Pop DNA

We missed a lot the first time around! Plus, the ending of the saga means this is the perfect time to revisit our discussion of the galaxy far, far away. We answer a few questions we had last time and look at new questions, such as:

Does Rey complete her Hero's Journey?

How did the Millennium Falcon maneuver through that asteroid field?

And just how does the Galactic Senate even work?

Find bonus content (including some for free!) at Patreon.com/popdna. May the Force be with you!

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Honestly, this episode was a long time coming. A Christmas Prince is rich in cultural influences, from the lives and loves of historical real-life royals, to classic fairy tales, to... investigative journalism, I guess?

We also discuss other vitally important topics, like the dystopian alternate universe in which the movies take place and the cultural relevance of Volvos. (Volvo is not a sponsor of Pop DNA.)

Our commentary for Netflix's The Knight Before Christmas is free on our Patreon page! Patreon.com/popdna Happy Holidays!

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We're back from Geek Girl Con and ready to talk about our adventures and the pop DNA of Captain Marvel! We even talked to Carol Danvers herself (well, some Captain Marvel cosplayers) to find out her thoughts. (There was a little cussing that we left in, to honor Carol.)

We dive into the comics, looking at that whole DC/Marvel rivalry and how that plays into the history of the character. We also explore the psychology of Carol Danvers, plus the pop culture of the 1990s, classic science fiction novels, and the real-life US Air Force, all of which influenced the 2019 film. Finally, we look forward to the future of female superheroes and superhero movies. Higher, further, faster, baby!

Join the conversation at ThePopDNA.blog and on Facebook and Twitter.

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We've enlisted the help of fellow That's Not Canon podcasters Jane and Kristen for our discussion of everyone's favorite teenage witch. We dive into portrayals of witches on page and screen, witches and witchcraft throughout history, including the infamous Salem Witch Trials, and figure out which Sabrina character we each identify with.

Further Reading:

From Baba Yaga to Hermione Granger: why we’re spellbound by ‘witcherature’

Weird Sisters and Wild Women

Macbeth, William Shakespeare

The Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum

The Lottery, Shirley Jackson

We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Shirley Jackson

More information about Alewives

Caliban and the Witch, Silvia Federici (PDF available here)

The Devil in Massachusetts, Marion Starkey

Unobscured podcast

Cultural depictions of the Salem Witch Trials

Sabrina and real witches

Paganism in Sabrina

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It's been one whole year of Pop DNA! We're celebrating with this very special Bonus Episode, looking back on our journey so far and reflecting on the real reason we're here: Mindy Kaling.

We discuss all our thoughts and feelings on the Kaling oeuvre, from her early theater days, to her landmark work on The Office and The Mindy Project, to her recent writing and producing credits and upcoming projects, to the role we would have written for her on Game of Thrones. Plus we eat donuts.

Join the discussion at ThePopDNA.blog, on Twitter @PopDNAPodcast, and on Facebook and Instagram. Support the show on Patreon and get even more bonus content for as little $1 a month.

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Welcome to Season Two! We are starting the season off with a bang and talking about everyone’s favorite professor, Indiana Jones, joined by Rhonda’s brother and longtime Indy fan Keith!

We look into the film franchise’s roots in adventure serials from the 1930s, dabble in the history of archaeology, and discuss what the Nazis were really doing all that time, plus try our best to answer the burning question: is Kingdom of the Crystal Skull good?

Young Indiana Jones Chronicles

Secret of the Incas

“Premakes:” if Indiana Jones was made in the 1950s

Indy’s influences on TheRaider.net

Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs

A brief history of Archaeology

Why Hitler stole art

Story of the Monuments Men

The Monuments Men by Robert M. Edsel

Is Indiana Jones Science Fiction or Fantasy?

The Story Conference Transcript with Lucas, Spielberg, and Kasdan

Indiana Jones, problematic fave

Just For Fun

Which character are you? Quiz (Erin and Rhonda = Indy; Keith = Sallah)

Indiana Jones Diet Coke ad from 1989

The Raiders of the Lost Ark remake

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It’s our last LIT(erature) Summer episode and the end of Season One! We’re looking at the original 18th Century French fairy tale Beauty and the Beast and trying (unsuccessfully) to not reference Disney. We delve into other Beast and Beauty tales and the lasting impact of the story on literature, film, and culture.

Support the show on Patreon for as little as $1 a month.

Further Reading

Prominent Adaptations

1987 TV series

1991 Disney animated film

1997 The Beautician and the Beast

2011 Beastly

2012 TV series

2014 French film

2017 Disney live-action remake

Novel Retellings

Beauty and Rose Daughter, Robin McKinley

Beastly, Alex Flinn

A Court of Thorns and Roses, Sarah J. Maas

Hunted, Megan Spooner

Cruel Beauty, Rosamund Hodge

The Beast’s Heart, Leife Shallcross

Uprooted, Naomi Novik

Rhonda’s blog post on Disney Princesses as Jane Austen heroines

Dark origins of Beauty and the Beast (this article credits de Beaumont, unfortunately, but it gives a great background on the sources for the tale)

An illustrated edition of the original novella

Andrew Lang’s Blue Fairy Book

Psychology of Beauty and the Beast

A look at the psychology in the Disney musical

Deconstructing the myth of women loving men into better people

Get Help

I feel it would be irresponsible not to include some resources here.

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For help and information anytime, contact:

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For our very first live show and second installment of LIT(erature) Summer, we explore the lasting cultural influence of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, from The Lion King, to Star Wars, to Jordan Peele’s Us, and more! We also delve a little into Shakespeare’s life, Hamlet’s major themes, and how much Erin loves the play and Rhonda hates it.

Thanks to King’s Books for hosting us!

Support the show on Patreon for as little as $1 a month.

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We are going full-on Hallmark Channel in this Christmas movie Geek Out episode! We look into what makes a movie a Christmas movie, what we consider the “classics,” and which ones you should never watch, plus we write our own movie to pitch to Hallmark. God Bless us Everyone!

(Don’t forget about our live show! Go to our Facebook page for details!)

Links

Origins of Christmas in July

Hallmark’s Christmas in July programming schedule

Christmas movie tropes on TVTropes

Fandomentals blog

Lindy West’s hilarious recap of Love Actually

Recommendations

Classics

It’s A Wonderful Life

White Christmas

Miracle on 34th Street

A Christmas Story

Claymation/animated specials:

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Frosty the Snowman

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Jack Frost

The Year Without a Santa Claus

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

A Charlie Brown Christmas

Modern Classics

Elf

The Santa Clause

The Christmas Chronicles

The Preacher’s Wife

Miracle on 34th Street (1994)

Home Alone

Should Be Classics

The Holiday

One Magic Christmas

Die Hard

Prancer

The Family Stone

Shouldn’t Be Classics

Love, Actually

Non-Christmas but “Christmassy” Classics

Little Women

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

The Lord of the Rings

Toy Story

Mary Poppins

Star Wars

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Welcome to LIT(erature) Summer! This is the first installment of our three-episode summer series looking at the lasting cultural impact of classic literature works.

Jane Austen’s most famous novel has influenced modern pop culture in a myriad of ways, from its many popular film, TV, and other media adaptations, to current popular fiction, to basically being responsible for the romantic comedy film genre.

Links

Our commentary for the 2005 film

A better story recap than ours

Jane Austen and the Marriage Plot

Why do we still love Jane Austen?

Huffington Post’s rankings of Austen modernizations

Jane Austen and the RomCom

Why does Hallmark ruin everything?

Ben Wyatt is Mr. Darcy

Recommendations

Retellings and Modernizations

Literature

Pride, Ibi Zoboi

Bridget Jones’ Diary, Helen Fielding

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Seth Graeme-Smith

Eligible, Curtis Sittenfeld

Heartstone, Elle Katharine White

Ayesha At Last, Uzma Jalaluddin

Film/TV

Lost in Austen

Austenland

The Lizzy Bennet Diaries

Bride and Prejudice

Pride & Prejudice: Atlanta

Rhonda’s favorite Georgette Heyer novels:

The Grand Sophy

Bath Tangle

Arabella

Erin’s favorite Sarah Dessen novels:

Once and For All

St. Anything

Along for the Ride

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