Allegory of the Man Cave
film, culture Shawn Quek film, culture Shawn Quek

Allegory of the Man Cave

The audience can’t help but stare and laugh and squirm as Craig grapples with the loneliness threatening to tear his life apart.

The film doesn’t treat male loneliness as either pathology or punchline. It just lets it exist, raw and unresolved. Maybe that’s the point.

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The War on “Woke”
culture, criticism Shawn Quek culture, criticism Shawn Quek

The War on “Woke”

What on earth is a woke scone?

A snack with a land acknowledgement? A pastry that self-identifies as a croissant? A radical leftist baked good demanding reparations for colonial tea plantations? No. Apparently, it’s just a scone without butter…

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Does Could Imply Should?
culture, film Shawn Quek culture, film Shawn Quek

Does Could Imply Should?

Not even the broad shoulders of Jack Black as Steve could carry this picture to success.

Ultimately, the creators of this picture were so absorbed with whether or not they could, they forgot to ask whether or not they should.

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The Wealth of Unicorns
culture, film Shawn Quek culture, film Shawn Quek

The Wealth of Unicorns

In the world of finance, a unicorn is something to be caught, dissected, and monetized.

In Death of a Unicorn, Alex Scharfman takes this premise to a grotesquely literal conclusion.

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Maroon Pilled: A Culture of Choice
culture, criticism Shawn Quek culture, criticism Shawn Quek

Maroon Pilled: A Culture of Choice

Consider Joe Rogan, the barbarian Khan of podcasting.

His cultural influence is immense, his ideological commitments slippery, his posture one of insatiable curiosity—unless it comes to skepticism toward institutions, reverence for a vague ideal of masculinity, and a deep distrust of intellectual elites.

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