Fake Geek Girls - A Critical Look at Pop Culture

Big dreams, small towns - is it our upbringing, or a discussion about Lady Bird? Fun fact: it's both! It's time for episode 85, all about Greta Gerwig's 2017 film Lady Bird!

Put on your sexy getting ready song, because it's time for our 84th episode, all about Crazy Ex-Girlfriend! We're talking about mental health (naturally), cringe comedy, and all our favorite ditties.

Cons are tiring! Lucky for you, we're bringing our experience at this year's Emerald City Comic Con direct to your ears in case you missed it.

Welcome! Everything is fine. Maybe. Because we’re talking about The Good Place! Mostly, we’re talking about philosophy, ethics, and our personal moral failings and strengths. It’s a bit heavy. To get right to The Good Place talk, skip to 00:14:20. Warnings : This episode is censored, but contains numerous uses of “hell” as well as some conversations about the fear of...

We’re returning to Arcadia Bay in Episode 81 – Life is Strange: Before the Storm! How does the prequel compare to the original? Just how queer is it, really? Why is Missy so het up to talk about labor? Find out within. To get right to the Life is Strange talk, skip to 00:19:20. Warnings : This episode is uncensored, and contains some potentially triggering discussions. What Missy&#8217...

It’s time for another round of STAR WARS FEELINGS. This time, we’re chatting about The Last Jedi, heroism, legacies, and why Rose Tico is the greatest. Some Links You Might Find Interesting : Luke Skywalker Isn’t Supposed to Be “Nice” by Emmet Asher-Perrin Star Wars: The Last Jedi Confronts the Temptation to Run Away by Natalie Zutter Wow, People Are Really Mad at Poe Dameron by Emmet...

We’re (mostly) wrapping up our pop-punk-inspired comic miniseries with episode 80, discussing The Amory Wars and Coheed and Cambria. It’s…well, it’s not our favorite, let’s leave it at that. Join us for thoughts on misogyny, on emulating the past, and on how we actually don’t really know anything about the technicalities of music. To get right to the Coheed and Cambri...

This is how we like to do it in the murder scene—if by ‘the murder scene’ you mean episode 79 and by ‘like to do it’ you mean ‘talk about our great love for My Chemical Romance and Gerard Way’s comics!’ Equal parts fan raving, analysis, and discussion of why weirdness is a good thing, this episode is pretty much a love letter to one of our favorite bands....

Welcome to episode 78, in which we discuss Polarity by Max Bemis, the lyricist and vocalist for Say Anything, one of the major bands of our adolescence. We’re talking about catharsis, about audience, and about hypocrisy, because Polarity is a lot to digest while simultaneously being very little. To get right to the Polarity talk, skip to 00:27:00. Warnings : This episode is uncensored, but w...

We’re returning to our roots in episode 77, all about pop punk, the music that made us the weirdos we are today. Despite all the pogoing and mashing, there’s some serious questions to be had about the treatment of women in the genre, especially in light of recent allegations. To get right to the pop punk talk, skip to 00:16:30. Mistakes : Regina Spektor is not pop punk. Seriously, don&...

Let’s get spooky and a little sexy in episode 76, all about Carmilla! We’re talking about how online media impacts who gets to tell stories, the legacy of our childhood faves, and branded feminism. Did you think this was going to be a light and fluffy episode? We did too, honestly. We’re incorrigible. To get right to the Carmilla talk, skip to 00:15:47. Mistakes : Our discussion...

It’s time to put our Avatar miniseries to rest as we tackle seasons three and four of The Legend of Korra . What’s up with gender roles? Why are we so het up about modernity? Where does the show succeed, and where does it fail? To get right to the Korra talk, skip to 00:17:30. Mistakes : Our audio got slightly out of sync and is sadly unfixable. The result is that it sounds like we&#82...

Missy and Merri are back with episode 74, and we’re talking about seasons one and two of The Legend of Korra! What’s up with pro bending? Is the Avatar inherently good? Does Amon have a point? Find out our thoughts within! Mistakes : During our conversation about non-benders, benders, and privilege and power, we mistakenly say that Asami is the only prominent non-bender. We forgot abou...

It’s time for episode 73! We’re talking about Avatar: The Last Airbender season three, including the evolution of the themes of seasons one and two, two of the comics, and the question of cultural appropriation. To get right to the Avatar talk, skip to 00:19:00. What Missy’s Been Up To : Reading: Delicious in Dungeon v. 1 by Ryoku Kui The State of Play, edited by Daniel Goldberg...

Welcome to episode 72, in which we discuss seasons one and two of Avatar: The Last Airbender! Who’s our favorite character? What themes capture our attention? What is it about Avatar that makes it such an enduring show? Also, what we were up to at GeekGirlCon! To get right to the Avatar talk, skip to 00:25:00. What Missy’s Been Up To : Playing: Orwell Reading: The Tempest by William Sh...

Time for con recap! After our first try at our last episode decided to scramble itself, we decided we’d record a bonus episode with con recap rather than starting entirely from scratch, so this time around we’re telling you our favorite games of PAX West and our adventures at Rose City Comic Con. We’re also sick, and this episode is a bit of a wild ride as a result. Also, Missy s...

After a lengthy convention break, we’re back with episode 71, including interviews with Justin Kuiper, writer of Necrobarista , Max Schwartz, artist and co-creator of We Know the Devil and Heaven Will be Mine , and Cameron Stewart and Brenden Fletcher of Batgirl and Motor Crush . Mistakes : We forgot to mention this in the episode due to that whole recording for the second time SNAFU, but we...

We’re back to the serious stuff in episode 70, talking about sexual harassment in the geek community. Why does our area of interest tend to have such a high instance of sexual harassment? How can we stop it? Warning : Some of this conversation may be triggering for certain listeners. Nothing is discussed in too much detail, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. We also swear, because...

We’re working out the kinks (eh, get it? get it?) of our feelings on Wonder Woman in episode 69! As anything but experts on the iconic character, we’re having bit of a learning experience as we read up on history, connect Marston’s original concepts with the recent film, and think about how women training to fight makes us cry. Warning : Because the original comics contains theme...

We’re getting into the problematic weeds of fandom toxicity in episode 68. Where does toxicity come from? How do we combat it? And how and where do we most effectively direct our critique? This is a tricky subject, and one we’re open to being wrong about! (We are actually always open to being wrong, but especially here). It’s possible that parts of this episode are going to sound...

Time to get sad in episode 67, in which we discuss what we’re calling the ‘sad girl aesthetic,’ or the intentional cultivation of a sad, feminine image. What’s so appealing about this kind of aesthetic? What does its popularity represent in a deeper sense? Why sadness? Why? We’re diving into The Virgin Suicides, The Love Witch, and the oeuvre of Lana Del Rey to find o...

In episode 66, we’re discussing The Handmaid’s Tale, both Margaret Atwood’s novel and the recent Hulu adaptation. How does it function as an adaptation? How do the changes affect the message? And how can both of them do better? Warning : Due to the nature of the book and show, some conversations may be triggering to listeners. We don’t discuss sexual assault in detail, but...

We’re talking about Overwatch and fan communities in episode 65! Join us for shipping, a symbiotic relationship, and positive aesthetics versus positive change. What Missy’s Been Up To : Watching: Clue Forrest Gump Great British Baking Show What We Do in the Shadows Reading: Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur Vol. 1 by Amy Reeder, Brandon Montclare, Natacha Bustos, Tamra Bonvillain Playing:...

Welcome to episode 64, in which we fundamentally destroy all humor by examining it and explaining every joke. Except Jim Carrey’s teeth, which remain an enigma and a horror to all. Mistakes : Missy didn’t revisit A Modest Proposal before recording, and mistakenly said it’s about solving world hunger. It’s actually about classism—Jonathon Swift (satirically) suggests that po...

Vacation is over, which means we’re back with episode 63 on teen dramas, and specifically 13 Reasons Why. We’re talking about responsible discussion of heavy issues, how dramas target a specific audience, and who gets caught in the crossfire, as well as our favorite things about rich kids–nothing. Warning : This episode has serious trigger warnings for suicidal ideation, self har...