63 – Has Lesbian Cinema Finally Gone Mainstream?

To celebrate and commemorate LGBTQ History Month (in the UK)

we take a look at lesbian cinema, focusing on movies that put gay relationships front and centre.

Join Contrarah and Nick as they discuss what’s good and bad about films made in the 1960s, the 2010s and right now in 2021, and the complexities of putting queer stories about women on screen.

62 – Wandavision. Why it’s good, What has happened and ALL of the Theories.

We turn our attention to Wandavision, the mystery box show that everyone is talking about and nobody fully understands.

If you have a passing interest in the new Disney+ show but don’t have the energy to find out what’s happening, let Contrarah do the hard work for you. She sets out why it’s such a female-friendly show, then gives an episode by episode recap for the first five episodes (both parts are spoiler-free), before moving to a full on geek-out investigating all the spoilers, all the theories and all the wild speculation as to what this show means for the MCU and beyond.

Timecodes:

Part 1 – Celebrating Wandavision:          02:46 – 15:10

Part 2 – Episode 1-5 Quick-fire Recaps: 15:25 – 40:00

Part 3 – Full SPOILER and Speculation section: 40:30 – 1:17:00

This is for you…and For The Children

61 – 5 Movies that Predicted 2021 Politics

Welcome to a new era…of (hopefully) better, kinder government.

The film industry has seen its fair share of political scandal and Contrarah wonders if we can learn lessons from movies, especially those made many years ago.

We discuss 5 movies spanning a period of worldwide political upheaval from the 1940s all the way to end of the last century, and find an uncanny resonance with what’s happening in 2021.

Join us for a trip down memory lane just before a new US inauguration. 

60 – The New Oscar Rules & Movies We Love that Break Them – with Kristin Janssen of SIWTS

2021! A new year and a renewed opportunity to get excited about the Academy Awards! Kinda…

Soon the Academy will be implementing a new set of diversity and inclusion rules, which can’t come soon enough. 

Kristin Janssen – podcast host of So…I’m Watching this Show joins Contrarah to break down the rules and talk about the films she loves and loathes, many of which wouldn’t be eligible for nomination under the new rules. Join us for in-depth chat and fits of giggles.

Read the new rules here.

Follow Kristin and co-host Will’s pod exploits on the SIWTS website.

Let us have your thoughts here and at beyondbech@gmail.com 

Be Kind and Redefine.

59 – Mank

This is part 3 of a now 4-part series (screw chronology) because Mank is a movie with so many layers it demands its own episode! 

While David Fincher is definitely not the greatest closet feminist of all time, Mank says a lot about Hollywood hierarchies, gender roles, politics and numerous power battles. It’s a masterpiece, and requires an explainer.

So Contrarah and Nick watched both Mank and Citizen Kane, to help them take you through all of the inside baseball that Fincher delivers about a certain Herman J Mankiewicz.

It’s the Magic of the Movies, baby!