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Marc DiPaolo
Marc DiPaolo is associate professor of English and film at Oklahoma City University. He wrote War, Politics and Superheroes (2011) and Emma Adapted (2007). He is editor of Godly Heretics and Unruly Catholics from Dante to Madonna, and coeditor (with Bryan Cardinale-Powell) of Devised and Directed by Mike Leigh (all 2013). His personal web site is here.
MAGAZINE CONTENT BY MARC DIPAOLO (29 TOTAL)
How Movies Stereotype and Demonize College Professors
British and American films about college professors tend to depict them stereotypically—as atheistic alcoholic egomaniacs with social anxiety disorder and an uncontrollable desire to have sex with their students. Independent American films such as Smart… [more]
The Marx Brothers as Guardian Angels—Part 3: Harpo’s Magical Turn in Love Happy
Harpo himself wrote the storyline for the final Marx Brothers film, Love Happy, which features Groucho as narrating detective Sam Grunion and characterizes Harpo and Chico (a.k.a. Faustino the Great) as nearly supernatural figures. While… [more]
The Marx Brothers as Guardian Angels—Part 2: Chico Helps Fellow Poor Kids From Brooklyn
A Day at the Races was one of the most dramatically satisfying Marx Brothers films to feature a financially strapped romantic couple. However, it was not the only one to get the storytelling formula right.… [more]
Spotlighting Underrated Films: The Hit (1986)
Boy, do I love the poster for the Stephen Frears film The Hit. It looks like a super-cool 80s noir and it sports the wonderful tag line: “Even bad guys have bad days.” Now, the… [more]
The Marx Brothers as Guardian Angels of Young Lovers in Jeopardy–Part 1
Harpo! When did you seem like an angel the last time? And played the grey harp of gold? -Jack Kerouac, ”To Harpo Marx” Are the Marx Brothers believable guardian angels? It may be difficult to… [more]
Spotlighting Underrated Films: Jennifer’s Body (2009)
I have a soft spot for brave-but-flawed movies that are rewarded for their efforts with Worst Movie of the Year awards. Jennifer’s Body has its problems, but it is one of the best “mainstream” films… [more]
A Facebook Conversation About Pulp Fiction
I’m a Facebook addict, but it is a nice place to live when not visiting the material realm because I have cool friends. I know a lot of people who don’t like Facebook because their… [more]
A George R.R. Martin Drinking Game: Featuring Game of Thrones (HBO) and A Song of Ice and Fire (Books)
“Stephen King loves using ‘dime-sized’ as a descriptor,” Amy said. “’Dime-sized droplets of blood’ or ‘dime-sized holes in the wall’ or whatever. Everything is ‘dime-sized’ with him.” “Does that annoy you?” I asked. I had… [more]
Jane Austen, World War II Veteran: or, Churchill’s Cinematic Women Warriors
“You cannot make peace with dictators!” cries Lord Nelson. “You have to destroy them! Wipe them out!” In this over-determined dialogue from the 1941 film Lady Hamilton, the cinematic Nelson is calling for Napoleon’s blood… [more]
Race, Racism, and Italian-American Crimefighters – Part 4: The Punisher, Immigrants, and the Middle-Class Squeeze
This article appeared originally in the anthology Pimps, Wimps, Studs, Thugs, and Gentlemen (2009), edited by Elwood Watson. I’m reprinting it here because I believe it has things to say about Italian-Americans, law enforcement, and… [more]
Race, Racism, and Italian-American Crimefighters – Part 3: The Punisher, The Boondock Saints, and Bill O’Reilly
This article appeared originally in the anthology Pimps, Wimps, Studs, Thugs, and Gentlemen (2009), edited by Elwood Watson. I’m reprinting it here because I believe it has things to say about Italian-Americans, law enforcement, and… [more]
Sensual Female Guardian Angels: Luc Besson’s Early Films, Part 3
Not unlike the stereotypical “whore with a heart of gold,” the title character of Leon (1994) is a kind-hearted, Italian-American hit man with an ennobling ethical code. Leon Montana (Jean Reno) refuses to kill women… [more]
Race, Racism, and Italian-American Crimefighters, Part 2: The Punisher
This article appeared originally in the anthology Pimps, Wimps, Studs, Thugs, and Gentlemen (2009), edited by Elwood Watson. I’m reprinting it here because I believe it has things to say about Italian-Americans, law enforcement, and… [more]
Sensual Female Guardian Angels: Luc Besson’s Early Films, Part 2
The Fifth Element features a similarly incongruous love story between a retired-marine-turned-cabbie and a woman that is, literally, all the goodness and beauty humanity has to offer. The plot concerns a contest between the radically… [more]
Race, Racism, and Italian-American Crimefighters, Part 1: Columbo, the Untouchables, and Joe Pistone
This article appeared originally in the anthology Pimps, Wimps, Studs, Thugs, and Gentlemen (2009), edited by Elwood Watson. I’m reprinting it here because I believe it has things to say about Italian-Americans, law enforcement, and… [more]
Sensual Female Guardian Angels: Luc Besson’s Early Films, Part 1
In traditional Roman Catholic doctrine, God is represented as a masculine Holy Trinity (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit) that leaves little room for a feminized vision of either the Creator God or… [more]
Religion, Ethnicity, and Marxism in the Films of Sergio Leone
Children are gunned down in the street and in their homes. Women are forced into slavery, beaten, and raped. Men are slowly, methodically tortured. Lifelong friends casually – and sometimes inexplicably – betray one another.… [more]
Vampire Films and Catholicism
The vampire movies that are the most likely to treat issues of theology and religion seriously are the Gothic melodramas and the art house pictures, while the films in the other categories are more interested… [more]
Categorizing Vampire Movies
In their classic form, vampires are immortal, nonhuman beings who sustain themselves by drinking human blood. Sometimes referred to as nosferatu or wurdalak, vampires are most often portrayed as “undead” individuals who have come back… [more]
The Politics of Batman, Part 5: Batman Returns, Enron, and the Buying of American Democracy
I first saw the film Batman Returns when it was released in 1992. I was young and didn’t understand it. I found the Penguin disgusting. I had a sense that the movie was condemning American… [more]
The Politics of Batman, Part 4: Sex, Sexism, and the Dark Knight
[Note: The following is reprinted from the book War, Politics and Superheroes] One of the main problems Batman has had from the outset of his career as Feudal Lord crime fighter is that he cannot… [more]
Failing to Defend Anita Sarkeesian
Can you debate a critic of Anita Sarkeesian? Is discussion even possible on the topic? As a casual fan of Sarkeesian and her well-constructed, well-argued, and entertaining Feminist Frequency videos, I’ve been appalled to read… [more]
The Politics of Batman, Part 3: Understanding Batman’s Enemies
[Note: The following is reprinted from the book War, Politics and Superheroes] Aside from the fact that they are all, effectively, his “subjects,” Batman’s villains are connected to him in an even more visceral, symbolic way.… [more]
The Politics of Batman, Part 2: Batman Begins, Feudalism, and Neoconservatism
[Note: The following is reprinted from the book War, Politics and Superheroes] Batman Begins won the support of comic book aficionados across cyberspace as a “traditional” and pitch-perfect portrayal of Batman, while simultaneously providing a… [more]
The Politics of Batman, Part 1: Batman vs. Osama bin Laden
The following is an excerpt from the book War, Politics and Superheroes: When Frank Miller announced that he would be crafting a graphic novel in which Batman would confront real-world terrorist Osama bin Laden, journalists… [more]
Asterix the Gaul, Captain America, and Steroids
What if Tyrion Lannister had Popeye’s super powers? What if Thor had the appetite and I.Q. of Cookie Monster? What if the Spartacus universe was cross-pollinated with the Smurfs? Well, then you’d get Asterix, Obelix,… [more]
James Bond’s Scrambled Eggs Recipe and Ian Fleming’s Quirks
The James Bond films are, in many ways, fairly weird and offensive to notions of good taste, political correctness, and plausible storytelling, but many of us are used to their excesses and enjoy them as… [more]
Game of Thrones and True Blood: I Read the Audiobooks!
Eric Northman describes Oklahoma as empty, economically exploitable territory containing nothing but oilrigs and Indian casinos in Charlaine Harris’s final Sookie Stackhouse novel, Dead Ever After. While not all of Oklahoma matches this description, the… [more]
Dear Zack Snyder: Get Wonder Woman Right!
“You’ll never believe this, but the Dredd movie is fantastic!” my brother Brian informed me. “Oh?” I didn’t want to say that all I really cared about was the portrayal of Psi-Judge Anderson, but …… [more]