Illiterate

These two mega-mythical properties are at it again, this time with a whole new set of creatives and wild ideas to shake up the franchise. What are these animated anthologies saying about the properties, and has this been done before? Let’s learn together!

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Extras:

trailer, Marvel Studio’s What If…? (2021)

trailer, Star Wars: Visions (2021)

article, history of Multiverse idea

interview, What If writer AC Bradley

character, Man-Spider (Spider-Man multiverse)

book, Star Wars Visions (2010)

production brief, What If…?

article, Star Wars Japanese influence

video, the pizza rat Watcher reference

Clint Eastwood (at age 91!) comes out with another Western. What does that mean for the genre? What are the tropes and history of the Western story? And what took so long for this book to get adapted? Let’s dive in and learn together!

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Extras:

trailer, Cry Macho (2021)

trailer, Every Which Way But Loose (1978)

newspaper article interview, author N. Richard Nash

article, on producer Al Ruddy

article, on Revisionist Westerns

article, on the decline of Westerns

book, Cry Macho: A Novel (1975)

We dive in to the recent depiction of the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal, and how it focuses on the female characters involved. What actually happened to Monica Lewinsky? Why make this show now? And who created the story in this new way? Let’s learn together!

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Extras:

trailer, Impeachment: American Crime Story (2021)

article, on Jeff Toobin

interviews, showrunner Sarah Burgess

article, making of the series

podcast, Slow Burn season 2

video, press briefing from Linda Tripp

trailer, Wag the Dog (1997)

article, Monica Lewinsky’s Vanity Fair return

TED Talk, Monica Lewinsky’s “The Price of Shame”

article, WP article on Betty Currie (secretary)

We lay out the history of true crime stories (MURDER PAMPHLETS?), what became of the podcast true crime boom, and the continuing conversation around the good (or harm?!) amateur investigations are doing. And there’s a comedy series about it! Only Murders in the Building, on Hulu. Let’s learn something new!

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Extras:

trailer, Only Murders in the Building (2021)

podcast, Missing Richard Simmons

The Belnord, and the real life apartments for sale

article, the true story inspiring Only Murders

photos, Murder Pamphlets of the 1700’s

book, Savage Appetites: Four True Stories of Women, Crime, and Obsession

book, Ghettoside: A True Story of Murder in America

article, history of true crime writing

parody podcast, Done Disappeared

parody podcast, A Very Fatal Murder

article, true crime podcasts that changed everything

data, crime stats in the USA

study, effect on attitudes after watching true crime

article, true crime podcasts increase crime reporting

Where did this urban legend come from (a serial killer noblewoman of the 1500’s?! Real life murders at the Cabrini Green Projects?!) What is the new film pulling from in the works of other black artists? And who do Taylor and Evan know that helped make the original?! All this and more - let’s get into it!

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Extras:

trailer, Candyman (2021)

trailer, Candyman (1992)

profile, sfx artist Bob Keen (our teacher!)

article, serial killer noblewoman Elizabeth Bathory

article, mirror murder in the Chicago Projects

artwork, silhouettes by Kara Walker

artwork, mirrors by Carrie Mae Weems

What happened with the grumpy lovable ogre? How did he become a facet of meme culture, and does it say anything true about his character?

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Extras:

video, Shrek’s childhood obesity campaign

video, Shrek: The Musical

video, first All Star parody

article, All Star memes

comic, Shrek and Shadow the Hedgehog

article, Shrek meme culture

video, Shrek Retold fan creation

event, Shrekfest

Join us as we dissect the new documentary, the article it’s based on, and the history of airborne phenomena in art and media.

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Extras:

pilot episode, Showtime UFO Series

article, original NYT 2017 exposé

footage, Phoenix Lights from 1997

footage, 2004 UFO encounter w/ fighter jet

national intelligence report, UAP assessment in June 2021

footage, verified 2019 pyramid shapes above ship

footage, lenticular clouds

article, “UFOs” in classical art

book, UFO Sighting Desk Reference

Get out of our swamp! We uncover the original book, and the history of the film’s production. Come learn about the subliminal insider jabs at Disney employees, how the soundtrack actually speaks to the story, and who fought the war for the best CGI film.

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Extras:

trailer, Shrek (2001)

video, Shrek bonus feature on production process

video, footage of Chris Farley as Shrek

video, on the pop music in Shrek

We dive headfirst into the ancient poem of Sir Gawain, and how it became a fresh telling with modern themes. Was King Arthur a real person, and how did his tales change over time? Listen and learn!

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Extras:

trailer, The Green Knight (2021)

interview, creator David Lowery

article, the 1136 OG King Arthur text

full text, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

article, the 5 rules of knights

The THOTyssey, the 148 tweet thread about a road trip that leads to prostitution and murder - everyone said should be a movie…is now a movie. How did it get adapted, what’s true, and how does the story actually end in real life? The original tweets by A’Ziah King - now in theaters. Buckle up!

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Extras:

trailer, Zola (2021)

the original 148 tweets from Zola

Jess’s story posted on Reddit

the original Rolling Stone article

interview, w/ Zola in 2021

book, hardcover version of “The Story”