Hosted by Charlie Bennett and Christian Sager.
Sicario is a 2015 action/thriller about the difference between the drug war and the "War on Drugs." We look at its complex themes and try to understand arguments about its portrayal of a strong female character, as well as life on the other side of the border.
Additional Resources:
- Federal agents conduct immigration enforcement raids in at least six states
- Are My Methods Unsound? Why ‘Sicario’ Is the ‘Apocalypse Now’ of the Drug War
- Portrayal of Juárez in ‘Sicario’ Vexes Residents Trying to Move Past Dark Times
- Sicario’s Dirty War on Mexican Cartels is Not Yet Reality
- Sicario film-makers faced demands to change female lead role to a man
- The Problem With ‘Strong’ Women
- Women and Hollywood
- Not Very Ladylike: Gender Stereotypes and How Sicario Subverts the Trope of the ‘Badass Lady-Cop’
- SPOILER ALERT: “SICARIO” FAILS THE BECHDEL TEST…BY A LOT
Some call Pale Fire the best novel of the 20th century. So we interrogate what that means by diving into literary criticism about postmodernism, hypertextuality, authorial intent, unreliable narrators and more.
Additional Resources:
- Pale Fire and the Cold War: Redefining Vladimir Nabokov’s Masterpiece
- Shade and Shape in Pale Fire by Brian Boyd
- Freeing "Pale Fire" From Pale Fire
- Synthesizing Artistic Delight: The Lesson of Pale Fire by Brian Walter
- “PALE FIRE,” THE POEM: DOES IT STAND ALONE AS A MASTERPIECE?
- In an Elaborate Spoof, Nabokov Takes Us to the Never-Never Land of Zembla
- Pale Fire
- The Novel of the Century: Nabokov’s Pale Fire
- Walton, Jean, College Literature. Jun94, Vol. 21 Issue 2, p89. 16p.
What went wrong with comedian John Mulaney's debut sitcom? Was it network interference? Formatting? Or did the creator just take on too much? We discuss the differences between irony and sincerity in television humor to try to understand this show's cancellation.
Additional Resources:
- NBC Passes on John Mulaney’s Pilot
- Fox Gives Series Order To John Mulaney Comedy Produced By Lorne Michaels
- ‘Mulaney’ Order Trimmed To 13 Episodes
- In Defense of the Multi-Camera Sitcom
- John Mulaney surprises us with his top 5 multi-camera sitcoms
- Welcome Back, John Mulaney
- Mulaney: Season One Ratings
- In Defense of Mulaney
- The Evolution Of The Sitcom: The Age of the Single Camera
- You Made It Weird: John Mulaney Returns
Special guest Cristen Conger (Unladylike, Stuff Mom Never Told You) helps us unpack the activism of musician Kathleen Hanna. After the January 2017 Women's Marches we look at Hanna's methods of protest, including Riot Grrrl, articulation and disruption.
Additional Resources:
- Cyndi Lauper Denounces Madonna’s Women’s March Speech: “Yelling Just Jacks People Up”
- Julie Ruin - Be Nice at The Wrecking Ball ATL Fest 2016
- Don't Need You - The Herstory of Riot Grrrl
- Bikini Kill in the U.K. 1993
- Kathleen Hanna @ Planned Parenthood Stand Up For Women's Health Rally
- The Riot Grrrl Collection at the Fales Library: Collection Overview
- Q&A: Riot grrrl Kathleen Hanna on sexuality, marriage and music
- Feeling Myself: Kathleen Hanna Gets Back to Work
- SXSW: Kathleen Hanna in new doc 'The Punk Singer'
- Punk Rock-Feminist Pioneer Kathleen Hanna on Her SXSW Doc and More
- Fans demand an apology from Kathleen Hanna in Toronto Julie Ruin concert banner drop
- Kathleen Hanna on Tokenism, Therapy, and Where Riot Grrrl Went Wrong