Inspired by Michele’s visit to the creatively playful Duck Tape Festival, we talked about how Summer’s animated features, Minions and Inside Out seem ominpresent in advertising and merchandising. Then we looked at advertising aimed at kids, and the rise of action figures.
Then we made it spiritual too!
Looking at advertising with a critical eye can tell us about our culture today and help us experience nostalgia of days past. But looking at ads with your third eye, or through a lens of spiritual awareness, can help you see what’s important to you and what isn’t, and maybe even understand what’s important to someone else. In this episode, Malayna Dawn and Michele Coles will discuss how to use Unity principles to make the most of what we can’t avoid! We’ll talk about how to be in the world, but not of the world, play with what’s fun, and ignore what isn’t useful.
Throughout the past few weeks, Stacy has been busy in her role as the Southwest Unity Region’s Teen Consultant, overseeing Uniteens Camp and then accompanying our older teens to the International Youth of Unity event at Unity Village. Malayna has been reminiscing about her own youth in Unity, and thinking of movies and TV shows where characters get to do it all again. If you could go back, would you do things differently? What might we learn from such forays into our imagination? Can it make life better today? We’ll explore these questions this week on Pop Conscious!
Busting the Lone Hero Myth – with guest co-host Michele Coles and companion piece on Beliefnet.com (coming soon…)
There is a certain individualistic ideal which seems to tell us that it is possible, maybe even preferable, to do it on your own—whatever it may be. But if we look closely at our favorite heroes, most of them have backup—sidekicks, family, love interests, butlers, and the like. Even the Lone Ranger had Tonto! He wasn’t alone after all! Join Malayna and team member Michele Coles as they scan pop culture for supposed heroic loners and their sidekicks or support teams. Then we’ll bust the myth and refine the ideal of individual empowerment to include supportive connections, because we know that “oneness” doesn’t mean being alone, but joined in Unity!
When you’re a fan, you have a passionate reverence for the subject of your fandom that is not unlike a spiritual experience. We welcome back our favorite scholar-fan, Dr. Tanya Cochran, to share insights found in the TV series Firefly and it’s follow-up film, Serenity. We’ll look at the resonance we find in the archetypes of the crew members and how belief plays a huge role in this space cowboy adventure by Joss Whedon. And we can’t forget the fans. There’s not a power in the ‘verse that can stop us!
When people are fans, they are passionate, devoted, and engaged. It makes fandom the perfect vehicle for riding a wave of devotion to create a more engaged life—one in which passion informs all the choices we make. We welcome author and scholar Tanya R. Cochran, who will tell us how she has channeled her passion for the works of Joss Whedon and J.J. Abrams into her career, and as a means to deepen her inner journey. Join us and learn to follow your inspiration!
We so enjoyed our talk with Dr. Tanya Cochran! We touched the work shown above, but also spent time on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which featured heavily in her dissertation, and the latest controversy surrounding how Black Widow is portrayed in the Avengers: Age of Ultron movie.
If you’re not well-versed in the works of Joss Whedon, check out our companion piece on Beliefnet.com, “The Spirit of the Whedonverse“!
Here are a few excerpts from Tanya’s dissertation:
p 26 – But little has been written and published about finding God where we might least expect — in songs by Eminem, in sitcoms such as The Simpsons (1989 – present), in films such as Crash (2004), or in teen horror/action/science fiction/fantasy/comedy/dramas with campy titles like Buffy the Vampire Slayer .
Detweiler and Taylor { A Matrix of Meanings: Finding God in Pop Culture -November 1, 2003} argue that Jesus himself set the precedence for ‘shaking things up‛…[he] flipped the script on people’s understanding of power, life, and religion’ (8).
And flipping the script is exactly what Detweiler and Taylor intend to do by claiming that ‚God shines through even the most debased pop cultural products‛ (8). I was skeptical of their claims at first, but as I more fully realize what story it is that I find myself in, I take their words more and more to heart. My experience tells me I must.
Pg 27 – No more guilt, only critical curiosity. This whole person sees striking and moving metaphorical connections between the Bible ’s Gospel and Buffy ’s “good news.” This whole person makes meaning for herself that deepens and enriches her religious, spiritual, and academic experience. She hears a universal tune humming through both obvious and obscure texts.
P221 – Mark 9.15: “As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him” (New American Standard Bible).Wonder, a state in which one wants to learn more about something. The people are amazed by this person, curious about him. They want to know more.
I want to know more even as I believe that Jesus, as God, is infinite. And because he is infinite, he cannot be fully known. To know more is to know that knowing never ends. To know is to seek, to wonder about him, to wonder of him.
This seeking, this wondering is a conversation, a dialogue with truth and love embodied. There is no monologue. Monologues lead to guardianships. Dialogues, however, lead to searches, to journeys, to paths of wonder. Years ago when I was swallowed by intellectual crisis and depression, I could have chosen any one of many paths. But if I had chosen any other journey but the journey of wonder, I may not have ended up here at this moment because wonder gives birth to ever – increasing wisdom.
We also talked about our shared love of J.J. Abrams works, which include the much beloved TV series Alias, Lost and Fringe.
And there is plenty more to talk about! We’ll have to have Dr. Tanya back!
May the fourth be with you! Things have changed since the originally-released, history-making, Star Wars Trilogy. A prequel trilogy came out, and in 2012 the brainchild of George Lucas was adopted by Disney. Disney is known for magic, fantasy, and imagination. Stacy and Malayna will talk about the impact both have had on pop culture, and how we can use what they’ve taught us so far as tools to improve our lives, as we look forward to when The Force Awakens!
Retro Outlaw interprets Leia as the Coppertone girl. Google it!
We must admit, there was a disturbance in The Force as we attempted to present our podcast on May 4th. Here’s your guide to navigate around the technical difficulties!
We discussed a timeline of Star Wars films releases and our memories. I mentioned that I remembered seeing the original one at The Egyptian (but it may have been Return of the Jedi, actually….). Stacy thought that I might have been referring to The El Capitan, across from the Chinese Theater, but nope! Links included to show that we eventually checked our facts!
Aside from a dog barking about 5 minutes in, all was well until we mentioned the documentary The People vs. George Lucas.
The Force responded by kicking us off the air for 2 full minutes.
So skip to 18:00 minutes into the show, when we pointed out the metaphor — the idea that people being upset with the creator of the Star Wars universe is like us shaking our fists at our Creator (God, or whatever name you choose) for something we don’t like about our world. George Lucas created this whole universe that we all love, and then we got mad at him for what did with his creation.
Han Shot First!
Around 24 minutes into the show, another glitch of about 15 or 20 seconds hit us, but we course-corrected and continued to talk about the Han Shot First issue! (Shooting who? Greedo! I was right! I second guessed myself into thinking I meant Boba Fett. But I didn’t. I totally meant Greedo.)
The rest went without a hitch:
Between the 26 and 27-minute mark, we got into the next installment, The Force Awakens, with JJ Abrams directing. (Click to see a trailer!)
Stacy, as a one time, Star Wars Fan Club member, examines why it had such an impact on her young self: 1) the excitement of living in the unknown of space * Leia as a strong female role model * Technology as our friends – (Wall-E, Big Hero 6 – Androids are our phone friends) * It’s a story about family and reconnection * Embrace others – like Wookies, Ewoks, etc.
Malayna pointed out the Joseph Campbell / Hero with a Thousand Faces connection – mythical language of all human stories, from King Arthur to Beowulf… The Hero’s Journey inspired us all using the same tools. And the book The Writer’s Journey – written by a story consultant at Disney- impresses the importance of these archetypal characters, on a journey we’re all on. Any of our holy books, can be a description of our spirit’s journey through the human experience. These stories are that too – all stories are.
People vs George Lucas 2 – due out later in 2015 – the Disneyfication of Star Wars franchise. JJ Abrams did a great job with the Star Trek universe.
We looked at the messages of Disney movies, and what we can learn from them if we look.
We talked about the TV show Heroes, which was on NBC and created by Tim Kring. (Not Disney, not ABC.)
And finally we summed it up that all these stories about princes or princesses are about us – we are all heirs to the kingdom! As such, we have a responsibility to self, community, and environment – to being our best selves, take on that royal role.
Resonate with stories that call us to be better – step into those roles, and use them as tools to inspire!
With Malayna’s excitement over the release of the inspiring film Little Boy in theaters, and Stacy’s return from a Faith Walk-themed Youth of Unity event, we are reminded that “a little child shall lead them”…or rather, us. How can we let our inner child lead the way in our own lives? Pop Conscious will explore the ways we are reminded to let go of our jaded, pessimistic viewpoints and become like a child in order to enter the Kingdom of all possibilities!
Stacy’s faves: Little Prince, Little Princess, Under the Same Moon, Red Balloon, Cinema Paradiso
Malayna’s Notes:
Little Boy – beautifully made from every possible aspect! Brilliant writing, beautiful cinematography, great cast, wonderful actors, and on top of it, it offers such depth of feeling and inspiration! http://littleboymovie.com/
Inspired just from their intro trailer! (below)
“I hope Little Boy will inspire you to love more and judge less…to forgive more and complain less…
and to rediscover that little boy or little girl inside of you who still believes in miracles… experience a movie that not only entertains you but also lifts your spirits and inspires you to be a light in the world.” – Eduardo Verástegui
“I think that this movie will make everybody love each other.” – Jakob Salvati
Watch this!
Metanoia Films – Metanoia — an Ancient Greek word (μετάνοια) meaning “changing one’s mind” — may refer to:
Metanoia (psychology), the process of experiencing a psychotic “break down” and subsequent, positive psychological re-building or “healing”
Paranoia = early 19th century: modern Latin, from Greek, from paranoos ‘distracted,’ from para ‘irregular’ + noos ‘mind.’
Pronoia = Pronoia is a neologism that is defined as the opposite state of mind to paranoia: having the sense that there is a conspiracy that exists to help the person, or as astrologer Rob Brezsny says, “How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings”.
Directed and co-written by Smithsonian Institute Award-winning director, Alejandro Monteverde – who met his wife, Ali Landry, at a church Bible study.
Executive Producers:
Mark Burnett – Mark Burnett – British television producer, based in Los Angeles. Burnett is currently the executive producer of five network television series with seven hours of network programming. He has produced over 2,400 hours of television which regularly airs in over 70 countries. His current series are Survivor (2000), The Voice (2011), The Apprentice, Shark Tank (2009) and People’s Choice Awards….
Burnett has been named one of the world’s most influential people by TIME Magazine. He has won five Emmy Awards and four People’s Choice Awards. In total, Burnett’s projects have accumulated 98 Emmy nominations. In addition to his work as a producer, Mark has authored eight books.
Roma Downey – Mark married Roma Downey on April 28, 2007 at their home in Malibu. The ceremony was officiated by Della Reese. They have three children.
Eduardo Verástegui – toured the world as a singer in the Mexican pop sensation Kairo and as an acclaimed solo recording artist, performing sold-out concerts in over 13 countries. Starring in five highly-rated “telenovelas” (Spanish soap operas) for Televisa (broadcast in over 19 countries), he has also been featured on hundreds of international magazine covers including People En Español which voted him one of 50 Most Beautiful People. Verástegi has appeared opposite Jennifer Lopez in one of her most famous music videos “Ain’t it funny!” as well as in an international television commercial promoting her self-titled commercial fragrances. In 2001, Verástegui was on a flight from Miami to Los Angeles when he was approached by the V.P. of Casting at 20th Century Fox for the studio’s first ever Latino-driven film “Chasing Papi” and won the starring role. He subsequently co-starred in an indie film called “Meet Me In Miami” and has appeared in such primetime television series as “CSI:Miami, ” “Charmed,” and “Karen Cisco”. In 2004, following an inspiration to transform his image, Verástegui left his agency and management and teamed with director Alejandro Monteverde and producer Leo Severino to form Metanoia Films, a company committed to projects that entertain, engage and inspire.
Cast
Jakob Salvati
Emily Watson
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa
Michael Rapaport – red headed new Yorker (Phoebe’s cop bf)
David Henrie
Ben Chaplin – Latest Cinderella as her dad, Remains of the Day, Truth about Cats and Dogs, (Jeneane Garofalo/Uma), Murder by Numbers (Sandra Bullock),
Eduardo Verástegui
Ted Levine – Buffalo Bill, the capt on Monk, (Chatted with in the elevator at Barb’s hotel!)
Abraham Benrubi
and Tom Wilkinson
Kevin James – King of Queens,
Other Youth-Led Films
Golden Child – (1986) Eddie Murphy!
Kundun – (1997) – The Tibetans refer to the Dalai Lama as ‘Kundun’, which means ‘The Presence’. He was forced to escape from his native home, Tibet, when communist China invaded and enforced an oppressive regime upon the peaceful nation of Tibet. The Dalai Lama escaped to India in 1959 and has been living in exile in Dharamsala ever since. Written by Deki
Haley Joel Osment – Sixth Sense (Pay it Forward too – Dave Venghaus)
Freddie Highmore – Finding Neverland
Daniel Radclife, Harry Potter
McCauley Culkin – Home Alone
Dakota Fanning – I Am Sam
Kirsten Dunst – Interview with the Vampire
Abigail Breslin – Little Miss Sunshine
River Phoenix – Stand By Me (Wil Wheaton, Jerry
Leo DiCaprio – What’s Eating Gilbert Grape
Christian Bale – Empire of the Sun
Chloe Moretz – Kick Ass
Metaphysical interpretation of bible verses metioned above – from TruthUnity.net
Isaiah 11: 6
11:6And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the kid;
and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
and a little child shall lead them.
Meta Interpretation (paraphrased from Charles Fillmore,found on TruthUnity.net):
Having partaken of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, a dual consciousness was set up in our minds. Some things we pronounced good and some we called bad. Now under the new law of Oneness in our hearts, we see things in their true light, and we see now that “bad” is just undeveloped good. Like a little child who knows no fear, we trust in the power of the omnipresent Good. When we are positive to the Good nothing external can hurt the Truth of us.
Mark (Not paraphrased, cuz I’m lazy…but edited down…)
10:15Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall in no wise enter therein.
We can attain the childlike mind by making ourselves receptive to the inspiration of Spirit. We must empty our minds of accumulated wisdom, and like little children believe the marvelous things of Spirit. In the childlike mind we are not suspicious or critical, but we believe and trust, and are joyous, free-hearted, and in all ways like children.
The unquestioning faith of the little child makes contact with the spiritual realm and attains its gifts.
Why does the kingdom of God belong to little children? Because … they are free from the self-righteousness that prevents the material-minded person from accepting Truth.
How do we “receive the kingdom of God as a little child”? By believing in the reality of the ideal qualities of Spirit, faith, love, goodness, beauty, and the like.
See Malayna singing “Greatest Love of All” on Who’s the Boss:
See the Labyrinth on the cover of Malayna’s novel, Echoes Across Time, here:
We are so excited to welcome the authors of Reform Your Inner Mean Girl, Amy Ahlers and Christine Arylo to chat with us at Pop Conscious! They’ll share steps to help us stop bullying ourselves and how to get to know our inner mean girls and what they want so we can bring them over from the dark side. Identifying these archetypes for transformation can be creative and fun. Party over here!
Just like we used to have tea parties with our imaginary friends, today on Pop Conscious we’ll host a tea party for our INNER FRENEMIES, our shadow selves, refereed by the authors of Reform Your Inner Mean Girl, Amy Ahlers & Christine Arylo, we’ll learn how to work together for wholeness and happiness.
Malayna’s FAVORITE BITS:
Inspire instead of torture ourselves with comparisons
The end to outer mean girls has to also include an end to inner mean girls.
… where science & spirituality meet, we find superpower!
Bitstrips are just too fun!
Malayna your highest scoring Archetype is:
Comparison Queen with a score of 19.
Fixer and Rescuer with a score of: 17
Perfectionist with a score of: 17
Achievement Junkie with a score of: 16
Overly Optimistic, Partying Cheerleader with a score of: 15
Invincible Superwoman with a score of: 14
Good Girl with a score of: 13
Doing Addict with a score of: 12
Mean Girls in movies and TV
Mean Girls (2004) – Lindsey Lohan / Rachel McAdams, Lacey Chabert, Amanda Seyfriend = “The Plastics” (Tina Fey wrote screenplay, was in it with Amy Poehler, and a great “grown up” cast)
Heathers (1988) – Winona Ryder + Christian Slater/ Shannon Doherty
Easy A (2010) – Emma Stone + Penn Badgely / Amanda Bynes, Cam Gigandet, (Lisa Kudrow, Stanley Tucci, Thomas Haden Church)
Never Been Kissed (1999) 0 Drew Barrymore + Michael Vartan/ Jessica Alba “The ones that even as you grow up will remain the most beautiful girls you’ve ever seen close up.”
Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion (1997) –
Clueless
Pretty Little Liars
Gossip Girl
90210
“It’s hard to fight an enemy who has outposts in your head.” -Sally Kempton
Attend their Los Angeles book launch event on April 25th! Find out more at
With the new show Fresh Off the Boat making waves on TV, we thought we’d talk with our favorite Asian-American, Unity Online Radio host Evelyn Foreman, from The Call of Spirit, about her experiences. In addition to issues of immigration and multiculturalism, we’ll look at boat journeys in film like Life of Pi and Noah, and at the symbolic meanings of such journeys. Ever heard of the Mayflower? It’s likely we’re almost all descendants of adventurous, faith-filled boat people!
Fresh Off the Boat is a comedy series starring Randall Park, Constance Wu, Ian Chen, Hudson Yang, and Forrest Wheeler[4][5][6] that is inspired by the life of chef and food personality Eddie Huang and his book Fresh Off the Boat: A Memoir. It is the first American television situation comedy starring an Asian-American family as protagonists to air on network primetime since Margaret Cho‘s All American Girl, which aired for one season in 1994.[7] Its style has been compared to the comedy series Everybody Hates Chris.[8] The flashback technique with voice-over narration from the present day is similar to The Wonder Years.The show debuted with two preview episodes on February 4, 2015. The second episode which aired after Modern Family was promoted as a bonus episode and formally premiered in its prime time slot on February 10, 2015.[9] The first of the two preview episodes garnered 7.94 million viewers, becoming the second highest rated comedy premiere this season.[10] The second episode was watched by 7.56 million viewers.
CULTURAL – Expat vs immigrant – global coach center –
According to Miriam-Webster:
the word “Expatriate” is actually a verb or an adjective and means someone “living in a foreign land”.
the word “Immigrant” is a noun and means “a person who comes to a country to take permanent residence”.
If we go only by these definitions above, I see one major distinction that sets them apart. Immigrants have an intention to stay – whereas for the expatriates this intention isn’t mentioned and isn’t clear.
Put another way, immigrants may have a larger emotional commitment to their new place of residence – and, thus, their approach to making it is different. If expatriates know that they can always leave and they know it coming into the country already – how much effort will they try to put into… (a) finding ways to belong; (b) creating connections, (c) absorbing new ways of being, (d) making life-long friends, etc, etc, etc?
A few of my closest friends had one foreign parent, like I do —
Life of Pi – 2012 – A young man who survives a disaster at sea is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. While cast away, he forms an unexpected connection with another survivor: a fearsome Bengal tiger.
Noah – 2014 – Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connolly…
The Last Ship – Culver Studios, Eric Dane, Adam Baldwin, Rona Mitra – TNT – The crew of a naval destroyer is forced to confront the reality of a new existence when a pandemic kills off most of the earth’s population.
We say that a man is “at sea” when he is in doubt about a mental process; in other words he has not established his thoughts in line with the principle involved, he is unstable.
FloodWater often breaks up and dissolves olderror states of consciousness in the individual, just as the Flood dissolved and washed away from the race the oldconditions that the combined error force of individuals had formed.
When John the Baptist baptized with water, he washed away the sins of an external character.
Sea – The sea also signifies universalMind, that great realm of unexpressed and unformed thoughts and ideas that contains all-potentiality.
Boat – A positive thought–a conveyance that is able to float upon the water (the unstable mind), and to bear up the disciples (the faculties of mind).
What is it about a belief in magic, fairy tales, and the supernatural that has been so popular in society for the past several years? Your Pop Conscious pals, Malayna and Stacy, will look at several of the most popular TV shows, movies, books, and more that show our need to suspend our disbelief. How can we utilize the same to help people believe in more than just fiction? Perhaps it is time for a new paradigm for belief. Join us as we discuss and discover!
More awesomeness from David Hayward, at nakedpastor.com
NOTES from before the show:
From Rev. Margee Grounds, Unity Southwest Region
Could you two shed some light on the vampire programs on TV and “Charmed” and the like. I’m sure they must be a metaphor exploration of the dark side archetypes or “thought people”, as Papa Charlie would say – but since they are kind of like “real life” crime shows or soap operas, I am wondering what you two have to say about what they portray about us 21st century peeps.
To Rev. Margee:
We have covered those topics a few times — probably most thoroughly at Halloween, and the part 2 which we did on Rev. Ogun’s show (link below). We also talked about witches and angels in another show, but I’m not sure if we’ve covered “Charmed” much. I’ll keep it in mind and figure out how and when to work it in soon!
Thanks! Here are the links if you feel like checking out the shows to see if there’s anything we missed.
Response to the world situation /outlook – during the Great Depression, Busby Berkeley musicals helped people escape to a world of beauty. In the 50’s with fears of Nuclear War, monster movies helped people work through fears of the unknown. – much like today.
Slate.com article by Katy Waldman – quotes Susan Sontag: in 1965, the definitive essay on Cold War dystopian fantasy: “The Imagination of Disaster.” “We live,” she claimed in that piece, “under continual threat of two equally fearful, but seemingly opposed, destinies: unremitting banality and inconceivable terror.” The job of science fiction was at once to “lift us out of the unbearably humdrum … by an escape into dangerous situations which have last-minute happy endings” and to “normalize what is psychologically unbearable, thereby inuring us to it.”
In other words, a good horror/fantasy/sci-fi flick provides a healthy dose of escapism, but it also keeps one eye fastened on what we wish to escape from. During the Depression, that could have been the exhausting grind of making ends meet. During the 1950s, it was relentless domesticity and something altogether more insidious: the Soviet Menace and the threat of nuclear war.
Because we think we know our world – the thrill of not knowing exactly how these creatures function, and how they are always inventing and exploring new twists and solutions to problems and flaws
Their problems make ours look simple.
The world feels dangerous – what would it be like to not be afraid?
A fascination with our own mortality…what we would accomplish in ten lifetimes.
Forbidden love –
The pressures of doing the right thing, versus the thrill of doing the wrong thing for the right reasons – passion of feeling alive!
Maybe we don’t feel alive, but like robots, or zombies….
We need contrast – sometimes we have to explore the other side to appreciate what we’ve got. – Anne Rice novels help her explore spirituality, religion and belief.
Charmed – was groundbreaking – and award winning!
Eight seasons from October 7, 1998, until May 21, 2006.
Charmed achieved both critical and popular acclaim, with its first episode “Something Wicca This Way Comes” garnering 7.7 million viewers, breaking the record for the highest-rated debut episode for The WB.[1] During its fifth season, the series became the highest-rated Sunday night program in The WB’s history.[2][3] At 178 episodes, Charmed is the second-longest drama broadcast by The WB and the second-longest running hour-long television series featuring all female leads.[4] The series has also received numerous awards and nominations. In 2010, HuffPost TV and AOL TV ranked Charmed within their joint list of “The Top 20 Magic/Supernatural Shows of All Time”, while in 2013, TV Guide listed the series as one of “The 60 Greatest Sci-Fi Shows of All Time”. Charmed has also become a pop culture reference in television shows and films, and several other witch-themed shows have been compared to the series.
There are many celebs that choose to use their star power for good, helping to draw attention to a worthy cause. Others may be faced with the question, “to guilt or not to guilt?” We’ll talk about how often guilt works, (we promise not to play Sarah McLachlan’s song during the show…) and also campaigns that have found creative ways to make a difference by harnessing the power of affirmative language!
Perhaps the most important factor to consider, which in turn makes campaigners even more wary, is the use of slang and understanding differences in cultural associations. It certainly requires a lot of careful attention to avoid a marketing calamity. Some examples of these poor chaps include the Dairy Association’s famous “Got Milk?” campaign in Mexico translated to “Are You Lactating?”.
And or perhaps even better yet, the fail of Proctor & Gamble launching Pampers in Japan where they pictured a stork on the packaging which highly confused the Japanese as they did not understand at all why a giant bird would be carrying off a baby.
Check out these online resources that fueled our conversation!
Animal Cops – TV show that shows the heroic efforts of various animal rescue organizations who fight for justice on behalf of abused or neglected animals.
We also talked about the book 29 Gifts by Cami Walker, Coca Cola campaigns like #MakeitHappy, Campaigns to Rethink cyber bullying and encourage youth to be change agents, amd more!
Looking back at the history of Hollywood has been a source of inspiration for us at Pop Conscious, so join in on our discussion about our recent outing to the Hollywood Costumes Exhibition at the Oscar Museum. We’ll play the prediction game, Unity-style, and affirmatively declare what we would like to see more of in pop culture and entertainment in 2015. Join us in shaping our collective future!
Titanic, Moulin Rouge, Marilyn Monroe, Wizard of Oz shoes
As You Wish book by Cary Elwes – Heart is the magic ingredient
Downton Abbey ornaments exchanged at Christmas
NEWish shows I checked out and wanna see more like them:
Agent Carter – 1940’s capable woman agent, after Capt American disappears,
Scorpion – geniuses solve real word, real-world problems
Elementary –
Galavant – Timothy Omundson (Psych) – saw him at the Magic Castle (built 1908)
Predictions:
Geena Davis Institute for Gender in Media – seejane.org – You have the power to change the face of children’s programming. With your help, if she can see it, she can be it. Your donation will further our research efforts and fund continuing curriculum development for young children.
“In a World” – Lake Bell
2015: The year women take back tech
Hedy Lamarr – Invention of Spread Spectrum Technology – women-inventors.com/Hedy-Lamarr
Although better known as an actress, she was also an inventor and a pioneer in the field of wireless communications, along with co-inventor George Anthiel, she developed a “Secret Communications System” to help combat the Nazis in World War II. Lamarr and Anthiel received a patent in 1941, but the enormous significance of their invention was not realized until decades later. It was first implemented on naval ships during the Cuban Missile Crisis and subsequently emerged in numerous military applications. But most importantly, the “spread spectrum” technology that Lamarr helped to invent would galvanize the digital communications boom, forming the technical backbone that makes cellular phones, fax machines and other wireless operations possible.
BFF’s have it all
Tina Fey & Amy Poehler should play us in a new movie.
Bentonville Film Festival – Celebrating Women and Diversity in Film is First to Guarantee Theatrical, Television, Digital and Retail Home Entertainment Distribution for Winning Films – Geena Davis : “my message is to look at the world of the movie and make whatever you were already going to make, already planning to write — maybe it’s already written — but before you cast it, go through and change a bunch of first names to women, figure out where you can add characters of diversity and, bam, you’ve really improved the film and broadened the audience and probably made it much more interesting than it was in the first place.
Shift from lowest common denominator to highest we can reach – celebrating the strength and power within each of us, the heart and the beauty, and not the worst of us. What Oprah did for daytime talk shows, everyone in entertainment can do for whatever media they use. Let’s use pop culture to harness what people are naturally drawn toward and raise them up.
Or should we say, The Spiritual POP CULTURE Geeks Gift Guide?
The gift-giving season is upon us, so Stacy and Malayna have decided to make it both fun AND spiritual for us all. They’ll talk about their favorite websites for pop culture gifts, to make it both comfortable and joyful to shop. (Get it? Comfort and joy!) Then they’ll look at how these gifts can support the spiritual aspect of your friendships and family ties. Of course, they’ll use examples from the holiday films and TV episodes that impacted them most. The best gifts are meaningful, heartfelt expressions of understanding. But they can be fun too!
Community : Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas (Image borrowed from SassyIrishLassie.com!)
Community – Claymation Christmas special “Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas” (from Season 2)- gifts = wholeness, friendship, support
Rudolph Claymation classic – gifts = compassion for differently abled “misfits” or anyone who doesn’t fit in, belief
Santa Clause #1 – gifts: Mystery Date game, weenie whistle, Listening to heart’s desire, Belief
Scrooged – grew up on TV specials – gifts = freedom from fear, connection, understanding, compassion
It’s a wonderful Life – gifts = perspective
Love Actually! Gifts = Love, actually…
Favorite Sites!
~Clockwork Couture – https://clockworkcouture.com/ – Cruelty-free fashion for timeless adventurers – We bring quality neo-victoriana back into your life with unique offerings from this world and the next. – Clockwork Couture is the fashion house that sits on the edge of time. Traveling through eras and continents, we bring back styles and infuse it with our well- traveled influences. We do custom millinery, corsetry, gowns, and jewelry. * aviator goggles / sleep mask * Tardis themed gifts & photo op * Pirate hat * corsets * lingerie (Can’t tell you, it’s a Victorian Secret)
~Alyce Santoro –http://www.alycesantoro.com/ – Third Eye Sunglasses, Sonic Fabrics
~Mental Floss – where knowledge junkies shop- http://store.mentalfloss.com – also a magazine! – from history buffs to bookworms to math geeks! – *Book Lovers * Space Cadets * I’ve gotten tees, back issues, books * Shakespeare’s Star Wars * My patronus is a bookworm tee * geeks guide to dating
~Archie McPhee – http://mcphee.com/shop/ – geeks & nerds * zombies & monsters * pirates* religion sections – dashboard Jesus & monk, Last Supper After Dinner Mints, Santa Dreidel, Hannukah stocking and candy canes… Emergency Self-Esteem Kit with affirmations, Moses action figures!
Mo Moses? No Problem!
This mob of six Moseses is Moses to the Max! You get six 5-1/4″ tall, hard vinyl Moses Action Figures with removable stone tablets for delivering the Ten Commandments and a shepherd’s staff for delivering the ten plagues. That means you get a total of 60 commandments! Just think how specific you can get. (Thou shalt not reboot a movie series less than ten years after the final movie of the previous series. Thou shalt not post vague things on Facebook just to get a reaction.) When six Moseses tell you to let their people go, you better listen!
~Think Geek – http://www.thinkgeek.com/gifts/ – Since 1999, ThinkGeek has been on a mission to create a world where everyone can embrace their inner geek and connect with one another. What started as a place for clever t-shirts and unusual gifts is now the best way to find wondrous goods that express all your passions – much of which you won’t find anywhere else on Earth (or any other planet).
TV, Movies & Books, Gaming, Other = Unicorns, Steampunk, Superheroes…Firefly,
~Tee Fury – http://www.teefury.com/ – Megan Lara – art nouveau firefly, community, Disney, Hunger Games… Karen Hallion – no crying, leia, labyrinth, Dr Who + Disney *
Ugly Sweaters Collection – Leg Lamp from Christmas Story, Gremlins, Die Hard, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Guardians of the Galaxy
~Unemployed Philosopher’s Guild: http://www.philosophersguild.com/ – Beatles, Monty Python, Classic Hollywood puppets like Marilyn Monroe, Louis Armstrong, Charlie Chaplin, Evlis, Andy Warhol and Harry Houdini
Monthly Goodie Deliveries
–Lootcrate.com – for gamers: collectibles, gadgets, candy and gear! Between $11 – 13/mo!
For organic and eco-friendly products, wine lovers, natural foodies, bark box for dog owners, college kids, new parents, kits for kids, little passports, Japanese snacks, socks, gluten free, sample-sized beauty prod $10 – Ipsy full size (men too– Birchbox), bicyclists, Try the World – Curated Products From a New Global City Each Month – $45 – the first Paris-themed box includes tea, hot cocoa powder, chestnut cream, and artisanal salt. Following cities will be Tokyo, then Rio de Janeiro. Hammock pack – Products to Make You Feel Like You’re On Vacation –
Pop Conscious 