Carrie and the "hurt people hurt people" Obsession

Thanks to MAINGEAR for speeding up everything for us. Check out the VYBE line that’s making up the core of Matt’s new studio -- and use code CREATE for a free additional year of warranty on desktops: https://maingear.com/ref/656/

Join Our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thecreateunknown

Today we dive into Mike Flanagan’s new Carrie adaptation, and the increasingly common storytelling instinct to explain every villain through trauma. Why has “hurt people hurt people” become such a popular narrative shortcut, and does understanding why someone does terrible things make them any less interesting as a character?

We compare the series with Stephen King’s original novel and other adaptations, then expand into East of Eden, and why Kevin argues that it fundamentally changed its source material by giving destructive characters trauma-based explanations for their behavior. If most people who experience trauma don't go on to hurt others, are these stories actually exploring human nature or just using backstory to excuse their villains?

From there, we get into what Carrie gets right and where it goes wrong. We praise its modernization of school bullying through social media, its supporting performances, and its early episodes, but question Carrie’s characterization, Margaret White’s inconsistent portrayal, and some of the stories' rushed pacing.

Finally, we try to untangle the series’ increasingly complicated supernatural mythology, including astral projection, mysterious organizations, and a finale that left us questioning who was actually responsible for the massacre.

Big thanks to our patrons, we’ll be back next week!

You love anime. You love tea. Get 10% off your order with code CREATE at The Dragon's Treasure: https://www.thedragonstreasure.com/

Buy our T-shirts: https://www.thecreateunknown.com/store/

Join our Discord to talk with artists, creators, and fans of the finer things in online life: discord.gg/vnRnr3rCzt

Apple: http://bit.ly/TheCreateUnknownApple

Spotify: http://bit.ly/TheCreateUnknownSpotify

Google Podcasts: http://bit.ly/TheCreateUnknownGooglePodcasts

CREDITS: 

Hosts: Kevin Lieber and Matt Tabor 

Executive Producer: Ben WebsterEditor: Spencer Vann

"Created in the Unknown" theme by Basswaite: https://linktr.ee/Basswaite  

Theme by Mega Drive → http://megadrivemusic.com  

Opening Animation: Kidmograph 

City Animation: Eric Langlay 

"The Create Unknown" is produced by Unknown Media. 

CONNECT WITH US: 

» Chat with us on DISCORD: https://discord.gg/qAQV3Jw  

» Follow us on TWITTER: http://twitter.com/createunknown  

» Follow us on INSTAGRAM: http://instagram.com/thecreateunknown  

» Follow us on FACEBOOK: http://facebook.com/thecreateunknown  

» View our website: https://thecreateunknown.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices