This week saw the end of the Disney+ Star Wars series Obi-Wan Kenobi, a show devoted to... actually it's really hard to talk about. Arguably, one of the biggest problems with the Kenobi tv show is that it is arguably impossible to talk about without spoilers. But it's over now... so we're going to spoil it! On this week's show, Hannah, Mav and Wayne are joined by returning guest Marcel Walker to talk all about Kenobi, and how it fits into the Star Wars franchise as a whole, as well as break down what works and doesn't work about both this show and what appears to be the current business plan for producing Star Wars properties going forward. We talk about some of the themes of this series, the social...
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Episode 2: Do You Remember Nostalgia?
Today we talk about nostalgia porn. No… not that kind of porn… though I guess it might be interesting to do a whole episode devoted to talking about vintage pornography (“This one’s a talkie!”). This is a whole episode about media that references the past as a key feature of the media. Your Stranger Things.…
Call for Comments: Virtual Violence
From Mav: First of all, if you haven’t seen it, the first episode of the podcast is up, so come check it out. And we will be recording the second one tomorrow, so there’s still time to add your comments on pop culture nostalgia. Now with all of that out of the way, I’d like…
Episode 1: Origin Stories
At long last, it is finally here. Welcome to the first episode of the VoxPopcast, “Origin Stories.” Here, Wayne and Mav, joined by special guest John Darowski, explain the concept Vox Populorum and then debate the usefulness, purpose and significance of origin stories in comic books, movies and TV shows. Let us know what you think.…
Call for Comments: Do you remember nostalgia?
From Mav: This weekend I got a chance to see the film Ready Player One. As I said when I wrote my review of it (if you don’t read my movie reviews on my personal blog site, you absolutely should) I had not actually read the book before, though I’ve been meaning to and i’m sure I’ll get…
Update: Just Recorded Episode One
Wayne and Mav just recorded the first episode of the podcast on Origin Stories. Not quite sure when we’re going to post it yet, but we wanted everyone to know that we are certainly working on it. Thank you to everyone who commented on the first blog and gave us ideas to address in the…
Call For Comments: Superhero Origins (and ours!)
From Mav: One of my most favorite things to do as an academic is presenting at conferences. Part of this is just because being an academic means presenting your research. That’s a big part of the job. But for me, conferences are the most fun because it means linking up with other people with similar…
Call For Comments: Pop Culture and Religiosity
April 19, 2018
One of the fun things about doing a dissertation on comic books is that I get to spend some time lurking in random forums on the internet (Facebook groups, Redit, Tumblr, that sort of thing) just observing subcultural behavior in fan culture. Anyway, one particular group I monitor had a very odd interaction about a week ago…