Lit Think Podcast

Alicia and Sarah combine their love for theater and satire in their discussion of the indie film mocumentary Theater Camp. They look at the history of mocumentaries, their personal love for theater and theater experiences, and the role of satire in producing effective media that takes on the form of fake documentaries. At the end of this week’s discussion, they talk about the things they've been reading, watching, and analyzing outside of the classroom.

Literary terms of the week: Mocumentary, Satire

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Music by Craig Harmann

Cover art by Matt Holman

Alicia and Sarah finally return to the Marvel Universe with a discussion of the summer film, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. They discuss the closing of a chapter for many of the Guardians as their stories move on and the passing of the torch to Rocket as the new leader of the motley crew. At the end of this week’s discussion, they talk about the things they've been reading, watching, and analyzing outside of the classroom.

Literary terms of the week: Legacy, Generational trauma, Origin story

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Music by Craig Harmann

Cover art by Matt Holman

Alicia and Sarah defend the idea that graphic novels are literature as they discuss the Disney+ adaptation of the graphic novel, American Born Chinese. They discuss the differences between comic books, graphic novels, and sequential art, connecting the history of the genre to Gene Luen Yang’ groundbreaking work. At the end of this week’s discussion, they talk about the things they've been reading, watching, and analyzing outside of the classroom.

Literary terms of the week: Graphic Novel, Frame Story, Multimodality

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Music by Craig Harmann

Cover art by Matt Holman

Alicia and Sarah take a slightly different approach with this week’s episode over the film adaptation of Judy Blume’s classic novel, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. They discuss the movie, puberty, the censorship history of the novel, and book bans at large. At the end of this week’s discussion, they talk about the things they've been reading, watching, and analyzing outside of the classroom.

Literary terms of the week: Censorship, Challenge, Ban

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Music by Craig Harmann

Cover art by Matt Holman

In their first episode of Season 4, Alicia and Sarah jump right into the pop culture moment with their discussion of the massive summer hit: Barbie. They discuss the role of feminism in the film, the gender binary, and their own critiques of the ending of the film. At the end of this week’s discussion, they talk about the things they've been reading, watching, and analyzing outside of the classroom.

Literary terms of the week: Feminism, Gender Binary, and Intersectionality

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Music by Craig Harmann

Cover art by Matt Holman

Alicia and Sarah take some time during their summer break to reflect on two years of podcasting and their hopes in preparation for Season Four, coming in August.

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Music by Craig Harmann

Cover art by Matt Holman

In their last episode of Season 3, Alicia and Sarah use Elizabeth Gilbert’s book Big Magic to discuss the creative processes on display in the television series, Daisy Jones and the Six, based on the novel by the same name. They apply Gilbert’s five step process to analyze the fictional creative process of the characters in the television show. At the end of this week’s discussion, they talk about the things they've been reading, watching, and analyzing outside of the classroom.

Literary terms of the week: Courage, Enchantment, Permission, Persistence, and Trust

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Music by Craig Harmann

Cover art by Matt Holman

Alicia and Sarah work through the grief and trauma of the characters in the Academy Award nominated, Women Talking. They discuss the rhetorical appeals used by the women as they make a life changing decision and the role of consent in their final conclusion. At the end of this week’s discussion, they talk about the things they've been reading, watching, and analyzing outside of the classroom.

Literary terms of the week: Rhetoric, ethos, logos, pathos

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Music by Craig Harmann

Cover art by Matt Holman

Alicia and Sarah change directions in the superhero world with their discussion of the Academy Award winning film, Everything Everywhere All at Once. They look at culture, relationships, the superhero motif, and all things multiverse. At the end of this week’s discussion, they talk about the things they've been reading, watching, and analyzing outside of the classroom.

Literary terms of the week: Cultural integrity, Exoticism, Superhero, Multiverse

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Music by Craig Harmann

Cover art by Matt Holman

Show notes:

30-second summary

* Why Everything Everywhere All at Once?

* Showtime

Literary terms of the week:

* A Guide to Selecting Multicultural Literature

* Cultural Integrity

* Avoidance of Exoticism

* READ, READ, READ

* 6 Common Plot Elements of Superhero Fiction

* An urban metropolis setting

* A superpower, often enabled by a specialized item

* A dramatic origin story

* A secret identity

* A supervillain adversary

* An iconic sidekick

* Multiverse

* Term first used in 1895 “to refer to the confusing moral meaning of natural phenomena and not to other possible universes”

* Immigrant double identity

* Choices

* Physics-based evidence and theory

What are we enjoying right now?

* Alicia: Animal Control (TV on Hulu), Poetry Unbound (Padraig O. Tuama)

* Sarah: Orphan Train by Christine Baker Kline (book), Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (movie)

Related episodes

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Alicia and Sarah discuss the history of whodunnits, mystery, and even true crime as they analyze Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. Covering everything from Jack the Ripper to Clue, they look at the ways Glass Onion exemplifies the best elements of the mystery genre. At the end of this week’s discussion, they talk about the things they've been reading, watching, and analyzing outside of the classroom.

Literary terms of the week: Whodunit/Mystery story

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Music by Craig Harmann

Cover art by Matt Holman