Entertainment

From Iowa to Florida, national lawsuits against local book bans begin to gain traction

Published

2 years ago

January 11, 2024

From Iowa to Florida, national lawsuits against local book bans begin to gain traction

Lawsuits challenging book bans in Florida and Iowa are proving to play a key role in the growing fight for student’s access to literature.

On Wednesday, a U.S. District Judge ruled that the federal lawsuit challenging Escambia County School Board for censoring library shelves can move forward. The publishing conglomerate Penguin Random House, alongside free-speech advocacy group PEN America as well as banned authors and parents, filed the lawsuit against the Florida school district last May.

Judge Kent Wetherell said the plaintiffs have standing to pursue their claims that the school district is violating the 1st Amendment by scrubbing library shelves of books based on a political or ideological disagreement with the ideas the books express. Judge Wetherell also shot down the state’s argument that its decisions to ban books are immune from the 1st Amendment.

In May, Dan Novack, Penguin Random House vice president and associate general counsel, told The Times the publishing house was suing to stop “one of the most unsubtle attempts at viewpoint discrimination” they’d ever seen.

Shalini Goel Agarwal, counsel at Protect Democracy, said in a statement that “after targeting books centering people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals and ignoring its own review committees’ recommendations, the government baldly asserted that this could not be viewpoint discrimination because the 1st Amendment does not apply to school libraries. Today’s ruling makes clear that they are wrong.”

The suit also alleged a 14th Amendment violation citing the Equal Protection Clause, because the challenged books are disproportionately titles by nonwhite and/or LGBTQ+ authors. Judge Wetherell denied the 14th Amendment claim, but ruled that 1st Amendment protections are implicated when the school district removes books based on ideology or viewpoint.

The books challenged in Escambia County include Toni Morrison’s classic novel “The Bluest Eye” and Kurt Vonnegut’s “Slaughterhouse-Five” as well Anne Frank’s “Diary of a Young Girl.” According to a list obtained by the Florida Freedom to Read Project, picture books, middle grade books, young adult titles and even five dictionaries have been banned by the county.

Since the lawsuit was filed last spring, the district has removed additional books due to new state laws, including HB 1069 — an education law, which became effective July 1, that restricts books depicting “sexual conduct” from grades deemed age-inappropriate. Recent titles affected ranged from “The Teen Vogue Handbook: An Insider’s Guide to Careers in Fashion” to a biography of the nation’s first Black United States Supreme Court justice, Thurgood Marshall.

On Tuesday, PEN America released a list of more than 1,600 challenged titles pending investigation in Escambia County.

“Today, we urged the court to vindicate the constitutional rights of students, parents, authors and publishers,” said Katie Blankenship, the director of PEN America, Florida. “We are heartened that Judge Wetherell agreed and that our case can proceed.”

“These books need to be returned to the shelves where they belong, and every day that students are refused access is a day they’re not getting the high-quality education they deserve,” she continued.

While Florida and Texas have become the epicenters of book banning in recent years, many other states have seen similar efforts. And one Iowa law has become another national flashpoint.

Two weeks ago, U.S. District Judge Stephen Locher granted an injunction against Iowa Senate File 496 and its book-banning provisions — just days before penalties for violating the law were planned to take effect. Enacted in May 2023, SF 496 prohibits K-12 students from accessing books including any description of sex and forbids discussing or reading about gender identity or sexual orientation through sixth grade.

Penguin Random House, again citing 1st and 14th Amendment violations, filed a lawsuit Nov. 30 — alongside the Iowa State Education Assn., critically acclaimed authors Laurie Halse Anderson, John Green, Malinda Lo and Jodi Picoult as well as a high school student, her parent and three educators.

Books pulled from libraries as a result of SF 496 included three novels by Toni Morrison, “Ulysses” by James Joyce, “As I Lay Dying” by William Faulkner, “Forever” by Judy Blume and more. The student who joined the suit is a senior at Urbandale High School who, as a result of SF 496, lost access to books including Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple” and Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale.”

“Our mission of connecting authors and their stories to readers around the world contributes to the free flow of ideas and perspectives that is a hallmark of American democracy — and we will always stand by it,” said Nihar Malaviya, chief executive at Penguin Random House.

“We know that not every book we publish will be for every reader, but we must protect the right for all Americans, including students, parents, caregivers, teachers, and librarians, to have equitable access to books and to continue to decide what they read.”

Movie Reviews

Jeremy Schuetze’s ‘ANACORETA’ (2022) – Movie Review – PopHorror

Published

7 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Jeremy Schuetze’s ‘ANACORETA’ (2022) – Movie Review – PopHorror

PopHorror had the chance to check out Anacoreta (2022) ahead of its streaming release! Does this meta-horror flick provide interesting story telling or is it a confusing mess.

Let’s have a look…

Synopsis

A group of friends heads to a secluded woodland cabin for a weekend getaway, planning to film an experimental horror movie. As the shoot progresses, the project begins to fall apart—until a real and terrifying presence emerges from the darkness.

Anacoreta is directed by Jeremy Schuetze. It was written by Jeremy Schuetze and Matt Visser. The film stars Antonia Thomas (Bagman 2024), Jesse Stanley (Raf 2019), Jeremy Schuetze (Jennifer’s Body 2009), and Matt Visser (A Lot Like Christmas 2021)

My Thoughts

Antonia Thomas delivered an outstanding performance as the female lead in Anacoreta. It was remarkable to watch her convey such a wide range of emotions with authenticity and depth. I was continually impressed by her ability to switch seamlessly between different dialects. I absolutely loved her delivery of the dialogue of telling The Scorpion and the Frog fable.

Anacoreta employs a distinctive, meta-horror style of storytelling. The narrative follows a group of friends creating a “scripted reality” horror film, and as the plot unfolds, the boundary between their staged production and their actual lives becomes increasingly blurred. This was interesting, but at the same time frustrating as a viewer.

Check out Anacoreta on Prime Video and let us know your thoughts!

Entertainment

Todd Meadows, ‘Deadliest Catch’ deckhand, dies at 25

Published

9 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Todd Meadows, ‘Deadliest Catch’ deckhand, dies at 25

Todd Meadows, a crewmember on one of the fishing vessels featured on the long-running reality series “Deadliest Catch,” has died. He was 25.

Rick Shelford, the captain of the Aleutian Lady, announced in a Monday post on Facebook and Instagram that Meadows died Feb. 25. He called it “the most tragic day in the history of the Aleutian Lady on the Bering Sea.”

“We lost our brother,” Shelford wrote in his lengthy tribute. “Todd was the newest member of our crew, he quickly became family. His love for fishing and his strong work ethic earned everyone’s respect right away. His smile was contagious, and the sound of his laughter coming up the wheelhouse stairs or over the deck hailer is something we will carry with us always.

“He worked hard, loved deeply, and brought joy to those around him,” he added. “Todd will forever be part of this boat, this crew, and this brotherhood. Though we lost him far too soon, his legacy will live on through his children and in every memory we carry of him.”

A fundraiser set up in Meadows’ name described the deckhand from Montesano, Wash., as a father to “three amazing little boys” who died “while doing what he loved — crabbing out on Alaskan waters.”

According to the Associated Press, Meadows died after he was reported to have fallen overboard around 170 miles north of Dutch Harbor, Alaska.

“He was recovered unresponsive by the crew approximately ten minutes later,” Chief Petty Officer Travis Magee, a spokesperson with the Coast Guard’s Arctic District, told the AP. The Coast Guard is investigating the incident.

Meadows was a first-year cast member of “Deadliest Catch,” the Discovery Channel reality series that follows crab fishermen navigating the perilous winds and waves of the Bering Sea during the Alaskan king crab and snow crab fishing seasons. The show debuted in 2005. No episodes from Meadows’ season has aired.

Deadline reported that the show was in production on its 22nd season when the incident occurred, with the Shelford-led Aleutian Lady being the last of the vessels still out at sea at the time. Production has subsequently concluded, per the outlet.

“We are deeply saddened by the tragic passing of Todd Meadows,” a Discovery Channel spokesperson said in a statement that has been widely circulated. “This is a devastating loss, and our hearts are with his loved ones, his crewmates, and the entire fishing community during this incredibly difficult time.”

Meadows is the latest among “Deadliest Catch” cast members who have died. Previous deaths include Phil Harris, a captain of one of the ships featured on the show, who died after suffering a stroke while filming the show’s sixth season in 2010. Todd Kochutin, a crew member of the Patricia Lee, died in 2021 from injuries he sustained while aboard the fishing vessel, according to an obituary. Other cast members have died from substance abuse or natural causes.

Movie Reviews

‘Hoppers’ review: Pixar’s best original movie in years

Published

19 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

‘Hoppers’ review: Pixar’s best original movie in years

“So it’s like Avatar?” one character quips in Disney and Pixar’s “Hoppers,” bluntly translating the film’s high-concept premise for the sugar-fueled kids in the audience. And yes, the comparison is apt. The story follows a nature-obsessed teenage girl who manages to quite literally “hop” her consciousness into the body of a robotic beaver in order to spark an animal rebellion against a greedy mayor determined to bulldoze their forest for a freeway.

It’s a clever hook. The kind of big, elastic idea Pixar used to make look effortless. “Hoppers” does not reach the rarified air of “Up,” “Wall-E,” or “Inside Out,” but after a stretch of uneven originals like “Turning Red” and “Luca,” and outright misfires such as “Elemental” and “Elio,” this feels like a genuine course correction. The environmental messaging is clear without being preachy, the animals are irresistibly anthropomorphized, and the studio’s once-signature emotional sincerity is back in sturdy form.

Pixar can afford to gamble on originals when it has a guaranteed cash cow like this summer’s “Toy Story 5” waiting in the wings, but “Hoppers” earns its place in the catalogue. Director Daniel Chong crafts a warm, heartfelt film that occasionally strains under the weight of its own ambition, yet remains grounded by character and theme. Its meditation on conservation and animal displacement feels timely in a way that never tips into after-school-special territory.

We meet Mabel, voiced with bright conviction by Piper Curda, as a child liberating her classroom pets and returning them to the wild. Her moral compass is shaped by her grandmother, voiced by Karen Huie, who imparts wisdom about nature’s sanctity. True to both Pixar tradition and the broader Disney playbook, this beacon of guidance does not survive past the opening act. Loss, after all, is Pixar’s favorite inciting incident.

Years later, Mabel is still fighting the good fight, squaring off against the smarmy Mayor Jerry, voiced with slick menace by Jon Hamm. He plans to flatten the glade where Mabel and her grandmother once found solace. Mabel’s resistance feels noble but futile. The animals have already mysteriously vanished, the machinery is coming, and her last-ditch plan involves luring a beaver back to the abandoned forest in hopes of jumpstarting the ecosystem.

That’s when the film gleefully pivots into mad-scientist territory. At Beaverton University, Mabel discovers her professor, voiced by Kathy Najimy, has developed a device that can project human consciousness into synthetic animals. The process, dubbed “hopping,” allows Mabel to inhabit a robotic beaver and infiltrate the forest from within. It’s an inspired escalation that keeps the film buoyant even when the plotting grows predictable.

Her new posse includes King George, a lovably beaver voiced by Bobby Moynihan with distinct Bing Bong energy; a sharp-tongued bear voiced by Melissa Villaseñor; a regal bird king voiced by the late Isiah Whitlock Jr.; and a fish queen voiced by Ego Nwodim. As is often the case with Pixar, even in its lesser efforts, the world-building is meticulous. The animal hierarchy, complete with titles like “paw of the king,” is layered with jokes that play for kids while slyly winking at adults.

The plot ultimately follows a familiar template. Scrappy underdog rallies community. Corporate villain twirls metaphorical mustache. Emotional third-act sacrifice looms. At times, you can feel the machinery working a little too cleanly. Pixar, and Disney at large, has grown increasingly reliant on sequels and established IP, and “Hoppers” does not radically reinvent the wheel. In an animated landscape where films like “K-Pop: Demon Hunters,” “Across the Spider-Verse,” and “Goat” are pushing stylistic and narrative boundaries, being safe and sturdy may not always be enough.

And yet, there is something refreshing about a Pixar original that remembers how to tug at the heart without squeezing it dry. “Hoppers” is playful, peppered with cheeky needle drops, and builds to a sweet emotional catharsis that may or may not have left this critic a little misty-eyed. It feels earnest and engaged.

“Hoppers” may not be top-tier Pixar. But it is a welcome return to form, a reminder that the studio still knows how to marry big ideas with a bigger heart.

HOPPERS opens in theaters Friday, March 6th.