Ryan Sheely and Matthew Wrather consider the sociological implications of Gossip Girl and Glee, with reference to the political philosophies of Hobbes, Rosseau, and Bentham, the uses of terror, and the interplay of structural institutions and individual agency. Also The Wire.
This is the last episode of TFT that will appear on the main Overthinking It Podcast feed. Make sure you subscribe in iTunes or via RSS.
There will be no spoiler warnings and there will be many naughty words. If either of those things bothers you, don’t click!
Reactions to the show? Email us or call 20-FAT-JOG-01 (that’s (203) 285-6401).
Download TFT Episode 5 (MP3)
Ryan Sheely and Matthew Wrather return to discuss Gossip Girl, Glee, and the sociology of Teen Soaps. This week, they take up the Glee backlash on this very website, create a typology of celebrity cameos, discuss depictions of work, and mock a listener. (They are assholes.)
Also, Ryan’s girlfriend dies of consumption in the background. (They live in a studio apartment.)
There will be no spoiler warnings and there will be many naughty words. If either of those things bothers you, don’t click!
Reactions to the show? Suggestions about what to call it? Email us or call 20-FAT-JOG-01 (that’s (203) 285-6401).
Download TFT Episode 3 (MP3)
Ryan Sheely and Matthew Wrather finally realize a long-held dream when they train their overthinking on Gossip Girl, Glee, and other shows about the sex lives of teenagers in this pilot episode of what may turn out to be a new podcast.
Reactions to the show? Suggestions about what to call it? Email us or call 20-FAT-JOG-01 (that’s (203) 285-6401).
Download the Podcast Supplement (MP3)
“Man can only endure a certain degree of unhappiness; what is beyond that either annihilates him or passes by him and leaves him apathetic.” —Goethe
Why the long face? Must be because you’re watching too much TV. A recent study by the University of Maryland suggests that “unhappy people watch more TV, while people who describe themselves as ‘very happy’ spend more time reading and socializing.”
Now, as we all know, correlation does not prove causation, and it is of course possible to maintain a normal social life while regularly following several TV shows (especially with TiVo and TV on the interwebs). Also, this argument has surely been made before in the past, and it’s not particularly shocking. Nevertheless, I bring this up here in this grand forum dedicated to Overthinking(tm) popular culture, including television, since both our writers and our readers presumably watch a lot of TV. We have a whole category devoted to television on this site. One whole category.
So what say we? Are we a bunch of sad sacks?
Discuss while I watch the next episode of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. By myself. Followed by episodes 4-6 of The Wire. Also by myself. I’m so happy I have all this great TV to watch.
