Married to the Media: Media Literacy for Parents, Children, and Family artwork

Married to the Media: Media Literacy for Parents, Children, and Family

21 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 5 years ago - ★★★★★ - 2 ratings

Producer Cass Medcalf and Reverend Dr. Robin Blair review and examine children's media from two generations of secular and spiritual perspectives.

TV & Film
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Episodes

The Chronicles of Narnia: Always Winter Never Christmas

December 20, 2018 19:32 - 18 minutes - 43 MB

In wrapping up our Christmas movie reviews before taking our holiday break, Cass and Pastor Robin tackle an oldie but a goodie: The Chronicles of Narnia. Around the time of Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, the Chronicles of Narnia was a fantasy movie series that was geared towards a more family-friendly audience. This is clear not only in the messaging of the source material itself, but the way it was adapted for the silver screen. While a little long and maybe a bit scary for 5 or 6 yea...

Ralph Breaks the Internet: Kinda Broke Our Hearts.

December 12, 2018 21:21 - 20 minutes - 47.9 MB

Robin and Cass went to the movies last week to see the new release, "Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2". Cass in particular did a lot of research amongst her friends to see what people's perspective was, and though it's been received very well by critics and audiences, our hosts aren't sold on the premise. And "sold" might just be the operative word here. Cass and Pastor Robin both feel that this movie, not unlike the similarly-themed Emoji Movie of 2016, plays like a giant commer...

Angela's Christmas: A Nice Middle Ground between Santa and Jesus for Little Kids

December 09, 2018 22:54 - 9 minutes - 21.5 MB

In keeping with the theme of Christmas movies, Pastor Robin and Cass took to Netflix to hunt down some new, easily available watches for the season. While there are quite a few duds to wade through, Pastor Robin did find a hidden gem based on a story by Frank McCourt- Angela's Christmas. If you're struggling to find a more Christian-themed Christmas tale that isn't a straight retelling of the birth of Jesus, Angela's Christmas is a good middle-ground. Dickensian in nature, taking place in 2...

A Classic for Today's Times: It's a Wonderful Life

December 02, 2018 21:11 - 33 minutes - 76.3 MB

It's officially December, which means you've probably just run out of Thanksgiving leftovers and are finally ready to dive headfirst into the Christmas Spirit. Pastor Robin and Cass certainly are! This week they start off the holiday movie reviews with It's a Wonderful Life: the 1946 darling of American cinema and holiday movie marathons everywhere.  This is actually the first time Cass has ever seen this movie- and she's quite surprised at how applicable the post-WWII movie is to the strug...

Pixar's Coco: How to Blend Personal Growth with Cultural and Family Tradition

October 29, 2018 21:25 - 26 minutes - 60.2 MB

In celebration of the season, Cass and Pastor Robin watched Pixar's Coco earlier this month. They're absolutely in love with this story and all of the messages that come across. In this episode, Cass and Robin talk family values, strong parental figures, dealing with loss, growing up, and ways this film can help you and your family talk about these important topics.  We tried really hard not to spoil it for you- so listen and enjoy!

Christianity, Science, Drag Queens, and other Mysteries of the Universe: Disney's A Wrinkle in Time

October 29, 2018 00:43 - 21 minutes - 49.8 MB

Pastor Robin and Cass dive deep into Christian theology this week in their wrap-up of Disney's A Wrinkle In Time (as part of their "What You Can Watch on Netflix" series!). Based on Madeline l'Engel's book of the same name, A Wrinkle in Time is a fantastical sci-fi adventure that hones in on those oft-depicted angsts of teenager-dom. Meg, our main character, is struggling with school and her social life while being preoccupied with the mysterious disappearance of her father. Her little broth...

Halloween: A Christian and Pagan History, and How to Handle Holiday Advertising

October 17, 2018 23:02 - 13 minutes - 31.6 MB

We go seasonal this month in Married to the Media as we begin to address the ever-looming problem of the Holidays: how do we keep up with all the advertising? How can we tie in the holidays to our faith traditions? And is it all about candy, or do all these spending-filled crazy days have a lingering spiritual meaning? Pastor Robin and Cass address all of these concerns in their Halloween episode! If you're concerned about occult messages and want to know how to talk about the season with y...

The Responsibility of Storytelling: How Disney Dropped the Ball with Queen of Katwe

September 30, 2018 23:57 - 33 minutes - 77.1 MB

"When there are stories that are important... there's a responsibility to that story and to that lesson, especially when it's based on a real person." This week on Married to the Media, Robin and Cass reflect on their very different experiences with watching the movie Queen of Katwe. A powerful story about a young girl in Uganda who learns to play chess and break her family out of extreme poverty, Queen of Katwe is the type of biography filmmakers strive to turn into cinematic art- a true s...

Finding Nemo: The Spiritual Truth That Love Is Stronger Than Fear

September 15, 2018 21:14 - 27 minutes - 62.2 MB

This week on Married to the Media, Cass and Robin talk about one of the modern classics: Finding Nemo. What makes this movie a classroom favorite to this day, despite being over 15 years old?  They've talked before about the common trope of parents dying in the beginning of Disney movies. But Cass argues that there's a higher purpose to the narrative structure of Nemo. While it may be a little too much for your little ones under 5, Finding Nemo has poignant spiritual lessons for children an...

Transformers: Where to Even Begin?

September 08, 2018 22:38 - 35 minutes - 81.7 MB

2007 was a different time. In the height of America's involvement in the conflict in the Middle East, the US Military started to invest in more than just defense spending- they started making deals with movie studios and directors. Transformers was one of the first movies of this decade to feature actual military vehicles in it, and in exchange the Pentagon got to review- and change- the script.  And boy, do Cass and Robin have some problems with the script of Transformers. Not just the scr...

Hot Take: The Most Poorly Reviewed Pixar Short

August 28, 2018 22:27 - 6 minutes - 14.6 MB

We're not gonna beat around the bush: Pastor Robin and Cass both loved Bao, the preceding short to Pixar's latest theatrical release, Incredibles 2. The first short ever to be directed by an Asian-Canadian woman at Pixar, this small story is chock-full of cultural easter eggs and symbolism that not all white audiences have embraced. We laud the producers at Pixar for having the courage to support this beautiful, poignant, and powerful story of family dynamics and letting go in non-white cult...

Hot Take: Sex and The Battle of What's Appropriate in Incredibles 2

August 28, 2018 22:22 - 8 minutes - 18.8 MB

Alright, y'all. Let's talk about the elephant in the room. Anyone who read The New Yorker's Review of Incredibles 2 might be a little hesitant to let their child watch a movie that has been heralded as over-sexed and populated with queer undertones. To this, Pastor Robin and Cass have a pointed response in their new segment: Hot Take!

Incredibles 2: Gender, Family, Media, and How One Pixar Movie Can Tackle All the World's Biggest Problems And Still Be Great

August 28, 2018 22:10 - 36 minutes - 83.8 MB

Robin and Cass head to the movies for this episode! Before it comes out on DVD, listen to this review of Incredibles 2. Spoilers and some adult content ahead! Pixar tackled tons of controversial topics in their latest movie. Gender Equality, Queer Theory, Media Influence, Effecting Change in Government, AND Family Dynamics. On the heels of their own sexual harrassment scandals, Pixar didn't pull any punches in offering opinions and lessons in this sequel.  Cass and Robin talk about the var...

Meet Robin and Cass: Why We Do What We Do, and What Goes Into Our Analysis of Children's Media

August 15, 2018 09:00 - 29 minutes - 67.5 MB

We all love to talk about movies. Shows. Game of Thrones. Pixar. Frozen.  Film Analysis is one of the most popular hobbies of today's social, media-centric culture. It's a common ground- a way to make friends and teach each other important lessons. But why are Cass and Robin so fascinated by kid's shows, and what's their beef with modern children's media? Why should we care? In this episode, we get to know Cass and Pastor Robin a little better, find out their backgrounds in media and faith...

Disney Princesses and the Media of "Being a Girl": How it's More than Just the Movies

August 07, 2018 22:45 - 36 minutes - 82.4 MB

Disney Princesses dominate the market for young girls: from "My First Disney Princess" dolls to dreams of Disney Weddings. The Frozen franchise, which boasts two princesses, fills the shelves with merchandise and spin-offs, direct-to-DVD shorts and sing-along tapes. We've come to equate idolizing princesses with part of being a girl. But does it have to be? Let's be real, girls have existed much longer than princesses have. Pastor Robin and Cass get real in this episode, telling stories fro...

Disney's Frozen, part 2: Where are Kristoff's parents? Where are ANY Disney parents??

July 24, 2018 21:43 - 18 minutes - 43.2 MB

In our continuing coverage of Disney's Frozen, we tackle the complex concept of Love (ah yes, capital "L" Love) and how Frozen actually examines it from a lot of different angles. Pastor Robin introduces some tough questions you might hear from your kids while watching, and we even suggest some interesting sequel ideas!  This episode gears us up towards our Disney Princess Wrap-Up next week, where we take on the lifestyle empire that is the Walt Disney Corporation. 

Disney's Frozen, Part 1: Why Are Girls So Obsessed with Anna and Elsa?

July 18, 2018 15:53 - 27 minutes - 62.7 MB

Frozen is such a gigantic fixture in children's media right now; upon researching, Cass and Pastor Robin realized they needed TWO episodes to cover it. Frozen is (very) loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale The Snow Queen, which is coincidentally one of Cass's favorite fairy tales. Together, Robin and Cass break down just how different Frozen is from the original story and how the new take on the characters inspires the adoration of millions of children worldwide.  It can b...

On Parkland: An Introspective Look at School Shootings in the Media

July 12, 2018 01:39 - 29 minutes - 68 MB

For parents and students everywhere, the news coverage surrounding the events in Parkland, Florida struck a little too close to home. In this episode, Pastor Robin asks "What's happened??" to our country's schools and violence-driven culture, and Cass recounts living through a shooter threat at her school in the early 00's.  The impacts of these shootings go far beyond political discourse. They affect real people, real families, and real communities on a too-regular basis. How do we talk ab...

The Pixar Princess and a New Wave of Feminist Princesses? Millennials vs. Moms review Brave

July 12, 2018 01:33 - 23 minutes - 52.7 MB

Tired of the mid-century fuddy-duddy princesses they've already talked about, Pastor Robin and Cass are ready to tackle a NEW kind of princess this time around: Merida, from Disney-Pixar's Brave.  Lauded almost universally by audiences and critics alike for its unique mother-daughter narrative and outstanding animation, Brave should seem like a no-brainer for your family movie collection. So what's Cass's deal? Pastor Robin is thrilled with Merida's spunky independence and I-Don't-Need-No-M...

So What's the Problem with Cinderella?

July 12, 2018 01:27 - 45 minutes - 104 MB

So we get it, Disney: you were always on the fore-front of the latest in animation technology. By 1950, you knew how to write a hit song and sell your product. Cinderella was the product of post-war America and a return to traditional values, which means it sends a lot of subliminal messaging to parents almost more to kids. Broken families, role-reversals, and absent fathers were more common after WWII than in previous generations, and Disney had paid the bills during the war by making pro-A...

The First Princess: Snow White

July 12, 2018 01:15 - 31 minutes - 71.3 MB

  The first ever animated feature-length film, Snow White was the cinematic accomplishment that put Walt Disney on the map. Of all of children's media, the Walt Disney Company is by far the most ubiquitous: from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse to The Marvel Universe. Since the creation of the Disney Princess franchise in 2001, Snow White has had something of a resurgence, despite being over 80 years old. Is it still relevant? Married to the Media is our regular podcast where we discuss movies, tele...

Books

A Wrinkle in Time
1 Episode