Criticism Is Dead

Latest Episodes:

Shadow and Bone, The Mosquito Coast, and Bennifer??!? May 04, 2021

Show notes

We discuss Shadow and Bone, about a Chosen One coming to terms with her deeply held secret, and The Mosquito Coast, about a patriarch fleeing his.

05:53 Shadow and Bone, out on Netflix, manages to fill a fun fantasy-sized void in the TV landscape, in spite of its lackluster heroine.

24:11 The Mosquito Coast, streaming weekly on Apple TV+, is a high-octane drama that has the potential (hopefully?) to produce a new antihero à la Walter White, Tony Soprano, etc.

44:05 Plus, culture notes about our favorite Boston boy and Miss J.Lo, reunited.

P.S. CORRECTION: Jenny said Top Chef 2006 in the opening, but that season was NOT from 2006, it was from 2010. My bad!!!

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Follow us on Twitter and Instagram. For extended show notes — including links that we reference, plus more — subscribe to our Substack. Inquiries, complaints, and recs for what to watch can go to criticismisdead@gmail.com.

Music: REEKAH

Artwork and design: Sara Macias and Andrew Liu

Find out more at https://criticism-is-dead.pinecast.co

Stowaway, The Other Two, and Oscars Apr 27, 2021

Show notes

We discuss Stowaway, a movie about surviving in space, and The Other Two, a show about surviving a pop star kid brother.

04:13 Stowaway, new to Netflix, is an unusual space film that is also a horror story about mathematics and employer negligence.

23:03 The Other Two, now streaming on HBO Max, is a comedy series about adults figuring out how best to ride a tween pop star's 15 minutes of fame.

35:51 Plus, culture notes about the Academy Awards, which have already happened, but not by the time we recorded this! Find out how good/bad we are at predicting things!

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Follow us on Twitter and Instagram. For extended show notes — including links that we reference, plus bonus bullshit — subscribe to our Substack. Inquiries, complaints, and recs for what to watch can go to criticismisdead@gmail.com.

Music: REEKAH

Artwork and design: Sara Macias and Andrew Liu

Find out more at https://criticism-is-dead.pinecast.co

The Circle, Warrior, and six months of CID! Apr 20, 2021

Show notes

We discuss The Circle and Warrior, two very different shows in which perception plays a big role.

02:17 The Circle (U.S.), Netflix's competition reality show about "influencers" and "catfish," is back — and season 2 is even better than the first.

17:04 Warrior, streaming on HBO Max, set primarily in 1870s San Francisco Chinatown, is a timely pick for the present age.

41:19 Plus, NOT culture notes, but instead, a brief celebration of six months of this podcast! We choose some top picks from the past half year and indulge in a little sentimentality.

Let us know what you want to see from us in the future: a Patreon(?), call-ins(??), a community chat(???), or whatever else.

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Music: REEKAH

Artwork and design: Sara Macias and Andrew Liu

Find out more at https://criticism-is-dead.pinecast.co

Made for Love feat. Alison Herman Apr 13, 2021

Show notes

We discuss Made for Love, the new HBO Max adaptation of Alissa Nutting's novel, about the wife of a tech billionaire who tries to escape their toxic 10-year marriage, only to find that he's everywhere she is.

It's dark, cynical, and dystopic — but also zany, absurd, and wry. Truly a work for the end of the world AKA our bleak future!!!!

We're joined by a special guest: the very smart and funny Alison Herman, who writes mostly about TV for the Ringer. Follow her on Twitter (@aherman2006) and read her review of _Made for Love_.

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Music: REEKAH

Artwork and design: Sara Macias and Andrew Liu

Find out more at https://criticism-is-dead.pinecast.co

Shiva Baby, Gentefied, and gender and breakout stars Apr 06, 2021

Show notes

We discuss the new film Shiva Baby and the series Gentefied, both about (in a way!) power, money, and who has those things.

02:25 Shiva Baby, available in some theaters and on demand, is about a college student/sugar baby stuck in a claustrophobic limbo at a shiva.

22:17 Gentefied, streaming on Netflix, is about three cousins and a grandpa trying to balance their dreams and their community in LA.

37:27 Plus, culture notes about Regé-Jean Page's departure from Bridgerton, and more broadly, about the rise of the romantic male breakout star compared to their female counterparts.

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Music: REEKAH

Artwork and design: Sara Macias and Andrew Liu

Find out more at https://criticism-is-dead.pinecast.co

Superstore, Abstract: "Ruth Carter, Costume Design," and Montero Mar 30, 2021

Show notes

We discuss Superstore, a rare kind of workplace drama, and Abstract's episode on a legendary costume designer.

04:02 Superstore, streaming on Hulu and Peacock, combines the fantasy of the warm work family with the reality of the minimum wage-earning working class under modern capitalism.

19:30 Abstract, a design docuseries on Netflix, dives deep into the world of Ruth E. Carter, Oscar-winning costume designer for films like Black Panther and Do the Right Thing. Mostly, we take this as an opportunity to talk about costume design in film and TV! (We'll include as many visuals as we can in our newsletter.)

34:59 Plus, culture notes on Lil Nas X's "Montero (Call Me By Your Name)" and overt depictions of queerness and sex as a revolutionary act.

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Music: REEKAH

Artwork and design: Sara Macias and Andrew Liu

Find out more at https://criticism-is-dead.pinecast.co

Ginny & Georgia, Rocks, and what is a Snyder's cut? Mar 23, 2021

Show notes

We discuss Ginny & Georgia and Rocks, two works that happen to be about the huge presence of a mother (or lack thereof) in the lives of a teen daughter.

03:47 Ginny & Georgia, a new Netflix series, is less interesting as a high school drama and more compelling as a story about the cycle of abuse and trauma. (That makes it sound more serious than it is, it's actually mostly an entertaining watch lol)

23:54 Rocks, also on Netflix, is a film about the warmth of teen girl friendship, the heartbreak of holding out for a mom who can't care for her children, and the terror of foster care and social services.

40:39 Plus, culture notes on WHAT IS A SNYDER'S CUT. Pelin explains to Jenny.

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Music: REEKAH

Artwork and design: Sara Macias and Andrew Liu

Find out more at https://criticism-is-dead.pinecast.co

The 40-Year-Old Version, Lingua Franca, and video rental stores Mar 16, 2021

Show notes

We discuss The 40-Year-Old Version and Lingua Franca, two films by multi-hyphenate talents with personal stories to tell.

04:14 The 40-Year-Old Version, streaming on Netflix, is about a Black playwright who was once considered a rising star, but is now struggling to create the art that she wants as she approaches her 40s.

24:26 Lingua Franca, also on Netflix, is about an undocumented trans Filipina caretaker whose attempts to fix her immigration status gets muddied once her client's adult grandson moves in.

42:15 Plus, culture notes about a TikTok of a video rental store replica that a couple built in their basement.

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Music: REEKAH

Artwork and design: Sara Macias and Andrew Liu

Find out more at https://criticism-is-dead.pinecast.co

Call My Agent!, The Head, and the end of WandaVision Mar 09, 2021

Show notes

We discuss Call My Agent!, a French love letter to show business, and The Head, an international South Pole murder mystery.

04:20 Call My Agent!, a series on Netflix, captures the allure and the fallacy of the "workplace family" fantasy, as framed through a talent agency in Paris.

20:28 The Head, a limited series on HBO Max, is a whodunit that's as much about how a group of people unravels as it is about who went on a killing spree.

35:00 Plus, culture notes about WandaVision finale discourse!

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Music: REEKAH

Artwork and design: Sara Macias and Andrew Liu

Find out more at https://criticism-is-dead.pinecast.co

I Care a Lot, It's a Sin, and #throwbackTUMBLR Mar 02, 2021

Show notes

We discuss I Care a Lot, a polarizing and deeply cynical(?) film, and It's a Sin, a limited series that's as tender as it is devastating.

04:42 I Care a Lot, streaming on Netflix, is ostensibly about a toxic white girlboss, but the extent to which the film is in on the joke is kinda hard to parse.

19:47 It's a Sin, out on HBO Max, is about coming of age in 1980s London, amid the AIDS crisis.

32:06 Plus, culture notes about the ways in which Tumblr has resurfaced in internet culture lately, including in a meme and in a Your Fave Is Problematic reveal.

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Music: REEKAH

Artwork and design: Sara Macias and Andrew Liu

Find out more at https://criticism-is-dead.pinecast.co

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