M's Media Menagerie

Thoughtful Dumping Grounds

Trope: Symbolism is a Neon Sign

The symbolism is really easy to read and interpret, veering into the point of obvious. I’m talking about thorned crowns on Jesus figures, a character literally drowning to show they’re drowning in grief, a big sign that says “THIS IS WHAT IS BAD— SEE IT!”

Homestead

⭐⭐

Action, Drama, Pew Pew

I did not care for this movie. It was overacted, overdone, corny. Lot of masculine games going on until Ian gets shot and Jenna lets them all in and there’s, like. Faith stuff. Basically criticizing the need to hoard materials and prepper culture in the face of WWJD and stuff. That’s the good part, actually,
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I Found a Lost Hallway in a Dying Mall

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Somewhere among the shuttered stores… Lisa hears a call for help. She finds her senile old coworker, Saswin, lost in an abandoned hallway. He’s talking to a circle of mannequins, their limbs twisted and fused in unnatural ways. When Lisa looks away, she swears the mannequins have moved… And that this abandoned hallway has grown
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The Substance

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Horror, SciFi

In the pursuit of youth and beauty, you rob yourself. That’s the most basic message in the Substance. The very least you can get from it. But we can expand on that, can’t we? The disposal of aging women in our society, the need to meet male standards for women’s beauty, the men in position
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Darlin’

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is a short werewolf story and gods, it’s gorgeous. The linework is nice, and the main characters are great. And finding out that there’s a greater story descended from this one??? AUTHOR’S NOTE:This comic functions as a spiritual (rather than canonical/chronological) predecessor to my current long-form comic, DARLIN’ AND HER OTHER NAMES. This original comic is a loose
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The Purge: Election Year

⭐⭐⭐

Action, Horror, Pew Pew

I find it funny that this movie came out in 2016, when Trump won the office for his first term. Like the other Purge film I talked about, the symbolism is in-your-face, criticizing the current government and begging people to trust the system and using their vote to change things rather than taking direct action.
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The Purge: Anarchy

⭐⭐⭐

Action, Horror, Pew Pew

As I watched it, I was laughing to myself. No wonder it is so popular a series. For people like me, it’s a criticism of the government putting systems in place that fuck over the lower class in order to build a world where those on top stay on top, enjoying the fruits of the
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Welcome to the Menagerie.

Here is where M logs their media activity. Partly because Goodreads is forgettable and keeping physical logs is harder. Sometimes M writes a lot. Sometimes M doesn’t write enough. It doesn’t matter. This is just a for-fun little blog so that M can remember what they thought about whatever they watched or read or played or. Whatever.

What is M?

I read. Voraciously. I have subscriptions to those book things on digital retailers. I consume books at nearly all hours. The hours I don’t spend reading? I’m writing. I’m drawing. I have a problem. I have a problem in that I love to read things that are in the same vein repeatedly. Book journals don’t work and as much as I text my friends screenshots of book passages, it doesn’t scratch the itch. Now I’m going to be doing… tiny… tiny book reports.

Truck-Kun Kill Count:

10

Books & Light Novels Read in 2025: 19/50

38%

Comics Read in 2026: 39/200

19%

Physical Owned Books Read: 477/830

58%

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