Supercontext: An Autopsy Of Media

This 2015 Indian romantic comedy uses a meta-narrative to deconstruct expectations about identity and everyday life. We question the assumptions writer/director Imtiaz Ali makes about gender roles, while wondering how much the real infidelity between the lead actors complicated the film's big theme. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Tamasha Additional Resources: ‘Tamasha’ not autobiographical, says Imtiaz Ali Anushka Sharma Rejected 'Tamasha' Because The Role Wasn't 'Meaty' Enough For Her 'Tamasha' is about choosing your own story: Imtiaz Ali An inspiration, a formula, a discovery— filmmaker Imtiaz Ali breaks down ‘love’ Love aaj kal Watch Imtiaz Ali Talk about This Iconic Tamasha Scene Where Deepika Cried for Real Ranbir, Deepika break down on sets of 'Tamasha' Ranbir, Deepika's Personal History Doesn't Bother Tamasha Director Censor Board beeps saali in Imtiaz’s film 2 years of Tamasha: I meet people who tell

This 2012 experimental noise record was heralded as an important moment in musical evolution. We look at how the band approaches their process while unpacking their relationship with major label Epic Records. And we ask, how do noise, magick, and defecation contribute to the future of music?   Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: The Money Store Additional Resources: Suspicious Minds - The Resolute Mission Of Death Grips Death Grips Implode Punk and Rap Borders on New LP Band of the Year: Death Grips Death Grips: “There's a lot of recycling and destruction in the making of our music” Who Are…Death Grips

This collected comic is about a victim of child abuse, while also serving as an homage to the work of storyteller Beatrix Potter. We discuss Talbot's approach to representing such difficult subject matter, while also crafting a book that was more user friendly to non-comics readers. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: The Tale of One Bad Rat Additional Resources: The Tale of One Bad Rat homepage The Rat's Whiskers The Tale of One Bad Rat (Graphic Medicine) The Tale of One Bad Rat, or, thoughts on teaching adults to read comics Still Relevant Today: The Tale of One Bad Rat #metoo stories. Library Journal; 4/1/2018, Vol. 143 Issue 6, p53-53, 1/3p Donna R. White (2018) Finding Beatrix Potter: Bryan Talbot’s The Tale of One Bad Rat, Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics, DOI: 10.1080/21504857.2018.1533484

This HBO television show about a standup comedian going through divorce attempts to tackle three big themes: sex, religion and the importance of comedy. We look into Pete Holmes and Judd Apatow's motivations behind-the-scenes, while also asking, "What is its point of view beyond self absorption?" Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Crashing, Season One Additional Resources: How Pete Holmes Morphed His Despair Into Comedy With Crashing The Tao of Pete Holmes: HBO’s ‘Crashing’ Creator on Comedy, Sex and God How HBO’s ‘Crashing’ Star Pete Holmes Found Salvation — And Judd Apatow ‘Crashing’: Pete Holmes and Judd Apatow on Their HBO Stand-Up Comedy Series Pete Holmes Opens Old Wounds in HBO’s ‘Crashing’ Pete Holmes on Crashing and Finding God in Filthy Jokes Small Screen: Apatow, Holmes offer raw look at HBO’s Crashing Finally, somebody is updating Crashing for current day I'm Sorry But HBO's Crashing Sucks

This 1996 novella is about the dark history of Chilé, merged with a detective story about poets. We look at Bolaño's career, while taking into account criticisms of his authenticity and his representation of Chileans from the vantage of his security in Europe.   Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Distant Star Additional Resources: A Chilean Writer’s Fictions Might Include His Own Colorful Past Valdes, M. (2008). His Stupid Heart: Robert Bolaño’s Novels Were a Love Letter to His Generation, But What He Had to Say Many Chileans Didn’t Want to Hear. Virginia Quarterly Review, 84(1), Corral, W. H. (2006). Roberto Bolaño. World Literature Today, 80(6), 50–54. The Best Bolaño Book is 'Distant Star' What Roberto Bolaño Can Teach Us About Making Art Under Fascism

This 1957 Japanese samurai film is a postwar adaptation of Shakespeare's MacBeth, but we learned that it's also tapping into historical theatrical techniques and criticisms of nationalistic self-destruction. We turn to other writers and scholars for help unpacking these symbols we don't know much about, while learning just how universal this critically acclaimed movie actually is. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Throne of Blood Additional Resources: 1957: When Akira Kurosawa's 'Throne of Blood' Was Ahead of Its Time Parker, B. (1997). Nature and Society in Akira Kurosawa’s “Throne of Blood.” University of Toronto Quarterly, 66(3), 508. Catherine Russell. “Men with swords and men with suits: The cinema of Akira Kurosawa” Cineaste. Winter2002, Vol. 28 Issue 1, p4. 10p. 9 The Chilling Effect of Noh Theater on Akira Kurosawa's 'Throne of Blood' ‘Throne of Blood’: The Value and Meaning of Kurosawa’s Fog-Drenched Masterp

This 2006 comic by Brian K. Vaughn and Niko Henrichon is about lions escaping the Baghdad Zoo during the Iraq War. We look at how the creators approached this subject matter, why it's been challenged in libraries and how it represents people in the Middle East. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Pride of Baghdad Additional Resources: US troops kill Baghdad lions 15 YEARS AGO, A LION PRIDE ROAMED THE STREETS OF BAGHDAD Revisiting ‘Pride of Baghdad’s’ Haunting Iraq War Allegory The Joy of Pride: Vaughan talks "Pride of Baghdad" BANNED BOOKS WEEK: PRIDE OF BAGHDAD The Pride of Baghdad CBLDF Discussion Guide: Pride of Baghdad

This 1977 record seems to mythologize a certain version of New York, so we look at how it was made to get to the core beneath its poetry, guitar solos and critical success. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Marquee Moon Additional Resources: Television's Principles How Television Made ‘Marquee Moon,’ the Best Punk Guitar Album Ever Television’s Punk Epic “Marquee Moon,” 40 Years Later Invisible Hits: When Eno Met Television https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/punks-founding-father-richard-hell-306738.html Waterman, B. (2011). Television’s Marquee Moon. New York: Continuum. Rolling Stone. 1/7/93, Issue 647, p22. Lloyd, R. (2018). Everything is Combustible. Mount Desert, ME: Beech Hill Publishing Company.

This 1996 comic-book-based-cartoon aired on MTV in 10-minute bursts of weirdness. We discuss its themes of tragedy and trauma, together with how it represents feminism, while still objectifying the female body. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: The Maxx Additional Resources: The Maxx -- The Only Thing MTV Never Screwed Up The Maxx messed up afterschool MTV viewers with its dark surrealism FEMINIST REPLAY: MTV'S THE MAXX Why The Maxx Was the Perfect Comic for '90s MTV Shaping The Maxx: Adapting the Comic Book Frame to Television MTV’s Oddities Part 2: The Maxx: Julie’s Pangea, Laura’s Ghostwood  

This book attempts to redefine the novel by combining narrative with an imagined anthropological record. We discuss Le Guin's background and mission, as well as larger questions about cultural misappropriation and utopianism. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Always Coming Home Additional Resources: Future Ethnography of the Inhabitants of the Valley of the Na, and The unBible of Ursula K. Le Guin PAPERBACKS; THE KESH IN SONG AND STORY Always coming home… Ursula K. Le Guin‘s Folk/Electronica Album Can Teach Us a Lot About Storytelling The Journeys of Ursula K. Le Guin. By: CARPENTER, ZOË, Nation, 00278378, 10/24/2016, Vol. 303, Issue 17 Taking Politics to Another World. By: Pilon, Dennis, Canadian Dimension, 00083402, Sep/Oct2007, Vol. 41, Issue 5 Le Guin, Urusula K. “On the Frontier,” in The Wave in the Mind: Talks and Essays on the Writer, the Reader, and the Imagination, edited by Le Guin. Boston: Shambhala Press

This 2009 psychological thriller pretends to be a found footage horror film, when it's actually a dramatic exploration of grief. We discuss writer/director Joel Anderson's process, as well as the funding, distribution and historical themes in the movie. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Lake Mungo Additional Resources: Why Lake Mungo is the best ghost film you’ve never seen Lake Mungo Filmmaker Joel Anderson Interview - Media/Culture Reviews Lake Mungo – A picture never lies… Mourning an Aboriginal death Pleistocene human remains from Australia: A living site and human cremation from Lake Mungo, western New South Wales Australian Ghost Stories Detail a Very Isolated, Lonely Brand of Terror Alice Kept Secrets: Cinematic Grief and ‘Lake Mungo’ (2008) SXSW '09 Interview: "Lake Mungo" Director Joel Anderson Review of Joel Anderson's faux documentary thriller LAKE MUNGO Scribe tapped for 'Lake' remake

It's our third annual Christmas ghost story episode and we're looking into this 2011 debut of the popular horror anthology series by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk. We discuss Murphy's mission, the show's popularity and its contrast of trashy excessive violence and sex, with themes of mainstream, heteronormative patriarchy. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: American Horror Story: Murder House Additional Resources: 'American Horror Story': Ryan Murphy talks premiere and Rubber Man -- EXCLUSIVE Ryan Murphy Talks American Horror Story Keetley, D. (2013). Stillborn: The Entropic Gothic of American Horror Story. Gothic Studies, 15(2), 89. Nussbaum, E. (2018). Mk. Big. New Yorker, 94(13), 52. 'American Horror Story’: Ryan Murphy warns finale's brutal labor scene is 'the most shocking scene we’ve ever done' -- EXCLUSIVE Set Pieces: The haunted house of 'American Horror Story' Jamie Brewer of 'American Horror Story' Is First

This 3-disc debut by an accomplished saxophonist was universally acclaimed as a sea change in music. We discuss how Washington was influenced by friends, family, history and dreams, while trying to challenge his listeners with genre-defying sounds. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: The Epic Additional Resources: Meet Kamasi Washington, the High Priest of Sax Horn of plenty: Kamasi Washington's epic approach to jazz Interview: Kamasi Washington Talks About ‘The Epic’ Kamasi Washington Is Leading a Musical Revolution — and It's Time to Learn His Name CHANGING THE GUARD: THE EPIC JOURNEY OF KAMASI WASHINGTON Kamasi Washington Has Conquered the Jazz World. What Does He Do Next?

This long-form essay by one of the hosts of On the Media argues that our current sociopolitical conflicts stem from a dissolution of facts and reality. We look at Gladstone's manifesto for producing her radio show to unpack her project here, while considering her advice for bolstering our own personal realities. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: The Trouble With Reality Additional Resources: The Facts Must Matter: On “The Trouble with Reality” Gladstone's Book Answers The Question: What Ails Our Democracy? Q&A: Brooke Gladstone on the media, Trump, and truth Brooke Gladstone 'On The Media's' Brooke Gladstone on 'The Trouble with Reality' Interview: Journalist Brooke Gladstone And 'The Trouble With Reality' On The Media’s Brooke Gladstone on the redefinition of truth in the Trump era Journalist Brooke Gladstone Explains The 'Trouble With Reality'

This 12-part comic series seems like a fan's homage to Carl Bark' Disney stories, but we uncover how the values of "hard work" within (and the corporate machinations of many publishers) led Rosa to quit making comics out of frustration and resentment. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck Additional Resources: Don Rosa on himself Don Rosa Collection IntroDUCKtion to the Life and Times of $crooge McDuck Going Quackers  

This 1987 filmed monologue changed the way mainstream media considered autobiographical performance art. We discuss how Gray made the film with director Jonathan Demme and the emotional themes throughout that resonate after his suicide. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Swimming To Cambodia (film) Swimming To Cambodia (book) Additional Resources: Georgakas, D., & Porton, R. (1993). The art of autobiography. Cineaste, 19(4), 34. Through a Lens, Intently. By: Salomon, Andrew, Back Stage East, 19305966, 5/25/2006, Vol. 47, Issue 21 Johnson, B. D. (1992). The talking cure. Maclean’s, 105(28), 44. FILM: SPALDING GRAY'S 'SWIMMING TO CAMBODIA' Swimming to Cambodia: A Channel for Spalding Gray’s Seismic Prose Theatrical Cinema: How Stop Making Sense, Swimming to Cambodia, and Bronson Combined Two Art Forms The Mask Behind the Voice Everything You Need to Know About the Movie That Inspired “Parker Gail’s Location is Eve

This influential 1979 album combined art education with working class political activism to play with the meaning of pop music. We discuss the production of the record and the band's conflicts (or lack thereof) with their record label and the BBC. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Entertainment! Additional Resources: Dettmar, K. J. H. (2014). Gang of Four’s Entertainment! New York, NY: Bloomsbury Academic. Gang Of Four Track By Track Andy Gill meets Andy Gill Jerky, punky, funky Gang of Four Anthrax Hoover, M., & Stokes, L. (1998). Pop Music and the Limits of Cultural Critique: Gang of Four Shrinkwraps Entertainment. Popular Music & Society, 22(3), 21. Smith, M. R. (2005). So Sweet. Remix, 7(7), 106.

This horror comic by Grant Morrison, Chris Burnham and Nathan Fairbairn purports to act symbolically like our archetypes of myth. We ask whether it's successful in getting into our subconscious and if cosmic horror and lack of meaning even scare us anymore. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Nameless Additional Resources: Afterword in the collected NAMELESS 'Nameless' Was the Scariest Comic Book of 2015 Understanding Grant Morrison's "Nameless" Halloween Horror: Nameless by Grant Morrison, Chris Burnham and Nathan Fairbairn Kill Yr Gods: Reconnecting with Grant Morrison Through Nameless Brain Teeth / Endless Nameless Part 2: Macro Meaning vs Micro Meaning  

  We discuss Tom Hardy's television passion project and how he produced it with his father and a string of well-known storytellers. We also examine the show's symbolic demonization of corporations and what that says about historical accuracy and our present understanding of modern economics. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Taboo, Season One Additional Resources: Tom Hardy wins dream acting role - after convincing his dad to create it for him ‘Taboo’ will return to FX in 2018 BBC to break 'Taboo' with 'inaccurate' portrayal of East India Company FX's Taboo Offers a Realistic Portrayal of Monopoly Taboo writer Steven Knight plans at least two more series of the BBC1 drama Taboo's gunpowder plot: can you really make explosives from manure? Naysayers be damned! Tom Hardy's Taboo is a work of Wicker Man genius A Chat With Tom Hardy: Is His ‘Taboo’ Killer a True Shaman or ‘Just F***ing Mad’? Everything you need to

This fantasy/horror novel about prep school boys and magical authority came in the middle of the genre paperback boom. We talk about Straub's concerns when writing it and how he walked the line between horror and "literature," while responding to the market pressures on his publisher. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Shadowland Additional Resources: Tattered Tomes: Peter Straub’s Shadowland, Revisited David S. Goyer Adapting ‘Shadowland’ Horror Novel As NBC Event Series Zaleski, J. (2003). The Uses of Horror. Publishers Weekly, 250(40), 45–49. AN INTRODUCTION: SHADOWLAND The Dick Cavett Show Horror Masters Stephen King, Romero, Straub, Levin 1980 Shadowland, by Putney Tyson Ridge AN INTRODUCTION SHADOWLAND Dancing Architecture an interview with Peter Straub Interview: Peter Straub