Podtwats
One of the few good things to come out of Apple’s dominance of the online music distribution market is the podcast. In many ways, it has revitalized the idea of the homemade radio show, giving everyone with a microphone the opportunity to voice their opinion about whatever subject they choose.
In my opinion, the best type of podcast to arise from this revolution is the one dedicated to specific types of media. Unlike the ones termed “ramblecasts“, they are tuned into one subject and give in depth and interesting insights into TV shows, Movies and Movie Genres as well as giving the fans an opportunity to share their thoughts in a medium other than internet forums.
However, there are a lot of podcasts out there being produced with absolutely no attention to accuracy or detail and these are the subject of this rant.
If you are going to produce a podcast about a television show … and you are expecting people to tune in every week to hear your opinions, why the hell would you not even bother to go to the trouble of watching the program properly each week? There is nothing worse than tuning into one of these show-specific podcasts with a view to getting in depth analysis of the latest episode along with the different opinions and views of the presenters and their listeners … only to realize that the people producing the podcast know LESS about the show than you!
And worse, they know so little about the TV Show making process and they pay so little attention when watching each episode that they either completely miss or choose to ignore massive elements of the show’s mythology and countless recurring themes within them.
Many of their opinions and views on the show’s contents are laughable, childish and simply ignorant. Branding the new show “Outsourced” as racist simply bacause it happens to have Indian characters that are a source of comedy … It has American characters that they are poking fun at too. Is it racist against them as well?
Of course not. You’re just so incredibly lazy that you can’t kick your brain into gear and actually have an original thought about anything! You’re just spouting this nonsense because you think that’s what you should be saying and you’re terrified of anyone disagreeing with you. Well, I disagree with you. You’re full of shit. You’re pandering to this outdated idea that any mention of anyone not white must be automatically racist.
Fucking grow up.
So often, I find myself wondering WHY I am listening to these IDIOTS making stupid and crass remarks about these shows that I enjoy.
The sheer lack of information and basic observation skills that they exhibit is astounding! In a “Horror Movie” podcast I heard recently, the presenters were discussing “Dead Calm“, starring Nicole Kidmam, Sam Niell and Billy Zane.
Now, these people claim to be movie buffs. They claim to be knowledgable about the subject of their podcast! Yet they stated, without any idea how idiotic they sounded, that this was the first movie in which they saw Billy Zane!
Now, forgive me (this once) for being overly arsey about such a small detail, but these guys are podcasting about Horror Movies! The entire POINT of their show is that they are supposed to be experts in movies and especially Horror Movies. Are they telling us that when “Deal Calm” was released, they hadn’t seen Critters!? Or Back To The Future?!? Or do they simply not know that he’s in those movies? Which speaks volumes about their actual status as movie buffs anyway!
Yes, this is a kind of petty example, but it is the one that tipped me over the edge, so I felt the need to bring it up anyway.
These podcasts are littered with such ridiculous statements and complete untruths that it becomes a frustrating chore to listen rather than an informative experience.
A while back, in a podcast dedicated to Fringe, BOTH presenters dismissively just said “oh, I didn’t notice a mirror in the room with the typewriter” …
As a fan of the show, I have to say “What The Fuck!?” Not only was the scene in question a HUGE part of the revelation of the show’s mythology, but the mirror itself had a very important and significant meaning! How can anyone that claims to be a fan of the show NOT NOTICE THAT!? Let alone this pair of morons that are presenting themselves as “super fans” and experts in the show! It was right in the centre of the screen for a long, lingering shot! Were you even fucking watching!?
These are just a few examples of the huge amount of idiots out there that are recording podcasts just for the sake of podcasting rather than because they are actually passionate about something. I just want to say, if you can’t be bothered to spend the time doing it properly, then leave it to someone who can! Your half-assed efforts to gain a little “fame” by gathering a fanbase of half a dozen people just make you look like self-important twats.
MisterShouty 