So don’t you hate it when you just want to eat some pie with your grandma and a giant wolf jerk eats you? Yeah, it’s the worst. Join us as we talk about anthropomorphic animals from ancient fables to fairy tales to modernity. We talk about the boy who cried “WOOOOOOOLF,” Red Riding Hood and Disney’s Zootopia, and ask ourselves why these stories endure—and what they can teach us along the way.
Midnight Myth Time Machine | Episode 7: There Is No Spoon
Have you ever wondered if this world is real? Have you ever wondered if the life you are living is the good life or just the life you have been told to live? Listen to Derek and Laurel discuss storytelling that questions and deconstructs the narratives of 1990s American peace and prosperity. We talk about three amazing movies, Fight Club, American Beauty and The Matrix. Remember, all things have questions, and all questions help us understand this fundamental truth: there is a difference between knowing the path, and walking the path.
Support us at www.patreon.com/midnightmyth
Check out our new merch store for Midnight Myth, Boomerangerang, and Wheel of Ka tees and totes!
Learn more, view sources and inspiration, and sign up for e-mail updates at www.midnightmyth.com
If you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen!
Episode 95: The Once and Future King
Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
What is the secret of the Grail? Who does it serve? In this long-awaited podcast, Derek and Laurel explore the legends surrounding King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table. Tracking the legend from its inception in the early middle ages to the definitive Hollywood adaptation, John Boorman’s dreamy Excalibur, we’ll seek the answers to the most important questions in Arthuriana. What does it mean to be king? What does it mean to be a people? What is the true quest, the true frontier? From Lancelot and Guinevere to Percival, Gawain, Morgan le Fay, and of course Merlin, this podcast leaves no sword in its stone.
Sources
If you liked this podcast, check out some of our sources and related material! All images are Amazon affiliate links, meaning if you purchase, a percentage will go to the podcast. Thank you for your support!
Episode 94B: Its Dull You Twit- New
Listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
The epic conclusion of our two-part podcast series on the legendary outlaw Robin Hood has arrived, and we’re picking up where we left off—with 1991’s Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves. Kevin Costner’s very American take on the beloved hero is only one of the many compelling aspects of the film, which embodies the progressive spirit that’s infused the legend for nearly a millennia. Derek and Laurel discuss the movie’s historical context within the Crusades, its charms and missteps as pertains to its view of non-Western characters, and the dramatic techniques folded into the age-old story. Plenty of swashbuckling and praise for the immortal Alan Rickman’s dastardly Sheriff of Nottingham is to be expected as well.
Sources
If you enjoyed this podcast, check out some of our sources! All images are Amazon affiliate links, meaning if you purchase the item, a small percentage will go to the podcast. Thank you for your support!
Episode 67: Return Ye, Children of Men
Listen on Apple Podcasts.
Yes, the world may actually be going straight to hell. But what can we learn from the onslaught of inhuman behavior to the weakest of us happening at the American-Mexican border? To understand what makes immigrants enemies and how to combat the dehumanization of refugees, Derek and Laurel turn to the 2006 masterpiece of film, Children of Men directed by Alfonso Cuarón. While the movie may have had lackluster box-office sales, the artistic impact of a filmic world bent on militarizing its borders while on the brink of the apocalypse can tell us much about our own dilemmas. Content warning: this episode gets heavy—we discuss the realities and atrocities taking place at the border. Join us for a no-holds-barred discussion about real life imitating art, and the cost of giving up one’s humanity to save it.
Episode 56: Beauty is in the Eye of Truth
Listen on Apple Podcasts
They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder—but what does that say about the beholder? In an exploration of this year’s Best Picture, The Shape of Water, Derek & Laurel examine its structural similarities to the tale as old as time, Beauty & the Beast. Aesthetic philosophy, Enlightenment politics, and civil unrest all find their way into the discussion as we try to understand what makes a fairy tale for our troubled times. Come on in, the water’s fine.
Bonus Episode: Oscar Round Up!
Derek and Laurel breakdown their picks for this years Oscars
Episode 50: Never Trust A Faun
Listen on Apple Podcast
Have you ever walked into the edge of the woods and wondered if the shadows moved? Was it a fairy, a faun? Ever considered the possibility that a magical realm lived just outside the grasp of humanity? On this, the 50th episode of the Midnight Myth, Derek and Laurel go back to the fairytales and myths that have shaped human existence as they discuss Guillermo del Toro’s 2006 masterpiece, Pan’s Labyrinth. Del Toro expertly intertwines the politics of 1944 Spain with magical realism, delighting our senses while challenging the conventions of traditional fairytale paradigms. The underworld, princesses and monsters get reinvented as they are juxtaposed to the reality of fascism and the oppression of dictatorship.
Thank you to all of Midnight Myth listeners, without you, we would have never made it to 50 episodes!
