Raffi Sarkissian
@rsark.bsky.social
queer Armenian, made in L.A., live in VA, teach at CNU
media studies, queer culture, film festivals, awards discourse
media studies, queer culture, film festivals, awards discourse
On my Survivor binge (season 34) and nothing made me gasp in more sheer pleasure this season than seeing Aubrey show up to her first tribal as jury member in FULL ON glorious 80s soap Queen/Polly Draper drag.
October 2, 2025 at 9:40 PM
On my Survivor binge (season 34) and nothing made me gasp in more sheer pleasure this season than seeing Aubrey show up to her first tribal as jury member in FULL ON glorious 80s soap Queen/Polly Draper drag.
Maybe there is a God? 🤔
September 15, 2025 at 12:57 AM
Maybe there is a God? 🤔
It is societal-level failure that, when I search, GIF keyboards and add ons don’t have Renée Zellweger’s (Oscar winning) speech.
“They call this war a cloud over the land but they made the weather. Then they stand in the rain and say, ‘shit, it’s raining!’”
“They call this war a cloud over the land but they made the weather. Then they stand in the rain and say, ‘shit, it’s raining!’”
July 7, 2025 at 2:27 PM
It is societal-level failure that, when I search, GIF keyboards and add ons don’t have Renée Zellweger’s (Oscar winning) speech.
“They call this war a cloud over the land but they made the weather. Then they stand in the rain and say, ‘shit, it’s raining!’”
“They call this war a cloud over the land but they made the weather. Then they stand in the rain and say, ‘shit, it’s raining!’”
If nobody corrects your (now deleted, after 25 days of obliviousness) misspelling of “Susan” in a Survivor post, do any of your followers ever have your back? 😋
July 6, 2025 at 5:46 PM
If nobody corrects your (now deleted, after 25 days of obliviousness) misspelling of “Susan” in a Survivor post, do any of your followers ever have your back? 😋
Okay, this was not a hard prediction after already seeing a month of grosses but 24 days later, I was on the dot!
June 4, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Okay, this was not a hard prediction after already seeing a month of grosses but 24 days later, I was on the dot!
Huh? But she *just* released Fetch the Bolt Cutters a year ago (two?).
*starts counting in pandemic*
Wait 🧐
*starts counting in pandemic*
Wait 🧐
May 9, 2025 at 1:54 PM
Huh? But she *just* released Fetch the Bolt Cutters a year ago (two?).
*starts counting in pandemic*
Wait 🧐
*starts counting in pandemic*
Wait 🧐
I'm bad at promoting myself but I have alot to promote coming up 🤓 so here is a peek of a book chapter I co-wrote with my colleague. It's not meant to be exhaustive but a start for others to fill in and build on.
My library has the whole book online. Reach out if you can't access it!
My library has the whole book online. Reach out if you can't access it!
May 4, 2025 at 5:57 PM
I'm bad at promoting myself but I have alot to promote coming up 🤓 so here is a peek of a book chapter I co-wrote with my colleague. It's not meant to be exhaustive but a start for others to fill in and build on.
My library has the whole book online. Reach out if you can't access it!
My library has the whole book online. Reach out if you can't access it!
The press quote from the o*ange dumpster fire below sounded familiar so I asked chatgpt...
April 30, 2025 at 6:25 PM
The press quote from the o*ange dumpster fire below sounded familiar so I asked chatgpt...
Less than 24 hours apart.
Nearly all the information needed to call the weekend number as at least $30M were available when the first of these was published on Thursday afternoon.
Nearly all the information needed to call the weekend number as at least $30M were available when the first of these was published on Thursday afternoon.
April 26, 2025 at 2:44 AM
Less than 24 hours apart.
Nearly all the information needed to call the weekend number as at least $30M were available when the first of these was published on Thursday afternoon.
Nearly all the information needed to call the weekend number as at least $30M were available when the first of these was published on Thursday afternoon.
SINNERS as of 5pm for its second Friday at my local AMC. (A few more full show times but they’re in tiny auditoriums).
April 25, 2025 at 9:17 PM
SINNERS as of 5pm for its second Friday at my local AMC. (A few more full show times but they’re in tiny auditoriums).
Great FLOW piece quoted below… reinvigorates my desire to think more/write about the Once & Again confessionals (rarity in drama) where they also use shorter cutaways and looks (though in confessional) to achieve winks and humor.
April 23, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Great FLOW piece quoted below… reinvigorates my desire to think more/write about the Once & Again confessionals (rarity in drama) where they also use shorter cutaways and looks (though in confessional) to achieve winks and humor.
I've had to make peace with the shift to Thursday movie release dates but I still cannot get behind combining the Thursday gross with Friday's as it makes claims below false.
SINNERS actually *increased* from Friday's raw $14.5M. More people saw it on SAT (more important than a smallER drop off).
SINNERS actually *increased* from Friday's raw $14.5M. More people saw it on SAT (more important than a smallER drop off).
April 20, 2025 at 1:12 PM
I've had to make peace with the shift to Thursday movie release dates but I still cannot get behind combining the Thursday gross with Friday's as it makes claims below false.
SINNERS actually *increased* from Friday's raw $14.5M. More people saw it on SAT (more important than a smallER drop off).
SINNERS actually *increased* from Friday's raw $14.5M. More people saw it on SAT (more important than a smallER drop off).
I searched (Google) for "famous movie title duos" and this is part of the result...
April 18, 2025 at 3:59 PM
I searched (Google) for "famous movie title duos" and this is part of the result...
When you zoom out, all these Best Picture winners (plus Anora this year) do share some very general critical/counter ethos EXCEPT TWO—Green Book and CODA.
Those films upset over Roma, Power of the Dog, respectively, which would fit into the overall trend more neatly.
Roma/Dog were both Netflix.
Those films upset over Roma, Power of the Dog, respectively, which would fit into the overall trend more neatly.
Roma/Dog were both Netflix.
March 5, 2025 at 12:59 AM
When you zoom out, all these Best Picture winners (plus Anora this year) do share some very general critical/counter ethos EXCEPT TWO—Green Book and CODA.
Those films upset over Roma, Power of the Dog, respectively, which would fit into the overall trend more neatly.
Roma/Dog were both Netflix.
Those films upset over Roma, Power of the Dog, respectively, which would fit into the overall trend more neatly.
Roma/Dog were both Netflix.
This article builds on the work of Aymar Jean Christian (@mediadataequity.bsky.social) and Khadijah Costley White who put forth the term "organic representation" as a critical lens to analyze not just text but production + distribution.
Please engage, critique (constructively 😅), share, build...
Please engage, critique (constructively 😅), share, build...
March 2, 2025 at 4:05 PM
This article builds on the work of Aymar Jean Christian (@mediadataequity.bsky.social) and Khadijah Costley White who put forth the term "organic representation" as a critical lens to analyze not just text but production + distribution.
Please engage, critique (constructively 😅), share, build...
Please engage, critique (constructively 😅), share, build...
Really, NYT Crossword?
Went through editorial too? 🙄
Went through editorial too? 🙄
February 28, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Really, NYT Crossword?
Went through editorial too? 🙄
Went through editorial too? 🙄
LOL seeing this *as* I’m watching.
February 8, 2025 at 2:37 PM
LOL seeing this *as* I’m watching.
At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, I finally saw HARD TRUTHS last week in theaters and it shook the ground I walk on.
The writing and performances were, for lack of a more nuanced word, more human than anything I've seen in a long time in fiction film. They cut so deep. How do you create that?
The writing and performances were, for lack of a more nuanced word, more human than anything I've seen in a long time in fiction film. They cut so deep. How do you create that?
January 31, 2025 at 10:19 PM
At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, I finally saw HARD TRUTHS last week in theaters and it shook the ground I walk on.
The writing and performances were, for lack of a more nuanced word, more human than anything I've seen in a long time in fiction film. They cut so deep. How do you create that?
The writing and performances were, for lack of a more nuanced word, more human than anything I've seen in a long time in fiction film. They cut so deep. How do you create that?
I don’t think anything will beat yours!
December 4, 2024 at 2:14 PM
I don’t think anything will beat yours!
I taught an analysis of CHALLENGERS today in my Friendship and Film class using Bo Ruberg’s chapter, “Between Paddles,” where they read Pong through Sedgwick’s “Between Men.”
And it was a RUSH!
And it was a RUSH!
December 4, 2024 at 2:18 AM
I taught an analysis of CHALLENGERS today in my Friendship and Film class using Bo Ruberg’s chapter, “Between Paddles,” where they read Pong through Sedgwick’s “Between Men.”
And it was a RUSH!
And it was a RUSH!
November 2024 Favorites
New: Seed of the Sacred Fig, Anora, La Chimera, National Anthem
New: Seed of the Sacred Fig, Anora, La Chimera, National Anthem
December 1, 2024 at 5:01 AM
November 2024 Favorites
New: Seed of the Sacred Fig, Anora, La Chimera, National Anthem
New: Seed of the Sacred Fig, Anora, La Chimera, National Anthem
October 2024 Favorites
New: The Outrun, What a Feeling, The Wild Robot, Duino
New: The Outrun, What a Feeling, The Wild Robot, Duino
December 1, 2024 at 4:56 AM
October 2024 Favorites
New: The Outrun, What a Feeling, The Wild Robot, Duino
New: The Outrun, What a Feeling, The Wild Robot, Duino
August/September 2024 Favorites
New: The Substance
New to me: Metropolis (1927), House Party (1990)
😍 Rewatch: Thelma and Louise
New: The Substance
New to me: Metropolis (1927), House Party (1990)
😍 Rewatch: Thelma and Louise
December 1, 2024 at 4:49 AM
August/September 2024 Favorites
New: The Substance
New to me: Metropolis (1927), House Party (1990)
😍 Rewatch: Thelma and Louise
New: The Substance
New to me: Metropolis (1927), House Party (1990)
😍 Rewatch: Thelma and Louise
What in the absolute…
This is just to open the app/site to simply look at showtimes. ???
This is just to open the app/site to simply look at showtimes. ???
November 29, 2024 at 5:26 PM
What in the absolute…
This is just to open the app/site to simply look at showtimes. ???
This is just to open the app/site to simply look at showtimes. ???