This week we’re breaking the first two rules and talking about Fight Club with the amazing veteran podcaster Elana Levin. Raz was getting over COVID so their voice is a little rough, but we had a great time talking about this classic movie, which actually has some decent lessons for organizing. And a lot of very powerful anti-lessons too. We got into the queerness of this film (happy Pride Month!), how it’s been embraced by the manosphere and evangelical Christians, how to keep your movement from turning into a death cult, and Brad Pitt’s power over straight men (we even got Elana’s husband, a certified Straight Man, to weigh in on the latter).
Elana’s podcast is Graphic Policy Radio.
You can also follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @thelcapod.
Things we mention in this episode:
Vice Article: https://www.vice.com/en/article/paeg89/how-fight-club-became-the-ultimate-handbook-for-mens-rights-activists
Evangelical fight clubs: https://mensfight.club/
Elana’s tweet: https://twitter.com/elana_brooklyn/status/1218562941982773249
Lit Hub article: https://lithub.com/everyone-misunderstands-the-point-of-fight-club/
Barbara Kruger piece: https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/intricate-rituals
This episode was produced by Raz Pollex and edited by Ross West.
26 May 2022
Judas and the Black Messiah (2021) with Chelsea Alvarez
This week we’re talking about the Black Panthers and COINTELPRO. How do you make change in a system that’s designed to make that impossible? Yep, it’s a lot. But we loved this movie and loved talking about it. Also, what DO you do with your face when someone is reading you their poetry? We need to know.
If you like this episode, make sure to subscribe and rate us. You can also follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @thelcapod.
This episode was produced by Raz Pollex and edited by Ross West.
11 May 2022
The American President (1995) with Shelby Knox
This week we’re talking about Aaron Sorkin’s test run for The West Wing, The American President, with our first guest: the amazing feminist organizer Shelby Knox. But first, we take some time to talk about last week’s leak of the SCOTUS decision striking down Roe v Wade, and what we (and you) can do about it. Then (11:26) we get into the American President, a rom com about a suspiciously popular president falling in love with a “professional political operative.” We touch on political movies’ tendency to prize rhetoric over action, the importance of coalitions, and the outsized impact of the spotted owl (yes, that spotted owl). There’s also a LOT of West Wing talk.
Abortion resources mentioned in the episode:
Go to https://www.ineedana.com if you need to find abortion care.
@RBraceySherman on Twitter is a great source of information on medical (pill) abortion and stories about real people who have had abortions.
Give money and/or time to abortion funds! Go to https://abortionfunds.org/funds/ to find an abortion fund to give to and/or volunteer with.
If you want to get involved in organizing to protect abortion in your state, find a local group. NARAL is definitely NOT the only group that does this but they have chapters in most states: https://www.prochoiceamerica.org
If you like this episode, make sure to subscribe and rate us. You can also follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @thelcapod.
This episode was produced by Raz Pollex and edited by Ross West.
27 Apr 2022
The King's Speech (2010)
What do you do when you're an unexpected king faced with an unprecedented global crisis? For King George VI, this meant standing up to a lifelong stutter and working with an unorthodox speech therapist to comfort a nation. In this episode, we get into the realities of speech therapy, political communications as a wartime strategy, the complexities of being a political consultant, and whether or not a movie can stand on one note (spoiler: not really).
Follow us on twitter and instagram at @thelcapod.
Edited by Ross West.
This podcast contains many spoilers.
13 Apr 2022
Election (1999)
“Who cares about this stupid election?” Tracy Flick sure does. This week we’re talking about Election. We get into the long shadow of Tracy Flick, the staying power of mediocre white men, and the Clinton 90s of it all. Raz has a lot of feelings about sympathizing with the character who doesn’t think you should vote. This movie fits a LOT of plot and a LOT of politics into its short runtime, and we dug into it all. Your hosts are Raz Pollex and Erin Williams. This podcast has a lot of spoilers for the movie Election. Follow us on twitter and instagram at @thelcapod. Edited by Ross West.
3 Feb 2022
Coming Soon: Lights, Camera, Activism!
Lights, Camera, Activism is a new podcast about how movies portray activism and politics. We'll cover classic political movies like Election (episode 1!), The American President, and Milk. But we'll also talk about some unexpected movies like You've Got Mail and Mean Girls.
Subscribe and stay tuned for our first episode! You can also find us on Twitter and Instagram:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/thelcapod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelcapod
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