e219. Why We Still Love the Jurassic Park Franchise

Somehow, in 2022, there’s a Jurassic Park movie at the top of the box office. Some twenty-nine years after the first film and 32 years after the release of the first novel, this series is still going strong. There are cartoons, video games, Lego sets and other toys. Even though Jurassic World Dominion is theoretically…

CFC: How do TV ratings work and why do we care?

From Mav: So if you’re keyed into conservative media this week — and I get that most of our listeners aren’t, but I like to keep up on the whole political spectrum… even the crazies for work — you might have seen a very weird talking point making the rounds. Random alt-right news sites are…

e218. Does the Bechdel Test Fail the Bechdel Test?

A funny thing happened last week. The internet got into a minor scuffle about whether Fire Island, a film about gay men, was sexist because it failed the Bechdel Test, by not having substantive roles for women… because it was a movie about gay men. For those who haven’t seen the film… which frankly, is…

CFC: Bechdel Tests, Fire Island, and the lack of nuance in pop culture criticism

From Mav: So I hate the Bechdel Test. I think it’s stupid. See what I’m doing here is saying something kind of outrageous to start an article and then going into a more nuanced discussion where I try to make a larger point but that will be ignored by a lot of people who just…

CFC: We CAN do an episode about Jurassic Park; does that mean we SHOULD?

From Hannah: It’s been almost thirty years since we first were welcomed to Jurassic Park on the silver screen. And this weekend, the sixth movie in the franchise (which, uh, many of might say never should have had one sequel much less this many) Jurassic World: Dominion will premiere on North American screens. I’ve been…

e217. Online Shopping, Thrifting, and The Death of Mall Culture

When’s the last time you hung out at the mall? We don’t mean when is the last time you went to a mall, ran in, got something and left. When is the last time you really hung out there? Once upon a time, this used to be a thing. Families took all day shopping trips…

Call for Comments: “Get in loser, we’re going shopping”

From Monica: This week on VoxPop, we’re feeling nostalgic for the ultimate palace of capitalism— the mall. Because even if you don’t like shopping, the sheer quantity of things geographically centered meant that you probably bought clothes, or read comics, or listened to CDs, or saw a movie, or had a haircut, or took a…

e216. Chip’n Dale: Rescue Rangers & The Art Of The Cameo

If you haven’t had a chance to see the new Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers movie, you probably should watch it. It’s maybe the perfect blend of nostalgia, humor and just pointing at random IP cameos that you might recognize. It’s completely totally and in all ways absolutely delightful. This is in stark contrast to…

Call For Comments: Rescue Rangers, Cameo Films, and Marketing Nostalgia

From Mav: You know what… the new Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers movie is absolutely fucking delightful. It seriously is. It’s really really good and you should watch it. Not only is it really good, it’s sort of surprisingly good because it didn’t actually HAVE to be. We’ve done a lot of shows about nostalgia…

e215. Taboo Teen TV Tropes

Does it bother you when you’re watching your favorite steamy teen drama on TV and they add a formulaic subplot about two step siblings who suddenly fall in love. What about when you see a plot line where a student has an affair with their teacher or some other older adult? How about when there’s…