# A. J. Black on Popular Culture Essays, books and podcasts on film, TV and popular culture. Page: Feed: --- ## [Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Pt 7: 'The Pen is Mightier than the Sword'](https://ajblack.substack.com/p/indiana-jones-and-the-last-crusade-abc) _2026-08-19 · A. J. Black_ It's a rescue, old boy! ## [No Laughing Matter: Men Behaving Badly (Pt 2)](https://ajblack.substack.com/p/no-laughing-matter-men-behaving-badly-505) _2026-08-17 · A. J. Black_ The cult of laddism begins with the BBC's third and fourth seasons... ## [In Count Binface, popular culture has a new political hero](https://ajblack.substack.com/p/in-count-binface-popular-culture) _2026-08-15 · A. J. Black_ The ‘establishment’ figure now better known than ever… ## [Escaping Reality](https://ajblack.substack.com/p/escaping-reality) _2026-08-14 · A. J. Black_ The feel good TV effect of Ted Lasso, Sex Education and more... ## [Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Pt 6: 'Papers, Please!'](https://ajblack.substack.com/p/indiana-jones-and-the-last-crusade-be4) _2026-08-12 · A. J. Black_ I suddenly remembered my Charlemagne... ## [50 Years On: Five films from August 1976](https://ajblack.substack.com/p/film-at-50-5-films-from-august-1976) _2026-08-10 · A. J. Black_ The Shootist, Obsession, The Ritz and more... ## [The Bond Corner: The Men Who Could Be Bond](https://ajblack.substack.com/p/the-bond-corner-the-men-who-could) _2026-08-07 · A. J. Black_ Does anyone do it better? ## [What I'm Watching: The Bear, House of the Dragon & Ann Droid!](https://ajblack.substack.com/p/what-im-watching-the-bear-house-of) _2026-08-05 · A. J. Black_ Dragons, robots and some intense cooking... ## [No Laughing Matter: Men Behaving Badly (Pt 1)](https://ajblack.substack.com/p/no-laughing-matter-men-behaving-badly) _2026-08-03 · A. J. Black_ The first two 'different' ITV series... ## [Spider-Man: Brand New Day is all about letting go of the MCU we loved](https://ajblack.substack.com/p/spider-man-brand-new-day-is-all-about) _2026-07-31 · A. J. Black_ A fourth film that tries to please two different masters... ## [Trade Bitcoin and Ethereum Today (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/iGELiD3yfJzv) _2026-07-31 · **Sponsored**_ Buy, sell, and margin trade BTC and ETH with EUR, USD, CAD, GBP, or JPY. ## [Spider-Man: No Way Home is a rollicking, reality-breaking adventure](https://ajblack.substack.com/p/spider-man-no-way-home-is-a-rollicking) _2026-07-29 · A. J. Black_ Three for the price of one... ## [Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Pt 5: "Into the Lion's Den"](https://ajblack.substack.com/p/indiana-jones-and-the-last-crusade-04b) _2026-07-28 · A. J. Black_ A race against evil... ## [Spider-Man: Far From Home is a fun, frothy but never throwaway Endgame comedown](https://ajblack.substack.com/p/spider-man-far-from-home-is-a-fun) _2026-07-27 · A. J. Black_ A school trip to never forget... ## [Spider-Man: Homecoming is a confident coming of age tale](https://ajblack.substack.com/p/spider-man-homecoming-is-a-confident) _2026-07-24 · A. J. Black_ Not quite yet doing everything a Spider-Man can... ## [Avengers: Doomsday invites a new era of ‘legacyquel’ filmmaking](https://ajblack.substack.com/p/avengers-doomsday-invites-a-new-era) _2026-07-23 · A. J. Black_ They’re bringing an old kind of party to you... ## [Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Pt 4: "Don't Call Me Junior!"](https://ajblack.substack.com/p/indiana-jones-and-the-last-crusade-34d) _2026-07-22 · A. J. Black_ Well, it was rather wonderful... ## [Nolan Variations: His Turn, Pledge and Prestige](https://ajblack.substack.com/p/nolan-variations-his-turn-pledge) _2026-07-20 · A. J. Black_ Are you watching closely? ## [Nolan Variations: Dunkirk](https://ajblack.substack.com/p/nolan-variations-dunkirk) _2026-07-19 · A. J. Black_ And his cinematic ideology... ## [The Odyssey of Christopher Nolan](https://ajblack.substack.com/p/the-odyssey-of-christopher-nolan) _2026-07-18 · A. J. Black_ A style. A theme. A link. A thesis. ## [The terrifying, dystopian finale of Brookside](https://ajblack.substack.com/p/the-terrifying-dystopian-finale-of) _2026-07-17 · A. J. Black_ Soap opera nightmare fuel... ## [Sync Bookmarks Everywhere (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/g52OIe3VvcQv) _2026-07-17 · **Sponsored**_ Two-way sync keeps folders and toolbar intact across Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. ## [Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: Pt 3 - “X Marks the Spot!”](https://ajblack.substack.com/p/indiana-jones-and-the-last-crusade-175) _2026-07-15 · A. J. Black_ God be with you on your quest…