Fear the Witch if You are Christian, Non-Christian, or an Animal Lover

October 3, 2017 Mary Kay McBrayer

Can I be totally honest with y’all and tell you the reason why I’m not an animal person? They’re too easily won.

I know you’re gonna say I’m wrong, animals are really smart, they’re intuitive about people’s intent, they will guard your house, et cetera. I think it stands to reason, though, that they guard your house because you’ve trained them to do it. That if, let’s say, a gangster drug dealer trained his pitbull to attack you, they’d guard his house and him, too.

I point this out to say that if the family in The Witch hadn’t trusted their many animals, all that shit might not have gone down the way that it did.

(Spoilers ahead.)

Five Reasons You Should Really Be Watching "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend"

October 1, 2017 Kelli

I first heard of the CW show Crazy Ex-Girlfriend when I saw an advertisement for it at the subway station nearest my apartment. The poster featured a woman in a pink dress holding a heart-shaped balloon, the show’s title beside her in the boldest typeface possible: CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND.Beneath that, a rogue feminist had pasted a sticker, one I’ve seen plastered to many different subway displays — usually plastic surgery ads with language implying that if you have boobs, they probably aren’t big enough. The sticker says: This insults women. I looked at the ad for a few moments more, thought, ‘huh, I guess that’s true,’ and continued on my way.

It wasn’t until a few months later that I listened to an episode of Pop Culture Happy Hour — one of my most trusted sources for recommendations — and learned, to my surprise, that Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is not an insult to women at all. In fact, it’s kind of the opposite.

It’s been more than a year since then, and with its third season premiering later this month, Rachel Bloom’s absurdist musical comedy Crazy Ex-Girlfriend has wormed its way into the hearts of many, myself (and Emmy voters) included. However, despite the show’s critical acclaim, there are still quite a few people who haven’t watched it and don’t plan to anytime soon, either because they have preconceived notions about it based on the title (like I used to), or because there is, quite frankly, a shitload of good television to catch up on, and the CW doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to “peak TV.”

So, if you’re one of those people who has yet to give Crazy Ex-Girlfriend a chance, I am writing this for YOU — to convince you that if you aren’t watching it yet, you really, really should be. You can find my top five reasons after the cut.

Minisode #6: We All Float / Stephen King's IT

September 25, 2017 The Squad

61bMkkwpduL._SY679_.jpg — Minisode #6: We All Float / Stephen King's IT

Join your favorite squad of "losers" on a journey through the sewers of Derry, Maine as we discuss the 2017 film adaptation of Stephen King's IT. How does Bill Skarsgård's Pennywise compare to Tim Curry's performance in the 1990 miniseries? Why did director Andrés Muschietti give Mike's character so little to do? How many clowns is TOO many clowns? Listen now for our thoughts, and don't worry — you'll float too.

Click through for summary, table of contents, and show notes!

A mother! scorned: Darren Aronofsky’s Failed Feminism

September 18, 2017 Kristin Teston & Katie Turner

Perhaps the best thing about this season of American Horror Story was the two-minute trailer for mother!, Oscar-winning filmmaker Darren Aronofsky’s newest project. The preview promises a psychological thriller starring Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem as a couple who live in a beautiful, secluded mansion, which—to the dismay of Lawrence (the eponymous Mother) and the delight of Bardem (known only as Him)—is soon invaded by two strangers played by Ed Harris and Michelle Pfieffer (credited as Man and Woman, respectively).

Friday afternoon we went into the theater knowing little more than this basic premise and that the movie was meant to be an artful, fatalistic meditation on the destructive and irredeemable nature of mankind. Mother! picks up on themes of religious failure and climatic disaster introduced in Aronofsky’s previous film, the remarkably unremarkable Biblical epic Noah. In his latest project, Aronofsky returns to Judeo-Christian mythology for inspiration, this time with a heavy-handed Biblical allegory about humanity’s destruction of the earth. Even so, with a title like mother!, one might reasonably expect to see a film more obviously concerned with women. In a recent interview, Lawrence describes the movie as “incredibly feminist,” but suggests it’s “much bigger,” echoing Aronofsky’s insistence that the film engages with universal allegories that are “not male or female, it’s all of us.” But what we actually get is a (probably not very self-aware) film about how men use women.

Beyond the cut are many, many spoilers. You have been warned.

Let Me Stop You Right There: Overcoming Mansplaining in Gimlet Media's Homecoming

September 14, 2017 Gabriella Geisinger

Ten minutes and forty seconds into the first episode of the Homecoming podcast, David Schwimmer deadpans: “Heidi, I’m gonna stop you right there.”

It’s a situation that many women have found themselves in countless times — their expert opinions being overridden by mansplainers. In Homecoming, the role of women — in particular, Heidi Bergman — is pivotal, deeply frustrating, and also true to life. In this way, Homecoming is a show that makes the point of view of women a dynamic and realistic one.