Break it Down

Have you ever wondered why Cats the musical is so weird? We are here to answer that question. On this episode, Holly and Hilary take a deep dive into the absurd world of Cats. They discuss Andrew Lloyd Webber’s beloved musical in a global context and how Cats changed musical theatre forever. They also break down Tom Hooper’s catastrophic film adaptation that disturbed the world! They explain WHY Cats the film is so creepy, Tom Hooper’s poor directorial choices, and why a lot of live-action animated films nowadays just don’t quite get it right.
Enjoy, it's gonna be ameowsing!
Artwork by: @akalashell
Boogie Woogie Bed by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Artist: http://audionautix.com/
Works Cited:
BBC's "The Story of Musicals"- CATS Segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aERa3tXy0hE&feature=youtu.be
Ellis, Lindsey. Why is Cats?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6iqAip-ZNo
Gottlieb, Carl, and Peter Benchley. The Jaws Log. HarperCollins. 2010.
Film Theory: The Dark Secret of Jellicle Cats CREEPY (CATS 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6QhjZUM_1k&t=311s
Placido, Di Dani. ‘We Need To Talk About 'Cats': Why Does Hollywood Keep Falling Into The Uncanny Valley?’: https://www.forbes.com/sites/danidiplacido/2019/07/21/we-need-to-talk-about-cats-why-does-hollywood-keep-falling-into-the-uncanny-valley/#44ecbbb8f361.
Tayag, Yasmin. “Uncanny Valley Researchers Pinpoint What Makes The ‘CATS’ Trailer So Creepy”. https://www.inverse.com/article/57870-cats-trailer-filmed-in-the-uncanny-valley
Why Adaptation from Stage to Screen Matters: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JIbUZhODcI&t=206s
Cats the Musical: Hilary’s quotes come from these sources:
Burston, Jonathan. "Theatre Space as Virtual Place: Audio Technology, the Reconfigured Singing Body, and the Megamusical." Popular Music 17.2 (1998): 205-218.Siropoulos, Vagelis.
"Cats, Postdramatic Blockbuster Aesthetics and the Triumph of the Megamusical." Image & Narrative 11.3 (2010): 128.

How would you feel if one day you woke up and started to shrink? Join Hilary and Holly as they take a closer look at one of the most iconic science fiction films of the 1950s, The Incredible Shrinking Man. They break down the Cold War context, how the atom influenced science fiction at the time, what the film reveals about masculinity and the very ambiguous ending and the different ways to interpret it! Dr Miranda Corcoran also joins us to speak about her experience teaching the text and what it reveals about masculinity during the 1950s.

Miranda Corcoran is a lecturer in twenty-first-century literature at University College Cork. Her research interests include Cold-War literature, genre fiction, popular fiction, sci-fi, horror and the gothic. She is currently writing a book titled Witchcraft and Adolescence in American Popular Culture: Teen Witches.

Twitter: @middleagedwitch

Works Cited:

Craig, Rob (2013). It Came from 1957: A Critical Guide to the Year's Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. McFarland.

Cunnally, Ruthellen. "Mind over matter: mental evolution and physical devolution in The Incredible shrinking man." Journal of Popular Film and Television 41.1 (2013): 2-9.

Haraway, Donna. "“A Cyborg Manifesto”(1985)." Cultural Theory: An Anthology (2010): 454.

Hendershot, Cyndy. Darwin and the Atom: Evolution/Devolution Fantasies in The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms, Them!, and The Incredible Shrinking Man. JSTOR.

Hendershot, Cyndy. Paranoia, The Bomb, and 1950s Science Fiction Films. Popular Press, 1999.

Muller, Jurgen. Movie’s of the 50s. TASCHEN. Bibliothecca Universalis.

Thompson, Kristin, and David Bordwell. Film History: An Introduction. 3 rd ed., McGraw-Hill, New York, 2010.

Warren, Bill (2009). Keep Watching the Skies!: American Science Fiction Movies of the Fifties, The 21st Century Edition.

Music:

A Ghost Waltz by Loyalty Freak Music is licensed under a CC0, From the Free Music Archive.

Monster Parade by Loyalty Freak Music is licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal License, From the Free Music Archive.

Happy Culture Night! We are so delighted to be bringing you this two-part Culture Night Special focusing on Cork writers and how their home city influences their writing. On this episode, Holly and Hilary are joined by the lovely Arann Blake, playwright, actor, musician and co-founder of Mint. Productions. Over the years Arann has directed, acted and written plays such as Sí, Liverpool and Earwig. He also co-created the upcoming web series, Jag, which follows the lives and relationships of young people living on College Rd in Cork.
Arann chats about what it was like growing up in Cork, how his family’s funny stories helped shape his writing and what the future looks like for Cork artists.

Bain taitneamh as do Oíche Chultúir!

Instagram:

@arannissad

@mint.productions

@jagseries

On this week's more casual episode, Holly and Hilary decided to go back in time and reminisce on the web games that defined their childhood. They chat about growing up in the 2000s, the rise of the internet, gendered games, capitalism, and the compelling history behind two of the most beloved online worlds - Stardoll and Club Penguin. Enjoy this break down!
***Correction: Club Penguin shut down in 2017 not 2007. Apologies, slip of the tongue! Also - the puffles actually run away when you neglect them, social security does not come which is a very twisted imagined memory.
Artwork by: @akalashell
Boogie Woogie Bed by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Artist: http://audionautix.com/

Works Cited:
Club Penguin Wiki: https://clubpenguin.fandom.com/wiki/Club_Penguin
Glazowski, Paul. Stardoll: A Virtual Consumer Experiment Turned Financial Megahit: https://mashable.com/2008/02/17/stardoll-success/?europe=true
Mascheroni, Giovanna. Pasquali Francesca. "Dress up and what else? Girls' online gaming, media cultures and consumer culture", 2013. [article available on researchgate.net]
Meyers, Eric M. “Tip of the Iceberg: Meaning, Identity, and Literacy in Preteen Virtual Worlds.” Journal of Education for Library and Information Science, vol. 50, no. 4, 2009, pp. 226–236. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40732585.
Why Club Penguin Died: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j66gpNWXBBk&t=80s

Who lives, who dies, who tells your story? This week, in light of Hamilton’s release on Disney+, Holly and Hilary, joined by guests Sarah Cremin and Emma Field, break down Lin-Manuel Miranda’s beloved musical phenomenon. We will be breaking down historiography, legacy, and Hamilton’s meta elements. So, join us in the room where it happens as we break down Hamilton!

Artwork by: @akalashell

Boogie Woogie Bed by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Artist: http://audionautix.com/

Works Cited:
Adam Savage Explores the Sound Mixing of Hamilton!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60OpF3DCVls
Bergen, Sadie. On Hamilton and Learning to Think Historically: https://www.historians.org/publications-and-directories/perspectives-on-history/october-2015/on-hamilton-and-learning-to-think-historically
Churchwell, Sarah. Why Hamilton is making musical history https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2016/nov/05/why-hamilton-is-making-musical-history
Hamilton's America - Interview with Lin Manuel Miranda – PBS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfR_l8cF6XE
Harbert, Elissa. Hamilton and History Musicals: https://muse.jhu.edu/article/715969/pdf?casa_token=ddr-cBcFz-QAAAAA:BqFqQcz7wV8scJzKWpLKvz-TYDJJ2i7VbnhPJCCxe3_d9BbvWe2gmM_CiIjtr6SWBEVGxAEITsRd

Hamilton: History Has its Eyes on You Documentary. Available on Disney+

Harihareswara, Sumana. The Uses Of History in Hamilton: An American Musical: https://www.tor.com/2015/12/21/the-uses-of-history-in-hamilton-an-american-musical/
Historians on Hamilton | The New School: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKyaLTzwVMY
Nellhaus, Tobin. Theatre Histories: An Introduction. Routledge, 2016.
Taxes & Smuggling - Prelude to Revolution: Crash Course US History #6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eytc9ZaNWyc&list=PL8dPuuaLjXtMwmepBjTSG593eG7ObzO7s&index=6
Thelan, David. Making History and Making the United States: https://www-jstor-org.ucc.idm.oclc.org/stable/pdf/27556475.pdf?ab_segments=0%252Fbasic_SYC-5187%252Fcontrol&refreqid=excelsior%3A28677358c2777403c3a0643215adec7e
Smith, Billy G. “Alexander Hamilton: The Wrong Hero for Our Age.” The Independent Review, vol. 21, no. 4, 2017, pp. 519–522. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/26314793. Accessed 22 July 2020.