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)
We Might Be Headed For a Great American Famine
Many Americans are currently hungry. Organizations like the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimate that the number of food-insecure Americans is in the tens of millions. We are a culture comfortable with a large percentage of our population being hungry, with even more on the cusp of that reality.
By Alex Mell-Taylorabout a year ago in Earth
The Best Media of 2022
If there's one thing I have, it's opinions. I can sometimes come across as a sourpuss, but there have been a lot of shows, movies, and games that I have loved this year. Whether we were transported to a galaxy far, far away, or a land of magic and dragons, it was a great year to sit on your ass and watch stuff.
By Alex Mell-Taylorabout a year ago in Geeks
What Andor Gets Wrong About Saw Gerrera
It's popular in American media, particularly media made and produced by the Disney corporation, to depict political radicals as going “too far” (see Black Panther, Falcon and the Winter Soldier, etc.). They may have good intentions, but their methods are what the narrative often objects to. Political rebellions on TV and the Silver Screen usually strive to walk a narrow line between showing characters who fight against injustice while outwardly rejecting the methods that many real-life political revolutionaries have had to use.
By Alex Mell-Taylorabout a year ago in Geeks
Andor Is One of the Few Disney Shows to Get Fascism Right
It’s hard to understate how shocked and happy I am that Andor exists. I have been banging a drum for years that Disney has been putting out programming that often appropriates the aesthetic of social change and revolution while advancing pretty regressive narratives (see my take on Black Panther and She-Hulk as examples).
By Alex Mell-Taylorabout a year ago in Geeks
- Top Story - December 2022
We Should Be Worried About How The Right Talks About DisneyTop Story - December 2022
I love Disney. I listen to its musical numbers on repeat on Spotify. I love traveling to Disney World and going on the rides (Magic Kingdom is the best, obviously). I can obnoxiously hold my own amongst the most intense Disney adults.
By Alex Mell-Taylorabout a year ago in The Swamp
The Frustrating Indirectness of the Black Panther Series
Black Panther was an iconic moment in pop culture, and that's because white supremacist society is quite racist. Organizations like the Disney company have historically been very regressive in their portrayals of human difference (i.e., anything that goes against white supremacist, colonialist patriarchy). In the words of writer Sydney Paige: "The fact that black people are represented not with stereotypes, but as the smartest, wealthiest, most advanced, and the absolute royalty [of the] most powerful society is groundbreaking and momentous."
By Alex Mell-Taylorabout a year ago in Geeks
Is It Possible To Make Conservatism Not So F@cking Awful?
From Donald Trump to Ted Cruz, modern conservatism is pretty awful, and it’s not just in the US. We could talk about the rise of far-right parties in Israel, India, Italy, and so much more. Conservatives are often trying to defend an awful status quo. We live in a world where these movements are actively harming otherized identities under the guise of protecting historic institutions that are often supremacist in nature.
By Alex Mell-Taylorabout a year ago in The Swamp
You’re Delusional if You Think Queer People Are Responsible for This Moral Panic
There is this tiring argument that happens on the Internet (and in real life), where whenever something bad happens —i.e., an election doesn't go well, a terrible law is passed, a court decision reverses a group's rights, etc.—people try to push the blame onto the person or group hurt.
By Alex Mell-Taylorabout a year ago in Pride
This Anti-Trans Moral Panic Was Never About How We Define Gender
There's been a huge debate about the "transgenders" recently. I can hear the "just asking questions" starter pack now. Are trans women real women? What is gender? What is sex? Do we really need to respect these people who are changing the game on this thing that has always existed?
By Alex Mell-Taylorabout a year ago in Pride
Feminism & Groomers: 'The House of The Dragon' Was Always About How Men Use Women
HBO's Game of Thrones spinoff, The House of the Dragon (sometimes referred to online as House of Dragons), knew what it wanted to talk about in the very first episode. After it's revealed that between two contenders to the throne — the cowardly Viserys I Targaryen and the wiser Rhaenys Targaryen — Viserys is given the Iron Throne because he is a man, we know that patriarchy is going to be a throughline in this story.
By Alex Mell-Taylorabout a year ago in Geeks
Pop Culture's Reckoning with "Wage Slavery"
A lot of people hate work. "Work is not my highest priority and never will be," rants a user on r/Jobs. "I don't hate my job; I actually enjoy it. However, I'm just sick of this western(?) idea that your work is your identifier and needs to be your 'highest priority.'" This is a common perspective (see also my article You Are Not Crazy for Hating the Idea of Work).
By Alex Mell-Taylorabout a year ago in Geeks
Is “Occupy Democrats” Fake News?
Occupy Democrats is a very popular brand. Until very recently, its posts routinely found themselves breaking Facebook's Top 10 performing posts every day. Its success has been cited by the likes of The New York Times, framing their piece as the story of "How Immigrant Twin Brothers Are Beating Trump's Team on Facebook."
By Alex Mell-Taylorabout a year ago in The Swamp