Did You Do Your Homework? | A Pop Culture Podcast

Leadership plays a strong role in most narratives, and it behooves us to take a closer look at the strengths, weaknesses, and character traits of some of the many leaders we find in media. We generate a list of characteristics we appreciate in our leadership, Martha gets salty about Superman and Mark Millar, and we have a lot of fun talking about rats. Some sensitive topics are broached re: our cu...

Today's episode is brought to you by fanculture everywhere. Join us as we take a deep dive into fandom and how media portrays it, from the perspective of male and female fans and even a bit from the creator side.

Today we're getting academic with an in-depth discussion of that age-old storytelling convention, the hero's journey. Using Tolkein, Shrek, and an animated celebration of the Day of the Dead (The Book of Life, hey-o) we talk about the elements that make up the archetypal hero's journey and why it's important to understanding the way we have and continue to tell stories.

Grief is something that everyone experiences in some shape or form during their lifetimes, and pop culture can help us develop the tools to deal with and overcome it. We thread our way through three stories that show us how characters overcome their grief, and also how an artist can use his art to express it. Things get kinda heavy.

This is not a full episode of our podcast! Due to personal reasons, we were unable to fully prepare to give our listeners the best episode they deserved, so we're pushing the schedule back a week. In the meantime, we give you an extended Credentials episode, that's really just an excuse for us all to talk about Wonder Woman a whole lot.

Episode 10: Pop Culture Perceptions of Mental Health by Did You Do Your Homework? | A Pop Culture Podcast

What exactly do we mean when we say "Strange Bedfellows"? We're talking weird character matchups between people who have absolutely nothing in common - or DO they? We get down and dirty on the subject of odd couples, weird matchups, character growth and something Pete has dubbed "Radical Empathy." We take you from ghosts to the apocalypse, from the Cold War to first generation Russian immigrants,...

In this era of EPA rollbacks, what role should pop culture play in raising awareness? Is capitalism the source of all environmental evil? Is Avatar actually a really racist movie? All this and more is on the table as your phenomenally nerdy cohosts dig deep into the conservation warnings broadcast by their homework. Discussion points include sources of environmental destruction, the role of consum...

Martha uses the podcast as a thinly veiled excuse to watch Shattered Glass again, and to plumb the depths of Slate to read about the real world scandal. Pete is way more politically savvy than anyone else in the room (natch), and Calee keeps us all grounded by reminding us that teenagers really are the future of the resistance (a thematic callback to Episode 2, even if we all forgot to point that...

It's another perky episode where we somehow manage to have a good time, despite our weighty topic. Martha takes a victory lap when Pete admits that one of these items is his most favoritest homework he's been assigned yet (which one may surprise you), we argue intent of story versus intent of character, Calee feels skeptical about deconstructed magical girls, and we once again forget to talk about...

Have you ever wanted to put the relationship between Batman and his many, many sidekicks under a microscope and really get to the bottom of them? Good news! In this week's episode, we dig into the hero/sidekick relationship in all its forms, including a rough history where Martha asks Pete to show his work and he doesn't immediately strangle her with her headphones cord. We talk a whole lot about...

It's our fourth episode, which means we've officially been doing this for over a month! Hooray! This week, we dive into the concept of remakes, reboots, reimaginings and adaptations and Martha realizes that each of these concepts could probably be their own episode? What makes a good reboot, motives, and purpose are all discussed, and we all unanimously agree to strike the phrase "[X] ruined my ch...

In our third episode, the hosts of Did You Do Your Homework discuss BULLYING in all its ugly forms! Homework for this week: Dazed & Confused, Hjordis mini-series, and Th1rteen R3asons Why by Jay Asher.

In our second episode, we all get real fired up about the current political climate, while also DEEPLY admiring the role that people of color, teens, and especially teenage girls are playing in our resistance. We talk about music for the first time! Warning: this episode is deeply biased and reveals the biases of all your hosts (spoiler alert: our biases influence the things we love and how we rea...

It's here! Our debut episode, in which we discuss how identity functions as a narrative tool, get used to the flow of conversation in a podcast, and Martha gets a little cranky about what people see as "feminist" narratives. The homework for the episode: Martha: Sense8 holiday special (Netflix streaming) Pete: The VVitch (film) Calee: The Orphanage (film)