Supercontext: An Autopsy Of Media

This 2018 comic series by Mark Russell and Mike Feehan reimagines the cartoon character as a gay playwright at odds with 1950s American politics. We examine Russell's writing goals while considering a critical debate about the book: is it formulaic award-bait or character-driven commentary on our present circumstances? Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Exit, Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles Additional Resources: ‘The Snagglepuss Chronicles’ is the best thing you’ll read all year. Seriously. EXIT STAGE LEFT: THE SNAGGLEPUSS CHRONICLES Takes Home 2019 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book Snagglepuss: Exit Stage Left Is a Brilliant Exploration of McCarthyism and the Lavender Scare The Snagglepuss Chronicles is the first great comic book of 2018 DC Reviving Hanna-Barbera's 'Snagglepuss' as Gay Playwright Snagglepuss, LGBT hero: Legendary Hanna-Barbera character reborn in new comic series Review in progre

Thank you to our Co-producer patron Kevin Wetter for selecting this week's topic! This 1994 indie rock album means a lot to its fans as proof positive that you can survive a romantic breakup. We look at the small business that drove its creation and try to put ourselves in the shoes of the listeners who cherish it. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Foolish Additional Resources: Superchunk release acoustic version of ‘Foolish’ w/ Allison Crutchfield, Owen Pallett, more  Brian Paulson Studio aesthetics Rank Your Records: Laura Ballance Ruthlessly Rates Superchunk’s Ten Albums Dusting ‘Em Off: Superchunk – Foolish CHUNKY STYLE The Guide to Getting into Superchunk

This animated series was an MTV oddity, televised between 1991 and 1994 in a blur of non-linear, ambiguous chunks. We talk about how creator Peter Chung got this made while inserting symbolic references to the limits of 1990's storytelling. We also wonder why we're so nostalgic for a simpler time when our entertainment was more nebulous and weird. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Aeon Flux Additional Resources: Aeon Flux: All You've Ever Needed From Sci-Fi SOUND Interview with Peter Chung The Peter Chung Interview!!!! Aeon Flux: An animated future from the past We Don’t Need Another Live-Action Aeon Flux Peter Chung On Aeon Flux Marin, R., & Gegax, T. T. (1995). Holy Akira! It’s Aeon Flux. Newsweek, 126(7), 68. http://scf.usc.edu/~huntleym/itp104/assignment6/mainpage.html CRAIG MATHIESON. (2006, June 23). Will the real Aeon Flux please stand up. Age, The (Melbourne), p. 9. Atkinson, M. (1996). Inside aeon. Film

This 1975 children's book by Roald Dahl is about class conflict and an idealized relationship between a child and their parent. We talk about Dahl's notoriously disagreeable personality while trying to reconcile it with this genuinely joyful story. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Danny, The Champion of the World Additional Resources: Roald Dahl. By: Kelleghan, Fiona, Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia, 2018 Danny the Champion of the World Summary & Study Guide The Ambiguities of Growing Up: Danny the Champion of the World https://www.roalddahl.com/roald-dahl/stories/a-e/danny-the-champion-of-the-world Words & pictures. Creative Review, 02621037, Mar2012, Vol. 32, Issue 3 THE CANDY MAN. By: Talbot, Margaret, New Yorker, 0028792X, 7/11/2005, Vol. 81, Issue 20 Roald Dahl. By: Lee, Stephan, Entertainment Weekly, 10490434, 10/10/2014, Issue 1332 Worlds of WONDER. By: DORN, JENNIFER, British Heritage, 01952633,

This 2017 graphic novel is a memoir about growing up, figure skating, and coming out of the closet. We talk about how Walden approached the project with guidance from her editor while we look at the comics industry as a whole and the tensions between the book market and the direct market. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Spinning Additional Resources: Tillie Walden on the Queer Characters and Emotional Turmoil of Her New Comic, I Love This Part “Everything I Had to Say about My Life Is in That Book”: An Interview with Tillie Walden How LGBT Ice Skating Graphic Novel 'Spinning' Defies Definition Tillie Walden: That In-Between State Spinning’s Tillie Walden on the Power of Pursuing and Ending Childhood Dreams Women make history, and receive overdue recognition, at 2018 Eisner Awards ‘Spinning’ is a heartfelt graphic novel about figure skating and teen life Surprising New Data Shows Comic Readers Are Leaving Superh

This 2018 concept album is about reckoning, celebrating, and reclaiming what it means to be American. We discuss how Monáe uses her platform to advocate for queer and black women while working with big record labels to also produce commercial success. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Dirty Computer Additional Resources: Janelle Monáe Bends More Than Gender In Two New Videos From 'Dirty Computer' Why Janelle Monae’s ‘Dirty Computer’ Film Is a Timely New Sci-Fi Masterpiece Why Janelle Monáe Put Her Music on Hold to Take Hollywood by Storm Prince apparently wrote the synth line on Janelle Monáe’s new single How Janelle Monáe Found Her Voice Janelle Monáe On Her Dirty, World-Dominating Year Unpacking the meaning of ‘Dirty Computer,’ in which Janelle Monáe finally gets to be herself Janelle Monáe on the meaning of "Dirty Computer" and what she promised her grandmother

  This is a special repost of the first episode of our Patreon-only series, SuperKINGcontext. Stephen King's first novel was adapted into this 1976 cautionary movie about adolescence, bullying, and female representation by a team of middle-aged men. How does the male gaze impact this story that is so often referred to as "feminist"? Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Carrie Additional Resources: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/apr/04/carrie-stephen-king-horror https://web.archive.org/web/20000510093031/http://www.briandepalma.net/carrie/carrint.htm http://www.vulture.com/2013/10/pj-soles-reminisces-about-the-original-carrie.html https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/nov/03/carrie-stephen-king-brian-de-palma-horror-films-feminism https://cinephiliabeyond.org/four-decades-later-brian-de-palmas-carrie-stands-one-capably-crafted-horror-films-time/ https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/10474858/Carrie-the-growi

This political comedy podcast makes over a million dollars a year from its Patreon subscribers alone. We try to unpack how it gets made while learning more about the personal values associated with the "dirtbag left." Chapo Trap House podcast on Soundcloud Additional Resources: Meet Chapo Trap House: The Funniest and Most F**ked Up New Podcast About Media and Politics THE RADICAL CHEEK OF 'CHAPO TRAP HOUSE' Chapo Trap House are the Vulgar, Brilliant Demigods of the New Progressive Left Explaining the ‘Chapo Trap House’ Podcast to the Uninitiated Liberals are making bank on a site called Patreon. The right calls it "hipster welfare." What Will Become of the Dirtbag Left? Is This the Stupidest Book Ever Written About Socialism? Chapo Trap House subreddit quarantined for allegedly encouraging violence SOCIALISM IS BACK, AND THE KIDS ARE LOVING IT. Reason. Aug/Sep2019, Vol. 51 Issue 4, p55-52. 4p. 2 'The Voice of the Dirtbag Left': socialist US comics Chapo Trap House Chapo Trap House: Socialism for

This 2015 comic mixes folklore and magic with science and technology. We discuss how each creator brings their own experimentation to the project, and how it's been received by the comic book industry and its more philosophical readers. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Injection Additional Resources: Warren Ellis' Freaky Scifi Comic Series Injection Gets Optioned for TV Exclusive Interview with Injection’s Warren Ellis INTERVIEW: Warren Ellis talks about ‘Injection’ without crying AN INJECTION OF WARREN ELLIS IN THIS EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW Matt Chats: Declan Shalvey on Wolverine, Injection, Learning from Scripting Comics, and Why He Brings up ArtCred Less What's at Stake with Warren Ellis's 'Injection' INJECTION #1 TALK WITH WARREN ELLIS, DECLAN SHALVEY & JORDIE BELLAIRE Take Control Of Your World: Revisiting ‘Injection’ By Ellis, Shalvey & Bellaire [Sci-Fi Week] Read More: Take Control Of Your World: Revisit

This collection of non-fiction essays attempts to define two modes of storytelling by providing examples of each from popular culture. We talk about how Fisher's argument fits into our larger discussions of horror stories and how his definitions may be useful for considering the end of capitalism. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: The Weird and the Eerie Additional Resources: The Revolution Will Be Weird and Eerie Eugene Thacker – Weird, Eerie, and Monstrous: A Review of “The Weird and the Eerie” by Mark Fisher Making Sense of “The Weird and the Eerie” In Memoriam: Mark Fisher why we quit: tariq goddard on leaving zero books Toward a Theory of the New Weird  

Thank you to our Co-producer patron Kevin Wetter for selecting this week's topic! This 2009 TV show, helmed by Joss Whedon, was meant to be a thematic exploration of identity and sexuality but many have argued about its problematic story. Was that because of corporate interference or Whedon's own issues with feminist representation? Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Dollhouse, Season 1 Additional Resources: Adams, Pippa. Women in Science Fiction: Opportunities and Constraints of Representations in Postfeminist Worlds Joss Whedon on Comic Books, Abusing Language and the Joys of Genre JOSS WHEDON TALKS FIREFLY, DOLLHOUSE AND LEAVING TELEVISION The Mind-Transplant Script Whedon Wrote Before Dollhouse Anderson, D. (2016). Echoes of Frankenstein: Shelley’s Masterpiece in Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse and Our Relationship with Technology. Slayage, 43, 1 Kitchens, J. (2016). Object Entanglements: From Postmodern Subjectivity to Pos

THIS IS A REPOST OF A 2016 EPISODE. As the release of the film JOKER looms, we revisit our discussion about Batman, the Joker, and ambiguity. Looking back on the Batman film “The Dark Knight,” does it stand for anything? Or does it simply soak up whatever morals we bring to it? Christopher Nolan’s intentions remain mysterious, but we do our best to figure them out.   Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: The Dark Knight Additional Resources: JOHNSON, V. (2014). ‘It’s What You Do that Defines You:’ Christopher Nolan’s Batman as Moral Philosopher. Journal Of Popular Culture, 47(5), 952. doi:10.1111/jpcu.12181 The Dark Knight of the American Empire Hunting The Dark Knight : Twenty-First Century Batman. London: I.B.Tauris Dive Deep Into the Making of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy With This Documentary

Thank you to our Co-producer patron Miriam Meaney for selecting this week's topic! This 1985 Peter Greenaway film approaches storytelling with the perspective that there is no meaning to reality despite our organized attempts to create it. We talk about how Greenaway uses the traditions of Dutch paintings and anatomical animal studies to get this message across or frustrate us by trying. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: A Zed and Two Noughts Additional Resources: Symmetry and Structure in Greenaway’s A Zed and Two Noughts Organizing the ZOO: Peter Greenaway’s A Zed & Two Noughts Distant Voices, Still Lives and A Zed and Two Noughts: watch the double bill Alemany-Galway, M., & Willoquet-Maricondi, P. (2008). Peter Greenaway’s Postmodern / Poststructuralist Cinema (Vol. Rev. ed). Lanham, Md: Scarecrow Press. De Beauregard, R. C. (2010). Green Apples and Red Prawns: The Colour of Time in Peter Greenaway’s A Zed

Thank you to our Co-producer patron Chris Marlton for selecting this week's topic! This 2002 Japanese art film is slow, meticulously shot, and has wonderful, ornate costumes. We discuss how it was influenced by a form of traditional puppetry but should be approached more like a meditative painting.   Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Dolls Additional Resources: Finding Love in Loss and Tragedy Dolls Dolls by Takeshi Kitano (Review) The cult Japanese movies outfitted by Yohji Yamamoto Inviolable Attachments: Takeshi Kitano’s Dolls Dolls (2002) Redmond, S. (2013). The Cinema of Takeshi Kitano : Flowering Blood. London: WallFlower Press. Sherman Hollar. (2012). Kitano Takeshi. Britannica Biographies, 1.

In this 1978 non-fiction book, Gardner argues that art and writing should be moral and that his peers in the literary community are immoral for failing to uphold this tradition. We discuss Gardner's tragic life story while trying to process this debate and whether he was right, wrong or just an asshole. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: On Moral Fiction Additional Resources: John Gardner, Pugilist at Rest Moral Fiction John Gardner raided the castle of American fiction, a bit like Grendel. By David Stanton Getting the Elephant off the Baby: A Look Back at John Gardner’s On Moral Fiction John Gardner’s Tricksy Death and Tangled Legacy On Moral Fiction, By John Gardner, Analysis by Christian Author Lorilyn Roberts John Gardner: A Tiny Eulogy What Do You Mean, 'Moral' Fiction? An Interview with John Gardner John Gardner  

This podcast started in 2012 as a fictional update from a strange, supernatural town. With guest Dave Moore, we discuss how this successful production is made while unpacking the utopian ideal it creates with a kind of drab mundanity. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Find out more at their website and tell them we sent you. Welcome to Nightvale Additional Resources: Welcome To 'Night Vale' — Watch Out For The Tarantulas Welcome to Night Vale: Eerie, witty podcast has Texas ties Celebrating Their Corpse-Strewn Future: Welcome to Night Vale 10 Reasons to Listen to Welcome to Night Vale Welcome to Oakland, ‘Welcome to Night Vale’ Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor on Welcome To Night Vale Why Welcome to Night Vale is Important Oh, My Pop Culture Religion: Religious Colonialism in Welcome to Night Vale America's Most Popular Podcast: What The Internet Did To "Welcome to Night Vale" Fan-created transcripts make it even easier to get into “Night Vale FX To Develop ‘Welcome To Night Vale’

This 2005 video game tried to capture the atmosphere and experience of H. P. Lovecraft's mythos. It is now called a commercial failure and a cult classic. We discuss its unique, immersive gameplay, and its Lovecraftian approach to knowledge as a thing to fear. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Call of Cthulhu (RPG) Additional resources:   Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth Interview 2 Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth Q&A The making of Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth Owen, D. (2017). Player and Avatar : The Affective Potential of Videogames. Jefferson, UNITED STATES: McFarland. Horror is Knowledge: The Presentation of Fear in 'Call of Cthulhu    

This 2015 comic series is an attempt to tell "the ultimate H.P. Lovecraft" story, so we dive deep into the cold, clinical research process behind it. We also discuss this story's relationship with sexual violence, racism, American mythology, capitalism and... comic book fandom. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Providence Additional Resources: Interview: Alan Moore on Providence, Jerusalem, League and more – Part 1 All About Alienation: Alan Moore On Lovecraft And Providence Alan Moore Heralds Providence: ‘It’s Time To Go For A Reappraisal Of Lovecraft’ H.P. Moorecraft: On the Ending of Providence PROVIDENCE Artist JACEN BURROWS On His Long Collaboration With Alan Moore, Adapting LOVECRAFT, More Providence: Lovecraft, Sexual Violence, and the Body of the Other The Road To Providence Innsmouth Gold: Providence Sales Data American Dread: Alan Moore and the Racism of H. P. Lovecraft Pickman’s Apprentice: An Apprec

This 1986 horror film adapted an H.P. Lovecraft story into a transgressive "video nasty" about repressed sexuality. We learn about the production methods that brought its "pineal glands" to life, while discussing Lovecraft's fear of sex in contrast with From Beyond's smashing of taboos. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: From Beyond Additional Resources: 30 YEARS LATER, FROM BEYOND IS LOVECRAFT AT HIS KINKIEST The Cult 80s Horror Movie That Foretold Our Augmented Future Corliss, Richard. TIME Magazine; 12/1/1986, Vol. 128 Issue 22, p74,  Sharrett, C. (2015). Lovecraft Today. Cineaste, 41(1), 27–78. A Man’s Home… Transgressive Sexuality and Slimy Creatures 'From Beyond (Collector's Edition)' Stuart Gordon’s Shock Treatment Race, Sexuality, and Procreation in H.P. Lovecraft Film Adaptations The Posthumous Pornification of H. P. Lovecraft Howard Phillips Lovecraft and Sex: or The Sex Life of a Gentleman Wisker G. (20

This 2016 novel explores sci-fi and horror in the 1950s from the perspective of an African-American family already accustomed to prejudice and dread. We have an uncomfortable conversation about how it addresses H.P. Lovecraft's racism and the question of whether a white author should tell stories about the black experience. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Lovecraft Country Additional Resources: Matt Ruff's "Lovecraft Country," where the horror is racism (not racist) The Big Idea: Matt Ruff Shadows Over America: Matt Ruff and Victor LaValle Take on Lovecraft and Race Talking with Matt Ruff about science fiction’s racist past Cthulhu Gon’ Slay: Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff Real-world and mythical terrors get equal billing in Lovecraft Country