Butt Out, Baby!
Scene-by-scene study of Dirty Dancing: A film that gets a lot of love — but not enough respect.
Episodes
History of the Catskills and Borscht Belt comedy.
+ Last of the Mohicans + Growing up in Liberty, NY + The difference between Borscht Belt humour and observational comedy + The gendered implications of telling a dirty joke
Works used and mentioned:
- Red Nation podcast episode about Last of the Mohicans
- The Catskills; from wilderness to Woodstock by Alf Evers
- The Catskills: its history and how it changed America by Stephen Si...
Debrief episodes are for listener feedback on the previous scene and the hows and whys of making a podcast like this. In this episode:
- Extra stuff from scene 6: changes from screenplay, my experience in Guyana & light peace corps gossip, pronouncing miscegenation, cakewalks (!!), learning new dances
- Craft notes: how Eric Etheridge found the quotes for his Freedom R...
Tito tap dances while Johnny and Penny do the mambo.
+ Famous tap dancer, Honi Coles + The history of tap and minstrelsy + Shirley Temple (drink and person) + Why some dance is authorized at Kellerman's and some is not + The history of Latin American dance in American movies + Is Dirty Dancing kinda gay?
Works used and mentioned:
At the evening dance in the Kellerman's "playhouse," Baby and Neil show off their politics.
+ High status US colleges + Peace Corps in the 60s + More on Bull Conner in Birmingham + The white Freedom Riders
Works used and mentioned:
Breach of Peace: Portraits of the 1961 Mississippi Freedom Riders by Eric Etheridge
Over a year ago my friend Andrew interviewed me for his top-notch podcast, Goodest Notes. For various reasons it got lost to the sands of time until now! Listen for:
+ The story of my use of fanfic in a dark time + Tips I heard on a writing podcast years ago and have never forgot + Writing stereotypes and unpacking the note "you don't need to show your work" + Hear me fumble through questions I hadn't prepared answers for!
Debrief episodes are for listener feedback on the previous scene and the hows and whys of making a podcast like this. In this episode:
- Finding Nice Jewish Boy media icons in strange places
- How to deal with plosives in your recordings
- A novel recommendation
Follow the podcast on Instagram
Music by Claire Whitehead
At dinnertime, Lisa and Baby are presented with Bachelor number 1 and 2. Featuring Mari Cohen of Jewish Currents.
+ Learning about the terms Jewish American Princess and Nice Jewish Boy + The politics of "Jewish continuity" + The parental scolding line, "There are starving children in..." + My dislike of white tablecloths
Mari and Jewish Currents works mentioned: One the Nose podcast, "The Agony and the Ecstasy of Jewish Match...
Debrief episodes are for listener feedback on the previous scene and the hows and whys of making a podcast like this. In this episode:
- BAD BOYS like Johnny, Han Solo, John Bender from Breakfast Club, Derek from Save the Last Dance
- What "college boy" means.
- How to promote (or not) an indie podcast
Follow the podcast on Instagram
Music by Claire Whitehead
Baby gets her first glimpse into the class structure at Kellerman's ft. Morgan & Isabeau of Whoa!mance
+ Johnny being attractive and gracefully insolent + The female gaze + The strange all-inclusive guest experience of Kellerman's + How bad boy romance leads are introduced and whether Dirty Dancing qualifies as a romance at all!
Whoa!mance: a weekly podcast about Romance Novels and Ourselves
For your scene 4 thoughts: ...
Debrief episodes are for listener feedback on the previous scene and the hows and whys of making a podcast like this. In this episode:
- The harms of misusing science in persuasive arguments
- Lots of craft talk about interviews! Including a cringey clip from my past
Resources mentioned: Ira Glass on pulling out big ideas in an interview All My Relations podcast episode, "Telling True Stories in a Good Way"
The Houseman's participate in a merengue dance class led by a vibrant and confident dance instructor named Penny. Featuring an interview with a real life dancer and dance instructor.
+ Western culture's relationship to dance + Baby's awkwardness pt. 1 + Mrs. Schumacher being a deviant + The Rockettes and the gender pay gap + Ingénue (not the k.d. lang album, tho it's mentioned)
Debrief episodes are for listener feedback on the previous scene and the hows and whys of making a podcast like this. In this episode:
- Three stories about the Jim Crow era that felt special enough to share but had to be cut from the last episode
- The ethics of paying documentary subjects
- Why I hate the phrase "kill your darlings"
- Plus I go on a journey with some tea biscuits
Jake and Baby school Lisa on what defines a "real" tragedy which led me on a long journey into the history of Jim Crow. Featuring an interview on the Southern Jewish experience with author TK Thorne.
+ Walk Like A Hieroglyph + With what to wear with coral shoes? + A very mysterious joke + The moral authority of Jake Housman
TK's book:
Behind the Magic Curtain: Secrets, Spies and Unsung White Allies of Birmingham’s Civil Rights ...
Debrief episodes will be the place to discuss listener feedback on each scene and the hows and whys of making a podcast like this. This is for the craft nerds! Also, discussed was my struggle to define liberalism and you'll hear me learn the definition of "equivocate" in real time!
Articles I reference about witch trails:
And History Chicks episode where I learned about Sojourner Trut...
The very first full scene and it's a doozy! Listen to me marvel at the efficiency of the opening voiceover and learn how truly nerdy this podcast is going to be.
For your scene 1 thoughts: ellie@buttoutbaby.com
Music by Claire Whitehead
What happens when an obsessive nerd rehabs by watching Dirty Dancing in tiny increments over a span of months.
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