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In the spirit of gender equality, I am following up my list of Top 10 (plus 1) Knights of the Middle Ages with the other side of the shilling.  Although you wouldn’t know it from all the goofy movies and TV shows out there, European women in the Middle Ages (500-1500) made wide-ranging contributions to [...]

Ancient codes, or sets of laws, have been written down since around 2000 BC.  Many of these laws were harsh and would be seen as barbaric compared to our current laws, but many of them were actually just as compassionate and fair, and sometimes moreso, than the laws we have now. 10.  Animal Rights The [...]

Academic books and essays about movies use lofty phrases and multi-layered interpretations to make the fact the authors have watched movies too many times seem like an insightful and meaningful practice. Anyone who has spent much time on a movie set realizes that’s usually giving filmmakers a bit too much credit. In fact, as we’ll [...]

Oscar Wilde was an Irish playwright, poet, writer, and wit who was an integral part of the fin de siècle group of artists who made up the Aesthetic movement of the late nineteenth century.  As a young man, he attended Trinity College in Dublin, and then applied for, and won, a demyship at Magdalen College [...]

The term “horror movie” first appeared in the writings of critics in response to the release of Universal’s Dracula (1931) and Frankenstein (1931).  The term has since come to describe any film that strives to elicit the emotion of fear, disgust, and shock.  A large collection of classic scary movies have screenplays that are based [...]

Dressing as a member of the opposite sex has a long and varied history. In the past, men and women cross-dressed to assume new roles, to enable them to do things they otherwise couldn’t, or because they just plain wanted to. Here are some individuals who for whatever reason decided to adopt the clothing of [...]

Before people were able to access information by way of the Internet, written text was the primary resource for knowledge.  The history of books has been linked to political and economical contingencies, as well as the history of ideas and religion.  In the ancient world, humans developed writings as a desire to create a lasting [...]

Mohamed Al-Fayed caused a stir by unveiling a statue of deceased pop singer Michael Jackson, the only man reputed to be even more eccentric than the Egyptian businessman himself. Its placement outside Fulham FC’s ground at Craven Cottage was more baffling than controversial: Jackson once watched a game in 1999, and had no other connection [...]

It is estimated that we are exposed to thousands of commercial messages every day in one form or another. Most of them are boring as hell, but once in a while, a shocking ad makes us stop and wonder. ‘Shockvertising’ is like a sword with a double-edged blade. Do bold and controversial print ads incite [...]

As quickly as 2010 came and went, here we find ourselves in the middle of another exciting awards season. The Golden Globes have been awarded and the 83rd Oscar ceremony is next. When it comes to Hollywood’s highest honors, the Academy’s omissions often provoke more outcry and buzz than the actual winners. The Academy Awards [...]