GenXtemporaneous

Marc and Kristina are branching out!  We have a brand new, ad-free podcast that we're launching with a former guest-host on our podcast, Joann Palumbo.  Together we three are going to be watching and reacting to the new AMC television series Interview with the Vampire, based on Anne Rice's classic novel of the same name.  Our first two episodes will be out on August 3.  As we wait for the series to begin on October 2, 2022, we're going to be looking at all kinds of Vampire stuff and we hope that those of you who enjoy that supernatural vibe will join us for a fun and informative exploration of the undead. Find us on Spotify and Amazon/Audible immediately.  Other directories will be online soon.

In the sixteenth century, Frau Troffea stepped out of her house into the streets of Strasbourg and started dancing.  She didn't stop even though her feet grew bloody and her body became physically exhausted until many days later when she was taken to the shrine of St. Vitus.  While she was dancing, others joined in and at one point up to 400 people had been afflicted by the "dancing plague".  In this episode, Marc and Kristina wrap up their discussion about crowd behavior by talking about the extremes.  They discuss the reasons why psychologists and historians think the dancing plagues happened, what other mass hysterical events have occurred over time, and how mass hysteria may manifest today.  If you'd like more content, please join the patreon at patreon.com/genxtemporaneous.  

Sources

Waller, John. 2009. The Dancing Plague: The Strange, True Story of an Extraordinary Illness. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks.

“What Is Mass Hysteria?” 2018. Www.medicalnewstoday.com. July 27, 2018. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322607#Recent-instances-of-mass-hysteria.

This is one of those rare episodes when Marc and Kristina disagree, and it shows.  We discuss the surprising political message in Ghostbusters, the reason why it may not be what it seems, and the way the film holds up from the perspective of the female gaze 38 year after its release.  If you would like more content from us, please visit our patreon (www.patreon.com/genxtemporaneous).  We have lots of new episodes for you to binge there.

Sources

Robertson, Derek. n.d. “The Weirdly Political Legacy of ‘Ghostbusters.’” POLITICO. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/11/21/new-ghostbusters-afterlife-movie-politics-523082#:~:text=There.

“The Best Conservative Movies.” 2009. National Review. February 4, 2009. https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2009/02/23/best-conservative-movies/.

“Hillary Clinton.” n.d. Washington Examiner. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/hillary-clinton?source=%2Fwhy-ghostbusters-is-the-most-libertarian-hollywood-blockbuster-of-all-time.

Walker, Jesse. 2014. “No, It Isn’t Surprising That Ghostbusters Mocked the Government.” Reason.com. February 27, 2014. https://reason.com/2014/02/27/no-it-isnt-surprising-that-ghostbusters/.

“The State of the Union Address Delivered before a Joint Session of the Congress. | the American Presidency Project.” 2019. Ucsb.edu. 2019. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/the-state-the-union-address-delivered-before-joint-session-the-congress-1.

2018. “Op-Ed: Democrats These Days Hate Deregulation, but Once upon a Time They Loved It.” Los Angeles Times. February 8, 2018. https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-welch-deregulation-carter-20180208-story.html.

“Newsflash: The Original Ghostbusters Was Totally Sexist.” n.d. Ravishly. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://www.ravishly.com/2015/02/03/newsflash-original-ghostbusters-was-totally-sexist.

Reitman, Ivan, dir. 1984. GhostbustersFilm. United States: Columbia Pictures.  

In this episode Marc and Kristina have a conversation about Gustav LeBon's theory of the crowd.  They explore what he seems to have gotten right and where he may have been slightly off base.  We reflect on his argument through the lens of multiple real-world examples including religion, war, and the January 6th insurrection.

Sources

Zaretsky, Robert. 2016. “The Myth of Mobocracy.” The Atlantic. July 27, 2016. https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/07/trump-le-bon-mob/493118/.

“Third Republic 1886-1889 - the Boulanger Affair.” n.d. Www.globalsecurity.org. Accessed June 30, 2022. https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/europe/fr-third-republic-4.htm.

Le Bon, Gustave, 1841-1931. The Crowd : a Study of the Popular Mind. New York :Penguin Books, 1977.

In this episode Marc and Kristina begin their exploration of crowd behavior, its characteristics, the motivations that underpin it and how it became a subject of psychological interest.  This episode gives an overview of some of the famous moments in crowd history (peasant's revolt, French and American revolutions, Stonewall Riots, the occupation of Alcatraz, etc.) as well as a gloss of some of the most prominent theories on crowd behavior.  This will set the stage for parts 2 and 3 in this arc, which will look at one specific theory and how it works and then the application of that theory to a real life crowd situation.  We appreciate you coming to see us each week and we would be grateful if you would share us with a friend.

In this repromote from June 2021, Marc and Kristina talk about the rise of Whiteyy18 and the way that nostalgia works.  We will be back next week with an all new episode about group think and the psychology/philosophy of crowds and social contagion, which will tee up an upcoming arc on mass hysteria in the wake of covid.  

Please follow us on Patreon for additional content.  patreon.com/genxtemporaneous and find us on social media @marceatspeach and @KristinaGenX on Twitter and genxtemporaneous on facebook.

In this episode Marc and Kristitna welcome special guest Andrea to the discussion.  This is the first in a new segment that we will revisit from time to time, in which we discuss popular genX movies and examine the "life lessons" they try to impart.  Here we speak about some of the life lessons in the Breakfast Club (if you mess with the bull, you get the horns; don't judge a book by its cover) as well as dig into the stereotypes of each of the character and how and how they come to show us more of who they really are.

Thanks for coming to listen to us each week!  Please join us on social media @seriousproduce and @marceatspeach on Twitter and @genxtemporaneous on facebook and instagram.

Hughes, John. 1985. The Breakfast Club. United States: Universal Pictures.

Gora, Susana. You Couldn't Ignore Me If You Tried: The Brat Pack, John Hughes, and Their Impact on a Generation. 2011. Crown.

In this sample from our genXtemporaneous After Dark Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/genXtemporaneous) Marc and Kristina dig into the year 1906 to provide you with a fun history lesson.  We will be sharing news stories from the time, fun facts about what it was actually like to live in 1906, and we will regale you with all kinds of pop culture references.  We would love for you to join our Patreon if you have an interested.  For $5 a month you will receive at least 3 additional episodes per month including Video Thunderdome, extended conversations about our regular ad-free episodes, and Internet Archeologist, which is the sample you heard here.  We will continue as always to run our genXtemporaneous episodes completely ad free.  

In this episode we talk about how we know what we know.  This is not a super structured episode, very conversational and slightly esoteric. But sometimes we just like to chat about stuff like this and we want to bring you along with us.

Resource:

Roth, Michael and Galis, Leon.  Knowing: Essays in the Analysis of Knowledge. Random House. 12/31/70.

Marc's brain

Marc and Kristina take a break from deep dives into thematical subjects and explore two current event issues: the Depp vs Heard defamation suit and the memefication thereof as well as Jordan Peterson's Twitter meltdown over backlash he received because of his tone-deaf tweet about the authoritarian nature of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition's latest cover model.  Please follow us on patreon if you want more content.  We are at www.patreon.com/genxtemporaneous.