Peter Fenzel, Mark Lee, and Matthew Wrather consider American Independence day in pop culture before training their plasma weapons on Independence Day Resurgence, which has none of the charm, thrill, or scientific rigor of its predecessor.

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Get ready for the reboot of Ghostbusters by checking out The Overview, our series of live commentaries on the movies we love. We’ve got a Ghostbusters-inspired Virtual Box Set of Ghostbusters, Ghostbusters 2, and Bridesmaids to put you in the right frame of mind for the 2016 remake. And save over ten percent when you use the code SLIMER at checkout.

All three are available in the Overthinking It Store.

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Episode 418: Independence Day: Spoilers for Nonsense originally appeared on Overthinking It, the site subjecting the popular culture to a level of scrutiny it probably doesn't deserve. [Latest Posts | Podcast (iTunes Link)]

Peter Fenzel and Matthew Wrather look forward with great anticipation to the coming of Independence Day: Resurgence, and move on to consider what cosmopolitan Britishness has meant in the popular culture, focusing mostly on James Bond and Action Man, and the disjunction between outsiders’ and insiders’ view of a national identity.

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Support the site you love and get cool stuff in return, including free access to the latest editions of The Overview, on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) and its sequel.

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Episode 417: Brentrance, or Brintrusion originally appeared on Overthinking It, the site subjecting the popular culture to a level of scrutiny it probably doesn't deserve. [Latest Posts | Podcast (iTunes Link)]

Peter Fenzel and Matthew Wrather discuss Epic Showdowns, from the NBA finals to Game of Thrones‘s Battle of the Bastards to Brexit to Bewitched vs. I Dream of Jeannie, and discuss cultural appropriation, Pixar’s Finding Dory, the fallibility of memory, aging, why people think funereal birthday cards are funny, and the idea of a November Rain-ian construct.

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Support the site you love and get cool stuff in return, including free access to the latest editions of The Overview, on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) and its sequel.

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Update: As we were recording, John Oliver was broadcasting this:

Episode 416: Animating the Octopus originally appeared on Overthinking It, the site subjecting the popular culture to a level of scrutiny it probably doesn't deserve. [Latest Posts | Podcast (iTunes Link)]

Ben Adams, Mark Lee, and Matthew Wrather talk about what it means for a musical like Hamilton to be a “mass” cultural phenomenon, about the high price of tickets to the show, and about the story, lyrics, and message of this newest American musical theater phenomenon.

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Support the site you love and get cool stuff in return, including free access to the latest editions of The Overview, on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) and its sequel.

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Episode 415: Hamilton Doesn’t Scale originally appeared on Overthinking It, the site subjecting the popular culture to a level of scrutiny it probably doesn't deserve. [Latest Posts | Podcast (iTunes Link)]

Peter Fenzel, Richard Rosenbaum, and Matthew Wrather talk about how to make an adult children’s film, about embracing the absurd, why Meghan Fox’s performance is surprisingly good, and why less Krang is more Krang.

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Support the site you love and get cool stuff in return, including free access to the latest editions of The Overview, on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) and its sequel.

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Get our downloadable commentaries on the 1990s “Turtles” film adaptation and its sequel, Secret of the Ooze. Check them out now!

Episode 414: Turtle Body Positivity originally appeared on Overthinking It, the site subjecting the popular culture to a level of scrutiny it probably doesn't deserve. [Latest Posts | Podcast (iTunes Link)]

Peter Fenzel, Mark Lee, Ryan Sheely, and special guest Geoff Ross overthink the latest entry in the X-Men franchise, X-Men: Apocalypse.

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Support the site you love and get cool stuff in return, including free access to the latest editions of The Overview, on Tim Burton’s Batman and the Christopher Reeve Superman.

Last day to purchase is May 31, 2016! Members get discounts!

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Episode 413: X-ellence in X-Menning originally appeared on Overthinking It, the site subjecting the popular culture to a level of scrutiny it probably doesn't deserve. [Latest Posts | Podcast (iTunes Link)]

Pete Fenzel, Mark Lee, and Matt Wrather discuss the qualities of intimacy and charm that make the Happiest Chewbacca video compelling, and delve deep into some #firstworldproblems around travel by air, train, bus, and car.

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Episode 412: If I Wanna Get On The Bus, I Can Get On The Bus originally appeared on Overthinking It, the site subjecting the popular culture to a level of scrutiny it probably doesn't deserve. [Latest Posts | Podcast (iTunes Link)]

We discuss some of the stranger aspects of a contest that tended more toward pop homogeneity in 2016, the arcane voting system, why some live performances have better production than others, and then attempt to arrive at an explanation of why we love some reality competition shows… and can’t stand others.

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Episode 411: Potemkin Sausage Factory originally appeared on Overthinking It, the site subjecting the popular culture to a level of scrutiny it probably doesn't deserve. [Latest Posts | Podcast (iTunes Link)]

We discuss the bizarre structure of the film, with two movie stuck together; structures of trans-national governance; the difference between supervision and oversight; how effective regulation of The Avengers might work; the talking vs. the action; and we pay special attention to Spiderman, Scarlet Witch, and Black Panther.

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Episode 410: Audit The Avengers! originally appeared on Overthinking It, the site subjecting the popular culture to a level of scrutiny it probably doesn't deserve. [Latest Posts | Podcast (iTunes Link)]

In this episode, noted commentators Fenzel & Wrather take on the work of noted comedians Key & Peele, in a conversation about race, masculinity, code-switching, and whether we should just let popcorn movies be popcorn movies. (Spoiler alert: hell no!) We also weigh in on who should cover Prince.

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Episode 409: Full On Point Break Terminal Velocity Maximum Overdrive originally appeared on Overthinking It, the site subjecting the popular culture to a level of scrutiny it probably doesn't deserve. [Latest Posts | Podcast (iTunes Link)]