The Heist may be one of the popular pop culture tropes of all time. And yet, we’ve never talked about it before. So you know what that means. It’s time to change that. On this episode, assemble a ragtag group of experts… to pull off one last job… figuring out what makes a heist movie…
Author: Monica Geraffo
e421. Here Comes the Bride! Feminism and Frankenstein
Recently, Maggie Gyllenhaal took a swing at a reboot of the horror classic The Bride of Frankenstein and released The Bride. Unfortunately, not many people saw it. But it begs the question, Frankenstein is one of the history’s most important books. Mary Shelly, created the sci-fi genre with the novel, and yet most of the…
e420. 2026 Summer Movie Preview
It’s summer! Ok, maybe it’s not quite summer summer, but it is summer movie season as the U.S box office. There’s a lot of movies coming out this summer, but honestly not that many franchises. So, how do you decide what to see? On this episode, Mav, Hannah, and Maybe are joined by returning guests…
e417. Doomscrolling and Redemption: The Evolution of Faces of Death
In 1978, a movie called Faces of Death was released and gained a cult following as a weird sort of reflection of the world’s contemporary view of trauma in the contemporary media age. Several sequels were made, but now they seem somewhat dated as live in a world mediate by the internet rather than television.…
e416. All the Cinderellas: an Exploration of Trope and Transformation
Often when we think about pop culture we think about relatively recent things. But sometimes it’s good to think about the enduring sources. Fairytales have been popular culture for longer than anyone in history knows. So much so that we don’t even know who wrote a lot of them. On today’s episode, Monica, Mav, and…
e414. Strings Attached: Puppetry, from Marionettes to AI
Puppetry is one of the oldest and most respected performance art styles in the world. Except, in America we have reduced it almost entirely to the domain of children’s entertainment. Or have we? Maybe puppets are all around us in every kind of media. Maybe we’re actually using puppets every day and we don’t even…
e413. Teen Beach Movie Revisited: a Conversation with the Screenwriter
A few weeks ago Mav and Monica did a very special show where three of Mav’s current students from his “Introduction to Popular Culture” class where the students joined us to explain their view of one of their favorite movies, Disney’s Teen Beach Movie and both its cultural relevance and its usefulness as an academic…
e410. Teen Beach Movie: Metaphor, Methodology, Memories, and Millennials vs. GenZ
Sometimes an episode idea comes out of nowhere. Recently, Mav overheard several of his students discussing a movie from their childhood before his morning class. After he laughed at their description, the students challenged Mav to do some “homework” and watch the movie. He agreed, and incorporated the movie into his lesson the following week.…
e408. Wonder Woman: Boundaries, Bondage, and Breakthroughs
Wonder Woman is almost certainly one of the most enduring characters in all of pop culture. She’s certainly the most famous female superhero of all time. But we would argue that she’s significant even beyond that. Why? Well, let’s talk about it. On this week’s show Mav, Wayne and Monica are joined by returning guest…
e405. Fantasy Box Office Draft 2026
It’s that time again! Every year we have one very special show where all of the hosts get together to reveal the results of last years Fantasy Box Office Game AND to draft for the upcoming year. Last years game was a barn burner that basically came down to the very end where it could…