Chapter 5.3 - Pop Culture Hills We'll Die On

Alicia and Sarah take a different approach as they discuss some of their favorite pieces of pop culture. Whether movies or books, these are the pop culture hills they are willing to fight for. At the end of this week’s discussion, they talk about the things they've been reading, watching, and analyzing outside of the classroom.

Literary terms of the week: “Hill I’ll die on”

Sign up for the newsletter and follow us on Instagram and Facebook.

Music by Craig Harmann

Cover art by Matt Holman

• Trying something new this week (inspired by NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour)

• Origin of “hill I’ll die on” phrase: “An allusion to the instances where a military doggedly pursues a goal or defends a position no matter the cost or (lack of) benefit, typically involving a hill (high ground)” (Grammarist).

• Alicia’s pop culture hills:

  • Muppet Christmas Carol is the most accurate version of Dicken’s original story

  • Little Women (1994) is the only real film adaptation

  • Timothee Chalamet can do anything

  • The 2002 film adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo is better than the book

  • Little Shop of Horrors is one of the best movie musicals of all time

• Sarah’s pop culture hills:

  • The original Anne of Green Gables with Meagan Follows is the only one that counts

  • The Disney Robin Hood is the most perfect version of Robin Hood.

  • The Office should have ended when Michael left

  • To Kill a Mockingbird the movie is far inferior to the novel

• Alicia: Yellowface (R.F. Kuang), Dream Productions (Disney+)

• Sarah: Part of Your World (Abby Jiminez), Silo (AppleTV)