The Midnight Myth Podcast

I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore. Skip with us down the Yellow Brick Road in this long-overdue discussion of the 1939 MGM classic The Wizard of Oz. As the concluding subject of our five-part series on nostalgic films, we’ll explore the template Wizard sets out for the other films in our series—Back to the Future, Hook, Beetlejuice, and E.T. Why is The Wizard of Oz so baked into the collective unconscious? Does it earn a place among Classical mythology and folklore? Can it be read as a feminist text, or does it perpetuate the tragic messaging that girls and women should eschew ambition and adventure? All these questions, plus Dorothy as the existential hero and the influence of Shakespearean drama. Let’s go over the rainbow!

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The Midnight Myth stands with Black Lives Matter and those protesting social injustice across our country. Please join us in supporting those who will not stay silent.

Open your wallet if you are able. Consider supporting the NAACP’s Legal Defense and Education Fund, the Southern Poverty Law Center, Reclaim the Block, your local Black Lives Matter Chapter or Bail Fund. Or directly support the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, or Tony McDade. Seek out and support Black-owned businesses in your area.

Looking to get educated about systemic racism, police violence, and white privilege? Find book, film, and podcast recommendations at bit.ly/ANTIRACISMRESOURCES.

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In a very special Midnight Myth Bonus, we sat down with Joshua Gillingham, author of The Gatewatch, an epic troll-hunting adventure inspired by the Norse Myths and the Icelandic Sagas. For an hour+, we nerd out about all things Norse: from common misconceptions about the Era of Viking to Loki’s most outrageous antics to the evolution of trolls and dwarves throughout time. We also get the opportunity to discuss how profoundly the Norse myths and Icelandic Sagas influenced the work of J.R.R. Tolkien, and therefore, much of contemporary fantasy literature.

The Gatewatch by Joshua Gillingham is available now. Grab your copy (or e-book) from Crowsnest Books or order from your local bookstore.

Want to learn more about Norse Mythology, the Vikings, and Scandinavian Folklore? Start here!

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

The Norse Myths: Gods of the Vikings by Dr. Kevin Crossley-Holland

The Poetic Edda: Stories of the Norse Gods & Heroes

John Bauer, painter of Scandanavian Folklore.

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The Midnight Myth stands with Black Lives Matter and those protesting social injustice across our country. Please join us in supporting those who will not stay silent.

Open your wallet if you are able. Consider supporting the NAACP’s Legal Defense and Education Fund, the Southern Poverty Law Center, Reclaim the Block, your local Black Lives Matter Chapter or Bail Fund. Or directly support the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, or Tony McDade. Seek out and support Black-owned businesses in your area.

Looking to get educated about systemic racism, police violence, and white privilege? Find book, film, and podcast recommendations at bit.ly/ANTIRACISMRESOURCES.

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Support us at www.patreon.com/midnightmyth

Check out our merch store for Midnight Myth, Boomerangerang, and Wheel of Ka tees and totes!

Learn more, view sources and inspiration, and sign up for e-mail updates at www.midnightmyth.com

Twitter

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If you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen!

Trayvon Martin

Tamir Rice

Michael Brown

Eric Garner

Sandra Bland

Freddie Gray

Alton Sterling

Philando Castile

Botham Jean

Atatiana Jefferson

Ahmaud Arbery

Doug Lewis

Breonna Taylor

George Floyd

Tony McDade

David McAtee

This list is missing so many names, so many victims of police violence and hate crimes. The Midnight Myth stands with the victims and protestors of racial injustice and state-sanctioned violence. We invite our listeners, friends, and fellow podcasters to join in solidarity, and to take actionable steps toward ending systemic racism and police brutality.

These are some steps and resources we’ve found helpful:

Open your wallet if you are able. Consider supporting the NAACP’s Legal Defense and Education Fund, the Southern Poverty Law Center, Reclaim the Block, your local Black Lives Matter Chapter or Bail Fund. Or directly support the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, or Tony McDade. Seek out and support Black-owned businesses in your area.

Sign petitions. Hold your mayors and representatives accountable. Start by demanding to defund the police. Find out if your city has adopted 8 Can’t Wait: eight proposed reforms to use of force policy proven to reduce police killings by 72%. These measures can achieve immediate harm reduction as we work toward the ultimate goal of fully defunding police and funding community safety.

Get educated. Read, watch, listen. For podcasts, start with 1619 from the New York Times Magazine, or The End of Policing. Read White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo, The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander, The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin. bell hooks. Angela Davis. Find more recommendations at bit.ly/ANTIRACISMRESOURCES. Order from Black-owned bookstores.

You’ll find links to our recommendations and more in today’s show notes. Don’t lose momentum. Keep fighting for a more just and equitable world for our Black communities.

Thank you Cult 45: The Movie Podcast for inviting podcasters to participate in this Podcast Blackout. Black Lives Matter.

And until next time, be kind.

There’s a bald spot in the forest—and something has landed there. Follow the trail of Reese’s Pieces to join us as we discuss one of the most beloved films of the 1980s: E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. We’ll look to Greek mythology to understand the psychic connection between Elliot and “the goblin,” and we’ll compare Spielberg’s masterpiece to his other reworking of Peter Pan, Hook. Plus a discussion of the major themes of E.T.: empathy and homesickness, and how these themes are expressed without the interference of a clear antagonist.

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The Midnight Myth stands with Black Lives Matter and those protesting social injustice across our country. Please join us in supporting those who will not stay silent, and consider donating to these organizations dedicated to fighting the good fight:

Minneapolis Freedom Fund

Black Lives Matter

NAACP

Your local charity bail fund - find a list of Bail Bonds for major US cities here

Remember to VOTE. Make your voice heard.

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Support us at www.patreon.com/midnightmyth

Check out our merch store for Midnight Myth, Boomerangerang, and Wheel of Ka tees and totes!

Learn more, view sources and inspiration, and sign up for e-mail updates at www.midnightmyth.com

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If you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen!

So you’re recently deceased. Now what? Grab your handbooks and head into the strange and unusual world of sandworms and case workers, interior designers and, of course… Betelgeuse. Er, Beetlejuice? Third time’s the charm. This week on the Midnight Myth, we’re holing up in our idyllic Connecticut home with Adam and Barbara Maitland, and we’re discussing Tim Burton’s raucous 1988 comedy BEETLEJUICE! We’ll discuss the influence of the Gothic—from the historic Germanic tribes to the architecture to the literary genre—on Burton’s signature style. Plus we’ll visit Duat, the Egyptian Netherworld, and discuss how Ancient Egypt’s concept of the Afterlife mirrors much of what we see in Beetlejuice. Shake, shake, shake Senora!

Support us at www.patreon.com/midnightmyth

Check out our merch store for Midnight Myth, Boomerangerang, and Wheel of Ka tees and totes!

Learn more, view sources and inspiration, and sign up for e-mail updates at www.midnightmyth.com

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If you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen!

Fellow travelers on the path of Beam, Derek and Stave are back at it again, this time discussing the epic conclusion of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower Book VII: The Dark Tower. What did this multi-verse spinning, psych power wielding, todash chime ringing narrative mean? What happens to Roland when he reaches the Tower, and confronts shape changing monsters, laughter eating vampires, and the end of the Ka-Tet we have come to love? Come with us through the advice of Stuttering Bill on Tower Road to the final stages of an adventure that took Stephen King 35 years of his life to write. The only promise we make is that it won’t bore you, as we cover as much as we can of this wonderfully strange, horrifically dark, cyclone of book.

Support us at www.patreon.com/midnightmyth

Check out our merch store for Midnight Myth, Boomerangerang, and Wheel of Ka tees and totes!

Learn more, view sources and inspiration, and sign up for e-mail updates at www.midnightmyth.com

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If you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen!

The five-week nostalgia gauntlet continues on the Midnight Myth with the 1991 Spielberg classic HOOK. This clever reimagining of the story of Peter Pan begins with one fundamental question: What if Peter Pan—the boy who wouldn’t grow up—grew up? This week, we follow the second star to the right (straight on till morning) and revisit Neverland as adults, feeling a lot like Peter Banning as we do. In the process, we uncover the lost memories of childhood, interrogate our nostalgic responses, and ask ourselves what the real difference is between a pirate and a Lost Boy. Are childhood and adulthood really separate countries that can’t be united? Do we lose some sense of magic and innocence as we age? What treasures can we find when we integrate our past selves with our current selves? Through the lens of psychoanalysis, history, and mythology, we put all these questions to Hook.

Support us at www.patreon.com/midnightmyth

Check out our merch store for Midnight Myth, Boomerangerang, and Wheel of Ka tees and totes!

Learn more, view sources and inspiration, and sign up for e-mail updates at www.midnightmyth.com

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If you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen!

We’re going back… to the future! In the first episode of a 5-week series exploring movies that brought us joy as kids, we’re covering the beloved 1990 sci-fi classic Back to the Future. We’ll explore the mythic and literary archetypes that feed into the iconic character of Doc Brown, we’ll dive deep into the complex and fascinating world of physics and time travel, and we’ll discover how the history of science and science fiction come together in this hysterical movie. What would you do if you were transported to the 1950s? How would you look at your modern world once you got back? All this and more on this week’s Midnight Myth.

Support us at www.patreon.com/midnightmyth

Check out our merch store for Midnight Myth, Boomerangerang, and Wheel of Ka tees and totes!

Learn more, view sources and inspiration, and sign up for e-mail updates at www.midnightmyth.com

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If you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen!

What is the answer to the ultimate question—of life, the universe, and everything? If you dig Douglas Adams, it’s 42. But what IS the ultimate question—and is that question really worth asking? This week, we’re taking on the beloved Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the one-of-a-kind sci-fi satire that brought us pan-galactic gargle-blasters, Babelfish, Vogon poetry, and everything in between. With insights from the 2005 film and the Douglas Adams novel, we’ll explore the philosophy that underlies the story—particularly as it resonates with the Absurdist philosophy of Albert Camus. We’ll also discuss the literary influence of Franz Kafka, the eerie prescience of Adams’ zany galaxy, and the ultimate questions that we constantly seek answers to. Just remember… Don’t panic (and bring a towel!)

Support us at www.patreon.com/midnightmyth

Check out our merch store for Midnight Myth, Boomerangerang, and Wheel of Ka tees and totes!

Learn more, view sources and inspiration, and sign up for e-mail updates at www.midnightmyth.com

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If you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen!

Put on your mask, close your eyes, and surrender to your darkest dreams. That’s right, we’re covering the longest running Broadway musical in history, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 1986 mega-hit The Phantom of the Opera. We’’ll analyze the angel of music himself, the love triangle at the show’s core, and symbolism in the opera house through the lens of aesthetic philosophy and mythology—From Edmund Burke’s description of beauty and the sublime to Neoplatonism and the evolution of art-making. Is Phantom a great romance or a piece of gothic horror? All this and more on the Midnight Myth.

Support us at www.patreon.com/midnightmyth

Check out our merch store for Midnight Myth, Boomerangerang, and Wheel of Ka tees and totes!

Learn more, view sources and inspiration, and sign up for e-mail updates at www.midnightmyth.com

Twitter

Facebook

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If you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen!