CONTENT WARNING
This episode contains extended conversations about sexual assault.
Unfortunately, due to professional and personal commitments, we've decided to conclude Snails & Oysters – for now at least. It's a series finale* because we both love this project and hope to bring it back one day. Until then, we've chosen a barnstormer of a movie to go out on: 1991's crime dramedy Thelma & Louise, starring Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis as the titular best friends, accomplices, and doomed lovers.
Eyebrow Cinema, "Indiana Jones – the Face of Jewish Vengeance:" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVZg5j8vg70
Find Snails & Oysters bonus content and Nat's continuing film diary at gnatroberts.substack.com
Follow us online:
Alli Rogers: letterboxd.com/allirodgers
Nat Roberts: letterboxd.com/GnatRoberts
Our theme song is Gumballs by Billy Libby: instagram.com/fortgorgeous
And our cover art was designed by Abby Austin: instagram.com/abigailbaustin
SEE YOU, SPACE COWBOY...
In their last episode of 2022, Nat & Alli take it easy with a nice light Wes Anderson movie about... a broken family of egomaniacal has-beens, neurotic eccentrics, and semi-incestuous geniuses. Just in time for Christmas! The Royal Tenenbaums may have launched Anderson's mainstream success, but how does it hold up 21 years later? How does it handle Margot's bisexuality? And most importantly, why is Alli suddenly obsessed with AI?
Support Snails & Oysters on Patreon: patreon.com/snailsoysters
Follow us online:
Snails & Oysters is no longer on Twitter, please bear with us while we figure out alternative social media arrangements
Alli Rogers: letterboxd.com/allirodgers
Nat Roberts: letterboxd.com/GnatRoberts
Our theme song is Gumballs by Billy Libby: instagram.com/fortgorgeous
And our cover art was designed by Abby Austin: instagram.com/abigailbaustin
Post-credits Nat here again: Thank you all for making 2022 such a wonderful year! We're off the rest of the month but will be back to our regular release schedule on January 12th. I'd love to tease what movie it will be, but to be honest we haven't picked one yet. Happy holidays!
Bust out your normcore, Nat & Alli are taking it back to 2010 with modern high school classic Easy A. Directed by Will Gluck and written by Bert V Royal, Easy A pays loving tribute to John Hughes and his contemporaries, rips shamelessly from John Hughes and his contemporaries, and talks a lot about John Hughes and his contemporaries. But is this a frankenstein of pop culture references or a member of a proud legacy? A progressive critique of patriarchal sex-shaming or simply a palatable parable on gossip?
Support Snails & Oysters on Patreon: patreon.com/snailsoysters
Follow us online:
Snails & Oysters is no longer on Twitter, please bear with us while we figure out alternative social media arrangements
Alli Rogers: letterboxd.com/allirodgers
Nat Roberts: letterboxd.com/GnatRoberts
Our theme song is Gumballs by Billy Libby: instagram.com/fortgorgeous
And our cover art was designed by Abby Austin: instagram.com/abigailbaustin
Post-credits Nat again: Man, I was so embarrassed when I posted Chasing Amy a week early, did y'all see that? Holy shit, I have not made a mistake like that before and I was FLUSHED. I was just in such a rush to get the episode edited on time! Overcompensated.
It's finally here. The movie you've been waiting for us to tackle and we have been avoiding like the plague. The bisexual's blight: Chasing Amy (1997). Of course, that's not what writer-director Kevin Smith set out to do, but BOY HOWDY it is what he did. Get the popcorn, this is one of those "Nat and Alli get mad" episodes.
Autostraddle, "My Rage at 'Chasing Amy' Helped Me Find My Bisexuality:" autostraddle.com/my-rage-at-chasing-amy-helped-me-find-my-bisexuality/
Support Snails & Oysters on Patreon: patreon.com/snailsoysters
Follow us online:
Snails & Oysters is no longer on Twitter, please bear with us while we figure out alternative social media arrangements
Alli Rogers: twitter.com/allinotallie
Nat Roberts: letterboxd.com/GnatRoberts
Our theme song is Gumballs by Billy Libby: instagram.com/fortgorgeous
And our cover art was designed by Abby Austin: instagram.com/abigailbaustin
Post credits Nat here. I'm moving into a new apartment next week and I'm very excited!!
Who thought an Election Day special was a good idea in year of our Lord 2022? Only Nathaniel Grant Roberts, aka Booboo the fool. Join Booboo and Alli as they discuss Otto Preminger's capable adaptation of author Allen Drury's "conservative, paranoid fever dream" novel of the same name, starring Henry Fonda, Charles Laughton, and a million indistinguishable white men. This is one of those "you don't have to watch, just enjoy our frustration" episodes.
Support Snails & Oysters on Patreon: patreon.com/snailsoysters
Follow us online:
Snails & Oysters is no longer on Twitter. Until Alli and Nat find a social media platform that isn't run by a White South African fail-son/neo-Nazi, please share the show with your friends! That's always been better than any marketing anyway.
Alli Rogers: twitter.com/allinotallie
Nat Roberts: letterboxd.com/GnatRoberts
Our theme song is Gumballs by Billy Libby: instagram.com/fortgorgeous
And our cover art was designed by Abby Austin: instagram.com/abigailbaustin
Hey y'all, Nat's post-script again. I know I usually do a joke here, but I'm actually quite genuinely concerned that our show is going to suffer a lot without using Twitter to promote our episodes. There's nothing you need to do about that, really, I just had to tell someone. Whatever the cost, it was worth it to have a clean conscience and I have no regrets.
CONTENT WARNING
--
--
-- This episode includes conversations about sexualized violence, rape, and childhood SA. --
This week, Nat and Alli are taking a cozy little jaunt up to Sweden. We'll look at the fjords, ride the metro, and definitely overlook the country's seething undercurrents of fascism, racism, and misogyny...
Just kidding, we're talking about David Fincher and Steven Zaillian's unflinching adaptation of Stieg Larsson's brutal mystery/social commentary, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011). Starring Rooney Mara in the titular role as hacker Lisbeth Salander opposite Daniel Craig as journalist Mikael Blomkvist, Dragon Tattoo is a excoriating examination of Sweden's dark side – both its history of Nazi collaboration and its present mistreatment of women, immigrants, and the neuro-atypical. It's also a crackling thriller about two unusual investigators uncovering one family's extensive and often horrifying secrets as they unlock a 40-year-old mystery.
Videos we reference:
Lessons from the Screenplay, "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo — Breaking Convention:" youtu.be/yYMhaILOs-I
kaptainkristian, "David Fincher - Invisible Details:" youtu.be/QChWIFi8fOY
Patrick (H) Willems, "Why Is It So Hard To End A Trilogy:" youtu.be/MRoorGEwM9k
Support Snails & Oysters on Patreon: patreon.com/snailsoysters
Follow us online:
Snails & Oysters: twitter.com/SnailsOysters
Alli Rogers: twitter.com/allinotallie
Nat Roberts: letterboxd.com/GnatRoberts
Our theme song is Gumballs by Billy Libby: instagram.com/fortgorgeous
And our cover art was designed by Abby Austin: instagram.com/abigailbaustin
Hello my little darlings, thank you for joining me once again at the end of the episode description. God, my wifi is the worst, this is my third time writing this description because it just. Kept. Cutting. Out. before I could save. I have no request or anything this week, I just wanted to share my pain with you. - Nat
Nat and Alli kick off the countdown to Halloween right, by discussing Joel Schumacher's blood-soaked teen Vampire classic: The Lost Boys (1987). Although it's not explicitly bisexual, the film contains more queer eroticism than you can shake a stick at, particularly from Kiefer Sutherland as iconic bad boy David Powers. Along the way, we discuss 1980s paranoia around children, Schumacher's rollercoaster of a filmography, and what vampire stories can tell us about the culture that creates them.
The Atlantic, "The Lost Boys’ Subtly Radical Vision of Family" by Brandon Tensley: https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/08/the-lost-boys-subtly-radical-vision-of-family/535266/
Support Snails & Oysters on Patreon: patreon.com/snailsoysters
Follow us online:
Snails & Oysters: twitter.com/SnailsOysters
Alli Rogers: twitter.com/allinotallie
Nat Roberts: letterboxd.com/GnatRoberts
Our theme song is Gumballs by Billy Libby: instagram.com/fortgorgeous
And our cover art was designed by Abby Austin: instagram.com/abigailbaustin
CONTENT WARNING: Suicide. If you or a loved one are struggling, call the new National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 988.
Nat and Alli are delighted to be joined by video editor Annette Rainey to discuss 1961's The Children's Hour, starring Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine as small town schoolteachers who are ostracized after a student spreads the rumor that the pair are lovers. The film is adapted from the 1934 play of the same name by Lillian Hellman, an ill-tempered Stalinist blacklisted by the House Un-American Activities Committee.
Support Snails & Oysters on Patreon: patreon.com/snailsoysters
Follow us online:
Annette Rainey: instagram.com/annette.c.rainey
Snails & Oysters: twitter.com/SnailsOysters
Alli Rogers: twitter.com/allinotallie
Nat Roberts: letterboxd.com/GnatRoberts
Bisexual cups: instagram.com/bisexual_drinks/
Our theme song is Gumballs by Billy Libby: instagram.com/fortgorgeous
And our cover art was designed by Abby Austin: instagram.com/abigailbaustin
If you read this note, post a review that's the full first paragraph of your favorite fanfic.
It's not just a city in Florida anymore! Nat and Alli sit down to discuss Sally Potter's 1992 adaptation of Virginia Woolf's 1928 fantasy novel, Orlando. Tilda Swinton stars as both male and female versions of the titular immortal as they explore life, love, and poetry throughout European history. Orlando celebrates its 30th Anniversary this year, coinciding with this year's Venice Film Festival where Orlando Debuted!
Support Snails & Oysters on Patreon: patreon.com/snailsoysters
Follow us online:
Snails & Oysters: twitter.com/SnailsOysters
Alli Rogers: twitter.com/allinotallie
Nat Roberts: letterboxd.com/GnatRoberts
Our theme song is Gumballs by Billy Libby: instagram.com/fortgorgeous
And our cover art was designed by Abby Austin: instagram.com/abigailbaustin
Continuing my experiment to see if anyone reads the full episode description. If you read this, leave a review of this show that's just describing Billy Zane's lips, preferably a five star review (for the show, not the lips).
Nat & Alli are joined in the Snoysters studio by NYC playwright Victoria Provost to discuss Cloud Atlas. The Wachowski Sisters' and Tom Tykwer's 2012 adaptation of David Mitchell's 2004 novel of the same name, Cloud Atlas is a science fiction epic that blends six storylines separated by continents and centuries into the journey of a single soul/identity/consciousness. With an all-star cast all playing multiple parts, Cloud Atlas broke down the barriers between age, gender, and race, making it an audacious and justifiably controversial creative achievement.
Support Snails & Oysters on Patreon: patreon.com/snailsoysters
Follow us online:
Victoria Provost: twitter.com/shprinkles
Snails & Oysters: twitter.com/SnailsOysters
Alli Rogers: twitter.com/allinotallie
Nat Roberts: letterboxd.com/GnatRoberts
Our theme song is Gumballs by Billy Libby: instagram.com/fortgorgeous
And our cover art was designed by Abby Austin: instagram.com/abigailbaustin
I have a theory that no one reads past the links in the episode description. Like, you his hitting "...see more" and scrolling to the bottom. If you're reading this, prove me wrong by leaving us a review that's just 🥗 because I was high out of my mind when I wrote this description.
Willkommen! And bienvenue! Welcome! Nat and Alli discuss Bob Fosse's 1972 classic Cabaret, which Roger Ebert termed the "movie musical for people who hate musicals." The final link in a chain of circuitous adaptations, Fosse's Cabaret centers on the intense relationship between actress Sally Bowles and writer Brian Roberts. Set in Weimar Berlin, their tangled love story intersects with issues of queerness, abortion, and fascism. So, you know, not at all relevant today.
Support Snails & Oysters on Patreon: patreon.com/snailsoysters
Follow us online:
Snails & Oysters: twitter.com/SnailsOysters
Alli Rogers: twitter.com/allinotallie
Nat Roberts: letterboxd.com/GnatRoberts
Our theme song is Gumballs by Billy Libby: instagram.com/fortgorgeous
And our cover art was designed by Abby Austin: instagram.com/abigailbaustin
Nat and Alli are just as c***struck by Yorgos Lanthimos's 2018 black comedy as when they first saw it in theaters – from the central performances by Weisz, Stone, and Colman; to the needle-sharp script by Tony McNamara and Deborah Davis; to the disorienting use of fisheye lenses. With three bisexual leads to discuss, our hosts are spoiled for choice as they discuss power, lust, and (possibly) love.
Support Snails & Oysters on Patreon: patreon.com/snailsoysters
Follow us online:
Snails & Oysters: twitter.com/SnailsOysters
Alli Rogers: twitter.com/allinotallie
Nat Roberts: letterboxd.com/GnatRoberts
Our theme song is Gumballs by Billy Libby: instagram.com/fortgorgeous
And our cover art was designed by Abby Austin: instagram.com/abigailbaustin
Nat and Alli cover a popular reinvention of a major superhero franchise that's previously struggled to find its cinematic footing, particularly its love interest because the actress said in an interview that she included the character's canonical bisexuality in her creative process (although the film's director was quick to clarify that this queerness wasn't officially part of the film's story). No, we aren't covering Thor: Ragnorak again, it's The Batman! The more things seem the same, the more they change...
Support Snails & Oysters on Patreon: patreon.com/snailsoysters
Ursula K. Le Guin, "Commodified Fantasy:" biblioklept.org/2017/12/30/commodified-fantasy-takes-no-risks-ursula-k-leguin/
Oliver Sava, "Batman #15 showcases why superheroes should have more sex:" avclub.com/batman-15-showcases-why-superheroes-should-have-more-s-1798256503
Follow us online:
Snails & Oysters: twitter.com/SnailsOysters
Alli Rogers: twitter.com/allinotallie
Nat Roberts: letterboxd.com/GnatRoberts
Our theme song is Gumballs by Billy Libby: instagram.com/fortgorgeous
And our cover art was designed by Abby Austin: instagram.com/abigailbaustin
Watch the full movie for free on Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/SignalsThroughTheFlamesALivingTheaterDocumentary
Nat & Alli venture beyond their comfort zone of pop culture and sex puns to explore documentary ethics, avant-garde theatre, and anarcho-pacifism as they discuss Signals Through the Flames. This 1983 documentary centers on the founders of the Living Theatre, Julian Beck and Judith Malina. In the course of their nearly 40-year romantic and creative partnership, Beck and Malina faced poverty and arrest, both took and shared many other lovers, and created an institution of the New York theatrical scene that stands to this day.
Support Snails & Oysters on Patreon: patreon.com/snailsoysters
Follow us online:
Snails & Oysters: twitter.com/SnailsOysters
Alli Rogers: twitter.com/allinotallie
Nat Roberts: letterboxd.com/GnatRoberts
Our theme song is Gumballs by Billy Libby: instagram.com/fortgorgeous
And our cover art was designed by Abby Austin: instagram.com/abigailbaustin
Tempers flare as Nat & Alli butt heads over 2009's controversial twee anti-romcom (500) Days of Summer, directed by Marc Webb and starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel. Is it an insightful satire of the romantic comedy genre or a half-baked hit piece written by a spiteful ex? Is Tom a charming but flawed lead or a raging psychopath? But the most important question of all is: Will Nat and Alli's friendship survive this episode?? (Yes).
Support Snails & Oysters on Patreon: patreon.com/snailsoysters
Follow us online:
Snails & Oysters: twitter.com/SnailsOysters
Alli Rogers: twitter.com/allinotallie
Nat Roberts: letterboxd.com/GnatRoberts
Our theme song is Gumballs by Billy Libby: instagram.com/fortgorgeous
And our cover art was designed by Abby Austin: instagram.com/abigailbaustin
Holy moly, a contemporary, realistic film with a bi lead where bisexuality is a big part of her life without becoming the sole defining feature of her characterization????? This is it, boys! The one we've been waiting for! Nat and Alli are thrilled to discuss Emma Seligman's debut feature Shiva Baby (2020), as its a hilarious comedy with rich imagery of food, sex, and (of course) death
Support Snails & Oysters on Patreon: patreon.com/snailsoysters
Follow us online:
Snails & Oysters: twitter.com/SnailsOysters
Alli Rogers: twitter.com/allinotallie
Nat Roberts: letterboxd.com/GnatRoberts
Our theme song is Gumballs by Billy Libby: instagram.com/fortgorgeous
And our cover art was designed by Abby Austin: instagram.com/abigailbaustin
DISCLAIMER: This episode contains a discussion of the aesthetics of fascism and how Top Gun can be read as a fascist film. To be clear, we are in no way suggesting that director Tony Scott, writers Jack Epps Jr. & Jim Cash, or any other person involved in the making of Top Gun is a fascist or holds fascist sympathies. Rather, our intention is to examine how fascist imagery and ideas infiltrate popular culture and prey on our emotions.
Nat & Alli feel the need for speed and there's only one prescription: big, dumb, homoerotic 80s action schlock. Without a trace of rose-tinted nostalgia, the Snails and Oysters team finally gets to the bottom of the age old question: Is Maverick bi? Yes. Obviously. We also ask a more interesting question: Is Top Gun a fascist movie?
Umberto Eco, Ur-Fascism: pegc.us/archive/Articles/eco_ur-fascism.pdf
Support Snails & Oysters on Patreon: patreon.com/snailsoysters
Follow us on Twitter
Snails & Oysters: twitter.com/SnailsOysters
Alli Rogers: twitter.com/allinotallie
Nat Roberts: letterboxd.com/GnatRoberts
Our theme song is Gumballs by Billy Libby: instagram.com/fortgorgeous
And our cover art was designed by Abby Austin: instagram.com/abigailbaustin
SPOILERS! For once that feels relevant, since this movie is still in theaters. Nat and Alli celebrate Snails & Oysters' first anniversary by discussing the best movie of 2022 and a strong contender for the best movie of the decade, the Daniels' sci-fi action comedy Everything Everywhere All at Once. Tune in for discussions of the fractured experience of bisexuality and queerness, Albert Camus's rejection of nihilism and suicide, and Randy Newman as a singing raccoon. Support Snails & Oysters on Patreon: patreon.com/snailsoysters
Follow us online
Snails & Oysters: twitter.com/SnailsOysters
Alli Rogers: twitter.com/allinotallie
Nat Roberts: letterboxd.com/GnatRoberts
Our theme song is Gumballs by Billy Libby: instagram.com/fortgorgeous
And our cover art was designed by Abby Austin: instagram.com/abigailbaustin
It's the Snails & Oysters Spaghettageddon Extravaganza! Alli flew all the way out to LA just to eat fresh pasta and watch Brokeback Mountain with Nat and our special guest, TV writer Michelle Hsu! Listen in as Michelle initiates Nat and Alli into Brokeback lore, the trio reflects on the gentility and violence of nature, and everyone struggles not to weep openly on a hot mic!
Support Snails & Oysters on Patreon: patreon.com/snailsoysters
Follow us on Twitter
Special guest Michelle Hsu: twitter.com/_michellehsu
Snails & Oysters: twitter.com/SnailsOysters
Alli Rogers: twitter.com/allinotallie
Nat Roberts: twitter.com/GnatRoberts
Our theme song is Gumballs by Billy Libby: instagram.com/fortgorgeous
And our cover art was designed by Abby Austin: instagram.com/abigailbaustin
Episode CW: Domestic violence, child abuse. If you or someone you know is suffering from DV, know that you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233 or text "START" to 88788.
Nat and Alli discuss Dee Rees's exquisite feature debut, 2011's Pariah. After its debut at the Sundance Film Festival, Pariah launched the careers of Rees, star Adepero Oduye (12 Years a Slave, The Big Short), and cinematographer Bradford Young (Selma, Arrival). We discuss the complexity of home in a Queer context, the divide between Queer folks who can pass for straight and those who can't, and Long Furbies.
Support Snails & Oysters on Patreon: patreon.com/snailsoysters
Follow us on Twitter
Snails & Oysters: twitter.com/SnailsOysters
Alli Rogers: twitter.com/allinotallie
Nat Roberts: twitter.com/GnatRoberts
Our theme song is Gumballs by Billy Libby: instagram.com/fortgorgeous
And our cover art was designed by Abby Austin: instagram.com/abigailbaustin
