Let's Get Scary!

Hello!!! It's been a while. I have started my second job at a craft store, and let me tell you it is tuckering me out. I really only wanted to work weekends but now I work 7 days a week plus a full-time job. So you could say it's going poorly. But the job is easy I won't complain... on here.

Books I've Read Recently

I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy→ This book was relatively short with not a lot of content in it. I will say I expected this book to detail the psychological trauma that Jennette's mother caused her. And besides the very weird bathing her into her late teens her mom didn't seem bad. (I don't know if that's telling about my childhood.) And she didn't even talk about her mom that much.

This book was mainly about her eating disorder and her OCD. If you want to read a book that details Jennette restricting food and throwing up but not talking too much about the symptoms of those things, reading this would be in your wheelhouse. I mean she never talks about the tiredness, lightheadedness, and pain that come with EDs.

Now about Nickelodeon! She says in the book that she didn't sign the NDA, so tell me Jennette where is the DRAMA? Tell me about "the creator's" foot kink, tell me about how he made the young actresses uncomfortable. Tell me about your relationship with Arianna Grande. The only reason anyone read this book was that it was written by a former child star. A lot of people have had ED and they didn't need to write a book about it.

In my opinion, all her interviews about the book are more interesting than the book itself. I think a more interesting look into child stardom and being on TV for your first kiss and while you are growing up is the podcast Pod Meets World. Hosted by the stars of Boy Meets World as they look back at episodes of the show. You can listen here.

Watch Over Me by Nina Lacour→ This book was pretty short. Basically, this young girl who has aged out of foster care takes a job at this farm. To my understanding is just a large foster home, similar to a summer camp vibe but for foster kids. So it has a group of 20-somethings working there. Also, there are ghosts. And no one makes a big deal about it but it not like ghosts are just a casual presence in this world, it's weird that ghosts are here that's what I'm saying.

She is anxious that other people won't like her but she makes friends and kinda becomes a 3rd wheel to a couple. Throughout the book we get flashes back to her childhood with her mother's boyfriend (husband) who was weird and gaslight-y, leading to the events of "the fire."

End the end, it is about overcoming trauma and confronting your inner child, or the childhood you lost via traumatic events. In a poetic sense, I would say this is a good book, like I could write a thematic essay on it. However, I found this under the Horror subject on Libby and this barely had a plot let alone anything remotely scary or horrors-esc. So it failed as far as storytelling goes.

Movie Night!

Recommendations for movie nights.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife: Is this a good movie? No, not really. But it's fun! It's got Paul Rudd (from Antman and Clueless), Finn Wolfhard (from Stranger Things and IT), and McKenna Grace (from Haunting of Hill House, I,Tonya, Handmaids Tale, playing every child version of an actress ever. I don't know I liked it and I'd watch it again. It's fun, stupid, and a movie.

Available to watch illegally.

Urban Legend: This is a 90's slasher that is pretty iconic. This one has all your favorite deaths via urban legend. Jarod Letto looks kinda cute in this and he was most likely not method-acting for this role.

A fun little horror movie that won't scare your loser friends but will also keep you entertained.

Available on Prime Video.

Scream: Iconic! Watch all 5.

Available on Netflix... maybe.

The Maze Runner: I think this movie is entertaining to watch. It's a good watch for people who have seen it and haven't seen it. We will laugh, we will cry, and we will yell for Dylan O'Brian to run.

Available to stream illegally.

My Thesis Statement

Let's talk about true crime sensationalism, horror movie fans, and how The Final Girl Support Group got it wrong.

With the new Dahmer TV show starring Evan Peters becoming so popular, comes a wave of people upset about the glamorization of serial killers. They are also upset about a previous white boy of the month being cast as an infamous serial killer, a la Zach Efron. I myself, have not seen the new show, nor have a seen the movie My Friend Dahmer. But I will say Ross Lynch was there first and he's my Dahmer more than Mr. Evan Peters. But no one has seen that movie.

So I saw an argument explaining that the glorification of true crime is the same as horror movie fans enjoying those films. Now, I am not here to make any arguments about true crime. As a previous host of a true crime podcast, I can definitely see the side of true crime fans. But I also understand how casting a "hot" actor to play a serial killer that killed real people is an awful decision.

I am here to talk about the conflation of true crime and horror fans. I want to look at this through the eye of one Mr. Grady Hendrix and his book The Final Girl Support Group. In his book, he suggests that all popular horror movies (Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Scream, Friday the 13th, etc) are based on REAL true crimes that resulted in Final Girls. Thus the sensationalization of the killer via these horror movies and subsequent sequels is terrible for the history and stories of the people who have died. This is the same argument people are using for the movies that are made about true crime. However, Grady Hendrix is incorrect in saying horror movie fans would still be horror movie fans if the events of the horror movies were based on reality.

Basically, he took the premise of the Scream franchise that talks about the Stab films and decided to make it a book. But he did it badly. Scream made better points than Grady ever could.

The idea that horror fans are the same as true crime fans is so deeply incorrect. Horror fans don't gain joy from the idea that real people died. They are fans because they know it's fake. So using the aspects of horror films that fans like and making them the same aspects of films that people would like in true crime is completely wrong. Thereby making his entire point (whatever it was, cus I don't think he even had one) mute.

Parting Words

It's spooky season bitches!