The Protagonist Podcast

Description

Henry Darowski is back to join Joe in talking about Kanji Watanabe from the film Ikiru. This classic film directed by Akira Kurosawa tells the story of a man who searches for meaning in his life when he learns he is dying from cancer. Henry and Joe discuss Kurosawa’s brilliant directing, Takashi Shimura’s great performance as Kanji, and the truths about human nature explored in the film.

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• Patreon

Show Notes

• Ikiru – IMDB
• Akira Kurosawa – WIkipedia
• Takashi Shimura – Wikipedia

Description

Todd Mack is back with Joe to discuss the classic Christmas poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” by C. Clement Moore. In this shorter, special Christmas episode, Todd and Joe talk about the cultural significance of the piece, the poetic skill of Moore, and dive into an authorship controversy.

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• Patreon

Show Notes

• A Visit from St. Nicholas – Wikipedia
• The cartoon that haunted Joe’s Christmas past:

Description

Todd Mack is back for our Christmas Special 2018. Producer Andrew selected seven titles of Christmas movies that neither Todd nor Joe have ever seen, and they both wrote a summary. After Andrew tells them what the real plot was, he selects what he’d most want to watch. The scoring gets heated right around A Gingerbread Romance.

Support

–Patreon

Show Notes

• A Gingerbread Romance – IMDB
• Poinsettias for Christmas – IMDB
• A Shoe Addict’s Christmas – IMDB
• Santa’s Boots – IMDB
• No Sleep ‘Til Christmas – IMDB
• It’s Christmas, Eve – IMDB
• Mingle All the Way – IMDB

Description

Returning guest Branden Ushio (from The Fandom Podcast) joins Joe to talk about a Christmas-themed episode of the Justice League cartoon series. They talk about the flirtatious Green Lantern and Hawkgirl storyline, the emotional Superman and Martian Manhunter storyline, and the nostalgic Flash and Ultra-Humanite storyline. 

Support

-Patreon

Show Notes

• Justice League – Wikipedia
• “Comfort and Joy” – IMDB
• The Fandom Podcast

Description

Returning guest Henry Darowski joins Joe to talk about Jack Skellington and Sally the Ragdoll in The Nightmare Before Christmas. They talk about what a mess properly crediting who did what in this film is, discover Joe may have been misreading a key part of this film since childhood, and explore the best way to read Jack’s attempted takeover and Christmas.

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Description

Special Guest Sara Santana joins Joe Darowski to talk about Harry Potter and friends in the novel Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. They discuss some plot questions that end up not concerning them too much, then move on to discuss the structure of the Tri-Wizard Tournament and the amazing Yule Ball sequence.

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Description

Special guest Todd Petersen joins Joe to talk about the classic Thanksgiving themed episode from WKRP in Cincinnati titled “Turkeys Away.” They talk about the character motivations for the plot, the use of tragedy as a comedic parody, and the use of editing to tell jokes that aren’t on screen.

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Description

Special guest John Darowski joins Joe Darowski to discuss the graphic novel Return of the Dapper Men which was written by Jim McCann with art by Janet Lee. While discussing this fairy taleu-esque story of a boy named Ayden and a robot girl named Zoe who try and help a world where time has stopped, they address the nature of fairy tale, the philosophical underpinnings of the work, and Janet Lee’s incredible art style.

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Description

Special guest Kjerste Christensen joins Joe Darowski to discuss Dave Kovic from the film Dave. They discuss how the film holds up surprisingly well, the quality of Kevin Kline’s performance, and how strong acting, writing, and directing elevate the entire film.

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Description

Special guest John Darowski joins Joe to discuss Victor Frankenstein and the Creature from Mary Shelley’s classic 1818 novel, Frankenstein. They talk the difference between terror and horror, the nature of monstrosity (spoiler, they’re both monsters), and the philosophy explored in the novel.

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Show Notes