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Jose Nateras

Writer/Actor /Nerd +

Location icon United States

Freelance Writer, Actor and more.

Media Criticism, Creative Non-fiction, Journalism, Novelist, Playwright, Screenwriter, Occasional Poet & Stand Up

MFA in Writing from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago
BA in Theatre and International Film & Media Studies from Loyola University Chicago

Contributing Writer for The A.V. Club, Stropse.com, Otaquest.com, The Gamer and more...

Email: [email protected]

www.josenateras.com - Twitter: @ josenateras - Instagram: @Jlorca13

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Portfolio

Arts & Culture Commentary

OTAQUEST
11/17/2020
From TV to Movies, Everybody Loves Tokusatsu! - OTAQUEST

When people hear the word generally the first thing to come to mind are the Japanese television shows featuring masked fighters and giant robots. This makes plenty of sense considering series like Super Sentai and Kamen Rider are some of the most obvious examples of the genre.

stropsE
Cross Sections of Culture and Class: The Prevalence of South Korean Pro Gamers - stropsE

From the Olympics to the World Cup, sporting and competition have an established track record of breaking down international barriers. With the globalizing force of the internet and the advent of the esports industry, this is a tradition that has entered a new era in terms of competition, an era closely observed and analyzed by a global fanbase-slash-marketplace ever-eager to understand and capitalize on trends and statistics of all kinds.

stropsE
Gender and Esports: The Long Road to Equality - stropsE

As we as a society move beyond outdated gender stereotypes and generalizations, it has become clearer and clearer that the realm of esports could be an ideal industry for gender equality. Unlike more traditional sports and competitions, which use physiological differences to justify gender-based segregation, the world of gaming's meritocracy is gender-neutral.

stropsE
LGBT+ Representation in Gaming - stropsE

As the gaming industry works to dismantle preconceived notions and stereotypes surrounding gender and gaming, there is a key demographic often overlooked. A significant percentage of the population identifies as LGBT+, and the community has impacted all facets of culture and industry across the board. The same is true for the gaming industry.

Big Gay Horror Fan
11/02/2018
Adam E. Hoak and Jose Nateras: The Gay Appeal of Suspiria

Dario Argento's superior Italian horror Suspiria has long held a fascination for the LGBTQ community. With Luca Guadagnino's reimagining currently hitting the theaters, I decided to ask Adam E. Hoak and Jose Nateras, two of my favorite Chicago actors (and enthusiastic horror buffs) to chat with me about their love for the film,...

stropsE
Ability and Gaming: How Esports Allows for Accessibility - stropsE

As competitive gaming continues to work on its shortcomings regarding gender and racial demographics, it's also important to keep in mind the importance of accessibility for gamers who identify as disabled. Because competitive esports relies on skills and abilities beyond the physical prowess of competitors, more than any other competitive industry, esports has the potential to achieve unprecedented levels of inclusivity and equality.

F Newsmagazine
07/26/2016
Part of the Problem: Porchlight's Casting of 'In the Heights'

Earlier this week Porchlight Music Theatre, a mainstay in the Chicago theater community, announced the casting for their much anticipated production of Lin Manuel-Miranda's "In the Heights " Aside from the problematic handling of this announcement by The Chicago Sun-Times - Hedy Weiss described the cast as "unusually 'authentic'" - the casting statement was bound to cause an uproar: Porchlight cast a white actor in the central role of Usnavi - a Bodega owner who received his name from the...

stropsE
Diversity in Esports: People of Color in Gaming - stropsE

In today's society, issues of racial inequality are woven through all of our cultural institutions, systems, and industries. As time has progressed, our conversations around such issues have become more nuanced and correlations between representation and society as a whole have become more apparent.

F Newsmagazine
06/21/2017
What's Wrong With Weiss?

Hedy Weiss has a long and well-documented track record of being highly problematic, to say the least. F Newsmagazine has covered her antics in the past year alone.

News & Recaps

TheGamer
08/29/2020
The Blair Witch Devs Hid An Animal Crossing Hoodie Code In Their Latest Trailer

Put some serious Rustin Parr vibes in your Animal Crossing look with this fun little easter egg! Although the trailer for last month's Nintendo Switch release of the Blair Witch game was first released for the back in June, it wasn't until recently that viewers noticed something hidden among all the eerie stick people totems: a hidden code.

TheGamer
08/07/2020
D&D Bards & Warlocks Speak To The Dead In New Unearthed Arcana

The subclasses, College of Spirits for Bards or Undead Patron for Warlocks, allow for players to access a bunch of new spooky powers. In an article recently posted in the recurring Unearthed Arcana feature on the official website for Dungeons & Dragons ,two new subclasses for bards and warlocks were announced.

The A.V. Club
02/25/2019
Podmass: The Shining 2:37 DANNYYY!!! With Dan Lloyd, “Danny” From The Shining

In each episode of The Shining 2:37, host Suzen Tekla Kruglnska investigates, in order, two minutes and 37 seconds of Stanley Kubrick’s iconic 1980 film The Shining. The 2:37 of this episode encapsulates the sequence that starts with Jack Nicholson’s character, Jack Torrance, chasing his son, Danny (played by Dan Lloyd), into a snowy maze. As ever, Kruglnska is joined by a guest, but significantly, this week’s guest is none other than Dan Lloyd himself. Lloyd, now in his mid-40s, has a wealth...

The A.V. Club
03/04/2019
Podmass: Food 4 Thot - The Thots Go To Hollywood (feat. Steven Canals!)

Food 4 Thot focuses on relationships, race, sex, and identity hosted by Fran Tirado (Deputy Editor, Out magazine), Tommy Pico (poet), Dennis Norris II (former figure skater, former violinist, current writer), and Joseph Osmundson (scientist and non-fiction writer). This episode they’re joined by guest Steven Canals, creator of FX’s ’80s dance musical Pose. Having such a diverse group of hosts is beautifully refreshing when it comes to queer, male conversations, and the entire series is a...

TheGamer
08/07/2020
Wanderhome Brings The Relaxed Tone Of Ghibli To TTRPGS

Players of Wanderhome will get to explore the world of Hæth as anthropomorphic animals called Kith. Tabletop RPG players who are also fans of tenderhearted anthropomorphic animals and tranquil nature scenes seen in a Hayao Miyazaki film have reason to rejoice: Wanderhome.

Interviews & Profiles

stropsE
Meet Brooke Grant, FaZe Clan's Formidable Head of Marketing - stropsE

Following her recent nomination as a Marketer of the Year finalist at the 2020 Tempest Esports Business Awards, the awesome Brooke Grant, Head of Marketing at FaZe Clan, took some time out of her busy schedule to talk to Stropse. As the Head of Marketing for FaZe Clan, Grant is no stranger to being the subject of an interview.

OTAQUEST
11/10/2020
The Woman Behind "A Cruel Angel's Thesis," Yoko Takahashi - OTAQUEST

Few theme songs are as iconic and meaningful to anime fans as the theme song to Neon Genesis Evangelion, "A Cruel Angel's Thesis" or "Zankoku na Tenshi no Tēze." While there are a number of reasons for the song's success, a lot of credit must be given to singer Yoko Takahashi.

stropsE
Meet Jordan Galen, One of the Mighty Managers at FaZe Clan - stropsE

As the industry of pro gaming continues to develop and grow, there's a lot of interest in the ways in which gaming crosses over from pastime to profession. Along with all of the sponsorships and competitions, pro gamers have to deal with a number of responsibilities and decisions unique to their position in the industry.

Reviews

OTAQUEST
11/07/2020
How Remaking the Iconic Final Fantasy VII Made a Good Thing Great - OTAQUEST

In fact, for some the mentality of why fix what isn't broken prevailed. However, considering the game's overall positive reception and winning a couple of choice awards of its own the remake would appear to be a good idea. 2005's computer-animated movie, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, picks up two years after the events of the original game.

OTAQUEST
11/03/2020
Silent Hill Still Reigns Supreme - OTAQUEST

Even though it's been eight years since the last installment in the iconic survival horror game series was released(2012's Silent Hill: Book of Memories ) the Silent Hill franchise remains one of the most influential horror video game series out there.

OTAQUEST
11/08/2020
Sukeban Deka: The Yo-Yo Wielding, Undercover, Bad Girl - OTAQUEST

The title of Sukeban Deka , translated to "Delinquent Girl Detective," is probably the best way to describe the series it belongs to. Anime fans will recognize the character type of the Sukeban: the tough girl in sailor style school uniform, but with an extra long skirt; she generally has a bad attitude and is good at fighting.

F Newsmagazine
03/26/2017
When Incipient Womanhood Meets Incipient Cannibalism: 'RAW'

Few films have been able to generate the specific sort of word-of-mouth that Julia Ducournau's "Raw" has. Yes, Ducournau's film has built a name for itself as being a spectacular entry to the horror film genre. Yes, "Raw" has joined the ranks of "The Babadook" and "American Psycho" as chill-inducing genre fare, helmed by female directors.

F Newsmagazine
04/02/2018
A Love Letter to Queer Youth

There are few surprises to be had in “Love, Simon.” If you’ve seen any teen rom-com from the last couple of decades, you’ll be able to spot each major plot point coming. “Love, Simon” makes no attempt to reinvent the wheel. It is familiar, charming, mainstream, and marketable... *Winner: Illinois College Press Association — 2nd Place: Critical Review, Film - 2018

Windycityreviews
03/09/2019
Windy City Reviews - Book Reviews - Book Review: Post-Apocalypticon

Wednesday, January 9, 2019 at 7:38PM Post-Apocalypticon. Clayton Smith. Dapper Press, October 24, 2018, Trade Paperback and E-book, 269 Pages. Reviewed by Jose Nateras. In "The Apocalypticon Trilogy," Clayton Smith has crafted a world readers will find both familiar and drastically changed by the events of the apocalypse.

Fnewsmagazine
September 22, 2017
Fear ‘IT’self: On Stephen King’s Latest

Either peering from the cover of the two-tape VHS set at the local Blockbuster or peeking up from a rain-gutter in a popular meme; fewer cinematic representations of the horror of childhood have made the same sort of cultural impact as Stephen King’s Pennywise the Clown. As the titular antagonist of King’s 1986 Novel, “IT,” Pennywise serves as one of the many faces that an interdimensional evil wears as it terrorizes the town of Derry, Maine... * Honorable Mention: Illinois College Press...

El Huateque
10/25/2014
El Huateque - Our Review of

As a child, until around seven or eight years old, I was convinced that Aladdin was Mexican. I was positive. Here was a character that looked like me, regardless of any song lyrics identifying a fictionalized "Arabia" as the setting of the film; I had found a character I could identify with.

F Newsmagazine
09/14/0132
'Colossal' and the Monstrosity of the Straight, White, Male

Kaiju movies, which focus on giant monsters like "Godzilla," have been popular for decades. Recent films -"Kong: Skull Island," new incarnations of "Godzilla," "Pacific Rim," "The Host," and "Cloverfield" to name a few - demonstrate that this trend is as lively as ever.

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