Pretty Much Pop: A Culture Podcast

Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al discuss the new Amazon TV show based on on the video game series that launched in 1997. How does one best adapt a sandbox game? How dark is too dark for comedy? We talk world-building and exposition dumps, narrative structure and character revelation, and morality in a ruined world. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com . Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop...

Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al look at pop music and the idea of genre. Beyoncé is beloved enough that she can do whatever she wants to musically, but the response to her Cowboy Carter  album among country music listeners has been pretty critical. Is it real country, and what is it to even ask that question? Is gate-keeping about your favorite genre always stupid? For more, visit prettymuchpop.c...

The incredible post-Seinfeld improvised sit-com Curb Your Enthusiasm has had its finale, and so Mark, Lawrence, Sarah and Al reflect on its format, its characters, its way of exploring puzzles of modern manners, its treatment of race and gender, and more. Was it too repetitive? Did it get too contrived? For more, visit prettymuchpop.com . Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subsc...

When we write, how much is planned vs. improvised? How much is inspirational vs. double-or-triple checked? How does this factor weigh into how much music we release, how eclectic our sound is, and how well we improvise with others? This discussion features three returning guests: Roger Joseph Manning Jr.  was the keyboardist/singer for Jellyfish and Imperial Drag, and more recently as a solo artis...

Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al discuss the American version, and to a lesser extent the British and Australian versions, of this reality game show that originated in 2021 in the Netherlands, based on the party game Mafia (aka Werewolf), plus Survivor-like challenges and a gothic tone. How does such a simple (stupid?) concept end up creating compelling TV? Are we cruel for liking this show? Is it...

We discuss the 4-Oscar-winning film Poor Things as well as the other creations of writer/director Yorgos Lanthimos, including most notably The Lobster , Dogtooth , and The Killing of a Sacred Deer . These films mix high concepts, purposively stilted line-readings, and increasingly rich cinematography with horror and gross sex. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com . Hear bonus content at patreon.com/p...

Do you Who? Did you Who back in the day, or just from the point of the 2005 revival? Did you Who through Tennant, Smith, Capaldi... Were you still on board for Whittaker, and now as Disney+ and revival creator Russell T. Davies attempt to make this more readily accessible in all ways with the transition to Ncuti Gatwa? Mark, Al, and Lawrence are joined by our special guest, improv comedian Chris R...

To celebrate the publication of the latest novel by one of our hosts, Sarahlyn Bruck, we bring back acclaimed actor/author Kathryn Leigh Scott to join Mark and Al. We discuss women's fiction as a marketing category, its relation to genres like romance and literary fiction, and the writing process. The books that we read for this are Sarahlyn's Light of the Fire and Kathryn's September Girl (2019)....

When we've already heard about someone's personal scandal in the news, do we need to also see it dramatized with A-list actors? We discuss Todd Haynes' 2023 film fictionalizing the long-aftermath of the Mary Kay Letourneau story. We also touch on Joe vs. Carole , Inventing Anna , Dirty John , The Act , The Shrink Next Door , and The Thing About Pam,  etc. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com . Hear b...

In light of the new, acclaimed film, The Boy and the Heron , Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al reflect on the Studio Ghibli films that Hayao Miyazaki has directed since the '80s. Does the visionary design make up for the languorous pacing? We talk about the anime style, subtitles vs. dubbed, using this style for children's vs. adult entertainment, the relation of these films to fairy tales, and mor...

Your hosts Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al explore Jewish comedy with stand-up Daniel , whose film Reconquistador is about his ancestors being kicked out of Spain. What's the connection of Jewish humor to anti-semitism? What's the relation of a creator's identity to the creation? How does comedy relate to politics and philosophy? We touch on Mel Brooks, Larry David, Adam Sandler, Woody Allen, Len...

For our annual holiday episode, Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al talk all things Muppets, but in particular the 1992 film The Muppet Christmas Carol . What's the appeal of this puppet act? Is its humor post-funny ironic? Should it still exist and can it still have the magic with a new generation behind the felt? For more, visit prettymuchpop.com . Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or...

Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, Al and special guest Vi Burlew talk about the new film The Marvels as well as more generally what's been coming out in film and TV from the Marvel folks in the latest "phase." Does Marvel have a consistent tone at this point)? What explains the box office poison of the new film? For more, visit prettymuchpop.com . Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subs...

We discuss the loose mishmash adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe stories that makes up Mike Flanagan's Netflix show, The Fall of the House of Usher . Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al talk about the various creative choices, moral responsibility in the show, the relation between gothic and camp, Poe's continued standing as horror icon, and more. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com . Hear bonus content at...

Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al talk about the original 1973 film (and the 1971 novel), the new Exorcist: Believer , with some talk of the early sequels. What makes the original film so scary? Its adjacency to real-life parental fears? Does the new film really dialogue intelligently with that original? Is demonic possession an inherently problematic plot device? For more, visit prettymuchpop.com...

Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al discuss the groundbreaking Native-written/starring TV show about four teens trying to get away from their Oklahoma reservation, getting into its treatment of death, community, wokeness, and more. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com . Hear bonus content for every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Chann...

Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al all watched the three seasons of this groundbreaking, polarizing documentary show that serves as a visual diary and collection of essays by its creator. While episode titles sound like practical advice, the investigations invariably swerve into something weird or philosophical. But did we enjoy it? For more, visit prettymuchpop.com . Hear bonus content for every ep...

Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al talk about the writer-director's work, touching on not only his recent tour-de-force, but back to Memento, Dunkirk, Tenet, Inception, The Prestige, Interstellar, Insomnia, and The Following.  Is Nolan overrated as a thinker and storyteller? Do his plots actually make sense? We talk heroes, noir, philosophy, twists, and his depiction of women. For more, visit pretty...

What is media criticism, and is that what we're doing? For our Season 3 finale (i.e. the end of PMP's 4th year of operation), your now officially official hosts Mark Linsenmayer, Lawrence Ware, Sarahlyn Bruck, and Al Baker turn their gazes fully toward their collective navel to think about what purposes are served by discussions about pop culture and how we can do it better. For more, visit pretty...

Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al talk about Charlie Brooker's British anthology TV series that began in 2011 and recently released its 6th season. How has this show evolved from satirical science fiction to something more often just horror studies that study human nature? We talk about our favorite episodes and what does and doesn't work. Does the show have to be so dark to make its point? Does it...

Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al talk about the most discussable movie of the summer made by the unlikely pairing of feminist indie director Greta Gerwig and Barbie's corporate overlords at Mattel. Does the film convey at least a legitimate teen version of feminist existentialism? It is actually enjoyable? What sort of irony is this, and can any film be both a blockbuster children's film yet also...

Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al talk about the blockbuster archaeological adventure films created in 1981 by George Lucas and Stephen Spielberg that we grew up with and which have now been revived and apparently concluded twice, currently via James Mangold's Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny . For more, visit prettymuchpop.com . Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribin...

Mark, Lawrence, and returning parents/panelists Michelle Parrinello-Cason and Chris Sunami take on animated blockbuster films by Pixar, et al. Why do some adults prefer these? What's the ideology of this kind of media?  We touch on Puss in Boots , Turning Red , Soul , Trolls , Enola Holmes , and many other things that we watched with our kids and/or as kids. Note that this discussion was recorded...

Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al disagree about the Jason Sudeikis-headed Apple TV+ pandemic hit that's just wrapped up with its third season. Was it actually as good as everyone thought when its first season hit, or was its vibe just something we needed at the time? Should it have stayed slim and comic instead of becoming the stretched out, soapy dramedy that it ended up as? For more, visit prett...

The regular gang (Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al) address Jesse Armstrong's prestige HBO dramedy that premiered in 2018 and has just wrapped up. Why all the fuss over this show? Is it really worthy of comparison to Shakespeare? For more, visit prettymuchpop.com . Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel . Sponsors: Ge...