Supercontext: An Autopsy Of Media

David Simon and George Pelecanos' show makes us uncomfortable about sex work. But it's to better understand capitalism. We discuss their exploration of community, corruption and the production of both this show and the labor that inspired it. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: The Deuce, Season One Last Exit to Brooklyn Taxi Driver American Gigolo Light Sleeper The Night Porter Additional Resources: The Deuce and the Birth of Porn ‘The Deuce’ Recalls Sex and Sleaze in 1970s Times Square The Deuce isn't about sex. It's about capitalism. How ‘The Deuce’ Predicts Modern-Day New York The Deuce: Season One Ratings  

We try to unpack what little is known about this author, while providing a "succinct" description of the book. Along the way we discuss the publishing industry, book awards, obscenity, themes and the mythical reputation this tome has garnered over the years. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Gravity's Rainbow Inherent Vice The Crying of Lot 49 V. American Flagg Divided States of Hysteria Casanova Satellite Sam Moby-Dick The Illuminatus! Trilogy The Kills Field Notes Additional Resources: George Plimpton on Thomas Pynchon's V. V. Squared Pynchon from A to V Duncan, J. (2013). Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon. Salem Press Encyclopedia Of Literature. Muste, J. M., & Weisenburger, S. C. (2014). Thomas Pynchon. Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia. Herman, L., & Weisenburger, S. (2013). Gravity's Rainbow, Domination, and Freedom. Athens: University of Georgia Press. Pulitzer Jurors Dismayed on Pynchon  Pulitzer

Does this film change the way we look at the world the same way its 1982 predecessor and Phillip K. Dick's original 1968 story did? We look at the aesthetics of this brutal dystopian vision and how it portrays women, fertility, power and agency... all while its financiers struggle with creative accounting to justify another sequel. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Blade Runner 2049 Blade Runner Fury Road Fluorescent Black (rare and way too expensive) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Confessions of a Dangerous Mind Additional Resources: Blade Runner 2049 director responds to critique of female characters Blade Runner 2049 Is a Worthy Heir to a Classic Sedate expectations: will Blade Runner 2049 give birth to the slow-burn blockbuster? why blade runner 2049 is a misogynistic mess Is Blade Runner 2049 sexist – or a fair depiction of a dystopian future? Blade Runner 2049 is an uneasy feminist parable about contr

It's our Christmas episode and as is our tradition, we're covering a ghost story. While Deadman's comics may seem to be about an acrobat solving his own murder... we find out that it's also about censorship in the 1960s and collusion in the media industry. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Deadman: Book One Doom Patrol The Son of Satan The Devil's Rejects Think of the Children Additional Resources: Petit, Z. (2014). STUBBORN. AGGRESSIVE. POSITIVE. Print, 68(5), 18-21. How Neal Adams Plans to Bring 'Deadman' Back to Life The World's Strangest Writer: A Tribute to Arnold Drake Carmine Infantino, Reviver of Batman and Flash, Dies at 87

How do we respond to a pop music auteur who's been described as the "patron saint" of her generation? We look at her DIY production work ethic to find out. Additionally, we get very upset about how some try to sexualize, infantilize or demean her with criticism and even death threats. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Art Angels Hounds of Love To Bring You My Love Pretty Hate Machine nikki nack Additional Resources: losing people to drugs and alcohol is the worst Pop For Misfits Sound says most to Grimes Grimes In Reality Grimes Sounds Off on Sexism and Stereotypes

This Netflix program is about the early days of studying serial killers at the FBI. We look at David Fincher's meticulous storytelling here, as well as the show's attempts to disrupt the glorification of murder and the methodological portrayal of criminal profiling. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit By Reason of Insanity Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets Additional Resources: With film tax credits restored, city lands new drama from Netflix Defining deviancy: The clammy thrills of David Fincher’s “Mindhunter” on Netflix Mindhunter Modeled This Character On A Female Psychologist & Living Legend Mindhunter Probes America's Obsession With Serial Killers There was a lot more CGI in Mindhunter than you’d think Mindhunter is Netflix’s most binge-worthy show yet The Real FBI Agents and Serial Killers Who Inspired Netflix’s Mindhunter “Mindhunter” and the Pr

In this essay, one of America's most beloved storytellers provides advice on consuming media, thinking critically about it and applying it to your own work. We get real personal while trying to figure out who our respective "muses" are. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Zen in the Art of Writing Grinderman The Art of Fiction The Courage to Create Danse Macabre Trilogy of Terror Texas Chainsaw Massacre Moana Field Notes (not a sponsor, yet, we just like them so much) Additional Resources: New Canaan Lost in the Stacks The Conversation of Civilization Ray Bradbury and Zen in the Art of Writing Researchers Study Effects of Social Media on Young Minds Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness and Creativity

This 2007 thriller divides a lot of people over whether it's good or bad. We try to take a high road and instead explore what the film says about us. Is it about ordinary monsters? Addiction? Or America's guilt about its own dark side? Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Mr. Brooks Seven Millennium Hannibal Field Notes (the notebooks, not a movie) Additional Resources: The Hunt For The Worst Movie Of All Time: Mr. Brooks Make It Stop: Mr. Brooks Bad Behavior Bruce A. Evans Dissects Mr. Brooks Mr. Brooks a Trilogy

David Byrne's self-titled album is a personal moment in his creative history, but do his lyrics have meaning? Or do they simply dredge up emotions for the listener? Also, how does an album that's this diverse have such a white, middle class identity associated with it?  Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: David Byrne (1994) self-titled How Music Works  David Byrne & St. Vincent – Love This Giant  Owls The Lounge Lizards Additional Resources: David Byrne Needs to Open Up Again 1994 - David Byrne (from the Talking Heads website) David Byrne's head is talking on his wry, dreamy new album  

Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman's novel about the comedy of Armageddon seems to be the very definition of "twee." We try to unpack what that concept means and how it contributes to the authors' humanist message. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch Cat's Cradle Breakfast of Champions Galapagos Guards! Guards! Additional Resources: The Twee Revolution Good Omens: How Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett wrote a book Humorous Humanist Armageddon: Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman’s Good Omens What I'm Reading: Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch, by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

  This television show may be an adaptation of a superhero property, but it's unlike anything we've seen before. It takes the collage aesthetics from unusual comic books and turns them into Noah Hawley's kaleidoscope of mental illness, 60s futurism and a good old fashioned love story.   Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Legion, Season One A Scanner, Darkly X-Men Legacy Additional Resources: Legion tells a human story without giving up its superpowers Legion, FX’s new superhero show, is a landmark production in more ways than one The Cast of Legion Lied to Star Dan Stevens to Make the Show Better How David Bowie Inspired Aubrey Plaza’s Gender-Bending Legion Character Why the production designer of new TV series Legion has a dream job ‘Legion’: Noah Hawley and Dan Stevens Unpack the Finale, Tease Season 2 John Landgraf Talks ‘Legion’ On FX & Changing Marketplace; Slams Silicon Valley TV pilot shoots in Vancouver

Grant Morrison says this 2002 comic book with Chris Weston, Gary Erskine and Matt Hollingsworth is an inoculation against the nasty horror of the world through depravity, pornography and depression. We interrogate whether that theme works in the end product and if the sexual violence within is problematic. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: The Filth Nameless The Invisibles Book One (or the Ominbus if you're freaky) The Soft Machine (The Cut-up Trilogy) Nova Express (The Cut-up Trilogy) The Ticket That Exploded (The Cut-up Trilogy) Black Kiss Additional Resources: Duffy, D. (2017). The Filth. Salem Press Encyclopedia Of Literature We Don’t Need Another Hero; We Need Garbagemen In Grant Morrison’s The Filth The Function of the Filth WHAT IS THE FILTH ? FILTH PLUS FILTH PLUS - The Questions The Function of the Filth – Preview #1 The Function of the Filth – Preview #2 The Function of the Filth – Preview #3 The Function

David Simon and Ed Burns produced what is heralded as one of the most authentic depictions of the Iraq War, based on Evan Wright's embedded reporting. We look at how it navigates between journalism and drama to keep us from forgetting the story of soldiers on the ground. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Generation Kill Sheriff of Babylon Pride of Baghdad The Short-Timers (crazy rare and way too expensive) Additional Resources: 'Generation Kill' Captures War's Lulls and Horrors After Iraq, the Marines of 'Generation Kill' Regret Nothing Situation Normal The Men Behind Generation Kill  

Writer/director Robin Hardy describes The Wicker Tree as a companion piece to 1973's The Wicker Man. We dig into just how this film got made. Was it a spiteful response to the American remake? Or a continuation for a deeper purpose? Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: The Wicker Man The Wicker Tree The Sacrament The Leftovers Additional Resources: The Lambton Worm, and the ‘Wicker Man’ Sequel That Almost Was Robin Hardy Starts Crowdfunding For The Wrath Of The Gods WICKER MAN DIRECTOR ROBIN HARDY ON THE WICKER TREE AND WHAT COMES NEXT The Wicker Man director Robin Hardy dies Wicker Man sequel revisits original's murky territory Interview With Robin Hardy, Director of The Wicker Man and The Wicker Tree

Killer Mike and El-P call their latest record the album of their careers. How does it straddle crass humor, transgression and political activism? And if you are "the jewel," how does their music fit into your community? Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Run the Jewels Run the Jewels 2 Run the Jewels 3 Meow the Jewels The New Pneumonia Blues Additional Resources: Run the Jewels Announce RTJ3, Share New Song “Legend Has It” El-P on Run the Jewels 3 and That Apocalypse He’s Been Warning Us About Meet the Other Duo Behind Run the Jewels

We turn to David Harper (Off Panel, SKTCHD) and Augie De Blieck, Jr. (Pipeline Comics) for expertise on what's going on in comics news. Are the struggles of this niche industry indicative of something broader going on in our media? Is news a trustworthy advocate that can help us make informed decisions? Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Understanding Comics Additional Resources: Off Panel Pipeline CBR Newsarama The Beat (Heidi MacDonald) Bleeding Cool The Comics Reporter (Tom Spurgeon) Den of Geek Gizmodo/io9 Paste The Outhouse The Comics Journal Ars Technica

This comic book from two of Europe's most legendary creators both presents and parodies white male themes in the 20th century. So what makes it compelling today? Should we embrace or reject its existentialism? Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Madwoman of the Sacred Heart Sabbath's Theater Consider the Lobster and Other Essays Additional Resources: Alejandro Jodorowsky's dance on the edge of meaning Publishers Weekly review Beguiling Books and Art review A Dude, Abiding review The Comics Journal review

With a provocative book title, Laura Jane Grace is reclaiming a slur and repurposing it for her story of struggling with gender dysphoria and self-destructive behavior. Guest Alyson McManus helps us unpack this experience into something universal, with which we can all identify. Additional Resources: Lead Singer of Punk Band 'Against Me' Comes Out as Transgender in Rolling Stone Against Me!'s Laura Jane Grace to Release Memoir 'Tranny' Later This Year Laura Jane Grace's Brutally Honest 'Tranny' Memoir: 10 Things We Learned Against Me!'s Laura Jane Grace explains why she decided to title her memoir 'TRANNY.' One Year and One Million Words with Laura Jane Grace Laura Jane Grace on New Memoir, Why She's Not a Trans Spokesperson Rock’s Not Dead, It’s Ruled by Women: The Round-Table Conversation Beyond XX and XY: The Extraordinary Complexity of Sex Determination

Steven Universe creator Rebecca Sugar has developed a warm, well thought out approach to family cartoons. We look at her goals, Cartoon Network's business plans and the fight in fandom over how this show represents diverse identities.  Additional Resources ‘Steven Universe’ creator Rebecca Sugar is a Cartoon Network trailblazer Cartoon Network’s ‘Steven Universe’ Premieres As Its Most-Watched Series of 2013 'Steven Universe' creator on growing up, gender politics, her brother Steven Universe’s frustrating schedule is crucial to its success ‘Adventure Time’ Writer Rebecca Sugar on ‘Steven Universe,’ Being Cartoon Network’s First Female Show Creator And Why Pop Art Is ‘Offensive’ ‘Leaked’ Steven Universe episodes weren’t leaked at all, Cartoon Network says Steven Universe Artist Quits Twitter Over Fan Harassment ‘Steven Universe’ fandom is melting down after bullied fanartist attempts suicide An Attempted Suicide Forced a Tumblr Community to Open Its Eyes About Bullying Why I Fell In Love With The B

Past guest Swain Hunt (Sidebar, The Metronome) returns to discuss what makes movies hold up? We each tackle a film from the last 30 years of cinema and try to understand why they hold up for us: Bull Durham, Contact and V For Vendetta.