Category: Listmaking

Rating 5 reel librarian romances

Are you in the mood for reel librarians in love?

For more reel librarian love, check out this post from 2018: Reel librarian love for Valentine’s Day: Movies for different romantic moods

Happy Valentine’s Day! For this special holiday, I have decided to highlight 5 romances featuring reel librarians in love! I then rate each movie based on their focus (or not) on reel librarians and/or library scenes as well as on the movie’s spirit of love. I picked titles from different decades, as well as different kinds of cinematic romance. I enjoy these kinds of “rating” posts, as it’s a way to explore reel librarian movies from different perspectives and different genres or themes. So let’s put on our rose-colored glasses to go along with our glass of rosé and enjoy this (highly unscientific and completely subjective) round-up post!

Reel Librarians logo with hearts

Love Story (1970)

“Love Story (1970) – Official Trailer,” uploaded by OldSchoolTrailers, Standard YouTube License

Details: Dir. Arthur Hiller. Perf. Ali MacGraw, Ryan O’Neal, John Marley, Ray Milland. Paramount, 1970.

Synopsis: Oliver, a Harvard law student and jock (Ryan O’Neal), falls in love with Jenny, a Radcliffe music major (Ali MacGraw), and the film chronicles their, ahem, love story. The title is the plot, y’all. This movie won 1 Oscar, for Best Music, Original Score, and was nominated for an additional 6 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. MacGraw was also nominated for Best Actress, the only woman (thus far) to have been nominated for an acting Oscar for a reel librarian role.

Reel librarian rating: The first scene of this film is set in the Radcliffe College library. Jenny is a student library assistant, and calls Oliver out as a “preppy.” Jenny typifies the “Spirited Young Girl” character type, a younger woman who works in the library, which is usually only a temporary job, as is the case here, as we quickly find out that Jenny is a music major. The “Spirited Young Girl” character also usually meets the story’s leading man in the library, attracting him with her intelligence and often spunky personality and then continues to impress him outside the library — and this is also the case with this movie! Although Jenny is the leading lady in the movie, her time spent in the library is limited to only the first scene.

📖 📖
2 out of 5 library books

Romance rating: The title says it all, right? This is a five-hanky romance between Jenny and Oliver, an example of a “good cry” romance, for when you need to let your emotions out. So have the Kleenex ready! The haunting title tune will also stay with you long after you finish watching this romance.

❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️
5 out of 5 (broken) hearts

Related post: Stylish female reel librarians (featuring Jenny’s cinematic style!)

Rome Adventure (1962)

“Rome Adventure (1962) Official Trailer – Troy Donahue, Suzanne Pleshette Movie HD,” uploaded by Movieclips Trailer Vault, Standard YouTube License

Details: Dir. Delmer Daves. Perf. Suzanne Pleshette, Troy Donahue, Angie Dickinson, Rossano Brazzi. Warner Bros., 1962. Based on the novel by Irving Fineman.

Synopsis: Prudence Bell (Suzanne Pleshette), a librarian at Briarcroft College for Women, sets sail to Italy in search of adventure and love. Again, the title is the plot.

Reel librarian rating: At the beginning of the movie, we see Prudence standing up to book banning and censorship, as the school board reprimands her for recommending a “too adult” book to a student. She quits her librarian job in protest and to take her own advice to go on an adventure… a Rome adventure, of course! 😉 Prudence is the lead character in the movie, and although we never hear her referred to as a librarian again — nor do we ever actually see her in a library — she does use her librarian skills to land a job at a local bookstore! I’m adding a point for the stand against censorship.

📖 📖 1/2
2.5 out of 5 library books

Romance rating: Prudence definitely enjoys her share of adventure and romance in Italy with both Rossano Brazzi and Troy Donahue, who later became Pleshette’s real-life husband. (Spoiler: The real-life romance didn’t turn out as well as the movie romance.) This romance is in the vein of love triangles, for when you like your romances complicated.

❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️
5 out of 5 hearts

Related post: It’s an ‘adventure’!

Joe Versus the Volcano (1990)

“Joe Versus The Volcano (1990) Official Trailer – Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan Comedy HD” video uploaded by Rotten Tomatoes Classic Trailers, Standard YouTube License

Details: Dir. John Patrick Shanley. Perf. Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Lloyd Bridges, Robert Stack. Warner Bros., 1990.

Synopsis: After Joe Banks (Tom Hanks) learns he has only weeks to live, he embarks on an adventure to sacrifice himself in an island volcano. Meg Ryan gets to show off her comedic chops in 3 distinct roles: DeDe, Angelica, and Patricia.

Reel librarian rating: Joe is the reel librarian this time around! Unfortunately, he is stuck in a thankless job as an advertising librarian for a medical supply company. The title cards even call it a “lousy job.” In the opening scene, Joe trudges his way to work, and we get a glimpse of his depressing work environment, a sterile room with blocky desks, screened windows, file cabinets, flickering fluorescent lighting, and half-empty steel bookshelves. Joe fulfills a classic “Liberated Librarian” character type, as his “liberation” from the library is the main arc and plot of the film. Joe also gets the most damning reply after sharing about his job as an advertising librarian: “Oh, I have no response to that.” OUCH. This is definitely not an uplifting view of a special librarian’s work environment! Joe is a main character, but he exits the advertising library early on, never to return again.

📖 📖
2 out of 5 library books

Romance rating: This is a cult romantic comedy! Joe sets sail to the island volcano with Patricia, one of the roles played by Meg Ryan. Joe and Patricia have an awkward start, but eventually fall in love even as they admit, “The timing stinks.” They decide to jump into the volcano together… will their love survive the lava?!

❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️
4 out of 5 hearts

Related post: A Liberated Librarian ‘versus the volcano’

Miranda (2002)

“Miranda – Trailer” video uploaded by Millennium Entertainment, Standard YouTube License

Details: Dir. Marc Munden. Perf. Christina Ricci, John Simm, Kyle MacLachlan, John Hurt. Feelgood Films, 2002.

Synopsis: In this indie film, librarian Frank (John Simm) falls in love with the mysterious Miranda (Christina Ricci). He searches for her when she disappears from his life one day.

Reel librarian rating: Set in the UK, the film’s opening sequence shows Frank at work in the central public library, which is scheduled for demolition. Frank and Miranda have their “Meet Cute” moment in the library. During the first 10 minutes of the film, Miranda visits the library every day as demolition day draws nearer and the library shelves become barer. Frank unshelves books to pack into boxes — that’s got to be a cinematic first to see a reel librarian UNSHELVING books! We then actually see the “Central Library” building get demolished (sob) — another cinematic first? Frank is a lead character and does describe himself as a librarian to a friend. Another classic Liberated Librarian, Frank starts out the film dreaming of a more exciting life, and he finds that through Miranda.

📖 📖 📖 1/2
3.5 out of 5 library books

Romance rating: This film is a throw-back noir romance, for when love gets spoiled, and you’re in the mood to make some trouble. The entire movie’s premise hinges on this central romance. As Frank describes it: “Boy meets girl. Boy loses girl. Boy wakes up.”

❤️ ❤️ ❤️
3 out of 5 hearts

Related post: Special double feature: ‘Miranda’ and the bibliothécaire

Enough Said (2013)

“ENOUGH SAID: Official HD Trailer” video uploaded by SearchlightPictures, Standard YouTube License

Details: Dir. Nicole Holofcener. Perf. Julia Louis-Dreyfus, James Gandolfini, Catherine Keener. Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2013.

Synopsis: A quirky slice-of-life glimpse into the budding romance between two adults who are single parents, Eva (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and Albert (James Gandolfini).

Reel librarian archivist rating: Albert is a digital archivist at the (fictional) American Library of Cultural History. On their first date, Albert shares where he works and he describes it as a “a television library.” In another scene, Albert takes Eva on a tour of the archives, his office, and the public viewing room — and this was actually the first scene that Louis-Dreyfus and Gandolfini filmed together! During the tour, Albert also describes what he does (“I make sure things are transferred to digital properly“), essentially describing his work as a digital archivist, yet he never uses the word “archives.”

📁 📁 📁 📁
4 out of 5 archival folders

Romance rating: This is a grown-up love story, as we watch romance blossom slowly, but surely, between two older adults. There are quirky real-life and relatable details of jobs and family and eating habits. Eva and Albert also share a sweet kiss in the archives! Ultimately, it’s kind of a bittersweet romance to watch, as this was one of Gandolfini’s last films, and it was released posthumously after his death in 2013.

❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️
4 out of 5 hearts

Related post: ‘Enough, said’ the librarian

Are you in the mood for love and want to enjoy more romances with reel librarians? Visit these past romance-themed posts on Reel Librarians:

Rating 5 MORE holiday movies with librarians

For more fun reel librarian holiday fun, check out my 2021 post Rating holidays movies with librarians!

Tis the season for a holiday-themed post! For this holiday season, I decided to select 5 MORE movies from previous holiday film round-up posts, linked at the end of this post, and rate each movie based on their focus (or not) on reel librarians and/or library scenes as well as on their holiday spirit. Pass the gingerbread cookies, and let’s dig into the holiday cheer in this highly unscientific post.

Reel Librarians | Holiday logo

A Winter Romance, aka Colors of Love and An Autumn Romance (2021, TV movie)

The library director, left, enjoys a (brief) happy moment with research librarian Taylor, right
The library director, left, enjoys a (brief) happy moment with research librarian Taylor, right

Details: Dir. Bradley Walsh. Perf. Jessica Lowndes, Chad Michael Murray, Dennis Andres. Hideaway Pictures via Amazon Prime Video, 2021. Based on the novel The Tycoon’s Kiss by Jane Porter.

Synopsis: Research librarian Taylor (Jessica Lowndes) loses her job in Seattle and moves to Montana to be with her brother. She researches the history of the 100-year-old Graff Hotel to save it from being developed into a “destination resort” by tycoon Joel (Chad Michael Murray).

Reel librarian rating: The main character is a reel librarian, plus there are supporting roles of two library directors played by women of color. There are several scenes throughout the TV movie set in two different public libraries, plus a heavy emphasis on primary sources and the joy of research.

📖 📖 📖 📖 📖
(5 out of 5 library books)

Holiday rating: The film, previously titled An Autumn Romance, really takes place in the fall, and the central social event is the “Harvest Ball,” complete with autumn leaves and pumpkins. I’m assuming that this TV movie’s title got rebranded to A Winter Romance because of the popularity of Christmas-themed TV romances during the end-of-year holidays. But I included it on this list to extend the holiday season!

🎄
(1 out of 5 Christmas trees)

🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃
(5 out of 5 pumpkins 😉 )

Related post: 31 thoughts and questions I had while watching ‘A Winter Romance’ (2021)

Christmas on Division Street (1991, TV movie)

“Christmas on Division Street Commercial: December 1991” video uploaded by Farpoint Toys & Collectibles, Standard YouTube License

Details: Dir. George Kaczender. Perf. Fred Savage, Hume Cronyn. CBS, 1991. Inspired by the book Trevor’s Place: The Story of the Boy Who Brings Hope to the Homeless by Frank Ferrell, published 1985.

Synopsis: Fred Savage stars as Trevor Atwood, a boy who befriends a homeless man named Cleveland Meriwether (Hume Cronyn). This TV movie is based on true events from the life of Trevor Ferrell.

Reel librarian rating: Because there were only a couple of actors on the Cast List listed in connection with a library — Crystal Verge as “Librarian” and Dwight McFee as “Library Guard” plus Forbes Angus as “Library Patron” — I was not expecting much, perhaps only a scene or two in a school or public library. I was wrong! The first half-hour of the TV movie takes place almost exclusively in libraries, and the entire plot hinges on what happens in those library scenes.

📖 📖 📖 📖 📖
(5 out of 5 library books)

Holiday rating: The earnest TV movie aims to highlight the “true Christmas spirit,” however unsubtly it hammers home that message. The latter half of the movie is set during wintertime and the holiday season. The boy and his younger sister also witness a homeless woman giving birth in an ally during Christmas (I totally get symbolism 😉 ).

🎄 🎄 🎄 🎄 1/2
(4.5 out of 5 Christmas trees)

I have watched this TV movie but haven’t yet embarked on a full analysis post. Would you like a more complete post? Please leave a comment and let me know!

Home by Christmas (2006, TV movie)

Reel Librarians | DVD of 'Home by Christmas'
DVD of Home by Christmas

Details: Dir. Gail Harvey. Perf. Linda Hamilton, Brenda Crichlow. Lifetime, 2006.

Synopsis: After a woman (Linda Hamilton) gets divorced from her cheating husband, she ends up homeless. She starts studying for her real estate license… can she put her life back together and be home by Christmas? (This is a Lifetime movie, so I think you know the answer to that already!)

Reel librarian rating: A friend urges her to go to the library for books to study for the real estate license exam. There are a few shots in a public library and a few glimpses of an older reel librarian, complete with cardigan and half-moon glasses on a chain.

📖 📖
(2 out of 5 library books)

Holiday rating: The plot is quite depressing — on par for a significant percentage of Christmas-themed films? — so I hope your holiday season is more cheerful than this TV movie. It feels like Christmas is kind of shoe-horned into this “message movie,” and its holiday cheer feels as tinny as cheap tinsel.

🎄 🎄 1/2
(2.5 out of 5 Christmas trees)

Related post: ‘Home by Christmas’ librarian

Ma and Pa Kettle at Home

Reel Librarians: Ma and Pa Kettle and the Maiden Lady Librarian
Christmas party scene in Ma and Pa Kettle at Home

Details: Dir. Charles Lamont. Perf. Marjorie Main, Percy Kilbride, Alan Mowbray. Universal, 1954.

Synopsis: Part of the ‘Ma and Pa Kettle’ film series, this outing features the efforts of the Kettle family getting their farm ready for judges from the big city. Why? Their eldest son wrote an essay about the farm for a college scholarship. Ma Kettle aims to fix up the fussy elder judge, Mr. Mannering (Alan Mowbray), with the “maiden lady librarian” Miss Wetter (Mary Wickes).

Reel librarian rating: Miss Wetter is a supporting character who first gets a mention at almost 45 minutes into the film, as “a maiden lady librarian, [who] knows all about books but nothing about cooking.” The reel librarian then drives up in the library bookmobile! I’m adding a bonus point for the bookmobile and the nostalgia factor. ❤

📖 📖 📖 1/2
(3.5 out of 5 library books)

Holiday rating: All’s well that ends well! Miss Wetter the reel librarian finds love under the mistletoe during a holiday party at the end of the film.

🎄 🎄 1/2
(2.5 out of 5 Christmas trees)

Related post: Ma and Pa Kettle’ and the Lady Librarian

With Honors (1994)

Screenshot of 'With Honors' (1994), where librarians are as much decoration as the actual holiday decorations
Screenshot of ‘With Honors’ (1994), where librarians are as much decoration as the actual holiday decorations

Details: Dir. Alek Keshishian. Perf. Joe Pesci, Brendan Fraser, Moira Kelly, Patrick Dempsey. Warner Bros., 1994.

Synopsis: Stressed-out Harvard student Monty (Brendan Fraser) accidentally drops the only copy of his thesis down a grate, where it lands in the library’s boiler room. Monty discovers a homeless man, Simon Wilder (Joe Pesci), who keeps the thesis and turns Monty’s life upside down.

Reel librarian rating: In one scene at Harvard’s Widener Library, Simon talks loudly, and a librarian tells him he can’t stay there. In another brief scene, Monty studies in the library during the holidays, and in the background, the library staff members quietly share Christmas gifts with each other.

📖 📖
(2 out of 5 library books)

Holiday rating: This film takes place over the entire final year of Monty’s college life at Harvard, so Christmas goes by as quickly as the term break!

🎄 1/2
(1.5 out of 5 Christmas trees)

Related post: With or without honors

Are you wanting to spend more holiday time with reel librarians? Visit these past holiday-themed posts on Reel Librarians:

Comic books + thirst traps: A unique law library + reel librarian hijinks in ‘She-Hulk: Attorney at Law’ TV series (2022)

Wong returns!

How about an extra helping of beloved reel librarian character Wong (played by Benedict Wong) as we gear up for the Christmas holiday? Let’s revisit the reel librarian hijinks that Wong gets up to in the more comic turn for the She-Hulk: Attorney at Law TV series (2022). In its 9-episode run, we get to see Wong featured in 3 episodes, plus we get a glimpse of a very unique law library in another episode!

“Official Trailer | She-Hulk: Attorney at Law | Disney+” video by Marvel Entertainment, Standard YouTube License

NOTE: If you’re wondering, “Didn’t we already do this?” then you are not wrong! Last summer, I started compiling a marathon of round-ups of all the library and archives scenes featured in each of MCU Phases thus far. And because the TV series and specials introduced in Phase Four were considerably larger and longer than previous phases, I had put together a separate, exhaustive post just for the Phase Four TV series and specials. It is useful to have a comprehensive post — like for research purposes — but because the finalized round-up post is sooooooooo long, it felt like a good idea to also feature each TV series in its own dedicated post. And sure, it would have made more sense to start with the individual post and THEN do the work of compiling them all together… but I am no stranger to doing things backwards! 😉

*POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERTS*

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (Aug.-Oct. 2022)

In this series, we follow the adventures of lawyer Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany), cousin to Bruce Banner / The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo). After a car crash, Jennifer accidentally gets exposed to Bruce’s blood, which results in a metamorphosis into She-Hulk. Jennifer then gets hired to lead a law firm’s new superhuman law division.

Episode 2, “Superhuman Law”

In this episode, Jennifer joins the Goodman, Lieber, Kurtzberg & Holliway (GLK&H) and (reluctantly) agrees to represent Emil Blonsky / Abomination (Tim Roth) at his parole hearing, the first case for her new superhuman law division.

I had NOT caught a library-related Easter egg until I watched the always excellent Ryan Arey and his ScreenCrush recaps and Easter eggs of the She-Hulk series. In the recap video for Episode 2, Arey points out a glimpse of a comics library (!!!) while Jennifer gets a tour of the GLK&H law firm. So we DO get a law library — just a completely different kind than I had been thinking of! 😀

Click on any image in the gallery below to view in a larger size.

Comics library cameo!
Comics library cameo!
A closer look at the comics collection in the law firm
A closer look at the comics collection in the law firm
Gallery of comics library in She-Hulk

In the comic She-Hulk, the law firm uses comic books as a research library, because in the Marvels Comics Universe there is a Marvel Comics publishing company that publishes the exploits of the real-life superheroes. So the same could be true here [in the TV series], where this is the research library for the superhuman law division

Ryan Arey, “SHE-HULK Ep 2 Breakdown: Every Easter Egg and Marvel Reference + WOLVERINE Cameo Explained,” ScreenCrush [YouTube video], 25 Aug. 222
“SHE-HULK Ep 2 Breakdown: Every Easter Egg and Marvel Reference + WOLVERINE Cameo Explained” video by ScreenCrush, Standard YouTube license

Due to his “encyclopedia knowledge of Marvel comics,” Arey then proceeds to detail each of the comic books referenced in this library cameo scene, based on the covers. LOVE. ❤ #NerdAlert #NoRegrets

Episode 3, “The People vs. Emil Blonsky”

In this episode, Jennifer successfully defends Blonsky / Abomination at his parole hearing, thanks in part to the testimony of Wong (Benedict Wong), who was tracked down by Jennifer’s paralegal, Nikki Ramos (Ginger Gonzaga).

When Jennifer goes to the prison to meet with Blonsky, she shows leaked footage from his fight with Wong — which was a very entertaining scene in the movie Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), which I analyzed here in this post. This leads the law team to Wong, who has a LinkedIn-type profile online which lists his employment history, including his position as Librarian at Kamar-Taj, a position he held (still holds?) for 11 years.

Nikki: Wong. Just Wong. And his internet presence is a little chaotic. He’s either a sorcerer who lives in New York or a librarian in Nepal.

Jennifer: Can you get to him?

Nikki: Yes, Jen. It’s me. Of course I can get to him. I sent a thirst trap. It was a picture of me with a bunch of books.

A glimpse of Wong’s employment history. Screenshot from ScreenCrush “SHE-HULK Ep 3 Breakdown: Every EASTER EGG + KINGPIN Clue EXPLAINED” video.
A glimpse of Wong’s employment history. Screenshot from ScreenCrush “SHE-HULK Ep 3 Breakdown: Every EASTER EGG + KINGPIN Clue EXPLAINED” video.

Of course, Wong is the current Sorcerer Supreme, and even if he is a retired reel librarian, I’m still including him! #TeamWongForever

Wong then portals into Jennifer’s law office — that book thirst trap was certainly successful! — and references the memory-erasing spell from Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Wong testifies at Blonsky’s parole hearing — but then disappears back into a portal when the parole board points out that Wong has just admitted to breaking the law by breaking Blonsky out of prison!

Slide the bar below to compare Wong’s portal entrance and exit.

Wong’s portal entrance and exit in this She-Hulk episode.

Episode 4, “Is This Not Real Magic?”

In this episode, Wong and Jennifer team up to fight a swarm of demons that a magician, Donny Blaze (Rhys Coiro) had unwittingly released; we find out that Donny had been expelled from Kamar-Taj.

As the episode begins, Donny pulls out a sling ring during his magic show and sends an audience member — Madisynn with “two N’s, one Y but it’s not where you thiiink” — to Kamar-Taj, where she interrupts Wong watching The Sopranos TV series and his adorable little dance to the opening credits song, “Woke Up This Morning” by Alabama 3:

Wong dances to the opening credits song from The Sopranos
Wong dances to the opening credits song from The Sopranos

At 6:15 minutes into the episode, Wong uses yet another portal to enter Jennifer’s law office, because he needs her help to stop Blaze.

Wong entering Jennifer’s law office by another portal
Wong entering Jennifer’s law office by another portal

They have this following exchange, in which Wong references the Book of Vishanti (which was a major plot point in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022), which I detailed here in this “first impressions” post).

Jennifer: No judge is going to take this seriously unless we do things by the book.

Wong: Ah, the Book of Vishanti.

Jennifer: No, the book of American laws.

Before Wong departs in yet another portal, he hands Jennifer his business card, which simply reads:

Wong
Sorcerer Supreme
Master of the Mystic Arts

Wong’s business card
Wong’s business card

The mid-credits scene showcases Wong hanging out again with Madisynn, watching The Sopranos. Madisynn asks about yak milk, and he mentions that they “still have some left from the wedding”… could he be referring to Tony Stark’s wedding that he got invited to in Avengers: Infinity War (2018)???

Madisynn and Wong hang out again in this mid-credits scene from She-Hulk
Madisynn and Wong hang out again in this mid-credits scene from She-Hulk

Episode 9, “Whose Show is This?”

In this final episode, Jennifer breaks the fourth wall — which was a common thing in the original She-Hulk comics — and persuades K.E.V.I.N. (an AI robot based on the real-life Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige) to rewrite the finale.

The final credits cameo reveals Wong breaking Blonsky out of prison to take him to Kamar-Taj.

Click on any image in the gallery below to view in a larger size.

Wong breaks Blonsky out of prison in the finale's post-credits scene
Wong breaks Blonsky out of prison in the finale's post-credits scene
Wong breaks Blonsky out of prison in the finale’s post-credits scene

Blonsky: You took your time.

Wong: Emil, my apologies for my delay.

Blonsky: You got sucked into another show, didn’t you?

Wong: We’re really in an era of peak TV.

And that is certainly true for every series that features Wong!

To be continued…?

There has been no confirmation that She-Hulk: Attorney at Law has been greenlit (pun intended!) for a second season. Quite the contrary — there are rumors that Disney has scrapped such plans, especially considering the low viewership ratings for the series and general MCU fatigue at large.

But how about a TV series all about Wong already?! … And I’m not the only one who thinks that! Please leave a comment and share what you think about either the She-Hulk series, or a TV series about Wong, our favorite MCU reel librarian.

Sources used

Archaeology vs. archives: Personal + museum collections in ‘Moon Knight’ Season 1 (2022)

“One big mess of obsessive bookworms.”

Let’s go on a tangent today by exploring the critically acclaimed series Moon Knight (2022) from Marvel/Disney. Similar to The Falcon and the Winter Soldier TV series, there are no official libraries or archives in this series, but there ARE several interesting examples of private collections, as well as related (but distinctly different) fields of archaeology and museums that I thought would be interesting to share.

“Marvel Studios’ Moon Knight | Official Trailer | Disney+” video by Marvel Entertainment, Standard YouTube license

NOTE: If you’re wondering, “Didn’t we already do this?” then you are not wrong! Last summer, I started compiling a marathon of round-ups of all the library and archives scenes featured in each of MCU Phases thus far. And because the TV series and specials introduced in Phase Four were considerably larger and longer than previous phases, I had put together a separate, exhaustive post just for the Phase Four TV series and specials. It is useful to have a comprehensive post — like for research purposes — but because the finalized round-up post is sooooooooo long, it felt like a good idea to also feature each TV series in its own dedicated post. And sure, it would have made more sense to start with the individual post and THEN do the work of compiling them all together… but I am no stranger to doing things backwards! 😉

*POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERTS*

Moon Knight (Mar.-May 2022)

In this series, which includes 6 episodes, Oscar Isaac plays three different men, who are all distinct identities, or alters, stemming from a dissociative identity disorder (DID): Marc Spector / Moon Knight, Steven Grant / Mr. Knight, and Jake Lockley. The TV series co-stars May Calamawy as Layla El-Faouly (the first Arab superhero in the MCU!), F. Murray Abraham as the voice of Khonshu, Ethan Hawke as Arthur Harrow, and Gaspard Ulliel as Anton Mogart. The mystery plot of the series involves Egyptian gods and their human avatars.

Episode 1, “The Goldfish Problem”

As the series begins, Steven Grant wakes up in bed, and we can spy bookcase shelves behind him — and those bookcases are arranged haphazardly (perhaps also an external reflection of his splintered mind?).

We also learn that Steven works at the British Museum in London, in the gift shop, although he not-so-secretly wishes he were a tour guide at the museum. He clearly knows more about Egyptology than the tour guides, as evidenced when he chats with a little girl at the museum.

Click on any image in the gallery below to view in a larger window.

Walking to work at the museum
Walking to work at the museum
Books for sale at the museum gift shop
Books for sale at the museum gift shop
Steven’s apartment with its messy bookshelves
Steven’s apartment with its messy bookshelves
Learning about Steven’s home and work environments

Note: The British Museum and the British Library used to be united, but the British Library separated from the Museum in 1973. However, the British Museum continued to host the Library in its iconic Reading Room (the architectural inspiration behind the Library of Congress Reading Room, as seen here) until 1997. Therefore, I’m NOT counting this location as a library, as the British Museum and the British Library are separate entities now.

Confused yet? Even more confusingly, the actual external location used in this series for the British Museum was actually the National Gallery. Staff members in the series wear uniforms with “National Art Gallery” printed on them, but there is no such place in real life. London has the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery, but only the British Museum has Egyptian artifacts. WHEW. Y’all still with me? 😉

At 10 minutes into the episode, we witness how Steven uses reading as a tactic to stay awake. He listens to an app (“Welcome to staying awake! … Bored with puzzles? Try a book!”), and he reads about Egyptian gods, highlighting passages in books. That’s how he knows more than the tour guides at the museum! This reading and research montage lasts under a minute.

Click on any image in the gallery below to view in a larger window.

Stacks of books on the desk
Stacks of books on the desk
Reading as a tactic to stay awake
Reading as a tactic to stay awake
Highlighting and reading about Egyptology
Highlighting and reading about Egyptology
Montage about how Steven reads and researches as a way to stay awake

Episode 2, “Summon the Suit”

At 12:30 minutes into this episode, Steven is walking through a storage unit facility (archives of personal lives?), and the automatic lights click off. My spouse remarked how these lights echoed the automatic lights coming on in the archives scene in Captain Marvel.

Dramatic lighting in the archives scenes in Captain Marvel (2019)
Click the arrows to slide and compare the automatic lights in the storage facility in Moon Knight (left) versus the archives in Captain Marvel (right)

At 15:44 minutes, Steven brings Layla back to his apartment. We see many more bookcases, with books stacked everywhere, even on the floor. Steven also has card catalog drawers along one back wall, as well as a library ladder!

Click on any image in the gallery below to view in a larger window.

Card catalog and library ladder
Card catalog and library ladder
Books are stacked on the floor and on the bookcases
Books are stacked on the floor and on the bookcases
More views of Steven’s apartment, filled with bookcases, stacks of books, a card catalog, and a library ladder

Episode 3, “The Friendly Type”

In this episode, we learn more about Layla’s dad, who was an archaeologist. Again, just to be clear, archaeology and archives are NOT the same thing. (Sam @ Pop Archives delves more into this misconception here in this post.)

But I found this quote interesting. Less than 2 minutes into the episode, Layla’s forger friend, Lagaro (Barbara Rosenblat), quips:

Archaeology. One big mess of obsessive bookworms.

Also, later in the episode at 26:30 minutes, Layla has a brief exchange with Anton Mogart (Gaspard Ulliel, who tragically died in a ski accident in Jan. 2022) about the nature of private collections of cultural artifacts.

Anton: I hope you understand this is more than a collection to me. Preserving history is a responsibility I take very seriously.

Layla: A self-appointed responsibility that you alone are able to enjoy, no?

BINGO. I love that Layla is calling out his privilege here. Anton describes this kind of private collecting in a way that probably sounds similar to how an archivist could describe their work. But most archival collections are meant to be shared with the public — even if that public has to make appointments in order to view or use the collections — and not hidden away for just one person to enjoy. If you’re an archivist and reading this post, please leave a comment and share your professional perspective on this scene!

Episode 5, “Asylum”

At 3:53 minutes into this penultimate episode, Ethan Hawke is portraying a psychiatrist who is trying to explain trauma and its effects to Steven. And he mentions a library in this explanation!

Harrow: The struggling mind will often build places to seek shelter for different aspects of the self from our most traumatic memories. It’s called just an organizing principle, ok? Some people, they see a castle right? Somebody else will see a name, or a library.

Steven: Or…a psych ward?

Harrow also has a bookcase in his office, and most of the books are white or neutral-colored. Is it just my (biased) librarian perspective, or do you find it suspicious when people match their books with their decor? (Side note: PLEASE never go to a library and ask a librarian or staff member for “you know, the book with the blue cover.” We do NOT organize books by color, and we do not make note of the color of a cover in an item record in the library catalog. We do, however, sometimes make funny book displays, like “Books with Blue Covers,” when we’re feeling snarky. 😉 ) In the screenshot below, you can also see colored stickers on some of the book spines, which makes me think these books props can be traced back to a real library.

A personal library in a doctor’s office
A personal library in a doctor’s office

To be continued…?

The first (?) season of Moon Knight ended on a tease of a cliffhanger, with the reveal of another intriguing character. Will the series be renewed? A new season has not been officially announced or confirmed — although there are whisperings! — but I personally hope we see more of Oscar Isaac’s acting and linguistic shapeshifting, as well as Layla’s groundbreaking turn as Scarlet Scarab, the first Egyptian and the first Arab character and superhero in the MCU. What do you think? Please leave a comment and share!

Sources used

Call numbers + confusion: School library scenes in ‘Ms. Marvel’ TV series (2022)

The school library’s layout is really confusing!

Let’s return to revisiting the library and archives-related scenes in the Marvel/Disney TV series, which I began releasing as stand-alone posts earlier this summer. This time, let’s revisit Ms. Marvel (2022)… and perfect timing! The feature film The Marvels, which continues characters and events we see in this TV series, is set to premiere this week!

Through the season’s 6 episodes, the Ms. Marvel TV series has scenes set in and around the school library in half of the episodes, plus a private library collection in another episode. Confusingly, a guidance counselor’s office seems to be located INSIDE the school library (???), but I’m not counting the guidance counselor character as a reel librarian.

“Marvel Studios’ Ms. Marvel | Official Trailer | Disney+” video by Marvel Entertainment, Standard YouTube License

NOTE: If you’re wondering, “Didn’t we already do this?” then you are not wrong! Last summer, I started compiling a marathon of round-ups of all the library and archives scenes featured in each of MCU Phases thus far. And because the TV series and specials introduced in Phase Four were considerably larger and longer than previous phases, I had put together a separate, exhaustive post just for the Phase Four TV series and specials. It is useful to have a comprehensive post — like for research purposes — but because the finalized round-up post is sooooooooo long, it felt like a good idea to also feature each TV series in its own dedicated post. And sure, it would have made more sense to start with the individual post and THEN do the work of compiling them all together… but I am no stranger to doing things backwards! 😉

*POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERTS*

Ms. Marvel (June-July 2022)

In this TV series, which includes 6 episodes and occurs post-Blip, we get to know Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani), a 16-year-old fangirl of the Avengers — and specifically Captain Marvel — who navigates the complications of daily life as a Pakistani-American as well as her own superpowers that develop after she puts on a mysterious bangle that used to belong to her great-grandmother Aisha (Mehwish Hayat). The series co-stars Zenobia Shroff as Muneeba Khan, Mohan Kapur as Yusuf Khan, Matt Lintz as Bruno Carrelli, Yasmeen Fletcher as Nakia Bahadir, Rish Shah as Kamran, Nimra Bucha as Najma, and Aramis Knight as Kareem / Red Dagger. This series is based on the graphic novel series by G. Willow Wilson.

Episode 1, “Generation Why”

At 5 minutes into the first episode, we get a closeup of the school sign, which reads Coles Academic High School. The real-life inspiration behind this high school is the Dr. Ronald E. McNair Academic High School, located on Coles Street in Jersey City, NJ. The McNair HS even issued a press release about how proud they are to be connected with this series!

It has been a point of pride to be a real-life example of the various identities that this history-making character and story represents.

“McNair Academic Brought to Life as ‘Coles Academic’ in the Marvel Cinematic Universe” press release, Jersey City Public Schools, 3 June 2022.
Coles Academic High School plaque
Coles Academic High School plaque

You can also see “G. Willow Wilson” included as the first name on the Coles Academic sign. Wilson wrote the original Ms. Marvel comics, and also has a cameo on the series!

Fast forward to another Wilson reference… at 7 minutes, we get our first glimpse of the school library and the office for the guidance counselor, Mr. Wilson (Jordan Firstman). Mr. Wilson is trying to be super cool and chill, but the teens obviously view him as a lame poser. Through the blinds of the guidance counselor’s office, we can see library shelves, and what looks like a common room with other offices? This school library’s layout seems really confusing! Also, note the cheesy inspirational sign on the back of the office door (“You Can Totally Do This”), as you will see more inspirational posters in upcoming scenes in this office!

Is the guidance counselor’s office inside the school library?
Is the guidance counselor’s office inside the school library?

This guidance counseling session lasts 2 minutes.

Episode 2, “Crushed”

At 20:30 minutes into this episode, Bruno has a session with the guidance counselor. This time, the blinds are up, so we can see more clearly the library bookcases along the back and side walls, along with tables in the open area. Several students are using the school library space and browsing books on the shelves. (Click on the first screenshot in the gallery below to view the inspirational poster in this scene, which has a cat hanging off a tree branch below the words “Hang in there!”)

Click on any image in the gallery below to view in a larger window.

This inspirational poster is not inspirational
This inspirational poster is not inspirational
School library shelves in the background
School library shelves in the background
A better view of the school library in this guidance counselor scene

This scene lasts under 2 minutes.

Episode 4, “Seeing Red”

At 19:39 minutes into this episode, which is set in Pakistan, we enter the hideout of the Red Daggers, where we see their private library and collection of artifacts. I’m not counting this as an official library, but I thought it served as an interesting and different example of a private library.

We also see this private library again at 31:34 minutes, when Kamala is training with the Red Daggers.

Click on any image in the gallery below to view in a larger window.

Kamala visits the Red Daggers hideout for the first time
Kamala visits the Red Daggers hideout for the first time
Kamala increases her training at the Red Daggers hideout and private library
Kamala increases her training at the Red Daggers hideout and private library
Kamala trains at the Red Daggers handout, complete with a private library and artifacts

Episode 6, “No Normal”

In this finale episode, Kamala and her friends hide out at the high school and create a plan for how to deal with the law enforcement officers who are coming for them. (Fair warning, there is a “trigger warning” at the beginning of this episode, as it is EXTREMELY disturbing to view cops tracking down and shooting at kids in a school.)

At 15:42 minutes into the episode, Kamala’s brother, Aamir (Saagar Shaikh), grabs a fire extinguisher in the school library. Call numbers are visible on the book spines.

A closeup of school library call numbers and a fire extinguisher
A closeup of school library call numbers and a fire extinguisher

At 21:28 minutes, Kamala and Kamran run through the library and hide in the guidance counselor’s office. Kamala is able to calm Kamran down, and they almost kiss before Bruno interrupts them. Kamala and Kamran escape out the back of the counselor’s office, where we see more bookcases and books with call numbers in a back room. It’s unclear if this back room is a storage room or a browsable extension of the school library? (Also, note the corner of one more inspirational poster in the guidance counselor’s office, with the words “Get Ready for College!”). Bruno distracts the cops by dancing in the library. The scene ends at 23:15 minutes.

Click on any image in the gallery below to view in a larger window.

Running past library bookcases
Running past library bookcases
Another view of the library from the counselor’s office
Another view of the library from the counselor’s office
A peek at a back room full of library books
A peek at a back room full of library books
Bruno dances in the school library
Bruno dances in the school library
We see more of the layout of the school library and the guidance counselor’s office in this scene

Because of the glimpse of the back room filled with bookcases, the guidance counselor’s office seems to be located in the MIDDLE of the school library. Is he supposed to be both the school’s librarian and the guidance counselor? Mr. Wilson is never seen doing anything other than counseling, so I’m still not listing him as a reel librarian. I don’t understand this set design. My best guess is that if this is a real school location, that they used the actual school librarian’s office and just turned it into the guidance counselor’s office, in order to save money and space.

To be continued…?

The ending of this TV series directly sets up the plot of the upcoming movie, The Marvels, which premieres this week. This direct transition is also highlighted in the movie’s teaser trailer:

“Marvel Studios’ The Marvels | Teaser Trailer” video by Marvel Entertainment, Standard YouTube License

Sources used