Supercontext: An Autopsy Of Media

This 2008 military film claims to be about realism and a soldier's addiction to war. But we learn that despite writer Mark Boal and director Kathryn Bigelow's best intentions, it doesn't accurately reflect the experience of veterans. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: The Hurt Locker Near Dark Blue Steel Point Break Sheriff of Babylon Pride of Baghdad The Night Porter Eat the Apple Additional Resources: Here’s Why ‘The Hurt Locker’ Is The Worst War Movie Of All Time U.S. bomb expert says "Hurt Locker" stole his story Iraq War Vet Ordered to Pay $187,000 in Failed Lawsuit Against 'Hurt Locker' Producers The Hurt Locker: interview with Mark Boal The Hurt Locker: So Right About Men, So Wrong About Addiction What's Wrong With 'The Hurt Locker' First sight: Mark Boal Driscoll, S. (2013). The Hurt Locker (film). Salem Press Encyclopedia, TAUBIN, A. (2009). hard wired. Film Comment, 45(3), 30-35. The Iraq war -- from th

This 12-year running comedy game show features celebrities from the entertainment industry celebrating their love of cinema. But it's also a fascinating intersection between business and marijuana culture. We discuss its trajectory alongside the legalization of the drug here in parts of the United States.   Check out Doug Loves Movies here.   Additional Resources: Podcast Review: Doug Loves Movies Listen Up: The 20 Best Comedy Podcasts Right Now https://tv.avclub.com/doug-benson-is-probably-high-right-now-1798258344 Doug Benson on comedy, high concepts and Doug Loves Movies Doug Benson's Total Scam of a Life Listen Notes Talk show host's stoner dream comes true, and it's high time Doug Benson On 420 Comedy, Post-Legalization      

This controversial comic series about terrorism and identity politics predicts a dystopia that not everyone is willing to agree with. We look at the angry arguments from both Howard Chaykin and his detractors about whether this is artistic expression or just shock value. And... we ask what no one else seems to address. Does Chaykin's story successfully meet its intended goal? Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: The Divided States of Hysteria Black Kiss American Flagg The Homeland Directive Dead Babies Mr. A Additional Resources: The Divided States of Hysteria controversy, and what it means for trans characters in comics “Conversation” Sparked By Second Print Of ‘Divided States Of Hysteria’ Transmyscira: Why I’m Boycotting Image Comics On Free Speech, Censorship, And Howard Chaykin’s Divided States Of Hysteria Howard Chaykin Responds To Controversy Image Comics & Chaykin respond to sensitivity feedback, pull

As long-time listeners know, one of our hosts is moving across the country, and our production schedule has been disrupted. To ease the transition, this week's Supercontext is a shortened, totally subjective chat about what media we have been consuming and enjoying. If anything caught your interest, please consider buying through our Amazon links below to support the show! PROSE Newsletters: Warren Ellis, Unladylike, Hot Pod, Jim Gibbons, Ken Lowery, Live Wire Men in the Off Hours AUDIO Jimmywine Majestic Until Your Heart Stops COMICS Shiver Juni Ito's Cat Diary: Yon & Mu The Coldest City TV Hap and Leonard Legion Halt and Catch Fire MOVIES Alien: Covenant Atomic Blonde

We look into the story behind-the-scenes of this surprisingly profound comic: from Ferris' struggle with West Nile virus, to the book's seizure en route through the Panama Canal. In addition, we discuss Ferris' theme of "personal monster dilemmas" and how the process of creating this was like melting valuable dross from gold. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: My Favorite Thing Is Monsters How To Be Happy You And A Bike And A Road Why Art? Escape From Special Gravity's Rainbow Additional Resources: Fantagraphics Has Surprise Hit in Debut ‘My Favorite Thing is Monsters’ Bankrupt Shipping Company Causing Woes for Publishers Emil Ferris: 'I didn’t want to be a woman – being a monster was the best solution' The Emil Ferris Interview: Monsters, Art and Stories (Part 2) The Bite That Changed My Life My Favorite Thing is Monsters Author Talks 2017’s Buzziest Graphic Novel The Holocaust, Art, Chicago & Sickness: A 3,5

This memoir by a music icon was expected to be a tell-all about scandal and betrayal. But we discuss how it's actually about defense mechanisms that give the illusion of cool confidence. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Girl in a Band 1991: The Year Punk Broke Sonic Youth The Messthetics Motherfucker The Purkinje Shift (live) Rap Damage Additional Resources: Kim Gordon’s ‘Girl in a Band’ Mooallem, S. (2015). 60s KIM GORDON. Harper's Bazaar, 304-307. Unconventional Idol: Kim Gordon's Girl in a Band FELSENTHAL, J. (2015). ONE-WOMAN SHOW. Marie Claire (US Edition), 22(3), 226. Even Kim Gordon Doesn't Have It All Weiner, J. (2015). Kim Gordon's New Noise. Rolling Stone, (1230), 18. Why Do Women's Music Memoirs Sell So Erratically? Kim Gordon: Girl in a Band

As long-time listeners know, one of our hosts is moving across the country, and our production schedule has been disrupted. To ease the transition, this week's Supercontext is a shortened, totally subjective chat about what media we have been consuming and enjoying. If anything caught your interest, please consider buying through our Amazon links below to support the show! PROSE After The People Lights Have Gone Off The Ones That Got Away Steering the Craft My Twentieth Century Evening and Other Small Breakthroughs Commonwealth  COMICS Bucky Barnes: The Winter Soldier (The Man On The Wall) AUDIO Mothership Connection Maggot Brain Cluster & Eno Jericho Sirens The Binge Mode podcast TV Taboo Peaky Blinders Longmire Hard Sun Puffin Rock MOVIES They Remain Coco Charlotte’s Web Moana  

This 2017 film, written and directed by Taylor Sheridan, is trying to be a respectful crime drama set on a Native American reservation. We discuss Sheridan's mission and choices, as well as the criticism and praise it received for its depiction. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Wind River Skinwalkers Stephen Graham Jones Longmire Additional Resources: Wind River Is an Overwritten Mystery-Thriller With a Crazily Powerful Ending The Moody, Mixed Messages of Wind River The Truth Behind This Year's Most Shocking Film, Wind River 'Wind River': Taylor Sheridan on Why He Needed to Make This Modern Western Taylor Sheridan: 'The big joke on reservations is the white guy that shows up and says: "My grandma is Cherokee"' What’s So Hard About Casting Indian Actors in Indian Roles? Movie Review: Taylor Sheridan’s ‘Wind River’ is Gripping, Realistic and Beautifully-Crafted Three Billboards, Wind River and Hollywood's Represe

Jen Kirkman is a prolific comedian, known for her acerbic, dry wit. We look at her 2015 Netflix special and wonder what it says about mainstream lifestyles and life after forty. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: I'm Gonna Die Alone (And I Feel Fine) The Unspeakable: And Other Subjects of Discussion Nikki Glaser Morgan Murphy April Richardson Michelle Wolff Additional Resources: Jen Kirkman responds to Louis C.K. allegations: He's 'no longer' a friend Jen Kirkman sets the record straight on Louis CK and those sexual misconduct rumors Jen Kirkman on Election-Night Anxiety, Touring as a Woman, and Dealing With Rumors Jen Kirkman: ‘Joan Rivers was my comedy mother’ Jen Kirkman Talks Trump, Mental Health, and Overthinking Comedy Jen Kirkman on feminism, Hallmark Christmas movies and — yes — Louis C.K. In her first Netflix special, Jen Kirkman airs her grievances on a world gone dumb Jen Kirkman Finds Material in the

This graphic novel, by one of the elder statesmen of comics, pushed the medium into new formats, genres and methods of distribution. We discuss how Eisner used a very personal tragedy to create it, as well as its unique representation of Jewish American identity. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: A Contract With God The Spirit Comics and Sequential Art Graphic Storytelling and Visual Narrative Hubert Selby, Jr.  Additional Resources: Eisner's A Contract with God Is the First Graphic Novel. By: Plummer, Marguerite R., Salem Press Encyclopedia, 2013 The 'God' father THE ANATOMY OF EXPRESSION: WILL EISNER AND ‘A CONTRACT WITH GOD’ Scott McCloud’s Introduction to Will Eisner’s A Contract With God — the Centennial Edition Royal, D. P. (2011). Sequential Sketches of Ethnic Identity: Will Eisner's "A Contract with God" as Graphic Cycle. College Literature, 38(3), 150-167.

This animated adult comedy from Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon is on a mission to violate boundaries, while indulging in themes of nihilism and toxicity. We discuss how it's written and animated, along with its representation of women and its non-unionized production team.  Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Rick and Morty Community Ren and Stimpy The Auteur Stella Children’s Hospital T. C. Boyle Stories Additional Resources: Social Commentary in “Rick and Morty” Dan Harmon, Justin Roiland talk bringing absurd to 'Rick and Morty' Talking to Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland About Their New Adult Swim Show, ‘Rick and Morty’ ‘Rick And Morty’ Is Better When It Embraces Its Strong Women ‘Rick and Morty’ Creators: How Hiring Female Writers Made Season 3 the Best Yet Rick and Morty co-creator addresses toxicity among fanbase Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland on Rick and Morty, How Community Is Like Star Trek, and Puberty

The first book in Jeff VanderMeer's Southern Reach trilogy focuses on humanity's weird relationship with nature and how we react to the unknown. We look at how VanderMeer wrote the book, the unique publishing strategy behind it and his choice to strip the characters of their identities, while still representing an all female cast. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Annihilation Area X (the collected Southern Reach Trilogy) Injection Prince of Darkness The Peripheral The Other Side of the Mountain Tainaron: Mail from Another City Pattiann Rogers works Additional Resources: Annihilation: “Weird” Nature Jeff VanderMeer: 'Power of Nature' Inspired New Sci-Fi Novel 'Annihilation' Finally, a novel about weird science that's genuinely weird The boundary-pushing fiction of Sean McDonald and his new FSG imprint, MCD From Annihilation to Acceptance: A Writer’s Surreal Journey An Interview With Jeff VanderMeer: "Full Disclosur

This Marvel Comics storyline began in 2016 as a synergistic publishing scheme that led to the wildly successful Black Panther film. Writer Ta-Nehisi Coates and artist Brian Stelfreeze tell a tale about monarchy, nationalism, revolution, diversity and the universal trope of power. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet Between the World and Me Additional Resources: TA-NEHISI COATES FIGHTS THE POWER—LITERALLY—WITH BLACK PANTHER Black Panther by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Brian Stelfreeze is brilliant, political, and human The Return of the Black Panther Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Black Panther is a human drama about power Ta-Nehisi Coates Hopes 'Black Panther' Will Be Some Kid's 'Spider-Man' The Words that Build Wakanda: Following Ta-Nehisi Coates’ BLACK PANTHER The Confused Politics Behind Marvel's Black Panther: A Brief History WAKANDA REBORN

This is Guided By Voices' 100th record (by some fuzzy math). We discuss how they create songs and what each band member contributes. We also debate the quantity over quality ethos of this prolific band... and wonder if for some listeners it's more like a religion. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: August By Cake Guided By Voices  Ty Segall Fuzz Cap'n Jazz and the Kinsellas Owls Joan of Arc Additional Resources: Pitchfork review Popmatters review Flood Magazine review GUIDED BY A LOT OF VOICES: GBV MEMBERS WEIGH IN ON ‘AUGUST BY CAKE’ Band Q&A: Guided By Voices Life Lessons from Robert Pollard GUIDED BY VOICES: ROBERT POLLARD, WHO ARE YOU? Robert Pollard What Makes These Guided By Voices Superfans Still Love Robert Pollard After 100 Albums?  

  Together with guest Van Jensen, we dissect the original James Bond source material. We look at Ian Fleming's life and possible wish fulfillment, as well as how he wrote and published this post-World War II spy story. And of course, we'd be remiss if we didn't also discuss Bond's misogyny and nationalistic fantasizing.   Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Casino Royale (the book) Casino Royale (the film that is nuts) Casino Royale (the film that is great) Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer Cryptocracy The Leg Spook Country The Spy Who Came In From The Cold The Honourable Schoolboy The Bond Dossier The Magic Christian Additional Resources: Listen Notes Kerr, P., & Saunders, F. S. (2002). Licensed to print money. New Statesman, 131(4576), 38. Moran, C. (2013). Ian Fleming and the Public Profile of the CIA. Journal Of Cold War Studies, 15(1), 119. Bond, J. (2008). Nobody Does It Better. (cover story). In Britain, 76(2), 22. G

Was this 1990s serial killer television drama about the end of the world? Or was it about having empathy for our fellow humans? Chris Carter (X-Files) created it after watching Se7en, but over the course of its three seasons Millennium shifted and changed, until unfortunately it was cancelled. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Millennium, The Complete Series Back To Frank Black: A Return to Chris Carter’s Millennium Additional Resources: MILLENNIUM'S NIELSEN RATINGS - STATISTICAL CHARTS AND ANALYSIS TV'S BEST KEPT SECRET IMPROVES IN ITS SOPHOMORE SEASON Staring Into the Heart of Darkness CHRIS CARTER INTRODUCES US TO MILLENNIUM Back To Frank Black: A Return to Chris Carter’s Millennium. Edited by Adam Chamberlain & Brian A. Dixon. Published by Fourth Horseman Press, 2013.

Michael Shea was a genre writer who combined fantasy, science fiction and horror into a unique blend of wonder and imagination. Together with our guest Robert Lamb (Stuff To Blow Your Mind), we discuss Shea's writing style and legacy. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Demiurge: The Complete Cthulhu Mythos Tales of Michael Shea Michael Shea listing on Amazon The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories Eight Black Offerings The Grave Stompers: Six Tales From the Southern Earth Karl Edward Wagner listing on Amazon Swords and Deviltry (The Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser) (Vol 1) The End of the Story: The Collected Fantasies, Vol. 1 (The Collected Fantasies of Clark Ashton Smith) Additional Resources: www.michaelsheaauthor.com The Extra. (2009). Publishers Weekly, 256(49), 35. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ee5ckbUQ4jI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_FSICmPrDU

Based on a hard-boiled novel by Charles Willeford, this sweaty, sultry film has us questioning hedonism and the struggle between order and chaos. Between writer/director George Armitage, a very shirtless Alec Baldwin and killer performances by Jennifer Jason Leigh and Fred Ward... we've got plenty to talk about. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Miami Blues (the film) Miami Blues (the book) Grosse Point Blank Spartan Cast A Deadly Spell Tremors The Killing Top of the Lake Additional Resources: Interview: George Armitage Pinkerton, N. (2015). PRINCE OF PULP. Sight & Sound, 25(7), 98. Fisher, M. J. (2000). The Unlikely Father of Miami Crime Fiction. Atlantic, 285(5), 117-121. Olson, Kirby. Comedy after Postmodernism: Rereading Comedy from Edward Lear to Charles Willeford . Lubbock, TX: Texas Tech University Press, 2001 When Satire Fails Miami Blues The New Cult Canon: Miami Blues Pastel Noir: George Armitage’s MIAMI

This comic book project stitches together the most important moments from decades (and thousands of pages) of X-Men comics. We talk to cartoonist Ed Piskor about his production process, the comics market and the relevance of the X-Men's themes in the present day. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: X-Men: Grand Design  Hip Hop Family Tree Wizzywig Additional Resources: The X-Men's 40-year history has just been compressed into one easy-to-read story In X-Men: Grand Design, Ed Piskor tells the superheroes' whole story Ed Piskor breaks down X-Men history with style in this Grand Design exclusive X-Men: Grand Design Wants to Save Marvel's Mutants From Themselves Chris Claremont & Ed Piskor Reflect on the Grand Design of the X-Men Legacy Cartoonist Ed Piskor on 'Hip Hop Family Tree' and the Importance of Creative Freedom

This band has been creating experimental music for 35 years. So we look at the moment when they doubled down by teaming up with musicians from Big Business. We confront our own subjectivity about music and examine how to make a living from something creative like this long-running doom machine. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: (A) Senile Animal Day Late, Dollar Short This Machine Kills Artists The Deal What One Becomes Hew Time Additional Resources: Orinda's Noise Vomitorium The Melvins: A Senile Animal Melvins (A) Senile Animal Melvins Interviews and Studio (((O))) : INTERVIEW: JARED WARREN FROM BIG BUSINESS Coady Willis of Big Business Talks What He’s Learned From the Melvins