Category: First

Return to the Sewer with the Alligators

This year marks the 20th anniversary of The Cultural Gutter. Author and game developer Jim Munroe founded The Cultural Gutter and posted his first essay here on May 22, 2003. In 2004, Jim invited comic artist and critic Guy Leshinski to join the Gutter. They created a manifesto […]

The Sci-Fi Life

My first memories are of Ultraman, the Adam West Batman show, and something about jumping into a dumpster — but let’s leave that one out for now. It was probably related to one of the first two anyway. I vividly remember being mesmerized by Ultraman. From there, raised […]

The Social Relevance of Jackassery

Jackass isn’t as stupid as it seems on the surface. I mean, there’s no question it’s jackassery and that’s the main draw, but it’s also an interesting cultural project. When the series premiered on MTV in 2000, it was a lo-tech, low budget show created and produced by […]

DANGEROUS BECAUSE IT HAS A PHILOSOPHY

It’s Science Fiction Editor Ian Driscoll’s thoughts on the cultural gutter. ~~~ In Videodrome, shortly before the arrival of the least sexy waiter in the history of cinema (no link for this, you’ll just have to go rent the movie), Max Renn (James Woods, no hyperlink needed) and […]

Love For Sale

It’s Romance Editor Chris Szego on the cultural gutter! ~~~ It is an untruth universally acknowledged that a woman in possession of a romance novel must be in want of A) wits, B) a social life, or C) both. I read romance, and frankly don’t care what other […]