Michael and Us

On this episode, Luke and Will explore one of their shared passions - a show that blew their young minds with the revelation that art could be appropriated; that the institution of a "movie" did not automatically deserve respect; and that opened up whole worlds of strange and offbeat cinema. We watch MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000: THE MOVIE (1996) and discuss the politics of "bad," the Cold War ideas of THIS ISLAND EARTH, and the changing way that concepts like MST3K are distributed. PLUS: fiery hot takes on the NOW Magazine Reader's Choice Awards!

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE: https://www.patreon.com/posts/31263114

The internet - what a concept! On this special Extremely Online episode, we look back on the cyberspace of our youth, and also consider how the modern-day internet has fostered celebrity within niches within niches within subcultures. To illustrate the latter point, we watch a new feature film by some of our favourite YouTubers. PLUS: reflections on such peculiar web-based phenomena as the Nostalgia Critic and the Space Jam website.

Luke's recent trip to the U.K. has us pondering British politics. We watch the 2011 BBC documentary HEATH VS WILSON: THE 10 YEAR DUEL, which contrasts two British Prime Ministers: Labour's Harold Wilson and the Tories' Edward Heath, and consider a time when the working class could bring a Tory government to its knees. PLUS: we hash over the Canadian federal election, the Disney Company, the Kinks, Monty Python, and Judge Judy's big 2020 endorsement.

Check out Luke on Novara Media: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyqipW_ekgg

And on the TRASHFUTURE podcast: https://trashfuturepodcast.podbean.com/e/jagmeet-me-in-temecula-feat-luke-savage/

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE: https://www.patreon.com/posts/124-fahrenhitch-30842827

Left-wing voices in the mainstream media were hard to come by in the mid-2000s, which may be why so many of us settled for leftist-turned-Iraq-War-defender Christopher Hitchens. TEXAS: AMERICA SUPERSIZED (2004) sees "Hitch" doing his best Louis Theroux impersonation as he wanders through Texas -- a state he admiringly views as a synecdoche for America. We discuss Hitchens' path from obscure columnist to famous warmonger; why he appealed to precocious teen boys; and how he laid the groundwork for the Intellectual Dark Web™.

As the Joker discourse rages on, we pay a visit to the original Joker, Rupert Pupkin. We look at Martin Scorsese's dark media satire THE KING OF COMEDY (1982) and consider what it tells us about fame, class, and thwarted ambitions.

"Hollywood from Vietnam to Reagan" by Robin Wood - https://cup.columbia.edu/book/hollywood-from-vietnam-to-reaganand-beyond/9780231129664

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/30505364

We discuss art, religion, and Grand Societal Narratives through THE MAGICIAN (1958), a film by Luke's favourite filmmaker, Ingmar Bergman (well, he's no Morgan Spurlock...). PLUS: anti- and anti-anti-theism on the left, the Canadian election, and more from our favourite YouTube vloggers.

We spend most of our waking hours at work... and we're also expected to like it. But what if you have to work a soul-crushing job at a mid-sized paper merchant in Slough, Great Britain under the management of David Brent? Will and Luke consider the compromises and humiliations that come with working for a living by watching one of their very favourite pieces of pop culture: Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's THE OFFICE. Plus: hair-raising tales from jobs past, and another discussion about the clown prince of crime.

"Why Do I Need to Love a Company to Work There?" by Abi Wilkinson - https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/shopping-and-consumer-news/12129461/Why-do-I-need-to-love-a-company-to-work-there.html

Follow the podcast on Twitter: @MichaelandUs

PATREON EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/30110073

As a blackface scandal threatens to derail his re-election campaign, we look back at Canadian Prime Minister and international media brand Justin Trudeau - the "progressive" leader who wasn't. We watched GOD SAVE JUSTIN TRUDEAU (2014), a documentary about Trudeau's 2014 boxing match with Conservative senator Patrick Brazeau, which struggles to depict Pierre Elliott Trudeau's son as a political outsider.

The top 10 Democratic Party 2020 contenders met in Texas on September 12, 2019... and mere hours later, we have our fiery hot response! Biden, Bernie, Beto, Booker, Warren, Klobuchar, and several others we're already fogetting... Who won??? Who lost??? Who's surging??? Who had the best zinger??? These are the questions we don't answer, but we DO hash out some thoughts about other things.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/29765571

What causes crime? The bad people. How do we deal with it? With a big honkin' machine gun. That's the thesis behind Michael Winner's mind-bogglingly reactionary cult classic DEATH WISH 3 (1985), the most ridiculous of the Charles Bronson-led vigilante action series. Luke, Will, and their good pal Branko Marcetic kick back and have a boys' night with this disgusting but hilarious piece of trash. PLUS: chaos in the U.K., movie madness in Toronto, and listener feedback!