Culture Critic | Author
Merryana Salem is a Wonnarua and Lebanese–Australian critic, author, and podcaster. They’re on social media at @akajustmerry, and their writings can be found in Kill Your Darlings, Junkee, the Sydney Morning Herald, and The Big Issue. They also co-host a podcast called GayV Club where they talk all things queer media. In 2022, their short stories were published in the anthologies: Unlimited Futures by Rafeif Ismail and Ellen van Neerven, and This All Come Back Now by Mykaela Saunders. View their CV on LinkedIn.
Podcast: GayV Club.
LATEST EPISODE:
Portfolio
Selected Works: Junkee
- Being Non-Binary Is Not One Size Fits All, But That’s All We See On Screen
- ‘Killers Of The Flower Moon’ Can’t Escape Its Own White Gaze
- Profile: Yarning With Nakkiah Lui About Colonial Grief, The Voice, And Her New Podcast ‘First Eat’
- ‘The Last of Us’ Has A Pretty Big Problem With Pinkwashing
- INTERVIEW: “I Carry Their Experiences In My Heart”: Patrick Abboud On Investigating Australia’s Only Gay Prison
Works Published: Kill Your Darlings
Works Published: The Big Issue
- Big Screens Review: Legend of the Five – edition #620
- Small Screens Review: Dark Place – edition #600
- Small Screens Review: Love on the Spectrum – edition #599
- Small Screens Review: She Who Must Be Loved – edition #591
- Small Screens Review: Five Faces – edition #584
- Small Screens Review: The Heights – edition #581
- Small Screens Review: Kidding – edition #571
Quotes
“As vital as art is in affirming society’s identity, so is criticism to ensure none are left behind.”
― Essay: The White Feminist Lead and her Posse of Colour
However progressive the world becomes for LGBTQIA+ youth, Suk Suk and Ellie & Abbie (& Ellie’s Dead Aunt) remind us to respect our elders and the generations that came before us who paved the way for the relative ease we now experience. The least we can do is pay tribute through film to the lives they may have led.
― Feature: The Gay Generation Gap
Merryana Salem 