Pop DNA

If you thought we were going to let it slide that Depression Barbie's comfort show is the 1995 BBC Pride and Prejudice, you thought wrong.

We're digging in to some possible literary inspirations and parallels for the Barbie movie, looking specifically at Christian/Catholic creation theology and how much Greta Gerwig may have been influenced by the work of Jane Austen. We also talk about who we would choose if we could recast Ken, and follow up with a coda to our discussion of gender dynamics in Barbie Land from last week.

Further Reading:

We are back from a long, semi-unplanned hiatus, but don't worry, there's still plenty more Barbie to talk about! This week we look at how both Barbie Land and Stereotypical Barbie's perspective in the film explore gender and femininity.

How does Barbie Land fit into the context of women-dominated societies in other fictional works?

How does Barbie as a film both defy and uphold patriarchal beauty standards?

And how does Barbie as a character help us as women and feminine people explore how we can define femininity and identity for ourselves?

Further Reading:

Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

The Power by Naomi Alderman

Ritual of Proof by Dara Joy

What was supposed to be a fun and light chat about video games this week turned into a philosophical discussion of free will as a player of video games, and how this illusion of choice translates into the choices (or lack thereof) of characters in the TV series of The Last Of Us, especially in terms of gendered actions and decision-making. It's still fun, though, we promise!

Further Exploration:

This week we are getting apocalyptic! We talk about why we as humans seem to be fascinated with the fall of civilization or even of humanity itself. From the ancient epic of Gilgamesh to several separate HBO shows, our literature and culture are full of stories about humans at the end of the world.

How does The Last of Us explore the human significance of the apocalypse? And what other works of apocalyptic and zombie fiction can we discuss to contextualize what TLOU might be trying to say about humanity? Works we discuss include:

• The Epic of Gilgamesh
• Revenant myths and legends
• The Last Man by Mary Shelley
• 1984 by George Orwell
• Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (and the HBO series)
• The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (and the Hulu series)
• Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith
• The Girl With All The Gifts by M. R. Carey
• Severance by Ling Ma