Welcome back to Media Minute! Sorry it’s been a hot minute (hahahaha) since I’ve posted, but I’ve been busy outside of the realm of consuming media (in some cases, I’ve been producing media. Gasp.) But I am back with a little taste of what I’ve been digesting (somehow, that analogy doesn’t really land) for the past month-ish, and this time around, it’s fairly diverse, if I do say so myself. I’ve ventured from the whimsical to the disturbing and back again. Take that, Frodo.
MEDIA MINUTE #5 – March 19, 2019
What I’ve Watched:
The Dragon Prince. This 2018 original series from Netflix is brought to you by the same people who brought you Avatar: The Last Airbender. The first thing that comes to mind, even if you haven’t watched the series, is stunning animation and a two-toned style – sometimes serious, sometimes silly. And these writers and animators have that down pat. We join three young heroes – brother princes and a young elf “assassin” – on a quest full of peril – but not too much peril. It’s TV-Y7, after all. This show could definitely be appealing to kids (probably older kids, just to be safe. Y’know, that whole fantasy violence situation) but it is also nuanced enough to be enjoyed by adults. Not only is it visually stunning, it’s witty, fun, and has an interesting storyline. Plus Bait, the sidekick animal character, is grumpy and adorable.
Captain Marvel. Ah yes. The lady of the hour. This movie was definitely a superhero movie(tm.) Cardboard-cutout main character with no visible flaws, enemy that poses as a friend, misunderstood villain, and lots of space explosions. This movie didn’t entirely blow me away. Sure, it was cool. It was snappy. It was interesting to see more origins of Marvel’s SHIELD, but other than that, it fell flat for me. I walked out of the movie not really caring about any of the characters (except Goose, obviously,) because the movie didn’t give me reason to. Maybe Endgame will fix that for me? (What won’t Endgame fix at this point tbh?)
Conversations with A Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes. If you know me well enough, it’s no secret that ya girl loves true crime. I definitely couldn’t solve one, but I listen to a lot of podcasts and then over-analyze. I honestly had not known much about Ted Bundy (other than the fact that Zac Efron? is playing him? in a movie?) so this series is a wealth of information. While it’s interesting, it’s also terrifying. The fact that no one (or virtually no one) suspected Bundy of being a creep-o until all of those murders came to light. Also, the recordings of Bundy are hugely unsettling – in order to get him to talk about his crimes, the journalist who recorded it had him speak in the third person. Talk about disturbing.
What I’ve Listened To
Monster: The Zodiac Killer. Speaking of creepy murderers. A few Media Minutes ago, I talked about reading Zodiac by Robert Graysmith. When I started listening to this podcast, I felt like I had insider knowledge because I knew about all the victims they were talking about. And you’re like “Woooow Audrey. You read a book. Way to go.” Just let me have this small victory of actually knowing something, okay? However, Monster dives deeper than the book, especially since the book was published in 1996, when the police had very different ideas about who the Zodiac could have been. Since then, more suspects have come to light, and even now, the case remains unsolved. For now. (Dun dun.)
The Walk. I’ve listened to a few episodes of this podcast, and it’s a fun diversion from the sometimes dour ones I listen to, like Monster and Lore. The Walk is an immersive podcast that puts you in the middle of the action. The premise is you find yourself in the middle of Scotland shortly after an EMP explosion and you’ve been given a mysterious package to bring to Edinburgh. You dodge police, freezing cold, gunfire, and (wait for it) wolves. It’s pretty fun. On my lunch breaks I walk through a hotel, which doesn’t really lend itself to the atmospheric nature of this podcast, but still. It’s fun to pretend.
Audrey D. DeBoer 