Hearth and Home: When a Videogame becomes a Third Space
How and why Hearthstone, the World of Warcraft online Collectible Card Game, is a lot like the bar from Cheers (sociologically speaking).
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Posts by Richard Rosenbaum on Overthinking It
“I sure feel uncomfortable being in this situation with you” – Twin Peaks and the Sublimity of Awkwardness
Twin Peaks makes us feel weird. On purpose. Here’s how and why.
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Icons and Empathy: on the weird difficulty of player identification in videogames
Does customizability in games make player identification better or worse?
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You Can’t Have All the Answers: Lost and the Problem of Induction
Unsatisfied with the end of Lost? Good. That was the point.
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On the Gentrification of Geek (and why it’s fine, you guys)
There’s no such thing as a “fake geek,” so you can just relax.
How to Squeeze Stories from Stones — or, Why The Lego Movie was Good and Battleship was Bad
There’s a right way and a wrong way to turn toys into movies. I’m here to tell you what they are.
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Ninja Turtles 2014 in Context
How does the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie compare to other notable adaptations? Richard Rosenbaum gives you The Ugly, the Bad and the Good (in that order).
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Rewriting the Future: Retroactive Continuity as Marketing
When is changing the past the right decision? When it’s profitable.
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Forget Nazir: Surveillance vs. Performance and the Discourse of Power in Homeland
Who has the power? The actor or the concealer?
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The Dark Knight Confounds: Why is Frank Miller’s Batman so alienating?
On Frank Miller’s Batman, and the connection between conservatism and fear.