Editorials
Ask Dr. Mike: Embracing Our Authentic Mental Health
Spinning out of the Going There with Dr. Mike podcast presented by Consequence and Sound Mind Live, the monthly “Ask Dr. Mike” column is here to answer listeners’ questions. As we wrap up BIPOC Mental Health Month, Dr. Mike discusses how we can improve our mental health by embracing our authentic selves. Sometimes it can feel like we are trapped in a mental health paradox. On the one hand, there is so much happening in the world that can cause us to suffer emotionally: pandemic, climate change, political strife, economic suffering and inflation. Some who had never experienced depression or anxiety have begun feeling an overwhelming sense of loneliness and dread, while those already grappling with mental half have found their struggles exacerbated. On the other hand, whe...
With Jack in the Box, j-hope Isn’t Afraid to Embrace the Darkness
“It was Hope that was kept in the innermost nook of the box. It trailed behind the miasma of darkness, assuaging the ill effects on humankind. Hope gave people the will to keep on living amidst the pain and strife.” The introduction of j-hope’s full-length debut solo album, Jack in the Box, is a female voice recounting the myth of Pandora’s Box; it’s a story j-hope, who was born Jung Hoseok, has long gravitated towards, and a partial source of his stage name. For nearly a decade now as part of BTS, j-hope has more than lived up to the name. He’s embodied it — epitomized it, even — by developing a reputation as the ray of sunshine in the global, record-smashing group. His energy onstage is astounding; anyone who is lucky enough to have seen BTS in concert inevitably walks away amazed by the...
A League of Their Own: The Mysterious Identity of the Black Woman Who Throws Back the Ball
UPDATED: This is the story of a mystery. Unlike a good Agatha Christie page-turner, it’s not that dramatic. But it is a sad one — though maybe, just maybe, the ending hasn’t been written yet. Thirty years ago, one of the greatest sports movies ever made was released in theaters. Based on the true story of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, founded during World War II when most able-bodied men (including ball players) were fighting overseas, A League of Their Own featured two fictional sisters (Geena Davis and Lori Petty) battling over their own issues during the inaugural season of women’s professional baseball. The film became a modern classic for so many reasons: the powerful direction by Penny Marshall, an all-star cast that also includes Tom Hanks, Rosie O’Donnell, Ma...
Ask Dr. Mike: Coping with the Mental Health Effects of Anti-LGBTQ+ Discrimination
Spinning out of the Going There with Dr. Mike podcast presented by Consequence and Sound Mind Live, the monthly “Ask Dr. Mike” column is here to answer listeners’ questions. As we wrap up Pride Month, Dr. Mike is here to guide us through the mental health effects of anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination. Over the last month of Pride, members of the queer community and allies alike have celebrated how wonderful and life-affirming it can be when people can freely explore, embrace, and express their authentic sexuality and gender identity. Being able to live openly as an LGBTQ+ person can radically bolster an individual’s sense of mental health and well-being. The spirit of Pride is to build a world in which everyone can live in a free and open way to embrace who they are and love wh...
Why Viktor Hargreeves’ Experience in The Umbrella Academy Was Always a Trans Allegory
[Editor’s note: The following contains mild spoilers for The Umbrella Academy Season 3.] Cliffhangers rule The Umbrella Academy. Every season, including the just-premiered third, of Netflix’s adaptation of Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá’s comic book series has ended with the status quo being shaken up more than it already has. And Season 2 ended with a particularly intriguing move: The Hargreeves, a dysfunctional family of adopted super-siblings, returned to the present from 1960s Dallas, only to find their home is no longer their home. Instead, Reginald Hargreeves adopted a different group of children with special powers (including original Umbrella Ben) for what’s now known as “The Sparrow Academy.” But a different sort of lingering question about the show’s direction arose between the second...
Elvis’ Cultural Cachet Has Gone Up and Down Over the Years, But He’s Still Way More Relevant Than You Think
Go ahead: Google “Beatles are irrelevant” and “Rolling Stones are irrelevant.” The former will net you about half a million results — the latter, a hair under two million. Now, Google “Elvis is irrelevant.” You’ll get more than twice the results of both those queries — combined. At first thought, this is understandable. The Stones remain a titanic concert draw despite losing a key member. The Beatles’ Get Back didn’t just lift us out of Turkey Day doldrums; it bestowed on us a rare case of almost universal common ground. Recent deluxe editions of both beloved bands’ classic albums do gangbusters on Spotify. Speaking of: at press time, the Beatles command 26 million monthly listeners; the Stones, 21 mil. Elvis Presley? A paltry 13. Granted, there are many potential reasons for the above — a...
Kate Bush’s Stranger Things Triumph Reminds Us of the Joy of Discovering Music Through Film and TV
This week, in the aftermath of Stranger Things Season 4 debuting, English singer/songwriter Kate Bush experienced a remarkable renaissance, as her iconic 1985 hit “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” became a chart-busting hit across multiple streaming services. Over the course of Memorial Day weekend, the song reached the top 10 on Apple Music in 34 different countries, becoming one of the most-Shazamed songs of the week and getting permanently stuck in every viewer’s head — hopefully music supervisor Nora Felder is feeling pretty good about her accomplishment. If you watched the new episodes of the show, this isn’t a surprise: In the show, “Running Up That Hill” has a huge impact because it’s not just a casual needle drop — it saves a girl’s life. Max (Sadie Sink) is seen listening t...
What the Johnny Depp/Amber Heard Verdict Means for Depp’s Future Career
It seems like an inevitability, at this point: Johnny Depp will be back on the big screen again soon. Not that he’s felt exactly absent from our screens over the last several months, as his defamation case against ex-wife Amber Heard raged not just in a Virginia courtroom but across the entire Internet. The resulting decision was not a clear-cut victory for either side, but with Depp being awarded $10 million in compensatory damages in comparison to Heard being awarded $2 million, the jury made it clear who they thought was more in the wrong here. However, while Depp fans are treating yesterday’s verdict as a clear-cut victory for the star, the question becomes: What happens next, at least in terms of Depp’s career — the very thing he accused Heard of damaging? Advertisement Related Video ...
There Would Be No Depeche Mode Without Andy Fletcher
Throughout his time with Depeche Mode, Andy “Fletch” Fletcher became accustomed to one question more than others. “What exactly is it that you do?” It was a fair query. Fletcher — who passed away Thursday (May 26th) at the age of 60 — was an enigma amidst bandmates with clearly-defined roles. Dave Gahan holds forth as lead singer. Martin Gore is the band’s primary instrumentalist and prolific composer. Even former members Vince Clarke and Alan Wilder had delineated responsibilities in the group’s operation. Fletcher, however, was content to be “the guy that stands in the back.” Tall. Unassuming. Genial, even. Onstage he stood behind a keyboard but could appear as if he’d just happened to wander onto the set. He was the only band member with no songwriting credits, and at a certain point hi...
Dear Comedians, When Did the Concept of Empathy Get So Difficult?
Not that the current conversation about comedy, Netflix, and trans people needed a new development this month, but it got one in the form of Tuesday’s (May 24th) debut of a new Ricky Gervais special. You don’t really need to watch SuperNature on Netflix or read the recaps of his comments if you don’t want to — it’s the same strutting for attention that Gervais has executed countless times over the years, with a token attempt to say that he does believe in trans rights… well, at least, he says: “Full disclosure: In real life of course I support trans rights. I support all human rights, and trans rights are human rights. Live your best life. Use your preferred pronouns. Be the gender that you feel that you are. But meet me halfway, ladies: Lose the cock. That’s all I’m saying.” A message tha...
Dear Comedians, When Did the Concept of Empathy Get So Difficult?
Not that the current conversation about comedy, Netflix, and trans people needed a new development this month, but it got one in the form of Tuesday’s (May 24th) debut of a new Ricky Gervais special. You don’t really need to watch SuperNature on Netflix or read the recaps of his comments if you don’t want to — it’s the same strutting for attention that Gervais has executed countless times over the years, with a token attempt to say that he does believe in trans rights… well, at least, he says: “Full disclosure: In real life of course I support trans rights. I support all human rights, and trans rights are human rights. Live your best life. Use your preferred pronouns. Be the gender that you feel that you are. But meet me halfway, ladies: Lose the cock. That’s all I’m saying.” A message tha...
In 2012, The Avengers Was a Huge Risk. In 2022, It’s a Relic of a Lost Era.
There’s an argument to be made that Joss Whedon’s The Avengers is the most important superhero movie of the 21st century. The reasons are numerous, from its proof of concept that a crossover event on this scale could work, to its staggering box office success, to the now-vast media empire which would not exist had this one film fallen apart. The MCU began with Marvel literally using its entire catalog of characters to secure a massive loan to produce its own films, and while the early success of Iron Man and the other Phase 1 films was promising, that huge gamble was still largely dependent on The Avengers succeeding. And that wasn’t necessarily the safest of bets, given that despite Whedon being nerd royalty and an established screenwriter, script doctor, and TV director, the film was onl...
