Pop DNA

In part four of our discussion of The Office, we dive in to the various romance storylines the show featured, and how we feel about them!

From the classic sitcom "will-they-or-won't-they" tension between Jim and Pam, to Michael and Holly's second chance romance, to the hilariously toxic relationship between Kelly and Ryan, there's a little something for everyone. (Erin's personal favorite is, of course, Dwa...

“Do I need to be liked? Absolutely not. I like to be liked. I enjoy being liked. I have to be liked. But it's not like this compulsive need to be liked, like my need to be praised.”

–Michael Scott

Likeability plays a huge role in how characters on The Office relate to one another, and how we as the audience perceive them. Discuss!

This episode also features our second Finer Things Club meeting, in which we talk about the nove...

Despite its undercurrent of warmth and optimism, The Office (US) went to some pretty dystopian places in its explorations of the workplace--which were really just reflections of the boring dystopia of our reality.

In this episode, we look at how The Office fits within the context of Workplace Dystopian media, works such as Superstore, Office Space, Sorry to Bother You, and Silicon Valley. We also place The Office head-to-head with t...

If you've ever listened to us trade The Office references on the pod and thought, "why don't they just talk about The Office already?" this new series is for you!

In your orientation packet, you'll find an overview of our thoughts on the American series in comparison with the original British version, and a quiz to discover which characters we are. We also go over a preview of the topics we plan to discuss in the coming episodes, in...

Our yearly tradition of discussing our favorite movies and TV, plus a little music and books, is back!

We had every intention of talking about Wickiator/Glicked, but there's really no story there. There's Wicked, which we talked about for far longer than we intended because we had so many thoughts, and then there's Gladiator, which... was a movie.

We also talked about some common themes we noticed in the media we were drawn to in t...

Check your Christmas ornaments, there might be important documents inside! Please enjoy this regifted episode from 2019 about the Netflix Christmas Cinematic Universe, specifically A Christmas Prince.

ORIGINAL DESCRIPTION:

Honestly, this episode was a long time coming. A Christmas Prince is rich in cultural influences, from the lives and loves of historical real-life royals, to classic fairy tales, to... investigative journalism, ...

We have another regifted episode for you this week! We couldn't choose between our two Narnia episodes, so we're regifting both!

This episode from December of 2022 touches on gender and violence, and how children experience fear and danger in fantasy worlds, all themes we explored in our A Song of Ice and Fire discussions. This one is perfect for if you want to dive a little deeper into another perspective on those ideas.

We have o...

Happy December! We are taking a much-needed break to enjoy the holiday season, but thought we'd take the opportunity to revisit some of our previous episodes this month. It's Regifting Time!

This episode from our Chronicles of Narnia series in December of 2022 explores the topics of magic, magic systems, and prophecy in fantasy fiction and Narnia's relationship with other fantasy classics. It's a perfect coda for some of our A Song...

Why do so many fantasy stories center on the protagonist fulfilling a "Chosen One" prophecy?

We don't really answer that this week, but we do talk about the undercurrent of prophecy in Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, the "Song of Ice and Fire" that this universe is named for. We also look briefly at how specifically Chosen One prophecies are present in many of our favorite fantasy works, and how prophecy is often tied to ...

In Westeros, when you're here, you're family.

Oh, wait, that's The Olive Garden.

But we're talking about families this week, and, like most things in Westeros, being part of a family is generally not a great time for anyone in this world. Certainly not as fun as having dinner at The Olive Garden.

We look specifically at the Targaryen family and some possible historical inspirations for this mythical dynasty. The blonde dragon peop...

He's just Jon and he's enough! (Jonough?)

This week we're talking about men in Westeros, exploring how masculinity is constructed in the world of Game of Thrones. Questions we discuss include:

• How do medieval European ideals of masculinity inform this world's gender expectations?
• What is the relationship between violence and masculinity, or perceived masculinity?
• How do family systems and relationships perpetuate masculine...

In part two of our series discussing Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, we look at how women navigate the world of Westeros.

Questions we explore include:

• How do women gain, lose, and use power in this world?

• How does power relate to femininity?

• How are the expected gender roles of Westerosi society shaped by the realities of the world?

Characters we discuss include Cersei Lannister, Daenerys Targaryen, Cate...

Welcome back!

We're riding our dragons to King's Landing for a six-part series on A Song of Ice and Fire and all its connected works, including the TV series Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon.

This week, we're just getting our feet wet with a look at our first introductions to George R. R. Martin's work, our thoughts on the main ideas of the series, and an overview of Martin's cited influences, including ...

We wrap up our summer book-to-screen club series with the science fiction classic that inadvertently sparked a thousand sandworm popcorn bucket memes.

Our discussion topics include Dune's influence on and connections to other staples of the science fiction and fantasy genres such as Star Wars, Wheel of Time, and A Song of Ice and Fire; how the recent Villeneuve films interpret certain aspects of the story and characters; a...

Continuing our discussions of classic American novels, this week we read Alice Walker's The Color Purple!

We talk about how the novel explores girlhood and relationships between women, the Black experience in the early 20th century, and finding the joy in life even through darkness. We also look at the 1985 and 2023 films and the stage musical, and how these adaptations interpreted the themes and characters from the book.

Segm...

Welcome to our 2024 Summer Series! This summer we decided to read some classic American novels with recent film adaptations, and we're starting with Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.

We talk about our personal experiences with the novel, how we see this work in the context of American literature, and how the 1994 and 2019 film adaptations explore the book's themes. We also answer the age-old question: are you a Meg, Jo, Be...

For Rhonda's Birthday Bonus we're talking COWBOY CARTER and THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT. Why are both of these albums' titles styled in all caps?

Our conversation explores our initial reactions to and top five tracks from each album, as well as some interesting parallels between these two bodies of work. How does Beyoncé break genre boundaries on COWBOY CARTER? How does Taylor explore her relationship with art and fa...

If you thought we were going to let it slide that Depression Barbie's comfort show is the 1995 BBC Pride and Prejudice, you thought wrong.

We're digging in to some possible literary inspirations and parallels for the Barbie movie, looking specifically at Christian/Catholic creation theology and how much Greta Gerwig may have been influenced by the work of Jane Austen. We also talk about who we would choose if we could reca...

We are back from a long, semi-unplanned hiatus, but don't worry, there's still plenty more Barbie to talk about! This week we look at how both Barbie Land and Stereotypical Barbie's perspective in the film explore gender and femininity.

How does Barbie Land fit into the context of women-dominated societies in other fictional works?

How does Barbie as a film both defy and uphold patriarchal beauty standards?

And how d...