The Oscars' Best Actress Sexualization Controversy, Explained

Moms can be many things, but on screen if they’re hot they also often happen to be kind of evil – or, if not outright evil, still pretty bad. From The Graduate's Mrs. Robinson and Mad Men's Betty Draper to The O.C.'s Julie Cooper and Regina's Mom in Mean Girls and beyond, this trope pops up all over film and television. Thankfully this is finally starting to change as more modern shows and films have started tackling this trope head on, but it still hasn’t totally gone away. So let’s take a deeper look at why media was so afraid of hot moms, the problematic sub-trope that often pops up, and the iconic characters like Married with Children's Peggy Bundy and Modern Family's Gloria Delgado-Pritchett that started flipping the script. Click here to watch the video version of this Take! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

22 Feb 202411min

The Big Bang Theory’s Bernadette's (Melissa Rauch) tiny stature and high pitched voice might make her seem unthreatening at first, but one wrong move and you’ll quickly learn that she's not afraid of anyone or anything. But, instead of making her hated, her willingness to stand up for herself and speak her mind actually made her beloved – both on the show and in real life. So let’s take a deeper look at how Bernadette’s attitude was born out of her Oldest Child Syndrome, and how she learned to use her "mean girl" powers for good. Check out the video version of this Take here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

20 Feb 202428min

Gilmore Girls’ Paris Geller is many things: hyper-intelligent, laser focused, extremely intense… but she became a beloved character because as the show went on we got to peel back the layers and see Paris as less of a looming threat and more as a real person. While things always seemed to turn out great for Rory Gilmore no matter what (at least for a while), Paris was hit with some big setbacks that caused her to have to rethink her life plan. Join us in taking a deeper look at what made Paris' story so interesting and how she became such an iconic character (and why she deserved all of the praise Rory got for being The Smart Girl.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

11 Feb 202410min

At first glance, The O.C.’s Marissa Cooper might seem like the epitome of the ‘poor little rich girl’ trope – she’s gorgeous, lives in a mansion in southern California, and never seems to be having a good time. But the show gave us a chance to see beyond the outer facade of Marissa’s seemingly-perfect life and into the darkness hiding beneath that beautiful surface. Marissa was a complex young woman trying to figure out who she really was in a world that was intent on telling her who she had to be. Let’s take a deeper look at Marissa’s attempts to break out of her gilded cage, find real connections, and grow. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

9 Feb 202413min

Love bombing has been a huge topic of conversation in recent years, and if we take a closer look, we might start to notice that the TV and movie characters who we thought were so lovable and charming are actually doing this too – from self-identified “nice guys” like How I Met Your Mother’s Ted Mosby to full on bad guys like Chuck Bass from Gossip Girl and Joe Goldberg from You. But what is love bombing, what are the signs, how does it tie into narcissism, and why is this trope in so many TV shows and movies? Go to http://factormeals.com/thetake50 and use code thetake50 to get 50% off your first box and 2 free wellness shots per box while subscription is active. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

8 Feb 202415min

Nathan Fielder uses his brand of awkward, uncomfortable humor (and a hint of darkness) to flip the script on contemporary TV’s obsession with reality. From creating cringe comedy that’s achieved cult status on his shows Nathan For You and The Rehearsal to his latest hyper-real horror show with Benny Safdie, The Curse, he shines a light back on the audience, making us reflect on the less pleasant parts of human nature. That might be our awkwardness or our selfishness; or, in the Curse specifically, our obsession with looking at the lives of other people. So what is Fielder really trying to tell us about the world and ourselves? And why has he decided to do it in such a weird way? Let’s take a closer look at Nathan Fielder’s special brand of unreality. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

7 Feb 202411min

Boy Meets World's Angela Moore (Trina McGee) quickly became one of the most influential Black teen sitcom characters of the 1990s when she joined the cast in season 5 and became one half of the show's best power couple with on-again-off-again boyfriend Shawn Hunter. But as beloved as she was, she still ran into a number of problems both on screen and behind the scenes. So let’s take a deeper look at this groundbreaking character, her lasting legacy, and why so many fans still believe she deserved better. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

5 Feb 202410min

Annoying overachievers seem to somehow be doing everything, perfectly, all of the time which, while great for their resume, can get a little old for the more “average” people around them. But while they might make being perfect look easy, oftentimes a peek below the surface shows us that there are complex motivations that drive these ambitious figures. So let’s take a look at what’s really motivating this drive to be the best at everything and how this attitude can actually hold these perfectionists back from reaching their true potential (plus we’ll break down the weird double standard that is the reason these characters are so often women.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

3 Feb 202413min