Should We Keep This?

We’re wrapping up the aughts with a bet sandwich! We’ll look at the predictions we made for the media we consumed this decade, and make new predictions about the decade to come. For the first time ever, Gina wins something! But who will win the most tense trivia battle yet? You may be surprised. It’s all very Trans-Neptunian. Support this podcast

Roll up those sleeves (even though you’re not supposed to) and put on your best belly shirt, because this week we’re talking about Avatar (top grossing) and The Hurt Locker (Best Picture).  Join Gina and Steven as we pick apart “unobtanium,” expound on the ridiculousness of cereal choices, and invent something called Manifest Underwear. This podcast is produced by Rock Rising. Support this podcast

We’re taking you to the big cities of Gotham and Mumbai this week with The Dark Knight (top grossing) and Slumdog Millionaire (Best Picture). Join Steven and Gina as we take a hard look at the morality of vigilante justice and whether or not a fairy tale ending negates a movie’s challenging themes. It’s not the podcast you need, but it’s the podcast you deserve. Or...is it the other way around? Support this podcast

We couldn’t get enough pirates last time, so this week we’re at it again with Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (top grossing) and No Country for Old Men (Best Picture). Join us as we take a hard look at some very not-cool violence, discuss why getting married in the middle of a swordfight on a ship is not a great idea, and analyze Javier Bardem’s distinctive haircut. Oh, and everyone needs to stop kissing Keira Knightley. Seriously. This podcast is produced by Rock Rising. Support this podcast

Release the kraken! This week we’re talking about Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (top grossing) and The Departed (Best Picture). We explore the speed and reliability of sea travel, the challenge of assembling a three-piece suit, and Steven’s very aggressive Boston accent. How many years of servitude would you wager for this podcast? Support this podcast

“Unthinking” is the word of the week, with Crash (best picture) and American Idol (top-rated TV show).  Join Gina and Steven as we ask the tough questions: What would you do if you thought you were making “Do the Right Thing” but actually made “Driving Miss Daisy”? Was everyone a maxxinista in 2005? And who the #*$@ is Brian Dunkleman? Cingular Wireless customers can text “VOTE” to 1-866-SWKT. This podcast is produced by Rock Rising - check us out at rockrising.org & join our newsletter! Support this podcast

This week it’s all about characters who grew up in the swamps, with Shrek 2 (top grossing) and Million Dollar Baby (best picture). Join Steven and Gina as we interrogate basic Republican melodrama structure, rigidly enforced gender binaries, and ogre stereotypes. Are the Fairy Godmother’s elves an anti-capitalist statement? Does sex make you a murderer? Tune in to find out! This podcast is produced by Rock Rising, visit our website to join our newsletter! rockrising.org Support this podcast

It’s the year of terrible lighting design, male singers singing exclusively in their lower registers, and...consensual voluntary pederectomies?? This week we’re looking at CSI (top rated TV show) and the top ten hit songs of 2003. From the show that forever made jurors believe they were experts to a lawsuit about the phrase “it’s your birthday,” we think you’ll be Crazy in Love with this podcast! Support this podcast

It’s the year of the adaptation that may be better than the original, with Chicago (Best Picture) and Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (top grossing). Join us because we know a whoopee spot - and Gina and Steven both obviously know what that phrase means, by the way. We’re bringing you jazz and liquor, hobbits and elves, women who kill and the biggest problems with the genre of fantasy. Plus, Gina’s Orlando Bloom obsession. rockrising.org/donate Support this podcast

If you have a subscription to Yankee Candle, then this episode’s for you. This week we’re talking about A Beautiful Mind (Best Picture) and Friends (top rated TV show). Join Rachel, Ross, Monica, Chandler, Joey, Phoebe, Steven, Gina, and all those memorable characters from A Beautiful Mind as we ask the tough questions: what the hell is Jennifer Connolly’s job? Does hanging out in coffee shops make you too hip? Support this podcast

We’re back! Did you miss us? Are you not entertained? Join Steven and Gina as we leap into the aughts on flying motorcycles with Mission Impossible II (top grossing) and Gladiator (Best Picture) bringing you historically inaccurate movies about dudes who are great at killing...but only when they have to. Plus Tiktok, Vermont fashion, and the fact that Steven doesn’t believe in love. rockrising.org/donate https://www.instagram.com/shouldwekeepthis/ (@shouldwekeepthis) Support this podcast

Special: Fight Club & FargoFor our final 90s special episode, we’re taking a turn towards dark comedic violence with Fight Club and Fargo. Are we going to discuss the glorification of mental illness, pregnant police chiefs, and flushing condoms down the toilet? Oh gee, you betcha. Don’t cha think we’re good at Minnesota accents? And remember: the first rule of Gina’s social media is... well, you know the rest. We’re taking a summer break, but we’ll be back in your ears soon with the 2000s!

Special: Clueless & 10 Things I Hate About YouWe couldn’t get through the nineties without doing an episode about high school coming of age movies adapted from classic English literature, so this week we’re talking about Clueless & 10 Things I Hate About You. Join us for all the tropes: clique-splanations, drunk teens getting concussions, and daughters calling their dads “daddy.” This may be our very first episode in which both Steven and Gina change their minds about the movies. You won’t wanna zop this one away, folks.

Okay listeners. We usually try to keep our thoughts on the movies out of the episode descriptions but this week we’re bringing you a PSA. If you have not seen Boyz N The Hood or Thelma & Louise, stop what you’re doing and Watch. Those. Movies. Seriously. Go. Do it. Did you do it? Good. Now tune in for a ‘90s take on gentrification and sexual assault. Plus, bitcoin metaphors.

We’re bringing you another special episode this week with Edward Scissorhands and Rushmore. Join Gina and Steven, aka Bookhands and Mughands, as we try to get to the bottom of some crucial questions: why is Miss Cross so overqualified for her job? Does Edward Scissorhands fit the born sexy yesterday trope? Where did all that ice come from?!? If you’ve ever had an intense crush on your teacher or artfully cut a dog’s hair, this episode is for you!

Special: The Matrix & The Fifth ElementIt’s time for some sci fi action adventure in our latest 90s special episode, with The Matrix and The Fifth Element. Join for the genre-bending innovation, and stay for the magic of true love’s kiss. Believe it or not, but these two movies are basically...the same movie. Well, aside from some different takes on what the future holds (a reliance on dial up internet? The objectification of every woman working in the service industry?). Tune in! Boring podcasts are a plague, and we are the cure.

Special: Rush Hour & Space JamWe believe we can fly, because this week we’re talking about Space Jam and Rush Hour! Ever wondered what happens when you make a movie based on a series of commercials? What does Rush Hour have to do with the launching of Rotten Tomatoes? And most important of all... is Space Jam a documentary??? We’re answering those questions and more as we continue our series of special episodes dedicated to 90s movies. Tune in as we try to figure out what to do with the movie that put Jackie Chan on the Hollywood map. Turns out, it’s not as simple as it may seem.

Special Episode: Pulp Fiction. Oh yeah! Gina and Steven are kicking off their 90s Bonus series with none other than Quenton Tarantino’s seminal film, Pulp Fiction. Do we keep it? Between the helpless female characters, homophobia, glorification of heroin, and—oh yeah—white people saying the N word (so many white people. So many N words) perhaps you can guess.

Decade Wrap: 1990sThis week we’re saying goodbye to the ‘90s: the decade of scrunchies and beanie babies, the decade of Disney’s resurgence and disaster movies, the decade of the ever-widening gap between top-grossing films and Oscar winning ones. Join us for trivia (a real close competition!), pitches on how we’d remake some ’90s movies (Star Wars Ep 1 without racism! Forrest Gump but it’s all about Jenny!) and our predictions as we look ahead toward the many franchise movies of the 2000s. But before we go there, we’re busy getting you more special episodes devoted to some of our favorite problematic ‘90s movies. Stay tuned and tune in!

Join us for the last year of the 90s, also known as the year of the little blond boys. Listen as Gina and Steven discuss the bland menswear, racist stereotypes, the world’s longest rat tail, and the fact that Nabooians democratically elected a 14 year old. Progressive, but also... not a good idea. *Mobile Episode recorded while practicing social distancing during COVID-19. Stay safe!

Join us for our first episode in isolation! That’s right. We’re taking a little detour on our way through the 90s cuz of a little thing called COVID 19 (ever heard of it?). And today we’re joined by Rock Rising cohort Michael Johnson (Looking For Artists podcast host) to discuss his 90s Bonus pick Men in Black. We’re talking cool suits, sexy morticians, and social distancing. Is there a difference between “isolation” and “quarantine?” Is there a point to the song Men in Black, besides being a total banger? One thing’s for sure: we make this podcast look good. *Recorded remotely to practice social distancing during COVID-19 2020. Stay safe!

1998 (Shakespeare In Love & Armageddon) It’s time to talk about Independence Day and Annie Hall...er, sorry, no that’s not right, we mean Armageddon (top grossing) and Shakespeare in Love (Best Picture). Two movies that are definitely NOT at all like those other two movies. Join Steven and Gina for a heated discussion about animal cracker crumbs in undies, writer’s block, space dementia, and so much more in this week of Ben Affleck and female muses.

We’re king of the world this week with Titanic (Best Picture & Top Grossing) and Seinfeld (top rated TV show). Whether you’re new money or steerage, whether you’re a schlemiel or a schlimazel, join Steven and Gina this week as they ask the most important questions: How much sideboob is kosher for network TV? In the VHS version of Titanic, when exactly did the first tape end? What‘s the deal with “Bee Movie”?! We don’t have all the answers, but we do know one thing: we’ll never let go...of this podcast.

It must be the mid-90s, because we’re drowning in American exceptionalism and sepia toned music videos with Independence Day (top grossing movie) and the top ten billboard songs of 1996. Join Gina and Steven as we discuss how aliens always know to target the White House, the gas station attendant who discovered Toni Braxton, and the insane ease with which literally anyone can become a fighter pilot. Oh and one more thing. We’ve all been doing the Macarena wrong. 

If you’re looking for a glorification of masculinity or of mediocrity, look no further than 1995 with Braveheart (Best Picture) and Toy Story (top grossing). Join us as we attempt Scottish accents, explore subliminal commentaries on parenting, cry for freedom, and dismantle the egregiousness of Bo Peep. Somebody’s poisoned the water hole, but that’s okay. Because we podcast like warrior poets.

We’ve got two stories of what happens when you literally run away from your problems with 1994’s The Lion King (top grossing) and Forrest Gump (Best Picture). This episode has it all: fascist hyena rallies! Apparently unintentional conservative propaganda! Awkward dorm room hook-ups! Kimba?! Tune in and join us for a rousing chorus of Hakuna Matata - and no, Disney, you can’t trademark an actual Swahili phrase.

We’re elbow deep in dinosaur poop this week as we discuss two Spielberg movies that couldn’t be more different: Jurassic Park (top grossing) and Schindler’s List (Best Picture). From absurd sci fi adventure to harrowing historical drama, join us as we navigate the ever-widening gap between the movies that sweep box offices and the ones that sweep award shows.

Whether your preferred mode of transportation is a horse or a camel, get ready for long rides through the desert with Aladdin (top grossing) and Unforgiven (Best Picture). 1992 was a year full of cultural appropriation and sad single dads, of small penis shame and boobs, boobs, boobs. Go ahead, leave your small children alone for a few weeks. What could go wrong?

We’re having some old friends for dinner this week with Silence of the Lambs (Best Picture) and Terminator 2 (top grossing). You might not realize it, but these movies have a LOT in common, from foster parents to vivid nightmares to female characters with no romantic plot lines...plus they both offer lots of opportunities for Steven and Gina to show off many different accents. Don’t say hasta la vista to this podcast, baby!

Welcome to the ‘90s! We’re starting the decade off with a shirtless Swayze in Ghost (top grossing) and Kevin Costner’s butt in Dances With Wolves (Best Picture). Steven and Gina are so glad to be back, and there are some things we love about 1990...female romantic leads wearing sensible clothing! Realistic NYC living situations! But then of course there’s other things... imperialist nostalgia? Unnecessary voiceover? Yikes. Are we ready to start asking the tough questions again? Steven says yes. Gina says, ditto.

It’s snowing! Or is that just $640 million worth of bearer bonds falling from the scene of a hostage takeover? Either way, we’re bringing you one last special episode this year, and it’s all about the 1988 holiday movie Die Hard (yes, it’s a holiday movie!). Steven and Gina are joined by friend and husband extraordinaire Quinn Rol. Get ready for loads of quotes, a disagreement over the pronunciation of “leitmotif,” and the world’s most poorly designed boardroom table. Like, ever. Yippee Ki-Yay... well, you know the rest.

Gina and Steven analyze the films, shows, music, and more that have shaped our culture to determine… Should We Keep This?

Gina and Steven analyze the films, shows, music, and more that have shaped our culture to determine… Should We Keep This?

Gina and Steven analyze the films, shows, music, and more that have shaped our culture to determine… Should We Keep This?

Gina and Steven analyze the films, shows, music, and more that have shaped our culture to determine… Should We Keep This?

Gina and Steven analyze the films, shows, music, and more that have shaped our culture to determine… Should We Keep This?

Gina and Steven analyze the films, shows, music, and more that have shaped our culture to determine… Should We Keep This?

Join us as we say goodbye to the 80s, a decade of big hair and bigger problematic representations. We send off the decade with some particularly infuriating trivia, halfhearted pitches, and bets about the decade to come. Speaking of bets, we look back to our predictions of the 80s, and Steven delivers a very on-brand punishment to Gina. But it’s all good because we are very excited for...THE NINETIES!

Gina and Steven analyze the films, shows, music, and more that have shaped our culture to determine… Should We Keep This?

Gina and Steven analyze the films, shows, music, and more that have shaped our culture to determine… Should We Keep This?

Gina and Steven analyze the films, shows, music, and more that have shaped our culture to determine… Should We Keep This?

Gina and Steven analyze the films, shows, music, and more that have shaped our culture to determine… Should We Keep This?

Gina and Steven analyze the films, shows, music, and more that have shaped our culture to determine… Should We Keep This?

Gina and Steven analyze the films, shows, music, and more that have shaped our culture to determine… Should We Keep This?

Gina and Steven analyze the films, shows, music, and more that have shaped our culture to determine… Should We Keep This?

Gina and Steven analyze the films, shows, music, and more that have shaped our culture to determine… Should We Keep This?

Gina and Steven analyze the films, shows, music, and more that have shaped our culture to determine… Should We Keep This?

Gina and Steven analyze the films, shows, music, and more that have shaped our culture to determine… Should We Keep This?

Gina and Steven analyze the films, shows, music, and more that have shaped our culture to determine… Should We Keep This?

Gina and Steven analyze the films, shows, music, and more that have shaped our culture to determine… Should We Keep This?

Gina and Steven analyze the films, shows, music, and more that have shaped our culture to determine… Should We Keep This?