Pop DNA

Why do so many fantasy stories center on the protagonist fulfilling a "Chosen One" prophecy?

We don't really answer that this week, but we do talk about the undercurrent of prophecy in Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, the "Song of Ice and Fire" that this universe is named for. We also look briefly at how specifically Chosen One prophecies are present in many of our favorite fantasy works, and how prophecy is often tied to religion, and we explore some of the major religions of Westeros.

We also open with our favorite segment, Wig Watch! Go to our Instagram to see the wigs we talk about.

Further Reading:

Major Religions explained

George R. R. Martin interview

Context for the prophecy in House of the Dragon

In Westeros, when you're here, you're family.

Oh, wait, that's The Olive Garden.

But we're talking about families this week, and, like most things in Westeros, being part of a family is generally not a great time for anyone in this world. Certainly not as fun as having dinner at The Olive Garden.

We look specifically at the Targaryen family and some possible historical inspirations for this mythical dynasty. The blonde dragon people share some interesting similarities with the Egyptian Pharoahs and the Ptolemeic dynasty, as well as the infamously inbred Habsburgs. Just how inbred were the Habsburgs? Surprisingly, not as much as the Targaryens, and we have a geneticist's Tweet to prove it.

Then we look at families on more of relational level, discussing the psychology concept of attachment theory as it relates to our favorite Westerosi families. Does anyone in this world have a secure attachment style? You are probably not surprised to hear that the answer is no.

We also of course have another installment of Wig Watch for you (see the wigs discussed on our Instagram), and we've got some recommendations in What Are We Watchin'.

Join us next time to talk about politics and religion, yay!

Further Reading:

Historical connections to the Targaryens

Real royal families and House of the Dragon

How inbred is Daenerys Targaryen?

Attachment Theory explained

Remember that sweet 85-year-old food critic in North Dakota who wrote a positive review of the new The Olive Garden in her town?

He's just Jon and he's enough! (Jonough?)

This week we're talking about men in Westeros, exploring how masculinity is constructed in the world of Game of Thrones. Questions we discuss include:

We also have two more wigs to discuss in our favorite new segment, Wig Watch! See photos of the wigs on our Instagram.

Further Reading:

Violence and Masculinity in Medieval France paper

Masculinity and Disability in Game of Thrones paper

Targaryen men perform "I'm Just Ken"

HotD season 2 finale recap

#gameofthrones #asongoficeandfire #imjustken

In part two of our series discussing Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, we look at how women navigate the world of Westeros.

Questions we explore include:

Characters we discuss include Cersei Lannister, Daenerys Targaryen, Catelyn Stark, Sansa Stark, Rhaenyra Targaryen, Alicent Hightower, and Rhaenys Targaryen.

We also introduce a new segment for this series: Wig Watch!

Join us on Instagram to see the wigs we discuss, and maybe some other things.

Further Reading:

The Dangers of Growing Up on Westeros

House of the Dragon and GirlBoss Feminism

We'll be back in two weeks to talk about the relationship between violence and masculinity in A Song of Ice and Fire, and how Daemon Targaryen is Just Ken.

Welcome back!

We're riding our dragons to King's Landing for a six-part series on A Song of Ice and Fire and all its connected works, including the TV series Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon.

This week, we're just getting our feet wet with a look at our first introductions to George R. R. Martin's work, our thoughts on the main ideas of the series, and an overview of Martin's cited influences, including the English Wars of the Roses and the Accursed Kings series of historical novels.

Plus we take quizzes to find out which Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon characters we are, which you can take here and here.

With this episode we launch not just a new series and new season, but a brand new format for the show. Episodes will now come out every other week, and we're spending three months in this world, so get comfy!

We wrap up our summer book-to-screen club series with the science fiction classic that inadvertently sparked a thousand sandworm popcorn bucket memes.

Our discussion topics include Dune's influence on and connections to other staples of the science fiction and fantasy genres such as Star Wars, Wheel of Time, and A Song of Ice and Fire; how the recent Villeneuve films interpret certain aspects of the story and characters; and how the book explores girlhood (because it actually kinda does).

ALSO: Rhonda goes on a rant about the stupidity of spoiler culture, and Erin makes a convincing case for Castaway as a comfort movie. And we probably spend a little too much time talking about Katy Perry, but seriously, what is she doing???

We will be back in September with a new format for a new season!

Follow on Instagram for memes and infrequent announcements pertinent to listeners of this podcast.

Continuing our discussions of classic American novels, this week we read Alice Walker's The Color Purple!

We talk about how the novel explores girlhood and relationships between women, the Black experience in the early 20th century, and finding the joy in life even through darkness. We also look at the 1985 and 2023 films and the stage musical, and how these adaptations interpreted the themes and characters from the book.

Segments also include our pop music recommendations and What Are We Watchin'

Join us next time for a discussion of Frank Herbert's Dune! Follow on Instagram too if you want.

Welcome to our 2024 Summer Series! This summer we decided to read some classic American novels with recent film adaptations, and we're starting with Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.

We talk about our personal experiences with the novel, how we see this work in the context of American literature, and how the 1994 and 2019 film adaptations explore the book's themes. We also answer the age-old question: are you a Meg, Jo, Beth, or Amy?

Join us next time for a discussion of Alice Walker's The Color Purple! Follow us on Instagram for very infrequent and halfhearted posts.

Theme song: Swings and Roundabouts by Hey Pluto

For Rhonda's Birthday Bonus we're talking COWBOY CARTER and THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT. Why are both of these albums' titles styled in all caps?

Our conversation explores our initial reactions to and top five tracks from each album, as well as some interesting parallels between these two bodies of work. How does Beyoncé break genre boundaries on COWBOY CARTER? How does Taylor explore her relationship with art and fame on THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT? And how do both albums further the cultural discussion of women driving their own narratives?

We also talk about the bigger picture of women in pop music beyond Tay and Bey, and the current pop moment embodied in artists like Chappell Roan, Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eilish, and Miley Cyrus.

Oh, and we also definitely talk about Kendrick and Drake.

Listen to our Women in Pop playlist here.

If you thought we were going to let it slide that Depression Barbie's comfort show is the 1995 BBC Pride and Prejudice, you thought wrong.

We're digging in to some possible literary inspirations and parallels for the Barbie movie, looking specifically at Christian/Catholic creation theology and how much Greta Gerwig may have been influenced by the work of Jane Austen. We also talk about who we would choose if we could recast Ken, and follow up with a coda to our discussion of gender dynamics in Barbie Land from last week.

Further Reading:

Barbie Land as Garden of Eden

Rolling Stone Greta Gerwig Interview

For updates on Rhonda's book, follow here

Pop DNA is taking a brief break, and we will be back in early May with a Bonus Episode! Stay tuned!