What is pop culture? Does it make sense to distinguish it from high culture, or can something be both? Meet Mark, Erica, and Brian in this first attempt at a conversation together, featuring a special appearance by our editor Tyler. We touch on opera, The Beatles, Fortnite, 50 Shades of Grey, reality TV, and more. Some of the articles we bring up in our discussion … [Read more...] about PMP#1: Pop Culture vs. High Culture
Episodes
PMP#2: Binge Watching
What counts as binge watching? Why do we do it? Is it bad for us? Mark, Erica, and Brian reveal their watching habits (growing up and now) and marvel at crazy-high stats about how much people watch. We think about what people get out of this activity, what shows work do and don't taste good in bulk, and whether watching is best done in solitary despair or as a bonding … [Read more...] about PMP#2: Binge Watching
PMP#3: CONFORM w/ Yakov Smirnoff
Is media trying to brainwash us into being ALL THE SAME? Are the excesses of the mob scaring us into conformity? And does this in turn keep us from being actually creative, with healthy relationships? Mark, Erica, and Brian muse on cultural homogenization and a few sci-fi takes on forced sameness and then bring out our first celebrity guest, beloved comedian and now … [Read more...] about PMP#3: CONFORM w/ Yakov Smirnoff
PMP#4: “Chernobyl” and the Art of Suffering
On the HBO mini-series Chernobyl. Mark, Erica, and Brian first get into the various degrees of looseness in something's being "based on a true story." Does it matter if it's been changed to be more dramatic? We then consider the show as entertainment: Why do people enjoy witnessing suffering? Why might a drama work (or not) for you? We also touch on Game of Thrones, The … [Read more...] about PMP#4: “Chernobyl” and the Art of Suffering
PMP#5: True Crime with Lucy Lawless
Lucy Lawless (Xena the Warrior Princess, currently starring in My Life Is Murder) joins Mark, Erica, and Brian to think about the true crime genre, of both the documentary and dramatized variety. What's the appeal? Why do women in particular gravitate to it? We touch on Making of a Murderer, Serial, The Staircase, Amanda Knox, Ted Bundy Conversations with a Killer, I Love … [Read more...] about PMP#5: True Crime with Lucy Lawless
PMP#6: Adults Playing Video Games
Erica, Brian and Mark are joined by Ian Maio (who worked for marketing for IGN and Turner in e-sports) for our first discussion about gaming. Do adults have any business playing video games? Should you feel guilty about your video game habits? Ian gives us the lay of the land about e-sports, comparing it to physical sports, and we discuss the changing social functions of … [Read more...] about PMP#6: Adults Playing Video Games
PMP#7: Native Representation w/ Jonathan Joss (King of the Hill, Parks & Rec)
Jonathan built his career playing 19th century Indians on horseback and is best known for his voice acting as John Redcorn III in King of the Hill (starting season 2) and then for his recurring role as Chief Ken Hotate in Parks and Recreation. Erica, Mark, and Brian talk to him about those roles plus acting in The Magnificent Seven, True Grit, and his current role as … [Read more...] about PMP#7: Native Representation w/ Jonathan Joss (King of the Hill, Parks & Rec)
PMP#8: Spider-Man: Far From Home (and Elsewhere)
Mark, Erica, and Brian finally cover a current film, and of course use it as an entry point in discussing the social function of super-hero films more generally, how much realism or grittiness is needed in such stories, whether to repeat or bypass the origin story, everlasting franchises, the use of multi-verses as a storytelling device, exaggerating the potential in a story of … [Read more...] about PMP#8: Spider-Man: Far From Home (and Elsewhere)
PMP#9: Cartoons with Dee Bradley Baker (from Clone Wars, American Dad)
Are cartoons an inherently juvenile art form? Even animation aimed at adults is still typically considered genre fiction--a guilty pleasure--and the form enables tones and approaches that might simply be considered awful if presented as traditional live action. So what's the appeal? Dee's voice can be heard in substantial portion of today's cartoons, especially for animal or … [Read more...] about PMP#9: Cartoons with Dee Bradley Baker (from Clone Wars, American Dad)
PMP#10: The Handmaid’s Tale
Mark, Erica, and Brian take on both Margaret Atwood's 1985 novel plus the Bruce Miller/Hulu TV series through season 3. There's also a graphic novel and the 1990 film. We get into what's needed to move a novel to the screen like that: The character can't just remain passive as in the novel in order to keep us suffering with her past the first season as storytelling beyond … [Read more...] about PMP#10: The Handmaid’s Tale
PMP#11: The Live Music Experience
Surely tech advances make it unnecessary to ever leave the house, right? Why go to see live people doing live things live? Dave Hamilton (Host of Gig Gab, Mac Geek Gab, and Mark's old drummer) joins Mark, Erica, and Brian to discuss what's so damn cool about live music (and theater), the alternatives (live-streamed-to-theaters or devices, recorded for TV, VR), why tickets … [Read more...] about PMP#11: The Live Music Experience
PMP#12: Once Upon a Tarantino Film
Wes Alwan from The Partially Examined Life podcast joins Mark, Erica, and Brian to discuss Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood in the context of Tarantino's other films. Wes thinks the film is great, even though he's not actually a Tarantino fan, and is working on a very long essay on it. We consider T's strange sense of pacing, his comic violence, his … [Read more...] about PMP#12: Once Upon a Tarantino Film
PMP#13: TV Revivals Revived!
A crazy number of shows are now being continued long after their deaths. Revivals (not to be confused with reboots) bring us back to the comfort of old friends, who are now really old. What can a revival's success tell us about why the show was appealing in the first place? Wouldn't you rather see a new work by the same creative team than more of the same? Mark, Erica, and … [Read more...] about PMP#13: TV Revivals Revived!
PMP#14: UFOs on TV with Investigative Journalist Paul Beban
TV news reporter Paul Beban (ABC, Al Jazeera, Yahoo, and now featured on the Discovery Network's Contact) joins Mark, Erica, and Brian to discuss the appeal of UFO narratives, both at the peak of their popularity in the 50s and in the current resurgence. Why do they make for good TV? Do you have to believe to be entertained? Is belief in UFOs related to religious belief? To … [Read more...] about PMP#14: UFOs on TV with Investigative Journalist Paul Beban
PMP#15: Opera As Pop
Opera used to be a central part of European pop culture, Pavarotti was as big a pop star as they come. But still, it's now the quintessential art-form of the wealthy and snobbish. What gives? Guest Sean Spyres from Springfield Regional Opera joins his sister Erica along with Mark and Brian to discuss opera's place in culture (including its film appearances), how it's … [Read more...] about PMP#15: Opera As Pop
PMP#16: 25 Years After FRIENDS
Mark, Erica, and Brian examine the conventions, techniques, and staying power of the beloved '90s sitcom. Are we supposed to identify with, or idolize, or merely like these people? What makes the formula work, did it sustain itself over its 10-year run, was it successfully replicated (like by How I Met Your Mother or by Chuck Lorre?), and what parts haven't aged well? We … [Read more...] about PMP#16: 25 Years After FRIENDS
PMP#17: Comedy as Philosophy w/ Daniel Lobell
Are stand-up comedians the Modern Day Philosophers? This claim forms the premise of Daniel's podcast where interviews some of our best known and loved comedians, but really, only some comedians are trying to express original views on the world instead of just telling a good joke. Even so, do the words of comics telling their truth or pronouncing sentence on the world count as … [Read more...] about PMP#17: Comedy as Philosophy w/ Daniel Lobell
PMP#18: Stephen King’s Media Empire
Is the most popular writer of our time actually a good writer? Or maybe he used to be good but has long since run out of inspiration? What are the most effective ways to adapt these very readable short stories and novels? Does showing us the evil in a film lessen its impact? While you've been thinking about those questions, King already wrote another book, so ha! Mark, … [Read more...] about PMP#18: Stephen King’s Media Empire
PMP#19: Race and the Target Audience w/ Rodney Ramsey
We've all felt at various points (maybe at most points) that some media creation has reached us by mistake, that we are not the target audience. 20th century American TV was aimed largely at a white majority, with a parallel, underfunded channel of content aimed at people of color. So how have things changed? There still seem to be "black shows," but how do they fit in … [Read more...] about PMP#19: Race and the Target Audience w/ Rodney Ramsey
PMP#20: Improv Comedy w/ Tim Sniffen
What role does improv comedy play in popular culture? It shows up in the work of certain film directors (like Christopher Guest, Adam McKay, and Robert Altman) and has surfaced in some of the TV work of Larry David, Robin Williams, et al. But only in the rare case of a show like Whose Line Is It Anyway? is the presence of improvisation obvious. So is this art form doomed to … [Read more...] about PMP#20: Improv Comedy w/ Tim Sniffen