What would happen if you contracted a ghost through sexual intercourse and the only way to keep it from killing you was to give it to someone else? This is the premise of It Follows, a new horror film by David Robert Mitchell. The Whorer was lucky enough to catch a pre-release screening followed by a Q&A with an infectious disease epidemiologist and representatives from Nashville CARES and Planned Parenthood of Middle & East Tennessee.

Without wading too far into spoiler territory, we’ll infect you with some of the more interesting issues that surfaced in the Q&A. Hopefully this will add a few new perspectives to the film. Continue reading →

Back in May I posted some thoughts about Agents Scully and Mulder’s relationship throughout the first two seasons of X-Files and now I’m back to talk about it some more! And even though I’m well into season 6, I want to discuss some key things that happened in season 4.

1. Scully starts calling Mulder on his shit.

In the opening scene of episode 13, Scully does the unthinkable! While staring at Mulder’s name plate she inquires into why she doesn’t have a desk in their office. This is a question I’ve been asking ever since Scully refused to spy on Agent Mulder for the FBI, so it’s about damn time! Of course, in typical self-absorbed Mulder babble, Mulder responds, “I always assumed that was your area,” pointing to a corner. Scully replies, “Back there…” And smart-ass Mulder, a bit irritated and defensive, responds, “Okay, so we’ll have them send down another desk and there won’t be any room to move around here, but we can put them really close together. Face to face. Maybe we can play some Battleship.” Continue reading →

We have a nickname for Federal Agent Fox Mulder in our household and it’s Daddy Patriarchy! Although he has a “queer” perspective (an undying belief in and strong bias toward the paranormal) and is as critical (if not more) of the government as he is of the more “traditional” kinds of criminals in his cases, the dynamic with his partner, Agent Scully, often positions him as the authority.

Scully is the rational, objective part of the duo – examining evidence and exploring all possible scenarios. She basically follows Mulder around from case to case trying to put holes in his seemingly irrational theories. I don’t think I have to explain why this puppy dog act is offensive to women – especially to Scully who is every bit as qualified to do her job as Mulder. In the beginning of the series, he seems to entertain her company only because she has been assigned to work with him. Throughout the plot, their relationship does develop and he grows to genuinely care about her, however, I do not believe he comes to respect her as a professional. Even in an episode where Scully truly believes something paranormal is going on (episode 13, season 1), he writes her off and states that she may be too personally involved with the case and is thus, not looking at the evidence objectively. For one, Mulder’s entire career is fueled by his own subjective experience (check out episode 4, season 1 where we find out he believes his sister was abducted by aliens when they were children) and two, Scully is always respectful of his work as an FBI agent regardless of her own personal opinion. Continue reading →