Berri's Couch

Back on our bollocks to discuss the characters from a piece of media we've already discussed. Verna just flies into the narrative and haunts us so we must attempt to grasp at what she is or at least what we can interpret of her. *Insert obligatory Poe reference here*

We are finally unearthing the problem with depicting beauty standards through a historical lens. We have discussions of Shakespeare, the Tudors, Borgias and the great poet of the times Sir Mix-a-lot.

Get in loser we're talking about makeovers and how they are secretly a trope that enforces classism, unjust beauty standards and the idea that changing yourself for male validation is a good thing. Sounds fun right!

All right we are back on track, with a discussion about visual media and it's reliance using forced physical differences to denote morality and the problems it has run into doing that. We cover such franchises as Bond, Batman, The Witches, and even Fury Road.

All right nice easy, non controversial topic change. Beauty standards throughout various media and we start with the classic of classics. Literature and oral stories. With a nice sprinkling of Grimm slander we try and track the narrative creation of many beauty standards, why it exists and the problems they have started.Apologies for the rain sounds we had no control over that.

Now we wrap this up with a final check on the list of subtypes of chosen one's. Chosen by foe, peers, and the meta at large thus the committee meets to determine importance. We even have Ferris Bueller on the agenda.

The bloodline has chosen someone to do something, when? We don't know. Who? We don't know. Is it ever really clear or is it just vague nonsense to justify propaganda of incumbent royals? Well yes and no.

All right a higher power as demanded we cover this subset first, and not just because it's arguably the oldest rendition. A higher power commands the narrative and what comes from it biblical stories, Berserk, A Song of Ice and Fire, Fear and Hunger, and many many more. How do they all hold up to their interpretations and story structure of perhaps the oldest part of human stories?

All right let's try doing this from the top. A chosen one is an old trope but the intricacies are worth a brief exploration, before we dive deeper into the very particular types of chosen one's.

And now to end the month we actually get into the weeds of definitions and why we chose to focus on the media we focussed on. The heavily venn-diagramed (no I don't care that that's not a proper adjective) world of animal based fiction gets an attempt to untangle the sub genres and their benefits and negatives when telling stories.

We're re-visitng the Watership Down warren as they are next on the graph of critters to human nature. There is a bigger focus on why these decisions were used and why some of the choices end up reflecting humanity in a way that only animals can.

Now to get more critter-y as we look into Burrow's End as it's tale of fascism, rebellion, family trauma and survival. An actual play story that continues the weaving of human morality vs critters and their behaviours into a fun watch that we happily delve into.

Now in a more eclectic discussion about critter media we look at an actual play dnd campaign and why it works that the characters are critters, why we enjoyed these characters and their adventures, and most importantly why reskinning spells can be some of the greatest bits of comedy in a players arsenal.

The classic tale of siege warfare amongst various rodents in the English countryside that launched many copycats and got some children into reading. What is it about the first book in a massive series that captured the imagination of so many so quickly? And can it hold up without the fuzzy feelings of nostalgia.

Well this the end, the show stopping number to cap off the Hatchetfield series as a whole. A satirical take on weak gender swaps, a small town murder, and the continued trend of characters getting proved right in their world view that ends in much more blood than it probably should. We discuss the work itself, a type of story being utilised and it's pitfalls therein, and finally theories based on lore.

The final of the main trilogy of musicals about this weird little island town and it's multiple timeline goings on. We're going back to school where they may be a god of some sort, there are definitely nerdy prudes and there's murder singing. Who doesn't love a throwback with modern twists?

We return to Hatchetfield, in a different time, but with some familiar faces. However they aren't the focus of this musical (not sure they know what should be but eh) rather the loss of sense to capitalistic desires to fill the emptiness we feel inside with a dash of Lovecraftian elder one's seeking the end of days.

An indie theatre production company doing a horror-comedy musical set in the tropes and character styling's of the body snatcher sub-genre, leads to a trilogy of genre bending musicals? Yes it does. We're starting our look at Starkid's Hatchetfield series with the one that started it all, The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals.

The Crow defined so much of the Goth subculture and their presentation to the wider world, we have a look at the movie, it's effect on pop culture and all of it's little hatchlings that came forward after this hit the public.

Okay so know we have the lasting horror icon of a small boy in a silly hat. No seriously this movie has effected things in ways we were both prepared and unprepared for. The tracking of understanding of certain biblical passages and misunderstanding/misattributions all trace back to here.

It's a classic, it's referenced everywhere, you know it but you don't. It's Casablanca. We start to look at film's that altered the pop culture landscape with one that both gets it's flowers but also doesn't. So let's look at THE classic and see what's going on and how it shaped us even now.

All right so the long awaited (?) continuation of the saga that started with Caesar and now comes to Noa. A film that divided fans in that is either a great evolution of what was started before or a complete betrayal. But where do we land? Listen and find out.

We made it to the end of the trilogy no one expected to succeed but did and captured the hearts and minds of many but can it end on a good note? How does Matt Reeves intend on closing out a story people don't want to end? LIKE A FUCKING CHAMP IS HOW! It's another long one but we can't not talk about the meta textual readings and the characters while keeping it brief.

These movie titles get wordy so shall we. We got A LOT to say on the unexpected sequel movie, including a new criteria for directors going forward, new characters, and how on a metatextual analysis Caesar continues his journey through the Moses/King Arthur mythos as both character points and how society has added to the character archetype.

We going back to 2011 for the hit film Rise of the Planet of the Apes. How does a film balance being a restart, a prequel and technically midquel, an origin for some and more importantly a film that washes the taste of a terrible film away? Pretty well with these damn dirty apes, it's deeper than one would expect and took us places some of us didn't expect at all.

Well we finish the month with not only a sequel but a mid point for Jason Statham player of autistic hyper fixation (violence) men and their adventures of water and revenge. In reflection we have the best and worst of this month wrapped up in a movie that should have gone through at least one rewrite and would have been made infinitely more tolerable with one minor change.

Well that's a film that we certainly watched. The 2006 film that was clearly liked well enough that it got a sequel but in all honesty, what the hell did we watch? A film of it's day that sparks comparisons to Boondock Saints, and talks of Jonah Hex and RIPD (derogatory).

Welp we got a classic vintage Statham doing Statham action directed by the director of Fifth Element. It has everything, oily action, visible night shots and Statham on a beach. what else could we ask for?

All right time to shake off the coffin dust and get into beekeeping. By kicking the hornets nest that is a David Ayer directed movie staring the iconic action man, Jason Statham. A revenge film about taking down internet scammers who prey on the elderly, what could we possibly have to complain about? Please refer tot he director if you want the TLDR.

We got a season 2 of the world's messiest divorce drama, strap in for the emotional weight of reuniting with a partner you lost a kid with. The pain of reliving trauma to uncover the true events and how staying in the warped memories while comforting may not be the healthiest for everyone. We're back baby for round 2 of the most emotionally resonant vampires and their trauma births ruining everyone's lives .

And we're not touching the movie at all on this well trodden path (outside of comparisons because duh) as we discuss one of the most well known metaphors and allegories in vampire stories. What does the TV series bring to a decades old reading while staying truthful to the vision and changing so many details? Grief and it's memory are all on the table to discuss, so let's take a bite of it.

Most recent vampire movie gives us the most relevant and up to date interpretation of a vampire and their place in the world. We try our best not to just sit there and gush over the movie but rather stay focussed on vampiric interpretation and the art that can only exist from lived culture.

TW - Talks of addiction throughoutA child abducted is secretly a vampire and has chosen to play with her food. No symbolism or metaphor here right? Wrong! A little ballerina is in fact an exploration of the parasite that is addiction and how it effects each of the characters with a little dash of parenthood thrown in for good measure.

Vampires can mean different things in different stories and we start by looking at a modern take on a classic film and reading. Robert Egger's Nosferatu reinforced the fear of plagues, men in medical fields, and the effect of repression. Or at least that's what we are willing to explain.

And we can finally put a wrap on this month that really dragged us through the emotional ringer with a review of the importance of support networks through the character of Fizzarolli. The only one in this month so far to actually break free of his toxic mentor, performance perfectionism and not have to be drugged and cut off his own limbs to do it.

Well we're seated and ready to savour the flavour of the final dish in one's man pursuit of perfection in food. All while we discuss the relationship between the creative and audience, the nature of requiring external validation to get your art seen, and the futility of it all.

Oh boy you thought Black Swan was a mess just wait. A Netflix release that made ripples (at best) upon its release that clearly had aspirations of being important and talked about by viewers. Which in a way it did achieve, but was it worth it?

Ooooooooooooooooh boy the notorious confusing ballet movie I'm sure that there was no issues with the scenes and capacity to follow along with at least one of our hosts. Jokes aside we try to sift through the many ideas to discuss how well Black Swan dances on the stage of showing the dangers of perfection.

Look we willing dug up trauma during this movie and we're gonna talk about it. The movie that is, and a bit of the trauma for context. The first of many trips we're gonna do into the idea and destruction of seeking perfection in an art form, figured we'd best start with some thing jazz-y and a tad more approachable.

So this franchise happened and we must discuss how and why it happened. Why of all franchises to buck the trend of getting worse with each sequel was it this? Come let's look back on this hecking thing and try to explain this phenomenon in the Dreamworks canon.

At the end of the road we finally finish out this trilogy of films with as boyband reunion. A film tied into a nostalgia that the market group would not have and mixed with songs that technically exist. Join us as we escape this brightly coloured felt world and all its new and horrifying additions to its own lore.

So this was unexpected in sop many ways, an actual good, enjoyable and dare we say rewatchable. Trust us we were just as shocked but this film actually has something you just need to trust us and go on this road trip with us.

So in a scientific way we try to understand what the hell went on to make these movies a franchise and whether or not they are a subject of bad marketing, bad film making or just being for a much younger crowd than the regular movie going audience.

Well this one wasn't at all an odd jump in for us. I mean a sequel show to something that ended when we were only 2, how were we not meant to just be able to understand everything happening immediately upon starting. So in the rare moment of us being much closer to the everyman we sat down and watched the most recent X-men animated show.

If one must have an introduction to the X-men let it be this classic from the early 2000's, bias is strong and determined but can the show hold up to modern eyes? How does X-men Evolution hold up to it's own internal changes? Does it suffer the way the films do? All that and more...but mostly that.

Please forgive the dead air from 58:33 - 58:50 apologists for these movies killed the device for fear of the truth. That these two movies do not hold up. While they achieved their goal of removing one of the worst films from canon their multitude of sin both their own and from their predecessors cannot be overlooked anymore.

The films that laid foundational blocks in pop culture, particularly comic book movies of the post 2000's are getting dragged up and re-examined. The line of sins and virtues starts here for most people so let's take a trip to the "not so distant future" as seen by the past.

IT'S FIGHT NIGHT!!!! In literary theory we (Jerri) breakdown how due to Twilight becoming a series instead of single novel became an allegory for the idea of Catholics vs Mormons who wins. Guilt squares off with perpetually smiling victim complex, robes and opulence vs beige shirt and sensible pants. The essay that never was is now given form and without the terror of possible gradings.

Strap in spider monkey's we're finally delving into the great topic that could have been university essays. Twilight the grand origin of the young adult genre and its use as propaganda for the Mormon faith. Whoohoo!

Well this isn't going to lead anywhere possibly dangerous for opinions. As we run through how images of faith became the accepted norm, and in many ways deemed the correct interpretation of words from an old ass book with multiple translations. Yet as society moves on what explorations have been brought forth and how accurate is our common understanding of said words and images from the book?