When it was published in 2011, Ernest Cline's Ready Player One got a fairly warm reception as a diverting mashup of pop culture, gaming, and accessible quest narrative, wrapped up in a warm, comforting blanket of nostalgia for the ephemera of the 1970s and 80s. Over the past seven years, its reputation has proven much more divisive, in part because of Cline's subsequent work, but mostly because the kind of geek culture he celebrated has become much darker and more complicated. Matt and Ed talk about all that in regards to the film adaptation, directed by Steven Spielberg, as well as Amazon's big-budget TV gambles and the dystopian potential of Birmingham.
00:00:00 - 00:25:48 - Intro & News
00:25:49 - 01:09:15 - Matt & Ed discuss Ready Player One
01:09:16 - 01:17:06 - SRS Recommends & Outro
224. Indispensable Performances (with Emily Benita)
223. Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping at *checks watch* 2 (with Emily Benita)
222. Heathers at 30 (with Emily Benita)
221. Autumn/Winter Preview 2018 (with Emily Benita)
220. How Audiences Affect Art (with Emily Benita)
219. Play for Today (with Emily Benita)
218. When TV Takes Risks (with Emily Benita)
217. Rewatching Movies (with Emily Benita)
216. 21st Century Horror (with Emily Benita)
215. The Dark Knight at 10
214. Baseball
213. What is Cinema in 2018? (with Jaq Chell and Abi Standish)
212. Franchises That Overstayed Their Welcome
211. Long Movies (with Emily Benita)
210. Heist Movies
209. Arrested Development Season 5
208. Solo: A Star Wars Story
207. Directors Cuts
206. The League of Gentlemen (with Jack Rhoden)
205. Love (The TV Show)
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Cinema: A to B
I Finally Watched...
Star Wars Escape Pod
Pod Meets World
Pop Culture Happy Hour