Wilkommen, bienvenue, welcome. My name is Travis Burgess, and I am the Founder, Chief Writer and Editor here at The Sacred Wall. As this is the first post, I have to assume that anyone reading this is a close friend or family member, to which I say: Hi Mom! Sorry I’m wasting my English degree! If you are an actual reader ready to accompany me on this journey, allow me to explain what exactly my goals are for this site.
I have loved pop culture almost since birth. As a toddler, I enjoyed the classic Disney era and Looney Tunes cartoons, as one does. As I advanced into the world of live action, two movies ended up capturing me, and to this day I have not been able to escape (if you’re wondering, they were The Wizard of Oz and Star Wars, and I can promise you that they will make frequent appearances on this site from now on). I spent the next twenty some-odd years of my life cultivating my knowledge, experimenting in filmmaking and improving my writing craft.
After graduating from college, I knew that I wanted to do something involving film-whether I was critiquing it or creating it, I wasn’t sure. However, knowing that this was the dream, I decided to create this site, with one of two goals in mind. One, this site would become successful, and I could make enough to support my passions for a longer period of time. Two, the more likely scenario, it would create a portfolio to demonstrate my usefulness to the baddest bitch on the prison block and get a job with a larger site. Either way, I could continue sharing my thoughts and opinions on movies.
The site’s overall objective is to provide my commentary on pop culture. This will mainly involve movies, but it may branch out to cover a variety of topics, including television, literature, music, theater, sports and video games. I don’t want to close off any topic I may feel passionate about, even if my knowledge of Cam Newton’s stats is exceedingly lacking compared to my knowledge of which films have won the most Oscars. Beyond up-to-date coverage of the industry’s breaking news and reviews of new releases, I will also provide complete awards coverage: predictions and updates not only for the Oscars, but the Emmys, the Tonys, the Grammys, etc. And the lists. My God will there be lists. Sooooooo many lists. On every subject. Prepare yourselves.
As the site grows, I hope to encourage conversation and passion amongst the readers, and to one day expand this little project into an enterprise. I hope that I will soon be able to staff more writers willing to express about what excites them, as well as cover my own blind spots. I’m already discussing with a few different people the notion of a podcast, or network of podcasts, to cover everything under the sun, not unlike Earwolf, Nerdist, or Rooster Teeth.
If you are wondering what my inspiration for this site will be, or who my sources are, I would like to give a few shout-outs to the models I am using. First and foremost, this site is inspired by the now-defunct Rope of Silicon, managed by Brad Brevet. It is that level of design and criticism that I aspire to reach. I also draw inspiration and information from sites such as The Playlist, Awards Circuit, The A.V. Club and especially FilmDrunk. Critically, I lean towards the popular approach of Roger Ebert or Gene Siskel, but other sources of inspiration include Owen Gleiberman, Laremy Legel, Vince Mancini, the aforementioned Brad Brevet and especially Pauline Kael. And if you’re wondering why I am using Courier New as my font of choice: I just like it, so back off.
Finally, I’d like to make this Kane-esque promise to you, the readers. No matter how successful-or unsuccessful-this site becomes, I promise to uphold a level of respect amongst the community. I will at no point trade in my thoughts and ethics for what’s popular, and everything I tell you will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Now that this has all been addressed, let’s buckle our seatbelts, hold hands and drive over that edge together (spoiler alert).
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