Material Girls

Latest Episodes:

Material Concerns: Jurassic Park Pt. I Sep 17, 2024

Show notes

You had so many great questions about Hannah's forthcoming book, Clever Girl and our Jurassic Park episode all about spectacle —and we answer a lot of them in part one of this Material Concerns episode! As a reminder, for just $5 USD/month you'll get part two, our extensive backlog, ad-free episodes, and oh so much more!

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Jurassic Park x Spectacle Sep 03, 2024

Show notes

In this episode, Hannah and Marcelle discuss what made Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park (1993) the ultimate CGI summer blockbuster, the history of American spectacle, and the monstrosity of the movie's out-of-control lady dinosaurs! Hannah leads this episode and if you're left wanting more, we have great news: their forthcoming book, Clever Girl: Jurassic Park, is available for preorder right now! Clever Girl "is a smart and incisive exploration of everyone’s favorite dinosaur movie and the female dinosaurs who embody what it means to be angry, monstrous, and free." Classic Hannah!!!!

And do you want even better news? The whole Witch, Please Productions team is gathering this October to celebrate Hannah's book at Coach's beloved childhood bookstore, Women & Children First! Join us on October 11th at 7 pm CST to hear Hannah in conversation with Marcelle about Clever Girl! We want to see you! Come join us!

Clever Girl: https://ecwpress.com/products/clever-girl-jurassic-park-pop-classics

Save the Date:https://www.womenandchildrenfirst.com/event/person-event-clever-girl-hannah-mcgregor

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You can learn more about Material Girls at ohwitchplease.ca and on our instagram at instagram.com/ohwitchplease! Want more from us? Check out our website ohwitchplease.ca. We'll be back next week with a bonus episode, but until then, we mean it — go check out all the other content we have on our Patreon at Patreon.com/ohwitchplease! Patreon is HOW WE PAY OUR TEAM! We need your support to make the show. Thanks again to all of you who have already made the leap to join us on Patreon.

Material Girls is a show that aims to make sense of the zeitgeist through materialist critique* and critical theory! Each episode looks at a unique object of study (something popular now or from back in the day) and over the course of three distinct segments, Hannah and Marcelle apply their academic expertise to the topic at hand.

*Materialist Critique is, at its simplest possible level, a form of cultural critique – that is, scholarly engagement with a cultural text of some kind – that is interested in modes of production, moments of reception, and the historical and ideological contexts for both. Materialist critique is really interested in the question of why a particular cultural work or practice emerged at a particular moment.

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Material Concerns: Why Is the Team So Hot & Other Important Questions Aug 20, 2024

Show notes

We continue our summer slowdown with a new Material Concerns episode once again featuring answers to YOUR questions. Marcelle is in Ontario for a family TRIP (not a vacation because kids are present!!) and Hannah is recovering from travels east!

In this episode, they answer your hard hitting questions like "why is your team so hot!!!!?" Part two of this conversation will be available at all our tiers on Patreon on Thursday! For just $5 USD/month you'll get to hear Marcelle and Hannah discuss more about Reservation Dogs and what's goin on in their lives!

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Music Credits:

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Reservation Dogs x Production Sovereignty with Karrmen Crey Aug 06, 2024

Show notes

We're so thrilled to be joined by the incredible Karrmen Crey (she/her) for this episode about FX's coming-of-age dramedy, Reservation Dogs! Released via Hulu from 2021-2023, this show is notable not only for its rich storytelling and beloved protagonists (shoutout to Bear, Cheese, Elora, and Willie Jack!), but also for its entirely Indigenous creative team from the creators to the cast and crew. In this episode, Marcelle (who is a huge fan of the show) offers some insight into how Reservation Dogs came to be. We're talking co-creators Sterlin Harjo and Taiki Waititi, the success of Thor: Ragnarok, and the influence of both The Sundance Film Festival and Toronto’s imagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival. Karrmen then helps Marcelle and Hannah think through Indigenous sovereignty in the context of cultural production, pulling on her own research about the rise and influence of Indigenous media. And then, FINALLY, Marcelle, Hannah and Karrmen talk about specific episodes and characters that mean something to each of them. If you haven't watched the show already, you'll still get a ton out of this episode that really breaks down the material effects of representation created by the represented.

Karrmen Crey is an Associate Professor in the School of Communication at Simon Fraser University. To learn more about her work, check out Producing Sovereignty: The Rise of Indigenous Media in Canada, available now!

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Material Concerns (Live!): Theory, Heart Flutters and Coach On Mic Pt. I Jul 23, 2024

Show notes

Welcome back to another Material Concerns episode! We recorded this episode live for all our Patreon supporters so you'll notice there's a slightly different vibe; namely, Coach is on mic! We talk theory, past episodes, what's making our hearts flutter these days, and more. If you want more, tune into Part II, all about the second half of Bridgerton Season Three, through our Patreon. Become a paid supporter at any tier and you'll get access to the video and to the audio!

We'll be back in two weeks with a regular episode! Until then, xo!

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Tupperware Parties x Cruel Optimism Jul 09, 2024

Show notes

Have you ever been to a Tupperware party? Or perhaps a Pure Romance party? Avon? Then you may be familiar with pyramid schemes! In this episode, Marcelle guides Hannah through the history of Tupperware parties and their rising popularity post WWII. She then offers some Lauren Berlant theory (which always makes for a good episode!!); specifically, their concept of "cruel optimism." If that sounds familiar, it's because we first visited this theory in our Queer Eye episode. Enjoy the episode and become a Patreon supporter today to attend our LIVE episode recording on July 12th at 5 pm EST!

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Material Concerns: Dirty Dancing, Bridgerton and Summer Camp Pt. I Jun 25, 2024

Show notes

We continue our summer slowdown with a new Material Concerns episode featuring answers to YOUR questions. As a reminder, we're still releasing episodes every two weeks, but every other episode will be a Material Concerns episode; an unscripted, more casual conversation between Marcelle and Hannah. In this episode, they talk about how Dirty Dancing, summer camp, Bridgerton, the female gaze and so much more. If you enjoy the episode, head over to Patreon.com/ohwitchplease for Part II! The rest of the conversation is available at all our tiers. For just $5 USD/month you'll get to hear Marcelle and Hannah discuss a bit more about Bridgerton.

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The Last of Us x Adaptation Theory Jun 11, 2024

Show notes

In this episode, we're talking about the HBO series The Last of Us, which was adapted from the popular video game of the same name! If you like the show, zombie content, playing video games, or thinking about how art gets transcoded across mediums, then this episode is for you! AND if you don't know what transcoding means, then this episode will really knock your socks off because Marcelle does a great job defining the word — as well as adaptation itself! Together, Hannah and Marcelle consider the process of adaptation and the intertextuality between original content and its adaptation(s). Of course, for all you Last of Us fans, they also talk about Long, Long Time — aka the Bill and Frank episode. And without spoilers!

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Material Concerns: Summer Slowdown Pt. I May 28, 2024

Show notes

We're starting a summer slowdown! That means we're still releasing episodes every two weeks, but every other episode will be a Material Concerns episode; an unscripted, more casual conversation between Marcelle and Hannah. They'll talk about how they're doing, what they're up to, research they didn't get to in "regular" episodes, content they're consuming and more! In this Material Concerns episode they give personal updates and chat about the other shows we have going on at Witch, Please Productions. If you enjoy the episode, head over to Patreon.com/ohwitchplease for Part II! The rest of the conversation is available at all our tiers. For just $5 USD/month you'll get to hear Marcelle and Hannah discuss The Tortured Poets Department. If you want to read Marcelle's hot take about Taylor's newest album, head to ohwitchplease.substack.com!

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Dirty Dancing x Nostalgia with Andrea Warner May 14, 2024

Show notes

In this episode, Marcelle and Hannah are joined by Andrea Warner (she/her), the author of The Time of My Life, an exploration of Dirty Dancing as a deeply feminist film. We begin with a conversation about sexy films that made our younger selves all hot and bothered before heading into the segment "Why This? Why Now?" Hannah guides us through the difficulty that writer and producer Eleanor Bergstein faced in getting this movie made and distributed. We talk Reagan, Roe v. Wade, and nostalgia for the 1960s. Hannah then introduces us to American literary critic Fredric Jameson, cultural historian Bill Osgerby, and Russian-American cultural critic Svetlana Boym. Together, Hannah, Marcelle and Andrea parse through their respective work about postmodernism, nostalgia, late capitalism and the construction of history to get a better understanding of why Dirty Dancing is such a compelling film. We end the episode with a discussion of the appropriation of Black music in the movie, the power dynamics within Baby and Johnny's romance and the unique representations of mutual aid.

If you love Dirty Dancing, join the club (with Hannah and Andrea)! If you haven't seen it, you get to be in a club with Marcelle. FOR NOW (we will get her to watch it!).

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