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Westworld, Season 1

Release Date: 04/26/2019

Supercontext: an autopsy of media

This podcast ran independently from 2016 to 2020. We reflect on our goals in creating it and how successful those were while trying to be transparent about the ins and outs of podcast production, marketing, and monetization.

From Hell

Supercontext: an autopsy of media

This graphic novel by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell came out between 1989 and 1998, 100 years after the Jack the Ripper murders it's based on. We look at the meticulous research they put into this to try to understand how this story manages to be about true crime while indulging in deep themes like English identity, psychogeography, and the nature of time. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Additional Resources: Michael J. Prince (2017) The magic of patriarchal oppression in Alan Moore and Eddie...

Heat

Supercontext: an autopsy of media

This 1995 film by Michael Mann is considered a quintessential cops-and-robbers epic. We look at Mann's attention to detail and his attempt at authenticity in light of the movie's influence on audiences, filmmakers, and real-life criminals. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Additional Resources:

Hounds of Love

Supercontext: an autopsy of media

This 1985 concept album by Kate Bush is split into pop songs and a suite of music about someone drowning. We look at Bush's career arc leading up to this record and how the support she received from those around her allowed to experiment and create this wholly unique music. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Additional Resources: Cowley, J. (2005). The Wow factor. New Statesman, 134(4726), 38–39. Sinclair, D. (1994). Dear diary: The secret world of Kate Bush. Rolling Stone, 676, 13. Moy, R. (2007)....

Hyperion

Supercontext: an autopsy of media

Dan Simmon's 1989 science-fiction novel is acclaimed for its unique structure, references, and style. We take a closer look at how it interrogates our expectations of genre to explore a complex host of themes. Thank you to Chris Marlton for coproducing this episode. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Additional Resources: Dan Simmons. By: Shindler, Dorman T., Writer (Kalmbach Publishing Co.), 00439517, Feb2001, Vol. 114, Issue 2 THRALL, J. H. (2014). Authoring the Sacred: Humanism and Invented...

Withnail & I

Supercontext: an autopsy of media

This 1987 film is celebrated as a cult classic for its depiction of self-destructive young Englishmen at the end of the 1960s. We discuss how creator Bruce Robinson got it made, and whether it congratulates its characters for their alcoholism or criticizes their generation and the end of that era of British culture. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Additional Resources:

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

Supercontext: an autopsy of media

This 1962 novel is being reappraised by critics and fans as a creeping meditation on 1950s housewives, agoraphobia, and good old-fashioned New England persecution. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Additional Resources: SILVER, M. (2013). Is It Real? On Shirley Jackson’s We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Southern Review, 49(4), 665–667. Savoy, E. (2017). Between as if and is : On Shirley Jackson. Women’s Studies, 46(8), 827. BOYD TONKIN. (2015, July 29). Her dark materials: how Shirley Jackson...

The Moomins and the Great Flood

Supercontext: an autopsy of media

This 1945 children’s book by Tove Jansson began a publishing empire in Finland that is worth millions of dollars. We look at Jansson’s beloved allegory about a world where a family survives turmoil and everyone is accepted for who they are. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Additional Resources: Brown, Ulla (November 2004). "A Quest for What Lies Hidden" (PDF). Outwrite. 7: 8–12.

Lateralus by TOOL

Supercontext: an autopsy of media

This 2001 record is praised as being metal for the thinking man. We peel back the lyrics and the time signatures to understand why this band inspires an almost-religious devotion in its fans. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Additional Resources:

Paper Girls

Supercontext: an autopsy of media

This comic book series by Brian K. Vaughan and artist Cliff Chiang started in 2015 as a story about four preteen girls coming of age in the 80s. We look into how the creators produced the comic while examining their skepticism of nostalgia in a post-Stranger-Things world. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Additional Resources:

More Episodes

This HBO series remake about artificial intelligence, violence and consciousness was made with expert care by everyone involved in its production. But we ask, why then wasn't its depiction of its big themes ultimately satisfying?

Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store:

Westworld

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