Posted in episodes, homework

Episode 33: Virtue

The homework for the episode:
Martha: Dogma, the 1999 film by Kevin Smith
Pete: The Crucible by Arthur Miller (for extra credit, watch the film adaptation starring DYDYH’s unofficial mascot Daniel Day Lewis!)
Sara: Peace Like a River, 2001 novel by Leif Enger

Two angels exiled from heaven find a loophole that will allow them back in and thus destroy the universe – a mortal woman is enlisted to stop them, and is joined by a flock of holy idiots.

A small New England town is swept up in hysteria when a group of girls start accusing people of witchcraft.

A teen boy kills two people defending his family, escapes prison, and hides in the wide expanse of middle America. His pious family takes off in a motor home to find him, and in the process, discover the missing pieces of themselves and their family.

Did you listen to our last episode on Vice? If not, start there – we’re continuing the conversation today with the topic of Virtue.

Your podcasters’ credentials:

Pete: “This is America”/”Call Me Maybe” mashup (located here)
Martha: Pop Rocket podcast on Maximum Fun
Sara: HAIM concert in Chicago

Martha plugs yet another podcast that isn’t hers (but if you like DYDYH you’ll probably enjoy Pop Rocket, TBH). Pete and Sara talk excitedly about bands Martha couldn’t sing music from if you paid her, but it’s just really nice to be excited about stuff these days.

We use our discussion questions but be warned, this episode is long because Sara and Martha discover the conversation we SHOULD have been having all along towards the end of the episode.

  1. What is the definition of virtue?
  2. What makes a character virtuous, both in the context of our homework and in relation to our world and morals?
  3. All of our homework, consciously or not, deals with virtue in a very religious sense. Are there agnostic contexts in which we think of people as being “virtuous”?
  4. How do the characters in our homework abuse the idea of virtue?
  5. Do justice and virtue have anything to do with each other?

Hey y’all I’m real tired tonight so I’m not going to be writing much useful in the way of description. Suffice to say it’s a good ep and you should listen to it.

Sara cites an article on Virtue Ethics which you can read here.

A slightly spoilery article on morality in Infinity War, which did not come up in our discussion but is very interesting and relevant, can be found here. I don’t really agree with all of it but it’s interesting to consider.

Join us next time for something completely different! 40 Going on 14 member Joel Kenyon (also of Creepercast and The Sunshine Happy Kpants Hour) returns with us to the world of mental health and pop culture in our discussion about PTSD.

Your homework for June 6:

Martha: Jessica Jones, 1.01 (“AKA Ladies Night”) and 1.02 (“AKA Crush Syndrome”)
Pete: Macbeth (2015, dir Justin Kurzel)
Joel: Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012, dir. Stephen Chbosky)

Find Pete on Twitter @piko3000, and find Martha on both Instagram AND Twitter @magicalmartha. Follow us online @DYDYHpodcast, e-mail us at show@homeworkpodcast.com, and find us on Facebook.

And remember, if you have questions, comments, or ideas for a show, give us a shoutout here or send us an e-mail to show@homeworkpodcast.com. We’d love to hear from you!

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