Deep Thoughts Shallow Plots

Erika and Katy are coming to town--to discuss "Violent Night." They dive deep into the Grinch vs. Scrooge, Anglo-Saxons vs. Vikings, and the Epiphany Witch vs. Daddy Christmas.

• “The German Santa Claus – Weihnachtsmann,” German Culture: https://germanculture.com.ua/christmas-recipes/the-german-santa-claus-weihnachtsmann/
• “Babbo Natale—All About Italy’s Santa Claus,” Candace Criscione: https://mominitaly.com/babbo-natale-italian-santa-claus/
• “Christmas in China,” James Cooper: https://www.whychristmas.com/cultures/china

Erika and Katy continue their locked room mystery with "Escape Room." They dive deep into cuboid conjectures, jerks of greek mythology, and the guy on everyone's mind: Karl Marx.

• "Cheating at the [Death] Game," Laurie O'Connel: https://medium.com/@lawrenceoconnel/cheating-at-the-death-game-b42a3b5a31ab

This spooky season, Erika and Katy are getting tortured by "Saw." They dive deep into the War on Terror, the River Styx, and why Jigsaw is capital L capital T Like This.

• “Devil’s Advocate: Saw,” Benjamin Poole: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13040042-saw
• “The Problem of Saw: ‘Torture Porn’ and the Conservatism of Contemporary Horror Films,” Christopher Sharrett: https://www.jstor.org/stable/41690851?read-now=1&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
• "Torture Porn in the Wake of 9/11," Aaron Michael Kerner: https://www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/delaware/torture-porn-in-the-wake-of-911/9780813564029/

Erika and Katy finally discuss Stephen King, starting with "Carrie" (1976). They dive deep into mensturation, St. Sebastian, and a bad dream that's basically also a wedding.

• “Gender, sexuality and representation throughout each Carrie adaptation,” Screen Queens: https://screenqueens.wordpress.com/2018/10/30/gender-sexuality-carrie/comment-page-1/
• "The Unforgivable Crime of Deviating: Carrie (1976)," Leigh Butler: https://reactormag.com/the-movie-rewatch-of-great-nostalgia-carrie-1976//

Katy and Erika conclude Hot Alien Summer with "Killer Klowns from Outer Space." They dive deep into Venn diagrams, sacred buffoons, and asexual popcorn-based reproduction.

• “Carnivalesque in Literature and Literary Theory”: https://english-studies.net/carnivalesque-in-literature-and-literary-theory/
• “Coulrophobia and the Trickster,” Joseph Durwin: https://digitalcommons.trinity.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1080&context=trickstersway&sei-redir=1
• “The History of Creepy Clowns,” Madeline Steiner: https://www.snopes.com/news/2022/10/25/reepy-clown-history-halloween/

Erika and Katy return to their discussion of "Nope." They dive deep into ambiguous sounds, the importance of legacy, and the freak behavior of Eadweard Muybridge.

"How Nope Tricks Your Ears," Thomas Flight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWPFMmuagQ4&t=722s

Michael Abels and His Spectacular Score for 'Nope,'" Rachel Reeves: https://www.dreadcentral.com/editorials/456410/michael-abels-and-his-spectacular-score-for-nope-terror-on-the-turntable/

Erika and Katy begin a lengthy discussion of Jordan Peele's "NOPE." In this first of two parts, they dive deep into the Hebrew scriptures, poorly suppressed trauma, and how OJ's autism is basically his super power.

• "The Best Shots of 2022," Adam Nayman: https://www.theringer.com/2022/12/19/movies/best-shots-in-movies-2022-nope-fabelmans-tar
• "If the UFO in Nope a Biblically Accurate Angel?" Jason Faulkner: https://www.gamerevolution.com/guides/711475-is-nope-ufo-biblically-accurate-angel
• "The Hidden Meaning Behind the Clothes in Nope," Clarissa Cruz: https://ew.com/movies/hidden-meaning-behind-clothes-nope-alex-bovaird-interview/

Katy and Erika kick off Hot Alien Summer with--what else?--Ridley Scott's Alien. They dive deep into Joseph Conrad's Nostromo, technology as Mother, and why this is actually a pride episode.

• "A Curious Case of Influence: Nostromo and Alien(s)," Ted Billy: https://www.jstor.org/stable/24634674?seq=1
• "How 'Alien' (1979) Queered the Binaries of Traditional Gender," Michaela Barton: https://flipscreened.com/2020/08/18/how-alien-queered-the-binaries-of-traditional-gender/
• "Reassessing Alien: Sexuality and the Anxieties of Men," Jason Haggstrom: https://reel3.com/reassessing-alien-sexuality-and-the-anxieties-of-men/
• "Representations of the Body in Alien: Mother and the Other," Daniel Pimley: https://pimley.net/documents/the-body-in-alien.html
• "The Virginity of Astronauts: Sex and the Science Fiction Film" in Alien Zone, Vivian Sobchak: https://www.versobooks.com/products/1299-alien-zone
• "What 1979's Alien says About Humanity's Relationship with Sexuality," Hamad Naroze: https://studybreaks.com/tvfilm/film/what-1979s-alien-says-about-humanitys-relationship-with-sexuality/

Erika and Katy are taking you to the movies to see the B-Horror classic: Camp Bloobath--I mean, The Final Girls. They dive deep into the hero's journey, the hallmarks of a final girl, and how it's kind of a weird choice to do a strip tease for your daughter. Happy (belated) mother's day!

• "Her body, Himself: Gender in the Slasher Film," Carol J. Clover: https://www.jstor.org/stable/i347286
• “The (Extremely) Short Guide to Writing Horror,” Tim Waggoner: https://www.williamcookwriter.com/2014/03/the-extremely-short-guide-to-writing.html
• "The Hero With a Thousand Faces," Joseph Campbell: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/588138.The_Hero_With_a_Thousand_Faces

Erika and Katy return to Wes Craven's world for "A Nightmare on Elm Street." They dive deep into the Satanic Panic, troubled sleep in Shakespeare plays, and Erika's big theory that motherhood is all a scam.

• "American Monsters: Tabloid Media and the Satanic Panic, 1970-2000," Sarah Hughes: https://www.jstor.org/stable/26803447

• "Cultural Human Sacrifice in Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street Films," Brittany Caroline Speller: https://www.supernaturalstudies.com/previous-journal-issues/vol-4-issue-1/speller
• "Killer Fears: Slasher Films and 1980s American Anxieties," Gabriel White: https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1084&context=legacy#:~:text=While%20teen%20films%20gave%20the,teens%20had%20during%20the%201980s
• "The Trail of His Flames," Tucker Lieberman, from It Came from the Closet: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60708721-it-came-from-the-closet