By Henry Jenkins, Colin Maclay
4.8
1818 ratings
The podcast currently has 145 episodes available.
In this episode, we dive into the fascinating journey of Barry, a visionary who started as an aspiring theme park ride designer and evolved into a groundbreaking toy creator and educator. We explore how divergent and convergent thinking shape creativity, and how toys serve as more than just playthings – they're tools for limitless imagination. From Lego’s transformation to society’s expectations on toy use, we challenge the restrictions imposed on children’s creative freedom. Discover how kids naturally hybridize toys like Barbies and action figures, and why the industry’s focus on specialization might be stifling their innovation. We also examine the role of franchising in shaping toy creativity, and dive into the often-overlooked world of industrial design, pondering how media could elevate its visibility. And yes, we even touch on poop technology!
Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:
x.com/kudrowitz
design.umn.edu/directory/barry-m-kudrowitz
Sparking Creativity: How Play and Humor Fuel Innovation and Design
MIT East Campus: Building Tradition with an East Campus Roller Coaster
David Robert Wallace
Nerf Super Soaker
Comparative Media Studies Degree Programs MIT
Incongruity theory of humor
Jake The Dog Adventure Time Handmade Plush Toys (12 inches)
The Lego Movie
Harry Potter™ Toys and Gifts | Official LEGO® Shop US
Rocket Racoon
Tinkerer
Burn Notice
Sherlock Holmes (2009 film)
Convergent vs. Divergent Thinking: Finding Balance [2024] • Asana
Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking
Pretend Play Toys and Play Sets
Home | Official LEGO® Shop US
The LEGO Movie (theme)
Toy Story | Official Disney Site
Weird Barbie – Barbie The Movie
Soakies
The 'Unitasker' Kitchen Gadgets Alton Brown Loves To Loathe
Will It Waffle?
Top 20 toys
What is Incremental Innovation?
Furby
Tamagotchi
MrBeast Lab Collection
Flamin' Hot
Air
Tetris
Play Tetris | Free Online Game
BlackBerry
Project Runway
RuPaul's Drag Race
RuPaul's Drag Race (@rupaulsdragrace) • Instagram photos and videos
Junkyard Wars
Scattergories
The History of Poop Is Really the History of Technology
How your poop can help train AI
Erik Erikson
Erikson's Stages of Development
Squatty Potty
Toilets of the World - Harvard Book Store
Pooping Rainbow Soft Serve Unicorn
squattypotty.com/products/dookie-plush-unicorn?srsltid=AfmBO…DQkq
Dude Wipes
This Shark Tank winner has a $1 billion plan to replace toilet paper
Shark Tank Success: Dude Wipes Flush The Competition
TUSHY - The Modern & Sustainable Bidet Company
The best bidets of 2024, tested by editors | CNN Underscored
PRISTINE Toilet Paper Spray: As Seen on Shark Tank, the More Natural Alternative to Flushable Wet Wipes & Personal Cleansing Wipes, Spray Toilet Paper to Create Flushable Wipe, Original 4oz
Toilet Paper Sprays | Biodegradable Flushable Wipes | Pristine Sprays
Watch The Great American Baking Show (2023) Online for Free | The Roku Channel | Roku
The Great American Baking Show (@thegreatamericanbakingshow) • Instagram photos and videos
Great British Bake Off - Homepage
Watch The Great British Bake Off
Check out our previous episode with Jackson Bird
Transmission podcast
Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at [email protected].
Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet
https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X
https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream:
https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream:
https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library
https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at [email protected].
Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
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Grace L. Dillon is an American academic and author. She is a professor in the Indigenous Nations Studies Program, in the School of Gender, Race, and Nations, at Portland State University. She received her PhD in literary studies with an emphasis in sixteenth-century literature, and her recent research regards Science fiction studies, especially the use of science fiction by indigenous peoples around the world. Similar to the concept of Afrofuturism, Dillon is best known for coining the term Indigenous Futurisms, which is a movement consisting of art, literature and other forms of media which express Indigenous perspectives of the past, present and future in the context of science fiction and related sub-genres. Dillon is the editor of Walking the Clouds: An Anthology of Indigenous Science Fiction, which is the first anthology of Indigenous science fiction short stories, published by the University of Arizona Press in 2012. Previously, Dillon has edited Hive of Dreams: Contemporary Science Fiction from the Pacific Northwest, which was published in 2003 by Oregon State University Press. This is an anthology of science fiction from writers living in the Pacific Northwest, and features works from authors such as Greg Bear, Octavia Butler, and Molly Gloss. She also coedited The Routledge Handbook of CoFuturisms with Taryne Jade Taylor, Isiah Lavender III, and Bodhisattva Chattopadhyay. Here, we discuss with Grace her origins into science fiction and the mentorships she received from the distinguished feminist science fiction writer, Ursula K. LaGuin. We define the concept of Indigenous Futurisms and its origins, taking time to understand the representation of the future and of tradition and what indigenous scientists have taught us about environmental sustainability. She also discusses the genre in other media, including film, television, and graphic novels, all of which are experiencing the growth of native contributions in recent years.
Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:
In the article that inspired the episode, friend of the podcast Jeff Yang wrote about indigenous responses to James Cameron’s Avatar:
Opinion: The awkward truth about the new ‘Avatar’ is far bigger than its bottom line | CNN
Grace Dillon Books
Walking the Clouds: An Anthology of Indigeneous Science Fiction
The Routledge Handbook on Co-Futurisms
Her Mentor:
Ursula K. LaGuin
The Dispossessed
Futurisms and other Science Fiction Subgenres:
Indigenous Futurisms
Afrofuturism
African Futurisms
Gulf Futurisms
Israeli Futurisms
Asian Futurism
Latinx Futurism
Native Time Slips
Alternate Histories
Splatterpunk
Slipstream
Roots of Afrofuturism:
Mark Dery; Flame Wars
Samuel R. Delaney
Tricia Rose
Alondra Nelson
Nnedi Okorafor
Indigenous cultures and policies:
UNDRIP
Two Spirit
Lost generations
Mi’kmaq Language
Crystal Echo Hawk
Native Science and Scientists:
Gregory Cajete
High context vs low context science
Robin Wall Kimmerer; Braiding Sweetgrass
Global Weirdness
Spiral to the Stars
Kyle Whyte
Indigenous Mobilities
Anthropocene
Literary Works (including Graphic Novels):
Moon of the Crusted Snow
Louise Erdich; Future Home of the Living God
Claire G. Colman; Terra Nullius
Sherman Alexie
Moonshot: The Indigenous Comics Collection
Film and Television:
Reservation Dogs
Molly of Denali
Taika Waititi
Night Raiders
Jeff Barnaby
File Under Miscellaneous
Resident Alien; “Radio Harry”
Helen Haig Brown
The Cave
Wayne Blair; Cleverman
Alien races on Star Trek
Richard Dreyfuss
Further Resources suggested by Grace Dillon:
Indigenous Community: Rekindling the Teachings of the Seventh Fire by Gregory Cajete (2015)
Sandtalk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World by Tyson Yunkaporta (2020)
Fresh Banana Leaves: Healing Indigenous Landscapes through Indigenous Science by Jessica Hernandez (2022)
We Rise: The Earth Guardians Guide to Building a Movement that Restores the Planet by Xiuhtezcatl Martinez (2017)
Welp: Climate Change and Arctic Identities by Michaela Stith (2021)
Daniel H. Wilson – Robopocalypse; Robogenesis
Rebecca Roanhorse
Antlers – Directed by Scott Cooper (2021)
Check out these previous episodes:
Episode 73: Increasing Visibility is Existential for Native Communities, with Crystal Echo Hawk
Episode 83: Indigenous Voices for Environmental Justice with Candis Callison & Julian Brave NoiseCat
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Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at [email protected].
Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
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Caty Borum, Executive Director of the Center for Media & Social Impact and Provost Associate Professor in the School of Communication at American University, joins us again to discuss her new book, The Revolution Will Be Hilarious: Comedy for Social Change and Civic Power. Starting with what Caty finds funny and how she uses comedy as part of her practice as an educator, we go on to talk about how comedy can allow us to approach territory where we feel uncomfortable and provide a forum to share the diversity of our lived experiences. Drawing on Caty’s experiences working with comedy writers and comedians, we explore what’s necessary to create comedy that engages audiences around societal issues and helps move social change. Of course, we couldn’t resist sampling some of Caty’s favorite clips along the way, which are linked below.
Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:
Caty Borum - Center for Media and Social Impact
The Revolution Will Be Hilarious: Comedy for Social Change and Civic Power (2023, NYU Press)
Author Caty Borum discusses how comedy will fuel the future of social change (WAMU)
A Comedian and an Activist Walk into a Bar: The Serious Role of Comedy in Social Justice (2020, Univ of California Press)
Story Movements: How Documentaries Empower People and Inspire Social Change (2020, Oxford University Press)
Yes, And...Laughter Lab
Some of the videos we talked about:
Inside Amy Schumer - Season 4, Episode 3: "Guy-gles"
Georgia Tech - Freshman Convocation - Epic Welcome Speech
Life's a F***ing Fantasy for Santos - A Randy Rainbow Parody
You're Welcome America: Episode 3 Mental Health
Ain't Your Mama's Heat Wave | Official Trailer | Think 100% FILMS
The Hammer - Comedian Corey Forrester
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Reservation Dogs
Also, see the ongoing list of Guest Hosts for The Daily Show (and watch episodes) HERE
And check out our previous episodes:
Taking risks: Comedy as Tool for Social Justice, with Caty Borum
Play as a Precursor to Participation, with Reanne Estrada and Benjamin Stokes
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Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at [email protected].
Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
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In addition to being Henry’s former dissertation advisee, Meryl Alper is am an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Studies (College of Arts, Media, and Design) and Affiliate Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders (Bouvé College of Health Sciences) at Northeastern University. At Northeastern, she studies the social, cultural, and health implications of communication technologies, with a focus on disability, digital media, and children and families’ technology use. Her books include Digital Youth with Disabilities (MIT Press, 2014) and Giving Voice: Mobile Communication, Disability, and Inequality (MIT Press, 2017), which was awarded a 2018 PROSE Award Honorable Mention from the Association of American Publishers and the 2018 Outstanding Publication in the Sociology of Disability Award from the American Sociological Association. Her latest book, Kids Across the Spectrums: Growing Up Autistic in the Digital Age (MIT Press, 2023), explores the media and technology practices of young people on the autism spectrum, as well as what it means to be “social” in a socially mediated world.
She also drew on her professional experience in educational children’s media as a researcher, strategist, and consultant with Sesame Workshop, PBS KIDS, Nickelodeon, and Disney. In this conversation, we explore basic concepts such as “spectrum” and “neurodiversity” and what they mean for parents living with autistic children. We learn more about the methodologies she uses to learn more about families living with autism and how she incorporates the perspective of the children themselves in her research. We consider the role of schools and parents in helping to create a world where such students thrive. Above all, we dig deeper into their relationship with media, ranging from the ways media creates sensory experiences to the importance of games, from adaptive technology to fandom. We also consider how autistic people get represented across a range of media properties. And we close with the issue of what she would change about the world if she had magic powers.
Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:
Meryl Alper
Meryl Alper interviewed on Imagine Otherwise podcast
Kids Across the Spectrums: Growing Up Autistic in the Digital Age
Giving Voice: Mobile Communication, Disability, and Inequality
Digital Youth with Disabilities
T is for Transmedia
Debates about spectrum
Neurodiversity
Fandom and Neurodiversity
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
Other Researchers
Bruno Bettelheim
Sue Fletcher-Watson
Steve Silverman – Neurotribes
Kathryn Ringland
Marshall McLuhan
Media Mentioned
Autcraft
Roblox
Big Bang Theory
Community
Atypical
The Good Doctor
Rain Man
Sia – Music
Heartbreak High – Chloe Hadden
“Loop”
The Good Fight
Extraordinary Attorney Woo
Wonder
Warrior Cats
PBS Kids
Hero Elementary
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Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at [email protected].
Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
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This week we’re joined by USC Faculty colleagues Alison Trope, Clinical Professor of Communication, and DJ Johnson, Associate Professor of Practice, Cinematic Arts. Together they direct the Critical Media Project (CMP), a free media literacy web resource for educators and students (ages 8-21) that enhances young people’s critical thinking and empathy, and builds on their capacities to advocate for change around questions of identity. The website includes around 700 pieces of media and wraparound pedagogical resources that focus on seeing across difference, in order to surface questions that can then be addressed in the open. It can be used independently, and is also aligned with the Common Core for use in schools. Throughout this episode we’ll listen to media examples with Alison & DJ to discuss how CMP works and how it can be used.
Alison and DJ begin by telling us about their own media backgrounds, and how they reconcile their own positionality in these issues of identity when teaching and bring that conversation into the classroom, so it can become a shared space of engagement for all. After digging into some of the areas of identity currently tackled by CMP, we discuss how students and educators have engaged with it, both by using the resources as well as creating their own media, and through their latest curricular project, the fully-online Critical Makers Lab.
Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:
Alison Trope
DJ Johnson
Critical Media Project
Critical Makers Lab
CMP DIY Activities:
I am, but I'm not...
Making Change
Mapping My World + Community
Identity Collage
Applying the Common Core - Critical Media Project
Alison & DJ’s childhood TV favorites:
Wonder Woman (TV Series 1975–1979) - IMDb
Charlie's Angels (TV Series 1976–1981) - IMDb
CHiPs (TV Series 1977–1983) - IMDb
Battle of the Planets (TV Series 1978–1980) - IMDb
Videos we watched and discussed, as they appear with discussion questions on the CMP site:
Zootopia - Press Conference Scene
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The danger of a single story | TED Talk
Rise (dinner table)
I'm Trans, But I'm Not
Ships at a Distance
Also mentioned:
educator, author, and media literacy advocate Renee Hobbs
W.E.B Du Bois’s 1890s infographics
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Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at [email protected].
Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
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Robeson Taj Frazier is an associate professor of communication and director of IDEA (the Institute for Diversity and Empowerment at Annenberg), as well as the author of The East is Black: Cold War China in the Black Radical Imagination and KAOS Theory: The Afrokosmic Ark of Ben Caldwell, and producer of IT'S YOURS: A Story About Hip-Hop and the Internet and Hip-Hop and the Metaverse on PBS. Reflecting on his roots and early influences, he takes us through his journey from New Jersey to China to academia, having produced both books and multimedia along the way.
Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:
Robeson Taj Frazier
IDEA: Institute for Diversity & Empowerment @ Annenberg
Books:
The East Is Black: Cold War China in the Black Radical Imagination
KAOS Theory: The Afrokosmic Ark of Ben Caldwell
Film/TV:
IT'S YOURS documentary
Hip-Hop and the Metaverse | PBS
Early influences:
Mr T. as B.A. Baracus on the A-Team
GI Joe
Jem
August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson with Charles S. Dutton
Watermelon Man
American Culture in China (1990s):
Mariah Carey / Yanni
W.E.B. DuBois
Paul Robeson
Discman
Darlie toothpaste
Marguerite de Bourgoing
The Misadventures of AWKWARD Black Girl (Issa Rae)
Tricia Rose
Lupe Fiasco
Roblox
Ben Caldwell / KAOS Network:
Project Blowed, a workshop space utilized by:
The Pharcyde, Freestyle Fellowship, Doja Cat, Kendrick Lamar
Leimert Phone Company project
MIT Radiation Laboratory history / video
Welcome to Meta
Second Life
Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at [email protected].
Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet
https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X
https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream:
https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream:
https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library
https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at [email protected].
Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
As a former volunteer and later employee of Fandom Forward (what was then called The Harry Potter Alliance) and a transgender man, Jackson Bird’s feelings about Harry Potter have certainly evolved, especially given the extremely divisive statements JK Rowling has made about the transgender community. He shares how what was once an important part of his identity has faded away and why, as well as how he feels about his memoir four years later and what he’s working on now.
Here are some of the references from this episode for those who want to dig a little deeper:
Jackson Bird
Sorted: Growing Up, Coming Out, and Finding My Place (A Transgender Memoir) (Simon & Schuster)
Jackson Bird - YouTube
Cool Stuff Ride Home podcast
First Draft Theater newsletter
The Infinite Wrench — The New York Neo-Futurists
Henry’s writing about the Harry Potter Alliance:
"Cultural acupuncture": Fan activism and the Harry Potter Alliance
Wizard Rock
Fandom Forward > (formerly The Harry Potter Alliance)
Jackson Bird: ‘Harry Potter’ Helped Me Come Out as Trans, But J.K. Rowling Disappointed Me (NY Times Opinion)
The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling podcast
Judy Blume clarifies J.K. Rowling remarks: ‘I wholly support the trans community’ (The Hill)
Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival
Florida Anti-Trans Legislation
Rick Riordan on Trans Youth and LGBTQ Characters
Harry Potter TV Series
Fan Petition Against “platforming” Rowling
‘Grapevine’: An original podcast from NBC News Studios - a story about fringe religious movements trying to remake the American education system based on their biblical values
Velshi Banned Book Club on Apple Podcasts
Pottermore
Moving Trans History Forward Conference
Amazon Erases Orwell Books From Kindle Devices - The New York Times
Episode 101: BBSs and Early Internet Communities with Author Kevin Driscoll
Episode 69: The Power of Fan Activism with Janae Phillips and Shawn Taylor
By Any Media Necessary: The New Youth Activism (NYU Press)
Scholastic criticized for optional diverse book section - ABC News
Scholastic Backtracks on Isolating Works on Race and Gender at Book Fair - The New York Times
Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin, and the How Do You Like It So Far? team! You can also email us at [email protected].
Music & Additional Audio:
HBO Harry Potter Series announcement video
The Witch Trials of JK Rowling podcast
Shania Twain - Man! I Feel Like A Woman
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at [email protected].
Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
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Our guest today is Maggie Hennefeld, McKnight Presidential Fellow and Associate Professor of Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, who has co-curated a dvd set of the medium’s early female comedians titled Cinema’s First Nasty Women. Maggie talks us through the current resurgence in interest in silent cinema and the global landscape of festivals, supporters and restoration projects, as well as her own journey of scholarship in the field that led to her collaborating on this important project. All this interest seems long overdue considering the fantastically experimental and entertaining material, which is raucous, varied and vast, often making radical social commentary that still resonates today. Maggie vividly describes several highlights in this comprehensive collection, and the women who were behind and in front of the camera. In addition to assembling, restoring and annotating the films, the team also engaged over 45 mostly female composers to write and perform both traditional and avant-garde scores for each film, and she talks extensively about that process. We also discuss the erasure of this material from the silent film canon, and women from comedy (among many other fields) in general, and how these films both give us a new understanding of comedy in this era, even as they inform our on-going struggles with sexism and racism today, by showing us images of women that are simultaneously empowering and troubling. All films are contextualized with expert commentary, allowing them to be used in classrooms or otherwise as jumping-off points for deeper conversation. Finally, Maggie shares some thoughts from the book she’s currently working on about the notion of “hysterical laughter” and its supposed danger to women.
Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:
Cinema’s First Nasty Women
DVD Booklet Insert
Maggie Hennefeld’s other publications:
Death from Laughter, Female Hysteria and Early Cinema
Specters of Slapstick and Silent Film Comediennes
Other Curators of the set:
Laura Horak – Girls Will Be Boys
Elif Rongen-Kaynakçi – EYE filmmuseum
Henry Jenkins, What Made Pistachio Nuts?: Early Sound Comedy and the Vaudeville Aesthetic
Charlotte Greenwood
Fanny Brice
Lupe Vélez
Winnie Lightner
Ali Wong
Sarah Silverman
Wanda Sykes
James Agee – “Comedy’s Greatest Era”
Charlie Chaplin in Mable’s Strange Predicament
Silent Film Culture
Women and the Silent Screen
Nitrateville
Silent London
Edward Everett Horton
Steve Massa and Ben Model – silent comedy Watch Party
Silent Film Festivals
Pordenone Film Festival
Bologna Film Festival
San Francisco Silent Film Festival
El Festival Internacional de Cine Silente México
Hippodrome film festival
Trump – “Nasty Women”
Film Scholars
Arigon Starr
Liza Black
Shelley Stamp
Female Filmmakers, Producers, and Comedians
Alice Guy-Blaché
Bertha Regustus
Dorothy Arzner
Fay Tincher
Ida Lupino
Léontine
Lois Weber
Mabel Normand
Minnie Devereaux – “Fatty and Minnie He-Haw”
Sarah Duhamel
Texas Guinan
Silent Film Music
Dana Reason – Score
Dreamland Faces
Gonca Feride Varol
Guenter Buchwald
José María Serralde Ruiz
Meg Morley
Neil Brand
Steven Horne
Terri Lyne Carrington
Nasty Women team on Nitrateville Radio
Our previous Episode 30: The forgotten women of early filmmaking
History of the Tom Boy
Nancy Walker
Peg Bracken – The I Hate to Housekeep Book / I Hate to Cook Book
Daisies
The Unknown
Arrest Warrant – Ukranian silent cinema
What’s Up Doc?
Undercrank Productions (silent film restoration)
Online screenings from the Bologna and Pordenone film festivals
Ziegfeld Follies
Hal Roach Studios
Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at [email protected].
Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet
https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X
https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream:
https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream:
https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library
https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at [email protected].
Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
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Listen to the original episode HERE.
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Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at [email protected].
Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Bonus content not released as part of Episode 108 - hear the original episode here: https://www.howdoyoulikeitsofar.org/?p=1307
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at [email protected].
Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
The podcast currently has 145 episodes available.