Supercontext: an autopsy of media

We try to unpack what little is known about this author, while providing a "succinct" description of the book. Along the way we discuss the publishing industry, book awards, obscenity, themes and the mythical reputation this tome has garnered over the years. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Gravity's Rainbow Inherent Vice The Crying of Lot 49 V. American Flagg Divided States of Hysteria Casanova Satellite Sam Moby-Dick The Illuminatus! Trilogy The Kills Field Notes Additional Resources: George Plimpton on Thomas Pynchon's V. V. Squared Pynchon from A to V Duncan, J. (2013). Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon. Salem Press Encyclopedia Of Literature. Muste, J. M., & Weisenburger, S. C. (2014). Thomas Pynchon. Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia. Herman, L., & Weisenburger, S. (2013). Gravity's Rainbow, Domination, and Freedom. Athens: University of Georgia Press. Pulitzer Jurors Dismayed on Pynchon Pulitzer.org Pulitzer People are no Prize Thomas Pynchon's letter to Bruce Allen L. McLaughlin, R., (2002). Unreadable Stares: Imperial Narratives and the Colonial Gaze in Gravity's Rainbow. Pynchon Notes. (50-51), pp.83–96. DOI: http://doi.org/10.16995/pn.72 Thomas Pynchon shows us how white writers can avoid appropriation Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow: The V-2 Rocket Cartel as Multinational Corporate Conspiracy Rocket Power

Does this film change the way we look at the world the same way its 1982 predecessor and Phillip K. Dick's original 1968 story did? We look at the aesthetics of this brutal dystopian vision and how it portrays women, fertility, power and agency... all while its financiers struggle with creative accounting to justify another sequel. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Blade Runner 2049 Blade Runner Fury Road Fluorescent Black (rare and way too expensive) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Confessions of a Dangerous Mind Additional Resources: Blade Runner 2049 director responds to critique of female characters Blade Runner 2049 Is a Worthy Heir to a Classic Sedate expectations: will Blade Runner 2049 give birth to the slow-burn blockbuster? why blade runner 2049 is a misogynistic mess Is Blade Runner 2049 sexist – or a fair depiction of a dystopian future? Blade Runner 2049 is an uneasy feminist parable about controlling the means of reproduction Blade Runner 2049 screenwriter Michael Green answers our burning questions Blade Runner 2 concept art first look 'Blade Runner 2049' Director Denis Villeneuve Says The Movie We're Getting Is The Director's Cut Dystopian Box Office Future: Why 'Blade Runner 2049' Is Hitting Turbulence With $31M+ Opening A body double, CGI skull, and secret filming sessions: Inside the yearlong process to bring this beloved character to the 'Blade Runner' sequel Behind the breathtaking visual effects of 'Blade Runner 2049' The Replicant: Inside the Dark Future of Blade Runner 2049

It's our Christmas episode and as is our tradition, we're covering a ghost story. While Deadman's comics may seem to be about an acrobat solving his own murder... we find out that it's also about censorship in the 1960s and collusion in the media industry. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Deadman: Book One Doom Patrol The Son of Satan The Devil's Rejects Think of the Children Additional Resources: Petit, Z. (2014). STUBBORN. AGGRESSIVE. POSITIVE. Print, 68(5), 18-21. How Neal Adams Plans to Bring 'Deadman' Back to Life The World's Strangest Writer: A Tribute to Arnold Drake Carmine Infantino, Reviver of Batman and Flash, Dies at 87

How do we respond to a pop music auteur who's been described as the "patron saint" of her generation? We look at her DIY production work ethic to find out. Additionally, we get very upset about how some try to sexualize, infantilize or demean her with criticism and even death threats. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Art Angels Hounds of Love To Bring You My Love Pretty Hate Machine nikki nack Additional Resources: losing people to drugs and alcohol is the worst Pop For Misfits Sound says most to Grimes Grimes In Reality Grimes Sounds Off on Sexism and Stereotypes

This Netflix program is about the early days of studying serial killers at the FBI. We look at David Fincher's meticulous storytelling here, as well as the show's attempts to disrupt the glorification of murder and the methodological portrayal of criminal profiling. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit By Reason of Insanity Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets Additional Resources: With film tax credits restored, city lands new drama from Netflix Defining deviancy: The clammy thrills of David Fincher's "Mindhunter" on Netflix Mindhunter Modeled This Character On A Female Psychologist & Living Legend Mindhunter Probes America's Obsession With Serial Killers There was a lot more CGI in Mindhunter than you'd think Mindhunter is Netflix's most binge-worthy show yet The Real FBI Agents and Serial Killers Who Inspired Netflix's Mindhunter "Mindhunter" and the Presentation of the Serial Killer in Everyday Life Nielsen Aims to Level Playing Field With New Netflix Ratings Can Criminal Profilers Really Get Inside the Head of a Killer?

In this essay, one of America's most beloved storytellers provides advice on consuming media, thinking critically about it and applying it to your own work. We get real personal while trying to figure out who our respective "muses" are. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Zen in the Art of Writing Grinderman The Art of Fiction The Courage to Create Danse Macabre Trilogy of Terror Texas Chainsaw Massacre Moana Field Notes (not a sponsor, yet, we just like them so much) Additional Resources: New Canaan Lost in the Stacks The Conversation of Civilization Ray Bradbury and Zen in the Art of Writing Researchers Study Effects of Social Media on Young Minds Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness and Creativity

This 2007 thriller divides a lot of people over whether it's good or bad. We try to take a high road and instead explore what the film says about us. Is it about ordinary monsters? Addiction? Or America's guilt about its own dark side? Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Mr. Brooks Seven Millennium Hannibal Field Notes (the notebooks, not a movie) Additional Resources: The Hunt For The Worst Movie Of All Time: Mr. Brooks Make It Stop: Mr. Brooks Bad Behavior Bruce A. Evans Dissects Mr. Brooks Mr. Brooks a Trilogy

David Byrne's self-titled album is a personal moment in his creative history, but do his lyrics have meaning? Or do they simply dredge up emotions for the listener? Also, how does an album that's this diverse have such a white, middle class identity associated with it? Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: David Byrne (1994) self-titled How Music Works David Byrne & St. Vincent – Love This Giant Owls The Lounge Lizards Additional Resources: David Byrne Needs to Open Up Again 1994 - David Byrne (from the Talking Heads website) David Byrne's head is talking on his wry, dreamy new album

Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman's novel about the comedy of Armageddon seems to be the very definition of "twee." We try to unpack what that concept means and how it contributes to the authors' humanist message. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch Cat's Cradle Breakfast of Champions Galapagos Guards! Guards! Additional Resources: The Twee Revolution Good Omens: How Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett wrote a book Humorous Humanist Armageddon: Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman's Good Omens What I'm Reading: Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch, by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

This television show may be an adaptation of a superhero property, but it's unlike anything we've seen before. It takes the collage aesthetics from unusual comic books and turns them into Noah Hawley's kaleidoscope of mental illness, 60s futurism and a good old fashioned love story. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Legion, Season One A Scanner, Darkly X-Men Legacy Additional Resources: Legion tells a human story without giving up its superpowers Legion, FX's new superhero show, is a landmark production in more ways than one The Cast of Legion Lied to Star Dan Stevens to Make the Show Better How David Bowie Inspired Aubrey Plaza's Gender-Bending Legion Character Why the production designer of new TV series Legion has a dream job 'Legion': Noah Hawley and Dan Stevens Unpack the Finale, Tease Season 2 John Landgraf Talks 'Legion' On FX & Changing Marketplace; Slams Silicon Valley TV pilot shoots in Vancouver grew nearly 70% since last year