One thing I want to see more in #PopularFiction are very strong male sidekicks to even stronger female lead characters.

We reached the point where we have a lot of shows/series with male heroes and strong female sidekicks and also a bunch of shows with strong female heroes but these are often paired with male goofballs (or straight doofuses). I guess that is progress compared to most of the last few centuries but it is only a limited blessing for #feminism. It lowkey tells women they are only thriving in the absence of a truly strong male character and men that they can either be perceived as the dominant character or as flimsy and weak with little in between. Not to mention that way too many shows/series with female leads are seen as being 'for girls specifically'.

Of course there are also some decent positive examples and I will try to boost these whenever I notice. Recommendations are always welcome.

I have to admit I didn't like #Snowpiercer when it came out, considering it a ham-fisted exaggeration of #ClassWarfare where I would usually expect more nuance from #ScienceFiction.

These days, with #Twitter-Elmo and way too many other self-aggrandising plutocrats in charge of stuff, I am increasingly appreciating how much Wilford is an accurate portrayal of how disconnected the leadership becomes from any semblance of empathy or justice as long as they have their sycophants keep the undesirables away from them. If anyone wonders what would happen if we put the #techbros in charge, look no further.

On my (mostly #metal) #musicmonday I celebrate my favorite albums, this time Judas Priest - Painkiller (1990).

A lot has been written about Judas Priest by more knowledgable contemporaries. I can only appreciate in hindsight how much the band shaped my favorite genre by repeatedly going against popular fashion. This started from the onset when their melodic style and rebellious identity meant they had to carve out their own niche between trendier glam and punk. Then, just when their own style has become established, they release Turbo and go full glam - just when for everyone else glam was on the way out.

Enter 1990. Grunge gets popular and would mesh well with the musical and lyrical style of Judas Priest. Instead they again go the other way and add more speed, a harsher tone and surreal theme. Painkiller feels like a Hellraiser puzzle cube thrown in Ferris Buehler's classroom and it is glorious.

Full endorsement but no links today because character limit. Everyone should be able to find this classic.