This is The End: Pop Culture & Collapse

NOTE: This episode was recorded in Dec. of 2022 but I've only gotten around to editing it now. Since then I've become much better acquainted with ChatGPT and so, yes, I know its name (whereas at the time of this recording I still didn't).

• Jess Kroll's film reviews  
  

• 'Land of Smiles' by Jess Kroll
  

LIST OF FILMS (and spoiler time stamps)

-----------------------------------

WALL-E

5:08 - 5:53 (possible minor spoiler)

8:44 - 9:07 spoiler

13:23 - 13:36 spoiler

15:13 - 15:36 spoiler

17:42 - 18:32 spoiler

DON’T LOOK UP

22:50 - 23:05

26:55 - 27:02 (possible minor spoiler)

29:44 - 29:54 (possible minor spoiler)

30:34 - 31:10 spoiler

32:37 - 36:23 (possible minor spoilers)

37:09 - 38:47 spoiler

40:07 - 41:13 spoiler

44:14 - 45:03 spoiler

46:12 - 48:02 spoiler

53:50 - 54:10 spoiler

1:02:45 - 1:03:00 (possible minor spoiler)

THE ROAD

56:43 - 56:53 spoiler

59:25  - 1:03:03 spoiler

MENACE II SOCIETY

No Spoilers

THE GRAPES OF WRATH

No Spoilers

PopMythology.com film critic and novelist Jess Kroll joins me to have a conversation about 10 different movies that depict collapse in some way. In this episode, Part 1, we discuss the first five. 

Scroll all the way down below to see the titles of the films discussed and during which timestamped moments that spoilers or semi-spoilers of these films are mentioned.

• Jess Kroll's film reviews  
  

LIST OF FILMS (and spoiler demarcations)

-----------------------------------

THREADS (16:57 -28:02)

CONTAGION (28:02 - 44:13)  

CHILDREN OF MEN (44:13 - 1:01:05)

IDIOCRACY (1:01:05 - 1:16:12)

In this episode, I interview political commentator, former congressional candidate, and now regenerative farmer Haven Scott McVarish, author of LAST CHANCE TO SAVE AMERICAN DEMOCRACY. Haven talks about his favorite novel, STARK by Ben Elton, a dystopian comedy thriller about how corporations and the wealthy cause a global ecological collapse. Haven also discusses the novel's themes in relation to his own book about the current, ongoing collapse of U.S. democracy. We talk about how to save our imperiled democracy as well as what ordinary people can start doing now to prepare for collapse via local community building and restorative agriculture.  

LINKS:    

• Last Chance to Save American Democracy by Haven Scott McVarish    https://amzn.to/3eqPxxB
  

This is a longer version of a talk I recently gave at San Diego Comic Con 2022 as part of a panel on Marvel's street-level characters (Daredevil, Jessica Jones, etc.) moderated by Dr. Scott Jordan as part of the Comics Arts Conference. Thank you to Dr. Jordan for inviting me onto the panel and to Dr. Shelly Clevenger, my guest from the last episode, who was the speaker originally slated to talk about the Punisher on the panel but was not able to attend. Also a warm thank you to Dr. Michael Kersulov whose encouraging words after the panel resulted in adapting my talk into a podcast episode.   

• Born #1-4 (2003) by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson

• The Punisher Max: Complete Collection Vol. 1
  

We're joined by Dr. Shelly Clevenger, professor of criminology and victim studies, and chair of the Department of Victim Studies at Sam Houston State University, to discuss BITCH PLANET, the feminist dystopian comic book by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Valentine DeLandro, published by Image Comics. Dr. Clevenger, who is also a gender scholar, discusses crime and criminal justice through the lens of gender and gender identity and answers the question of what all of it has to do with the idea of "collapse." Among the topics covered include Roe vs. Wade, the Texas ban of abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, the Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard trial, a shocking historical government program to arrest and imprison women suspected of having STDs without due process, and many other issues affecting women - especially working class women, women of color, queer women, and trans women - in an age of increasing dystopia.  

***NO SPOILERS for Bitch Planet***  

LINKS

• Dr. Shelly Clevenger faculty page

https://www.shsu.edu/~icc_www/_inc/dir.php?mode=view&item=467

• Department of Victim Studies page at Sam Houston State University

http://catalog.shsu.edu/graduate-and-professional/college-departments/criminal-justice/victim-studies/

• Dr. Shelly Clevenger on Twitter

https://twitter.com/drclevenger

Gendering Criminology by Shelly Clevenger and Jordana N. Navarro

https://amzn.to/3Qpi3y8

Bitch Planet, Vol. 1 by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Valentine DeLandro

https://amzn.to/3QoXlyr

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In this episode, I interview Jim Carey, host of ‘The Left is Dead,’ a podcast about news, politics, and culture from a leftist lens. We discuss one of Jim’s favorite works of fiction, the novel LES MISERABLES by Victor Hugo, and its relevance to the societal and political turmoil we see today.

Jim talks about how the U.S. has basically become an entire nation of Javerts—moral absolutists obsessed with control and punishment—and how a lack of class consciousness,  revolutionary zeal, and a broad coalition with the working class prevents our ability to find real solutions to the biggest problems of our day. He also talks about the moral and political lessons that can be taken away from LES MISERABLES, particularly from the characters of Valjean, Fantine, Marius, and the young revolutionaries whose uprising becomes a failure we can learn from.

We also compare the novel and its socio-political objectives with adaptations of it in pop culture such as the Broadway musical and various film and TV adaptations. I spend a fair amount of time praising the PBS miniseries version and ragging on the Broadway musical for failing to cultivate a more meaningful level of class consciousness among its viewers. 

The Left is Dead

https://leftisdead.com/   

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheLeftIsDead

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheLeftisDead1

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leftisdead/

Outro music by Benny Martin Piano

https://bennymartin.com.au/

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/bennymartinpianist

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ-yPr5SzsB0WHeKcwVONyQ

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bennymartinmusic/

UkraineNow.org

StandWithUkraine.how

StandWithUkraine.live

Chopin's Polonaise Op. 40 No. 1 in A major ("Polanaise Militaire") performed by Pistos, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 2.5 Canada License

In this episode I interviewed four amazingly talented songwriters from the U.S., Germany, and Brazil who have written music on the subject of collapse, and who discuss what they feel are the important roles and value of music, and of art in general, amid the current societal turmoil and the many risks of collapse.  

My “Collapse Challenge” on FAWM

(February Album Writing Month)

https://fawm.org/forums/topic/12288/

You can find all of the “Collapse Challenge” songs here:

https://fawm.org/songs/tags/collapsechallenge/

Beto (@elesimo on FAWM)

https://fawm.org/fawmers/elesimo/

https://thefishermenandthepriestess.com/

“How Does it Feel?”

https://fawm.org/songs/126378/

Deirdre (@wylddandelyon on FAWM)

https://fawm.org/fawmers/wylddandelyon/

https://www.patreon.com/Wyld_Dandelyon

https://www.patreon.com/posts/62265129

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5199620.Deirdre_M_Murphy

“Steel Skeletons of the Past”

https://fawm.org/songs/127560/

Mike (@mikeskliar on FAWM)

https://fawm.org/fawmers/mikeskliar/

https://mikeskliar.bandcamp.com/

“Interesting Times”

https://fawm.org/songs/125354/

Robert (@ampersandman on FAWM)

https://fawm.org/fawmers/ampersandman/

https://soundcloud.com/ampersandman

https://ampersandman-de.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/jaariberlin

“The Lie”

https://fawm.org/songs/128187/

Opening quote courtesy of:

Sunfire Carl B (@sunfire on FAWM)

https://fawm.org/fawmers/sunfire/

“The Collapse”

https://fawm.org/songs/129537/

Outro courtesy of:

The Jelly Factory (@cts on FAWM)  

https://fawm.org/fawmers/cts/

“Star Ark”

(co-written w/ the Pop Mythologist) 

https://fawm.org/songs/130000/

In this episode, I talk to Dr. Sørina Higgins, a professor of English literature at Signum University. We discuss how speculative fiction can teach us to take care of our planet, both ecologically and societally.

TexMoot 2022: Call for Submissions

TexMoot 2022 general info

Signum University on Twitter

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**No spoilers** for any of the works discussed in this episode.

LINKS:

• Breaking Down: Collapse "Episode 70 - Pop Culture & Collapse"
  

• "Climate science meets a stubborn obstacle: Students"
  

• "Before and after 'The Day After Tomorrow': A U.S. study of climate change risk perception."
  

• "Cli-fi (climate fiction) on the big screen changes minds about real climate change"
  

• "Michael Crichton on science and storytelling"
  

• "Sci-fi and Jurassic Park have driven research, scientists say"
  

• "Many paleontologists today are part of the 'Jurassic Park' generation"
  

• "25-Year Anniversary of Twister and Its Far-Reaching Impacts"
  

• "How 'Twister' made metereology cool in Oklahoma and beyond"
  

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