The homework for the episode:
Martha: As I Descended, 2016 novel by Robin Talley
Pete: Ran, 1985 film directed by Akira Kurosawa
Maren: 10 Things I Hate About You, 1999 film directed by Gil Junger
Two teens scheme to topple their school’s It Girl in a plan that goes horribly awry for many people. Also known as: Macbeth, but with lesbians and also ghosts.
A Japanese warlord is the victim of his own violence as his familial empire slowly crumbles from within. Also known as: King Lear, but set in Feudal Japan and also the king has sons instead of daughters.
Sisters are the focus of a high school’s social ecosystem. Also known as: The Taming of the Shrew set in a 90’s high school.
Maren is back to help us dissect the ways in which we appropriate and reuse the stories of Billy Shakes. Surprisingly, everyone likes the YA book Martha picked!
Your podcasters’ credentials:
Pete: Weird Al’s 77 songs mashup
Martha: The Summer of Jordi Perez (And the Best Burger in Los Angeles) by Amy Spalding
Maren: New season of Queer Eye
I think we’re going to be mixing up the credentials portion of the podcast – don’t worry, you’ll still get to hear what we’ve been consuming as pop culture “experts,” but we may shift focus to the stuff we actually WANT to talk about and not just the most recent mobile game Martha has been wasting time on. Stay tuned!
There’s a reason Shakespeare is so enduring in our pop cultural landscape, and we take a crack at figuring out why. Here are some of the things we touch on:
- Why exactly Shakespeare’s stories are so enduring
- Why they work particularly well in high school settings
- What the gender flips do for the stories, if anything
- What is lost and gained from translating these stories to different times and places
We don’t go as deeply into the gender question as I might have wanted to, particularly in relation to As I Descended. If you have thoughts on the issue, please leave us a note or a comment!
We’re going a little lighter in the spirit of summer for our next episode, which is all about Zombies as Metaphor. We’re joined by Pete’s friend and coworker, Austin!
Your homework for July 4:
Martha: Feed, 2010 novel by Mira Grant
Pete: The Girl With All the Gifts, 2016 film directed by Colm McCarthy
Austin: Warm Bodies, 2013 film directed by Jonathan Levine (also weirdly enough a Shakespeare redux!)
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!
Did You Do Your Homework? 