ISSUE THREE EXPLOITS JUNE 2018 an UN WINNABLE publication

ART vs. ARTIST by KHEE HOON CHAN

THE BALLAD OF BLACK TOM • MONSTER HUNTER WORLD • PERSEPOLIS • FREAKAZOID • TOUCHE AMORE • Editor in Chief | Stu Horvath

Exploits

Managing Editor | Melissa King

Music Editor | Ed Coleman

Books Editor | Gavin Craig

Movies Editor | Amanda Hudgins

Television Editor | Sara Clemens

Games Editor | Alyse Stanley

Cover art by Robert Hunt, from The Ballad of Black Tom

Copyright © 2018 by Unwinnable LLC Unwinnable 820 Chestnut Street All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof Kearny, NJ 07032 may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission www.unwinnable.com of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. For more information, email: [email protected] Unwinnable LLC does not claim copyright of the screenshots and promotional imagery herein. Subscribe | Store | Submissions Copyright of all screenshots within this publication are owned by their respective companies This machine kills fascists. ART vs. ARTIST by Khee Hoon Chan

ike most sullen, angsty teenagers from the ‘90s, I was obsessed with emo, whil- Ling my days away on music from brooding white boys like Taking Back Sunday, Brand New and Hawthorne Heights. Brand New’s music had a huge presence in my formative years, with frontman Jesse Lacey’s dour posturing, caviling howls and logorrheic lyrics giving voice to the inexplicable emotions of teenhood. However, in light of revelations about his sexual violence, their songs have become abhorrent and unlistenable. The joy of listening has been replaced by outrage and guilt, as if my enjoyment made me complicit in his crimes. To reconcile enjoyment of a work with the revolting toxicity of their creator, some propose we separate the art from the artist. In the 1967 essay “The Death of the Author,” French critic Roland Barthes posits that the work and its creator should be perceived as unrelated to one another. This is about disregarding the author’s views, religion, ethnicity, psychology or personal attributes when interpreting their writing. Yet, plenty of works are intrinsically tied to the creators’ psyche – especially for the majority of emo bands and, for instance, the self-deprecating humor of comedian Louis C.K. – and it’s impossible to consume these media without bringing them up. Worse, some industries have overlooked the atrocities of their most bankable stars for decades, justifying that art should be beyond the scope of punishment while perpetrators are forgiven upon the slightest of apologies. From the moment we accept the idea of separating the art and its artist, we become culpable of the latter’s transgressions. It allows us to stave off epidemics of abuse, freeing us to continue enjoying the works of talented offenders as a fan. To do oth- erwise and confront the reprehensible origins of the media we consume can be chal- lenging, because they are often intrinsic to our identity. We take immense pride in the things we love. It’s impossible for me to ignore the pang of sentimentality when I listen to Brand New’s “The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows,” but I can’t sim- ply park the multiple sexual allegations – which include years of manipulation and child grooming by Lacey – at the back of my mind as I listen to his band’s music. To draw the distinction between art and artist would be a morally reprehensible move. So, how can we move on? I’m afraid there isn’t an easy answer. We can start by believing victims when they speak out against their abusers. We can support artists who are more deserving of our time. Most of all, when similar waves of revelations spreads across the media we love, we should focus our efforts into reducing our complicity in these systems – and ensure that abusers the likes of Jesse Lacey, Louis C.K. and Bill Cosby will never be able to stage a comeback.U MUSIC

TOUCHE AMORE – Hardcore punk is a by two minor car crashes, relationships gone youth-driven genre. Few bands last longer wrong, money shortages, and a postponed than a few records before quitting, or evolving college graduation due to a clerical error. It beyond its creative boundaries. To wit, there all culminated in developing a stress-induced were reasons Ian MacKaye and company left anxiety disorder (which a college counselor Minor Threat behind, and eventually formed said was similar to a mild form of PTSD). Fugazi (no disrespect to either). When healthy coping mechanisms failed, To an extent, Touche Amore are an excep- those records kept my head above water. The tion to this rule. The Burbank-based five- cover art for their first LP, a stark black-and- piece have been around since 2007, releasing white sketch of a kid biking headlong into a four full-length albums along with over a rainstorm, mirrored my own sense of going dozen splits and EPs, maturing their sound it alone against impossible odds. Underneath without abandoning their roots. The band’s the darkness of frontman Jeremy Bolm’s lyr- early records were the soundtrack to the most ics, though, a knack for anthemic dynamics difficult parts of my mid-20s (I’m now over driven by frantic guitars and a pummeling 30), confronting themes of anxiety, self-sabo- rhythm section lent those songs an urgent tage and other light-hearted topics for dinner sense of life-affirming optimism. table discussion. They acknowledged things were bad, but Between the release of their 2009 debut gave me the push to keep going anyway. full-length … to the beat of a dead horse and Recently, the band released a single titled 2011’s Parting the Sea Between Brightness and “Green.” That would imply they’ll be announc- Me, I hit an almost comically dark stretch of ing a new release soon. If so, it’ll be the first bad luck, made worse by lack of adequate self- new Touche Amore record I’ve spent much care. A major family crisis was compounded time with since 2013’s Is Survived By, having MUSIC mostly bypassed 2016’s Stage Four. That isn’t P LAY L I ST because it’s a bad record. On the contrary, “Bet Ain’t Worth the Hand,” by Leon Bridges it’s easily their best work to date, and maybe even a generational high-water mark. It’s just “Infrared,” by Pusha T too emotionally raw to casually consume. “Le temps de l’amour,” by Francoise Hardy Dealing directly with the death of Bolm’s “The Moor,” by Lebanon Hanover mother, it’s an unflinching exploration of mortality and depression (the fourth stage of “This Is America,” by Childish Gambino grief). He talks about losing patience when “I’m Deranged,” by David Bowie she wouldn’t eat while in a degenerative state (“Flowers of You”), and intentionally ignor- “Bubblin,” by Anderson .Paak ing the phone call informing him she had “It’s Gonna Be A Beautiful Night,” by Prince passed away moments before taking the stage on tour (“Eight Seconds”). It’s a meditation “Summon Satan,” by Advance Base on grief, guilt and the emptiness that settles “Disco 2000,” by Pulp in when you’ve run out of second chances with the ones you love. “Honeycomb,” by Deafheaven It’s not ideal office music. Then again, it “Q.U.E.E.N.,” by Janelle Monae isn’t meant to be. It’s abrasive, unforgiving “Heir,” by Public Memory and the best record ever written that I can’t handle hearing. Maybe one day it’ll find its “You Dropped A Bomb On Me,” by The Gap Band way into my regular listening rotation. For “Lunacy,” by Swans now though, I’m not crying. You’re the one fucking crying. “State Trooper,” by Bruce Springsteen – BEN SAILER Listen now on Spotify BOOKS

The BALLAD of BLACK TOM – With The Ballad of Black Tom, Victor LaValle accom- plishes something amazing. In it, LaValle revisits H.P. Lovecraft’s story “The Horror at Red Hook.” Lovecraft wrote the story during a period of culture shock when he left his sheltered existance in Provi- dence to live in a New York City teeming with immigrants and minorities. His wife later recalled that, when he found himself in a racially mixed crowd, Lovecraft would nearly lose his mind with rage. The resulting fiction is easily the man’s most explicitly and hys- terically racist work. LaValle retells through the perspective of Tommy Tester, a black man. The beats will be familiar, even if you haven’t read Lovecraft: A rich old white guy named Robert Suydam attempts to use dark magic to remake the world and things go ter- ribly wrong. When they do, it is Tommy, not Suydam, who stands at the center of things, supernaturally transformed and vengeful. Lovecraft’s work has long been synonymous LaValle hews closely to the structure of the with cosmic horror, despite the absurdity of original story and is adept at deploying outré something as limitless as the universe being chills in Lovecraft’s mode, but the cosmically contained within the ideas of just one deeply indifferent entities that lurk on the edges of flawed man. In recent years, many creators the page pale in comparison to the raw hor- have expanded the definition of cosmic hor- ror of every day racism that Tommy experi- ror beyond the boundaries of Lovecraft. In ences when he becomes embroiled in Suy- The Ballad of Black Tom, I see what I hope is a dam’s schemes. When Suydam tries to recruit definitive schism. In retelling Lovecraft’s most Tommy, he attempts to instill in him an awe racist story from a black perspective and using for that cosmic indifference that characterizes Lovecraft’s own tricks to do it, LaValle creates so much of Lovecraft’s work (after all, what the paradox of a Lovecrafian story that Love- does a rich white man fear more than being craft would not have written. Could not have ignored?). For Tommy, though, living as he is written. It is matter and antimatter touching, in a New York City where being black means a big bang rippling out to create a desperately being considered less than human, fear is a needed new cosmos that can be more than constant presence in his daily life. As he says just indifferent, where rich old white men and after the unjust murder of his father by the outer gods alike can know fear. police, “Indifference would be such a relief.” – Stu Horvath BOOKS

BABEL-17/EMPIRE STAR – The best part of Samuel R. Delany’s writing – among its many, many virtues – is the way he makes the strange seem effortless. If part of the purpose of science fiction is to help readers imagine worlds beyond the limitations of the one we inhabit, too often those limitations seem to be strictly technological. What if we could finally travel faster than light? What if VR let us indulge all of our least interesting pop- culture-driven fantasies? What if I just read something else? While there is a laudable tradition of sci-fi allegory – current social problems lightly disguised in order to sneak past our most defensive and knee-jerk filters – Del- LAST DAYS – It was recently pointed out to aney stands with a handful of writers in push- me that Brian Evenson is the author of two ing the assumptions of our most intimate dismemberment-filled Dead Space prequel social constructions. What if the demands novels. Having just finished his sort-of novel of navigating interstellar space required Last Days, I can see why he got the job. Last sustained emotional and physical intimacy Days consists of two previously published between at least three people? What does it novellas. The first concerns a detective, really look and feel like when the limitations Kline, investigating a murder among mem- and possibilities of a new language shift the bers of a cult that believes that amputation way you see the world and construct your- brings one closer to god (as the man said: if self? What if a poet had to save the galaxy your eye offends you, pluck it out). Things with a space pirate whose language has no turn out poorly for all involved. The second first-person pronouns? What if more books novella is a direct sequel, charting the cult’s were like this? attempted revenge on Kline and his struggle – Gavin Craig to be free of them. That turns out even worse. Last Days is profoundly disturbing, but not THE LAST SAMURAI – In Helen Dewitt’s Tom for the ghoulish details you might imagine in Cruise-unrelated novel, a boy needs a father a book about a cult called the Brotherhood figure. If one regular father is good, then of Mutilation. Evenson’s prose is remark- seven must be better, so his mother has the ably restrained and descriptions minimal. In boy watch The Seven Samurai almost daily. removing the vivid descriptions the reader A compelling book about the limitations of expects, Evenson finds a deeper, more tran- genius, the fragility of masculinity, and the scendent horror that resembles his dismem- delicious complexities of language. bered subjects in both form and spirit. – Levi Rubeck – Stu HOrvath MOVIES

PERSEPOLIS – Persepolis is like a child’s Iran’s culture isn’t a pretty process and Perse- blanket to me. The smooth movement of its polis doesn’t try to portray it as one. black-and-white animation, familiar now In one of the movie’s most relatable after dozens of viewing, comforts me; its dul- moments, what nearly destroys our fierce cet, ambling tones when played in its original protagonist isn’t her country falling into chaos French lull me to sleep. The way protagonist around her, but instead (true to teenage angst) Marjane stays defiant despite all the crap she’s a boy’s cheating and the depressive spiral that born in to never fails to inspire me. follows. To admit this embarrasses her – dou- In a post-Shah Iran, she grows up rebellious bly so, considering the movie is autobiograph- and proud, her personality a stark contrast to ical for the artist and writer, Marjane Satrapi – the image of femininity the new regime cul- but these achingingly candid experiences also tivates. It puts a target on her back, one that bring her to life, developing her beyond the drives her from the country during her teen- stereotypical script of a badass woman. age years as her family fears for her safety. Not Marjane’s tale reeks of humanity, and her even ostracization can curb her fire, though, unashamed telling of it all always makes me and when she finally returns to her home, she feel a little more at home in my own skin. She remains every bit as ready to challenge the pokes fun at herself and the seriousness she’s injustice she sees. born into, because her sense of humor is her What truly makes this an inspiring tale is life raft as she wrestles between loving her how Marjane laces instances of her unfail- country and loving herself. ing humanity into her story. While she fails So few stories make it to Western media to consider her safety when lashing out at about living in the Middle East and fewer still friends and armed police alike, her family is cast that experience in anything but a negative quick to remind her of the danger and her tri- light; Persepolis tells a story of Iranian people umph quickly melts to shame. Contorting her being people, and we need more of them. independent spirit to fit within the confines of – Alyse Stanley MOVIES

PY E WAC K E T – Adam MacDonald’s first fea- ture film, Backcountry, was a survival horror film that positions the natural world as the implacable enemy. His follow-up takes a deli- ciously supernatural turn, charting the fall- out from a black magic ritual a teenage girl performs to take revenge upon her mother. THOR: RAGNAROK – I wish all Marvel The heavy metal trappings of the magic movies were directed by Taika Waititi. His is good fun, but the entity Leah calls up is comedy bleeds into every scene of Thor: anything but – Pyewacket’s first appearance Ragnarok, and its characters manage to retain in the film made my blood run cold. I actu- every bit of charm despite the constant jok- ally had to rewind to fully comprehend what ing. In behind the scenes footage, the actors I saw, which is no small accomplishment talk constantly about the joys of working on for a horror film, let alone one on a budget. set and it shows in their performances. It’s a The rest of the dread-filled proceedings are joy to watch, and the superhero flick I always fairly by the numbers, though admirably suggest for those who hate superhero flicks. restrained. You’ll cotton to where the film is – Alyse Stanley going, but won’t ever be quite sure which side of the coin the ending is going to land on. – Stu Horvath DEADPOOL 2 – Eh, it was fun! Ryan Reynolds delivers the high-octane version of snark he’s been honing since Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place, Zazie Beetz’s Domino is a cheeky badass (like a black Black Widow, as Deadpool quips? Sure, but also less bored and with more self-aware silliness), while Josh Brolin and Julian Dennison manage some depth as new antagonists Cable and Firefist, respectively. It’s a comicbook movie that knows it’s a comicbook movie and, while it’s heavy-handed about knowing that you know that it knows, it’s still a fun and explodey way GODZILLA (1954) – There’s something sort of to spend a couple of hours. timeless about this film, fitting perhaps that – Sara Clemens this movie bears the closest resemblance to the most recent Japanese Godzilla film Shin Godzilla. It’s a disaster movie, except the disaster is a giant walking lizard and the movie never blinks an eye at the ridiculousness of it. – AMANDA HUDGINS TELEVISION

FREAKAZOID! – The 1990s were a Cave of mated Series, which shares a Bruce Timm and Wonders in terms of cartoons. A digression Paul Dini connection (their original idea for from their brethren of the 1980s, these new Freakazoid! was much more serious). Bat- cartoons weren’t just a collection of 30-min- man followed all kinds of rules (you can, and ute commercials designed to sell plastic and should, read the show’s bible online). Freaka- sugar. Sure, merchandising remained, but not zoid! didn’t have any rules, or even a concept on the same level as the He-Men, Transform- of rules. This isn’t hyperbole – the creators ers or G.I. Joes of the previous decade. said they didn’t have time to make a show I could list my favorite cartoons of the bible and made things up as they went, going 1990s and exhaust my word count with just so far as to improv during recording sessions. the titles. There were plenty of great cartoons (There’s a great featurette about this on the in the 1990s, but there were also a lot of great Season One DVD.) weird cartoons. Perhaps the crown jewel of Freakazoid! was weird, absurd, hilarious them is the much beloved (by some) and and bizarre (how many kids’ shows referenced underappreciated (by many) Freakazoid! both Ed Wood and F-Troop?). I savored every Freakazoid! was insane, but in every good single frame. Freakazoid! is not only one of way possible - a superhero spoof, like the my all-time favorite cartoons, but a huge oft-maligned film Mystery Men, that was influence on my own comics and cartooning. years ahead of its time. While out of place on The main character broke the fourth wall, network TV of 1995, Freakazoid! would have cracked jokes, had zany asides and lived in his been right at home on the Adult Swim of the own absurd reality where there were little to early 2000s alongside The Venture Bros.or no consequences to his actions. Let me put it Harvey Birdman. Heck, even today with Rick this way: make a G-rated version of the film and Morty. Deadpool with less pegging jokes and you In many ways, Freakazoid! was the oppo- basically have Freakazoid! site of its contemporary, Batman: The Ani- – Daniel J. Hogan TELEVISION

DATELINE MYSTERY – Sometimes a person needs to sleep or work, and there’s something deeply soothing about the voices of Dateline carefully explaining to you deeply terrible crimes in their voices that never rise above mild outrage. – Amanda Hudgins

LEGION – Legion’s first season was a favorite, but the second’s episodes are a little hit or miss. It still has the capacity to astonish with mind-bending explorations of its characters’ inner psyches and various alternate timelines, but there are far too many (very pretty!) shots of people driving and/or wandering around the desert for my taste. More strange dance breaks and less variations on the line “we need to find the body,” please. We get it! – Sara Clemens

ERASED – Erased is the story of a man who discovered his latent abilities to reverse time just before a life-threatening experience. But when an unknown assailant killed his mother, he instead found himself travelling back in time to his childhood. While every episode starts and ends with an emotional crescendo, giving its audience barely enough time to catch their breath, the anime is let down by a feeble ending that hinted at unex- pected budget constraints. Watch till Episode 10, then continue with the manga. – Khee Hoon Chan GAMES

MONSTER HUNTER: WORLD – Since Monster This is in part because repetition is a main Hunter: World’s release a few months ago, I’ve feature of the game. Our entire squad needs been questing nearly every week with four of the elusive Val Hazaak’s little fangs for differ- my oldest friends. Our valiant squad of hunt- ent crafting projects, and we’ve fought that rot ers goes by the name “Team Time” (a deeply dragon countless times. Also, every weapon’s silly inside joke). combos have rhythmic and almost meditative We are: Amanda (truly a Monster Hunter inputs, so I rarely think about my hands on sage who normally uses the longsword); Kati the controller. Using the glaive almost feels (also an expert Monster Hunter veteran. Insect like playing an instrument. And, of course, glaive mainly); Morgan (the most versatile wielding the fascinating but super technical with weapons, but often uses the hammer; hunting horn actually is playing music. and me (I die the most. I’m the other glaive). Because of the gameplay’s repetitive nature, We are all 30 now, but our squad goes way our conversations will turn on a dime. We will back to the halcyon days of elementary school. go from, “Deviljo’s here! Does anyone have a The four of us never fell out of touch per say, poop bomb?!” to a chat about anything: land- but life has definitely moved us around, so we lord issues, the stress of debt, gardening, mov- don’t hang out or have adventures in person ies we’ve seen recently, etc. I remember rant- as we once did. That’s whereMonster Hunter: ing about my struggle to get health insurance World comes in. while we all wailed on a fallen Rathalos (I still Mindfulness is crucial in Monster Hunter’s don’t have insurance, but that is the subject of engaging and tense combat. It is certainly not another piece). Playing together has been a a game about gunning down wave after wave way for us all to connect via the internet that of enemy grunts. One moment we’ll be on top is vastly different from, say, liking each other’s of things, but then a Bazeguese’s bombs deto- posts on Instagram. Monster Hunter feels like nate, wiping us out in one fell swoop. At the we are going on a hike together. A hike where same time, though, much of Monster Hunter’s we fight a fire-breathing T-Rex. gameplay becomes second nature, like muscle – NICK VOGT memory. GAMES

TACO MA – I have a few problems with The Fullbright Company’s foray into science fiction, but if you’re looking for quality narrative writing, Tacoma sets the bar. The developers never waste a word, using every last line to build empathy or progress the story. And while its attempt at crafting a moral quandary fell flat, it manages to fully humanize no less than half a dozen characters in the span of a few hours. Most forty hour games fail to make me care for their NPCs as much as Tacoma did. And it’s all in the little hints of life they sprinkle throughout, the college acceptance letter, the failed job application, the brief moments between lovers as tragedy looms larger on the horizon. They all have lives, and its exactly because you don’t know every last thing about them that makes them feel real. – Alyse Stanley

An occasional floating simulator that feels like watching ghosts, but really you are the ghost, haunting a doomed luxury THE PLAN – Please don’t mistake this for Th3 space station. Needed more unions and Plan, a stealth-action game developed by Eko interactivity, but I was ultimately charmed System. Instead, The Plan by Krillbrite Studio by the AI Odin, as the main characters were, is an experimental title on the ephemeral life and the final revelation. of a housefly, flittering towards the heavens – Levi Rubeck as a stirring rhapsody plays on. It reminds me of the sad, minute existence of a mayfly, whose sole purpose is to reproduce and die; mother nature doesn’t even grant them the pleasure of eating, scornfully relieving them of functional mouthparts. But when the fly ascends to its inevitable end, do just spend only a few moments pondering its nihilistic message – life does have so much more to offer. – Khee Hoon Chan INTERROGATIVE

Who are you and what do you do?

I’m Jan Willem Nijman! I recently made a game called Minit, together with Kitty Calis, Jukio Kallio and Dominik Johann. I’m also 50% of Vlambeer, which I co-founded with Rami Ismail. We made games such as Nuclear Throne, Ridiculous Fishing, etc. I’m mainly a game designer, but I like to program that myself. My favorite activity is eating.

Why do you do what you do?

When I was around 11, I saw a magazine in the library called CompuKids and there was a small article about a program called Game Maker. With the article was a screenshot of Super Metroid (for some reason?), which I had never seen before and thought looked super cool. It’s now 17 years later and I’m still making games with Game Maker. As to why: I love giving people new experiences from the safety of their homes.

What is the most dangerous thing you’ve ever done?

Visit the USA.

What is a creative work that has changed you and how did it do so?

I like impressionist fiction, whether it’s literature or cinema or games. Things like Flywrench, Killing of a Chinese Bookie, Dhalgren. They’re all works that leave you feeling like you didn’t really pay attention, like a vague memory even if you’re right there. It’s a feeling I often have just going through life, so if it’s intentional in art it feels really self-affirming. I also love getting into new music genres. First you find something you actually like and then you find yourself unironically listening to dancehall.

What is your least favorite thing?

My favorite least favorite thing actually belongs to Kitty Calis: wet socks. It’s such a good answer to this question, but I guess I don’t mind that much. Probably nationalism?

Eat the rich?

Yeah, it makes sense.

Interrogation conducted by Stu Horvath