Welcome to another conversation with novelist, Literature Prof. and Writing Professor Theo Gangi and Gil Kidron. In this podcast, we review The Amazon Prime show - The Boys. The Boys takes a subversive take on the superhero genre and injects realism into it - how would these kinds of people be like if they were real. How would their existence affect our society, politically, geopolitically and economically? What kind of people would these superheroes be? Would they be kind and smart or egomaniacal assholes? We debate those issues and how current this adaption to the 2006 comic book series actually is.
Archive for August 2019
Linguistic Thoughts on Chernobyl and Tarantino
Posted in DefaultTag on Aug 19th, 2019 Comments
There are so many ways to looks at stories, and in this podcast, we're looking at a couple of them from a linguistic point of view, with Mallory Aler, who is doing her Masters in linguistics. We're talking about the hit HBO show Chernobyl, that takes place in Ukraine, with Russian-speaking people talking in British English, and about a couple of Tarantino movies that have several languages in them, mostly Inglorious Basterds and Kill Bill.
Using Clausewitz, Sun Tzu, Tank Warfare Strategies To Fight White Walkers
Posted in world politics, history, game of thrones on Aug 15th, 2019 Comments
Welcome Avi K. to the Got Academy Podcast to talk to Gil Kidron as part of Got Academy Gotributor special offer! Avi harnesses military philosophers such as Carl von Clausewitz and Sun Tsu, the ancient Greek terms of strategy and tactics, and concepts of offense and defense, as well as the power of religion - to think about the best way to fight the Others / White Walkers.
American vs European Comic Books: History, Culture, Social Commentary
Posted in world politics, history on Aug 12th, 2019 Comments
What are the main differences between the American and the European comic book? Their history, their political context, topics they choose to focus on, the culture they represent, and social commentary. Gil talks with Theo and Rutger about Asterix, Tintin, Superman, Marvel, Stan Lee, Herge, Thorgal, Manga and much more. We discuss the context in which the art form first boomed. The role of the Second World War, during which time the medium became politically polarized and a tool for propaganda. The post-war recovery, when new identities and narratives were being constructed and colonialism was winding down. The technological development, going from cheap serials to hardcover graphic novels. The professionalization of comics, when series started to be taken over by studios rather than the original authors. And the big question: why is Belgium a comics superpower?
The Evolution of Robin Hood in Movies
Posted in world politics, history, history in movies on Aug 5th, 2019 Comments
In this History in Movies podcast, Gil Kidron and Dr. Rutger Vos are breaking down three Robin Hood movies, to learn how the image of Robin Hood has changed since its inception, throughout the centuries, and more specifically since its popular portrayal in the 1991 Kevin Costner Prince of Thieves, the 2010 Russel Crowe Robin Hood and the super political 2018 version. The presentation of a legendary character can tell us so much about the social and political values of the time, according to the changes and additions to it.
Why Machine Learning Failed to Predict Game of Thrones
Posted in DefaultTag, game of thrones on Aug 1st, 2019 Comments
Welcome Mitchell Dale to the Got Academy Podcast to talk to Gil Kidron as part of Got Academy Gotributor special offer! Mitchell is into machine learning, and he applies this knowledge to breakdown how computers tried to predict the conclusion of Game of Thrones, and why they failed.
