Pop Culture Sociologist

Pop Culture Sociologist

A podcast about books, TV shows and movies from a sociological perspective by media critic Marina Berlin. Subscribe to learn about recently revived historical lesbians, the revolutionary horror of Hannibal, how stories get matriarchies right and wrong, and so much more. Follow the podcast on twitter @PopSocPodcast or visit the website: https://marinaberlin.org/podcast/

Episodes

Bonus Q&A Episode

October 28, 2021 • 83 mins
For this special episode listeners submitted questions and the host answered them in a live, unscripted recording. Questions included everything from the writing process to opinions about genres and different social issues.   For more podcast episodes and full transcripts of the audio follow the podcast on twitter @PopSocPodcast or visit: https://marinaberlin.org/podcast/ To support the podcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/m...
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Is there a right way to write a matriarchy?

August 31, 2021 • 33 mins
When's the last time you read a story set in a matriarchy? Did you enjoy it? What are the common tropes to writing matriarchies and who do they serve? In this episode you'll hear about fantasy and science fiction matriarchies in everything from Star Trek to books by Kameron Hurley, Sarah Rees Brennan, C.S. Pacat and many more, and what they get "right" and "wrong" about this form of social worldbuilding. In the final part of the ep...
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Who gets to be the hero in historical narratives?

July 30, 2021 • 23 mins
How accurate does historical fiction have to be to enhance our understanding of the past rather than harm it? In the age of historical retellings/reimagenings like Hamilton and Bridgerton, I look at the works of historical romance novelist KJ Charles and the British TV series "The Devil's Mistress" to examine how marginalized people are and aren't allowed to take up space in historical narratives. Can fictional characters ever be "...
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Does Jemisin's "The Fifth Season" solve the "X-Men Problem"?

April 29, 2021 • 31 mins
The X-Men universe popularized a unique set of tropes common to fantasy worldbuilding: people with superpowers who are feared and persecuted by society. This trope is everywhere from the "Witcher" books/games/show to many popular YA novels, but it creates a particular set of problems when it comes to representing systemic oppression. In this episode I'll explain the "X-Men Problem" and why it's a common genre trope, and dive into t...
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The Best Queer Pairing You'll Never Watch: Root/Shaw on Person of Interest

April 5, 2021 • 40 mins
Sometimes TV shows give us amazing queer pairings but end up not treating them right. In this special episode of Pop Culture Sociologist I'm going to give you all the best parts of badass assassin Sameen Shaw and hacker spy Samantha "Root" Groves and their epic (canonic!) romance from the show "Person of Interest". If you've never watched the show, I'll give you the best parts, and if you've watched it, I'll analyze the characters ...
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Lyanna Stark and how "Game of Thrones" was almost a brilliant social critique

February 18, 2021 • 34 mins
What does Lyanna Stark's portrayal on Game of Thrones have to do with women in the real world being written out of history? The show has been both praised and criticized for its portrayal of female characters, but could the difference in Lyanna's plot between George R. R. Martin's "Song of Ice and Fire" books and the TV show be the key to understanding women's stories in the world of Westeros? In the second episode of Pop Culture S...
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Why "Hannibal" is the best screen adaptation of "Lolita"

January 14, 2021 • 36 mins
Why is Bryan Fuller's "Hannibal", a horror show about a cannibal and an FBI profiler, a more accurate adaptation of "Lolita" than the two official film adaptations of the book, by Stanley Kubrick and Adrian Lyne? In the first episode of Pop Culture Sociologist we'll be talking about the TV show "Hannibal" and the book "Lolita" by Vladimir Nabokov, what they have in common, and how Hollywood failed to communicate the things that TV ...
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Pop Culture Sociologist: A New Podcast About Media

January 4, 2021 • 39 secs
Welcome to Pop Culture Sociologist! I'm media critic Marina Berlin and I'm starting a podcast about movies, TV shows and books, through a sociological lens. In season one I'll tell you about recently revived historical lesbians, the revolutionary horror of Hannibal, how stories get matriarchies right and wrong, and so much more.
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