Some fandoms just claw their way into pop culture and steadily grow. Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot may have never been the largest pop culture figure, but he's been in the zeitgeist for more than 100 years. While not as well known as Sherlock Holmes, he's arguably just as important to the mystery genre and arguably even more so. On today's episode Hannah and Monica are joined by returning guests Stephanie Siler and Lindsay Mahowald as well as new guest Tiffany Babb to discuss Poirot from the novels to the films to the TV shows as well as the ways in which he remains a relevant cultural force both for the early 20th century and today. Citations and Links: "Poirot's moustache: I will never forgive Kenneth Branagh for giving it a...
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e279. Is Sucker Punch a Bad Movie?
So the truth is, when we do our “is ____ a bad movie?” episodes, we expect that the listeners are going to be predisposed to say “yes, obviously it sucks. No one cares about that garbage movie” and we are attempting to do kind of a reparative reading of it. That’s what we were expecting…
Call for Comments: Is Sucker Punch really a bad movie?
“To be frank, the people I’ve run across who’ve come to me and said ‘Sucker Punch is my favorite movie’ are normally angsty teenage girls.” -Zack Snyder, 2023 From Monica: In 2011, I was a deeply depressed femme goth who was assaulted by a man, subsequently realized I was gay, tried coming out, and was…
e278. Hollywood is on Strike! (But, what does that mean?)
If you’re a fan of current American popular culture it’s pretty much impossible to not know that Hollywood is on strike right now. The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has been on strike since May 2, 2023 with the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) joining them on July…
Call For Comments: Hollywood is on Strike
From Mav: I think it’s fairly safe to assume that pretty much anyone who listens to our show already knows the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild/American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) are on strike. You likely are also in favor of the workers who are on strike. I suppose…
CFC: No Country For Old Men
From Wayne: I had been noticing a trend in a lot of recent media that hadn’t really fully formed in my mind until a couple of weeks ago when we recorded our Indiana Jones episode. Dial of Destiny was very much a movie about an old man, facing the ravages of time. Indy is o…
e275. Concert Amnesia and the Power of Flashbulb Memory
If you live on planet Earth right now, you might have noticed that Taylor Swift is touring. Her concerts are selling out even though tickets prices are out of control. Is it worth it? that’s a whole different show! However, some recent articles have implied that many young Swifties are experiencing a weird phenomenon. Concert…
Call For Comments: Concert Amnesia and Flashbulb Memories
From Steph: Recently, news media has reported claims from many Taylor Swift concertgoers that they cannot remember large parts or even any of the 3-hour “Eras Tour” concert such as which songs Taylor performed. This so-called “concert amnesia” is particularly distressing for those paying the high prices of resale tickets. However, it is widely known…
e274. Indiana Jones and the Legacy of Pulp
Last week the fifth (and supposedly final) Indiana Jones movie, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, finally hit theaters to substantially mixed reviews and audience reaction. Some have complained that it isn’t really giving them the vibe they were looking for out of an Indiana Jones movie while others have said it was a…