The Punisher, or The Danger of Rooting for Villains

The Punisher, or The Danger of Rooting for Villains

I recently watched The Punisher series on Netflix. I was hesitant going in. Not because I thought it would be bad, quite the opposite. John Bernthal is terrific, absolutely compelling to watch. The whole production team did a spectacular job. And they almost – almost...
Meditations on Violence, Vol. 1

Meditations on Violence, Vol. 1

Lately I've been thinking a lot about violence.  This is nothing particularly new. I write historical novels that involve war and swashbuckling adventure. I act in classical theatre, with swordfights galore. I design violence for the stage and for film, and...
Rage, Determination, and Art

Rage, Determination, and Art

Before the National Endowment for the Arts, there was the WPA, the Works Progress Administration, which supported the rise of visual artists such as Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Lee Krasner, Mark Rothko, Arshile Gorky, Philip Guston, Thomas Hart Benton and...

The Rules Of Violence

There’s been a great deal of talk about violence in media (meaning film and video-games), painting all fictional violence with a damning brush. It’s an important conversation, and one I’d like to have. But I’m not for toning down the violence in film. I’m for...