Texas Forever

Friday Night Lights and the Quest for Authenticity

by Adam Wilsonon Friday Night Lights

1. But What Does Matt Saracen Dream About?

I’m a Reagan baby, a product of recession, later reared in the economically secure Clinton nineties, in a McMansioned suburb of the Eastern Seaboard. In nearby Boston, the athletes of interest preside in professional Parks and Gardens. They are televised, billboarded, extra-life-sized for us aesthetes to admire as we turn, finally, from our dissertations, to catch the last inning or quarter, becoming vicarious Americans, populist fist-pumpers in the soft reflection of our plasma flat screens.

My own sports career ended at fifteen, soon after my discoveries of breasts and marijuana–plus, my postpubic body’s physiological rejection of the command, “Run laps.” I attended a large public high school known for its high rate of alumni acceptance into Harvard and for its unattractive cheerleaders. Once at a basketball game, a rival school’s fans chanted, “Who Let the Dogs Out” when our Lady-Lions took the court.

The school … read more»

Recent Free Essays (Still Available!)

Available Until
Thu 11/28

Vampire Porn

by Daniel M. Kimmelon True Blood

More than one person, told that I was writing an essay about the opening credits for True Blood, recoiled. It was something they had seen and now fast-forwarded through, unable to watch the montage of disturbing images. It was too “weird” or “upsetting.” (Mind you, these were people … read more»

Available Until
Wed 11/27

Reading by Flashlight

by Kay Kenyonon the His Dark Materials series

Hey, what’s with this Philip Pullman hijacking fantastic literature and taking a gazillion readers along for the ride? Whether among young readers or adults, Pullman’s trilogy is sending people into a buying– and reading–frenzy. Proclaimed by some reviewers as an adult read worthy of our best literature, His Dark Materials … read more»

Available Until
Tue 11/26

Psychology Bad

by Ed Connoron shows created by Joss Whedon

In the Buffyverse, the bad guys are arch-demons and their minions. Their most potent and fearsome weapon is magic. In the Firefly ’verse, the bad guys are Alliance government higher-ups (“key members of parliament”) and their operatives. What is their most powerful and frightening weapon? It’s not military–armed conflict is … read more»

Available Until
Mon 11/25

An Analysis of Slayer Longevity

by Tracy R. Gleason, Nancy S. Weinfieldon shows created by Joss Whedon

“A Slayer with family and friends. That sure as hell wasn’t in the brochure.”

-Spike, “School Hard” (2-4)

The following report has been commissioned by a concerned party who seeks to understand issues related to slayer effectiveness and longevity. Once called, slayers, due to the nature of their mission, have … read more»