This week Donovan returns from New York Comic-Con to discuss the frontlines of modern fandom, the manufactured culture war online, and how we arrived at this point.
This week the trio of Don, Harry and Stella discuss “comfort media”, I.E. the things they run to when the walls start to close in. From television shows and romance novels to video games, what does your comfort media say about you?
On Monday, May 2nd Politico leaked a draft from the Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito in which the Court aims to overturn Roe v. Wade, reversing abortion rights in America. Kelly returns to the show to discuss the history of the courts and abortion, and the three list instances in various media of how the … More Has Pop Culture Shaped America’s Views on Abortion? (Guest Starring Kelly!)
You know he says “The battle for the mind of North America” because it’s a Canadian film, right? This week, we take a look at the highway collision of media criticism and online discourse, so spawning a term for a new age: “media literacy.” Maybe you’re seeing it a lot, too. … More What is Media Literacy?
And so we begin, with a massive look at Seduction of the Innocent, the history of moral panics circa the 1950s, Frederic Wertham being a crappy researcher and Batman being a crappy boyfriend.
This week the guys talk martial arts, with the look forward in a post-Shang Chi MCU and backward at a post-Enter the Dragon film genre. Surrounding the film commentary are discussions on the immediate aftermath of Bruce Lee’s passing, successors to his throne, “Brucesploitation”, Asian stars, and how things might’ve been different had Lee lived.
Battling tech issues, Stella returns along with a new angle on the conversation of Cancel Culture, analyzing specific case studies for examples of “good” and “bad” behavior. Do we leave those we used to love behind? Is it helpful to look up to others as aspirational? Comics, Sports, Comedians and Confederates are all discussed!
This week the guys welcome Alex Jaffe and Professor Chris Ceary to talk about Asexual Representation in Media. The gang discusses personal exploration, the inevitability of romantic storytelling, harmful stereotypes and which characters are Ace but don’t know it.
*CONTENT WARNING* This episode discusses series and films involving Sexual Assault and Extreme Violence. Listener Discretion is Strongly Advised. As America seemingly turns a corner on racial justice, Hollywood is rounding the corner on racial representation, returning to the use of violence to put across the reality of oppression. But not all intentions affect equally. … More Agony and Ecstasy: Struggle Movies and Minority Representation in Media
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