LISTEN TO THE PLUGGED IN SHOW, EPISODE 246
I’m a sucker for old movies.
Sure, I have an appreciation for a lot of the new stuff, and as a Plugged In reviewer, I sure watch a lot of it. But when I’m watching a movie for myself—when I don’t have to sit down and count profanities or consider the latest onscreen beheading—more often than not, I’ll try to find something old. Maybe it’s a cheesy 1950s sci-fi film or a classic from Hollywood’s Golden Age. I’ll settle in and let the movie take me back a few decades. To be entertained. Sometimes, to be challenged.
Funny thing: These old black-and-white movies often specialized in shades of gray.
Take, for instance, the three movies we’re talking about on this week’s episode: To Kill a Mockingbird, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and Seven Samurai. All three were made in an era when there was no such thing as an R rating. But all three deal with some difficult topics and come with some moral complexity. And all three have become classics.
We’ll talk with Bob Hoose, Caleb Gottry and our new managing editor, Bret Eckelberry, about these films. Are they as good as they say? What makes them so? And how, if you’re so inclined, would you introduce the world of black-and-white movies to your kids?
And then we’ll move on to something a little more contemporary—the new social media features you’ll find on Spotify. Our tech expert Emily Tsiao says that they’re fairly limited for now. But social media brings with it its own positives and perils, and she’ll unpack it all for us.
Once we’re done speaking, we’d love for you to join in. Do you, like me, enjoy a good old movie sometimes? What’s your favorite? Are you jazzed about Spotify’s new social media tools? Or does it strike a sour note? Tell us on Instagram or Facebook. Type your thoughts in the comments section below. Leave us a voicemail on The Plugged In Show homepage, or send us an email at [email protected].
And then be sure to join us next week, when we talk about a couple of TV shows with withering content, along with a family movie that’ll make you smile.
3 Responses
Correction for Bret: The Joker was voiced by Tim Curry in the ’90s animated series, not Mark Hamill. 😉
Curry was replaced with Hamill, but both had done voiceover work for the Joker in Batman The Animated Series. Hamill also voiced Joker in many Batman adaptations, including some of the Arkham games, and some of those straight-to-DVD movies.
If you’re referring to Batman: The Animated Series (which aired from 1992 to 1995), it actually was Mark Hamill, although Tim Curry was the first choice for the role.