Virgil is taking to the airwaves. Starting this week, you can listen to and download weekly podcasts that provide additional commentary and resources on issues being discussed here at the Diner. The most recent episode is right here:
Episode 1: Redefining Culture
Virgil’s All-Night Podcast wants you to be involved! How? Simple…Each week, we’ll post the topic for the next week’s show here. You can leave written comments in the comments section or email us at virgilsdiner@gmail.com and we might share your comments on the air.
You can also get your voice on the radio by calling 1-516-VIRGILS (847-4457). Leave a great comment and you might just become part of the show!
Next Week’s Episode: Comic book conventions have transformed from rows of dusty comic book collections in bingo halls into multimedia extravaganzas that draw headlining stars from comics, television, and film. We’re one week away from New York Comic Con, which has quickly become one of the bigger conventions of the season. Virgil will be there to cover the event, but as a warm-up, we’ll be talking about conventions in general and their place in the pop culture spectrum. Do you have any great or not-so great convention stories you would like to share? How about an opinion on conventions in general? Call, write, or leave a comment below and we’ll get you on the show. Please have your comments submitted by 4 pm (EST) on Wednesday, October 6.
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Great podcast! You made some really interesting points. This is something I think about quite a bit, as well. I do worry about the values that modern media culture (particularly “reality” tv and “kid shows,” in which the parents have little to no presence in the lives of their children). Yet, you made me think about the fact that most cultures, past and preesnt, have featured some form of entertainment that might be considered cruel, barbaric, or destructive. Maybe that’s just part of human nature that needs to be given an outlet. I often use the same argument in defense of video games, so I guess it would be hypocritical to deny modern tv the same possibility.
While the Klingon opera is certainly a surprising and signficant mixture of pop and high culture, I might argue that it continues a tradition that goes back to Shakespeare, if not farther. After all, didn’t the bard transform ordinary folk tales (an early form of pop culture) into what is now considered high art? And, more recently, pop culture phenomena like the Brady Bunch, Schoolhouse Rock, and Tommy have all seen second lives on the Broadway stage.
I look forward to the next podcast. Do you have anything “Lost-centric” planned?
Thanks for the feedback. That’s a great point about Shakespeare. I hadn’t even considered that. And isn’t that one of the points we try to make – that, yes, Shakespeare borrowed most of his stories, but that he also elevated those stories?
Add to that list of musicals: Spider-Man. Coming soon, apparently, with music by Bono. Also, The Toxic Avenger was transformed from a trashy cult b-film into a satiric musical.