Writer/Co-Producer Marissa Jo Ceraroriginal ↗
16 May 2017
Spring Fever: On Baseball Season and the Joy of Not Being an Expert on Some Thingsoriginal ↗
25 Apr 2017
Foundations of Storytelling, Part 1: The Loglineoriginal ↗
23 Mar 2017
Writing as Fast as I Can: On Time Management and Working More Efficientlyoriginal ↗
17 Feb 2017
This Counts, That Does Not: On Canonicity in Media Franchisesoriginal ↗
20 Jan 2017

2016

Classifying the “Star Trek” Movies by Their “Save the Cat!” Genre Categoriesoriginal ↗
16 Dec 2016
The Man Behind the Mask: On the Creation of Batman—and Rewriting Authorship Itselforiginal ↗
17 Nov 2016
Ghosts of Octoberoriginal ↗
21 Oct 2016
Collapse of the Tentpole: Why Hollywood’s Grim Summer Is Good News for the Rest of Usoriginal ↗
7 Sept 2016
Going Fishing: Classic Movies for the Summer Seasonoriginal ↗
16 Aug 2016
“I Heard You Were Dead”: What the Career of John Carpenter Demonstrates about the Nature of Legacyoriginal ↗
25 Jul 2016
Saving the Cat from Itself: On Deconstructing “Game of Thrones” and a Troubling Pattern of Misanalysisoriginal ↗
17 Jun 2016
The Exodus Is Here: On Saying Goodbye to the Whooriginal ↗
31 May 2016
This Is 40: On the Goals I’ve yet to Attain and All the Friends I Haven’t Madeoriginal ↗
27 Apr 2016
On Tap: What to Watch This Saint Patrick’s Dayoriginal ↗
14 Mar 2016
Challenge of the Super Friends: A Scholarly Counterpointoriginal ↗
4 Mar 2016
The Great Escape: What the Ascendancy of Comic-Book Culture Tells Us about Ourselvesoriginal ↗
22 Feb 2016
A Los Angeles Crime Saga/A New York Love Storyoriginal ↗
13 Jan 2016

2015

Solitary Consignment: A Christmas Storyoriginal ↗
16 Dec 2015
Signals in the Noise: Finding Meaning through Storytellingoriginal ↗
17 Nov 2015
Pop-Culture Digest: Musings on Annalise Keating, Postnarrativity, and “Twilight”original ↗
13 Oct 2015
“Grace” Notes: How Novelist J. Edward Ritchie Rediscovered a Fertile Lost Paradiseoriginal ↗
1 Oct 2015
Slouching Towards Bethlehem: A Tribute to Wes Cravenoriginal ↗
15 Sept 2015
Book Review: “The Multiverse of Max Tovey”original ↗
27 Aug 2015
The Lost World: An Unusual Hollywood Cautionary Taleoriginal ↗
27 Jul 2015
He Said, She Said: Lessons in (Buddy) Loveoriginal ↗
3 Jul 2015
Journey’s End: Rushkoff and the Collapse of Narrativeoriginal ↗
22 Jun 2015
Rendering a Verdict: Annalise Keating of “How to Get Away with Murder”original ↗
14 May 2015
Next