Alex Mell-Taylor
Bio
I write long-form pieces on timely themes inside entertainment, pop culture, video games, gender, sexuality, race and politics. My writing currently reaches a growing audience of over 10,000 people every month across various publications.
Stories (87/0)
Should the Public Trust Approval Voting?
This article was originally posted on The Washington Socialist. The American voting system has traditionally been first-past-the-post (i.e., the first candidate that meets a certain threshold wins). This system has disincentivized political alternatives. Votes for less-popular candidates tend to be viewed as wasted (see the “spoiler effect”), and so many voters choose the more popular party that is closest to their preferences, ultimately narrowing the political window to two options — in our case, red and blue — which ultimately hurts the more leftist candidates our movement tends to support.
By Alex Mell-Taylor3 months ago in The Swamp
The Rich Shouldn't Be Trusted To Make Decisions
As a society, we are constantly pushing many politicians to treat the government as a business. "The government should be run like a great American company," politician Fiorello La Guardia remarked as mayor in 1938. This trend has continued to the present day, with survey after survey indicating that Americans have more trust in businesses than the government or the media.
By Alex Mell-Taylor3 months ago in Criminal
Yennefer Was Wrong
The Witcher series is about the eponymous Witcher Geralt of Rivia, a half-human mutant with supernatural powers he uses to hunt and kill monsters. Geralt lives in a medieval-seeming land called the Continent (another name is never given). Due to his code of neutrality called "The Path," he can serve polities on many different sides of a great conflict, as he initially provides his services to all sides with enough coin.
By Alex Mell-Taylor3 months ago in Geeks
The Messy And Incoherent Philosophy of Diablo 4's Lilith
Diablo 4 was released this year. For the uninitiated, Diablo's universe revolves around the perpetual struggle between the forces of Heaven and Hell. Humanity is caught in the middle of this Eternal Conflict, often manipulated and used as pawns by these greater beings. Sanctuary, the world where humans reside, was co-created by Lilith, the daughter of hatred, who, in Diablo 4, returns from hell with a grand plan that supposedly revolves around aiding humanity against the forces of evil.
By Alex Mell-Taylor3 months ago in Geeks
Climate Change is a Bigger Existential Threat Than AI
It's been the year of fretting about AI. While there are many ethical considerations with AI, the issue of labor being one of the primary ones (see The Work of Art in the Age of AI), what AI evangelists talk about is often rooted in "Longtermist" concerns such as the end of human civilization as we know it. "Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war," reads a statement signed on by CEOs, academics, and other members of the business elite.
By Alex Mell-Taylor3 months ago in Earth
The Dad Joke Was A Long Time Coming
My favorite Dad Joke comes from the video game Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator. Your player character is at a barbecue, and in one dialogue option, you and a cadre of other dads fire off a stream of dad jokes. "He's un-grill-ievable," they begin. Their children boo and plead for the dads to stop.
By Alex Mell-Taylor3 months ago in History
Queer People Shouldn’t Have To Suffer To Be Taken Seriously
For the longest time, you were more likely to know a trans person because they had died than lived. The names of dead trans women, men, and enbys have hung in the air for my entire adult life. People like Venus Xtravaganza, Brandon Teena, and Islan Nettles have been a part of my community’s history: a reminder of what this society does to people that go against the grain.
By Alex Mell-Taylor3 months ago in Pride
"Ōoku: The Inner Chambers" Is A Fascinating Deconstruction of Gender
In today's pop culture lexicon, deconstructions of gender are everywhere. The dystopian TV series Handmaid's Tale, based on the book of the same name, is about what happens when theocratic Christian patriarchy dominates all aspects of the United States. And, of course, Amazonian mythology has been rehashed in everything from Xena Warrior Princess to Wonder Woman.
By Alex Mell-Taylor3 months ago in Geeks
Barbenheimer: A Surprising Battle of Messaging and Framing
Barbenheimer emerged as a meme to talk about the joint release of Greta Gerwig's pink and feminine metacommentary Barbie and Christopher Nolan's brooding and masculine Oppenheimer. Soon the Internet was ablaze with talks of double features, promotional deals, and fans coming to the theaters dressed to the nines in pink.
By Alex Mell-Taylor4 months ago in Geeks
A24's ‘Beef ’— A Story of False Class Consciousness
Beef is the story of two Asian Americans and their ensuing feud after a road rage incident. Danny Cho and Amy Lau come to loath one another as we watch them stalk, manipulate, and sabotage each other’s prospects, setting them on a path of mutually-assured destruction.
By Alex Mell-Taylor4 months ago in Geeks
The Show Steven Universe’s Terrible Approach to Fascism
Steven Universe is about a boy called Steven who is half human, half alien. He lives on Earth, in a picturesque beachside town, and on the side, he goes on heroic missions with the alien freedom fighters, the Crystal Gems. As the series progresses, Steven learns more and more about his lineage and a thousand-year-old Civil War, which still has effects on the present.
By Alex Mell-Taylor4 months ago in Geeks
The Show Steven Universe’s Terrible Approach to Fascism
Steven Universe is about a boy called Steven who is half human, half alien. He lives on Earth, in a picturesque beachside town, and on the side, he goes on heroic missions with the alien freedom fighters, the Crystal Gems. As the series progresses, Steven learns more and more about his lineage and a thousand-year-old Civil War, which still has effects on the present.
By Alex Mell-Taylor4 months ago in Geeks
