Have you ever had that experience where you’re talking to a friend or a teacher or even just watching Jeopardy or something, and you end up knowing a fact that you weren’t sure you even knew or not and then when questioned about how you know it you realize that you learned ir from a…
Tag: tv
Call For Comments: Get Nominally Woke Have Poorly Defined Return on Financial Investment
From Mav: We’ve talked before about the ways in which people complaining that media is “too woke now” are often just not aware that the media they’ve always loved always has been. A few years back I remember when there was an uproar amongst comic fans when Nick Spencer, then writer of Captain America comics…
e356. Incidental Genre: Unpacking the Unexpected
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…
e353. Prestige TV vs. Streaming Movies
If you live on the planet earth and watch TV in the modern era, chances are you watch at least some streaming TV shows. What was once a niche and geeky “new media” extravagance is pretty much the default way to view content today. In fact, some of the most notable and most prestigious television…
e339. Why Do Smart People Like Trashy Reality Shows?
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…
e338. Fandom and Identity: The Evolution of Beloved Characters
What does it mean to be a fan of a character? There have been millions of different interpretations of Batman and the character of Wolverine as he appears in Marvel comics films bears surprisingly little in common with his original comic book impetus. In this episode, Mav and Wayne Wise are joined by guests recent…
e336. So, Why Pop Culture?
In all the years we’ve been doing this show we’ve worked under a very basic assumption: Everyone involved as a host, guest, or listener presumes that the pseudo academic discussion of popular culture (with drinking and swearing) is an important activity. We certainly feel that way, and chances are if you’re a regular listener you…
e332. The 4th Wall Bounce: The Reflexivity of Media and Culture
So here’s a weird question for you… in a TV show like Batman, do the regular people know the phrase “dynamic duo?” In the movie Amazing Spider-Man Peter Parker uses the theme song from the 1960s Spider-man cartoon as his ringtone… but what song does he think that is? If two TV shows cross over,…
e330. The Immortal Legacy: Aging Actors and Endless Franchises
If you’re a fan of geek media, you likely noticed two important things from Marvel Studios last week. One was the long-awaited release of Deadpool & Wolverine. The second was the San Diego Comicon surprise that Robert Downey Jr. would be returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe to take on the role of Dr. Doom.…