Loud Murmurs is a podcast dedicated to a thoroughly modern interpretation of pop culture, brought to you by four bilingual and multicultural women (and their friends) who are (unapologetically) loud and have lots of opinions. In our episodes, we'll discuss movies, television, and everything in betwe…
Listeners of Loud Murmurs 小声喧哗 that love the show mention: chinese.
Hello Everyone,We will no longer be updating Loud Murmurs. Due to some very personal changes that happened recently, we decided to pull the plug on Loud Murmurs and sincerely hope that everyone can respect our decision. Given the sudden nature of this announcement, we will keep our RSS feed up for another week. If you like a certain episode, feel free to download it onto your own devices within this timeframe. We ask that you respect our decision to shut down the podcast and not repost our content anywhere. In addition to shutting down our RSS feed, we will delete our social media presence in the coming weeks. Our Patreon and Aifadian will be closed as well. We want to thank you for all of your time and support in the past 4 years. We couldn't have done it without you. While this podcast will no longer exist, our obsessions with movies and TV shows remain. The Internet is big: in the vast universe that is millennials-making-podcasts, watch out for a similar frequency out there. When you do, catch it. Always, Loud MurmursSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
In our annual holiday special, our four hosts (minus Diaodiao) and our editor Joshua look back on our favorite LMM episodes, as well as TV shows and movies that made us laugh, made us think, and got us through the year. 2:47 Afra's favorite: time travel trilogy (part I, II, III)4:07 Ina's favorite: ‘Sound of Metal' (part I and II) and a window into the deaf and hard of hearing community (and their representation in pop culture, e.g. The Bachelor) 8:20 Joshua's favorite: 'Shang Chi' (episode here)11:57 Juan's favorite: We are all 'Minari' 21:48 Afra discusses ‘Spencer'36:25 Ina discusses her favorite shows of the year: ‘Succession' (worry not, we are making an episode on it)，HBO's ‘Sex Life of College Girls' and the girls' authentic friendship; wholesomeness of ‘Great British Bake-off'; ‘Ted Lasso'; ‘Hospital Playlist' (embracing the urban friendships that have become family)41:52 Joshua discusses his favorite from this year: creating characters and writing your own plot with TTRPG48:15 Juan and Ina finally learn to appreciate audiobooks via: ‘How much of these hills are gold', ‘The Cult of We', ‘Empire of Pain'55:37 Listener voice memos (thank you to those who submitted and thank you all for the support) [Audio editor]Joshua Ogden-Davis[Links & resources]Cathy Park Hong, “Minor Feelings”Michelle Zauner (singer Japanese Breakfast), “Crying in HMart”Jay Caspian King, “The Loneliest Americans”C Pam Zhang, ”How much of these hills are gold“Eliot Brown, Maureen Farrell“The Cult of We: WeWork, Adam Neumann, and the Great Startup Delusion ”Patrick Radden Keefe, “Empire of Pain”Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs. Reach out to us at loudmurmursfm@gmail.com for any business inquiries. Find Loud Murmurs in the iTunes podcast store, Google Play, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts (e.g. Pocket Casts, Overcast)! Please subscribe, enjoy, and feel free to drop us a note and leave us a review. RSS feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/258327.rss Itunes: https://apple.co/2VAVf0Z Google play: goo.gl/KjRYPN Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IWNuRB Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=544416&refid=stpr Pocket Cast: http://pca.st/nLid Overcast: https://bit.ly/2SL7MNJ Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
[Episode theme]Loud Murmurs is finally boarding the Dune train. We invited interpreter William White and our listener and ecology PhD Luojun Yang to join the four hosts. We dive into a couple of themes, like the significance of imagining a feudalistic society in the far far future, the technological developments of a post-Butlerian Jihad world, the socio-historical background of Frank Hubert's novel, spice harvesting and our relationship with natural resources, the white savior complex and colonialism embedded in the book and movie, and last but not least, why we want to see more characters like Jessica. This episode is brought to you by NEIWAI, a lifestyle brand that aspires to create lingerie & loungewear that free wearers' bodies and minds. NEIWAI celebrates women everywhere and strives to be a constant companion on every adventure in their life – in every precious moment. Our hosts are users of their products and we talk about our experience in the middle of this episode. Use our code LMM20 for 20% off NEIWAI products, or shop via this link. [Timecode]4:53 First impressions of Dune: “I'm one with the music”, “isn't this just a trailer?”, “this is just the beginning”11:05 Denis Villeneuve versus David Lynch's version 13:05 The World of Dune: feudalism in a futuristic world, the Butlerian Jihad and why there aren't smart phones in this world15:52 soft versus hard Sci-Fi16:45 if this story didn't include aliens, would we still think it's Sci-Fi? 18:10 Counter culture movement — socio-historical background of Frank Hubert's Dune 20:56 the dual meaning of spice: hallucinogen and valuable resource (not unlike fossil fuel 22:26 harvesting spice and how it relates to environmental crises stemmed from exploitation of resources 24:51 we want to see more narratives that explore the human-nature relationship as climate change is becoming more urgent 27:34 the course of resources and how Hubert's approach to ecology is very human-centered 31:08 AD TIME: our four hosts talk about our experiences with NEIWAI products and how “one size fits all” reduces body/cup size anxiety. Use LMM20 for 20% off your purchase or shop via this link. 37:34 white savior complex, colonialism, and cultural appropriation in Dune 42:52 culture adaptation in the original novel45:15 how the movie treated the Fremens, Lawrence of Arabia, and Paul's fate as a white savior 48:28 William White sharing his personal experience growing up in a pop culture they glorified the white savior narrative 51:32 strong female characters in Dune — Jessica, and how her portrayal differs in the David Lynch version55:44 David Lynch's Dune and it's homophobic elements 57:10 the portrayal of the Baron in the two versions59:02 strong female characters in Dune: Chani 1:02:17 what's the value of Dune being made into a movie in 2021 [Host]DiaodiaoInaAfraJuan[Guests]白威廉 (William White)Luojun Yang[Audio editor]Josh Ogden-Davis[Be our sponsor]Please consider supporting us on Patreon.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
[Episode theme]Who's the real bad art friend? Well, it depends on who you ask. Our hosts each share their own perspectives on the hottest Internet discourse and dive into a myriad of related topics. [Timecode]2:57 what is the NYT Magazine's “Who is the Bad Art Friend” really about6:30 Diaodiao's perspective: it's about the power dynamics behind an act of kindness11:00 Afra's perspective: the story highlights the gap between the societal impact and the literary nature of a work of fiction; Sonya Larson's “The Kindest” portrays highly imperfect characters' stories. 14:00 Ina's perspective: her bias against Dawn (a white female author) influenced her viewpoint and reading experience, but ultimately agrees donating a kidney is the ultimate act of kindness-18:00 Juan's perspective: this is a story about beating someone when they're already down, stresses Dawn's identity as a yet-to-be-published author and Larson's identity as a writer; Larson's prejudice and othering of Dawn shouldn't be excused by the reason of creating a work of art26:30 Additional context behind live donors for donating organs and how this context changes our thoughts33:30 In the ultra-connected social media environment of today, what privileges are afforded to those who are kind? Is it bad to doubt the motive behind an act of kindness? Perhaps. 35:33 How did this story become a story about “two female authors pitting themselves against each other”？ How are “Cat Fights” and “mean girls” influencing our behavior and becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy? How are female authors repressed in the publishing and writing world? 46:00 POCs being hyper-aware of white feminism and its faults 49:00 The context around American society and politics that the Chinese Internet discourse missed 1:02:00 - An original song! Bonus easter egg!Original song by our editor Joshua Ogden-Davis Well I gave away my kidney but my friends don't even careI said I gave away my WHOLE kidney and my friends don't seem to care an appropriate amountBut I know up in heaven White Jesus is saving me a chairWell I plagiarized a rando but she says she knows meWell I plagiarized this rando and she says she knows meBut she ain't cool enough for the group chat so she ain't get no apology[Hosts]Diaodiao, Ina, Afra, Juan[Audio editor]Joshua Ogden-Davis[Be our sponsor]Please consider supporting us on Patreon (in USD, suitable for listeners who live in the U.S.): https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs. Please consider supporting us on Patreon (in RMB)：https://afdian.net/p/e0a54e82ebd111e9bd2d52540025c377【Business collab】Please reach out to us at loudmurmursfm@gmail.com for any business inquiries. 【Listen to LMM】Find Loud Murmurs in the iTunes podcast store, Google Play, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts (e.g. Pocket Casts, Overcast)! Please subscribe, enjoy, and feel free to drop us a note and leave us a review. RSS feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/258327.rss Itunes: https://apple.co/2VAVf0Z Google play: goo.gl/KjRYPN Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IWNuRB Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
This episode is brought to you by 7or9 heels — an innovative brand that's dedicated to making more comfortable high heels for women. Our podcast was invited to participate in their brand campaign with the theme “from pain to joy.” In this episode, we discuss the feminist awakening of female protagonists — specifically Harley Quinn and Black Widow. In the context of Hollywood's movie-making industrial complex, paired with the awakening of the female consciousness, these two have evolved and became beloved characters that suit the female audience's requirements. From the design of their storylines to their motives, to the clothes they wear when fighting — everything reflects the current gender dynamics, and we dive right into this discourse. Listen till the end for an Easter egg about our hosts' fashion ideals. Our EditorValerie Support UsPlease consider supporting us on Patreon (in USD, suitable for listeners who live in the U.S.): https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs. Please consider supporting us on Patreon (in RMB)：https://afdian.net/p/e0a54e82ebd111e9bd2d52540025c377Read MoreCheck out 7or9 heels: https://7or9.com/Collaborate with UsPlease reach out to us at loudmurmursfm@gmail.com for any business inquiries. Find Loud Murmurs in the iTunes podcast store, Google Play, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts (e.g. Pocket Casts, Overcast)! Please subscribe, enjoy, and feel free to drop us a note and leave us a review. RSS feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/258327.rss Itunes: https://apple.co/2VAVf0Z Google play: goo.gl/KjRYPN Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IWNuRB Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=544416&refid=stpr Pocket Cast: http://pca.st/nLid Overcast: https://bit.ly/2SL7MNJ Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
[Episode theme]In this episode, we talk about the latest Marvel blockbuster, “Shang-Chi: legend of the ten rings.” At the time of publishing, Shang-Chi has become the first pandemic film to gross over $200M at the box office. We dive deep into what we love and appreciate about this film — the various styles of fight scenes, Tony Leung, care paid to language and dialect. And where we find the movie to be falling short — the ambiguity of Taluo, the tired narratives when it comes to womanhood, motherhood, and a woman's role in the marriage. [Timecode]1:19 — Guest intro and first impressions 8:00 — How Marvel creates an “anti-hero” the audience loves (Wenwu) 15: 00 — Are the Chinese dialogue and dialects in this film legit?26: 24 — The references of Wuxia style in this film, and a smart appropriating of Chinese fantasy elements 32: 21 — Awkwafina is the first female Asian character whose main use is to be a getaway driver (we dig) 34: 11 — Is the story of Taluo holding up under scrutiny? What are the weaknesses of world-building in this film, when compared with “Black Panther”? Do we need this type of ambiguity in geography and history? Do we need an Asian “Wakanda”? 49: 00 — Marvel commoditized the identity movement of Asian Americans but did not dig deep into their stories in this film 51: 20 — The movie's polite but ultimately inadequate nod to feminism 56: 16 — Are we tired of the same old narrative of a woman sacrificing herself for a relationship 59: 00 — As a part of the Chinese audience, how should we understand cultural creations that belong to Chinese Americans? [Guest introduction] Frankie: Chinese American illustrator Kao: Host of the podcast “Overcooked” https://overcooked.typlog.io/ [Audio editor]Joshua Odgen-Davis[Be our sponsor]Please consider supporting us on Patreon (in USD, suitable for listeners who live in the U.S.): https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs. Please consider supporting us on Patreon (in RMB)：https://afdian.net/p/e0a54e82ebd111e9bd2d52540025c377【Links & resources】越烤越糊https://overcooked.typlog.io/清醒梦播客救母那集https://hekukaixin.com/2021/05/22/%e6%b8%85%e9%86%92%e6%a2%a6-e18%ef%bd%9c%e4%b8%ad%e5%9b%bd%e6%96%87%e5%8c%96%e7%9a%84%e6%95%91%e6%af%8d%e4%bc%a0%e8%af%b4/【Business collab】Please reach out to us at loudmurmursfm@gmail.com for any business inquiries. 【Listen to LMM】Find Loud Murmurs in the iTunes podcast store, Google Play, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts (e.g. Pocket Casts, Overcast)! Please subscribe, enjoy, and feel free to drop us a note and leave us a review. RSS feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/258327.rss Itunes: https://apple.co/2VAVf0Z Google play: goo.gl/KjRYPN Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IWNuRB Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=544416&refid=stpr Pocket Cast: Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
In this ambitious three-part series, we want to talk about time travel through some of our favorites ---- Tenet, Loki, and Interstellar. As viewers, we experience movies frame by frame; as human beings, we experience time through the relentless one-way time arrow. Through subverting our familiar narrative structures and disrupting causality, time travel can raise important questions about the universe we live in and its physical rules.Time Code2:07 A cool anecdote about Chien-Shiung Wu, the female Chinese-American particle and experimental physicist7:14 Our third category of time travel stories, as presented in Interstellar 11:16 Fascinating understandings of time and space that came from the elegant principles of Special Relativity19:00 "High-dimensional creatures" in pop culture and in religion21:10 The inherent tragedy in time -- Eternalism vs. Presentism26:48 The sincerity and fragility of "Interstellar" -- is Sci-fi telling us to be more afraid to face our own vulnerabilities than exploring the end of the universe?Our GuestShelly Shi - Ph.D. candidate in UCSD, with research interest in Philosophy of PhysicsEdited ByValerie ChenSupport UsPlease consider supporting us on Patreon (in USD, suitable for listeners who live in the U.S.): https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs. Please consider supporting us on Patreon (in RMB)：https://afdian.net/p/e0a54e82ebd111e9bd2d52540025c377Business collabPlease reach out to us at loudmurmursfm@gmail.com for any business inquiries. Listen to LMMFind Loud Murmurs in the iTunes podcast store, Google Play, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts (e.g. Pocket Casts, Overcast)! Please subscribe, enjoy, and feel free to drop us a note and leave us a review. RSS feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/258327.rss Itunes: https://apple.co/2VAVf0Z Google play: goo.gl/KjRYPN Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IWNuRB Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=544416&refid=stpr Pocket Cast: http://pca.st/nLid Overcast: https://bit.ly/2SL7MNJ Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
In this ambitious three-part series, we want to talk about time travel through some of our favorites ---- Tenet, Loki, and Interstellar. As viewers, we experience movies frame by frame; as human beings, we experience time through the relentless one-way time arrow. Through subverting our familiar narrative structures and disrupting causality, time travel can raise important questions about the universe we live in and its physical rules.Time Code1:45 Our second category of time travel stories, as presented in Loki 4:45 The quantum mechanics behind the multiverse theory, which contrary to popular belief, has more to do with Schrödinger's than Rick Sanchez9:26 What is the Tesseract stolen by Loki? Why can it help Loki travel through time and space?14:23 The existential philosophical question raised by Loki in the multiverse narrative: What makes a Loki Loki, and what makes me me?25:08 Loki's redemption arc makes for a perfect multiverse story31:44 "Time" under the capitalist system and "nowness" as the way outOur GuestShelly Shi - Ph.D. candidate in UCSD, with research interest in Philosophy of PhysicsEdited ByValerie ChenSupport UsPlease consider supporting us on Patreon (in USD, suitable for listeners who live in the U.S.): https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs. Please consider supporting us on Patreon (in RMB)：https://afdian.net/p/e0a54e82ebd111e9bd2d52540025c377Business collabPlease reach out to us at loudmurmursfm@gmail.com for any business inquiries. Listen to LMMFind Loud Murmurs in the iTunes podcast store, Google Play, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts (e.g. Pocket Casts, Overcast)! Please subscribe, enjoy, and feel free to drop us a note and leave us a review. RSS feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/258327.rss Itunes: https://apple.co/2VAVf0Z Google play: goo.gl/KjRYPN Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IWNuRB Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=544416&refid=stpr Pocket Cast: http://pca.st/nLid Overcast: https://bit.ly/2SL7MNJ Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
In this ambitious three-part series, we want to talk about time travel through some of our favorites ---- Tenet, Loki, and Interstellar. As viewers, we experience movies frame by frame; as human beings, we experience time through the relentless one-way time arrow. Through subverting our familiar narrative structures and disrupting causality, time travel can raise important questions about the universe we live in and its physical rules.Time Code1:43 So what is “philosophy of physics”?4:35 Time travel as a genre, and our first category of time travel stories as represented in Tenet 7:19 The logic of "traveling through time" and "changing the past"12:23 The Closed Time Loop in Tenet16:47 "bUt wHat aBouT FReE WiLl"22:10 The symmetry of Protagonist's journey and Time Reversal Symmetry ---- where did the Arrow of Time come from anyways? ?Our GuestShelly Shi - Ph.D. candidate in UCSD, with research interest in Philosophy of PhysicsEdited ByValerie ChenSupport UsPlease consider supporting us on Patreon (in USD, suitable for listeners who live in the U.S.): https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs. Please consider supporting us on Patreon (in RMB)：https://afdian.net/p/e0a54e82ebd111e9bd2d52540025c377Business collabPlease reach out to us at loudmurmursfm@gmail.com for any business inquiries. Listen to LMMFind Loud Murmurs in the iTunes podcast store, Google Play, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts (e.g. Pocket Casts, Overcast)! Please subscribe, enjoy, and feel free to drop us a note and leave us a review. RSS feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/258327.rss Itunes: https://apple.co/2VAVf0Z Google play: goo.gl/KjRYPN Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IWNuRB Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=544416&refid=stpr Pocket Cast: http://pca.st/nLid Overcast: https://bit.ly/2SL7MNJ Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
[Episode theme]We talk about Netflix's “The Chair” with two female professors, about the show's portrayal of female allyship, discrimination against faculty of color, the debate over free speech on the American campus, and why we think the show missed the mark. [Timecode]2:00 Our first impression of the show3:40 What is it like to be a mother and a college professor in the show vs IRL6:20 In just six episodes, this show attempts to capture the complexity of contemporary U.S. campus politics 10:30 Our issues: an over-simplistic portrayal of students demands, an unrealistic solution to Yaz's stalling career 13:20 Anachronism in the plotline: some depictions are outdated18:30 Entering one room filled with whiteness — our PTSD and imposter syndrome24:45 Why is Bill the most authentic, and the fullest character in a show about Ji-yoon? Why do we keep loving and forgiving “Bills”?29:05 Ji-Yoon obsession with perfectionism and assimilation reveals our society's double standard towards scholars of color 34:30 Ji-Yoon and Bill's on-screen chemistry, and real-life examples 39:40 Allyship between female professors in universities 41:50 Joan's conflicted relationship with feminism 56:25 The cruel, blatant ageism in the show 1:01:10 The role of university administration in the show vs. IRL[Host]Afra & Juan Qian[Guest introduction]Yuan Yuan: Recently graduated from Yale with her Ph.D in philosophy, now teaches at NYU-ShanghaiEileen Chow: Associate Professor of the Practice in Chinese and Japanese Cultural Studies at Duke University[Audio editor]Joshua [Be our sponsor]Please consider supporting us on Patreon (in USD, suitable for listeners who live in the U.S.): https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs. Please consider supporting us on Patreon (in RMB)：https://afdian.net/p/e0a54e82ebd111e9bd2d52540025c377【Business collab】Please reach out to us at loudmurmursfm@gmail.com for any business inquiries. 【Listen to LMM】Find Loud Murmurs in the iTunes podcast store, Google Play, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts (e.g. Pocket Casts, Overcast)! Please subscribe, enjoy, and feel free to drop us a note and leave us a review. RSS feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/258327.rss Itunes: https://apple.co/2VAVf0Z Google play: goo.gl/KjRYPN Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IWNuRB Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=544416&refid=stpr Pocket Cast: http://pca.st/nLid Overcast: https://bit.ly/2SL7MNJ Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
[Episode theme]RGB has left us for a year. At this moment, when the Texas abortion law diminishes her political legacy, we re-upload this episode we recorded the second day she passed away. In this episode, we looked back at Ginsberg's life, as well as the many landmark cases she participated in. We know history is composed of light and shade, the future is blur and fragile. But people like Ginsburg paddled through the countercurrent. And we want to make her struggle more visible. [Content]-How we learned of RBG's death and how we processed the news-What RBG means to each of us personally -Ginsburg's greatest contributions to women's rights -Why the soft-spoken justice became an unlikely pop culture icon in her last years-How did the 2018 documentary R.B.G and the 2019 film “On the Basis of Sex” tell her story?-Why is her death politically significant? What does it mean for our future in the U.S. [Be our sponsor]Please consider supporting us on Patreon (in USD, suitable for listeners who live in the U.S.): https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs. Please consider supporting us on Patreon (in RMB)：https://afdian.net/p/e0a54e82ebd111e9bd2d52540025c377【Links & resources】2019 “On the Basis of Sex”https://www.focusfeatures.com/on-the-basis-of-sex2018 documentary: R.B.G https://www.rbgmovie.com/Notorious R.B.G:https://notoriousrbg.tumblr.com/Nina Totenberg on the death of RBG: https://www.npr.org/2020/09/18/100306972/justice-ruth-bader-ginsburg-champion-of-gender-equality-dies-at-87 【Business collab】Please reach out to us at loudmurmursfm@gmail.com for any business inquiries. 【Listen to LMM】Find Loud Murmurs in the iTunes podcast store, Google Play, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts (e.g. Pocket Casts, Overcast)! Please subscribe, enjoy, and feel free to drop us a note and leave us a review. RSS feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/258327.rss Itunes: https://apple.co/2VAVf0Z Google play: goo.gl/KjRYPN Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IWNuRB Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=544416&refid=stpr Pocket Cast: http://pca.st/nLid Overcast: https://bit.ly/2SL7MNJ Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
[Episode theme]This episode is a part of “RM conquers the podcast universe series”, a series by ten Chinese podcasts, each taking one episode from the latest season of Rick and Morty. In this episode, we discussed the 8th episode of Season 5 of “Rick and Morty.” This episode reveals the history between Rick and his dear friend Birdperson. In this “Inception” parody, Rick dives into Birdperson's memory to rescue his consciousness. We talked about the epitome of the characters, and why we are so underwhelmed by season 5 overall, which is stacked with predictable tropes and a derivative of previous seasons.[Timecode]2:50 Our first reactions 5:34 A summary of episode 87:07 Birdperson vs. Klara in Klara and the Sun9:58 Birdperson as a manifestation of classic heroism20:26 Why is Season 5 underwhelming to long-term RM fans? Too many old tropes?23:58 Are we abusing the usage of nihilism? 27:00 Sci-fi as a genre represents backward ideologies toward race over time30:35 The Southparkanization of RM - from an apolitical stance to awkward injection of political discussions 39:00 The meta-humor and its toxicity[Guest introduction]Wei Ye: an anthropologist who lives in Minnesota; co-creator of TyingKnots, an independent group committed to introducing anthropological perspectives, studies, and engagements to the Chinese-speaking public.Daniel: a data scientist, a cinephile, and a cyber dumpster diver.[Audio editor]Lu XiaoniaoHehe[Be our sponsor]Please consider supporting us on Patreon (in USD, suitable for listeners who live in the U.S.): https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs. Please consider supporting us on Patreon (in RMB)：https://afdian.net/p/e0a54e82ebd111e9bd2d52540025c377【Business collab】Please reach out to us at loudmurmursfm@gmail.com for any business inquiries. 【Listen to LMM】Find Loud Murmurs in the iTunes podcast store, Google Play, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts (e.g. Pocket Casts, Overcast)! Please subscribe, enjoy, and feel free to drop us a note and leave us a review. RSS feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/258327.rss Itunes: https://apple.co/2VAVf0Z Google play: goo.gl/KjRYPN Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IWNuRB Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=544416&refid=stpr Pocket Cast: http://pca.st/nLid Overcast: https://bit.ly/2SL7MNJ Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
On August 13, 2021, Britney Spears' father, Jamie Spears, announced that he is stepping aside as Britney Spears' conservator. This news comes after a social media movement known under the hashtag #FreeBritney. According to her testimony to a Los Angeles judge, Britney Spears has been drugged, compelled to work against her will, and prevented from removing her birth control device under the conservatorship. In the meantime, she was able to release four albums, hold a global tour, and run a successful Las Vegas residency for four years. How did a world-renowned superstar become a prisoner of a structure set up by her family to protect her? In this episode, we reflect on Britney's career, what we owe her as a society that tolerated casual misogyny and ignored her pleas for help. We also ask ourselves the uncomfortable question: how many more young women are currently left in the prison of society's cruel and omnipresent scrutiny? What role are we playing in this? 02:00 - Introduction to “Framing Britney” and “Britney Spears' Conservatorship Nightmare”06:50 - What does Britney Spears mean to us — millennials who grew up in China? What do we owe Britney? 14:30 - Britney's journey from a small town girl to international stardom 19:00 - American society's attitude towards sex in late 1990s and early 2000s26:00 - Britney's marriage and her very public experience with motherhood 29:00 - How did Britney go “insane”? 32:20 - How did Britney get into a conservatorship? What was the motivation?41:00 - How did #FreeBritney become an actual social media movement? Why now? Why is it the perfect movement for 2021? 47:00 - How many more young women have we put in a prison of “omnipresent surveillance”?54:00 - Why so many celebrity teenage girls struggle to grow into women under the public's omnipresent judging eyes[Audio editor]Joshua Ogden-Davis[Be our sponsor]Please consider supporting us on Patreon (in USD, suitable for listeners who live in the U.S.): Please consider supporting us on Patreon (in RMB)：[Links & resources]Britney Spears's Conservatorship Nightmare by Ronan Farrow and Jia TolentinoFraming Britney Spears by Samantha Stark[Business collab]Please reach out to us at loudmurmursfm@gmail.com for any business inquiries. [Listen to LMM]Find Loud Murmurs in the iTunes podcast store, Google Play, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts (e.g. Pocket Casts, Overcast)! Please subscribe, enjoy, and feel free to drop us a note and leave us a review. RSS feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/258327.rss Itunes: https://apple.co/2VAVf0Z Google play: goo.gl/KjRYPN Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IWNuRB Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=544416&refid=stpr Pocket Cast: http://pca.st/nLid Overcast: https://bit.ly/2SL7MNJ Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
In this episode, our hosts Izzy, Diaodiao and Ina, joined by our guest Alex Lawyer, dive into HBO's new limited series, “Mare of Easttown.” We dissect character arcs and plot points to dig deeper into the real story: the story of a blue-collar mostly-white community that's plagued by the opioid crisis. What we discussed2:27 First impressions, potential spoiler warning 05:30 What makes this show a good thriller? Entertaining plot points, can spur in-depth discussions around social issues, and framing the thriller within familial and community relationships8:57 The show is actually a career-oriented show that focuses on Mare, her role as detective and the glue that brings the town together14:09 The deeper social issue: how the opioid crisis impacted Easttown15:43 Society's reaction/policies to the opioid crisis, progressing from “war on drugs” to seeing it as a public health issue 22:25 “Hillbilly Elegy”, “Tight Rope”, and social darwinism27:58 Opioid crisis in China 32:54 There's no real “big bad” in this show 34:42 Easttown as an example of a swing town/county and the lack of politics in the show39:12 What's the verdict? (spoiler alert, we discuss the ending of the show)Our EditorZhang QuanSupport UsPlease consider supporting us on Patreon (in USD, suitable for listeners who live in the U.S.): https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs. Please consider supporting us on Patreon (in RMB)：https://afdian.net/p/e0a54e82ebd111e9bd2d52540025c377Read MoreTightrope: Americans Reaching for Hope, by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunnCollaborate with UsPlease reach out to us at loudmurmursfm@gmail.com for any business inquiries. Find Loud Murmurs in the iTunes podcast store, Google Play, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts (e.g. Pocket Casts, Overcast)! Please subscribe, enjoy, and feel free to drop us a note and leave us a review. RSS feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/258327.rss Itunes: https://apple.co/2VAVf0Z Google play: goo.gl/KjRYPN Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IWNuRB Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=544416&refid=stpr Pocket Cast: http://pca.st/nLid Overcast: https://bit.ly/2SL7MNJ Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
In this episode, we talk about film "In the Heights" — a film adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda's 2008 Tony Award-winning musical — with our friends from podcast 城市罐头. We mused on a few galactic questions: What exactly is gentrification? Why should we care, and how do we understand it in a Chinese context? Is commercializing the culture of a community the way to protect it? Why does this film feel lacking in 2021? 02:53 Introduction to the film 07:21 What is gentrification, and why should we pay attention to it?14:00 Why is gentrification considered as a “foreign” concept to Chinese people?19:58 Gentrification in the context of Chinese urban development25:03 For a community struggling with gentrification, is commercializing its culture a feasible solution? 33:05 “Selective blackouts” and environmental racism38:55 How do you design a good community? Can you? 45:56 Is getting out of the ethnic enclave a symbol of progress? 48:15 The common pitfall of films adapted from musicals54:50 Casting controversyGuests：Xiao Wang and Yao, hosts of 城市罐头 — A podcast about consumer culture, city life and urban planning.Hosts: Diaodiao, Izzy, InaEdited by: Valerie ChenPlease consider supporting us on Patreon (in USD, suitable for listeners who live in the U.S.): https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs. Please consider supporting us on Patreon (in RMB)：https://afdian.net/p/e0a54e82ebd111e9bd2d52540025c377Please reach out to us at loudmurmursfm@gmail.com for any business inquiries. 【Listen to LMM】Find Loud Murmurs in the iTunes podcast store, Google Play, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts (e.g. Pocket Casts, Overcast)! Please subscribe, enjoy, and feel free to drop us a note and leave us a review. RSS feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/258327.rss Itunes: https://apple.co/2VAVf0Z Google play: goo.gl/KjRYPN Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IWNuRB Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=544416&refid=stpr Pocket Cast: http://pca.st/nLid Overcast: https://bit.ly/2SL7MNJ Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
Chinese pop star Kris Wu is facing a #MeToo storm, after 18-year-old Du Meizhu accused him of pressuring young women into having sex. Wu has denied the accusations but he the accusations have triggered widespread public outcry. In light of this news, we want to re-share our earlier episode about the 2019 movie “Bombshell” and two books that started the “MeToo movement” around the world.The week we recorded this episode, the verdict of the Weinstein trial had just come out and some say it is ushering in a new legal era in how we treat sexual harassment cases. We want to use “Bombshell” as a way into talking about what has changed, what hasn't and what we can do to empower each other and push back against the logic (and normalization) of sexual harassment in career settings. Links：https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/from-aggressive-overtures-to-sexual-assault-harvey-weinsteins-accusers-tell-their-storieshttps://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/08/books/review/she-said-jodi-kantor-megan-twohey.htmlhttps://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-espionage/the-black-cube-chronicles-the-private-investigatorshttps://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/12/23/bombshell-and-the-perils-of-topicalityRSS Link for Surplus Value:https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/surplusvalue-918834/episodes/051-53769331 Promo：Find Loud Murmurs in the iTunes podcast store, Google Play, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts (e.g. Pocket Casts, Overcast)! Please subscribe, enjoy, and feel free to drop us a note and leave us a review. RSS feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/258327.rss Itunes: https://apple.co/2VAVf0Z Google play: goo.gl/KjRYPN Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IWNuRB Pocket Cast: http://pca.st/nLid Overcast: https://bit.ly/2SL7MNJ Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
[Episode theme]This is a special episode. Afra went to the two-week-long Shanghai International Film Festival and talks to our friends Xiaoran and Yaqin about their experiences. In 2021, the success of this event alone feels like a rare victory for Chinese cinephiles.[Timecode]2:28 Why did we go to the Shanghai International Film Festival? 7:50 The cinephile community in Shanghai 16:10 How do hardcore movie lovers make the most out of these festivals? 27:25 Why do we still need film festivals? The human connections created through a shared love of cinema are irreplaceable.39:04 Our favorite films at this year's SIFF.51:28 Is SIFF accessible to people with disabilities? How can it improve?[Guest introduction]Chen Xiaoran: Founder of DirecTubeYu Yaqin: Film critic [Audio editor]Josh Ogden-Davis [Highlights]Taking you on a journey through audio to the 2021 Shanghai International Film Festival.[Be our sponsor]Please consider supporting us on Patreon (in USD, suitable for listeners who live in the U.S.): https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs. Please consider supporting us on Patreon (in RMB)：https://afdian.net/p/e0a54e82ebd111e9bd2d52540025c377【Links & resources】DirecTube: https://directubedotcn.wordpress.com/ Yaqin's articles on FIRST Film Festival: https://www.allnow.com/post/5f281ca0d47fa200018d9c0c 【Business collab】Please reach out to us at loudmurmursfm@gmail.com for any business inquiries. 【Listen to LMM】Find Loud Murmurs in the iTunes podcast store, Google Play, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts (e.g. Pocket Casts, Overcast)! Please subscribe, enjoy, and feel free to drop us a note and leave us a review. RSS feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/258327.rss Itunes: https://apple.co/2VAVf0Z Google play: goo.gl/KjRYPN Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IWNuRB Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=544416&refid=stpr Pocket Cast: http://pca.st/nLid Overcast: https://bit.ly/2SL7MNJ Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
In light of the recent re-screening of Lord of the Rings, we chatted with physicist Cheng Yangyang and LOTR superfan Wenjin about this classic work that we had the privilege to grow up with. We talked about the exiled human king, re-examined the orcs, and mused on the revenge of the ents. We also talked about how the work inspired us, and how we, as diasporas, see ourselves in the wandering steps of Aragorn's self-inflicted exile -- the act of “dying just a little”.2:44 Our first experience with LOTR10:29 Resetting myself after the apocalyptic 2020 by re-watching LOTR20:15 Is it still worth it to talk about race in LOTR in 2021?35:38 The Isengard flood and the revenge of nature41:10 Aragorn - the orphan raised on a foreign land50:00 The 2021 rescreening and the icy 1-star reviewsOur GuestsCheng Yangyang (@yangyang_cheng): Particle physicist, writer, and postdoctoral fellow at Yale Law School.Wenjin (@norloth): Host of the podcast "托尔金的树叶", illustrator, and LOTR superfan.Links & ResourcesSome of Us Did Not Die by Yangyang ChengAudio editorZiyi: a documentarian, podcaster & football loverPlease consider supporting us on Patreon (in USD) or AFD (in RMB), and please reach out to us at loudmurmursfm@gmail.com for any business inquiries. Find Loud Murmurs in the iTunes podcast store, Google Play, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts (e.g. Pocket Casts, Overcast)! Please subscribe, enjoy, and feel free to drop us a note and leave us a review. RSS feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/258327.rss Itunes: https://apple.co/2VAVf0Z Google play: goo.gl/KjRYPN Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IWNuRB Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=544416&refid=stpr Pocket Cast: http://pca.st/nLid Overcast: https://bit.ly/2SL7MNJ Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
[Episode theme]This episode is the edited version of Afra and Izzy's interview with Xiaochu, screenwriter of the popular Chinese wuxia fantasy “Word of Honor.” We talked about why the show is well-received outside China, her experience studying and trying to make it as a producer in the movie industry in LA, and her understanding of the characters Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing. There's also a Q&A with three fans of the show at the end and Xiaochu's special English message to fans overseas. Listen till the end! [Timecode]1:38 How do you feel about the popularity of “Word of Honor” overseas? Did you expect this? 5:54 Xiaochu originally wanted to become a producer and studied film in Los Angeles. What made you decide to go back to China after graduation?8:39 Why does this show appeal to so many women? How do the two main characters challenge gender norms?11:08 Xiaochu's thought process for writing the in-depth character profile for Zhou Zishu in the early stages of writing the show 12:36 Xiaochu talks about the parodies and reactions to “Word of Honor” on the internet15:49 What's her favorite TV show these days?17:38 If she were a character in the world of wuxia, what kind of character would she be? 20:00 Is “Word of Honor” a show that pushes back against workism? 22:30 Female characters in “Word of Honor” 25:36 The relationship between Cao Weining and Guo Xiang 28:28 What's the one thing Xiaochu insists on keeping intact for the story, despite pressure from others 31: 08 Xiaochu: my mother is the biggest fan of internet reaction to WoH 32:38 How does WoH overcome the barrier of language and culture and appeal to overseas audience 35:16 How does Zhou Zishu reconcile with his initial rebellion against authority and his return to order towards the end of the story?38: 30 Which scenes or plots didn't make it into the show? Does Xiaochu want to write out what their life is like after the finale? [Guest introduction]Xiaochu: screenwriter of “Word of Honor” [Audio editor]Izzy[Highlights]Xiaochu: “Personally I'm a totally helpless believer of love, so it means the world to me to see my expression to be heard, to be seen, to be answered by people from so many different cultural backgrounds.” [Be our sponsor]Please consider supporting us on Patreon (in USD, suitable for listeners who live in the U.S.): https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs. Please consider supporting us on Patreon (in RMB)：https://afdian.net/p/e0a54e82ebd111e9bd2d52540025c377【Links & resources】Our previous episode on “Word of Honor” https://www.buzzsprout.com/258327/8435030-s4-e7-word-of-honor-a-beautiful-queer-fantasy-for-straight-eyes Boys Keep Flirting With Each Other on Chinese TV But Never Fall in Love by Viola Zhou https://www.vice.com/en/article/7k95mg/boys-love-drama-china-tv-untamed-lgbtq 【Business collab】Please reach out to us at loudmurmursfm@gmail.com for any business inquiries. 【Listen to LMM】Find Loud Murmurs in the iTunes podcast store, Google Play, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts (e.g. Pocket Casts, Overcast)! Please subscribe, enjoy, and feSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
“Cruella” is Disney's latest live-action release where a beloved old movie gets a brand new life, starring two crowd-favorite Emmas: Emma Stone and Emma Thompson. Izzy and Diaodiao saw the movie together in the theater, and they dive into the themes of the movie, the complicated history of Disney villains, and the problematic elements in the movie that made us cringe (queerbaiting alert!) 【Timecodes】3:52 “Cruella” is way more awesome when watched in theaters and with friends 7:39 Disney villains: the moral and societal values they represent 9:29 Who is Cruella (old and new)17:00-17:52 SPOILERS19:02 Cruella as a punk icon and fashion icon 25:36-26:07 What's Cruella rebelling against? SPOILERS28:55 The commodification of Disney villains 29:38 Queerness and queer baiting in Disney movies 31:27-31:39 SKIP FOR SPOILERS【Audio editor】Joshua Odgen Davis 【Be our sponsor】Please consider supporting us on Patreon (in USD, suitable for listeners who live in the U.S.) or Patreon 's Chinese equivalent (in RMB)【Links & resources】幕后访谈丨为Cruella设计47套衣服的设计师：70岁，全世界淘古着找灵感How Cruella's Costume Designer Turned Emma Stone Into an Impossibly Stylish SupervillainRiot, Rebel, Revolt: The Rise of Vivienne Westwood【Business collabs】Please reach out to us at loudmurmursfm@gmail.com for any business inquiries. Find Loud Murmurs in the iTunes podcast store, Google Play, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts (e.g. Pocket Casts, Overcast)! Please subscribe, enjoy, and feel free to drop us a note and leave us a review. RSS feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/258327.rss Itunes: https://apple.co/2VAVf0Z Google play: goo.gl/KjRYPN Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IWNuRB Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=544416&refid=stpr Pocket Cast: http://pca.st/nLid Overcast: https://bit.ly/2SL7MNJ Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
In this episode, we continue our conversation on ‘Sound of Metal', a movie about a drummer whose sudden loss of hearing puts him on an unlikely journey of growth and self-discovery. We also discuss how little we know about the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community. The conversation is so good and so long that we split it into two parts. See full transcript in Chinese for part 2 here. 【Timecodes】3:37 Xinke share her thoughts on the errors in ‘Sound of Metal' 8:33 the overly complicated U.S. healthcare and insurance system 11:02 we discuss the audism and ableism in the movie15:56 the candid portrayal of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community in the movie 17:13 Yiru shares her experience with Deaf education through music20:25 cochlear implants: Ruben and Xinke's experiences26:00 the controversy around cochlear implants35:19 the significance of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community38:05 What can we do to challenge ableism and audism in our day to day lives【Guest introduction】Xinke Liu (she/her) is the co-founder of a startup that provides medical-grade hearing aids for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. She wore hearing aids in her teenage years and underwent the procedure to have cochlear implants after college. She is currently based in China. Yiru Chen (she/her) graduated from NYU Tisch School of the Arts with a major in Film and TV production and minors in Psychology and American Sign Language. She is currently a student of the MA program in Deaf and Hard of Hearing Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. She is an active member of both Shanghai and New York signing communities and her goal is to promote sign language education and arts in both countries. Her film “Handscape” has been screened at multiple film festivals in and out of China. 【Audio editor】Joshua Ogden-Davis 【Too long didn't listen】This is not your typical story of a person overcoming hardship to find himself. It's not even that inspirational. What it does achieve is portraying one aspect of the vastly diverse and complicated Deaf community to the mainstream hearing community. It's up to us to learn and educate ourselves about the rest. 【Be our sponsor】Please consider supporting us on Patreon (in USD, suitable for listeners who live in the U.S.) or Patreon 's Chinese equivalent (in RMB)【Links & resources】Handscape, directed by Yiru Chen36kr interview with Evoco Labs Good resources on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community in China: 守语者（shouyuzhe2014)你看起来好动听手屿Relevant MoviesFeeling ThroughChild of Lesser God【Business collabs】Please reach out to us at loudmurmursfm@gmail.com for any business inquiries. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
This week, we talk about the movie ‘Sound of Metal,’ a story about a drummer (played by Riz Ahmed) whose sudden loss of hearing puts him on an unlikely journey of growth and self-discovery. We also discuss how little we know about the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community, about sign language and Deaf culture. The conversation is so good and so long that we split it into two parts. See full transcript in Chinese for part 1 here. 【Timecodes】3:15 Brief introduction to Sound of Metal8:56 Our first impressions of the film18:15 On-screen moments that moved us: seeing a hearing guide dog, ASL, and deaf music education 20:55 The exquisite sound design of the movie 25:48 What’s currently missing from mainstream awareness of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community, what are the 4 deaf identities, ASL (American Sign Language) as a language, what is Deaf culture 36:48 Why we need to cast more deaf actors in deaf roles44:14 ASL as a language and its role in forming a community 【Guest introduction】Xinke Liu (she/her) is the co-founder of a startup that provides medical-grade hearing aids for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. She wore hearing aids in her teenage years and underwent the procedure to have cochlear implants after college. She is currently based in China. Yiru Chen (she/her) graduated from NYU Tisch School of the Arts with a major in Film and TV production and minors in Psychology and American Sign Language. She is currently a student of the MA program in Deaf and Hard of Hearing Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. She is an active member of both Shanghai and New York signing communities and her goal is to promote sign language education and arts in both countries. Her film “Handscape” has been screened at multiple film festivals in and out of China. 【Audio editor】Joshua Ogden-Davis 【Too long didn’t listen】This is not your typical story of a person overcoming hardship to find himself. It’s not even that inspirational. What it does achieve is portraying one aspect of the vastly diverse and complicated Deaf community to the mainstream hearing community. It’s up to us to learn and educate ourselves about the rest. 【Be our sponsor】Please consider supporting us on Patreon (in USD, suitable for listeners who live in the U.S.) or Patreon 's Chinese equivalent (in RMB)【Links & resources】Handscape, directed by Yiru Chen36kr interview with Evoco Labs Good resources on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community in China: 守语者（shouyuzhe2014)你看起来好动听手屿Relevant MoviesFeeling ThroughChild of Lesser God【Business collabs】Please reach out to us at loudmurmursfm@gmail.com for any business inquiries. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
“WandaVision” takes place after Thanos snapped his fingers and eliminated half of the people in the universe in Avengers: Infinity War. The show departs from the usual superhero Marvel movies in a number of significant ways: it’s a TV show, the main character is a woman, the heart of the story is about grieving, trauma and intimacy. Like people in the Marvel universe, we all collectively lived through a traumatic event on a global scale and are still far from being completely free from the influence of the pandemic. It’s been said that WandaVision is a pandemic parable. Barring from the typical third act CGI light beam fight in the sky, this story has a lot of elements we can all relate to: living in our TV, being stuck at home and isolated, processing waves of direct and indirect grief. So today, we invited an actual therapist to talk to us about WandaVision. Guest: Lola, she/her, licensed therapist based in Chicago. She founded a social-justice informed Fig Tree Counseling (figtreechi.com) in 2019. Disclaimer: We spoiled this how, thoroughly, so know this before you listen. Thanks! We Talked About:04：16 Why we love WandaVision, and why this is not your typical superhero story. 07：53 How does the show deal with the concept of “trauma”? How does Wanda try to regain control? How does the show visualize grief?12：00 How does the show portray the five stages of grief? 15：12 How does Wanda’s childhood trauma shape her as a character? Agatha — the unlicensed therapist. 19：39 How do we find power in grief? 21：03 Monica Rambeau and Wanda’s friendship 23：34 How should we understand the line “What is grief if not love persevering”? Is the goal of grieving to move on and to forget? 26：16 The moral questions of Wanda’s way of dealing with her personal grief 29：10 Hurt people hurt people. How do we avoid infecting others with our own emotional problems? 32：00 What is it like to lose your partner/spouse? How can therapy help? 35：50 WandaVision is a pandemic parable, so what can we learn from it? 42：00 How to take your first step with therapy? Links: ‘WandaVision,’ a sitcom sendup, was a pandemic parable, too‘WandaVision’ Lives Inside TV. Just Like We Do.Find Loud Murmurs in the iTunes podcast store, Google Play, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts (e.g. Pocket Casts, Overcast)! Please subscribe, enjoy, and feel free to drop us a note and leave us a review. RSS feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/258327.rss Itunes: https://apple.co/2VAVf0Z Google play: goo.gl/KjRYPN Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IWNuRB Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=544416&refid=stpr Pocket Cast: http://pca.st/nLid Overcast: https://bit.ly/2SL7MNJ Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs. Please reach out to us at loudmurmursfm@gmail.com for any business inquiries. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
This episode, we unpacked our reactions to the 93rd Academy Awards that honored films created in 2020 with our dear friend Eileen Chow. Despite being a particularly underwhelming viewing experience, the Oscars created cultural moments that sparked heated discussion across China, the US, and all diaspora in between. We talked about:1:20 The “Diet Oscars” of 20217:50 Chole Zhao’s Nomadland acceptance speech is a phenomenal cross-cultural pop-culture moment15:00 The controversy of quoting “Three Character Classic”30:10 Best Male Lead - “The Father” and many issues in Oscar planning34:31 Best Supporting Male Actor - “Judas and the Black Messiah”37:10 Best Editing - “Sound of Metal”39:39 Best Animated Feature Nominee - “Wolfwalker”41:20 Best Documentary Nominee -“Crip Camp”48:50 Youn Yuh-jung couldn’t care less about Brad Pitt and we are very here for itFind Loud Murmurs in the iTunes podcast store, Google Play, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts (e.g. Pocket Casts, Overcast)! Please subscribe, enjoy, and feel free to drop us a note and leave us a review. RSS feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/258327.rss Itunes: https://apple.co/2VAVf0Z Google play: goo.gl/KjRYPN Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IWNuRB Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=544416&refid=stpr Pocket Cast: http://pca.st/nLid Overcast: https://bit.ly/2SL7MNJ Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs. Please reach out to us at loudmurmursfm@gmail.com for any business inquiries. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
In this episode, host Afra talks to Viola Zhou and A-Liang about the hit Chinese fantasy period series Word of Honor. It’s your classic wuxia story but with a delicious twist — it centers around two incredibly handsome men who find soul mates in each other, but never quite fall in love. “Word of Honor” became an internet sensation and cultural phenomenon in China and Southeast Asia. The show’s international fans write long critical essays and guides explaining terms and references specific to Chinese culture. What makes the show such a hit? How does it challenge and enforce gender norms? Is this queerbaiting in the Chinese context? Guests: Viola Zhou is a writer covering tech, Chinese society, and internet culture at Vice. A-Liang is a PhD student at Kings College, researching Chinese danmei culture. 2:14 Our own experience with the genre of danmei. 6:15 Why the show “Word of Honor” appeals to so many international audiences.12:44 What makes the character Zhou Xu so easy to fall for? How did the actor portraying Zhou Xu become the “wife” of the entire Chinese internet? What is “nisu” culture? How does the character subvert rigid gender stereotypes? 18:32 Our favorate, most memorable scenes from the show, portrayal of same-sex love in the Chinese context 23:56 Why is there such a huge market and appetite for subtle gay dramas adapted from boys’ love webnovels? How is this related to China’s burgeoning feminist movement? 25:50 Our issues with the female characters in the show, how they reflect the patriarchal values of wuxia classics, the marginalization of women who challenge men’s authority 29:29 How straight guys react to “Word of Honor” 31:58 The problem with the show’s ending, its Han-centric values, and why the character Zhou Xu’s internal logic is flawed. How the show deals with politics and authority. 43:14 The role of Chinese poetry in “Word of Honor” and the subtle political values reflected in Chinese poetry. 50:10 Criticisms of the danmei genre. Is danmei an appropriation of queer culture? How does danmei interact with LGBTQ communities in the real world? Links：Boys Keep Flirting With Each Other on Chinese TV But Never Fall in Love by Viola Zhou https://www.vice.com/en/article/7k95mg/boys-love-drama-china-tv-untamed-lgbtq Find Loud Murmurs in the iTunes podcast store, Google Play, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts (e.g. Pocket Casts, Overcast)! Please subscribe, enjoy, and feel free to drop us a note and leave us a review. RSS feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/258327.rss Itunes: https://apple.co/2VAVf0Z Google play: goo.gl/KjRYPN Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IWNuRB Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=544416&refid=stpr Pocket Cast: http://pca.st/nLid Overcast: https://bit.ly/2SL7MNJ Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs. Please reach out to us at loudmurmursfm@gmail.com for any business inquiries. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
Today, our hosts Afra and Ina are joined by friends and guests of the show, Professor Eileen Chow and journalist Muyi Xiao in our discussion of K-Drama. While some of us jumped into the K-Drama obsession early on, for others, it was a new hobby from the pandemic days. We dive into fan culture and its influence on TV shows, South Korea’s TV and Film industry, how we each got into K-Drama and why we continued watching, how TV shows have been historically in the U.S. and other countries, and stay tuned till the end for our top recommendations. Timecode:6:33 Eileen talks about fan culture9:30 Why we like K-Drama: pure happiness 11:20 Why we like K-drama, another reason: it’s variety in genre and plot20:47 US television was historically designed to cater to male audience25:32 how a new generation of showrunners familiar with fan culture are shaping our TV shows 30:10 K-Drama’s exoticization of foreign landscapes 41:50 Intimacy in K-Drama Find Loud Murmurs in the iTunes podcast store, Google Play, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts (e.g. Pocket Casts, Overcast)! Please subscribe, enjoy, and feel free to drop us a note and leave us a review. RSS feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/258327.rss Itunes: https://apple.co/2VAVf0Z Google play: goo.gl/KjRYPN Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IWNuRB Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=544416&refid=stpr Pocket Cast: http://pca.st/nLid Overcast: https://bit.ly/2SL7MNJ Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs. Please reach out to us at loudmurmursfm@gmail.com for any business inquiries. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
The pandemic quarantine has fueled new hobbies, and one of ours is the British Monarchy related content: THE Oprah interview, all four seasons of The Crown, and way too many biographies, documentaries and diaries (from the people who experienced it first hand). This episode, we are joined by a fellow unofficial “scholar” of the British Monarchy and related tea, stage director Mo Zhou. We start by unpacking the interview, then shining a light on the outmoded rules and values of the family and the damaging effects to the people within, and collectively ponder where tradition ends and modernity begins for the British Monarchy: the Firm, a political power, and a culture phenomenon that happens to take the shape of a family.03:05 Recapping the Oprah Interview11:25 Why do we know so much about the monarchy?15:30 Revisiting what we know about three generations of the monarchy45:00 Why is the Crown family called “the Firm”?51:59 Can we imagine a new and more modernized monarchy in the age of Brexit?Find Loud Murmurs in the iTunes podcast store, Google Play, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts (e.g. Pocket Casts, Overcast)! Please subscribe, enjoy, and feel free to drop us a note and leave us a review. RSS feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/258327.rss Itunes: https://apple.co/2VAVf0Z Google play: goo.gl/KjRYPN Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IWNuRB Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=544416&refid=stpr Pocket Cast: http://pca.st/nLid Overcast: https://bit.ly/2SL7MNJ Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs. Please reach out to us at loudmurmursfm@gmail.com for any business inquiries. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
Korean American director Lee Issac Chung’s semi-autobiographical film “Minari” is one of those films that make you think back to it days after watching. The film tells the story about a Korean-American family seeking the American dream in rural Arkansas in the 1980s. "Minari" is a tender and nuanced film that leaves you feeling nostalgic and reflective. And although it’s a highly specific story about a Korean American family, hosts Izzy, Ina and Afra talk about finding lots of parallels in our own migration stories. Our special guest for this episode is Eileen Chow, Duke University Visiting Associate Professor of Chinese and Japanese Cultural Studies and Co-director of the Duke Story Lab. 【Hosts】Izzy （@izzy_niu)Afra （@afrazhaowang）Ina （@capfainina0328）Eileen（@chowleen）【Highlights】Mother tongue, accents and the language of people caught in-between cultures Moving the cultural discussion beyond “authenticity” and representation The justified anger of female characters in “Minari”How Korean is this story The cinematic language of “Minari” and why it reminds us of Hou Hsiao-hsienForgotten history of Asian American farmers in the U.S. The spike in hate crimes targeting Asian Americans Find Loud Murmurs in the iTunes podcast store, Google Play, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts (e.g. Pocket Casts, Overcast)! Please subscribe, enjoy, and feel free to drop us a note and leave us a review. RSS feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/258327.rss Itunes: https://apple.co/2VAVf0Z Google play: goo.gl/KjRYPN Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IWNuRB Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=544416&refid=stpr Pocket Cast: http://pca.st/nLid Overcast: https://bit.ly/2SL7MNJ Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs. Please reach out to us at loudmurmursfm@gmail.com for any business inquiries. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
This is our Part Two of our two-part International Women’s Day Special Programming, in collaboration with our friends over at The Weirdo Podcast. Listen to Part One here. Our two-part special centers around the six categories of female characters that we’d like to see on screen. We combed through our Clubhouse discussion notes, our own experiences as pop culture consumers, and compiled this “wishlist” from the viewpoint of an average audience (rather than that of a TV/film industry insider). Some wishes are already being fulfilled while others seem farfetched. But we hope that we can see our collective wishlist being realized: whether on the small screen or big screen, in fanfics or novel. We are manifesting this into the world, now world, let’s make it happen. 【Hosts】Izzy （@izzy_niu)Afra （@afrazhaowang）Ina （@capfainina0328）Diaodiao (@diaodiao_yang)若含（@echoruohan）王磬（@qingww）【Highlights】2:45 We want to see representation from Chinese Minority Races without their characters being exoticized 7:40 Women of Minority Races in China should not be reduced to caricatures of sexual resources from exotic regions10:36 We want to see more Minority Race characters in modern TV shows, rather than “props” in period dramas11:20 It’s only fair (and rational) that Minority Races get equal representation in TV and films -- these folks want to be seen as well15:30 We want to see more TV/film creations from a women’s point of view: female directors, cinematographers, etc. What does the “female gaze” look like? 20:54 We want to see authentic female characters, they can be successful and independent, breaking the glass ceiling, as well as sink to the depth of the gutters as a villain 22:03 Breaking the ceiling: how do female characters explore their own lives and self actualize? 29:28 Sinking to the gutters: We want to see pure villains whose motivation hopefully has nothing to do with her partner/kid/family but herself and her yearning for powerFind Loud Murmurs in the iTunes podcast store, Google Play, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts (e.g. Pocket Casts, Overcast)! Please subscribe, enjoy, and feel free to drop us a note and leave us a review. RSS feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/258327.rss Itunes: https://apple.co/2VAVf0Z Google play: goo.gl/KjRYPN Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IWNuRB Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=544416&refid=stpr Pocket Cast: http://pca.st/nLid Overcast: https://bit.ly/2SL7MNJ Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs. Please reach out to us at loudmurmursfm@gmail.com for any business inquiries. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
This is our Part One of our two-part International Women’s Day Special Programming, in collaboration with our friends over at The Weirdo Podcast. In February, we teamed up with our friends at the Weirdo Podcast and hosted a discussion on Clubhouse, inviting our listeners to share what their ideal female character on screen would be like. The two-hour long initial conversation ballooned into over three hours, with 50+ listeners from across the world sharing their thoughts. We jotted them all down and categorized it loosely into six broad categories. Think of it as “suggestions” to the entertainment industry or all the players who are involved in making TV shows and movies, here’s the female character(s) that the audience REALLY wants to see on screen! We’re answering the million-dollar question here. Our two-part special centers around the six categories of female characters that we’d like to see on screen. We combed through our Clubhouse discussion notes, our own experiences as pop culture consumers, and compiled this “wishlist” from the viewpoint of an average audience (rather than that of a TV/film industry insider). Some wishes are already being fulfilled while others seem farfetched. But we hope that we can see our collective wishlist being realized: whether on the small screen or big screen, in fanfics or novel. We are manifesting this into the world, now world, let’s make it happen. 2:35 Introductions and the “why” behind our two-part special 7:43 We want to see more female characters from all age groups 12:09 The movie Eighth Grade did a good job of portraying the struggles of that specific age groups; Chinese-language films/shows such as《少年的你》(Better Days),《过春天》(The Crossing) 以及《隐秘的角落》(Bad Kids) also do a good job of showing the challenges and traumas of youth24:37 We want to see real female characters across age groups for two reasons: one is what they REALLY look like (physicality) and the REAL challenges they are facing30:34 We want to see more female friendship on screen38:26 We want to see female characters with real bodies Please give it a listen, share your thoughts with us on Twitter (and all other platforms), and stay tuned for Part Two!Special thanks to The Weirdo Podcast’s editor: 【Editor】方改则 Gaize Fang【Music】Intro: Drop Point - Bryan Teo; Outro：Hold on a Sec - Bryan TeohFind Loud Murmurs in the iTunes podcast store, Google Play, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts (e.g. Pocket Casts, Overcast)! Please subscribe, enjoy, and feel free to drop us a note and leave us a review. RSS feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/258327.rss Itunes: https://apple.co/2VAVf0Z Google play: goo.gl/KjRYPN Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IWNuRB Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=544416&refid=stpr Pocket Cast: http://pca.st/nLid Overcast: https://bit.ly/2SL7MNJ Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs. Please reach out to us at loudmurmursfm@gmail.com for any business inquiries. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
In celebration of Chole Zhao becoming the first Asian woman to win a Golden Globe for Best Director, we are revisiting this episode we recorded last year. Our three hosts Izzy, Diaodiao and Ina discuss ‘Nomadland,’ a recent favorite of ours and of the film festival award circuit (winner of the top prize at the Venice Film Festival). We try to put into words the ennui and other hard-to-grasp feelings the film evokes. We examine our own relationships with nature and the land on which we live, and we dive into the thorny social issue of caring for elderly laborers in both the U.S. and China.In this episode, you’ll hear: 00:00-07:30 First impressions of “Nomadland”07:30 - Frances McDormand’s sublime performance and how the movie can’t be contained by one genre 08:20 - How the film portrays space through storytelling and cinematography, the juxtaposition of the endless road and the cramped van 11:37 - The relationship between human and nature and land in the modern society 14:47 - The real social issues behind this poetic film 19:06 - How China and and the U.S. face similar yet different social issues with aging workers 23:32 - The decline of the welfare capitalism 31:07 - The nomadic lifestyle of those who turned away from the city life and the realities of being on the road37:06 - How the movie manages a social critique without undermining individuals’ dignity, resourcefulness and resilience Links：Millions of elderly laborers, who’s in charge of their retirement? https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1337242 ”Bitter Flowers” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z788IgjZDaY “Policing the open road” https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/policing-the-open-road/ Find Loud Murmurs in the iTunes podcast store, Google Play, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts (e.g. Pocket Casts, Overcast)! Please subscribe, enjoy, and feel free to drop us a note and leave us a review. RSS feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/258327.rss Itunes: https://apple.co/2VAVf0Z Google play: goo.gl/KjRYPN Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IWNuRB Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=544416&refid=stpr Pocket Cast: http://pca.st/nLid Overcast: https://bit.ly/2SL7MNJ Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs. Please reach out to us at loudmurmursfm@gmail.com for any business inquiries. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
“Soul” is a movie about death, about jazz, about longing and limitation. Since its premiere, many people in the U.S. and in China praise the movie for warming their hearts and nourishing their souls. As we immerse ourselves in the positivity the movie brings, we realize that this heartwarming feeling is temporary and its existence closely tied to the vacuum of the movie’s unrealistic world. Life isn’t as black and white or as easy as the movie depicts it to be. So how do we navigate the messy journey that is life? How do we live our lives while accepting that death is inevitable? Our hosts Ina and Afra sit down with our old friend and esteemed guest Yangyang Cheng to discuss Pixar’s new movie, Soul. 3:33 Afra shares how the movie prompted her to think about death6:28 Yangyang shares her personal experience with the movie and its faults in having a Black main character, but ultimately the movie isn’t a Black movie at all13:49 The movie depicts life and death as choices that we can actively make, which isn’t realistic at all17:54 what is the “purpose” of life? Or are we talking about the “meaning” of life? Yangyang shares how the meaning of life can be inherently a capitalist notion as modern society associate life meaning with one’s career27:00 the concept of time in life and how it helps us define our lives, with a nod to “The Good Place”38:52 sometimes we believe there’s a higher being in existence and as humans, we always strive to achieve this higher ground as a part of our legacy on this Earth40:05 Yangyang muses on writing, self-actualization, and the meaning of life! 44:50 “Soul” has a main character who’s Black, but ultimately it’s a mainstream story that’s inherently whiteP.S. We debut a new intro for season 4! Tremendous thanks to our fantastic editor Joshua for custom-editing this intro for usFind Loud Murmurs in the iTunes podcast store, Google Play, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts (e.g. Pocket Casts, Overcast)! Please subscribe, enjoy, and feel free to drop us a note and leave us a review. RSS feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/258327.rss Itunes: https://apple.co/2VAVf0Z Google play: goo.gl/KjRYPN Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IWNuRB Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=544416&refid=stpr Pocket Cast: http://pca.st/nLid Overcast: https://bit.ly/2SL7MNJ Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs. Please reach out to us at loudmurmursfm@gmail.com for any business inquiries. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
What you are about to hear is the trailer of our special episode - "Xianzi and her friends". You can find the full episode by searching "唠得默默” in your favorite podcast app, or add through the rss feed provided below - https://loudermurmurs.typlog.io/episodes/feed.xmlOn December 2, 2020, the trial for one of China’s most high-profile #MeToo case began. The trial came 6 years after Zhu Jun, the famous TV anchor and household name in China, allegedly sexually harassed Xianzi while she was an intern at CCTV. Over the years, Xianzi has turned her Weibo account into a powerful platform advocating for sexual harassment and sexual assult victims around the country. Xianzi’s weibo name is called “Xianzi and her friends.” On the day of the trial, hundreds of self-claimed “friends of Xianzi” congregated outside the courthouse to show her support. In this special episode, we talk to some friends of Xianzi about what exactly happened on this cold winter day outside the Beijing Haidian courthouse. Find Loud Murmurs in the iTunes podcast store, Google Play, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts (e.g. Pocket Casts, Overcast)! Please subscribe, enjoy, and feel free to drop us a note and leave us a review. RSS feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/258327.rss Itunes: https://apple.co/2VAVf0Z Google play: goo.gl/KjRYPN Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IWNuRB Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=544416&refid=stpr Pocket Cast: http://pca.st/nLid Overcast: https://bit.ly/2SL7MNJ Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs. Please reach out to us at loudmurmursfm@gmail.com for any business inquiries. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
With a sigh of relief, we’re proud to say that this year has finally come to an end. And what a year it has been! There are not enough words to accurately capture all that has happened this year, and as much we want to forget what this year has brought to us as both individuals and as societies, we shouldn’t. The most important thing to happen this year is the fact that it happened, and we owe it to the past, the present, and the future to remember it for what it was. In this episode, we invite our two editors, Joshua and Val, to join our four hosts and review what this year has been like for us and for Loud Murmurs, and we share some of our favorite episodes with all of you. Since its creation, Loud Murmurs gave us an opportunity to chase after the seemingly disconnected and random thoughts we’ve had after binging a TV show or watching a movie. It’s pushed us to dig deeper, challenge our biases and thinking, and do the work and research necessary to understand things we are not familiar with -- and to ultimately share it with everyone of our listeners. Thank you for being with us this past year, and thank you for accommodating us as we continue to learn and grow. Cheers to this year and the many more ahead!00: 40 Love from the hosts, editors and our listeners 23: 00 Diaodiao’s favorite episode: S3 E22 and E23 Social Dilemma 1 + 2 30: 50 Ina’s favorite episode(s)：All the episodes on first-generation diaspora stories 35: 25 Joshua’s favorite episode: S3 E12 “Becoming” by Michelle Obama40:02 Izzy’s favorite episode: S3 E15 Black Panther and the Green Book with Joshua and Esham 50: 00 Val’s favorite episode: S3 E19 Remembering RBG — Feminist fighter, role model and cultural iconFind Loud Murmurs in the iTunes podcast store, Google Play, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts (e.g. Pocket Casts, Overcast)! Please subscribe, enjoy, and feel free to drop us a note and leave us a review. RSS feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/258327.rss Itunes: https://apple.co/2VAVf0Z Google play: goo.gl/KjRYPN Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IWNuRB Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=544416&refid=stpr Pocket Cast: http://pca.st/nLid Overcast: https://bit.ly/2SL7MNJ Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs. Please reach out to us at loudmurmursfm@gmail.com for any business inquiries. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
In this episode, hosts Izzy, Afra and Diaodiao talk to our old friend Lin Santu and new friend, standup comedian Huey (TikTok @drhueyli), about two recent political films starring Sacha Baron Cohen.The Trial of the Chicago 7 is a dramatized reenactment of the 1969 trial of seven activists charged by the federal government with conspiracy, for their roles in organizing the counterculture protests in Chicago at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. We talk about the film’s various limitations and how it comments on and relates to the BLM protests this past summer. In the second half of the show, we dive into acerbic comedy Borat 2. The highly anticipated sequel to Borat may be best known for the infamous scene with Giuliani in the hotel room, but the breakout star is actually Borat’s 15-year old daughter Tutar. Is this the kind of commentary we need in today’s divisive political climate? We talk about these and more in this episode. 4:30 What are we talking about when we are talking about Sorkin?11:32 The history behind “The Trial of the Chicago 7”26:00 Police brutality in 1968 and 2020 40:10 “Borat Subsequent Movie Film” is ridiculously relevant and absurdly realistic47:30 We need to see more of Tutar53:00 Do we still need Borat in a post-truth world?Find Loud Murmurs in the iTunes podcast store, Google Play, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts (e.g. Pocket Casts, Overcast)! Please subscribe, enjoy, and feel free to drop us a note and leave us a review. RSS feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/258327.rss Itunes: https://apple.co/2VAVf0Z Google play: goo.gl/KjRYPN Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IWNuRB Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=544416&refid=stpr Pocket Cast: http://pca.st/nLid Overcast: https://bit.ly/2SL7MNJ Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs. Please reach out to us at loudmurmursfm@gmail.com for any business inquiries. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
The “Queen’s Gambit,” the new Netflix show about chess genius Beth Harmon, has managed to give us some joy amid this long period of listless pandemic-induced depression. Hosts Ina, Izzy and Diaodiao bring you this free-form, overly enthusiastic discussion filled with feminist (and other types of) rage where we try to get to the bottom of why this show is so damn satisfying to watch even with all its limitations. If you are expecting an intellectual, philosophical conversation about the most pressing social issue of our time — this is not it. But we had a ton of fun. We hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed recording it. P.S. Do you ship Benny/Beth or Beth/Benny? ; ) Timecodes:03:00 - 08:00 Why is the “Queen's Gambit” such a perfect show for women of our time? Why is it important that the show is set in the 50s? 08:30 - 11:00 How does Beth’s relationship with Beltik flip the traditional gender dynamics on its head; why does Beltik remind us of women in Chinese Wuxia novels/films? 11:25 - 15:00 The show’s portrayal of sex and love and Beth’s relationship with Benny and Townes15:30 - 21:00 Female characters in the show: who is Alma and why her life is a tragedy we can’t take our eyes off of; why her story reminds us of “Why women kill” and resonates with so many middle aged women in China? 21:30 - 25:00 Why the discussion of whether women should work or stay with families is one of the most talked about pain point in present day China; how the show portrays women’s trauma and resilience25:30 - 27:20 Is the show trying to pit women who conform against those who don’t? 27:30 - 29:00 Why is the portrayal of “tragic and helpless housewives” so offensive in China? 29:14 - 32:28 Is the character Jolene the “deus ex machina” of the show and why the show’s treatment of race draws criticism? 32:30 - 38:00 What kind of actual hurdles did Beth overcome and were they too easy? The reality of gender inequality in chess and other industries in 2020. Why do we say “Queen’s Gambit” is a fairy tale set in an alternative universe? 39:50 - 40:00 Knowing all the limits of the show, why do we still welcome MORE stories like this one? 41:00 - 43:00 Time to shamelessly ship Benny/Beth; Jolene/Beth; Beth/Cleo 44:00 - ENDING Maybe we need and deserve some pure joy in this f-ed up world. READINGS：AO3: Queens Gambit fanfics (Oh we support this tag: #Benny watts is bisexual I can tell bcs of his stupid little hat) https://archiveofourown.org/tags/The%20Queen's%20Gambit%20(TV)/works Older women on China’s TikTok are being scammed by flirtatious fake celebrities, highlighting a prevalent problem on the platformhttps://www.scmp.com/abacus/tech/article/3107118/older-women-chinas-tiktok-are-being-scammed-flirtatious-fake Chinese fans go wild over dark drama ‘Why Women Kill’ as season one endshttps://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1167371.shtml Promo：Find Loud Murmurs in the iTunes podcast store, Google Play, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts (e.g. Pocket Casts, Overcast)! Please subSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
In this episode, our two hosts and two guests continued our discussion on Netflix’s “Social Dilemma”. We talked about how the industry shaped us as practitioners (0:47) -- how it encouraged our uninhibited curiosity and restricted our imagination of what the Internet could have been(5:40). We also debated whether users should also be considered “laborers” in this new form of capitalism, and if they should get a share of the profit (15:20). We talked about what we did not like about the documentary, which is widely accused of sensationalism and oversimplifying complex issues (31:00). Lastly, we broke down the steps that are currently being taken -- and steps we would like to see (41:38) -- in the long march ahead of defending humanity against surveillance capitalism.Links:《计算机世界的教条和谎言——从设计批判的角度看科技》https://nyshalong.com/event/11“The Age of Surveillance Capitalism” by Shoshana Zuboff“The Curse of Xanadu” https://www.wired.com/1995/06/xanadu/Promo：Find Loud Murmurs in the iTunes podcast store, Google Play, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts (e.g. Pocket Casts, Overcast)! Please subscribe, enjoy, and feel free to drop us a note and leave us a review. RSS feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/258327.rss Itunes: https://apple.co/2VAVf0Z Google play: goo.gl/KjRYPN Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IWNuRB Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=544416&refid=stpr Pocket Cast: http://pca.st/nLid Overcast: https://bit.ly/2SL7MNJ Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs. Please reach out to us at loudmurmursfm@gmail.com for any business inquiries. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
This is the first section of our two-part discussion of Netflix’s “Social Dilemma.” Brace yourself as our two hosts and two guests dive into a collective mental breakdown while breaking down the complex set of problems the documentary shed light on -- surveillance capitalism, attention economy, and social media addiction. We discussed our reaction to the documentary, how it forced us to reconsider our day-to-day jobs as practitioners, our personal relationship with the attention and addiction industry, and why we need to start paying attention because, this time, things are truly different.Find Loud Murmurs in the iTunes podcast store, Google Play, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts (e.g. Pocket Casts, Overcast)! Please subscribe, enjoy, and feel free to drop us a note and leave us a review. RSS feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/258327.rss Itunes: https://apple.co/2VAVf0Z Google play: goo.gl/KjRYPN Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IWNuRB Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=544416&refid=stpr Pocket Cast: http://pca.st/nLid Overcast: https://bit.ly/2SL7MNJ Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs. Please reach out to us at loudmurmursfm@gmail.com for any business inquiries. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
In this episode, our three hosts Izzy, Diaodiao and Ina discuss ‘Nomadland,’ a recent favorite of ours and of the film festival award circuit (winner of the top prize at the Venice Film Festival). We try to put into words the ennui and other hard-to-grasp feelings the film evokes. We examine our own relationships with nature and the land on which we live, and we dive into the thorny social issue of caring for elderly laborers in both the U.S. and China. In this episode, you’ll hear: 00:00-07:30 First impressions of “Nomadland”07:30 - Frances McDormand’s sublime performance and how the movie can’t be contained by one genre 08:20 - How the film portrays space through storytelling and cinematography, the juxtaposition of the endless road and the cramped van 11:37 - The relationship between human and nature and land in the modern society 14:47 - The real social issues behind this poetic film 19:06 - How China and and the U.S. face similar yet different social issues with aging workers 23:32 - The decline of the welfare capitalism 31:07 - The nomadic lifestyle of those who turned away from the city life and the realities of being on the road37:06 - How the movie manages a social critique without undermining individuals’ dignity, resourcefulness and resilience Links：Millions of elderly laborers, who’s in charge of their retirement? https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1337242 ”Bitter Flowers” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z788IgjZDaY “Policing the open road” https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/policing-the-open-road/ Find Loud Murmurs in the iTunes podcast store, Google Play, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts (e.g. Pocket Casts, Overcast)! Please subscribe, enjoy, and feel free to drop us a note and leave us a review. RSS feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/258327.rss Itunes: https://apple.co/2VAVf0Z Google play: goo.gl/KjRYPN Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IWNuRB Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=544416&refid=stpr Pocket Cast: http://pca.st/nLid Overcast: https://bit.ly/2SL7MNJ Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs. Please reach out to us at loudmurmursfm@gmail.com for any business inquiries. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
In this episode, Diaodiao and Afra talk about their latest obsessions — dance competitions! We are talking about Youku’s electrifying reality dance show "The Street Dance of China", and HBO Max's vogue ballroom dance competition "Legendary" with a special guest: Bazi, who is the father of House of Kawakubo, the first vogue ballroom family in China. Bazi talks us through the dance genre known as voguing and why it's as much of a community as an art form. We compare the representations of female and LGBT dancers on the two shows, unpack our own experiences in the dance community, and explain why both of the shows celebrate a subversive culture but fail to be subversive themselves.If you haven't watched either of the shows, don't worry, you can still enjoy this episode! "Street Dance of China" Season 3 aired on July 18, 2020 and very soon became one of the most popular reality shows in post-pandemic China. The show features four celebrities who are known as "Captains." The captains pick their own team from a group of insanely talented dancers and battle the other teams for the final championship. "Legendary" brings together eight ballroom houses to compete for a cash prize of $100,000. The show refuses to handhold its audience through the rich traditions, history and terminology of ballroom culture.Street Dance of China Season 3 is on the air, why is it still popular?HBO Max’s Legendary gives the ballroom community a deliriously fun twirl into the spotlightE410.「人妖」李二毛的一生 故事fm VOGUING! SHANGHAI! 聚焦中国首个 Ballroom 文化平台 Find Loud Murmurs in the iTunes podcast store, Google Play, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts (e.g. Pocket Casts, Overcast)! Please subscribe, enjoy, and feel free to drop us a note and leave us a review. RSS feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/258327.rss Itunes: https://apple.co/2VAVf0Z Google play: goo.gl/KjRYPN Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IWNuRB Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=544416&refid=stpr Pocket Cast: http://pca.st/nLid Overcast: https://bit.ly/2SL7MNJ Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs. Please reach out to us at loudmurmursfm@gmail.com for any business inquiries.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
This is a very special episode we put together in 3 days. On September 18, 2020, Friday evening, we learned that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away at the age of 87. It was one of those news stories where you remember exactly what you were doing when you heard it. For this episode, hosts Izzy and Afra are joined by our guests Danmiao and Santu. Santu is in law school right now juggling between schoolwork and being a dad of two. Danmiao is a lawyer in New York City. Together we celebrate Notorious R.B.G’s life, legacy and her journey to pop culture icon. It’s actually a surprisingly uplifting episode, somehow. *In this episode, you’ll hear:*-How we learned of RBG’s death and how we processed the news-What RBG means to each of us personally -Ginsburg’s greatest contributions to women’s rights -Why the soft-spoken justice became an unlikely pop culture icon in her last years-How did the 2018 documentary R.B.G and the 2019 film “On the Basis of Sex” tell her story?-Why is her death politically significant? What does it mean for our future in the U.S. Links：2019 “On the Basis of Sex”https://www.focusfeatures.com/on-the-basis-of-sex2018 documentary: R.B.G https://www.rbgmovie.com/Notorious R.B.G:https://notoriousrbg.tumblr.com/Nina Totenberg on the death of RBG: https://www.npr.org/2020/09/18/100306972/justice-ruth-bader-ginsburg-champion-of-gender-equality-dies-at-87 Find Loud Murmurs in the iTunes podcast store, Google Play, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts (e.g. Pocket Casts, Overcast)! Please subscribe, enjoy, and feel free to drop us a note and leave us a review. RSS feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/258327.rss Itunes: https://apple.co/2VAVf0Z Google play: goo.gl/KjRYPN Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IWNuRB Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=544416&refid=stpr Pocket Cast: http://pca.st/nLid Overcast: https://bit.ly/2SL7MNJ Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs. Please reach out to us at loudmurmursfm@gmail.com for any business inquiries. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
This is the episode you’ve all been waiting for. Let us save you the time of reading 10,000 think pieces on why the movie is bad, by telling you exactly why the movie is bad. Together with our beloved guests Tony Lin and Rui Zhong, hosts Ina, Izzy and Afra spend an hour talking about why we are thoroughly unimpressed by Disney’s 2020 live action remake of “Mulan.” In this episode you’ll hear our thoughts on:What we love and miss the most about Disney’s 1998 classic, the original animated version of “Mulan” How the concept of “Qi” and Gong Li’s character undermine the storylineWhat the 2020 film got wrong about aesthetics and “Chinese” cultural elements (Disney doesn’t deserve Zheng Peipei)Who is Mulan? Warrior, daughter, the emperor’s perfect subject? How the 2020 film robbed Mulan of her agency, desires, and charisma What Disney sacrificed in order to appease the Chinese censors Disney decided to make this film in 2015, what changed (what hasn’t changed?!) in the five years since? About our guest:Tony Lin - Award-winning journalist, writer based in New York City. He’s on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/tony_zy Rui Zhong - Program associate at the Wilson Center. She’s on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/rzhongnotes Read more：The Politics of a New Mulanhttps://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/politics-new-mulan The Mulan Debacle https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/chinatalk/the-mulan-debacle-X-omly59GO2/ 加速脫鉤時代的《花木蘭》：如何做到一次過得罪全世界https://theinitium.com/article/20200915-culture-mulan-disney-media-observation/ Find Loud Murmurs in the iTunes podcast store, Google Play, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts (e.g. Pocket Casts, Overcast)! Please subscribe, enjoy, and feel free to drop us a note and leave us a review. RSS feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/258327.rss Itunes: https://apple.co/2VAVf0Z Google play: goo.gl/KjRYPN Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IWNuRB Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=544416&refid=stpr Pocket Cast: http://pca.st/nLid Overcast: https://bit.ly/2SL7MNJ Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs. Please reach out to us at loudmurmursfm@gmail.com for any business inquiries. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
When the musical “Hamilton” first came out, all four of us were in our early 20s, trying to find our own place in a new country. We found hope and inspiration in the story of Alexander Hamilton as told by the musical—the story of a young, ambitious immigrant who became a hero of the American revolution. This past July 4th weekend, a original Broadway production of “Hamilton'' streamed on Disney+ for the first time ever. Also on the same weekend, President Trump gave a speech in front of Mt. Rushmore, claiming "a left-wing cultural revolution is designed to overthrow the American Revolution."What is it like to watch “Hamilton” in 2020, when a celebration of “American progress” seems unfit for the time we are living in? For this episode, we invited our friend Yangyang Cheng, particle physicist and writer, to talk about the musical and what changed between then and now. In this episode you’ll hear: Why do we think “Hamilton” is a product of the Obama era and “an embodiment of its triumph and aspiration, as well as its limits and deception” How have our own beliefs in meritocracy and the American dream changed in Trump’s America? The limit of representation and diversity--why we must move beyond celebrating diversityRethinking American history: the 1619 project vs. HamiltonWhy do we say that “Hamilton” is a cultural product of the pre-MeToo era?About our guest:Yangyang Cheng is a particle physicist and a postdoctoral research associate at Cornell University. She also writes the “Science and China” column at SupChina. She has previously been on Loud Murmurs to talk about HBO’s drama “Chernobyl.” Listen to that episode here. links：Yangyang’s July column: Watching Hamilton at the End of the World https://supchina.com/2020/07/29/watching-hamilton-at-the-end-of-the-world/The “1619 Project”https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/1619-america-slavery.htmlIshmael Reed’s criticism of “Hamilton” when it first came out https://www.counterpunch.org/author/q7dru/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jul/28/tom-cotton-1619-project-cancel-cultureWhen a weasel shut down the world’s most powerful particle collider https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/04/29/476154494/weasel-shuts-down-world-s-most-powerful-particle-colliderFind Loud Murmurs in the iTunes podcast store, Google Play, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts (e.g. Pocket Casts, Overcast)! Please subscribe, enjoy, and feel free to drop us a note and leave us a review. RSS feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/258327.rss Itunes: https://apple.co/2VAVf0Z Google play: goo.gl/KjRYPN Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IWNuRB Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=544416&refid=stpr Pocket Cast:
Violence is unsettling; violence in a civil demonstration is, for many, somehow more unsettling than violence sponsored by the state. This is the last episode in our three-part conversation about Black Lives Matter. Hosts Afra, Diaodiao and guests talk about the idea of “rioting” as presented in two movies: the National Geography’s documentary LA92, and Spike Lee’s classic Do the Right Thing. We discuss the history of tension between the Asian American immigrant community and the black community, and why this tension is still more than relevant today.Extra readings：Catching Hell in the City of Angels https://vimeo.com/ondemand/catchinghellLA92 -- full documentary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaotkHlHJwoFind Loud Murmurs in the iTunes podcast store, Google Play, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts (e.g. Pocket Casts, Overcast)! Please subscribe, enjoy, and feel free to drop us a note and leave us a review. RSS feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/258327.rss Itunes: https://apple.co/2VAVf0Z Google play: goo.gl/KjRYPN Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IWNuRB Pocket Cast: http://pca.st/nLid Overcast: https://bit.ly/2SL7MNJ Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
This is a very special episode and the second of our 3-part conversation about Black Lives Matter. Longtime listeners of Loud Murmurs know that we have talked about “Black Panther” and “Green Book” when they first came out—about white savior complex in “Green Book” and the significance of Black futurism in “Black Panther.” But we want to bring back the two movies that are familiar to our listeners, and use them as an opportunity to have a conversation about race and racism in China, with the help of our guests. In this episode, Izzy and Diaodiao invited Esham and Joshua to join us. Esham (Twitter: @eshammacauley) is a first-gen African immigrant raised in the U.S. but has roots in West Africa, the Middle East, and Scandinavia. Joshua (Instagram: @joshytaughtyou) grew up on the south side of Chicago and currently works at a tech company in Shenzhen. Both of them have studied in China. In this episode, they talk candidly about racist encounters they’ve had being Black men in China and how they make sense of Hollywood’s reckoning with its decades of racism as part of the ongoing BLM movement in the U.S. A common argument is that “racism doesn’t exist in China because most Chinese people have never met a Black person.” In reality, hundreds of thousands of Black people currently live and work in China. Their experience decidedly differs from that of white expats. One doesn’t have to look so hard to find blatantly racist and hateful speech on Weibo today. Sooner or later, we need to have a tough conversation about anti-Black racism in China. In this episode: What do our guests think about “Green Book” and “Black Panther” and their different reception in China? What similarities did Joshua find between “The Wandering Earth” and “Black Panther”?How has “respectability politics'' shaped our two guests' lives growing up? What does “respectability politics” look like in China? What is their experience with racism in China and can we categorize those encounters as “innocent ignorance”?Why are American movies and TV shows we grew up watching in China so white? The importance of letting people tell their own stories about racism.Find Loud Murmurs in the iTunes podcast store, Google Play, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts (e.g. Pocket Casts, Overcast)! Please subscribe, enjoy, and feel free to drop us a note and leave us a review. RSS feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/258327.rss Itunes: https://apple.co/2VAVf0Z Google play: goo.gl/KjRYPN Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IWNuRB Pocket Cast: http://pca.st/nLid Overcast: https://bit.ly/2SL7MNJ Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
The Hollywood classic "Gone With The Wind" has recently been removed from HBO Max, and returned to its cinematic library a mere two weeks later with additional content: an optional intro that gives “frank assessment of both the film’s own racist content and the racism of the times and environment into which it was released” and another hour-long recording of a panel discussion on the complicated legacy of "Gone With The Wind." In this episode, our hosts Afra and Ina, joined by an old friend @Flyingpku, look into the film’s complicated legacy, the whitewashing, and romanticizing of the horrors of slavery. We discuss the following:How the movie differs from the book and a deeper dive into several characters The iconography of the “Southern Belle” and the long-lasting effects of glamourizing the Southern Antebellum (why plantation weddings are still a thing)The problematic portrayal of slave characters, especially female slaves, in the movie, and how those stereotypes still perpetuate today’s pop culture (e.g. Aunt Jemima)The romanticization of slavery and the inaccurate depiction of the Civil WarThe “iconic” status of Gone With The Wind in Hollywood history and its unique reception in China (Greenlit by Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin) Links of articles we reference in the show：How I Bought Into Gone with the Wind’s Mythology of Whiteness https://electricliterature.com/how-i-bought-into-gone-with-the-winds-mythology-of-whiteness/ The Southern Belle: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/removing-the-southern-belle-from-her-inglorious-perch/2015/08/14/ea929b2a-3f96-11e5-9561-4b3dc93e3b9a_story.html Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave by Frederick Douglass《飘到哪里去》by Lin Fang, Jan 20, 1980, Liberation DailyFind Loud Murmurs in the iTunes podcast store, Google Play, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts (e.g. Pocket Casts, Overcast)! Please subscribe, enjoy, and feel free to drop us a note and leave us a review. RSS feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/258327.rss Itunes: https://apple.co/2VAVf0Z Google play: goo.gl/KjRYPN Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IWNuRB Pocket Cast: http://pca.st/nLid Overcast: https://bit.ly/2SL7MNJ Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
This is one of the most anticipated episodes on Loud Murmurs for Afra, Izzy, and Ina, who share a (un)healthy obsession with the Nickelodeon cartoon “Avatar: The Last Airbender.” We’ve also invited a special guest, Eris Qian (Zhuoyang), New York-based director and playwright, to talk about why we love the show so much.It’s not just us. The 15-year-old cartoon is having a moment, a “stunning second life” as a recent New Yorker article put it. In May, “Avatar the Last Airbender” became the most-watched show on Netflix. The show’s adventures, friendships, failures, redemptions, and the characters’ struggle for morality in a chaotic world feel more real than real life in 2020. If you haven’t watched the show, go watch it before listening to this episode because lots of ~spoilers~ and simping a certain character whose name starts with “z.” May ATLA be your secret tunnel through 2020. In this episode, we talked about:Avatar’s world-building: Pan-Asian culture Cultural appropriation vs. appreciation Our favorite characters and scenes What we love and don’t love about ATLA’s portrayal of women (the “ideal woman” trap)Why does ATLA remind us of Wuxia （武侠） novels and “Journey to the West” and 明清章回小说Explanatory comma or no explanatory comma? Eris Qian talks about what it’s like to tell an intimate, personal story when your audience finds it “foreign” Links：The Stunning Second Life of “Avatar: The Last Airbender”https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-stunning-second-life-of-avatar-the-last-airbenderOfficial timeline of ATLA and comic books:https://card.weibo.com/article/m/show/id/2309404470397344022728?_wb_client_=1&object_id=1022%3A2309404470397344022728&extparam=lmid--4470397346939216&luicode=10000011&lfid=231522type%3D1%26t%3D10%26q%3D%23%E9%99%8D%E4%B8%96%E7%A5%9E%E9%80%9A%EF%BC%9A%E6%9C%80%E5%90%8E%E7%9A%84%E6%B0%94%E5%AE%97%23&featurecode=10000084Zuzu’s rap debut (no)https://www.weibo.com/u/5525387911 Promo：Find Loud Murmurs in the iTunes podcast store, Google Play, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts (e.g. Pocket Casts, Overcast)! Please subscribe, enjoy, and feel free to drop us a note and leave us a review. RSS feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/258327.rss Itunes: https://apple.co/2VAVf0Z Google play: goo.gl/KjRYPN Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IWNuRB Pocket Cast: http://pca.st/nLid Overcast: https://bit.ly/2SL7MNJ Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs. Email us: loudmurmursfm@gmail.com Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
Michelle Obama is one of the most iconic women of our time and one of the most beloved First Lady in U.S. history. Her memoir “Becoming” has been a book that is giving us life in a year filled with crises. For this episode, hosts Ina and Afra invited Dr. Guo Ting at the University of Hong Kong to talk about Michell Obama’s memoir—the lessons we can and cannot learn from her journey. We talked about: What’s Michelle’s source of power and faith that allowed her to defy societal expectations every step of the way? Financial wealth vs. wealth in human capital in Black families What’s the role of lifelong female friendships? Why is female friendship almost absent in so much of our cultural conversation and collective consciousness? What does the role of First Lady mean in American politics, society? How has that role changed over the decades? How did the Obamas manage to push the society’s understanding of race? How have they adjusted their goals throughout the eight years? Has the book fallen short of addressing systemic, societal problems that affect individual accomplishments?This episode is edited by: Joshua Ogden-DavisLinks：The Social Sex: History of Female Friendship by Marilyn Yalom郭婷︱闺蜜史：友情是磅礴的革命田安（Anna Shields）：《知我者：中唐的文人友谊与文学文化》（One Who Knows Me: Friendship and Literary Culture in Mid-Tang）Find Loud Murmurs in the iTunes podcast store, Google Play, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts (e.g. Pocket Casts, Overcast)! Please subscribe, enjoy, and feel free to drop us a note and leave us a review. RSS feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/258327.rss Itunes: https://apple.co/2VAVf0Z Google play: goo.gl/KjRYPN Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IWNuRB Pocket Cast: http://pca.st/nLid Overcast: https://bit.ly/2SL7MNJ Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
Hosts Diaodiao, Afra, and Izzy talk about Mindy Kailing’s new Netflix series “Never Have I Ever,” a coming-of-age comedy about Devi, a second-generation Indian American girl in California.We talk about our own past as overachieving high school nerds (more than one of us were also in Model UN ahem), the feeling of othering when you move to a new country, why the show only manages to tell one specific story from Devi’s perspective, and last but not least, the show’s unabashed female gaze. (Afra actually sought out Paxton’s fan page.)We also included an interview segment with our special guest: Saisha, who grew up in India, studied and worked in China, and currently lives in New York City. Saisha talks about what she loves about the show and why she finds the show to be more like India in the 90s. She feels nervous about some of the ways the show portrays Indian Americans’ attitude towards marriage and religion: “There’s a war over identity going on in India right now. You want to show that story very carefully in India and America. To Indian Americans, it might just be nostalgic, but that has implications back home. If you are telling people you will still be struggling with this whether you’re in India or America, that’s problematic.”links：https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/27/arts/television/mindy-kaling-never-have-I-ever-netflix.htmlPromo：Find Loud Murmurs in the iTunes podcast store, Google Play, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts (e.g. Pocket Casts, Overcast)! Please subscribe, enjoy, and feel free to drop us a note and leave us a review. RSS feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/258327.rss Itunes: https://apple.co/2VAVf0Z Google play: goo.gl/KjRYPN Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IWNuRB Pocket Cast: http://pca.st/nLid Overcast: https://bit.ly/2SL7MNJ Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
This episode is dedicated to one of our quarantine favorites -- Netflix’s The Half of it, a quirky coming-of-age romantic comedy written and directed by Asian American director, Alice Wu. We unpacked the literary references of the film, and discussed why the references perfectly captured the mindset of a teenager literature reader. We also talked about the four key characters in the film -- Ellie, Astor, Paul and Dr. Chu -- what they represent and what they mean for us in our own coming-of-age experiences.Find Loud Murmurs in the iTunes podcast store, Google Play, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts (e.g. Pocket Casts, Overcast)! Please subscribe, enjoy, and feel free to drop us a note and leave us a review. RSS feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/258327.rss Itunes: https://apple.co/2VAVf0Z Google play: goo.gl/KjRYPN Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IWNuRB Pocket Cast: http://pca.st/nLid Overcast: https://bit.ly/2SL7MNJ Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
In this episode, our hosts Afra and Diaodiao are joined by a group of AI practitioners to unpack the new season of HBO’s Westworld. They talked about the show’s fuzzy rendition of the role of engineering in AI technology, explained how the real-world versions of Incite create your user profile, and shared stories and researches that illustrate the disturbing reality we live in -- the dual Leviathan of surveillance capitalism and surveillance state. Meanwhile, as COVID created a new reality where every citizen can be a security threat to the collective, they shared their thoughts, worries and observations on how surveillance can ride the tide, and why it is particularly important to be okay with being “radical”.The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: https://shoshanazuboff.com/book/about/Suji’s Anti-996 License: https://github.com/kattgu7/Anti-996-LicenseFind Loud Murmurs in the iTunes podcast store, Google Play, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts (e.g. Pocket Casts, Overcast)! Please subscribe, enjoy, and feel free to drop us a note and leave us a review. RSS feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/258327.rss Itunes: https://apple.co/2VAVf0Z Google play: goo.gl/KjRYPN Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IWNuRB Pocket Cast: http://pca.st/nLid Overcast: https://bit.ly/2SL7MNJ Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/loudmurmurs)
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