A few weeks ago back on our Things you Missed episode, Mav recommended the movie My Old Ass with Maisy Stella and Aubrey Plaza. Since that time both Wayne and Mav's wife Stephanie have watched it. In talking to them Mav noted a curious thing about the film. It's technically a science fiction movie, sort of. At the very least the basic setup of the film involves time travel. However, beyond the setup, the science fiction genre is essentially ignored entirely and the film is simply a coming of age rom com about teenage exploration of sexuality. And it's delightful. On this episode Steph, Mav and Wayne unpack the idea of incidental genre. That is to say, what do we make of media wherein there is a very definite genre...
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e51. So What Is Subculture Anyway?
We’ve been talking a lot about subcultures on our last couple of episodes. And the terms comes up a lot on the internet — usually negatively — to refer to everything from hipsters and punks and goths and geeks to Republicans and Democrats to Christians and Muslims to … uh… MAGA hat wearers. Often if…
e50. Are You What You Wear?
Somewhere along the line, when they were making the show The Big Bang Theory, someone said “hey, this guy is a geek. Put him in comic book T-shirts, and everyone will know.” And then wardrobe was done with Sheldon. Next they decided to dress Penny and they said “Umm, she’s a hot actress. Make sure…
Call For Comments: Hipsters and Bikers and Goths, Oh My!
From Mav: A couple weeks, I saw a fun article floating around social media about a man who complained when he saw his own photo being used for an article about an MIT study that about why “all hipsters look alike” because of how insulting it was to say that… only to later find out…
e49. Cinema vs. Streaming
Recently Steven Spielberg allegedly implored the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to make it harder for films distributed primarily through streaming platforms to win Oscars. Or maybe he didn’t. The details are actually kind of fuzzy. But moreover, we’re not sure it really matters whether he did or not. The very idea of…
Call for Comments: Streaming and the Death of Cinema?
From Mav: Back on our Oscars show, we talked a little bit about the movie Roma and what it would mean for the film industry if they allowed it to win best picture (they didn’t). Last week rumors surfaced that Steven Spielberg is petitioning the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to change the…
e47. Milkshake Ducks & Problematic Artists
It seems like it happens every day lately. Your favorite writer, comedian, singer, actor, sports star, politician or whatever suddenly hits the news because it turns out he’s a racist, rapist, sexist, homophobe, murderer or otherwise deplorable person. Particularly in the #MeToo era, we’re seeing this more and more with the likes of Bill Cosby,…