Supercontext: an autopsy of media

It's our third annual Christmas ghost story episode and we're looking into this 2011 debut of the popular horror anthology series by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk. We discuss Murphy's mission, the show's popularity and its contrast of trashy excessive violence and sex, with themes of mainstream, heteronormative patriarchy. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: American Horror Story: Murder House Additional Resources: 'American Horror Story': Ryan Murphy talks premiere and Rubber Man -- EXCLUSIVE Ryan Murphy Talks American Horror Story Keetley, D. (2013). Stillborn: The Entropic Gothic of American Horror Story. Gothic Studies, 15(2), 89. Nussbaum, E. (2018). Mk. Big. New Yorker, 94(13), 52. 'American Horror Story': Ryan Murphy warns finale's brutal labor scene is 'the most shocking scene we've ever done' -- EXCLUSIVE Set Pieces: The haunted house of 'American Horror Story' Jamie Brewer of 'American Horror Story' Is First Woman With Down Syndrome to Star in Off-Broadway Play Interview with Jamie Brewer What Hollywood Can Learn From TV's Gayest Show Kim, Yaeri. "Only the First of Many": Repetition and Subversion in American Horror Story: Murder House, Feminist Studies in English Literature, Vol. 22, No. 3, 2014 Available from:"Only the First of Many": Repetition and Subversion in American Horror Story: Murder House [accessed Dec 16 2018]. Buyers of $3.2M 'Murder House' Haunted by 'American Horror Story' Fans, Lawsuit Says

This 3-disc debut by an accomplished saxophonist was universally acclaimed as a sea change in music. We discuss how Washington was influenced by friends, family, history and dreams, while trying to challenge his listeners with genre-defying sounds. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: The Epic Additional Resources: Meet Kamasi Washington, the High Priest of Sax Horn of plenty: Kamasi Washington's epic approach to jazz Interview: Kamasi Washington Talks About 'The Epic' Kamasi Washington Is Leading a Musical Revolution — and It's Time to Learn His Name CHANGING THE GUARD: THE EPIC JOURNEY OF KAMASI WASHINGTON Kamasi Washington Has Conquered the Jazz World. What Does He Do Next?

This long-form essay by one of the hosts of On the Media argues that our current sociopolitical conflicts stem from a dissolution of facts and reality. We look at Gladstone's manifesto for producing her radio show to unpack her project here, while considering her advice for bolstering our own personal realities. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: The Trouble With Reality Additional Resources: The Facts Must Matter: On "The Trouble with Reality" Gladstone's Book Answers The Question: What Ails Our Democracy? Q&A: Brooke Gladstone on the media, Trump, and truth Brooke Gladstone 'On The Media's' Brooke Gladstone on 'The Trouble with Reality' Interview: Journalist Brooke Gladstone And 'The Trouble With Reality' On The Media's Brooke Gladstone on the redefinition of truth in the Trump era Journalist Brooke Gladstone Explains The 'Trouble With Reality'

This 12-part comic series seems like a fan's homage to Carl Bark' Disney stories, but we uncover how the values of "hard work" within (and the corporate machinations of many publishers) led Rosa to quit making comics out of frustration and resentment. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck Additional Resources: Don Rosa on himself Don Rosa Collection IntroDUCKtion to the Life and Times of $crooge McDuck Going Quackers

This 1987 filmed monologue changed the way mainstream media considered autobiographical performance art. We discuss how Gray made the film with director Jonathan Demme and the emotional themes throughout that resonate after his suicide. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Swimming To Cambodia (film) Swimming To Cambodia (book) Additional Resources: Georgakas, D., & Porton, R. (1993). The art of autobiography. Cineaste, 19(4), 34. Through a Lens, Intently. By: Salomon, Andrew, Back Stage East, 19305966, 5/25/2006, Vol. 47, Issue 21 Johnson, B. D. (1992). The talking cure. Maclean's, 105(28), 44. FILM: SPALDING GRAY'S 'SWIMMING TO CAMBODIA' Swimming to Cambodia: A Channel for Spalding Gray's Seismic Prose Theatrical Cinema: How Stop Making Sense, Swimming to Cambodia, and Bronson Combined Two Art Forms The Mask Behind the Voice Everything You Need to Know About the Movie That Inspired "Parker Gail's Location is Everything" Demastes, W. (1989). Spalding Gray's "Swimming to Cambodia" and the Evolution of an Ironic Presence. Theatre Journal, 41(1), 75-94.

This influential 1979 album combined art education with working class political activism to play with the meaning of pop music. We discuss the production of the record and the band's conflicts (or lack thereof) with their record label and the BBC. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Entertainment! Additional Resources: Dettmar, K. J. H. (2014). Gang of Four's Entertainment! New York, NY: Bloomsbury Academic. Gang Of Four Track By Track Andy Gill meets Andy Gill Jerky, punky, funky Gang of Four Anthrax Hoover, M., & Stokes, L. (1998). Pop Music and the Limits of Cultural Critique: Gang of Four Shrinkwraps Entertainment. Popular Music & Society, 22(3), 21. Smith, M. R. (2005). So Sweet. Remix, 7(7), 106.

This horror comic by Grant Morrison, Chris Burnham and Nathan Fairbairn purports to act symbolically like our archetypes of myth. We ask whether it's successful in getting into our subconscious and if cosmic horror and lack of meaning even scare us anymore. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Nameless Additional Resources: Afterword in the collected NAMELESS 'Nameless' Was the Scariest Comic Book of 2015 Understanding Grant Morrison's "Nameless" Halloween Horror: Nameless by Grant Morrison, Chris Burnham and Nathan Fairbairn Kill Yr Gods: Reconnecting with Grant Morrison Through Nameless Brain Teeth / Endless Nameless Part 2: Macro Meaning vs Micro Meaning

We discuss Tom Hardy's television passion project and how he produced it with his father and a string of well-known storytellers. We also examine the show's symbolic demonization of corporations and what that says about historical accuracy and our present understanding of modern economics. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Taboo, Season One Additional Resources: Tom Hardy wins dream acting role - after convincing his dad to create it for him 'Taboo' will return to FX in 2018 BBC to break 'Taboo' with 'inaccurate' portrayal of East India Company FX's Taboo Offers a Realistic Portrayal of Monopoly Taboo writer Steven Knight plans at least two more series of the BBC1 drama Taboo's gunpowder plot: can you really make explosives from manure? Naysayers be damned! Tom Hardy's Taboo is a work of Wicker Man genius A Chat With Tom Hardy: Is His 'Taboo' Killer a True Shaman or 'Just F***ing Mad'? Everything you need to know about Taboo, the new BBC Tom Hardy drama TABOO: TOM HARDY EXPLAINS THE SUPERNATURAL SIDE OF THE PERIOD DRAMA

This fantasy/horror novel about prep school boys and magical authority came in the middle of the genre paperback boom. We talk about Straub's concerns when writing it and how he walked the line between horror and "literature," while responding to the market pressures on his publisher. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Shadowland Additional Resources: Tattered Tomes: Peter Straub's Shadowland, Revisited David S. Goyer Adapting 'Shadowland' Horror Novel As NBC Event Series Zaleski, J. (2003). The Uses of Horror. Publishers Weekly, 250(40), 45–49. AN INTRODUCTION: SHADOWLAND The Dick Cavett Show Horror Masters Stephen King, Romero, Straub, Levin 1980 Shadowland, by Putney Tyson Ridge AN INTRODUCTION SHADOWLAND Dancing Architecture an interview with Peter Straub Interview: Peter Straub

This movie had a tumultuous production, with constant fighting between writer Paddy Chayefsky and director Ken Russell. We discuss how their conflict influenced the end product... and the studios paying their bills. We also wonder if this movie unintentionally captures what we now refer to as toxic masculinity. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Altered States (film) Altered States (book) Additional Resources: Felperin, L. (2011). Russell pics marked by raw passion. Variety, 425(4), 7. Corliss, R. (1980). Invasion Of The Mind Snatcher. Time, 116(26), 58. Lanza, J. (2007). Phallic Frenzy : Ken Russell and His Films (Vol. 1st ed). Chicago, Ill: Independent Publishers Group. AT THE MOVIES; Ken Russell on 'Altered States' controversy. From Altered States to Altered Titles: A Close Analysis of the Title Sequence to Ken Russell's Altered States (1981) What We Mean When We Say, "Toxic Masculinity"