GenX Women are Sick of This Shit!
GenX Women are Sick of This Shit is a nostalgic nod to the humans of GenX. Each episode, co-hosts Megan Bennett and Lesley Meier have a long, rambling, ADHD driven conversation about GenX history and pop culture using their own lives and experiences as the backdrop. The podcast is a creative project inspired by the Facebook group 'GenX Women are Sick of This Shit', created by Megan Bennett in 2023. "Five Minutes of Fame" stories and "Dear GenX Women" letters are sent in by listeners and members of the Facebook group and are shared with consent. The original Facebook group is a mosh pit of menopausal women talking about all things GenX culture and life in the 70s, 80s and 90s as well as being a GenXer today. GenX Women are Sick of This Shit is part of Latchkey Kids Media, LLC where we make things we like because we want to. Copyright 2024, Latchkey Kids Media, LLC
GenX Women are Sick of This Shit!
S2E3: Clash of the Dragon Jellies, Release the Sex Drive
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Join us as we explore the nostalgia of 80s escapism through films, cartoons and personal stories. We laugh about our memories of past fantasy films, how they helped us survive adolescence and how they can bring us joy and hope now.
• Discuss the re-release of 'Purple Rain' March 5th
• Share thoughts on the current state of intimacy among couples
• Debate the return of jelly shoes and our fashion frustrations
• Reflect on nostalgic toys and their impact on childhood
• Dive into the escapism of 80s fantasy films
We invite our audience to share their own stories with us and engage in the conversation!
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Join the original Facebook group! GenX Women are Sick of This Shit
I'm Megan Bennett,
Lesley:I'm Lesley Meier
Megan :and this is Gen X. Women Are Sick of this .
Lesley:Hi Megan.
Megan :How are you today?
Lesley:I got a haircut. Good for you, it looks pretty. My bangs were going up my nose, they were so long. They're so long they're curling back up, so that feels like a nice thing to have done. I didn't shower, but I got my hair cut. I love it.
Megan :It's fair party, did you get?
Lesley:color touched up too, not today. End of March. Nice, we'll get there it's party, so that's not really how I am. That is a thing that I did.
Megan :It's what you am, but it is a potential mood enhancer. Yeah, how are you? I am okay, I'm all right.
Lesley:Yeah, yeah, this month, this well, this year, so far this year so far this year's been a very long year One month and 22 days, the longest year of my life, longest year ever.
Megan :So far it's just been a lot, but it's okay, spring will be here and that will make everything a little better.
Lesley:Yes, agreed, because it won't be so fucking cold. Right and the sun will be out and trees and flowers and leaves and stuff and if you live in indianapolis, as we do, there might be fewer holes in the roads.
Megan :Yeah, good luck with that In a couple months.
Lesley:Good luck with that as spring emerges, there'll be fewer craters.
Megan :Yeah, I know it's terrible, it's just the freeze-thaw, freeze-thaw.
Lesley:Oh, it's so bad.
Megan :Anything about it, and this this year's been particularly bad with that.
Lesley:Oh yeah and the same spots year after year. I call them driving on the moon. When I reach these areas where I have to like pause, to like navigate and I really need like a massive suspension, I'm like, ooh, I've arrived at the moon.
Megan :Let's go. My Mini Cooper has not been out of the garage because she will fall in a hole. Goodbye, we can't have that Down underground. Yes, anywho, yeah, it's uh it you know it's fine, everything's fine, everything's fine.
Lesley:Are you holding your mini dumpster fire in your hand?
Megan :right, I had a sweatshirt same time I had a sweatshirt during covid that said it's fine, I'm fine, everything's fine. I feel like that again it's fine and you're just like dead all, all dead inside.
Lesley:It's fine On the ground.
Megan :Let's do a show Cool beans. That'll make things better. It will. So what are we going to talk?
Lesley:about today? Today we're going to talk about escapism. I love it Escapism from the 80s but we're not just going to go right to the main topic. We're going to start with our two favorite segments. We've got some bullshit and hot goss. We do have some bullshit and hot goss. Talk to me, leslie. What's our bullshit and our hot goss today? Our hot goss today is all about the re-release of Prince Purple Rain.
Megan :In theaters no less right.
Lesley:One day only, march 5th, warner Brothers, discovery and Dolby will re-release Purple Rain for one night. I'm reading this like I have no vocal differentiation or comprehension whatsoever.
Megan :I am reading this. Exc am exclusively in dolby cinemas.
Lesley:The film will be presented in dolby vision high dynamic range. You don't need to know, these things absolutely friggin nothing that and it's gonna sound great you're gonna feel like you are right there in the middle of some hot sexy magic Sexy prince. And live music.
Megan :So that movie was smoky hot, smoky, smoky hot. Fuck yeah, and it'll be really fun.
Lesley:So I think that's AMC Theaters, right, you guys can Google, right, you can look it up.
Megan :I think it's AMC Theaters, but yeah, that sounds good. One night only, so you got to get your tickies while you can get your tickies.
Lesley:This is my favorite part, I think, of this very technical description of the re-release. The picture and sound quality will exceed even the 40th anniversary version 4K disc released in May 2024, whose transfer was restored digitally from an 8K scan.
Megan :I mean I must have picked the most technical description to throw into my notes ever, if you saw it on the last re-released anniversary edition prepare to hold on to your butts, everybody. It's going to be so much better.
Lesley:All the sweat is going to like feel real. It's actually going to be in like 4D surround, like you're in Disney. The rain will actually be purple and the movie theater is falling on your head. It'll be purple.
Megan :You will get wet on this ride. I mean, it is a sexy movie.
Lesley:Speaking of sex, Megan, let's talk about sex. Let's talk about sex, bullshit and hot goss. We were giggling, not giggling. We were questioning the veracity of a conversation that was happening in the Facebook group about frequency of sexual encounters amongst long-term couples.
Megan :So for married folks, when somebody put in the group they wanted to know how many times a week the married couples were getting it on and some people were getting it on a lot.
Lesley:Yeah, like every night.
Megan :And some people were like more than once a day. I'm like damn Damn ladies.
Lesley:Everybody working from home. I guess Maybe that's had an impact. Oh, I wonder if, like the pivot to more work from home jobs, you just have more opportunities if you and your hubs are walking, walking around you don't have to be married. You know just well.
Megan :But in the case of this, when they were asking like oh yeah, whether you were married but I mean, you're walking around and you're and your significant significant other is also working and you accidentally bump into each other in the kitchen and then, you bump into each other again.
Lesley:And then again.
Megan :And then again you get some mayonnaise on you.
Lesley:I don't know, oops, how did my dick get in there?
Megan :I don't know, I love it.
Lesley:So that's sort of interesting because it's, I think, in many ways, when folks talk about in our age group, talk about menopause, it does impact sex drive and I do think that many folks experience a return to or resurgence of their sex drive. It's also kind of true if you don't use it, you're going to lose it. Yeah.
Megan :I think, yeah, that's true, and I guess it depends on.
Lesley:I mean it's all hormone related, Like your clitoris.
Megan :Yeah, because that will fade away ladies, it will fade away. You got to use it. The hormones obviously have a lot to do with all of this, right.
Megan :For sure, if you don't have enough testosterone, then it's really hard to be interested in sex, yep, that's like the thing that really makes you, you know, want to do it, yep, which is why dudes apparently want to do it all the time because of the testosterone. That's what I've heard. I agree. So if you don't have that hormone, then that makes it difficult, I think. Also, if you are post-menopause and you don't have to worry about having no babies no more.
Lesley:Yeah, there's an amazing freedom in that. That's very freeing.
Megan :Yeah, like condoms?
Lesley:Yes, it can be the recreational activity.
Megan :It always should have been Birth control pills be the recreational activity it always should have been. Control pills don't need that anymore. No, just go for go to town, have fun. So apparently there are a lot of gen x women who are um having a lot of sex. There's a lot that aren't there was a number of people who were like you know, I haven't had it in a very long time and I get it. Personal preference, absolutely yeah, whether circumstance?
Lesley:Absolutely yeah, whether circumstance, health, choice. You know tough relationships in the past, not having positive experiences. There's so much that goes into that and how you frame your sexual experiences and like you have a body that can experience good sensations.
Megan :Yeah, and some of us aren't built that way, so yeah, sometimes. But anyway, yeah, lots of people having lots of sex.
Lesley:So, prince, being back in movie theaters, maybe as a harbinger for Gen X, it's going to make him more sex.
Megan :There you go.
Lesley:Just buy that ticket One night, only Take that ride. So there, yeah, that's pretty good. We could talk about that more, but I'm sure it'll come up again. Uh, what shit are we sick of today with my long vocal pause? Did you like that transition? It was good what, what, uh.
Megan :What did you pull out that we were sick of today?
Lesley:uh plastic shoes.
Megan :Oh, plastic shoes.
Lesley:Mm-hmm.
Megan :Those goddamn jellies. Is that what we're talking about? Those goddamn jellies.
Lesley:Why are they back? I don't know. I don't understand. It's an aesthetic. They're not comfortable.
Megan :No, there's zero. I mean nothing gives you blisters as fast as a plastic shoe, rubbing on your foot. Why on your foot? Why?
Lesley:well, and it's not a style of shoe. That's like coming back around where there have been massive improvements made to like no they're the same soul, freaking shoe or the support or anything. They are the same hunks of rubber that we had on our feet when I mean I think it was probably like 10, yeah 11, 12, when I last wore jellies. Your feet sweat, they smell, you get blisters. They're very uncomfortable. Yeah, they're flat.
Megan :Do we have Crocs to thank for this? Crocs are comfortable, at least they're foamy and poofy. But I mean, was that the transition back to like rubber shoes.
Lesley:Is this retro Crocs Like are?
Megan :we going-.
Lesley:Like Crocs for the new rubber shoe. And then they're like oh my gosh, you guys. I looked at one of my mom's old photo albums and I was like I need those. Look how cool those are.
Megan :So I did see that Steve Madden has his own line of jelly shoes and I'm like like I want to get on the phone and call steve madden and say mr steve madden, you and I are normally aligned in our shoe love, like I like what you put out. I think they're fun. But what the fuck, steve madden with plastic rubber, right? See him so bad, they're so bad, they are colorful I just want to share.
Lesley:You all are being lied to and you're spending wait wait, how much are those?
Megan :oh, you are those 50 plastic shoes.
Lesley:They're 50, those are 50 and these are just waterproof birkenstocks. So don't buy those, y'all, just go buy the waterproof birkenstocks. So don't buy those, y'all, just go buy the waterproof Birkenstocks.
Megan :Those are like look, they're blue, Look and they're orange.
Lesley:This is the height of consumerism. You're being lied to. Don't buy these.
Megan :This is ridiculous. They also come up a little higher than previous. There's some, but like, look, there's little like the ones that the Like the ballerina flap yeah they look exactly the same. I have no idea.
Lesley:I'll be curious if somebody ever writes a history of the jelly and explains to us the thinking. Maybe if you've done your thesis on the jelly, we would like to it a copy of that thesis. What if what really happened is somebody thoroughly combed all of the landfills and just pulled out jellies from when we were kids and they've just been like recycled. I mean you could just dust them off because you know that they're there.
Megan :Those are different, so the steve madden ones do come up higher why do they have socks with them? Because you get fucking blisters. I don't know, but this model, yes, has socks on with their jellies.
Lesley:And look at the shorts.
Megan :And you know what?
Lesley:Those socks are going to get dirty. There's the big gapey holes. Anywho, certain things can come around and I can go.
Megan :Oh yeah, I could see why people might be into that Gee, I kind of missed that.
Lesley:Yeah, you know that was fun. I don't know that I'd put it back on now, but I love that, like the 20s or the teens are wearing them.
Megan :You could bring shoulder pads back a little bit, and that's okay. I think they are.
Lesley:I think there's like a little resurgence of shoulder pads, that's okay.
Megan :That shoulder pads, that's okay. That gives structure to your.
Lesley:You know your clothes, yeah, but the jelly shoes can just stay in the past. Yeah, we're sorry, steve madden, we need to talk you've been brainwashed, lied to you shouldn't be there you don't, and it's okay, you don't have to, it won't last long it'll probably like a year, yeah, maybe two, yeah, and then they'll be gone again back in the landfill. We'll just recycle them again. So that's what we're sick of today, maybe it's all supposed to sell Band-Aids, maybe it's like a.
Megan :That's a conspiracy theory I can get behind Jelly shoes are just a Band-Aid brand conspiracy. Like they want you to buy those shoes, so you have to then buy band-aids. I'll buy that, okay. Gen X Women Are Sick of the Shit is supported by Lylas Love you like a sis, a Gen X Women's social club. What's Lylas Megan books of faces off all of the other traditional social media. It is our space and place for Gen X women to come together, have conversations, meet each other.
Lesley:It's a social club. It is a social club. It's a membership-based club. Memberships are $10 a month. That does help support us in growing the platform. We purchased a platform that would host a network of women so that you could come together and meet each other in real time.
Megan :In a safer space than a traditional social media platform and a much more personal space. So what do we do there, Leslie?
Lesley:We host movie nights where we live stream some of our favorites as they are available to us for group watches of films from the 70s, 80s and 90s. We host a space for a monthly book club. We host trivia nights once a month.
Megan :We have a live text chat Four prizes, even Four prizes, even Four prizes.
Lesley:That's true, the space is able to host like weekly text chats so that you can kind of check in in real time with people. I would say the critical difference between kind of what this space is and any other social media space that I've experienced is that it is active. You will have to engage in it or be engaged in it by other people, so it's not like a passive consumption thing.
Megan :It's like making connections, yep, and if that's what you're looking for the opportunity to meet other people, to find people who are maybe in the same similar spaces as you are.
Lesley:Like-minded, same time, phase of life, navigating all of those transitions, then this might be the right place for you.
Megan :So check out Lylas. You can learn more about it at genxwomenpodcom toys here pretend I had all of them I had the pegasus and the pegasus had like rubbery wings and they popped off so you could pop off a little and you can pop them back on and so you could bend them, so you could actually like hold the horse and make it look like it was flying, make it fly. The only problem was it had one leg that was outstretched like one of its plastic legs and it broke off.
Megan :And I was so sad Because after a while it gets a little brittle. So I had to take scotch tape and tape its little leg back on To go to the first aid. I tried everything. I tried glue this is pre, you know, Gorilla Glue and stuff like that Pre-fancy glue. So I had to just use scotch tape and then he would fly and then it would kind of dangle.
Lesley:It was really sad. And for our listening audience. Megan, what exactly are you talking about? What were these action figures from?
Megan :So these action figures were from the fantastic movie Clash of the Titans the original, not the new one, but the original Clash of the Titans from the 80s.
Lesley:Clash of the Titans came out in 1983. I've read this note a million times and I will forget it every single time. Is that true? Probably not, 81. There we go. You were close. I was going to like keep talking until I got to my note.
Megan :I was 10 years old when that fabulous piece of cinematic perfection came out.
Lesley:That's amazing Clash of the Titans very famous Ray Harryhausen film because of the stop motion.
Megan :Yeah, like the claymation stop motion stuff, claymation creatures that were in it, yep, and we're talking about this today because we just need something to talk about that is distracting and fun. Yeah, and so we're going to talk about the idea of, well, the love that we had for kind of those science fantasy movies.
Lesley:Mm-hmm the sword and sorcery films of the 80s. Yeah.
Megan :The true escapism of something as foreign to our little child brains as possible, and yeah, we loved that stuff. Distraction and imagination, yes, like thoughts about what is possible if we kind kind of just use your imagination, you can come up with all kinds of cool magically about it?
Lesley:uh, where and when? Do you have a specific memory of when you saw clash of the?
Megan :titans. I'm pretty sure I saw it in the theaters, I'm okay sure, but I couldn't. I couldn't say for sure. And part of the problem is I've seen it so many times on tv. Yes, that I, you know, I. I. You mentioned that you and Tim watched it last night. Yes, and it had some different things in it than I remembered because I was watching the tv version for so long, so if I watched the movie version in the theaters.
Megan :It was I was 10 right so and you probably would not have registered certain things, yeah, no but I feel like I did watch it because I I mean, I had the action figures, I had all the toys and I was upset. Did you have the kraken? I did not have the kraken really, he's the kraken he was huge, he was like a. If you can find the, find the kraken on, like if you google it, it's like it's like two feet tall, that's it's like a big, big toy I love it I do remember those toys.
Lesley:They were magnificent, so good I think. I know I did not see it in the movie theaters. I saw it first as a vhs rental at my home.
Megan :Uh, yeah, oh 1981 I was probably eight years old, so oh yeah, that's awesome big kraken toy very freaking cool.
Lesley:Look at his huge he was a well, you know.
Megan :Just to, just to flash back to talking about sex. He was the 1980.
Lesley:Mattel.
Megan :Clash of the Titans 12-inch Kraken.
Lesley:So there's a website you can release the Kraken. My friend shows me a website upon occasion that has toys for certain things that are modeled after certain creatures. I am certain that there is a Kraken toy on there somewhere there's a Kraken toy.
Megan :If there's not, that's a big missed opportunity.
Lesley:We'll send a suggestion. Big missed opportunity. There's a wide variety of things on that website. It's fascinating. This is a fantastic film with film with. Really we should start with the cast. The cast in this movie is so impressive.
Megan :It's epic like when you think about this film like it. I mean, did they know it was going to be a cult hit? Probably not probably.
Lesley:Well, I working with ray harryhausen, I think that that definitely like they knew, like people like who.
Megan :I want to be part of this. That was significant.
Lesley:Yeah, um, just because of the special effects and it was post star wars okay there was like a resurgence of interest in science, fantasy, sword and sorcery films. There was an escapism in the 80s that I mean the 80s sword and sorcery films are. There is a long list. Plenty, plenty we have done a deep dive on all of them. I don't know that we'll get into all of them today, but this cast, I mean Laurence Olivier, laurence Olivier.
Megan :Laurence Olivier. I mean, somebody went to him and said, hey, sir Laurence Olivier, we've got a role for you. And he was you know, I'm just projecting. He was probably like, hmm, I'm not sure, I don't think I want to be in this. And they said but wait, you get to play Zeus. And he's probably like, okay, yeah, that's cool. Oh, I get to play a god. Yeah, the god, the big number one, god, dude, I'm in. So, yeah, lawrence olivier, fantastic maggie smith maggie friggin smith. Aesthetics dame. Maggie smith, amazing, amazing gorgeous.
Megan :And then the fabulous harry hamlin yes, yes, indeed.
Lesley:I mean he was pretty hot.
Megan :He has magnificent hair in this movie he does, and he's got that little butt, chin that's like, so perfect yes yeah, and he looked good in a little toga also in this film burgess meredith is Ammon, so the voice of Winnie the Pooh.
Lesley:Oh. If you were wondering, he's also the voice of Winnie the Pooh, burgess, meredith also Rocky films, right, yeah, yeah.
Megan :And he was the penguin from the 60s, batman. He was that's right Amazing, but I. Every time I hear he was that's right Amazing, but every time I hear his voice, it's just Winnie the Pooh. It's Winnie the Pooh coaching Rocky. It's very weird to me, but that's where my brain goes.
Lesley:The cast was incredible. I have to say that this movie 100% influenced my eighth grade Halloween costume. Oh, what did you go with? That was the last year that we went trick-or-treating, okay, so this is like a core memory and I don't have a lot of memory. Yeah, that's pretty accurate, but this is a core memory. We all went as different goddesses Nice, but this is a core memory. We all went as different goddesses Nice and we like, bought really cheap, like satin at the I don't know fabrics or like.
Lesley:Franks or something like Franks Nursery and Crafts and we had ribbons and like pearls and like vintage jewelry.
Megan :Love it.
Lesley:We dressed up as goddesses and went trick-or-treating in some subdivision, like in the Southport area. We thought we were just so fucking magnificent.
Megan :Who were you?
Lesley:I don't remember my specific goddess. Come on. But I do remember I think there were three of us and we would go like ring the bell and we were like trick-or-treat and they were like oh, who are you? And we're like-or-treat and they're like oh, who are you? We're like we're goddesses and I'm like explaining reward me, yeah, basically. So we got our yeah and that was the last of trick-or-treating as I'm saying this another movie is brought to my.
Lesley:Okay, yeah, this makes even more sense Xanadu, another goddess movie, 1980. So between 80 and 81 the like Greek mythology oh yeah, goddess, olivia and John is vibes yeah, she was beautiful and all of the um yeah, the outfits and all of that good stuff. So that definitely was hardcore like big time memory.
Megan :So, when you watched Clash of the Titans last night, what came to mind? Like what did anything surprise you?
Lesley:Titties, titties, lots of titties, greek titties, well, and what was so interesting is like we were talking about earlier, just kind of where movies were in the 80s and, as a kid like I probably scene where dan and I and baby perseus are like walking down the beach everybody's naked. So there's lots of butts and lots of boobs, both genders not a big deal, yep not a big deal and it was totally post. Oh my gosh, I just said this, tipper gore oh yeah with all of the um censorship stuff and like oh save our children.
Lesley:I can promise you, your kids really weren't thinking about it in the 80s, when they were watching movies. No, so it's like almost a sensitivity or sensibility that's kind of been created as the result of drawing so much attention to it. Yeah, and it wasn't much attention to it. Yeah, and it wasn't compared to like gratuitous nude nudity in films today.
Lesley:It was just like part of the story, right? Nobody was going oh, look at those boobs. You know whatever. We can have all kinds of thoughts about it, but I certainly wasn't thinking about it as a kid, well, and as a I I don't remember that scene, which I just don't.
Megan :But I mean, if you watched it on TV over, and, over and over again, you wouldn't see that.
Lesley:No, absolutely.
Megan :I'm sure I saw it in the movies and probably didn't think anything of it, and then saw it on TV and it wasn't there, so obviously I didn't think anything of it, like oh, where's all the boobies?
Lesley:Yes, you know Absolutely.
Megan :It just wasn't a thing.
Lesley:It just wasn't a thing, it just wasn't a thing, but I was just reminded of all of that.
Megan :I was like, oh, I watched this movie, so many times, and it was just not something that I paid any attention to Immediately drawn to, just like the effects are incredible.
Lesley:All of the mythology so fun. I think my favorite kind of device in that movie is the clay figures. You know, zeus, they has this room that kind of looks like the parthenon and they've got the little people that they move into the arena. It's almost like a lego minifigure collection but they just, like the gods, are just literally moving physical people and you just wake up, like perseus wakes up and he's in the arena and joppa, and he's just like oh dang, how did I get here?
Megan :they lay him on his side like he's sleeping.
Lesley:He's just laying there, yeah burgess meredith comes out and he's like what are? You doing here and he's like I don't know, I was looking at the moon oh well, you were looking at the moon. That's the problem. Don't look at the moon. Boy the gods they're gonna totally fuck with you there, right?
Megan :so that was it. Here's a sword, oh a sword.
Lesley:By the way, here are your gifts, here's a here's a helmet.
Megan :Yes, that'll make you invisible, and here is your quest yep, now you gotta go do some stuff to, yeah, save the town from the dragon.
Lesley:What do you remember about that story like, what are the elements that kind of stick in your own mind?
Megan :so I thought I was terrified by calabas oh, yeah, like just scared the bejesus out of me. But now as a you know, as a grown ass woman, I'm like that is such a cool character. Yeah, like that whole story and how tragic that particular story is. Yes, so like he doesn't scare me anymore, but as a kid he did and I loved the witches yeah, the stygian witches were great, freaking, terrifying so terrifying and their eye and how, like the kind of the comic silliness that happened in there.
Megan :It was serious, right, yes, perseus needed to get that eye and he didn't ask his questions, but but it was uh, yeah, that the kind of silliness that I always like too nope, I love that I was watching the cut, just the makeup that was used to like blind the witches and it's so very heavy-handed.
Lesley:You know it's very obvious. Yeah, yeah, but just those scenes and the look and the feel of them, it was really really good. Yeah, they were pretty great. The whole device of Pegasus. Yeah, because you got to be able to get places right.
Megan :You got to be able to move around and you need a good, steady steed to take you.
Lesley:Flying horse Need that. And oh the reason this all came up when we got to talking about Clash of the Titans anyway.
Megan :And oh the reason this all came up when we got to talking about Clash of the Titans. Anyway, you had shared something about Mary, harryhausen and props in that movie, so somebody found or made their own life-size replica of Bubo the owl.
Lesley:Yes.
Megan :And I was like God, that is so cool. I really would like a full-size replica of bubo the owl and that could be mine and I would have it forever and I would love it. So of course, I went to google to try to find one, and you can't find one somebody. But somebody made it and that would it triggered all the memories of this particular movie and how much I loved it. That's fantastic.
Lesley:I was looking to see which goddess had bubo, and it was athena.
Megan :Yeah yeah, she gave. She was ordered by zeus, I think, in the movie to give bubo to perseus to help. Yeah, and she was like I'm not giving you my owl, so she had the uh, mechanical bubo made do you want to hear like a captain?
Lesley:obvious, trivia, trivia, tidbit that I just saw, hell. Yeah, the genus name Bubo is Latin for owl, so it's called owl, Owl owl. So there you go.
Megan :There you go. They didn't have to go real far to find a name for that owl. Nope, they didn't.
Lesley:But that. Latin word will be known forever it's bubo, because of.
Megan :If that comes up on Jeopardy, you are going to be unstoppable. I will know that.
Lesley:So Clash of the Titans not the only sword and sorcery film, by a long shot From the 80s.
Megan :Not even close to the only one. There are so many. Not even close to the only one, there are so many. It's like we had a huge, just plethora of cool, cool sci-fi and fantasy films in our youth. Any other faves for you that stand out? We have a list of about 25, but many of them I did not know. But there are some that were kind of iconic. Well, I know you and I are both fans of crawl. Yes, which terrible name. Awesome movie, like just kind of a name, great great movie.
Lesley:The props and crawl are pretty epic yeah, now does that one remind me.
Megan :Is that one with james amos? Was he in that one?
Lesley:We're going to look and see. I don't think he was.
Megan :No, he was in Was it.
Lesley:Ken Marshall, freddie Jones Okay, liam Neeson is in that movie. Liam Neeson is in Krull Plays. Keegan Cyclops is in that movie. Oh, I love that character, robbie Coltrane. I have not only moly watched crawl from beginning to end for a very long time, so it might be worth a re-watch and then maybe a debrief. Yeah, that's a good one. When we uh need to work our way through, you know, any sort of um need to dissociate from reality. We could just do a play-by-play of that one. That was kind of up the movies that I remember all together, crawl, definitely one.
Megan :Lady hawk is one lady hawk is so good time bandits was in that space.
Lesley:You had talked about the conan movies yeah, those were not like.
Megan :I remember when those came out and I I don't know if it was because I was just, I was a little girl, you know and Conan didn't really click with me there was something very boy oriented about that particular movie, so I never really got into it until, like I think, I watched it much, much, much later. Okay was, do you? Do you remember like as a kid did you watch it?
Lesley:I remember when those came out I feel like that was more of a timing thing. Okay, I'd have to look. Come on, there we go, 1982. Interesting. I also wonder if they were, I would have to sit down and watch it again. I don't know, though, dude, I was going to say I wonder if they were a little more sexual, but that didn't matter, because I still talked my mom into letting me watch Excalibur, but she would pause it during the super hot sex scene oh, like no, leslie Because.
Lesley:I was so in love with, like the King Arthur story and knew everything about that.
Megan :Like the.
Lesley:King Arthur story and knew everything about that, and I had watched the musical Camelot which is very different from the movie.
Lesley:Excalibur, but I wanted to see it so bad. So I just remember her like sending me out, basically like we had that on the VCR, the remote control plugged in to the VCR, yes, and it was just a play pause remote. So when it got to the like hot sex scene, she just like paused it and sent me into my room and of course I'm like standing right in the frame of the doorway like listening as hard as I can because I'm like what is going on?
Megan :That's actually probably worse, Mom.
Lesley:I think she turned it all down, I mean, and then she called me back in like in a couple of minutes so we got to watch the rest of the movie. But I was just so into those stories and films and I read a ton of fantasy and science fiction, kids or books as a kid Fantasy, kids Fantasy kids.
Megan :There you go. No, I loved that movie too. That was a great win it was so amazing.
Lesley:Also a phenomenal cast. Yeah, in excalibur.
Megan :Yeah well, we watched lady hawk in my house last week oh yeah, talk about this experience my daughter and her boyfriend were in town and so I was like, oh, and he had never seen lady hawk. And I was like, oh my god, you know, you've got to see this movie yes, and sat down to watch it and it, it's, it hold to me totally holds up.
Lesley:Okay, the soundtrack did not hold up for them interesting it was what was it about the lady hawk soundtrack that threw them off so the music just didn't hit for them.
Megan :Okay, because it's alan parsons. Oh, and it's so, cynthy, and it's over the top, cynthy sure it doesn't make any sense. Cynthy, like it's supposed to be, epic and and sweeping and everything but, like it just doesn't jive with the background of what's happening. So it's music of the time, right like it's 80s music on a movie that was set in like the 13th century right like it just doesn't jive. Got you, so it's really weird and they couldn't get past that and I watched.
Megan :I'm like watching it, totally engrossed. I'm like, yes, lady hog, she's gonna turn into a hawk. It's so cool and it's got matthew broderick, it's so good, and I'm geeking out, right. And they're like what the fuck is this music? What is happening? This is dreadful and I'm like, I'm like, but can you just get past the music and just keep watching, yeah.
Megan :So they firmly believe if you could just like cut out the music or like put other just generic or you know soundtrack behind it, they would like the movie. But they couldn't get past it. It was very sad. Oh, that's unfortunate, but that I mean that movie. You got Matthew Broderick, you got Michelle Pfeiffer at her utterly stunning-est-est.
Lesley:Yes, she's always gorgeous, gorgeous, so young, so beautiful. So beautiful.
Megan :And then Rucker Howard.
Lesley:Yes, we were talking about Rucker Howard earlier Deadly deadly guy.
Megan :So great movie, that one I love it.
Lesley:I love the role of insane prisoner. Yeah, I just saw that in the cast list Insane prisoner Insane prisoner there is. There's a guy Good luck, insane prisoner, and he rhymes, if I recall correctly. So yeah, so Ladyhawk's great and yes you mentioned Beastmaster, Beastmaster Starring oh Mark Singer, Mark Singer Of later V.
Megan :V, not V for Vendetta, not V for Vendetta, not V for Vendetta, but V.
Lesley:Phenomenal film the lizard alien people thing.
Megan :Alien invasion so good. So Beastmaster TV show right it was. I think it was a TV show on top. It was like a TV show spinoff of the movie.
Lesley:Oh, I believe you. Yeah, yeah, sure, you sound like you're an expert. Are you a gen expert, not an expert?
Megan :I am in this, yes.
Lesley:I love it.
Megan :Beastmaster. He had ferrets.
Lesley:Oh, I do remember the ferrets.
Megan :He had a hawk, he had a nemesis, he should have gotten together with Mighty Isis. She also controlled a lot of beasts they could have hung out. Wow, john Amos is in it, as like his bud, so like the dad from Good Times, oh.
Lesley:In case you need a reference Right. Yes, there you go, my golly. Look at that.
Megan :And Mark Singer really wasn't wearing much in that movie.
Lesley:No, you know, we talk about women being objectified. It must have been really a challenge to act in that belt.
Megan :It was breezy that he had on there it was probably a little breezy and he's fully grabbing ass. Yeah, he is, we romanticize bizarre things in our culture.
Lesley:I freaking love that movie, though it is yeah, we really we romanticize bizarre things in our culture. I freaking love that movie, though it is so good and it's not about reality, it is fully about the fantasy Absolutely.
Megan :And the fact that his nemesis in this movie was Rip Torn just absolutely kills me. Well, he's super evil. Freaking Rip Torn. There's Max who went later on in in uh, men in black the names were not complex dar kiri max, max the bad guy was the bad guy.
Lesley:We're gonna keep this simple. Yeah, fantastic, so there were these. All of these are live action, right? Yes, actors, yeah, real human beings doing things. But we had cartoons running around stuff too. We did what cartoons do you remember?
Megan :I remember um the herculoids, do you remember them? So they were originally in the 60s. I think it was like the mid to late 60s were the Herculoids Got you.
Lesley:Oh yeah, oh yeah, for sure, yeah I had to pull up a picture. I do remember them.
Megan :And so it was a family and they had like a these little dudes.
Lesley:These little-.
Megan :Smoo-sh, smoo-sh, I think they're called smooth.
Lesley:The names of the Herculoids on a planet Amzat, renamed Quasar in the revival because Amzat had been trademarked. I don't know that that's true.
Megan :their giant pets, laser, dragon, zok, space rhinoceros, tundra, yep rock, ape, igoo and the shape-shifting duo gloop and gleep to keep their planet safe from invaders. Yep so they were they originally like mid-60s and then they did have a reboot which I think was aired kind of at the same time as space ghost. Oh, I think they were all like in the same era, yeah, okay so yeah, so you had the herculoids, then you had thundar, the barbarian, do you?
Lesley:remember thundar, I do remember, and he had his like lightning sword um. Thundar was freaking awesome as a cartoon yep, there is a space ghost herculoids fandom, yep, uh, and a whole wiki. It's pretty awesome. Man, this is like a we're scraping the memory banks here, ready, ready for some dumb trivia I am always ready for dumb trivia. All right, bring it.
Megan :Thundar the Barbarian. The cartoon yes, ma'am. Was canceled, even though it was super popular and people loved it. It was canceled to make room for wait for it.
Lesley:Laverne and Shirley oh, I have really mixed feelings about that.
Megan :I know, I know you shit can Thundar, thunder the barbarian for laverne and shirley, I know I don't know how it tracks fair I know, I don't even know how like in a in your tv lineup that makes any sense. That's what I was wondering, but it, yeah. I read that last night and I was like wait, what now?
Lesley:dumb trivia but under the barbarian, laverne and sh Barbarian Laverne and Shirley. What if Laverne and Shirley were the Herculoids Like that?
Megan :mashup.
Lesley:I don't even know they're like running with Lenny and Squeaky on a planet in space.
Megan :Gleep and glip. Yeah, lenny and Squeaky.
Lesley:Bottling beer and trying to escape from alien invaders in Milwaukee Could happen.
Megan :You missed a good one.
Lesley:What did we forget?
Megan :I mean many things Dragon.
Lesley:Slayer oh fuck yeah. Yes, of course my Christ.
Megan :Dragon Slayer. Okay, let's bring this one up, so also a 1981 film. Oh okay, yeah, so this movie dragon slayer is a 1981 american dark fantasy film. Yes, okay, yeah, directed by matthew robbins from a screenplay he co-wrote. Yes. They're going to get like munched on. So Dragon Slayer. The special effects for that particular movie were created at Industrial Light and Magic.
Lesley:So the Star Wars in the Star Wars world Nice.
Megan :Yeah, um yeah. The plot basically a? Uh, urland, a sixth century kingdom near the river ur, is being terrorized by viram virithrax prorogative, a 400 year old dragon. And to appease him, the king offers its virgin girls, selected by lottery twice a year.
Lesley:That's what I remember. They're like tied to the rock.
Megan :Mm-hmm.
Lesley:And he has to like, rescue them. They're going to get munched.
Megan :Yeah, yeah. So an expedition led by the hero, a young man seeking help and who seeks help from the last sorcerer, ulrich.
Lesley:Yeah, this one we might have to watch again.
Megan :Yeah, I feel like this is Pretty fantastic. Yeah, this one you might have to watch again.
Lesley:Yeah, I feel like this is pretty fantastic.
Megan :There's some great dragon action in this one, isn't there?
Lesley:there is great great dragon action so you think about these dragons compared to like uh, all the words are gone out of my brain house of dragons yeah, very different, thank you very different. We've come a bit, a bit of a way. Yes, I remember this. There you go. She's not on rock, she's tied to a post, she's gonna be dinner do you remember?
Megan :this is a later movie, okay, but speaking of dragons, I had this just moment of like wait. There was a movie with dragons and sean connery and it was dragon heart and it came out in 1996. So I had to google that real fast and I just googled dragon, sean connery and it popped right up.
Lesley:I don't remember that one. I didn't watch it. That doesn't mean anything you should.
Megan :You should watch that. I should go back.
Lesley:Yeah, I would watch dragon heart so what do we think is important about this genre-o film?
Megan :Well, I think it really does boil down to this need for escapism, even as a kid, this interest at least for me, it was this interest in something that was so fantastical, absolutely. It's not something that you saw every day. And as a little girl I wasn't into cars, I wasn't into stuff like that. I was into heroes and fantasy and dragons and flying horses and all of this magic and stuff that still to this day I hang on to, absolutely hang on to the fantastic role nature of it. How about you?
Lesley:Probably similar. I mean there's the hero story. You know, often these stories are someone who comes from nothing or is like unsuspecting or not necessarily kind of the anti-hero that rises to the occasion and then overcomes great evil. Right, we all need a lot of that in our lives. And then just the fancy, the magic mythology, anything that kind of ties us back to stories that give us kind of meaning and agency in our lives in the face of you know, inescapable odds or overwhelming evil.
Lesley:I mean, the story arcs are similarly reflected, like in all the star wars films, right, so, and we, we need that, you know something to hang on in that particular way. Yeah, um, and then the effects. Separately from that, I think, the development of being able to see creatures and mythology out of books that we would have read as kids or read in school. To see that play out on the screen right with live actors is, I mean, that's movie magic right it brings it to life and you're like oh wait, you know if mark singer can have two pet ferrets that he controls?
Lesley:right you know, can't, I can't I, if harry hamlin can fly on a pegasus, can't I do that you know and that movie magic and the willing suspension of disbelief when we enter into contract with watching a film is what makes it so. Yeah, it's fun important fun I think fun, fun, and your daughter was not able to engage in a willing suspension of disbelief because of the music because of the music yeah, she was, and that's okay.
Megan :and alan parsons, to be fair, has its place, fuck yeah.
Lesley:Absolutely Of a generation. Yeah, I mean, he is the eye in the sky Looking at you.
Megan :That's right.
Lesley:You have been listening to Gen X. Women Are Sick of this Shit. Hey Megan, hey Leslie, what do people do if they want to find us?
Megan :Well, we have a website that people can find us on, and that is GenXWomenPodcom. We also have a Facebook page. We have an Instagram account as well. We have a YouTube account, where we put YouTube shorts and other little tidbits up there. We have a TikTok account.
Lesley:I don't talk the dick or tick the tock.
Megan :You don't tick the tock, I barely talk the tick. But I did put a TikTok up. We're explaining the internet to people again. That's okay though.
Lesley:It's great. We need to know how the internet works.
Megan :Can people buy merch? They absolutely can. We have a merch store on the website itself, and we also have an Etsy store too, which is pretty easy to find. It's just Gen X Women on Etsy.
Lesley:And if you are listening to this podcast, presumably you found it somewhere. And while you're there, give us a review. Yeah.
Megan :Let us know what you think. Throw some stars at us, that'd be great. We'll take one, two, three, four or five, ooh, five, maybe ten. And also make sure that you are hitting subscribe so that you're notified whenever a new episode drops.
Lesley:Most important.
Megan :We also have a five minutes of fame that I think we should tell people about too.
Lesley:Hell, yes, we want to know your stories, your five minutes of fame stories. You can send those stories in on the website or you can call 1-888 GEN-X-POD and leave your story for us and we will play it live in our next episode.
Megan :We'll listen to it on a little red phone, just like Batman.
Lesley:That'd be cool. Let's get a bad phone A bad phone. I think that's it. I think you're right.
