Tag: the sopranos

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We’re Back!

Posted on by Did You Do Your Homework?

And we may not be better than ever, but we’re at LEAST as good as the last time anyone posted an entry on here. If you’re only a follower of the blog, I apologize – things got crazy and for a while there we were only uploading our episodes to Soundcloud and the various podcast aggregates out there.

We are six episodes into our second season, with some minor changes to the format, but delivering all that good good pop culture content you’ve come to expect and enjoy. I’m here to talk about our most recent episode on storytelling, “Showing vs. Telling,” which we recorded with returning guest and friend of the pod Dan Karlin!

What’s Stuck In Our Heads This Week
Pete: Into the Spider-Verse music video by Post Malone: “Sunflower”
Dan: The Office (American version)
Martha: Captain Marvel trailer

We’re probably going to be all about Into the Spider-Verse for our next episode, so it’s apropos that Pete is kicking things off early by talking about the Post Malone music video. (Writer’s note: I, being Martha, mention that Post Malone may have been accused of being a white supremacist – further research doesn’t bear this out, but he does have many comments that lead to one thinking that he’s a pretty terrible person. Toxic masculinity and cultural appropriation appear to be the “extent” if his misdemeanors, as of now.) Dan is finally watching The Office, and Martha gets emotional over female superheroes.

On to the episode!

This week, we’re looking at methods of storytelling – specifically, showing vs. telling in writing, film and graphic imagery.

The Homework for the Episode:
Martha: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Pete: Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli
Dan: The Sopranos, 6.03: “Mayham”

The broad questions we ask ourselves are whether or not the media we’re looking at are predominantly using showing or telling in relating their stories, and how effective they are at telling them. Pete and Martha get to try and puzzle out a late-game episode of a show they haven’t watched (except for this very podcast!), and Dan gets introduced to the child-murdering world of The Hunger Games. Also, for the first time that she’s willing to admit to, Martha hasn’t done her homework. SHAME.

Our next episode will be our Top Ten of 2018, so there’s no extra homework. Enjoy your holidays and watch some cheeseball Christmas movies!

Twitter: @DYDYHpodcast
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Posted in episodes

Episode 30: Toxic Masculinity

Posted on by Did You Do Your Homework?

The homework for the episode:
Martha: Devils Within by S.F. Henson (2018 YA novel)
Pete: The Sopranos, 1.01 (“Pilot”)
Caitlin: TED talks from Jackson Katz and Tony Porter

A teenager escapes from the Neo Nazi compound that raised him and tries to integrate into the real world, overcoming years of brain washing and conditioning…while those same White Supremacists hunt him down for killing their leader.

A modern day mob boss starts going to therapy after the pressures of his life cause a panic attack and blackout episode.

Two learned gentlemen discuss the role men have in conquering our culture’s ingrained misogyny and sexism.

Friend of the show and fellow educator Caitlin Hofert joins us today for a tricky, sticky subject: Toxic Masculinity. Timely!

Your podcasters’ credentials:

Pete: Wizard-themed pop-up bar in Milwaukee (it’s Harry Potter with the labels scratched off)
Martha: The Cruel Prince by Holly Black (2018 YA novel)
Cailtin: Whitechapel (2009 BBC television show)

Martha and Caitlin both have credentials that would fit pretty well into the episode, completely by coincidence, so let’s get right into it.

This is probably one of the most timely topics we’ve discussed on the show, and we all have Many Feelings about it, which is why we run a little bit long. Some of the questions we get into:

    1. How do the fictional stories we looked at reflect the ideas from the TED talks?
    2. How do the fictional stories we look at either celebrate or condemn the toxic environments they reflect?
    3. The Sopranos first aired in 1999 – almost 20 years ago. Do we think the attitude towards a character like Tony and what he represents has shifted in our pop cultural landscape?

Caitlin also tells us a bit about how she approaches this topic with her students, which delights Martha, who also gets to tell a bit about how toxic masculinity and related attitudes seeps into her job.

 

 

Next week is a follow-up, a part two, a continuation if you will: we’re going from toxic masculinity to Anti-Heroes in pop culture. Joining us for his on-air debut is Mr. Martha Sullivan himself, Bill Sullivan!

Your homework for April 25:

Martha: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (2008 thriller)
Pete: The Maltese Falcon (1941 film directed by John Huston and starring Humphrey Bogart and Mary Astor)
Bill: Dredd (2012 action opus directed by Pete Travis and starring Karl Urban and Karl Urban’s Chin and also Olivia Thirlby)

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!