Victims and Villains

IN THIS EPISODE… What started out as an attempt to bring the video game franchise, Halo, to the big screen became a beautiful Sci-Fi epic that explores the dangers of racism. We’re talking, of course, about Neil Blomkamp’s District 9. Journey with us as we watch, and discuss, Wikus (Sharlto Copley), a product of white supremacy and ignorance, explode into a metamorphosis in which allows him to see...

Dr. Anthony Bean( https://bit.ly/312guest) & Dan Rockwood discuss Dr. Bean’s book, The Psychology of Zelda: Linking Our World to the Legend of Zelda Series, and how the themes of mental health and growth are addressed in this video game franchise that has spanned over three decades. From Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask to Wind Waker and Breath of the Wild, we touch on our favorite moments, most...

BONUS EPISODE!!!! Have you caught our episode on The Legend of Zelda and Mental Health? The Legend of Zelda is one of Nintendo’s most beloved franchises. From its’ humble beginnings on the NES to its’ current juggernaut of Breath of The Wild - Zelda has transcended mediums from video games. Whether it has been the cartoon series, manga series or various merchandise; Zelda has garnered quite the fo...

Back in March, we did a two-part series on the relationship between Marriage & Mental Health ( http://bit.ly/Vicep278) & subsequently, divorce and mental health ( http://bit.ly/vicep279) . Though, the question stands, what happens if we’ve never been married or divorced? How do ordinary relationships affect our mental health? How much time should be allotted for someone to truly grieve the loss of...

Spinning out of our GenreBlast Film Festival coverage, of last year, comes the independent superhero film, Zeroes. If that ‘s not exciting enough, this episode is part of a crossover with our friends “You Have to Watch This Podcast.” ( https://bit.ly/310guest) Zeroes tells the story of Kenneth, Ray and Gary who take up vigilantism on the streets of Philadelphia to take down a local murderer. If yo...

It’s amazing how little has changed in regards to racism since the late 1970s and subsequently the year, 2000. Some of us that grew up in the 1990s were fortunate enough to know the Disney Channel Original Movie (or DCOM , for short). Sometimes these movies weren’t all goofiness, but rather serious and biographical. Such is the case with The Color of Friendship. This television biopic taught the r...

As Da Mayor told Mookie, Do the Right Thing! Well we’re taking that advice for this episode. Rosemont, himself, Dan Hassel ( https://bit.ly/308guest) joins us to talk about this 1989 classic. Get to know Dan a bit better by hearing about his creative process as a musician. Then you can get to know him on a personal level as we continue our discussion on racism, black history and oppression. Spike...

In our episode on the documentary, 13th ( https://bit.ly/vicep302) , we focused on our current crisis of mass incarceration in our country. Where does an idea like that come from though? In the documentary, The House I Live In (which you can stream for free right now: https://bit.ly/307movie) , we are taken on the continuing 30+ year war on drugs. Learn how this epidemic has been in place long bef...

LA 92 is one of the toughest documentaries ever put to film. However, it serves as a great educational piece on the cumulative effects of racism and police brutality in America. While the LA Riots of 1992, definitely mirror certain parts of our own story now, it’s a reflection of the 1965 Watts Riots on a larger scale. Captain Nostalgia and Caless Davis (aka BlackNerdMagic) are sitting down with N...

Police brutalities, racism and raical injustice are common conversation for us today. Back in the 1980s, it was revolutionary for five young gents out of Compton, California who experienced this one a daily basis. Dr. Dre, Easy E, Ice Cube, MC Ren & DJ Yella were known to the world as N.W.A. Their debut album, Straight Outta Compton, placed racial injustice and police brutality right in the front...

History has a tendency to repeat itself. What we’re currently experiencing now with civil unrest in the Black Lives Matter movement echoes throughout history. For Generation X, and to a lesser extent the Baby Boomer generation, there was a revolution taking place before their very eyes. Men like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., James Baldwin and Malcolm X were pioneers for civil rights for the black co...

An underappreciated artist that stood in the middle of the civil rights conversation of the 1960s. An author, essayist, an absolute wonder & more - James Baldwin. The man behind works like If Beale Street Could Talk, The Fire Next Time, Notes of a Native Son & more was working on a manuscript that never quite found closure. That manuscript finds new life in the documentary, I Am Not Your Negro. Br...

In this episode, Captain Nostalgia, BlackNerdMagic and special guest Brian Hawkins discuss Ava DuVernay’s 13th. We go over the damaging effects of racism through American history, the ramifications of mass incarceration and how we are to slowly eradicate prejudice in safety. Join us for an education and very informative discussion. Victims and Villains is written Josh "Captain Nostalgia" Burkey (a...

In June of 2018, the 45th president of the United States announced a new branch of the military in Space Force. Not long after the man behind Parks & Recreation, King of the Hill and The Office announced a television show fixated on the premise with Michael Scott, actor, himself - Steve Carrell. After nearly two years of waiting, the first season of the show has finally landed on Netflix. Though,...

We celebrated our 300th episode recently with the infamous cult classic, The Room by Tommy Wiseau. To continue that monumental episode, we're sitting down with one of the stars behind the movie: Robyn Paris. Robyn played Michelle in the room and she is also the creator, writer, director and star of the web series, The Room Actors: Where are They Now? All of which you can watch for FREE right now o...

In our previous episode, we discussed the enormous influence of Citizen Kane ( http://bit.ly/Vicep299) . The Orson Welles picture has gone on to be known as “The Greatest Movie of All Time.” If you have good, sure you must have bad. Dubbed “The Citizen Kane of Bad Movies’’, Tommy Wiseau’s The Room has enjoyed a cult following over the years. It's ridiculous plot, terrible writing, acting and editi...

For nearly 80 years, there has been one movie which has been regarded as the greatest American movie of all time. It has garnered numerous accolades and influenced countless generations of filmmakers and media. In this episode of Victims and Villains, we’re discussing 1941’s Citizen Kane. The Dapper Man himself joins us for an episode heavy with trivia, themes of classism, depression, and more. Th...

Well, this episode is a champion. This time last year, we were talking about Pokemon ( http://bit.ly/Vicep202) . In this episode, we’re discussing the history and evolution of what some might consider the younger brother of the monster franchise. In 1999, we were introduced to the digi-world and a different kind of monster in Digimon. Over the years, Digimon has garnered a cult following and touch...

Alright, I’m most certainly sure that The Simpsons predicted this two part countdown episode from us. If you missed part one, check out it out here: https://bit.ly/vicep296 or wherever you get your podcasts. Seriously, though, The Simpsons is one of the largest running cartoons and sitcoms of its’ time. For its’ unprecedented achievements, cultural impact and fandom for us at Victims and Villains...

I’m pretty sure that one of the writers behind The Simpsons probably predicted this episode. Heck, they probably even knew it would be a two-parter before we even did. Conspiracies aside, this is only the tip of the iceberg. We are counting down the top 10 episodes of The Simpsons which predicted the future. This episode only contains our the bottom half of the top 10. If you wanna check out the e...

Charlie Kauffman hit a wall while writing his follow-up to his breakthrough hit, Being John Malkovich. I promise that we hit anything but podcaster’s block with this episode. While the film places a spotlight on what happens behind the scene of a movie, it dives deep into the depths of depression with Nicolas Cage. How you see yourself is a big portion of how we see the world around us, how we int...

If you are reading this right now and you have any information on the death of Marvin Acme, please reach out to your local authorities. We have reason to believe that Maroon Pictures star, Roger Rabbit, has been involved and is our number one subject. Though, Rabbit, believes he has been famed. With such notion the question of Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Has become a legitimate concern. This podcast...

We here at Victims and Villains have a tradition to count down our top 10 favorite books of that each year’s Free Comic Book Day Titles. The current world situation has postponed the fan favorite event till a later date within year. However, we’ve teamed up with ten independent publishers to keep our tradition alive. In this episode, we’re counting down the top 10 comics you should know within the...

Love is a hard thing to find. Some of us spent our entire lives looking for it. Sometimes when we find it, it doesn’t come in the way we expected it. When fans were introduced to Harley Quinn, over 25 years ago, her story resonated a bit too closely for some of us. A psychologist that threw away a career all for love. Though, the longer that she stayed in the relationship the deeper the toxicity a...

Can a con man be conned? Of course, I mean we are all but human. What if that con man is Nicolas Cage? Then that question takes on a new weight. In this Patreon-picked episode, we’re about to test that theory of how far Nic Cage can be pushed. If this movie didn’t have enough Nicolas Cage for you, we’re sitting down with the Cage enthusiasts podcast, Cage’s Kisses. Matchstick Men director managed...