PORTFOLIO | Mark Lu - Writer, Filmmaker

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MARK LU:
A PORTFOLIO

Hey there!

I'm Mark and I'm a writer, filmmaker, data analyst, and former reporter. Here, you will find a comprehensive base of articles, papers, films, and other projects I have accumulated over my career.

Find also external links below to stay connected with my work.

Please direct all collaboration and business inquiries to info@mark-lu.org.

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My Podcast

MARK AFTER DARK

LATEST EPISODE: "REWRITING HOUSE OF THE DRAGON, SEASON 2"

Burdened by budget cuts and poor writing, Season 2 of House of the Dragon was not what I hoped it would be. A big fan of George R. R. Martin's Fire and Blood, I took a shot at rewriting the story. Hear it narrated on my podcast, Mark After Dark, or read it on my Medium page here.

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FILMOGRAPHY

New Release

LUCID CREEK

HORROR FEATURE (1h15m)

PREMIERE AT DMViFF 2024

A woman discovers a boy's corpse in the woods and begins having nightmares about seeing the murderer at the crime scene. Meanwhile a reporter and police officer probe the case for physical evidence.

FEATURED ARTICLES

The David of the Bible is a Nietzschean hero, of course brought to heel by the 14th-century monks who penned the book in which his story is told, but his spirit exists in all of our souls — his life was a testament to human strength against the futility of existence. One can say David did not kill Goliath, but rather that he killed God — that he faced the great, pointless unknown of human existence, doomed in his smallness, yet not only did he defeat such an obstacle, he created his own legendary status from the pillars of his own struggle for the top, cementing his name into immortality, beyond the limitations of his mind or physical body.

The unity of all the elements in certain scenes, including fight and training and dialogue scenes all, is a glorious orchestra of unhinged action and energy. It is faster and cooler than any “John Wick”, with the musical and sound mastery of a Damien Chazelle film. Hell, also the musical editing and beautiful color of a Damien Chazelle film. “Monkey Man” is a feast for the eyes, a clock for the heart, and a song for the ears.

INDIAN JUSTICE IN DEV PATEL'S MONKEY MAN

In an ambitious, progressive action thriller, Dev Patel tries to save modern-day India, strapped by corruption, protesting, and rape culture, through the mythic Hanuman figure of Hindu mythology. One of the most important films of the 21st century. “Monkey Man” combusts with an energy and look you might find in David Leitch’s “Atomic Blonde” or Len Wiseman’s “John Wick”, but it beats with a much faster tempo you can only find in Bollywood. When Dev Patel isn’t punching or kicking or flying, I’m reminded of “Raat Akeli Hai”, a rather tame detective thriller released in 2020, which stylistically rode the line between Hollywood and Bollywood with some momentary exceptions. In “Raat”, the music can’t help but crescendo in the classic, corny Bollywood way in some moments, but overall, it clearly is holding back as to not alienate Western audiences, choosing often to film and edit itself like an American spy thriller might. “Monkey Man”, on the other hand, doesn’t ride the line — Dev Patel takes both cakes and devours them.

There is a lot of good in “Civil War”. The earth-shattering sound and gunshot-quick editing make the film a jarring experience on the eyes and ears — as it was clearly intended to. If you’ve lived in or visited Washington, D.C., you might even be able to smell it. So, there’s a lot of technicality to celebrate here. “Civil War” is by no means a bad film. My critique mostly has to do with its ideological hollowness and a lack of story context — both common criticisms of the film — but also weak aspects of its in-film story, namely its flat character writing and meager ending.

THE UNDERRATED PHILOSOPHY OF SUPERMAN

Superman is widely thought of as the "basic" and "overpowered" superhero, an everlasting and more importantly false symbol of goodness and hope, with a thousand evil parodies - Homelander, Omni-Man, etc. - flooding pop culture. But his philosophy is a powerful force when considered on a personal level. Some reading of Nietzsche helps immensely with this understanding.

With all of this being said: my rewrite of House of the Dragon’s second season is largely wishful thinking, a fantasy of everything I personally wanted to see, and is not meant to be a substantive critique of HBO’s show. In fact, we may see much of what I’ve written here in Season 3.

REWRITING HOUSE OF THE DRAGON, SEASON 2

Yup, I’m that asshole. Disappointed in HBO, I have written an alternative story, episode by episode, for Season 2 of HBO’s House of the Dragon, based loosely on the narrative presented in Fire and Blood, a novel written from the perspectives of scholars, religious leaders, and other witnesses to the events of the Dance of the Dragons, the fabled and legendary civil war between two factions of Targaryens that marked the beginning of the dynasty’s downfall following the rule of the Old King Jaehaerys I Targaryen the Conciliator and the Good Queen Alysanne Targaryen.

Using the lens of the Poor People's March of 1968, I examine the psychology of racial and economic discrimination in a 30-minute documentary. Video includes an interview with Professor Marcia Chatelain of Georgetown University. Documentary was submitted as final project for a civil rights class.

“Minari” looks at one family’s tumultuous and lonely journey through America’s armpit, while “Shang-Chi” is full of dynamism that is made for mass audiences who love action re: the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I hold no inclination that one film is better or more substantive than the other for the modern era — both films display ethos and commitment to the people they are portraying. However, I understand the politics between my first country and my second country enough to value the journey we’ve walked since the ten infants were buried at Tule Lake relocation camp from 1942 to 1946, contrasted with the critically and commercially successful movies celebrating Asian culture today as both avante garde, independent cinema and an element of the flashy, oversaturated American superhero fabric. This abyss is the space where our legitimacy as Americans — in the midst of “China virus” hate crimes and eco-/socio-/geopolitical tensions with Xi Jinping — will be put on trial. Films like “Minari” and “Shang-Chi” have given us this opportunity. I have realized now Asian American cinema offers endless fruit to come, but I will always remember 2021 as the year it formally came of age.

The term “priests of power” originates from George Orwell’s novel “1984,” which astonishingly forecasted the structure of governance on the Chinese mainland in the modern age. There is an ideological ruling class governing China’s collective thinking, enforced by a party of leaders sworn to self-preservation and hostility toward dissent.

Some scholars of American history suggest the institution of slavery was dying out on the eve of the Civil War, implying the Civil War was fought over more generic, philosophical states' rights principles rather than slavery itself. Economic evidence shows this conclusion is largely incorrect; the industrial slavocracy of the south was thriving—Southern aristocrats had every reason to fight the prospect of abolition, for the Southern economy and capital structure was almost exclusively on the ownership of Black men and women. After the war, repression continued through economic means, as former slaves became sharecroppers trapped in restrictive tenancies with little to no upward mobility. As Reconstruction and the Freedmen’s Bureau were chased out by local and state authorities in the former Confederacy, hundreds of thousands of freed slaves, silenced at the hand of white supremacy terrorism and voter suppression, faced physical enslavement once again through the criminality exception to the 13th amendment.

THE MYTH OF WANING PRE-CIVIL WAR SLAVERY: AN ECONOMIC RETROSPECTIVE

Published in Inquiries Journal, Vol. 13 No. 05. Some scholars of American history suggest the institution of slavery was dying out on the eve of the Civil War, implying the Civil War was fought over more generic, philosophical states' rights principles rather than slavery itself. Economic evidence shows this conclusion is largely incorrect; the industrial slavocracy of the south was thriving—Southern aristocrats had every reason to fight the prospect of abolition, for the Southern economy and capital structure was almost exclusively on the ownership of Black men and women.

Oliver Stone's filmography has levied an unprecedented effect on the popular understanding of American history, especially of the turmoil surrounding the Vietnam War and the assassination of John F. Kennedy. His style has been described as highly subjective, fantastical, impassioned, insensitive, and unabashedly masculine. It is rather undisputed, however, that his features are not without cultural, racial, or religious shortsightedness. Stone's narrative style is particularly strong when working within a certain set of circumstances with respect to story and historical substance. Western, male characters are his forte, as are stories focused on events with which he has a strong personal relationship, as shown particularly in Platoon, JFK, and Natural Born Killers. His work with more unfamiliar perspectives, on the other hand, highlight his filmmaking shortfalls regarding historical accuracy, cultural identity and sensitivity, and political insight. For example, in Nixon, Stone's personal set of inclinations about the nature of the U.S. government cloud a potentially substantive and devastating indictment of both Richard Nixon's character and his political tendencies. In Heaven & Earth, these weaknesses materialize in a more disenfranchising and personal sense, resulting in a voyeuristic, objectifying, and extraordinarily impersonal personal story about a displaced victim of the Vietnam War.

A CROSS-ANALYSIS OF FOUR OLIVER STONE MOVIES

Published in Inquiries Journal, Vol. 12 No. 12. Oliver Stone's filmography has levied an unprecedented effect on the popular understanding of American history, especially of the turmoil surrounding the Vietnam War and the assassination of John F. Kennedy. His style has been described as highly subjective, fantastical, impassioned, insensitive, and unabashedly masculine. It is rather undisputed, however, that his features are not without cultural, racial, or religious shortsightedness.

The Philippine-American War, along with the government-sponsored act of genocide against the Native Americans at home throughout the 1800s, are some of the least-discussed topics in primary and secondary education classes. And yet, the principles these historical conflicts enshrine in America’s cultural and political traditions are the most important indicators of where America’s priorities really are, and whose interests America really serve.

THE FIRST VIETNAM: THE PHILIPPINE-AMERICAN WAR

The Philippine-American War, along with the government-sponsored act of genocide against the Native Americans at home throughout the 1800s, are some of the least-discussed topics in primary and secondary education classes. And yet, the principles these historical conflicts enshrine in America’s cultural and political traditions are the most important indicators of where America’s priorities really are, and whose interests America really serve.

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