The truth (about casual sexism and gendered violence) is out there! In today’s episode, Emily grapples with the troubling implications of her first fandom. She shares with Tracie how writing, directorial, and payment decisions on the The X-Files did Gillian Anderson and Dana Scully dirty, why her head-canon is that Mulder and Scully had sex in the pilot, and why Chris Carter owed his characters a real relationship or the ability to date other people. Also, we go into what it means that Mulder’s porn habit was played for laughs, the ways Special Agent “I Want to Believe” Mulder may have contributed to the mainstreaming of conspiracy theories, and how Emily and Scully both have a weakness for handsome men.Join us as we investigate the cultural phenomenon that launched a thousand “ships” (not to mention fanfictions).CW: Discussions of rape and loss of bodily autonomy.Mentioned in this episode:Pamela Anderson was originally attached to the role of ScullyKumail Nanjiani’s The X-Files FilesConspiracy theories are mainstream now. Can the new ‘X-Files’ stand out?The Scully EffectGillian Anderson: I Was Offered Half Duchovny’s Pay for ‘The X-Files’ RevivalMore on the Bechdel Test: Deep Thoughts about Gender in Pop Culture: Tools for Feminist Analysis (BONUS)

Odelaly and Criminitly! The 1973 animated Robin Hood (with the foxes) is as familiar as matzo-ball soup, but what’s lurking in the comfort?From treatment of gender (not only a lack of representation but also the performance of gender) to the surprisingly (or maybe not-so-suprisingly?) anti-anti-authoritarian message to the quietly queer-coded villains to the stick-to-your-own-kind romantic pairings, Tracie and Emily have a lot to unpack from those dancing and singing anthropomorphized animals. Even with all of what they uncover, the sisters remain enamored by the solid acting, delightful score, and beautiful⏤and innovative!⏤hand-drawn animation.Join us as we turn a grown-up eye to a pillar of our childhood. We might even sing. Mentioned in this episode:Deep Thoughts about Gender in Pop Culture: Tools for Feminist Analysis (BONUS)Tracie’s illustration of a giraffe playing jacksOur theme music is "Professor Umlaut" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Learn more about Tracie and Emily (including our other projects), join the Guy Girls' family, secure exclusive access to bonus episodes, video versions, and early access to Deep Thoughts by visiting us on Patreon. 

It’s Wadsworth in the lounge with the red herring! The 1985 film Clue was a flop when it came out. There were three endings, no clear murderer, and everyone thought making a film based on a board game was just crass.In this episode, Emily explains how a box-office bomb became a beloved cult favorite, and how this deeply silly little movie subverts cultural expectations about what constitutes a story. She and Tracie enjoy chatting about how Clue is a kids’ movie about adult things, with side conversations about how there is no wrong way to create art, the optimistic lessons to be learned from art that flops but eventually finds its audience, and why Yvette’s French accent was such a formative part of Emily’s childhood.Join us as we talk about murder, blackmail, monkey’s brains, and flame-flames-flames on the side of my face.Mentioned in the podcast:The Crazy Story Of How "Clue" Went From Forgotten Flop To Cult TriumphBetween by L.L. StarlingRoger Ebert’s 1985 review of ClueThe MonkeesBittersweet Symphony by The VerveHow Do You Live? By Genzaburo YoshinoOur theme music is "Professor Umlaut" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Learn more about Tracie and Emily (including our other projects), join the Guy Girls' family, secure exclusive access to bonus episodes, video versions, and early access to Deep Thoughts by visiting us on Patreon. 

Suffering Sappho! Wonder Woman’s role in our culture is far more complex than Tracie’s childhood love for Lynda Carter (and Wonder Woman underoos) prepared her for.In this more-meta-than-usual episode, Tracie dives into the history of the world’s most famous Amazonian Nazi-fighter. From Wonder Woman’s comic book origins–she sprang fully formed from the mind of William Moulton Marston (a 1940s-era feminist, lie-detector inventor, and bondage enthusiast)--to the ways Diana’s characterization both empowers and disenfranchises women, Tracie and Emily discuss the complicated legacy of our favorite feminist superhero.Join us as we talk about beauty, grace, and power–and what they all mean in a society that insists on hierarchies.Our theme music is "Professor Umlaut" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Learn more about Tracie and Emily (including our other projects), join the Guy Girls' family, secure exclusive access to bonus episodes, video versions, and early access to Deep Thoughts by visiting us on Patreon. 

The Bechdel Test. Mary Sue. Born Sexy Yesterday. When thinking deep thoughts about media, patterns emerge. Patterns and litmus tests and tropes. It can be useful to have some shared language to allow us to get deeper, quicker (intellectually speaking). In this bonus episode, we define and provide examples of some useful tools that help us to understand media with a feminist lens. Gender difference matters IRL and media and fiction help to reify–or subvert–those differences. A combination of rubrics, tropes, and authorial short-cuts, this episode unpacks 6 concepts that inform our analyses: the Bechdel Test, Mary Sues, Born-Sexy-Yesterday, Manic Pixie Dream Girls, the Sexy Lamp Test, and Refrigerating Women.  Our theme music is "Professor Umlaut" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This full BONUS episode is being released to everyone, but moving forward, bonuses will be reserved exclusively for patrons. Join the Guy Girls' family, secure exclusive access to bonus episodes, video versions, and early access to Deep Thoughts by visiting us on Patreon. 

Tale as old as time? It’s old, alright. True as it can be? Hmm, about that... Beauty and the Beast is an old and not-so-necessary model for romantic love. Hiding in the remarkable Howard Ashman score is a not-like-other-girls feminism and a reified classism that isolates poor Belle and gives her no choice but to fall for her captor. Emily and Tracie grapple with the conditioning from this movie (and so many other sources) that invites us to find meaning and satisfaction in providing kindness and accommodation to beasts in order to transform them into husbands. We dig into the ways in which the Disney version of the story, with it’s animated inanimate objects, provides a deeper and more intransigent rendering of the class differences assumed by the story, and find some comfort when imagining the beast as an allegory for self-hatred. Our theme music is "Professor Umlaut" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Learn more about Tracie and Emily (including our other projects), join the Guy Girls' family, secure exclusive access to bonus episodes, video versions, and early access to Deep Thoughts by visiting us on Patreon. 

CW: Abstract discussion of rape.What if being a muggle actually isn’t a bad thing? J.K. Rowling’s wizarding world of the Harry Potter franchise changed the way we think and talk. But was it for the better?Professor Julian Wamble joins Tracie and Emily for a fascinating deep dive into the ways the Harry Potter universe and characters are reflections of our world’s problematic structural and chronic biases and oppressions. From the fat-phobia embedded in our dislike for Dudley Dursley to the complex femininity of Delores Umbridge to the self-serving saviorism in Hermione’s attempted allyship of the house elves, the Harry Potter universe provides a mirror to contemporary society–if we’re willing to look. The Titan submersible, on a tourist trip to view the wreck of the Titanic (at $250,000 per seat), imploded on June 18, 2023, instantly killing all 5 people aboard. Four days prior, a ship smuggling between 500 and 750 people sank in the Mediterranean Sea. Despite a search-and-rescue operation, nearly 500 people were "presumed dead." Want EVEN more deep thughts about Harry Potter? Explore supremacy, race, politics, and other societal structures baked into the Harry Potter universe with Dr. Julian Wamble’s TikTok (@profw)Our theme music is "Professor Umlaut" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Learn more about Tracie and Emily (including our other projects), join the Guy Girls' family, secure exclusive access to bonus episodes, video versions, and early access to Deep Thoughts by visiting us on Patreon. 

We tried to think of the most harmless thing. Something we loved from our childhood. Something that could never ever possibly destroy us. Ghostbusters!Tracie brings a beloved “comfort food” movie to the analyzing table, and the sisters dig in. From the banality of the anti-heroism of Peter Venkman (Bill Murray) to the regressive treatment of the beautiful, and, we’re told talented, Dana Barret (Sigourney Weaver) to the conservative capitalism of the anti-EPA Reagan years to the racism and supremacy that see Winston Zedemore (Ernie Hudson) take a backseat (if there’s a seat for him at all!), there’s a lot lurking under the nostalgia of quotable lines and goofy slapstick. Join us! We have the tools and we have the talent to help you (and also us) know what’s hiding in the shadows of pop culture. Our theme music is "Professor Umlaut" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Learn more about Tracie and Emily (including our other projects), join the Guy Girls' family, secure exclusive access to bonus episodes, video versions, and early access to Deep Thoughts by visiting us on Patreon.

The Princess Bride does not mean what you think it means? INCONCEIVABLE!In today’s episode, Emily has some deep thoughts about the most quotable fairy tale ever written: The Princess Bride. Emily shares her theory that the film is both neurodivergent-friendly and a masterclass in brilliant storytelling–even though it miserably fails the Bechdel Test. Meanwhile, Tracie and Emily discuss the ways the film does Buttercup dirty and why she would have brained the R.O.U.S. under a different director.Join us! We’ll have fun storming the castle and learning about the deeper meaning behind this eminently rewatchable film.(Note: we had some issues with audio, especially Tracie's, in this episode. It's still worth the listen!)Our theme music is "Professor Umlaut" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Learn more about Tracie and Emily (including our other projects), join the Guy Girls' family, and secure early access to Deep Thoughts (and other perks!) by visiting us on Patreon. 

It's time to play the music! It's time to light the lights! It's time to talk about Muppets From Space tonight!In today’s episode, Tracie thinks deeply about the underrated 1999 gem, Muppets From Space, which sees Gonzo finally meeting his alien brethren and learning why he loves getting shot out of cannon. While the themes of found family, loyalty, and getting down with your bad self, are all part of what makes this film a delight, there are some troubling messages about consent and othering that deserve scrutiny.Listen in to find out how Muppets From Space can be read as an allegory of trans-racial adoption, how Miss Piggy was an unsatisfying role model to the muppet-loving Guy sisters, and why Tracie sometimes jokingly threatens to smack you like a bad, bad donkey, ok.Our theme music is "Professor Umlaut" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Deep Thoughts About Stupid Sh*t launches August 24. New episodes will be released on Thursdays for Patrons and the following Tuesday for everyone else,Learn more about Tracie and Emily (including our other projects), join the Guy Girls' family, and secure early access to Deep Thoughts, exclusive access to Deep Thoughts video footage, bonus episodes and more perks by visiting us on Patreon.