
Supercontext: an autopsy of media
A podcast autopsy of media: how we consume it and how it informs our everyday culture.
Latest episodes

Jan 3, 2020 • 1h 36min
Basquiat
This 1996 film is a purported biopic about a famous painter by another famous painter, Julian Schnabel. We ask whether the narrative this movie presents is an inaccurate portrayal of its subject because it exploits him or because the director is commenting on his own place within the world of fine art. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Basquiat Additional Resources: Jim Jarmusch Explains Why He Refuses To Watch Julian Schanbel’s ‘Basquiat’ Basquiat: Julian Schnabel's Radiant Child Julian Schnabel Asks Why White Filmmakers Shouldn't Tell a Story About a Person of Color “Basquiat” and the Art of the Biopic Basquiat SCHNABEL AND HIS DOUBLES by Charlie Finch "Basquiat' trivializes talented painter's life http://alienatedinvancouver.blogspot.com/2009/07/on-filmwork-of-john-lurie-interview.html “Time to Develop”

Dec 27, 2019 • 1h 27min
Repost of M.R. James, Ghost Stories of an Antiquary
This is a repost of a 2016 episode. In our 2016 holiday episode, we looked at the forgotten Christmas Eve tradition of telling ghost stories. M.R. James' work from over a hundred years ago best represents this Victorian trend, so in his honor we brought horror to academia and safe spaces. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Ghost Stories of an Antiquary Additional Resources: How Did Antiquarians Become Action Story Heroes? Ghost stories: why the Victorians were so spookily good at them Christmas Ghost Stories: The Ghost of Christmas Past Goes Further Back Than You Might Realize M. R. James' Ghost Stories Work Eerily Well in This Graphic Fiction Form Telling ghost stories is a lost tradition on Christmas Eve

Dec 20, 2019 • 1h 59min
Doctor Sleep by Stephen King
This 2013 novel is a sequel to The Shining. With guest Emily Lewis, we consider how King continues his own redemption arc through these stories about alcoholism and parenting. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Doctor Sleep Additional Resources: Stephen King in Person The author speaks, receives Mason Award at Fall for the Book. Stephen King, "The Shining" and the crapper Stephen King Q&A: The author explores the origins of The Shining and its sequel Doctor Sleep Kathryn Schulz on Doctor Sleep, Stephen King’s The Shining Sequel What Stephen King Isn’t Shine On

Dec 13, 2019 • 1h 41min
Exit, Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles
This 2018 comic series by Mark Russell and Mike Feehan reimagines the cartoon character as a gay playwright at odds with 1950s American politics. We examine Russell's writing goals while considering a critical debate about the book: is it formulaic award-bait or character-driven commentary on our present circumstances? Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Exit, Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles Additional Resources: ‘The Snagglepuss Chronicles’ is the best thing you’ll read all year. Seriously. EXIT STAGE LEFT: THE SNAGGLEPUSS CHRONICLES Takes Home 2019 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book Snagglepuss: Exit Stage Left Is a Brilliant Exploration of McCarthyism and the Lavender Scare The Snagglepuss Chronicles is the first great comic book of 2018 DC Reviving Hanna-Barbera's 'Snagglepuss' as Gay Playwright Snagglepuss, LGBT hero: Legendary Hanna-Barbera character reborn in new comic series Review in progress: Exit Stage Left — The Snagglepuss Chronicles Mark Morales Demystifies the Art of Inking Comics “Exit, Stage Left” | Books of 2019, #4 Queer Visibility: What SNAGGLEPUSS Could Teach Us About Resistance in 2018

Dec 6, 2019 • 1h 21min
Foolish by Superchunk
Thank you to our Co-producer patron Kevin Wetter for selecting this week's topic! This 1994 indie rock album means a lot to its fans as proof positive that you can survive a romantic breakup. We look at the small business that drove its creation and try to put ourselves in the shoes of the listeners who cherish it. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Foolish Additional Resources: Superchunk release acoustic version of ‘Foolish’ w/ Allison Crutchfield, Owen Pallett, more Brian Paulson Studio aesthetics Rank Your Records: Laura Ballance Ruthlessly Rates Superchunk’s Ten Albums Dusting ‘Em Off: Superchunk – Foolish CHUNKY STYLE The Guide to Getting into Superchunk

Nov 29, 2019 • 1h 59min
Aeon Flux
This animated series was an MTV oddity, televised between 1991 and 1994 in a blur of non-linear, ambiguous chunks. We talk about how creator Peter Chung got this made while inserting symbolic references to the limits of 1990's storytelling. We also wonder why we're so nostalgic for a simpler time when our entertainment was more nebulous and weird. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Aeon Flux Additional Resources: Aeon Flux: All You've Ever Needed From Sci-Fi SOUND Interview with Peter Chung The Peter Chung Interview!!!! Aeon Flux: An animated future from the past We Don’t Need Another Live-Action Aeon Flux Peter Chung On Aeon Flux Marin, R., & Gegax, T. T. (1995). Holy Akira! It’s Aeon Flux. Newsweek, 126(7), 68. http://scf.usc.edu/~huntleym/itp104/assignment6/mainpage.html CRAIG MATHIESON. (2006, June 23). Will the real Aeon Flux please stand up. Age, The (Melbourne), p. 9. Atkinson, M. (1996). Inside aeon. Film Comment, 32(1), 20.

Nov 22, 2019 • 1h 48min
Danny, The Champion of the World
This 1975 children's book by Roald Dahl is about class conflict and an idealized relationship between a child and their parent. We talk about Dahl's notoriously disagreeable personality while trying to reconcile it with this genuinely joyful story. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Danny, The Champion of the World Additional Resources: Roald Dahl. By: Kelleghan, Fiona, Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia, 2018 Danny the Champion of the World Summary & Study Guide The Ambiguities of Growing Up: Danny the Champion of the World https://www.roalddahl.com/roald-dahl/stories/a-e/danny-the-champion-of-the-world Words & pictures. Creative Review, 02621037, Mar2012, Vol. 32, Issue 3 THE CANDY MAN. By: Talbot, Margaret, New Yorker, 0028792X, 7/11/2005, Vol. 81, Issue 20 Roald Dahl. By: Lee, Stephan, Entertainment Weekly, 10490434, 10/10/2014, Issue 1332 Worlds of WONDER. By: DORN, JENNIFER, British Heritage, 01952633, May2014, Vol. 35, Issue 2 The first Roald Dahl approved BFG illustration is whizzpopping

Nov 15, 2019 • 2h 1min
Spinning by Tillie Walden
This 2017 graphic novel is a memoir about growing up, figure skating, and coming out of the closet. We talk about how Walden approached the project with guidance from her editor while we look at the comics industry as a whole and the tensions between the book market and the direct market. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Spinning Additional Resources: Tillie Walden on the Queer Characters and Emotional Turmoil of Her New Comic, I Love This Part “Everything I Had to Say about My Life Is in That Book”: An Interview with Tillie Walden How LGBT Ice Skating Graphic Novel 'Spinning' Defies Definition Tillie Walden: That In-Between State Spinning’s Tillie Walden on the Power of Pursuing and Ending Childhood Dreams Women make history, and receive overdue recognition, at 2018 Eisner Awards ‘Spinning’ is a heartfelt graphic novel about figure skating and teen life Surprising New Data Shows Comic Readers Are Leaving Superheroes Behind All-Ages Week: The Direct Market vs. The Book Market

Nov 8, 2019 • 1h 9min
Dirty Computer by Janelle Monáe
This 2018 concept album is about reckoning, celebrating, and reclaiming what it means to be American. We discuss how Monáe uses her platform to advocate for queer and black women while working with big record labels to also produce commercial success. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Dirty Computer Additional Resources: Janelle Monáe Bends More Than Gender In Two New Videos From 'Dirty Computer' Why Janelle Monae’s ‘Dirty Computer’ Film Is a Timely New Sci-Fi Masterpiece Why Janelle Monáe Put Her Music on Hold to Take Hollywood by Storm Prince apparently wrote the synth line on Janelle Monáe’s new single How Janelle Monáe Found Her Voice Janelle Monáe On Her Dirty, World-Dominating Year Unpacking the meaning of ‘Dirty Computer,’ in which Janelle Monáe finally gets to be herself Janelle Monáe on the meaning of "Dirty Computer" and what she promised her grandmother

Nov 1, 2019 • 1h 43min
Brian De Palma's Carrie
This is a special repost of the first episode of our Patreon-only series, SuperKINGcontext. Stephen King's first novel was adapted into this 1976 cautionary movie about adolescence, bullying, and female representation by a team of middle-aged men. How does the male gaze impact this story that is so often referred to as "feminist"? Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Carrie Additional Resources: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/apr/04/carrie-stephen-king-horror https://web.archive.org/web/20000510093031/http://www.briandepalma.net/carrie/carrint.htm http://www.vulture.com/2013/10/pj-soles-reminisces-about-the-original-carrie.html https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/nov/03/carrie-stephen-king-brian-de-palma-horror-films-feminism https://cinephiliabeyond.org/four-decades-later-brian-de-palmas-carrie-stands-one-capably-crafted-horror-films-time/ https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/10474858/Carrie-the-growing-pains-of-a-horror-classic.html https://sites.google.com/site/cultoddities/home/carrie/carrie-1976/press/sissy-spacek-interviews https://birthmoviesdeath.com/2016/11/03/carries-prom-scene-an-oral-history-part-one https://birthmoviesdeath.com/2016/11/04/carries-prom-scene-an-oral-history-part-two