Do you watch reality shows? No really. You can admit it. We won't tell. We want to let you in on a secret. We actually watch some. In fact, we watch a bunch of them. And like... we're smart! in fact, being smart is sort of the entire point of this show. And yet, we watch some of the admittedly most mindnumpingly dumbest TV shows possible. Regularly! On this episode Mav and Monica are joined by returning guest, psychologist Stephanie Siler to talk about reality shows and why anyone likes them anyway. Or at least why we do. We examine the manipulative nature of reality TV production, the psychology of why we might enjoy watching it even if we think it's bad, and the role of exhibitionism and voyeurism in...
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Episode 19: Cosplayers of Color
It’s pretty well accepted in contemporary geek culture that “representation matters.” At least, it’s accepted by everyone except for the evil corners of the internet that we don’t really care about. And thankfully, because of this, recent years in geek culture have seen the addition of many diverse characters that have become cosplay favorites at…
Episode 18: She-Ra and the Male Gaze
If you happened to see a mid-tier 1980s cartoon superheroine get a costume update that was less objectifyingly sexy for a modern day reboot of the series in the last couple weeks and you were shocked to see a bunch of angry middle-aged men complaining about it… well then, “hello there! You must be new…
Call for Comments: Cosplayers of Color
From Mav: Usually we try to mix topics on our show up from week to week; one week generally has very little to do with whatever happened the week before. This week is a little different, but only slightly. Last week, while I was prepping the Call for Comments for the She-Ra and Male Gaze/Superheroine…
Episode 17: Music, the Soundtrack of our Lives
Wayne loves music. Do you love music? Yeah, we get it, everyone loves music. But Wayne really loves music! Why is that? Why do we connect so strongly with music, especially the popular music of our teens? Why do bands make covers songs? Why is your generation’s music better than the sucky stuff your parents…
Call For Comments: She-Ra and the Male Gaze – To Sexy or Not TOO Sexy, That is the Question…
From Mav: Fun fact, this show has its origins in two places. One is geeky conversations that I have had with Wayne in the comic book shop he works in and we eventually said “we should make a show out of this.” We’ve told that story before. The other is in conversations that I had…
Episode 15: Cinematic Violence & the Impossible Body
Remember that one fight in the Matrix that kicked ass? Wait, those all kicked ass. What about that fight in Kill Bill that kicked ass? Actually those all kicked ass too. Well what about that one time that Bruce Lee… Ok so I guess when you think about it, a lot of movie fights kick…
Call For Comments: Sex, Gender and Video Games
From Mav: Way back on our third show, we talked about violence in video games. It was a fascinating show. Neither Wayne or I are experts, so that was the first time we called in both Katya and Abby to run the discussion. It was great. I learned a lot. Chief among the things I learned…