The Culture Gabfest “Precision of Language” Edition
Slate’s Culture Gabfest on The Giver, ironic misandry, and movie soundtracks.
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On this week’s episode, Julia, Dana, and Slate culture editor Dan Kois talk about the new movie adaptation of Lois Lowry’s dystopian schoolroom-staple The Giver. Can Jeff Bridges’ version outshine the Hunger Games juggernaut, or is The Giver’s anti-conformist message too outdated to be interesting? Next up, Slate’s own Amanda Hess has identified an interesting seam of Internet conversation: ironic misandry. Can a political joke ever truly be funny? Can a funny joke ever be effectively political? The gabbers decide whether or not to drink the male tears Kool-Aid. Finally, given the massive success of the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack, a conversation is in order: Our critics pronounce on great soundtrack albums, the marriages of celluloid and song you should know and love.
Links to some of the things we discussed this week follow:
- Lois Lowry’s The Giver Quartet
- L.V. Anderson’s review of the movie adaptation on Slate
- George Orwell’s 1984
- The Hunger Games movie trilogy
- Amanda Hess’ piece on the rise of ironic misandry on Slate
- Mallory Ortberg’s Lullabies for Misandrists on The Toast
- Women Ignoring Men as Art on The Toast
- Chris Wade takes down Awesome Mixtape Vol. 1
- A few of the gabbers’ favorite soundtracks:
- Morvern Callar
- Pulp Fiction
- Dirty Dancing
- Diner
- Boogie Nights
- Velvet Goldmine
- Adventureland
- Bottle Rocket
- The Breakfast Club
- Pretty in Pink
Endorsements:
Julia: Meryl Streep singing Shel Silverstein’s “I’m Checking Out” in Postcards From the Edge.
Dan: The Magician’s Land, the third installment of Lev Grossman’s Magicians Trilogy.
Dana: 1983’s Valley Girl, starring Nicolas Cage and Deborah Foreman.
(Almost) every product recommended on every Slate podcast since the dawn of creation.
Outro: The Streep edition of “I’m Checking Out.”
You can email us at culturefest@slate.com.
This podcast was produced by Ann Heppermann. Our intern is Josephine Livingstone.
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