This radio show, made famous for its true-life storytelling on subjects ranging from building superintendents to summer camp, occasionally dabbles in the world of fiction. Very occasionally, they dabble in the world of superhero fan fiction. They’ve done so on at least 2 different occasions, both with stories by writer Jonathan Goldstein:
Episode 198: “How to Win Friends and Influence People.” A sad-sack man tells what it’s like to date Lois Lane after her break-up with Superman… while also serving as Superman’s ineffectual sidekick. It’s not easy being Superman’s sidekick, especially when he starts hitting on your girlfriend. Luckily, he finds a comforting soul in Clark Kent.
Episode 241: “20 Acts in 60 Minutes.” The Penguin and Mary Poppins compare notes on umbrella flight techniques only to find they have little in common. To make matters worse, Mary loses interest in the Penguin and strikes up a conversation with Bruce Wayne about controlled jumps off of buildings.
Note that we have at least two violations of Mlawski’s rules on good fanfic: both stray far from the mood and style of their original sources, and the second one crosses over two different fictional universes. Fortunately, these rules aren’t hard and fast; besides, more conventional fanfic wouldn’t really work in the context of, you know, NPR.
Readers: what are some other unlikely sources of fanfic, superhero or otherwise, that you’ve found?
Happy Thanksgiving from Overthinking It! We know, there’s plenty of popular culture to be thankful for, but in the spirit of Overthinking It, I though I’d put a slightly different spin on giving thanks. Let’s take a look at the latest trends in popular culture that we should be thankful for, but now just accept as the norm. Dig in for a three-course Overthinking It Thanksgiving Feast after the jump (warning: Synecdoche, New York spoiler follows).
Our society’s institutions are collapsing, and we have lost confidence in our leaders to save us. Wait, didn’t someone make a summer blockbuster about this?
Where do we turn in this time of crisis? Here’s what the Joker thinks about President Bush’s economic bailout.
In a world beset by corruption, only one man, playboy by day and above-the-law action hero with access to unbelievable riches and technology by night, can take on a massive criminal syndicate, despite the misgivings of an older, better actor, to avenge a woman he loved and lost.
Sound familiar? Oh yeah, it’s The Dark Knight almost exactly (though this time, the older, better actor is a woman).
The incredible financial success of The Dark Knight has virtually guaranteed that we’re going to be seeing a lot more of this phenomenon — which I’m going to call Batmanization (either that or Nolanization; haven’t decided yet): a pervasive darkness in mood and tone, moody, inscrutable heroes that, even when they are state-sponsored, come off as vigilantes, and, judging by this trailer anyway, very little emphasis on sex, which I find shocking in a Bond film.
Well, it’s official. According to A.O. Scott, one of the main film critics of the New York Times, superheroes are SO OVER. Well. I guess there won’t be anymore superhero movies, then.
Okay, so we all know that’s not going to happen. But I kind of have to agree with Scott on some level. The Dark Knight may have been so good that it ended a certain type of superhero movie thread. This is the thread that Scott describes in his article: the one where the superhero runs after the villain for the first two-thirds of the movie, then they finally have a showdown in which the villain and superhero are revealed to be “not so different,” and then the superhero kicks the villain’s ass. I agree with Scott that the ass-kicking part is the least interesting part of this kind of film.
So where does this leave superhero movies? Are they so over? If not, what kind of superhero film will replace the Dark Knight model? If so, what will take their place? My ideas are below the fold…
UPDATE (2008-08-08): Spoilers related to (of all things) The Wire were inadvertently included in this podcast. They have been removed, and the link above has a spoiler-free edition of the podcast.
As loljoker contest submissions have continued to roll in, an interesting pattern has emerged; there are lots of lulz about Heath, Romero, and (as you’ll see in this post) the comic book and lego incarnations of the Joker, there has been a conspicuous paucity of Jack Nicholson themed submissions. What is the deal with that?
It seems that Ledger’s performance has pushed Nicholson’s joker into the taint of irrelevance; Nicholson can no longer lay claim to the darkest incarnation of the Joker, yet his portrayal is not as campy as Romero’s turn in the classic TV series. Is his generally solid interpretation of the character doomed to be forgotten? Maybe Jack will start lobbying Nolan to be cast to replace Ledger in the next installation of this series?
Lots more romero and comics loljokerz (all submitted by Cushman) after the jump (plus some late-breaking submissions from Gab that attempt correct the underrepresentation of Nicholson)…
Today’s submissions reach back, back, back to the campy Adam West/Burt Ward Batman TV show. (Hey, isn’t it funny that his name is “Ward” and he was playing Batman’s ward? And why don’t you hear about people having wards any more? Seriously — you never hear, “Nice to meet you, and this is my ward.” Funny, huh?
Lean back the head on the bust of Shakespeare and flip the switch to see the most positive portrayal of Latinos in 1966 television after the jump.
Today’s submissions reach back, back, back to the campy Adam West/Burt Ward Batman TV show. (Hey, isn’t it funny that his name is “Ward” and he was playing Batman’s ward? And why don’t you hear about people having wards any more? Seriously — you never hear, “Nice to meet you, and this is my ward.” Funny, huh?