Well, if you ever wanted to hear a 2-hour-ish rumination on the confusing and contradictory sexual politics of THE TWILIGHT SAGA, you’re in luck. How does this series feel like an obvious metaphor for Christian purity culture while also having no sense of its own metaphorical resonance? What does Renesmee’s “miraculous” conception say about the films’ attitudes towards sex? Is it possible to tell a compelling story about a human-vampire romance if that story is solely in service to a stereotypical “happily-ever-after”? It’s a minefield! At least the Volturi are fun. 

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Secondary texts referenced:

Beauty and the Beast (1991) dirs. Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (season 2, episodes 13, 14, and 22)

The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, translated by Jean-Yves Leloup, foreword by Jacob Needleman

It’s finally time to discuss what might be the most lovably hated movie franchise ever: THE TWILIGHT SAGA. In this episode, which covers the first three films in the series, topics of discussion include: the chaotic aesthetics of the late 2000s, chosen one narratives, cultural appropriation, the false allures of choice feminism, and why 12-year-old Marin was a Twilight book purist who rejected these movies altogether. (We also talk at length about the 2010 Robert Pattinson vehicle REMEMBER ME, so if you don’t want to know about its baffling plot twist, avoid 39:44 to 46:21).

Special thanks to Lindsey for providing this episode’s Juvenalia Encore!

Secondary texts referenced:

Adventureland (2009) dir. Greg Mottola 

Remember Me (2010) dir. Allen Coulter

Good Will Hunting (1997) dir. Gus Van Sant

“No, feminism is not about choice” by Meagan Tyler (published in The Conversation)

Chanlee Luu—poet, friend, and author of The Machine Autocorrects Code to I—joins the podcast to discuss Zhang Yimou’s HERO (2002), the wuxia classic that’s full of stunning martial arts sequences, gorgeous colors, and timeless questions about truth, narrative, and political sacrifice. We also use the film as a springboard to discuss Chanlee’s own writing, her background in science, and poetry as archive, comfort, and resistance. 

Secondary texts referenced:

The Machine Autocorrects Code to I by Chanlee Luu, available wherever books are sold. Visit bookshop.org to order a copy from your local bookstore! 

We’re discussing a monumental film this week: Céline Sciamma’s PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE (2019). Yes, it’s romantic and poignant and emotionally and intellectually rich, but it also features really direct communication between its two lovers—and that might be the hottest thing of all. We discuss myth-making, companionship as the bedrock for romance (also hot, Marin argues), the Green World Archetype, and, most importantly, which scenes make Maggie want to puke because they’re so good. 

This episode’s Juvenalia Encore is a poem written and performed by Rachel Anne! Follow them on Instagram: @cairnradesign

Secondary texts referenced:

The World to Come (2019) dir. Mona Fastvold

In Secret (2013) dir. Charlie Stratton

“Portrait of a Lady on Fire director Céline Sciamma on her ravishing romantic masterpiece” by Emily St. James (published in Vox)

We’re entering 2025 with new equipment and a revamped recording schedule, but we also want to take the time to appreciate the movies we covered and conversations we had in 2024—hence our creation of the prestigious Maggie & Marin Movie Awards. Which films were our favorites? Which intertextualities were the sexiest? Why does this episode open with Marin talking about Jojo Siwa? (It comes full-circle at the end, we promise.) Happy New Year!

We’ve got a short and special episode this week to announce the very exciting news that we are launching a book club! We get into the goals of the club, how you can join, and why we’re excited to discuss our first book, Democracy in Retrograde by Sami Sage and Emily Amick. 

Hallelujah, folks. We’ve got a movie brimming with whimsy and goofiness that offers a tender vision of girlhood, first love, and queerness: Maria Meggenti’s THE INCREDIBLY TRUE ADVENTURE OF TWO GIRLS IN LOVE (1995). Maggie takes us on some major philosophical quandaries—Why is it difficult to analyze joy? What if you don’t need to love yourself before you love someone else?—and Marin puts her English degree to good use with an exuberant read on the film’s title. Apologies for the delay in posting this episode. We recorded it at the end of October but a variety of factors (the U.S. presidential election, general exhaustion, etc.) collided shortly after and we’ve taken a break this month. We’ll be back recording in December and have some very special projects and episodes on the horizon!

Secondary texts referenced:

National Anthem (2023) dir. Luke Gilford 

“The Body Electric” by Hurray for the Riff Raff 

“Review: The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love” by Roger Ebert

Beautiful World, Where are You? by Sally Rooney

This week we’re talking about the definitive slasher of Maggie’s girlhood, Amy Holden Jones’s THE SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE (1982)—a movie which offers just about everything you could want in a horror classic: inventive gore, insightful commentary on female sexuality and objectification, goofy phallic symbols, queer longing, and girls eating pizza over a corpse. Happy Halloween!

Secondary texts referenced:

Slumber Party Massacre (2021) dir. Danishka Esterhazy

We’re prepping for Halloween by subjecting ourselves to the most stomach-churning sight of the 90s: Skeet Ulrich’s greasy hair tendrils. Marin’s pick this week is SCREAM (1996), the first horror movie that actually scared her. And while Skeet’s hair IS an abomination, this film has plenty of other horrors for us to dissect: teenage misogynists, extreme fandom, and weaponized self-awareness. We also praise Drew Barrymore (naturally) and discuss how her one scene really is as affecting—in both its terror and its sadness—as everyone remembers. 

Secondary texts referenced:

“The fandom menace: People, get a life!” by Roger Ebert 

Ghosts of You by Cathy Ulrich

It’s the movie that launched Sofia Coppola’s directing career and awakened Young Maggie to the beauty of Kirsten Dunst’s armpits: the dreamy, detailed, and devastating THE VIRGIN SUICIDES (1999). We wrestle with the male narration, Marin details falling out of love with the novel upon which the film is based (and appreciating the film more as a result), and we talk about the knottiest of conundrums: how to protect adolescent girls from the world without totally depriving them of it.  

Secondary texts referenced:

Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen

“No” by Anne Boyer (from A Handbook of Disappointed Fate)

“Our Sisters Shall Inherit the Sky” by Alana Massey (from All the Lives I Want: Essays About My Best Friends Who Happen to Be Famous Strangers)