On the eve of a brand new interpretation by Greta Gerwig, Brenna and Joe travel back 151 years to discuss Louisa May Alcott's defining American text Little Women, as well as Gillian Armstrong's 1994 adaptation and the excruciating 2018 modern take by Clare Niederpreum.

Comparisons to Jane Austen abound as we try and identify the source of the text's popularity, which prospers in the first half and fumbles the second half by betraying its lead protagonist, Jo March. Up for discussion: May Alcott's erasure of the Civil War, how the heat between Winona Ryder's Jo and Christian Bale's Laurie actually harms the '94 adaptation and why someone needed to tell Sarah Davenport to stop yelling in the '18 version. 

Also: Brenna makes a very salient point about the depiction of armed forces in the modern version and how what is seen (or excluded) ties into readings of the political moment. Worth keeping in mind!

In homework: Brenna introduces the Lumberjanes graphic novel "The Shape of Friendship" while Joe teases the premiere of Sex Education S2 on Jan 17, 2020.

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