Episode 195 - Pop(ular) Culture Non-Fiction

Book Club for Masochists: a Readers’ Advisory Podcast

This episode we’re discussing the topic of non-fiction Pop Culture books! We talk about cult classics, the Disney channel, the futch scale, and being Eldritch Millennials.

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In this episode

Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray | Jam Edwards

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Things We Read (or tried to…)

• Street Unicorns: Extravagant Fashion Photography from NYC Streets and Beyond by Robbie Quinn
• Poisoned Chalice: The Extremely Long and Incredibly Complex Story of Marvelman by Pádraig Ó Méalóid
  • Part 0: Introduction
• I Am the Law: How Judge Dredd Predicted Our Future by Michael Molcher
• And Don't F&%k It Up: An Oral History of RuPaul's Drag Race by María Elena Fernández
• The 2000s Made Me Gay: Essays on Pop Culture by Grace Perry
  • Note: Anna didn’t have the Disney Channel because she lived in the woods in Alaska. It also did not exist in Canada until 2015.
• The Spectacular Failure of the Star Wars Hotel by Jenny Nicholson
• That's So '90s!: A Pop-Cultural Guide to the Raddest Decade by Jo Stewart and Lisa Gillard
• The Bizarre World of Fake Video Games by Super Eyepatch Wolf
• Junk Film: Why Bad Movies Matter by Katharine Coldiron

Other Media We Mentioned

• Attack of the New B Movies: Essays on SYFY Original Films edited by Justin Wigard and Mitch Ploskonka
• Introducing Postmodernism: A Graphic Guide by Chris Garratt and Richard Appignanesi
• FRUiTS by Shoichi Aoki
  • Wikipedia
• Miracleman: The Silver Age by Neil Gaiman and Mark Buckingham
• RuPaul's Drag Race (Wikipedia)
  • The Pit Stop S16 E01
• Glee (TV series) (Wikipedia)
• Euphoria (American TV series) (Wikipedia)
• Abbott Elementary (Wikipedia)
• The Simpsons is Good Again by Super Eyepatch Wolf
• Taskmaster: Series 17, Episode 1
• Plan 9 from Outer Space (Wikipedia)
• Every Frame a Painting

Links, Articles, and Things

• Follow our Twitch channel!
  • Jam and Matthew will be streaming Monster Prom 2: Monster Camp on Saturday, June 8th at 3pm PT/6pm ET.
  • Jam made an image to promote it.
  • Jam’s Top Ten Video Essays About Media They Haven’t Experienced
• Mood board (Wikipedia)
• Blockbuster (Wikipedia)
• Walkman (Wikipedia)
• Milk caps/Pogs (Wikipedia)
• Tamagotchi (Wikipedia)
• Webring (Wikipedia)
• Which Pokémon are the most goth?

20 Pop Culture Non-Fiction Books by BIPOC Authors

Every month Book Club for Masochists: A Readers’ Advisory Podcasts chooses a genre at random and we read and discuss books from that genre. We also put together book lists for each episode/genre that feature works by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) authors. All of the lists can be found here.

• A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance by Hanif Abdurraqib
• Indigenous Celebrity: Entanglements with Fame edited by Jennifer Adese & Robert Alexander Innes
• The Male Gazed: On Hunks, Heartthrobs, and What Pop Culture Taught Me About (Desiring) Men by Manuel Betancourt
• Carefree Black Girls: A Celebration of Black Women in Popular Culture by Zeba Blay
• The Pretty One: On Life, Pop Culture, Disability, and Other Reasons to Fall in Love With Me by Keah Brown
• She Memes Well by Quinta Brunson
• Can't Stop Won't Stop: A Hip-Hop History by Jeff Chang & Dave Cook
• Producing Sovereignty: The Rise of Indigenous Media in Canada by Karrmen Crey
• Wannabe: Reckonings with the Pop Culture That Shapes Me by Aisha Harris
• Leslie F*cking Jones by Leslie Jones
• K-Drama School: A Pop Culture Inquiry into Why We Love Korean Television by Grace Jung
• Superfan: How Pop Culture Broke My Heart by Jen Sookfong Lee
• Indiginerds: Tales from Modern Indigenous Life edited by Alina Pete
• Nerd: Adventures in Fandom from This Universe to the Multiverse by Maya Phillips
• The Dead Don't Need Reminding: In Search of Fugitives, Mississippi, and Black TV Nerd Shit by Julian Randall
• Not Your China Doll: The Wild and Shimmering Life of Anna May Wong by Katie Gee Salisbury
• First Things First: Hip-Hop Ladies Who Changed the Game by Nadirah Simmons
• Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop by Danyel Smith
• Making a Scene by Constance Wu
• Rise: A Pop History of Asian America from the Nineties to Now by Jeff Yang, Phil Yu, & Philip Wang

Give us feedback!

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Join us again on Tuesday, June 18th when it’s time once again for One Book One Podcast as we each pitch a book we think we should read and you (the listeners) get to vote!

Then on Tuesday, July 2nd we’ll be discussing the genre of Law/Legal Non-Fiction!