1 00:00:05,280 --> 00:00:07,520 Speaker 1: Hey, this is Annie and Samantha. I want my stuff. 2 00:00:07,520 --> 00:00:09,040 Speaker 1: I never told you protection to Buyheart Radio. 3 00:00:18,640 --> 00:00:22,080 Speaker 2: And today we're bringing back a classic that I've just 4 00:00:22,120 --> 00:00:26,560 Speaker 2: been thinking about now that we're in Halloween times. It 5 00:00:26,680 --> 00:00:29,120 Speaker 2: was a book club we did that I actually want 6 00:00:29,120 --> 00:00:31,000 Speaker 2: to do this again, where we talked about two different 7 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:36,400 Speaker 2: short stories. Yes, we talked about a Neil Gaman short story, 8 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:40,400 Speaker 2: The Problem with Susan, that's about Susan and the Chronicles 9 00:00:40,440 --> 00:00:43,040 Speaker 2: of Narnia. And then we talked about a very important 10 00:00:43,080 --> 00:00:45,760 Speaker 2: short story to my life that it seems most people 11 00:00:45,760 --> 00:00:48,839 Speaker 2: have never heard of, but. 12 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:49,920 Speaker 1: It was about Smooties. 13 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:53,680 Speaker 2: It was about basically like loving a food item so 14 00:00:53,840 --> 00:00:56,080 Speaker 2: much and even though you know it's bad for you, you 15 00:00:56,120 --> 00:01:00,440 Speaker 2: keep eating it and kind of unhealthy thoughts around wait 16 00:01:00,800 --> 00:01:01,360 Speaker 2: around it. 17 00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:03,200 Speaker 1: And I was thinking. 18 00:01:02,880 --> 00:01:06,679 Speaker 2: About it because, yes, over on my other podcast, Saver, 19 00:01:06,880 --> 00:01:08,960 Speaker 2: we just did Twizzlers, but we're also doing an episode 20 00:01:08,959 --> 00:01:10,600 Speaker 2: on the menu, which I think we should talk about 21 00:01:10,600 --> 00:01:10,880 Speaker 2: on here. 22 00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:12,959 Speaker 3: Oh, I'd be excited about that one. 23 00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:15,840 Speaker 2: And I was just thinking about that kind of when 24 00:01:15,959 --> 00:01:19,920 Speaker 2: food is like not food or kind of gets divorced 25 00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:22,440 Speaker 2: from being just something you eat for sustenance. 26 00:01:22,720 --> 00:01:26,520 Speaker 3: I went to a restaurant recentthing like that. Mmm, I 27 00:01:26,560 --> 00:01:29,200 Speaker 3: have opinions, just kidding, I don't want have too many 28 00:01:29,200 --> 00:01:30,840 Speaker 3: opinions because it was my birthday dinner and I chose 29 00:01:30,880 --> 00:01:32,160 Speaker 3: it and I feel kind of guilty bday. 30 00:01:33,920 --> 00:01:35,640 Speaker 1: Yeah, well we should talk about it. 31 00:01:35,680 --> 00:01:40,280 Speaker 4: But I mean also, just like, it's a creepy Storypy, 32 00:01:40,400 --> 00:01:44,479 Speaker 4: it's creepy, and I love a good creepy story around 33 00:01:44,480 --> 00:01:47,880 Speaker 4: this time, anytime really, but definitely around this time. 34 00:01:47,960 --> 00:01:56,680 Speaker 2: So please enjoy this classic episode. Hey, this is Anny 35 00:01:56,920 --> 00:01:58,960 Speaker 2: and Samantha, and welcome to stuff. I never told you 36 00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:10,320 Speaker 2: a protection of iHeart. So before we get into this 37 00:02:10,360 --> 00:02:14,119 Speaker 2: one quick content warning. We are going to be discussing 38 00:02:14,160 --> 00:02:19,119 Speaker 2: issues around weight, weight loss, fad diets, and some violence, 39 00:02:19,160 --> 00:02:22,080 Speaker 2: some grief. Not so much on those last two, but 40 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:25,160 Speaker 2: the first three like weight weight loss a lot. So 41 00:02:25,240 --> 00:02:28,080 Speaker 2: if that's something that's triggering for you, or especially now 42 00:02:28,120 --> 00:02:31,480 Speaker 2: when we're in the time of resolutions and a lot 43 00:02:31,520 --> 00:02:35,840 Speaker 2: of those often do involve dieting and weight, then I 44 00:02:35,880 --> 00:02:39,840 Speaker 2: would probably skip this one, or at least skip the 45 00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:44,480 Speaker 2: first half. Yes, because we are doing something interesting today 46 00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:47,359 Speaker 2: where we're talking about two short stories that really had 47 00:02:47,400 --> 00:02:51,040 Speaker 2: a big impact on me when I was younger, and 48 00:02:51,080 --> 00:02:53,919 Speaker 2: I guess now because I still think about them. And 49 00:02:54,080 --> 00:02:56,720 Speaker 2: we'll talk more about that in a second. But Samantha, 50 00:02:56,760 --> 00:02:59,120 Speaker 2: do you have any short stories that you read in 51 00:02:59,360 --> 00:03:01,480 Speaker 2: high school or just when you were younger that really 52 00:03:01,520 --> 00:03:02,840 Speaker 2: stuck with you? 53 00:03:02,919 --> 00:03:05,560 Speaker 3: Yeah, the ones that traumatized me were the ones that 54 00:03:05,600 --> 00:03:08,520 Speaker 3: I remember the most. Yeah, A Rose for Emily I 55 00:03:08,560 --> 00:03:11,400 Speaker 3: told you about, which is the William Faulkner one that 56 00:03:11,480 --> 00:03:14,600 Speaker 3: I was like, what is this? And then A good 57 00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:18,480 Speaker 3: Man is Hard to Find, which is the Flanney O'Connor. 58 00:03:18,760 --> 00:03:21,720 Speaker 3: And I've actually really went through all her short collection 59 00:03:21,840 --> 00:03:24,200 Speaker 3: because she's a Georgia person and so I felt like 60 00:03:24,200 --> 00:03:26,520 Speaker 3: I needed to connect and I love Southern Gothic like 61 00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:30,920 Speaker 3: that is probably some of my favorite genre books. Like 62 00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:35,040 Speaker 3: Flannie O'Connor, she's okay and all, but Carson McCullers was 63 00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:39,080 Speaker 3: my person and love her stories, So things like that 64 00:03:39,520 --> 00:03:41,800 Speaker 3: really got into it. But those were the ones that 65 00:03:41,880 --> 00:03:45,600 Speaker 3: pierced my brain the most, of like what is happening? 66 00:03:46,280 --> 00:03:50,720 Speaker 3: Why did I read this? Why? Like that? Typically, and 67 00:03:50,760 --> 00:03:52,720 Speaker 3: I guess it's probably a sign of a great book. 68 00:03:52,760 --> 00:03:54,720 Speaker 3: And that's the same thing I've always said. It's like, yes, 69 00:03:54,800 --> 00:03:57,320 Speaker 3: I hate them but they're amazing writers because they are 70 00:03:57,440 --> 00:03:59,560 Speaker 3: the worst for putting this in my head and I 71 00:03:59,640 --> 00:04:02,800 Speaker 3: can't to go. So those two are short stories stick 72 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:05,840 Speaker 3: with me the most from high school. I do love 73 00:04:05,840 --> 00:04:09,800 Speaker 3: a good novella, so like Cosson, McCullers has a couple 74 00:04:09,840 --> 00:04:14,280 Speaker 3: of really good short novellas. I also read of My 75 00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:16,839 Speaker 3: Some Men in middle school and cried for three days 76 00:04:17,800 --> 00:04:20,560 Speaker 3: very much. But I do love Steinbeck as well, who 77 00:04:20,640 --> 00:04:23,080 Speaker 3: was not necessarily a Southern Gothic but was kind of 78 00:04:23,120 --> 00:04:26,320 Speaker 3: in that timeframe. So those are the stories that I remember. 79 00:04:26,839 --> 00:04:34,120 Speaker 5: Yeah, yeah, yeah, I was thinking about this because we're 80 00:04:34,200 --> 00:04:36,880 Speaker 5: today we're talking about one that I imagine most of you 81 00:04:36,920 --> 00:04:39,320 Speaker 5: haven't heard of, called Lose Now Pay Later. 82 00:04:39,760 --> 00:04:40,960 Speaker 3: I've never heard of the story. 83 00:04:41,120 --> 00:04:43,720 Speaker 2: Me and my friends we read it in ninth grade, 84 00:04:43,760 --> 00:04:46,120 Speaker 2: I think, and we still talk about it. And then 85 00:04:46,120 --> 00:04:49,080 Speaker 2: we're talking about Neil Gaiman's The Problem with Susan, The 86 00:04:49,120 --> 00:04:53,400 Speaker 2: Problem of Susan, Excuse me, And I do think it's 87 00:04:53,520 --> 00:04:57,240 Speaker 2: really fascinating that when I there were a lot of 88 00:04:57,279 --> 00:04:59,479 Speaker 2: literature stories that I read, short stories I read in 89 00:04:59,520 --> 00:05:02,800 Speaker 2: literature class that they stuck out to me and I 90 00:05:02,839 --> 00:05:04,560 Speaker 2: remember them to this day. 91 00:05:04,640 --> 00:05:06,440 Speaker 1: And when I was in tenth grade. 92 00:05:06,440 --> 00:05:11,039 Speaker 2: We did a whole section on religious stories from around 93 00:05:11,080 --> 00:05:13,120 Speaker 2: the world, and that actually had a huge impact on 94 00:05:13,800 --> 00:05:16,640 Speaker 2: me and my because I grew up very religious, but 95 00:05:16,680 --> 00:05:19,120 Speaker 2: I was kind of stepping away and that was part 96 00:05:19,160 --> 00:05:21,440 Speaker 2: of that where I was like, this story is essentially 97 00:05:21,480 --> 00:05:24,800 Speaker 2: the same as Noah's arc, and it was written way 98 00:05:24,839 --> 00:05:28,040 Speaker 2: earlier as being very like logical about it and annoying 99 00:05:28,080 --> 00:05:31,560 Speaker 2: about it. But yeah, and then there was another story 100 00:05:31,560 --> 00:05:33,679 Speaker 2: that I still think of to this day. I can't 101 00:05:33,720 --> 00:05:36,880 Speaker 2: remember like any of the details other than the main 102 00:05:37,040 --> 00:05:42,760 Speaker 2: character was he was a male teenager and he was 103 00:05:42,839 --> 00:05:44,320 Speaker 2: kind of a jerk, and he kind of went out 104 00:05:44,360 --> 00:05:47,000 Speaker 2: and did all this stuff and cut his family out 105 00:05:47,080 --> 00:05:51,040 Speaker 2: and really burnt them, left them burnt. And then he 106 00:05:51,080 --> 00:05:53,720 Speaker 2: went through all this like trauma, and he came back 107 00:05:54,200 --> 00:05:55,880 Speaker 2: and the family just accepted him and they were so 108 00:05:55,920 --> 00:05:56,840 Speaker 2: happy to see him again. 109 00:05:56,839 --> 00:05:59,960 Speaker 1: And I just remember, for some reason that really stuck 110 00:06:00,240 --> 00:06:00,479 Speaker 1: with me. 111 00:06:01,440 --> 00:06:05,320 Speaker 2: Another one Harrison Bergeron, which was written by Kurt Vonnegut 112 00:06:05,520 --> 00:06:06,680 Speaker 2: in nineteen sixty one. 113 00:06:07,760 --> 00:06:10,320 Speaker 1: I reread it. It's really short, just. 114 00:06:10,520 --> 00:06:12,640 Speaker 2: Kind of because I found it online when I was 115 00:06:12,640 --> 00:06:15,240 Speaker 2: doing research for this, and it's got a lot of 116 00:06:15,279 --> 00:06:17,640 Speaker 2: interesting stuff in Mary that might be a maybe we'll 117 00:06:17,640 --> 00:06:20,640 Speaker 2: come back if we ever do another short story thing again. 118 00:06:20,680 --> 00:06:24,080 Speaker 3: I'll say Kurt Vonnicut's short stories are so different from 119 00:06:24,200 --> 00:06:28,159 Speaker 3: his novels that it threw me when I first read it, 120 00:06:28,160 --> 00:06:30,560 Speaker 3: because I was expecting one thing, but I loved it. 121 00:06:30,600 --> 00:06:32,919 Speaker 3: I was like, wait, it was almost reminiscent of Truman 122 00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:36,080 Speaker 3: Capoti and his short stories as well. That I was like, wait, 123 00:06:36,760 --> 00:06:39,600 Speaker 3: wait what, But I know that's not the case necessarily 124 00:06:39,640 --> 00:06:42,599 Speaker 3: because they're very different styles, very beautiful in each of 125 00:06:42,600 --> 00:06:46,400 Speaker 3: its way. But I really enjoyed his short stories. It 126 00:06:46,440 --> 00:06:49,600 Speaker 3: did go more into that literary world that I knew 127 00:06:49,760 --> 00:06:52,880 Speaker 3: because I'm not a big sci fi fan, and honestly, 128 00:06:52,880 --> 00:06:55,120 Speaker 3: I don't think Kurt Vonnegut is super sci fi. He 129 00:06:55,200 --> 00:06:58,200 Speaker 3: does have the futuristic vibe to everything he does, and 130 00:06:58,440 --> 00:07:00,480 Speaker 3: that's why I think I like his stuff. I think 131 00:07:00,520 --> 00:07:04,560 Speaker 3: he's hilarious. But his actual short stories are very reminiscent 132 00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:08,160 Speaker 3: to the literary works to me of Trim and Capoti's 133 00:07:08,160 --> 00:07:13,560 Speaker 3: like kind of very lyrical way, but don't get me started. 134 00:07:13,840 --> 00:07:16,560 Speaker 1: I want to get you started. Oh my gosh, it's 135 00:07:16,640 --> 00:07:17,119 Speaker 1: so fun. 136 00:07:17,840 --> 00:07:20,000 Speaker 2: Yeah. No, I really enjoyed it and I'm glad I 137 00:07:20,080 --> 00:07:22,600 Speaker 2: reread it, and yeah, there's just a lot of stuff 138 00:07:22,600 --> 00:07:25,400 Speaker 2: we could talk about now, especially in our modern context, 139 00:07:25,520 --> 00:07:30,440 Speaker 2: because it is very fascinating to me to read a 140 00:07:30,480 --> 00:07:32,360 Speaker 2: story that's set in the future when we're kind of 141 00:07:32,400 --> 00:07:33,400 Speaker 2: approaching that date. 142 00:07:35,160 --> 00:07:37,120 Speaker 1: It's right, oh, where are we when. 143 00:07:37,080 --> 00:07:41,080 Speaker 2: It comes to that, which is a good segue into 144 00:07:41,400 --> 00:07:44,200 Speaker 2: the first story we're going to read, well, not read 145 00:07:44,320 --> 00:07:46,520 Speaker 2: that we read and we're going to talk about, which 146 00:07:46,520 --> 00:07:49,680 Speaker 2: you can find for free online, and it is called 147 00:07:49,920 --> 00:07:54,080 Speaker 2: los Now Pay Later. So yes, I did. I read 148 00:07:54,080 --> 00:07:57,760 Speaker 2: this in ninth grade literature. It's by Carol Farley. I 149 00:07:57,800 --> 00:08:00,160 Speaker 2: think it was published in nineteen ninety one, but it 150 00:08:00,200 --> 00:08:01,640 Speaker 2: was surprisingly hard to check down. 151 00:08:01,680 --> 00:08:03,360 Speaker 1: I guess it's just like me and my friend group 152 00:08:03,400 --> 00:08:06,360 Speaker 1: that remember the story so well. I like it. 153 00:08:06,760 --> 00:08:09,600 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's definitely got some language we get in trouble 154 00:08:09,640 --> 00:08:12,880 Speaker 2: for using on this podcast, like crazy and dumb in it. 155 00:08:13,800 --> 00:08:16,200 Speaker 2: And I couldn't find too much about the author, but 156 00:08:16,240 --> 00:08:21,720 Speaker 2: here's hoping she isn't a terrible human being. But me 157 00:08:21,800 --> 00:08:25,920 Speaker 2: and my friends, yeah, we talk about the story pretty frequently, 158 00:08:26,480 --> 00:08:29,520 Speaker 2: and since it's all about fad diets gone really really wrong, 159 00:08:29,880 --> 00:08:33,560 Speaker 2: we thought it was sort of appropriate for all this 160 00:08:33,640 --> 00:08:37,920 Speaker 2: New Year, New you messaging. And let's get into the plot. 161 00:08:37,960 --> 00:08:41,600 Speaker 2: So it is about two girls, Deb and Trinda, and 162 00:08:41,640 --> 00:08:45,520 Speaker 2: I'm guessing on how to pronounce that it's tri n Ja. 163 00:08:46,040 --> 00:08:48,720 Speaker 2: And they encounter this news story at a mall selling 164 00:08:48,760 --> 00:08:49,920 Speaker 2: something called Swooties. 165 00:08:50,040 --> 00:08:51,280 Speaker 1: And this is another reason. 166 00:08:51,000 --> 00:08:53,360 Speaker 2: I think it's nineteen ninety one is probably correct because 167 00:08:53,360 --> 00:08:57,079 Speaker 2: it feels very nineties to me. So the shop sounds 168 00:08:57,120 --> 00:08:59,800 Speaker 2: like the fanciest frozen yogurt shop you've ever heard of. 169 00:09:00,400 --> 00:09:04,880 Speaker 2: And yeah, it reminds me of the fro yo trend 170 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:07,880 Speaker 2: which was taking off in the in the nineteen nineties 171 00:09:07,920 --> 00:09:12,920 Speaker 2: in America. So very bright, very clean, but no employees 172 00:09:12,960 --> 00:09:15,840 Speaker 2: in sight. There's a sign inside the shop that reads 173 00:09:15,960 --> 00:09:20,560 Speaker 2: sweets plus goodies equals Swooties. I'm pronouncing it sooties, but 174 00:09:20,600 --> 00:09:22,599 Speaker 2: I guess it would be sweeties. 175 00:09:23,240 --> 00:09:25,240 Speaker 1: I'm saying swooties. I'm sticking with it. 176 00:09:28,120 --> 00:09:31,319 Speaker 2: Soudies came in a variety of flavors peanut butter crunch, 177 00:09:31,360 --> 00:09:35,520 Speaker 2: butter rum, pecan, coconut, almond, marshmallow, and chocolate nut mint. 178 00:09:36,120 --> 00:09:39,480 Speaker 1: And best of all, they were free. 179 00:09:39,960 --> 00:09:42,600 Speaker 3: I feel like those flavors are very adult flavors. Because 180 00:09:42,600 --> 00:09:45,040 Speaker 3: as a kid, I would never go for the coconut almond. 181 00:09:45,080 --> 00:09:46,320 Speaker 3: I'd be like, what what is this? 182 00:09:48,040 --> 00:09:50,880 Speaker 2: I might, but it would be for the coconut and 183 00:09:50,960 --> 00:09:52,600 Speaker 2: not the almond, if that makes sense. 184 00:09:52,640 --> 00:09:56,480 Speaker 3: I really love coconut so like butter fudge crunch, even 185 00:09:56,520 --> 00:09:58,680 Speaker 3: though like, yeah, that sounds like it would be a 186 00:09:58,720 --> 00:10:03,079 Speaker 3: lot more U friendly, but whatever. So deb the narrator, 187 00:10:03,280 --> 00:10:06,720 Speaker 3: is suspicious, a little on edge about how bright and 188 00:10:07,240 --> 00:10:10,719 Speaker 3: empty the story is, and doubtful that they are truly free. 189 00:10:10,960 --> 00:10:14,160 Speaker 3: Trenja is really excited about it, though so dev mentioned 190 00:10:14,200 --> 00:10:17,720 Speaker 3: she's on a diet and is therefore always thinking about food. 191 00:10:18,960 --> 00:10:22,600 Speaker 3: The smell lures them in and they try some from 192 00:10:22,640 --> 00:10:26,800 Speaker 3: the automated machine that dispenses a chocolate covered cone and 193 00:10:26,800 --> 00:10:30,320 Speaker 3: then a swirl of something with a similar consistency to 194 00:10:30,520 --> 00:10:32,280 Speaker 3: a soft serf, which, by the way, I still can't 195 00:10:32,320 --> 00:10:36,440 Speaker 3: quite grasp this. By all accounts, they're delicious, and they 196 00:10:36,640 --> 00:10:41,160 Speaker 3: the pair try every flavor before leaving, Trenja vowing the 197 00:10:41,200 --> 00:10:43,199 Speaker 3: diet for a whole year to make up for it. 198 00:10:43,600 --> 00:10:46,480 Speaker 3: As they exit, they tell others passing by to go 199 00:10:46,600 --> 00:10:47,200 Speaker 3: and try some. 200 00:10:47,800 --> 00:10:49,920 Speaker 2: Yes, So this is the thing we talk about the 201 00:10:49,960 --> 00:10:54,600 Speaker 2: most is the descriptions of how good they taste like, 202 00:10:54,640 --> 00:10:59,000 Speaker 2: we still think about how good they sounded. We want them, 203 00:10:59,240 --> 00:11:02,440 Speaker 2: So here's a quote. So swooties aren't cold like ice 204 00:11:02,480 --> 00:11:05,040 Speaker 2: cream or warm like cooked pudding, but they are blending 205 00:11:05,040 --> 00:11:08,360 Speaker 2: of both in temperature and texture. The flavor melts instantly, 206 00:11:08,360 --> 00:11:10,439 Speaker 2: and your whole mouth and brain are flooded with taste 207 00:11:10,440 --> 00:11:15,080 Speaker 2: and impressions. Like the first swoodie I tried coconut almond marshmallow. Suddenly, 208 00:11:15,120 --> 00:11:18,280 Speaker 2: as my mouth separated the individual taste, my brain bursted 209 00:11:18,360 --> 00:11:20,120 Speaker 2: into memories associated. 210 00:11:19,559 --> 00:11:20,440 Speaker 1: With each flavor. 211 00:11:20,679 --> 00:11:22,760 Speaker 2: I felt as if I were lying on a warm beach, 212 00:11:22,880 --> 00:11:25,760 Speaker 2: all covered with coconut suntan oil. Then I heard myself 213 00:11:25,800 --> 00:11:28,520 Speaker 2: giggling and singing as a group of us roasted marshmallows 214 00:11:28,520 --> 00:11:31,400 Speaker 2: around a campfire. Then I lived the long ago moments 215 00:11:31,440 --> 00:11:33,800 Speaker 2: of biding into the special Christmas cookies with almonds my 216 00:11:33,840 --> 00:11:37,680 Speaker 2: grandmother made when I was little. And that's something we 217 00:11:37,720 --> 00:11:41,080 Speaker 2: have talked about, is this kind of nostalgia of food 218 00:11:41,120 --> 00:11:45,520 Speaker 2: and how powerful that can be. So yeah, swooties takeoff, 219 00:11:45,800 --> 00:11:51,839 Speaker 2: and despite achieving widespread popularity, the product remains free. People 220 00:11:51,840 --> 00:11:54,920 Speaker 2: are so excited about swooties that nobody really asked any 221 00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:58,680 Speaker 2: questions about it, someone was paying the rent, and the 222 00:11:58,720 --> 00:12:02,520 Speaker 2: product was determined to be safe for human consumption. People 223 00:12:02,720 --> 00:12:05,079 Speaker 2: lined up to get their hands on some swooties, and 224 00:12:05,200 --> 00:12:08,280 Speaker 2: the machines never seem to run out, and everyone who 225 00:12:08,320 --> 00:12:13,400 Speaker 2: partakes starts to gain weight. Trinja and Deb complain about it, 226 00:12:13,520 --> 00:12:16,840 Speaker 2: knowing the swooties are to blame, leading Deb to ask aloud, 227 00:12:16,920 --> 00:12:19,319 Speaker 2: if only there was some easy way to eat all 228 00:12:19,360 --> 00:12:22,080 Speaker 2: the swooties we want and still not gain any weight. 229 00:12:22,840 --> 00:12:25,560 Speaker 1: Well, ask and you shall receive. 230 00:12:26,040 --> 00:12:29,160 Speaker 2: Deb almost immediately notices a new fixture in the mall 231 00:12:29,200 --> 00:12:33,160 Speaker 2: parking lot, a tall, white telephone booth sized box. A 232 00:12:33,200 --> 00:12:38,120 Speaker 2: flashing light next to it reads the Slimmer, and a thin, tan, 233 00:12:38,320 --> 00:12:41,880 Speaker 2: short woman with a quote strange sounding voice is standing 234 00:12:41,880 --> 00:12:44,000 Speaker 2: outside of it, telling the girls that it is a 235 00:12:44,040 --> 00:12:46,199 Speaker 2: machine to make you slimmer and that if they step 236 00:12:46,200 --> 00:12:50,160 Speaker 2: inside they'll lose unwanted fat. Deb is taken aback at 237 00:12:50,160 --> 00:12:54,080 Speaker 2: this woman's confidence, knowing that quote. In the old days, 238 00:12:55,400 --> 00:12:58,800 Speaker 2: people believed they could lose weight quickly, but in twenty 239 00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:03,200 Speaker 2: forty one they weren't that gullible. They knew fad diets 240 00:13:03,240 --> 00:13:05,960 Speaker 2: don't work, and that's fat the woman explains that it 241 00:13:06,040 --> 00:13:08,720 Speaker 2: is a new process and that instant removal of fat 242 00:13:08,760 --> 00:13:11,160 Speaker 2: costs twenty five yen per pound. 243 00:13:12,120 --> 00:13:14,400 Speaker 3: Was this supposed to be based in China or. 244 00:13:15,200 --> 00:13:17,720 Speaker 1: No, so oh, Japan? 245 00:13:17,920 --> 00:13:20,800 Speaker 2: So I think because of the time it was written, 246 00:13:20,880 --> 00:13:24,240 Speaker 2: Japan was a big economic power, and that's actually one 247 00:13:24,280 --> 00:13:27,840 Speaker 2: of the reasons we see so many damaging stereotypes Asian 248 00:13:27,880 --> 00:13:32,520 Speaker 2: stereotypes and eighties nineties movies was to kind of combat that. 249 00:13:32,679 --> 00:13:34,280 Speaker 1: So, I think because when this was. 250 00:13:34,280 --> 00:13:38,360 Speaker 2: Written, she was imagining that in the future, Japan was 251 00:13:38,400 --> 00:13:40,360 Speaker 2: the power to Vanagut. 252 00:13:41,320 --> 00:13:43,840 Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean I also thought that way too, I think, 253 00:13:43,920 --> 00:13:46,920 Speaker 3: but it was more China at that point in his books, 254 00:13:46,920 --> 00:13:49,960 Speaker 3: but that they would be in power in future, which 255 00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:53,800 Speaker 3: maybe they're not wrong, though they are both dubious that 256 00:13:53,880 --> 00:13:56,720 Speaker 3: the woman's confidence convinces Depth to give it a go, 257 00:13:56,960 --> 00:14:00,320 Speaker 3: digging up one hundred and thirty yen literally, they just say, well, 258 00:14:00,360 --> 00:14:01,640 Speaker 3: I mean, how much money do you have? And the 259 00:14:01,640 --> 00:14:03,839 Speaker 3: woman pushes it, takes some money and pushes in. Then 260 00:14:04,840 --> 00:14:07,640 Speaker 3: and the woman pushes Deb inside the booth, slams the 261 00:14:07,640 --> 00:14:10,480 Speaker 3: door behind her. There's a humming sound. I before Deb 262 00:14:10,520 --> 00:14:13,600 Speaker 3: can scream, Trinja opens the door yelling at the woman 263 00:14:13,640 --> 00:14:17,199 Speaker 3: when she says that five pounds are gone. In a daze, 264 00:14:17,320 --> 00:14:20,680 Speaker 3: Dev says her genes felt loose, but Trenja says it's 265 00:14:20,720 --> 00:14:24,120 Speaker 3: in her all in her imagination. However, when deb waste herself, 266 00:14:24,160 --> 00:14:25,520 Speaker 3: it turns out to be true. 267 00:14:25,720 --> 00:14:27,080 Speaker 1: So Yes. 268 00:14:27,480 --> 00:14:30,520 Speaker 3: Excited, the girls scrounge up as much money as they 269 00:14:30,560 --> 00:14:34,400 Speaker 3: can and head back to the mall. The woman reveals, 270 00:14:34,600 --> 00:14:37,120 Speaker 3: for every ten pounds you lose, because you know I 271 00:14:37,440 --> 00:14:41,000 Speaker 3: Trenja did more than just five, she has to prick 272 00:14:41,040 --> 00:14:45,240 Speaker 3: your wrist, leaving behind a tiny little mark for quote 273 00:14:45,240 --> 00:14:49,120 Speaker 3: safety reasons, and the girls are so relieved at the 274 00:14:49,160 --> 00:14:51,720 Speaker 3: weight loss and the prospect of never having to diet 275 00:14:51,720 --> 00:14:54,360 Speaker 3: again they accept this without question. 276 00:14:55,280 --> 00:14:59,000 Speaker 2: Yes, and soon after slimmers start appearing all over the world, 277 00:14:59,120 --> 00:15:03,240 Speaker 2: right next to swootie stores. Everyone loves them and the 278 00:15:03,280 --> 00:15:06,680 Speaker 2: population at large gets skinnier. Some people have four or 279 00:15:06,720 --> 00:15:11,120 Speaker 2: five pinpricks around their wrist, but no one really understands 280 00:15:11,280 --> 00:15:14,520 Speaker 2: how the machines work. The machine attendants, who are all 281 00:15:14,560 --> 00:15:17,600 Speaker 2: just kind of slightly off, will explain it, but it's 282 00:15:17,640 --> 00:15:21,200 Speaker 2: too technical to really understand, and in the words of Trinja, 283 00:15:21,240 --> 00:15:23,840 Speaker 2: people really didn't care how they worked because it meant 284 00:15:23,840 --> 00:15:26,160 Speaker 2: they could eat swooties all day long and not gain 285 00:15:26,200 --> 00:15:31,600 Speaker 2: an ounce, and that's what mattered. Everyone seems to love 286 00:15:31,600 --> 00:15:36,200 Speaker 2: swooties and slimmers, except for Deb's ten year old brother, Trevor. 287 00:15:36,680 --> 00:15:38,440 Speaker 1: He theorizes that they are. 288 00:15:38,520 --> 00:15:43,200 Speaker 2: The plot of aliens from outer space who are plumping 289 00:15:43,200 --> 00:15:45,920 Speaker 2: people up with swooties and then harvesting the fat collected 290 00:15:45,920 --> 00:15:49,520 Speaker 2: from slimmers for fuel. That once the dots circle someone's 291 00:15:49,600 --> 00:15:51,680 Speaker 2: risk completely, they will be cold. 292 00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:55,240 Speaker 1: They're fat, content, no longer of value. 293 00:15:55,480 --> 00:15:58,960 Speaker 2: Of course, Deb in Trinja dismiss him, deb thinking quote, 294 00:15:59,160 --> 00:16:02,120 Speaker 2: humans would never sacrifice their freedom and dignity just so 295 00:16:02,160 --> 00:16:05,000 Speaker 2: they could eat and still be thin. Even aliens ought 296 00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:07,680 Speaker 2: to know that I could quit eating sweeties and using 297 00:16:07,720 --> 00:16:10,440 Speaker 2: those slimmers anytime I want. But all those little blue 298 00:16:10,480 --> 00:16:12,720 Speaker 2: marks TRENCHA and I have are beginning to look like 299 00:16:12,800 --> 00:16:16,080 Speaker 2: delicate tattooed bracelets, and we both think they look really 300 00:16:16,120 --> 00:16:18,160 Speaker 2: neat on our wrist. 301 00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:26,760 Speaker 1: And that's the end. Yeah. 302 00:16:26,800 --> 00:16:31,040 Speaker 2: So it was interesting to reread this because it's been 303 00:16:31,960 --> 00:16:34,880 Speaker 2: what two decades almost since I'd read. 304 00:16:34,640 --> 00:16:39,400 Speaker 1: It, and I couldn't find it and why One. 305 00:16:39,360 --> 00:16:41,640 Speaker 2: Night I just was determined to find it and I 306 00:16:41,680 --> 00:16:43,160 Speaker 2: think I texted you about it. 307 00:16:43,240 --> 00:16:45,320 Speaker 1: Then I was like, we got to talk about this. 308 00:16:47,200 --> 00:16:49,960 Speaker 2: But one thing in there I kind of wanted to 309 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:55,240 Speaker 2: talk about because I moll culture is kind of dying, 310 00:16:55,680 --> 00:16:56,480 Speaker 2: has been dying. 311 00:16:57,440 --> 00:17:00,320 Speaker 1: But when I was grown up, this was a thing. 312 00:17:00,920 --> 00:17:02,400 Speaker 1: You you go to the mall. 313 00:17:02,640 --> 00:17:06,760 Speaker 2: You would get your your frozen yogurt or whatever it was, 314 00:17:07,400 --> 00:17:09,000 Speaker 2: and there's just so much. 315 00:17:10,200 --> 00:17:14,080 Speaker 1: The pretzels are so good. Yes, I know exactly what 316 00:17:14,080 --> 00:17:15,880 Speaker 1: you're talking about. I love them too. 317 00:17:17,040 --> 00:17:19,240 Speaker 2: Oh yeah, And you would kind of hang out with 318 00:17:19,280 --> 00:17:22,359 Speaker 2: your friends and do this, and I think probably in 319 00:17:22,400 --> 00:17:25,600 Speaker 2: middle school to high school I would. 320 00:17:25,640 --> 00:17:27,680 Speaker 1: I would hang out with friends at the mall sometimes. 321 00:17:27,680 --> 00:17:29,520 Speaker 2: But you know, we both grew up in small towns, 322 00:17:29,560 --> 00:17:31,800 Speaker 2: so this was a big endeavor, Like you had to 323 00:17:32,160 --> 00:17:37,040 Speaker 2: get out. Yeah, it was like at least an hour 324 00:17:37,119 --> 00:17:41,240 Speaker 2: away to get to to a mall. But I do 325 00:17:41,359 --> 00:17:47,240 Speaker 2: think throughout this and even we just see it everywhere, 326 00:17:47,440 --> 00:17:53,000 Speaker 2: is this kind of fad diet idea, this diet culture thing, 327 00:17:53,640 --> 00:18:01,480 Speaker 2: this fat phobia of people wanting to eat these delicious 328 00:18:01,520 --> 00:18:05,480 Speaker 2: sounding things but not wanting to gain any weight from it. 329 00:18:05,560 --> 00:18:11,479 Speaker 2: And I don't think I've ever done a fad diet 330 00:18:11,560 --> 00:18:13,080 Speaker 2: per se but I've dieted. 331 00:18:13,520 --> 00:18:17,600 Speaker 1: I've definitely done some extreme diet, right. 332 00:18:17,960 --> 00:18:20,320 Speaker 3: I would think that I did not do many fad 333 00:18:20,359 --> 00:18:23,320 Speaker 3: diets because I just that too too much discipline and 334 00:18:23,440 --> 00:18:27,720 Speaker 3: I didn't have that meaning like whatever. The whole thirty 335 00:18:28,800 --> 00:18:31,439 Speaker 3: I think existed. And I know Atkins was a huge 336 00:18:31,520 --> 00:18:34,400 Speaker 3: thing when I was in college, and so people were 337 00:18:34,440 --> 00:18:37,480 Speaker 3: all about it, and I'd like, there's no way only 338 00:18:37,560 --> 00:18:40,840 Speaker 3: eating meat is healthy for you. There's no way. 339 00:18:41,240 --> 00:18:41,520 Speaker 1: Yeah. 340 00:18:41,520 --> 00:18:43,960 Speaker 3: But again, like I was like, whatever, people do what 341 00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:46,280 Speaker 3: they need to do. I'm not gonna I'm not gonna 342 00:18:46,359 --> 00:18:48,560 Speaker 3: push or judge or anything. But I could not do it. 343 00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:53,040 Speaker 3: But I was all about the calorie counting, like that 344 00:18:53,200 --> 00:18:56,520 Speaker 3: is something that I have been really dangerously obsessed with, 345 00:18:56,640 --> 00:19:00,439 Speaker 3: like keeping underneath a certain amount, And that's my session, 346 00:19:01,119 --> 00:19:03,920 Speaker 3: was that instead of just necessarily like and I guess 347 00:19:03,920 --> 00:19:07,399 Speaker 3: Caldari accounting is a fad of itself, like kind of 348 00:19:07,400 --> 00:19:11,520 Speaker 3: a trend in itself tactic, but yeah, it's the whole 349 00:19:11,800 --> 00:19:16,400 Speaker 3: level of like, Okay, this level of obsession, Yeah, there's 350 00:19:16,440 --> 00:19:17,919 Speaker 3: something to be concerned about. 351 00:19:18,840 --> 00:19:19,159 Speaker 1: Yeah. 352 00:19:19,400 --> 00:19:21,200 Speaker 2: I was the same, And I think I told you 353 00:19:21,720 --> 00:19:23,719 Speaker 2: for a while I was keeping I was using an 354 00:19:23,720 --> 00:19:26,240 Speaker 2: app to keep track, and the app actually sent me 355 00:19:26,240 --> 00:19:28,840 Speaker 2: a message and it said, if this is true, this 356 00:19:28,920 --> 00:19:29,959 Speaker 2: is dangerous. 357 00:19:30,080 --> 00:19:30,399 Speaker 3: Right. 358 00:19:30,960 --> 00:19:34,399 Speaker 2: Yeah, this is so pervasive, and we've talked about it 359 00:19:34,400 --> 00:19:37,840 Speaker 2: a lot, but especially for younger girls who are kind 360 00:19:37,920 --> 00:19:44,080 Speaker 2: of observing through perhaps our moms or other people in 361 00:19:44,119 --> 00:19:47,439 Speaker 2: our lives are entertainment, Like maybe we're not directly getting 362 00:19:47,480 --> 00:19:51,399 Speaker 2: the messages, which we usually are, but there's also just 363 00:19:51,440 --> 00:19:56,040 Speaker 2: this underlying everywhere you look or everything you hear, that 364 00:19:56,320 --> 00:20:00,080 Speaker 2: you should look this way. And I think for me, 365 00:20:00,440 --> 00:20:05,520 Speaker 2: it's still hard to just enjoy something, to just enjoy, 366 00:20:05,800 --> 00:20:09,159 Speaker 2: Like if I had a swootie, I would be thinking 367 00:20:09,240 --> 00:20:11,760 Speaker 2: like a whole day like guilt. I'd be feeling guilty 368 00:20:12,680 --> 00:20:17,000 Speaker 2: and like how can I counteract that, which is just 369 00:20:17,040 --> 00:20:20,359 Speaker 2: not a fun I'm not saying you shouldn't be aware 370 00:20:20,440 --> 00:20:22,560 Speaker 2: of what you're putting in your body, but I think 371 00:20:22,560 --> 00:20:23,520 Speaker 2: it goes beyond that. 372 00:20:23,640 --> 00:20:25,720 Speaker 1: It goes to you can't. 373 00:20:25,440 --> 00:20:28,840 Speaker 2: Have those, You can't have anything without feeling guilty about it, 374 00:20:28,880 --> 00:20:33,800 Speaker 2: to be honest, right, yeah, and sort of that whole 375 00:20:33,800 --> 00:20:38,520 Speaker 2: idea at the end of where they say, you know, 376 00:20:39,840 --> 00:20:42,720 Speaker 2: we would never give up everything just to look this. 377 00:20:42,680 --> 00:20:43,359 Speaker 1: Way, and. 378 00:20:45,160 --> 00:20:48,000 Speaker 2: Kind of I've been thinking about that in terms of 379 00:20:48,359 --> 00:20:50,639 Speaker 2: what we talked about recently with the pandemic and health 380 00:20:50,640 --> 00:20:52,639 Speaker 2: and how you and I were saying, like, we know 381 00:20:52,680 --> 00:20:54,480 Speaker 2: we're going to pay for this, just like the title 382 00:20:54,520 --> 00:20:56,920 Speaker 2: of the story is like we know I'm not going 383 00:20:56,920 --> 00:20:58,840 Speaker 2: into the dentist. I need to go to the dentist 384 00:21:00,200 --> 00:21:02,800 Speaker 2: for this later, but kind of that putting off of 385 00:21:03,720 --> 00:21:05,800 Speaker 2: right now, I would rather look this way and I 386 00:21:05,840 --> 00:21:12,199 Speaker 2: will deal with the impacts later, which is very not 387 00:21:12,320 --> 00:21:14,600 Speaker 2: eating disorder territory. 388 00:21:17,040 --> 00:21:17,680 Speaker 1: Yeah. 389 00:21:17,720 --> 00:21:21,199 Speaker 2: And then another big theme throughout this is sort of 390 00:21:21,280 --> 00:21:23,680 Speaker 2: the whole idea if it sounds too good to be true, 391 00:21:24,440 --> 00:21:28,119 Speaker 2: it probably is. There is a whole Seinfeld episode about 392 00:21:28,119 --> 00:21:30,480 Speaker 2: actually frozen yogurt and this very thing. 393 00:21:30,960 --> 00:21:32,240 Speaker 1: There's not aliens. 394 00:21:31,840 --> 00:21:35,000 Speaker 2: Involved, but there is lying about content in the ingredients. 395 00:21:36,240 --> 00:21:36,400 Speaker 5: Right. 396 00:21:36,480 --> 00:21:38,080 Speaker 1: Also this whole idea of no such thing as a 397 00:21:38,119 --> 00:21:38,600 Speaker 1: free lunch. 398 00:21:38,600 --> 00:21:41,560 Speaker 2: You know, they're giving away this free yogurt and people 399 00:21:41,600 --> 00:21:43,520 Speaker 2: aren't really asking questions because they like it. 400 00:21:44,560 --> 00:21:46,800 Speaker 1: So it's a big theme throughout. 401 00:21:48,160 --> 00:21:50,760 Speaker 2: And then just because you know, I love this, Santa, 402 00:21:51,200 --> 00:21:53,160 Speaker 2: I wanted to touch on some of the old teck 403 00:21:55,119 --> 00:21:58,679 Speaker 2: because this takes place in twenty forty one, right, but 404 00:21:59,040 --> 00:22:01,080 Speaker 2: you can tell it's a bit very much an imagined 405 00:22:01,160 --> 00:22:02,800 Speaker 2: future that is the product of its time. 406 00:22:02,920 --> 00:22:04,399 Speaker 1: Also, it was written for children. 407 00:22:04,480 --> 00:22:08,439 Speaker 2: It was specifically aimed towards I think it was I 408 00:22:08,440 --> 00:22:09,760 Speaker 2: read it high school, but I think it was aimed 409 00:22:09,760 --> 00:22:11,080 Speaker 2: towards like seventh and eighth grade. 410 00:22:11,800 --> 00:22:15,280 Speaker 1: But there's the fax machine. I love that. 411 00:22:15,680 --> 00:22:19,440 Speaker 2: In the eighties and nineties we thought the facts machines. 412 00:22:19,920 --> 00:22:22,560 Speaker 3: That's the whole like the future for back to the 413 00:22:22,680 --> 00:22:27,160 Speaker 3: fututure literally is how they communicate is via TV, which 414 00:22:27,240 --> 00:22:30,320 Speaker 3: they weren't wrong because they can do that the whole 415 00:22:30,359 --> 00:22:34,000 Speaker 3: like computer like skyping video which didn't exist at that 416 00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:36,960 Speaker 3: point in time. But also the fact machine that was 417 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:42,400 Speaker 3: in every room, that every household had, that was the 418 00:22:42,440 --> 00:22:43,600 Speaker 3: prediction of the future. 419 00:22:44,040 --> 00:22:46,280 Speaker 1: I know, it cracks me up every time. 420 00:22:48,640 --> 00:22:51,560 Speaker 2: Also, yes, that malls would still be kind of this 421 00:22:51,640 --> 00:22:53,360 Speaker 2: place where we congregate and hang out. 422 00:22:53,359 --> 00:22:55,280 Speaker 1: And maybe mam also make a comeback. I don't know, 423 00:22:55,840 --> 00:22:57,600 Speaker 1: but right. 424 00:22:57,359 --> 00:23:00,159 Speaker 2: Now, I don't they seem to be on their way 425 00:23:00,160 --> 00:23:05,159 Speaker 2: out right, Yes, And then yeah, Japan has an economic power, 426 00:23:05,680 --> 00:23:09,480 Speaker 2: So I just I find all that interesting when people 427 00:23:09,520 --> 00:23:12,240 Speaker 2: are imagining the future, and I mean, twenty forty one 428 00:23:12,359 --> 00:23:15,399 Speaker 2: isn't that far away, as scary as that is, right, 429 00:23:15,480 --> 00:23:17,960 Speaker 2: but yeah, it's just sort of interesting to see where 430 00:23:17,960 --> 00:23:25,479 Speaker 2: we are versus what people imagined would be the future. Okay, 431 00:23:25,560 --> 00:23:28,200 Speaker 2: so I do recommend like if as long as you're 432 00:23:28,720 --> 00:23:31,639 Speaker 2: not going to be triggered by Await issues, which I 433 00:23:31,640 --> 00:23:34,960 Speaker 2: totally understand if you are, and it's definitely I would 434 00:23:34,960 --> 00:23:38,439 Speaker 2: say don't risk it, although you've already come through this, 435 00:23:38,680 --> 00:23:41,120 Speaker 2: so I recommend it. Like I said, you can find 436 00:23:41,240 --> 00:23:42,840 Speaker 2: you can find it for free online. It's really short, 437 00:23:42,840 --> 00:23:59,440 Speaker 2: it's like seven pages. But moving on, let's talk about 438 00:23:59,640 --> 00:24:02,879 Speaker 2: the Album of Susan, which is a Neil game and 439 00:24:03,000 --> 00:24:06,199 Speaker 2: short story you can also find online for free. But 440 00:24:06,280 --> 00:24:09,320 Speaker 2: it's also a whole concept now and we're going to 441 00:24:09,359 --> 00:24:13,199 Speaker 2: talk about that a bit. And I did think, you know, 442 00:24:13,240 --> 00:24:17,080 Speaker 2: we don't normally try to highlight works by men in 443 00:24:17,119 --> 00:24:20,840 Speaker 2: this segment, but because it did become this whole thing 444 00:24:20,960 --> 00:24:23,959 Speaker 2: to describe this issue which we are going to talk 445 00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:25,920 Speaker 2: about if you haven't heard of it, I also thought 446 00:24:25,960 --> 00:24:29,119 Speaker 2: about Forever Winter Never Christmas, which is kind of the 447 00:24:29,160 --> 00:24:32,919 Speaker 2: whole thing of the Lion, which and Wardrobe, right is 448 00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:37,520 Speaker 2: Narnia's Forever Winter Never Christmas, and as a lot of 449 00:24:37,600 --> 00:24:41,040 Speaker 2: us are preparing to enter a weekend of snow and chills. 450 00:24:42,680 --> 00:24:45,840 Speaker 2: I thought it was appropriate. So did you ever read 451 00:24:45,880 --> 00:24:47,399 Speaker 2: the Chronicles of Narniasmantha? 452 00:24:47,520 --> 00:24:50,600 Speaker 3: Oh yeah, oh yeah. I actually had the old school 453 00:24:50,680 --> 00:24:54,639 Speaker 3: version of it where it begins with the Lion, the 454 00:24:54,640 --> 00:24:58,520 Speaker 3: Witch and the wardrobe, right, all of the sixties drawings 455 00:24:58,880 --> 00:25:02,439 Speaker 3: and his glory. I lost it in a fire, and 456 00:25:02,480 --> 00:25:05,040 Speaker 3: I've been on the search for that type of that 457 00:25:05,080 --> 00:25:09,639 Speaker 3: specific series because I don't like this new switch up 458 00:25:09,640 --> 00:25:12,000 Speaker 3: with the Magician's Nephew, which we know is a prequel. 459 00:25:12,160 --> 00:25:14,560 Speaker 3: I know, but it doesn't belong in there like that. 460 00:25:14,760 --> 00:25:16,880 Speaker 3: He wrote it like that for a reason. I'm weirdly 461 00:25:17,400 --> 00:25:21,239 Speaker 3: purist about that. I don't know why necessarily so. But 462 00:25:21,280 --> 00:25:23,080 Speaker 3: I really have been trying to find the old school 463 00:25:23,160 --> 00:25:27,400 Speaker 3: versions of it because I really loved those books. And 464 00:25:27,480 --> 00:25:29,600 Speaker 3: it wasn't until you brought this back up that I 465 00:25:29,720 --> 00:25:34,080 Speaker 3: forgot the last battle. I completely forgot what happened out 466 00:25:34,119 --> 00:25:36,480 Speaker 3: of my head. I don't know, because you know, it's 467 00:25:36,480 --> 00:25:38,680 Speaker 3: been so long, and it's been a long long time, 468 00:25:39,240 --> 00:25:42,679 Speaker 3: and I used these books when I was teaching the 469 00:25:42,720 --> 00:25:46,640 Speaker 3: Bible as part of my curriculum, in talking about each 470 00:25:46,680 --> 00:25:49,640 Speaker 3: of the characters and I really did forget about Susan's 471 00:25:49,680 --> 00:25:52,480 Speaker 3: character at the end, and I was like, oh, oh yeah, 472 00:25:52,760 --> 00:25:56,040 Speaker 3: Oh so there's a whole level of like trying to 473 00:25:56,160 --> 00:26:01,320 Speaker 3: remember where we came from with this. Also in the 474 00:26:01,320 --> 00:26:04,360 Speaker 3: movie Ben Barnes. That's where I was introduced to Ben Barnes. 475 00:26:04,680 --> 00:26:08,040 Speaker 3: In the second movie Who is Westworld? Yeah, he was 476 00:26:08,040 --> 00:26:09,080 Speaker 3: a bad guy in Westworld? 477 00:26:09,520 --> 00:26:12,440 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, and then he was Yeah, he. 478 00:26:12,400 --> 00:26:14,440 Speaker 3: Was in several other movies, and he's in several other 479 00:26:14,520 --> 00:26:17,439 Speaker 3: shows that I absolutely love. He was in He's one 480 00:26:17,480 --> 00:26:19,439 Speaker 3: of the marvel ones. Is it Iron Fists? I think 481 00:26:19,440 --> 00:26:23,840 Speaker 3: he's in Iron Fist, which is forgettable. But any of 482 00:26:23,840 --> 00:26:26,840 Speaker 3: those things I can't remember. But I loved Ben Barnes 483 00:26:26,840 --> 00:26:30,080 Speaker 3: and I think he's fantastic. But this, I remember them 484 00:26:30,080 --> 00:26:33,399 Speaker 3: trying to pair him and Susan up of like, ew, yeah, 485 00:26:33,600 --> 00:26:37,280 Speaker 3: he's twenty years older than her. Sof this that's the 486 00:26:37,320 --> 00:26:41,159 Speaker 3: sidetracking of all of Chronicles of Narnia. But yes, I 487 00:26:41,200 --> 00:26:43,560 Speaker 3: loved it, loved it, loved it. I loved C. S. 488 00:26:43,600 --> 00:26:47,000 Speaker 3: Lewis during that time in my wondering because he also 489 00:26:47,080 --> 00:26:52,120 Speaker 3: wasn't as a big snob as Tolkien. I'm sorry when 490 00:26:52,119 --> 00:26:55,320 Speaker 3: it comes to English literature. I know people are very 491 00:26:55,640 --> 00:26:59,399 Speaker 3: very like Purest in that mode too, and so therefore 492 00:26:59,600 --> 00:27:02,800 Speaker 3: felt like he was a little more open. Do I agree. 493 00:27:03,040 --> 00:27:04,680 Speaker 3: Like thinking back on it now and I'm like, oh, 494 00:27:04,680 --> 00:27:08,359 Speaker 3: I have a whole different perspective, but yeah, yeah, but 495 00:27:08,760 --> 00:27:10,000 Speaker 3: a lot to me at that point in time. 496 00:27:10,480 --> 00:27:13,000 Speaker 2: Yeah, I loved them when I was a kid, I 497 00:27:13,080 --> 00:27:16,600 Speaker 2: loved There was an animated lion Whige and The Wardrobe 498 00:27:16,600 --> 00:27:20,200 Speaker 2: I loved, and I went through such an intense period 499 00:27:20,280 --> 00:27:22,720 Speaker 2: of loving them that I actually wrote fan fiction for it. 500 00:27:22,760 --> 00:27:25,000 Speaker 1: Of course you don't, yeah, but I mean it's pretty 501 00:27:26,800 --> 00:27:28,400 Speaker 1: It's kind of rare. There are things that. 502 00:27:28,400 --> 00:27:31,119 Speaker 2: I love, love, love more than I loved that that 503 00:27:31,200 --> 00:27:33,640 Speaker 2: I never wrote fan fiction for. But I wrote fan 504 00:27:33,680 --> 00:27:36,240 Speaker 2: fiction for it, and that's that's pretty indicative of how 505 00:27:36,320 --> 00:27:39,760 Speaker 2: much I loved it. I If in case anyone doesn't 506 00:27:39,760 --> 00:27:41,240 Speaker 2: know what we're talking about, I'm gonna explain it more 507 00:27:41,280 --> 00:27:43,720 Speaker 2: in a second. But depending on when you bought these 508 00:27:43,760 --> 00:27:46,840 Speaker 2: are a book series of seven books. I bought them 509 00:27:46,840 --> 00:27:49,200 Speaker 2: at the time when The Magician's Nephew was the first 510 00:27:49,680 --> 00:27:55,640 Speaker 2: in the series, but for people before me, U Lion, 511 00:27:55,640 --> 00:27:57,119 Speaker 2: which in The Wardrobe came first. 512 00:27:57,160 --> 00:27:59,920 Speaker 1: So if you're confused by that. I did. 513 00:28:00,080 --> 00:28:01,640 Speaker 2: I loved it, and then I just got so weird 514 00:28:01,680 --> 00:28:05,200 Speaker 2: about religion and then I kind of just turned away. 515 00:28:05,680 --> 00:28:08,960 Speaker 2: But I do remember them pretty well, and we're gonna, yeah, 516 00:28:09,000 --> 00:28:11,199 Speaker 2: we're gonna get into all of this, but okay, for 517 00:28:11,240 --> 00:28:14,000 Speaker 2: anyone who doesn't know, The Chronicles of Narnia is yes, 518 00:28:14,080 --> 00:28:16,520 Speaker 2: a seven book series written by C. S. Lewis, first 519 00:28:16,560 --> 00:28:19,840 Speaker 2: published in nineteen fifty through nineteen fifty six, and there 520 00:28:19,840 --> 00:28:23,000 Speaker 2: have since been animated and live adaptions for the screen. 521 00:28:23,520 --> 00:28:25,800 Speaker 2: We're not going to go too deeply into the plot. 522 00:28:26,200 --> 00:28:29,199 Speaker 2: Weirdly enough, you can check out the Savor podcast that 523 00:28:29,280 --> 00:28:32,240 Speaker 2: I do. We did an episode on fictional foods of 524 00:28:32,320 --> 00:28:33,760 Speaker 2: Narnia for more information. 525 00:28:33,920 --> 00:28:36,359 Speaker 3: We really want to stortish to light then tell me 526 00:28:36,440 --> 00:28:38,760 Speaker 3: that because I have a weird picture in my head. 527 00:28:38,800 --> 00:28:40,560 Speaker 3: And then when someone told me what it was, I 528 00:28:40,600 --> 00:28:41,200 Speaker 3: was like, wait. 529 00:28:41,000 --> 00:28:46,360 Speaker 2: What Yeah, So it's kind of a gelatine based It's 530 00:28:46,440 --> 00:28:50,360 Speaker 2: usually lightly sweet with like rose and it's got some 531 00:28:50,480 --> 00:28:51,080 Speaker 2: chagrin top. 532 00:28:51,120 --> 00:28:54,680 Speaker 1: But it's sort of a gelatine light dessert. 533 00:28:55,800 --> 00:28:59,080 Speaker 2: Now, Okay, that being said, a lot of people have 534 00:28:59,120 --> 00:29:04,680 Speaker 2: said it's kind of represents drugs. Drugs casey, yes, because 535 00:29:05,400 --> 00:29:10,520 Speaker 2: it is something that the witch gives out to Edmund 536 00:29:10,600 --> 00:29:12,400 Speaker 2: in particular in this case, to kind of get him 537 00:29:12,440 --> 00:29:16,720 Speaker 2: hooked anyway, I love Anybody who. 538 00:29:16,600 --> 00:29:18,760 Speaker 1: Doesn't know what we're talking about must be what is 539 00:29:18,840 --> 00:29:19,600 Speaker 1: going on here. 540 00:29:20,280 --> 00:29:25,040 Speaker 3: There's so many there is literal Christian workbooks that go 541 00:29:25,120 --> 00:29:29,600 Speaker 3: along with the series to talk about and analyze the 542 00:29:29,680 --> 00:29:33,000 Speaker 3: depth of the pretty much the origin story. So it's 543 00:29:33,080 --> 00:29:35,440 Speaker 3: kind of like saying this is a Higgin Genesis into 544 00:29:35,440 --> 00:29:37,959 Speaker 3: a modern daytail, which is also why Tokien didn't like it. 545 00:29:37,960 --> 00:29:39,880 Speaker 3: He was like, as you're hitting there being too obvious 546 00:29:39,920 --> 00:29:40,800 Speaker 3: and over the top. 547 00:29:41,240 --> 00:29:44,400 Speaker 2: Right back to right, which we'll touch on in a 548 00:29:44,400 --> 00:29:47,880 Speaker 2: second more a little bit. But Okay, despite the fact 549 00:29:47,880 --> 00:29:50,840 Speaker 2: that Lewis, who yes, wrote a lot about religion, was 550 00:29:51,000 --> 00:29:55,240 Speaker 2: adamant these books weren't an allegory a religious allegory and 551 00:29:55,280 --> 00:29:58,960 Speaker 2: specific they have often been interpreted through your religious lens, 552 00:29:59,240 --> 00:30:05,160 Speaker 2: with Narnia being Heaven and Aslan being God and or Jesus. 553 00:30:05,760 --> 00:30:11,200 Speaker 2: There's even a whole magic apple temptation thing that goes on. Yeah, 554 00:30:11,200 --> 00:30:13,040 Speaker 2: there's a lot we could get into, but that would 555 00:30:13,040 --> 00:30:16,840 Speaker 2: be a different podcast. So for our purposes, we're focusing 556 00:30:16,880 --> 00:30:20,840 Speaker 2: on the Pevensey children, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy, who 557 00:30:21,040 --> 00:30:23,760 Speaker 2: have adventures and become royalty in Narnia. 558 00:30:24,440 --> 00:30:27,120 Speaker 1: However, as Susan grows. 559 00:30:26,840 --> 00:30:29,560 Speaker 2: Older, she is quote no longer a friend of Narnia 560 00:30:29,960 --> 00:30:33,440 Speaker 2: AKA for a lot of people, yep, heaven. Even though yes, 561 00:30:33,640 --> 00:30:36,920 Speaker 2: Lewis disputed this and said perhaps one day Susan could 562 00:30:36,960 --> 00:30:39,440 Speaker 2: find her way. 563 00:30:39,520 --> 00:30:40,120 Speaker 1: Yeah, she's the. 564 00:30:40,120 --> 00:30:44,280 Speaker 2: Second oldest, she's the oldest daughter of this group. But 565 00:30:44,760 --> 00:30:47,720 Speaker 2: so why is she no longer a friend of Narnia? 566 00:30:47,840 --> 00:30:50,760 Speaker 2: Here we go, here's the whole exchange from the book 567 00:30:50,840 --> 00:30:53,760 Speaker 2: The Last Battle, which is the final book My sister, 568 00:30:53,840 --> 00:30:55,960 Speaker 2: Susan answered Peter shortly and gravely. 569 00:30:56,120 --> 00:30:57,760 Speaker 1: Is no longer a friend of Narnia? 570 00:30:58,040 --> 00:31:00,720 Speaker 3: Yes, said Eustace. And whenever you try to get her 571 00:31:00,760 --> 00:31:03,880 Speaker 3: to come and talk about Narnia or do anything about Narnia, 572 00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:08,080 Speaker 3: she says, what wonderful memories you have? Fancy you're still 573 00:31:08,120 --> 00:31:10,320 Speaker 3: thinking about all those funny games we used to play 574 00:31:10,320 --> 00:31:11,280 Speaker 3: when we were children. 575 00:31:11,920 --> 00:31:13,280 Speaker 1: Oh, Susan, said Jill. 576 00:31:13,440 --> 00:31:17,760 Speaker 2: She's interested in nothing nowadays except nylons and lipsticks and invitations. 577 00:31:17,960 --> 00:31:20,200 Speaker 2: She always was a jolly sight too, keen on being 578 00:31:20,280 --> 00:31:21,000 Speaker 2: grown up. 579 00:31:21,720 --> 00:31:24,960 Speaker 3: Grown up indeed said the lady Polly, I wish you 580 00:31:24,960 --> 00:31:27,960 Speaker 3: would grow up. She wasted all her school time wanting 581 00:31:28,040 --> 00:31:30,520 Speaker 3: to be the age she is now, and she'll waste 582 00:31:30,640 --> 00:31:33,200 Speaker 3: all the rest of her life trying to stay that age. 583 00:31:33,480 --> 00:31:36,240 Speaker 3: Her whole idea is to race onto the silliest time 584 00:31:36,560 --> 00:31:38,560 Speaker 3: of one's life as quick as she can, and then 585 00:31:38,600 --> 00:31:40,240 Speaker 3: stop there as long as she can. 586 00:31:41,000 --> 00:31:43,120 Speaker 1: Yep, and that's pretty much it. 587 00:31:43,840 --> 00:31:47,040 Speaker 2: That's pretty much the attitude about her from everyone, her 588 00:31:47,080 --> 00:31:52,240 Speaker 2: family and friends. Notably, Lucy doesn't say anything during this exchange, 589 00:31:52,400 --> 00:31:56,800 Speaker 2: Aslyn doesn't sing anything during this exchange, right. 590 00:31:57,680 --> 00:32:00,000 Speaker 3: I find it like, again, we'll come back to it. 591 00:32:00,120 --> 00:32:03,800 Speaker 3: But in my mind she at the very first book 592 00:32:04,120 --> 00:32:06,440 Speaker 3: she was already too grown as well, and they accused 593 00:32:06,560 --> 00:32:09,720 Speaker 3: her of that from jump, So I found that interesting 594 00:32:09,800 --> 00:32:12,560 Speaker 3: that that's how it built up. But again I forgot 595 00:32:12,600 --> 00:32:14,560 Speaker 3: the last battle completely, So. 596 00:32:16,480 --> 00:32:17,200 Speaker 1: Well, here we go. 597 00:32:17,840 --> 00:32:22,080 Speaker 3: Susan was always the more practical one. She was a caregiver, 598 00:32:22,200 --> 00:32:25,160 Speaker 3: and I feel like that seems on brand, which makes 599 00:32:25,200 --> 00:32:28,160 Speaker 3: sense because the children had lost their mother and she 600 00:32:28,280 --> 00:32:30,440 Speaker 3: was always making sure they had their codes and that 601 00:32:30,520 --> 00:32:33,960 Speaker 3: they ate. She is the oldest girl and referred to 602 00:32:34,000 --> 00:32:37,480 Speaker 3: as quote little mother. She was kind, gentle, and yes, 603 00:32:37,680 --> 00:32:41,880 Speaker 3: very beautiful. So what's the issue. It seemed to be 604 00:32:42,040 --> 00:32:47,600 Speaker 3: she's choosing being an adult over Narnia and Aslan the fantasy. Essentially. 605 00:32:48,400 --> 00:32:50,840 Speaker 3: Lewis wrote in a letter about her that she was 606 00:32:51,160 --> 00:32:55,600 Speaker 3: quote a rather silly, conceited young woman, even though that 607 00:32:55,640 --> 00:32:58,000 Speaker 3: really doesn't seem to match up with everything else we 608 00:32:58,120 --> 00:33:01,200 Speaker 3: the readers knew about her all though we are supposed 609 00:33:01,200 --> 00:33:04,880 Speaker 3: to think her annoying. Some believe he did this more 610 00:33:04,920 --> 00:33:08,480 Speaker 3: out of his need for her to represent something quote 611 00:33:08,520 --> 00:33:11,880 Speaker 3: the believer that walks away from faith, instead of telling 612 00:33:11,920 --> 00:33:13,520 Speaker 3: the story true to the character. 613 00:33:13,920 --> 00:33:14,480 Speaker 1: Yeah, so. 614 00:33:16,160 --> 00:33:19,200 Speaker 2: There's this is kind of a tricky conversation actually because 615 00:33:20,200 --> 00:33:22,080 Speaker 2: and we're going to get into it, but it almost 616 00:33:22,160 --> 00:33:27,600 Speaker 2: seems like it was just confusion, Like it was kind 617 00:33:27,640 --> 00:33:31,520 Speaker 2: of out of nowhere. There was no attempt like this. 618 00:33:31,600 --> 00:33:33,760 Speaker 2: There was suspension of her. She's not coming back to 619 00:33:33,840 --> 00:33:36,040 Speaker 2: Narnia and that's it. Like there was no attempt to 620 00:33:36,240 --> 00:33:38,200 Speaker 2: redeem her or talk to her or anything with her. 621 00:33:38,480 --> 00:33:41,680 Speaker 2: It was just like, oh, never talk about her. 622 00:33:41,600 --> 00:33:45,680 Speaker 3: Again, right, yeah again. Like I said to you when 623 00:33:45,680 --> 00:33:48,280 Speaker 3: we were originally talking about this, I was like I 624 00:33:48,320 --> 00:33:50,120 Speaker 3: had to go back and figure out what happened because 625 00:33:50,160 --> 00:33:54,000 Speaker 3: I didn't exactly understand what just happened when I read 626 00:33:54,120 --> 00:33:57,200 Speaker 3: originally read the book and to the point, and we're 627 00:33:57,200 --> 00:33:58,920 Speaker 3: going to talk about more about this later, I know, 628 00:33:59,000 --> 00:34:02,800 Speaker 3: but was during the time that Passion and Purity was big. 629 00:34:03,120 --> 00:34:06,080 Speaker 3: I don't know if you know this book. Annie, I'm 630 00:34:06,080 --> 00:34:08,200 Speaker 3: so sorry. I'm very critical. I'm so sorry for the 631 00:34:08,239 --> 00:34:10,959 Speaker 3: religious listeners if you're offended by this, but I will 632 00:34:11,000 --> 00:34:13,640 Speaker 3: say it brought me a lot of pain. This one 633 00:34:13,680 --> 00:34:16,879 Speaker 3: book that talks about a woman's place in religion. It 634 00:34:16,920 --> 00:34:22,280 Speaker 3: is very stereotypical in some of the things that I 635 00:34:22,400 --> 00:34:24,399 Speaker 3: get what they're saying, but at the same time could 636 00:34:24,440 --> 00:34:26,719 Speaker 3: be really damaging to women. We talked about this during 637 00:34:26,760 --> 00:34:30,359 Speaker 3: the Purity during our episode, but I think that's what 638 00:34:30,400 --> 00:34:36,080 Speaker 3: Susan represented as being anti Christian woman, right if that 639 00:34:36,160 --> 00:34:37,160 Speaker 3: means too worldly? 640 00:34:37,880 --> 00:34:40,760 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, no, that makes sense, And we're definitely gonna 641 00:34:40,760 --> 00:34:42,839 Speaker 2: break break some of that down to you and we 642 00:34:42,920 --> 00:34:45,400 Speaker 2: are one day going to do an episode on religious 643 00:34:45,400 --> 00:34:46,640 Speaker 2: trauma and that's going to be fun. 644 00:34:50,000 --> 00:34:54,200 Speaker 1: Was kind of frightened. 645 00:34:56,520 --> 00:34:59,239 Speaker 2: So another point to make here is Peter, who is 646 00:34:59,280 --> 00:35:01,239 Speaker 2: older than Susan and was told he was too old 647 00:35:01,280 --> 00:35:05,000 Speaker 2: to return to Narnia, but he did and she didn't, 648 00:35:05,239 --> 00:35:08,120 Speaker 2: and two male characters get painful redemption arcs, but she 649 00:35:08,200 --> 00:35:08,480 Speaker 2: does not. 650 00:35:08,680 --> 00:35:11,400 Speaker 1: And you mentioned earlier Smith, right, you see, this is. 651 00:35:11,640 --> 00:35:16,600 Speaker 3: One of the worst characters to me in this entire book. 652 00:35:17,320 --> 00:35:19,600 Speaker 3: And yes, it's supposed to be that he was childish 653 00:35:19,640 --> 00:35:23,000 Speaker 3: and didn't understand he'd gone through drama, he'd lost his 654 00:35:23,040 --> 00:35:27,440 Speaker 3: parents too, and was a brat essentially. But yeah, after 655 00:35:27,480 --> 00:35:29,719 Speaker 3: he just turned into a dragon for his greed and 656 00:35:29,760 --> 00:35:33,960 Speaker 3: then freedom of that spell, he repents essentially to Laslin 657 00:35:34,520 --> 00:35:37,000 Speaker 3: and becomes whole again. But yeah, I think it's really 658 00:35:37,000 --> 00:35:40,680 Speaker 3: interesting because Lucy and Edmund are too old, which is 659 00:35:40,680 --> 00:35:43,399 Speaker 3: why you see Eustace and Jill come into play, because 660 00:35:43,440 --> 00:35:46,240 Speaker 3: they're young enough to believe these so they technically aged 661 00:35:46,239 --> 00:35:46,640 Speaker 3: out too. 662 00:35:47,320 --> 00:35:50,719 Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah, and that's there are listeners. 663 00:35:51,480 --> 00:35:54,440 Speaker 2: You might be surprised at how many people have written 664 00:35:54,520 --> 00:35:58,920 Speaker 2: long essays about this, so so many, and they were 665 00:35:58,960 --> 00:36:01,360 Speaker 2: all really interesting in a lot of them had different viewpoints, 666 00:36:01,360 --> 00:36:05,239 Speaker 2: which I found interesting too. But somebody was saying, like, essentially, 667 00:36:05,520 --> 00:36:09,200 Speaker 2: the message we're supposed to take is that you have 668 00:36:09,280 --> 00:36:13,840 Speaker 2: to be young and believe, never grow up and never 669 00:36:14,120 --> 00:36:16,920 Speaker 2: like be an adult and take care of people, or 670 00:36:17,000 --> 00:36:19,439 Speaker 2: you can't go to what has essentially happened. 671 00:36:20,080 --> 00:36:22,840 Speaker 3: Right, So it's and I just remember the saying I 672 00:36:22,920 --> 00:36:26,200 Speaker 3: have somewhere in one of my journals. I went through 673 00:36:26,280 --> 00:36:29,560 Speaker 3: and did a whole dive not only in the books, 674 00:36:29,840 --> 00:36:33,840 Speaker 3: but compared it to specific Bible verses like I went in. 675 00:36:34,760 --> 00:36:37,759 Speaker 3: So yeah, again when I say, these meant a lot 676 00:36:37,800 --> 00:36:40,080 Speaker 3: to me in that point in time. Yeah, And essentially 677 00:36:40,080 --> 00:36:43,279 Speaker 3: this is kind of a play into childlike faith, like 678 00:36:43,360 --> 00:36:46,120 Speaker 3: he was being literal, even though he probably would deny it, 679 00:36:46,200 --> 00:36:48,400 Speaker 3: but it is literal, right. 680 00:36:49,200 --> 00:36:50,840 Speaker 1: Yeah, no, no, no oh. 681 00:36:50,880 --> 00:36:54,080 Speaker 2: He's got a lot of interesting quotes about this, CS Lewis. 682 00:37:08,840 --> 00:37:10,919 Speaker 2: But okay, going back to what you were saying about, 683 00:37:10,960 --> 00:37:13,759 Speaker 2: you know, the good Christian woman. I think a lot 684 00:37:13,800 --> 00:37:16,160 Speaker 2: of folks thought that this whole sort of writing out 685 00:37:16,160 --> 00:37:20,840 Speaker 2: of Susan was more that she had become shallow. But 686 00:37:21,400 --> 00:37:23,600 Speaker 2: a lot of people point out, and I think we 687 00:37:23,640 --> 00:37:26,759 Speaker 2: should point out that the things that are listed are 688 00:37:26,840 --> 00:37:32,160 Speaker 2: feminine things, patriarchal feminine things put on to Susan who 689 00:37:32,239 --> 00:37:34,400 Speaker 2: has been told she needs to be an adult and 690 00:37:34,440 --> 00:37:38,239 Speaker 2: take care of her siblings. And I think for a 691 00:37:38,280 --> 00:37:41,319 Speaker 2: long time my interpretation was that too. Before I kind 692 00:37:41,320 --> 00:37:42,920 Speaker 2: of got more nuanced as I grow up. Well as 693 00:37:42,960 --> 00:37:43,560 Speaker 2: a kid, I was. 694 00:37:43,520 --> 00:37:46,400 Speaker 1: Like, oh, she wants to grow up is just gross, 695 00:37:46,719 --> 00:37:47,840 Speaker 1: like so shallow. 696 00:37:47,920 --> 00:37:50,680 Speaker 2: She could go to Narnia and be having fun, but 697 00:37:50,719 --> 00:37:53,839 Speaker 2: instead she wants to do this. But it is very feminized, 698 00:37:53,880 --> 00:37:56,080 Speaker 2: Like we can't turn away from the fact that it 699 00:37:56,120 --> 00:37:58,279 Speaker 2: is purposely or not. 700 00:37:58,840 --> 00:38:02,000 Speaker 1: That is very feminized things he lists, right. 701 00:38:02,320 --> 00:38:04,960 Speaker 3: But also these are things that he lists when women 702 00:38:05,080 --> 00:38:08,080 Speaker 3: want to feel good about themselves. The lipstick, the stockings 703 00:38:08,200 --> 00:38:11,800 Speaker 3: are very specific during a time where you're supposed to 704 00:38:11,800 --> 00:38:15,680 Speaker 3: be natural and cowering, and so that was too bold 705 00:38:15,840 --> 00:38:17,920 Speaker 3: of her to be. So I feel like that's to 706 00:38:17,960 --> 00:38:21,040 Speaker 3: this day that would be listed as a good god 707 00:38:21,080 --> 00:38:24,680 Speaker 3: the character to dress up for your man only for 708 00:38:24,719 --> 00:38:29,080 Speaker 3: your man obviously or for your yeah, this man. This 709 00:38:29,160 --> 00:38:33,520 Speaker 3: is very also heteronormative in this this idea, but that fact, 710 00:38:34,440 --> 00:38:36,319 Speaker 3: at that point in time, that was even too much, 711 00:38:36,360 --> 00:38:40,520 Speaker 3: and that was being too loud, essentially too proud of 712 00:38:40,560 --> 00:38:42,880 Speaker 3: what you're looking like. And so for women to be 713 00:38:43,200 --> 00:38:46,239 Speaker 3: that at that point in time was a sin mm hm. 714 00:38:46,680 --> 00:38:49,120 Speaker 3: And so you see that turn like hmmm. 715 00:38:50,080 --> 00:38:52,960 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, And I mean I think in case we 716 00:38:52,960 --> 00:38:53,439 Speaker 2: didn't make. 717 00:38:53,320 --> 00:38:56,880 Speaker 1: It clear she's a teenager. I think she maybe twenty, 718 00:38:57,360 --> 00:38:57,680 Speaker 1: she's I. 719 00:38:57,680 --> 00:39:01,279 Speaker 3: Think she's early twenty, like getting at school a little. 720 00:39:01,000 --> 00:39:04,400 Speaker 1: Bit when this happens. So, I mean, it's just kind 721 00:39:04,440 --> 00:39:09,280 Speaker 1: of a natural for women. 722 00:39:09,440 --> 00:39:12,000 Speaker 2: But it does feel like when you're reading it, like, 723 00:39:12,120 --> 00:39:14,600 Speaker 2: oh wow, she can't go to Evan because she did this. 724 00:39:15,440 --> 00:39:16,640 Speaker 3: Okay, let's stick. 725 00:39:17,239 --> 00:39:17,839 Speaker 1: Yeah. 726 00:39:17,960 --> 00:39:21,840 Speaker 2: Yeah, And as as we said, already C. S Lewis, 727 00:39:21,880 --> 00:39:24,720 Speaker 2: he denies this, but also says she has time to repent, 728 00:39:25,000 --> 00:39:29,480 Speaker 2: like it's not over for her, but also it is 729 00:39:29,520 --> 00:39:29,839 Speaker 2: for us. 730 00:39:29,840 --> 00:39:33,680 Speaker 1: Because no one else wrote that story. We can imagine it. 731 00:39:33,719 --> 00:39:35,360 Speaker 1: We can write the fan fiction if we want. 732 00:39:35,719 --> 00:39:39,600 Speaker 2: But well, speaking of okay, all of this discussion around 733 00:39:39,600 --> 00:39:42,360 Speaker 2: this character led to Neil Gamean writing The Problem of 734 00:39:42,400 --> 00:39:44,879 Speaker 2: Susan in two thousand and four, and the phrase has 735 00:39:45,000 --> 00:39:48,240 Speaker 2: yes become sort of a catch all to describe feminist 736 00:39:48,320 --> 00:39:53,759 Speaker 2: and literary investigation into this character, which, as I said, there's. 737 00:39:53,600 --> 00:39:56,960 Speaker 1: A lot and it's actually really really interesting. I recommend 738 00:39:57,040 --> 00:39:58,520 Speaker 1: going to look into it more. 739 00:39:58,600 --> 00:40:01,200 Speaker 2: But this whole thing was later turned into a comic. 740 00:40:01,600 --> 00:40:04,040 Speaker 2: Both are fairly graphic in terms of violence and sex 741 00:40:04,120 --> 00:40:08,040 Speaker 2: and sexual violence, so just astixet if that's not something 742 00:40:08,080 --> 00:40:10,040 Speaker 2: you're into, you can definitely read about it and not 743 00:40:10,160 --> 00:40:13,280 Speaker 2: have to read the whole thing, which is also very short. 744 00:40:13,480 --> 00:40:16,840 Speaker 2: So the plot centers on Professor Hastings, an older woman 745 00:40:16,880 --> 00:40:20,319 Speaker 2: who strongly resembles Susan, who lost her family in a 746 00:40:20,360 --> 00:40:24,120 Speaker 2: train crash, which is how the Last Battle ended. Susan 747 00:40:24,160 --> 00:40:27,000 Speaker 2: loses her family in a train crash. It opens with 748 00:40:27,040 --> 00:40:29,040 Speaker 2: her dreaming that she is with her siblings on a 749 00:40:29,040 --> 00:40:33,279 Speaker 2: battlefield surrounded by the bodies of dead creatures. Later that day, 750 00:40:33,360 --> 00:40:35,480 Speaker 2: she is interviewed by a student named Greta, who is 751 00:40:35,480 --> 00:40:39,360 Speaker 2: doing a profile on Hastings for the Literary Chronicle. Hastings 752 00:40:39,400 --> 00:40:41,680 Speaker 2: is an author known for her work A Quest for 753 00:40:41,719 --> 00:40:45,480 Speaker 2: the Meanings in Children's Fiction. The two are discussing the 754 00:40:45,520 --> 00:40:48,280 Speaker 2: history of children's fiction and famous examples when Greta realizes 755 00:40:48,320 --> 00:40:51,240 Speaker 2: that Hastings lost her entire family in a train accident 756 00:40:51,280 --> 00:40:54,719 Speaker 2: and says, just like Susan, and she tells Hastings how 757 00:40:54,800 --> 00:40:57,239 Speaker 2: much that bothered her as a kid, so much so 758 00:40:57,320 --> 00:40:59,360 Speaker 2: that she spoke to her teacher about it, and the 759 00:40:59,400 --> 00:41:02,680 Speaker 2: teacher told her Susan still had time to repent not 760 00:41:02,719 --> 00:41:05,000 Speaker 2: believing and the sin of eve, so that was what 761 00:41:05,040 --> 00:41:07,160 Speaker 2: the teacher kind of said was her sin was not believing. 762 00:41:07,520 --> 00:41:10,479 Speaker 2: Also that whole thing with Eve that we. 763 00:41:10,400 --> 00:41:12,440 Speaker 3: Talked about being a woman. Yes, so all of this 764 00:41:12,600 --> 00:41:15,640 Speaker 3: prompts Greta to say, there must have been something else 765 00:41:15,760 --> 00:41:19,799 Speaker 3: wrong with Susan, something they didn't tell us, Otherwise she 766 00:41:19,800 --> 00:41:22,759 Speaker 3: wouldn't have been damned like that, denied the heaven of 767 00:41:22,840 --> 00:41:24,080 Speaker 3: Further up and further. 768 00:41:23,880 --> 00:41:26,799 Speaker 2: In, Hastings says that she doubted Susan had time for 769 00:41:26,840 --> 00:41:29,600 Speaker 2: lipstick and nylons after her whole family died, and that quote, 770 00:41:29,760 --> 00:41:31,680 Speaker 2: I don't know about the girl in the books, but 771 00:41:31,800 --> 00:41:34,439 Speaker 2: remaining behind would have also meant that she was able 772 00:41:34,440 --> 00:41:37,359 Speaker 2: to identify her brothers and her little sister's bodies. There 773 00:41:37,360 --> 00:41:39,080 Speaker 2: were a lot of people dead in that crash. I 774 00:41:39,160 --> 00:41:41,520 Speaker 2: was taken to a nearby school. It was the first 775 00:41:41,640 --> 00:41:43,919 Speaker 2: day of term and they had taken the bodies there. 776 00:41:44,160 --> 00:41:46,799 Speaker 2: My older brother looked okay, like he was asleep. The 777 00:41:46,840 --> 00:41:49,160 Speaker 2: other two were a bit messier. I remember looking at 778 00:41:49,200 --> 00:41:51,200 Speaker 2: them and thinking, what if I'm wrong, What if it's 779 00:41:51,239 --> 00:41:54,319 Speaker 2: not him? After all, my younger brother was decapitated. You know, 780 00:41:54,880 --> 00:41:57,040 Speaker 2: a god who would punish me for liking nylons and 781 00:41:57,080 --> 00:41:59,959 Speaker 2: parties by making me walk through that school dining room 782 00:42:00,200 --> 00:42:03,920 Speaker 2: with the flies to identify ed. Well, he's enjoying himself 783 00:42:03,920 --> 00:42:06,080 Speaker 2: a bit too much as any, like a cat getting 784 00:42:06,080 --> 00:42:08,440 Speaker 2: the last ounce of enjoyment out of a mouse. 785 00:42:08,600 --> 00:42:11,080 Speaker 3: Right, which is how the story begins, by the way, Yeah, 786 00:42:11,239 --> 00:42:14,600 Speaker 3: Hastins cuts the interview short, and that night sleeps in 787 00:42:14,600 --> 00:42:18,600 Speaker 3: her childhood bed looking through old photos. She notices children's 788 00:42:18,640 --> 00:42:21,839 Speaker 3: books on the bedside tables and knows she's dreaming because 789 00:42:21,880 --> 00:42:24,520 Speaker 3: she's never kept these kinds of books around. The One 790 00:42:24,560 --> 00:42:27,320 Speaker 3: on top of the pile shows two girls weaving daisies 791 00:42:27,320 --> 00:42:31,640 Speaker 3: into a lion's main Meanwhile, Greta dreams that she is 792 00:42:31,680 --> 00:42:34,840 Speaker 3: on the same battlefield in Asla and the witch have 793 00:42:34,960 --> 00:42:38,080 Speaker 3: come to an agreement. She will take the boys and 794 00:42:38,120 --> 00:42:41,760 Speaker 3: he will take the girls. She understands what must have happened, 795 00:42:41,800 --> 00:42:44,080 Speaker 3: and she runs, but the beast is upon her before 796 00:42:44,120 --> 00:42:47,239 Speaker 3: she's covered a dozen paces. The lion eats all of 797 00:42:47,280 --> 00:42:50,000 Speaker 3: her except her head, but this is all in her dream, 798 00:42:50,400 --> 00:42:52,480 Speaker 3: and he leaves the head in one of her hands, 799 00:42:52,920 --> 00:42:54,520 Speaker 3: just like the house cat at the beginning of the 800 00:42:54,560 --> 00:42:57,840 Speaker 3: story leaves parts of a mouse it has no desire 801 00:42:57,920 --> 00:43:01,600 Speaker 3: for for later or as a gift, again referencing how 802 00:43:01,800 --> 00:43:04,360 Speaker 3: Susan found a mouse at the door bats at the 803 00:43:04,400 --> 00:43:05,200 Speaker 3: beginning of the story. 804 00:43:05,560 --> 00:43:08,160 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, so that was a lot of that was quote. 805 00:43:08,400 --> 00:43:10,880 Speaker 2: Greta watches, unable to shut her eyes as her brothers 806 00:43:10,880 --> 00:43:13,359 Speaker 2: are transformed into monsters, and the end quote the great 807 00:43:13,360 --> 00:43:15,800 Speaker 2: beast ate her little sister more slowly, and it seemed 808 00:43:15,800 --> 00:43:18,200 Speaker 2: to her with more relish and pleasure than it had 809 00:43:18,200 --> 00:43:21,000 Speaker 2: eaten her. But then her little sister had always been 810 00:43:21,080 --> 00:43:25,400 Speaker 2: its favorite. Then the witch disrobes and the lion tongues 811 00:43:25,440 --> 00:43:29,279 Speaker 2: her and they have sex, making Greta slash Susan kind 812 00:43:29,280 --> 00:43:33,120 Speaker 2: of in this dream a watch before finally eating her head. 813 00:43:33,400 --> 00:43:36,000 Speaker 2: Greta wakes up thinking it's true that Susan didn't die. 814 00:43:36,120 --> 00:43:39,880 Speaker 2: This whole thing actually happened. And then here's another quote. 815 00:43:40,080 --> 00:43:42,520 Speaker 2: She imagines the professor waking in the night and listening 816 00:43:42,560 --> 00:43:45,160 Speaker 2: to the noises coming from the old applewood wardrobe in 817 00:43:45,200 --> 00:43:48,640 Speaker 2: the corner, to the rustlings of all these gliding ghosts 818 00:43:48,840 --> 00:43:51,840 Speaker 2: which might be mistaken for the scurries of miser rats, 819 00:43:52,160 --> 00:43:55,080 Speaker 2: and to the patting of enormous velvet paws, and the distant, 820 00:43:55,160 --> 00:43:58,000 Speaker 2: dangerous music of a hunting horn. She knows she is 821 00:43:58,000 --> 00:44:00,400 Speaker 2: being ridiculous, although she will not be surprised when she 822 00:44:00,440 --> 00:44:03,279 Speaker 2: reads of her professor's demise. Death comes in the night, 823 00:44:03,320 --> 00:44:06,080 Speaker 2: she thinks, before she returns to sleep like a lion. 824 00:44:06,600 --> 00:44:09,319 Speaker 2: The white Witch rides naked on the lion's golden back. 825 00:44:09,600 --> 00:44:12,680 Speaker 2: Its muzzle is spotted with fresh scarlet blood. Then the 826 00:44:12,800 --> 00:44:15,400 Speaker 2: vast pinkness of its tongue wipes around its face, and 827 00:44:15,440 --> 00:44:17,319 Speaker 2: once more it is perfectly clean. 828 00:44:18,680 --> 00:44:20,239 Speaker 1: Oof. 829 00:44:20,760 --> 00:44:23,760 Speaker 2: Okay, so there's a lot of things we can discuss 830 00:44:23,760 --> 00:44:26,239 Speaker 2: about this. Obviously, I did want to include this quote 831 00:44:26,280 --> 00:44:28,560 Speaker 2: Gaman said about it. There is so much in the 832 00:44:28,560 --> 00:44:30,360 Speaker 2: books that I love, but each time I found the 833 00:44:30,400 --> 00:44:34,080 Speaker 2: disposal Susan to be intensely problematic and deeply irritating. I 834 00:44:34,120 --> 00:44:35,960 Speaker 2: suppose I wanted to write a story that would be 835 00:44:36,040 --> 00:44:38,719 Speaker 2: equally problematic and just as much of an irritant, if 836 00:44:38,719 --> 00:44:41,160 Speaker 2: from a different direction, and to talk about the remarkable 837 00:44:41,200 --> 00:44:43,919 Speaker 2: power of children's literature. And He's not the only author 838 00:44:43,960 --> 00:44:46,200 Speaker 2: to I've spoken out about this. Philip Pullman said, I 839 00:44:46,320 --> 00:44:49,080 Speaker 2: just don't like the conclusions Lewis comes to after all 840 00:44:49,080 --> 00:44:51,880 Speaker 2: that analysis, the way he shuts children out from heaven 841 00:44:52,000 --> 00:44:54,680 Speaker 2: or whatever it is. On the grounds that one girl's 842 00:44:54,719 --> 00:44:58,960 Speaker 2: interested in boys she's a teenager, it's terrible sex can't 843 00:44:59,000 --> 00:45:04,399 Speaker 2: have that. Yeah, yeah, okay, so yeah, we've already been 844 00:45:04,560 --> 00:45:05,760 Speaker 2: I'm so excited. 845 00:45:05,320 --> 00:45:06,239 Speaker 1: That you know a lot about this. 846 00:45:06,280 --> 00:45:09,120 Speaker 2: Samantha and I got some background and we have kind 847 00:45:09,120 --> 00:45:26,040 Speaker 2: of how to impact us. So as we discussed a 848 00:45:26,080 --> 00:45:30,279 Speaker 2: lot of people took away from this whole thing that 849 00:45:30,400 --> 00:45:34,799 Speaker 2: feminine things like makeup and stockings are frivolous and sinful 850 00:45:35,000 --> 00:45:38,880 Speaker 2: and worth shutting you out of heaven for and Eve 851 00:45:39,120 --> 00:45:42,920 Speaker 2: kind of being the representative kind of. 852 00:45:42,840 --> 00:45:46,200 Speaker 1: The first example of that. 853 00:45:46,920 --> 00:45:50,040 Speaker 2: And because I feel like my favorite character was Lucy, 854 00:45:50,640 --> 00:45:52,560 Speaker 2: but a lot of people said, like she Susan was 855 00:45:52,600 --> 00:45:56,040 Speaker 2: their favorite character, and she was generally well liked, even 856 00:45:56,080 --> 00:45:59,560 Speaker 2: if she wasn't. She wasn't like a hated character, right, 857 00:45:59,640 --> 00:46:04,200 Speaker 2: and have her just suddenly when you know, even she 858 00:46:04,360 --> 00:46:06,960 Speaker 2: was Queen, she was Susan the gentle and she was, 859 00:46:07,000 --> 00:46:09,840 Speaker 2: you know, taking care of children who needed it and 860 00:46:10,040 --> 00:46:12,160 Speaker 2: just very kind. And to kind of have that go 861 00:46:12,280 --> 00:46:17,400 Speaker 2: from that to well, she's gone and that's that's the 862 00:46:17,560 --> 00:46:18,040 Speaker 2: end of that. 863 00:46:18,120 --> 00:46:18,800 Speaker 1: Don't worry. 864 00:46:19,280 --> 00:46:21,480 Speaker 3: You know, it's interesting too because when we see the 865 00:46:21,520 --> 00:46:27,239 Speaker 3: flashbacks where they meet the adults. Yeah, and she is 866 00:46:27,280 --> 00:46:31,520 Speaker 3: being forced into an arranged marriage, right, and she's the 867 00:46:31,520 --> 00:46:34,040 Speaker 3: one that refuses to do so unless you could pick 868 00:46:34,040 --> 00:46:37,640 Speaker 3: her own, which would have been seen as valiant. But yet 869 00:46:37,719 --> 00:46:41,560 Speaker 3: that's not remembered. It's it's quite fascinating how the adult 870 00:46:41,640 --> 00:46:44,799 Speaker 3: version of her in Narnia does not compare to the 871 00:46:44,800 --> 00:46:47,640 Speaker 3: adult version of her in the real world, and why 872 00:46:47,640 --> 00:46:50,600 Speaker 3: would it be so? But I did, I do remember 873 00:46:50,600 --> 00:46:53,360 Speaker 3: that specific scene because you're like, yeah, girl, go ahead, 874 00:46:53,480 --> 00:46:56,000 Speaker 3: tell them you're not gonna marry anyone, you know, like 875 00:46:56,160 --> 00:46:58,240 Speaker 3: you can choose because you are the high queen. 876 00:46:58,719 --> 00:46:59,319 Speaker 1: You do you? 877 00:46:59,800 --> 00:47:01,880 Speaker 3: And then we see that flip, But like, yeah, it 878 00:47:01,920 --> 00:47:04,239 Speaker 3: definitely does feel it needed to be a little bit 879 00:47:04,280 --> 00:47:07,120 Speaker 3: on the nose, whether it's it was Lewis showing his 880 00:47:07,200 --> 00:47:10,560 Speaker 3: disapproval for how women were acting during that time and 881 00:47:10,640 --> 00:47:13,520 Speaker 3: wanted to bring him back to this is religion or not, 882 00:47:13,760 --> 00:47:16,120 Speaker 3: or this is godly and what's not? Or whether he 883 00:47:16,200 --> 00:47:18,520 Speaker 3: just needed a villain and he found a way to 884 00:47:18,760 --> 00:47:20,879 Speaker 3: make one of them a villain and it made sense 885 00:47:20,920 --> 00:47:24,400 Speaker 3: for him, as she is a woman and disposable. 886 00:47:25,080 --> 00:47:28,440 Speaker 2: Yeah, well that's I'm glad you brought that up because 887 00:47:28,480 --> 00:47:33,440 Speaker 2: somebody wrote a really interesting essay about kind of that idea, 888 00:47:33,600 --> 00:47:37,560 Speaker 2: where the author was saying, there's sort of a funny 889 00:47:37,600 --> 00:47:41,640 Speaker 2: thing happening here that game, and comments on directly is 890 00:47:41,680 --> 00:47:47,240 Speaker 2: that we are really interpreting, like as the audience interpreting 891 00:47:47,239 --> 00:47:49,040 Speaker 2: it in a way that perhaps he didn't mean it, 892 00:47:49,080 --> 00:47:51,640 Speaker 2: but it doesn't change the fact we're interpreting it that way, 893 00:47:52,040 --> 00:47:56,760 Speaker 2: and that's how impact it does. But the author was saying, like, basically, 894 00:47:56,840 --> 00:47:59,840 Speaker 2: he got kind of lazy, and so he's got four kids, 895 00:48:00,160 --> 00:48:03,960 Speaker 2: got Edmund who is the betrayer who comes back. 896 00:48:04,360 --> 00:48:06,480 Speaker 1: You've got Lucy who is the natural believer. 897 00:48:07,239 --> 00:48:10,200 Speaker 2: You've got Peter, who is like he's Peter at the 898 00:48:10,239 --> 00:48:14,000 Speaker 2: Saint Peter essentially right. And he needed somebody to be 899 00:48:14,080 --> 00:48:16,680 Speaker 2: the opposite of Edmund, of the person who believed and 900 00:48:16,719 --> 00:48:18,800 Speaker 2: then walked away, and she was the one that was left, 901 00:48:19,120 --> 00:48:20,879 Speaker 2: and so he put it on her. 902 00:48:21,239 --> 00:48:23,560 Speaker 1: But we were all as readers, like, but. 903 00:48:23,640 --> 00:48:28,720 Speaker 2: Wait, it doesn't make sense with all this other stuff 904 00:48:28,719 --> 00:48:31,640 Speaker 2: you said, which which is I thought that was a 905 00:48:31,680 --> 00:48:36,000 Speaker 2: really interesting take on that. And throughout Gaiman's short story, 906 00:48:36,040 --> 00:48:39,000 Speaker 2: there are these signifiers of sex associated with evil. You've 907 00:48:39,040 --> 00:48:41,880 Speaker 2: got the witch's lipstick, you've got handset. 908 00:48:41,920 --> 00:48:44,480 Speaker 1: Professor hasting sexuality and the dream. 909 00:48:44,560 --> 00:48:47,759 Speaker 2: She notices the dead center's penis and wonders what it 910 00:48:47,760 --> 00:48:50,680 Speaker 2: would have been like to kiss him. She remembers past 911 00:48:50,719 --> 00:48:55,200 Speaker 2: sexual experiences with men, making the point that in this framework, 912 00:48:55,719 --> 00:49:00,840 Speaker 2: in this story, Susan is tied to evil for being sexual, 913 00:49:00,960 --> 00:49:05,280 Speaker 2: like this is wrong. There's also, throughout the frivolous desire 914 00:49:05,360 --> 00:49:08,520 Speaker 2: for youth quote, there are things about herself that the 915 00:49:08,520 --> 00:49:12,000 Speaker 2: Professor despises her smell. For example, she smells like her 916 00:49:12,000 --> 00:49:14,960 Speaker 2: grandmother smelled like old women smell, and for this she 917 00:49:15,000 --> 00:49:17,920 Speaker 2: cannot forgive herself. So on waking she baths in scented 918 00:49:18,000 --> 00:49:21,120 Speaker 2: water and naked and towel dried DAPs several drops of 919 00:49:21,160 --> 00:49:23,840 Speaker 2: chnaeled toilet water beneath her arms and on her neck. 920 00:49:24,520 --> 00:49:29,239 Speaker 2: And that's kind of like in there two of I 921 00:49:29,239 --> 00:49:32,080 Speaker 2: guess it feels like a contrast between she wanted to 922 00:49:32,080 --> 00:49:34,080 Speaker 2: be an adult, that kind of narrative, she always wanted 923 00:49:34,080 --> 00:49:36,320 Speaker 2: to be an adult, and now that she is one, 924 00:49:36,920 --> 00:49:40,680 Speaker 2: she's also kind of punishing herself and being societally punished 925 00:49:40,760 --> 00:49:43,080 Speaker 2: for being an older woman. Right. 926 00:49:43,680 --> 00:49:46,120 Speaker 1: Yeah, there's also. 927 00:49:46,000 --> 00:49:47,360 Speaker 2: I just want to put this in here because it 928 00:49:47,360 --> 00:49:49,600 Speaker 2: stuck out to me how she thought she was old 929 00:49:50,000 --> 00:49:52,560 Speaker 2: when she quote lost what was left of her virginity 930 00:49:52,920 --> 00:49:56,200 Speaker 2: at twenty, which I think probably a lot of us 931 00:49:56,239 --> 00:49:59,680 Speaker 2: can identify with thinking that's old, and then when you 932 00:49:59,680 --> 00:50:03,759 Speaker 2: get old, thinking oh no, that was so young. Yeah, yeah, 933 00:50:03,840 --> 00:50:09,280 Speaker 2: but you're already exactly exactly. She also Hastings thinks about 934 00:50:09,280 --> 00:50:13,520 Speaker 2: how young Gretel looks. Another interesting take I read was 935 00:50:13,560 --> 00:50:16,920 Speaker 2: this kind of idea that like God, the patriarchy comes 936 00:50:16,960 --> 00:50:19,960 Speaker 2: for us all that if God, in the context of literature, 937 00:50:20,320 --> 00:50:22,560 Speaker 2: is the creation of man, and in this particular case 938 00:50:22,560 --> 00:50:24,840 Speaker 2: it is if we're saying, like Aslan is the godlike 939 00:50:24,920 --> 00:50:27,719 Speaker 2: figure and C. S. Lewis is a man of his 940 00:50:27,840 --> 00:50:29,920 Speaker 2: time that wrote it, and it stands the reason that 941 00:50:30,000 --> 00:50:33,319 Speaker 2: he is a part of the patriarchy. So this whole 942 00:50:33,360 --> 00:50:37,360 Speaker 2: idea of like the God in this case Aslan punishing 943 00:50:37,440 --> 00:50:43,080 Speaker 2: Susan for being feminine or not fitting into whatever rules 944 00:50:43,080 --> 00:50:47,319 Speaker 2: of this patriarchy, I thought that was an interesting an 945 00:50:47,320 --> 00:50:49,440 Speaker 2: interesting take as well. 946 00:50:49,520 --> 00:50:52,160 Speaker 3: Right, and when we again we talk about Susan's role 947 00:50:52,360 --> 00:50:56,080 Speaker 3: and the individual roles that he has placed on these characters, 948 00:50:56,400 --> 00:50:59,319 Speaker 3: it is very obvious that it is a very male 949 00:50:59,640 --> 00:51:03,960 Speaker 3: led throughout, whether it's Caspian that we're talking about, Ben Barnes' 950 00:51:04,040 --> 00:51:07,480 Speaker 3: character that I mentioned earlier coming to find the father, 951 00:51:08,000 --> 00:51:12,680 Speaker 3: and or talking about Aslan being this lion who comes 952 00:51:12,760 --> 00:51:16,040 Speaker 3: roaring through and Evil being a woman, a witch till 953 00:51:16,040 --> 00:51:18,680 Speaker 3: the Swinton who played the hell out of that character, 954 00:51:19,160 --> 00:51:21,920 Speaker 3: the hell out of me. I'm not gonna lie, but like, really, 955 00:51:22,160 --> 00:51:28,920 Speaker 3: obviously again, women leader, evil, bad, there's definitely notes of 956 00:51:28,960 --> 00:51:32,080 Speaker 3: that that you have. You can't really ignore any of that. 957 00:51:32,120 --> 00:51:34,520 Speaker 3: He does mention to Lucy that she would not be 958 00:51:34,560 --> 00:51:36,280 Speaker 3: a part of the battle, that she would be the healer, 959 00:51:36,960 --> 00:51:39,240 Speaker 3: and though actually Susan is a part of the battle. 960 00:51:39,280 --> 00:51:41,839 Speaker 3: She has the bow, but she's also has a call 961 00:51:41,920 --> 00:51:45,360 Speaker 3: for help, which Peter comes running too. So like there's 962 00:51:45,440 --> 00:51:46,880 Speaker 3: a lot of things for sure. 963 00:51:47,440 --> 00:51:49,400 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, you know, that's a good point. A lot 964 00:51:49,400 --> 00:51:52,600 Speaker 2: of people brought that up as well, if like, if 965 00:51:52,600 --> 00:51:56,240 Speaker 2: you look at the earlier ones, while she was always 966 00:51:56,280 --> 00:52:00,319 Speaker 2: sort of the practical one, she was also pretty like 967 00:52:00,400 --> 00:52:03,200 Speaker 2: she wrote on Aazon's back, she was there and he 968 00:52:03,280 --> 00:52:07,480 Speaker 2: was resurrected, like she was pretty stalwart. So yeah, just 969 00:52:08,080 --> 00:52:10,440 Speaker 2: not that you can't go from being stalwart to not 970 00:52:10,520 --> 00:52:12,440 Speaker 2: being stal But again it was just one of those 971 00:52:12,440 --> 00:52:15,560 Speaker 2: things where people were like, this doesn't track, it doesn't 972 00:52:15,560 --> 00:52:18,719 Speaker 2: feel right. As we said, there's that whole messaging of 973 00:52:18,920 --> 00:52:20,719 Speaker 2: being adult equals being. 974 00:52:20,640 --> 00:52:26,960 Speaker 1: Bad, especially for women. Then there is trauma. 975 00:52:27,719 --> 00:52:30,839 Speaker 2: So the impetus behind this story that Neil Gaman wrote 976 00:52:30,880 --> 00:52:34,239 Speaker 2: actually was imagining like Susan was a woman who was 977 00:52:34,320 --> 00:52:34,760 Speaker 2: left behind. 978 00:52:34,760 --> 00:52:35,720 Speaker 1: She lost her whole family. 979 00:52:35,760 --> 00:52:37,640 Speaker 2: And there's a scene at the end where it is 980 00:52:37,719 --> 00:52:40,080 Speaker 2: kind of confusing, but yeah, they die in this. 981 00:52:40,400 --> 00:52:43,120 Speaker 1: Train accident and then they're in Narnia and. 982 00:52:43,120 --> 00:52:45,839 Speaker 2: As the reader, we realize they've died, and yeah, they're 983 00:52:45,840 --> 00:52:49,759 Speaker 2: in Narnia and you know, they're happy and embracing and 984 00:52:49,800 --> 00:52:53,080 Speaker 2: all this stuff, and Susan really doesn't not mentioned. So 985 00:52:53,120 --> 00:52:56,040 Speaker 2: she was just left behind and she's going to deal 986 00:52:56,080 --> 00:53:00,080 Speaker 2: with this aftermath and some people really hurt that they're 987 00:53:00,120 --> 00:53:03,400 Speaker 2: wasn't even a thought of her. There wasn't even like, 988 00:53:04,040 --> 00:53:06,759 Speaker 2: oh wow, that was exactly. 989 00:53:07,239 --> 00:53:09,440 Speaker 3: But if we're looking at a Christian perspective of heaven, 990 00:53:09,640 --> 00:53:12,320 Speaker 3: that's the intent is that you will forget that trauma, 991 00:53:12,440 --> 00:53:14,200 Speaker 3: and if she is a trauma, part of that trauma, 992 00:53:14,280 --> 00:53:16,840 Speaker 3: you don't remember her like that is the joy of heaven, 993 00:53:17,600 --> 00:53:20,359 Speaker 3: because honestly, that's one of the things that didn't trek 994 00:53:20,400 --> 00:53:22,520 Speaker 3: with me. I was really hurt by the idea that 995 00:53:22,560 --> 00:53:25,960 Speaker 3: I would forget everyone I go to heaven, and that 996 00:53:26,160 --> 00:53:29,640 Speaker 3: is kind of that narrative that you forget everyone. And again, 997 00:53:29,680 --> 00:53:31,880 Speaker 3: I'm not going to go into the religious back and 998 00:53:31,920 --> 00:53:35,000 Speaker 3: forth about religious religious trauma, which I laughed about earlier 999 00:53:35,040 --> 00:53:38,279 Speaker 3: because I was like, there's a lot there, but that 1000 00:53:38,400 --> 00:53:40,799 Speaker 3: is one of the thoughts, is yeah, and I think 1001 00:53:40,800 --> 00:53:42,560 Speaker 3: this is why I'm so confused, because I'm still too 1002 00:53:42,560 --> 00:53:46,200 Speaker 3: connected to Well, something bad happened, right that translated into 1003 00:53:46,280 --> 00:53:51,600 Speaker 3: something amazing happening, And yeah, that means they forget everything, 1004 00:53:52,040 --> 00:53:54,440 Speaker 3: and so that includes their sister who they had loved, 1005 00:53:55,000 --> 00:53:56,640 Speaker 3: and she is no longer a part of the story 1006 00:53:56,680 --> 00:53:58,680 Speaker 3: and not no longer a part of the narrative. 1007 00:53:58,400 --> 00:54:02,880 Speaker 2: Right yeah, yeah, having heard in this case go to 1008 00:54:02,960 --> 00:54:05,279 Speaker 2: identify the bodies in this short story or like she's 1009 00:54:05,440 --> 00:54:08,319 Speaker 2: going to be dealing with this, right, which is just 1010 00:54:08,480 --> 00:54:11,920 Speaker 2: very very painful. And something else we've already mentioned, and 1011 00:54:12,000 --> 00:54:14,800 Speaker 2: we've mentioned a lot, that these stories are more forgiving 1012 00:54:14,800 --> 00:54:18,360 Speaker 2: to white male characters and their trauma, and people pointed 1013 00:54:18,360 --> 00:54:19,160 Speaker 2: that out a lot of it. 1014 00:54:19,480 --> 00:54:21,360 Speaker 1: They was repenting and redeeming for a. 1015 00:54:21,360 --> 00:54:24,960 Speaker 2: Lot of male characters, but not so much for female characters. 1016 00:54:25,000 --> 00:54:28,040 Speaker 2: Like you either were always a believer or you did 1017 00:54:28,280 --> 00:54:30,839 Speaker 2: one mistake and you're out exact. 1018 00:54:30,560 --> 00:54:32,520 Speaker 3: Well, yeah, and I don't know if I just remember 1019 00:54:32,560 --> 00:54:34,279 Speaker 3: one thing that really bothered me. It had nothing to 1020 00:54:34,280 --> 00:54:38,120 Speaker 3: do with Susan, but when they do return and Lucy 1021 00:54:38,560 --> 00:54:41,560 Speaker 3: was supposed to make them believe, and Aslen got mad 1022 00:54:41,600 --> 00:54:44,560 Speaker 3: at her because she could not convince them and really 1023 00:54:44,680 --> 00:54:48,040 Speaker 3: kind of stayed like called her out again. This is 1024 00:54:48,120 --> 00:54:50,960 Speaker 3: kind of that trauma, religious trauma that whether C. S. 1025 00:54:51,040 --> 00:54:53,360 Speaker 3: Lewis meant to do it, whether it was just something 1026 00:54:53,360 --> 00:54:56,240 Speaker 3: that was like supposed to be storytelling, but it's very true, 1027 00:54:56,400 --> 00:54:59,719 Speaker 3: like this guilt on Christians in general. Why didn't you 1028 00:54:59,760 --> 00:55:02,680 Speaker 3: con Yeah, you're partially damned them the hell because you 1029 00:55:02,680 --> 00:55:04,120 Speaker 3: could not convince them, right. 1030 00:55:04,520 --> 00:55:04,920 Speaker 1: Yeah. 1031 00:55:05,080 --> 00:55:08,600 Speaker 2: I will never forget one time when I was in 1032 00:55:08,680 --> 00:55:12,799 Speaker 2: seventh grade, my algebra teacher told me, it's like I'm 1033 00:55:12,800 --> 00:55:14,919 Speaker 2: watching you walk off a cliff and I just want 1034 00:55:14,960 --> 00:55:15,560 Speaker 2: to save you. 1035 00:55:15,960 --> 00:55:17,560 Speaker 1: And I was like, uh oh. 1036 00:55:17,600 --> 00:55:19,960 Speaker 3: Oh, I had that done at my workplace when I 1037 00:55:20,000 --> 00:55:22,799 Speaker 3: was a DJJ. And she was just like, you know, 1038 00:55:23,040 --> 00:55:25,160 Speaker 3: I love you so much. I don't want this for you. 1039 00:55:25,320 --> 00:55:26,520 Speaker 3: And I looked and I was like, I know what 1040 00:55:26,520 --> 00:55:29,080 Speaker 3: you're doing and it's sweet, and I know you made 1041 00:55:29,080 --> 00:55:29,839 Speaker 3: those love but. 1042 00:55:30,400 --> 00:55:39,279 Speaker 2: Hmm, okay, math teacher, can we go back to now. 1043 00:55:41,120 --> 00:55:42,920 Speaker 1: And then really briefly to close this up? 1044 00:55:42,960 --> 00:55:46,799 Speaker 2: Because I really I find this so interesting. Legitimately I 1045 00:55:46,800 --> 00:55:49,359 Speaker 2: find this interesting. A lot of people did make this 1046 00:55:49,520 --> 00:55:53,480 Speaker 2: argument of kind of a distinction between what C. S. 1047 00:55:53,560 --> 00:55:57,200 Speaker 2: Lewis meant and what he said he meant versus what 1048 00:55:57,280 --> 00:56:01,720 Speaker 2: we interpreted and how much which how much it matters 1049 00:56:01,800 --> 00:56:05,600 Speaker 2: or shouldn't matter. I think another interesting point somebody made 1050 00:56:05,640 --> 00:56:08,719 Speaker 2: is unless you went and like researched this and looked 1051 00:56:08,800 --> 00:56:12,360 Speaker 2: up the letters he wrote specifically about Susan that people 1052 00:56:12,360 --> 00:56:14,040 Speaker 2: wrote in about him and like why did you do this? 1053 00:56:14,320 --> 00:56:16,080 Speaker 1: And he would respond, you wouldn't know. 1054 00:56:16,680 --> 00:56:20,279 Speaker 2: His respond we only have the books, really, unless you 1055 00:56:20,360 --> 00:56:24,160 Speaker 2: go beyond that, and some people did were saying, like, 1056 00:56:25,239 --> 00:56:31,279 Speaker 2: there's just a very interesting line between kind of what 1057 00:56:31,440 --> 00:56:34,799 Speaker 2: Gamon was talking about in this short story of researching 1058 00:56:34,920 --> 00:56:38,000 Speaker 2: children's book and searching for meaning like you and I did, 1059 00:56:38,640 --> 00:56:39,640 Speaker 2: and then. 1060 00:56:41,080 --> 00:56:42,279 Speaker 1: Maybe being hurt by that. 1061 00:56:42,400 --> 00:56:46,200 Speaker 2: Or maybe internalizing these messages that might not have been intended, 1062 00:56:46,239 --> 00:56:50,080 Speaker 2: but that did have the impact, right, especially for kids 1063 00:56:50,120 --> 00:56:53,120 Speaker 2: at the young age. So I just I thought that 1064 00:56:53,160 --> 00:56:57,000 Speaker 2: was really interesting. And Lewis once wrote to someone that 1065 00:56:57,200 --> 00:57:01,760 Speaker 2: he thought this person who was concerned about Susan should 1066 00:57:01,800 --> 00:57:03,720 Speaker 2: go write the story of Susan. 1067 00:57:04,200 --> 00:57:06,719 Speaker 1: Was he being smart, alec I don't think so. He 1068 00:57:06,840 --> 00:57:07,279 Speaker 1: might have been. 1069 00:57:07,440 --> 00:57:10,440 Speaker 2: He said it was like older he liked children's literature 1070 00:57:10,560 --> 00:57:13,319 Speaker 2: that was more of an adult thing. But a lot 1071 00:57:13,360 --> 00:57:15,239 Speaker 2: of people did say this was what was missing. We 1072 00:57:15,320 --> 00:57:17,840 Speaker 2: needed the story of Susan after this, like if you're 1073 00:57:17,880 --> 00:57:22,919 Speaker 2: just gonna write her out, we needed something and that's 1074 00:57:22,960 --> 00:57:24,040 Speaker 2: why we're still. 1075 00:57:23,760 --> 00:57:26,120 Speaker 1: Talking about it today. That's why there's a whole thing 1076 00:57:26,160 --> 00:57:27,600 Speaker 1: called the It is pretty cool. 1077 00:57:27,760 --> 00:57:28,720 Speaker 3: He could do a post. 1078 00:57:29,360 --> 00:57:32,000 Speaker 1: Yeah, well maybe it's time. 1079 00:57:32,120 --> 00:57:35,400 Speaker 3: Well not anymore, not anymore, but you and I could 1080 00:57:35,400 --> 00:57:36,080 Speaker 3: get in on this. 1081 00:57:36,320 --> 00:57:41,960 Speaker 1: Actually we could lawyers and stuff. But this is what 1082 00:57:42,000 --> 00:57:45,400 Speaker 1: that fiction is for, right, But yeah, I have This 1083 00:57:45,560 --> 00:57:47,920 Speaker 1: was a fun conversation. I'm glad we had it. I 1084 00:57:47,920 --> 00:57:50,240 Speaker 1: think we could return to it another day. 1085 00:57:50,400 --> 00:57:53,560 Speaker 3: Yeah, absolutely, I think, especially when it comes to like 1086 00:57:53,600 --> 00:57:57,560 Speaker 3: religious religious fiction and women, the connotations because I read 1087 00:57:57,720 --> 00:58:01,920 Speaker 3: many a religious romance novel, and let me tell you 1088 00:58:03,920 --> 00:58:07,760 Speaker 3: the amount of marital discourse and what women were supposed 1089 00:58:07,760 --> 00:58:12,120 Speaker 3: to do and be. Man, that's dramatizing in itself. I 1090 00:58:12,160 --> 00:58:15,320 Speaker 3: even read one book where she was raped, got left 1091 00:58:15,360 --> 00:58:18,960 Speaker 3: by her pastor husband, but she was accepted by another 1092 00:58:18,960 --> 00:58:20,960 Speaker 3: godly man, so she's okay. 1093 00:58:20,720 --> 00:58:25,320 Speaker 2: Oh wow, yeah, all right, well we'll come out. 1094 00:58:25,480 --> 00:58:27,080 Speaker 3: It was something at the time, and I thought it 1095 00:58:27,160 --> 00:58:29,960 Speaker 3: was something at the time coming back to now, Oh 1096 00:58:30,000 --> 00:58:31,320 Speaker 3: my god, what was I thinking? 1097 00:58:31,960 --> 00:58:34,800 Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, that's that's kind of what we're talking about. 1098 00:58:35,080 --> 00:58:37,480 Speaker 2: Why does somebody say it's like we're searching for meaning 1099 00:58:37,840 --> 00:58:40,880 Speaker 2: or meaning wasn't there, but we made it then. But 1100 00:58:41,120 --> 00:58:43,080 Speaker 2: because of the product of their time and how we're 1101 00:58:43,160 --> 00:58:47,760 Speaker 2: raised and how it was written. Who can blame us? 1102 00:58:49,480 --> 00:58:52,560 Speaker 2: Who can blame us? Okay, well, we've talked. 1103 00:58:52,280 --> 00:58:55,040 Speaker 1: A lot about this. I love it, so listeners. 1104 00:58:55,160 --> 00:58:58,680 Speaker 2: If you have any short stories, are any books to 1105 00:58:58,760 --> 00:59:01,840 Speaker 2: recommend to us for this, or any recommendations at all, 1106 00:59:01,920 --> 00:59:03,840 Speaker 2: we love to get them. You can email us a 1107 00:59:03,840 --> 00:59:05,960 Speaker 2: step media mom Stuff at iHeartMedia dot com. You can 1108 00:59:06,000 --> 00:59:07,960 Speaker 2: find us on Twitter at mom Stuff Podcasts or on 1109 00:59:08,000 --> 00:59:10,320 Speaker 2: Instagram at Stuff I've Never Told You. Thanks as always 1110 00:59:10,320 --> 00:59:14,720 Speaker 2: to our superducer Christina the best. Oh Yes, and thanks 1111 00:59:14,760 --> 00:59:16,840 Speaker 2: to you for listening stuff on ever Total is protection 1112 00:59:16,880 --> 00:59:19,680 Speaker 2: of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts f my iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 1113 00:59:19,680 --> 00:59:22,120 Speaker 2: Apple podcasts, or where you listen to your favorite shows.