About this episode

The final episode of Culture Gabfest discusses Taylor Swift, Masters of the Universe, and Black horror.

As you may have heard in last week’s episode, the Culture Gabfest is hanging up its microphones after 18 years of cultural commentary. But before our final episode, we’ve still got much to discuss! On this special guest-packed show, Steve, Dana, and Nadira Goffe have the power! That is the power to get into it with VSFOP Jamelle Bouie about Masters of the Universe , the latest attempt by Mattel to launch their own cinematic universe. They assess the state of IP-driven superhero movies and whether this newest entry—starring Nicholas Galitzine, as the buff, loin cloth-wearing He-Man, and Jared Leto, as the slightly lascivious Skeletor—is more than brand management. Next, they turn to the wild, surreal revenge thriller Is God Is, written and directed by Aleshea Harris based on her stageplay. They talk about how this tale of twin sisters seeking vengeance fits into the growing pantheon of Black horror as well as the ancient canon of revenge tragedies. Finally, and for the final time, it’s time to talk about Taylor Swift. In the wake of her newest release, the song “I Knew It, I Knew You” for the Toy Story 5 soundtrack, the gang assembles one more time to take up the long-simmering…

People in this episode

Hosts: Steve, Dana

Guests: Nadira Goffe, Jamelle Bouie

Topics covered

• Taylor Swift
• Masters of the Universe
• Black horror
• revenge tragedies
• superhero movies
• cultural commentary

Keywords

• Taylor Swift
• Masters of the Universe
• Is God Is
• revenge thriller
• superhero movies
• Hampshire College

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Hampshire College

Books & works: Masters of the Universe, Is God Is, I Knew It, I Knew You, Toy Story 5

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