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Amber and Rusty podcast about whatever strikes their fancy, which generally are things and issues inside Atlanta's perimeter.
Hosts: Amber Rhea, Rusty Tanton
Channel: Society & Culture » Personal Journals
Copyright: Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
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LIVE Talkie - Listener voicemails, thoughts on Swingtown, Sturgeon's Law applied to adult industry ads
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Show notes
This is our second live show (here's the first), and it was very exciting because we actually had several chat room participants, and a caller! Jen, use your $20 Inserection gift card wisely.
Things discussed:
- Voicemails from Nobilis, Jen, and Tony. Thanks y'all, and keep 'em coming. Drunk-dialing is accepted and encouraged. My favorite was Tony's voicemail about Northside Drive, so maybe he should get the other Inserection gift card, and you two can buy something extra-special.
- Our thoughts on CBS' new show, Swingtown. We are brimming with opinions about this show. We didn't get around to talking about the possible anachronisms, but perhaps next time. I'm guessing the chances are pretty good that there will be a next time, since we're already planning to watch at least the third episode.
- I read a ridiculous ad from Xcitement Magazine, and rant semi-coherently about becoming discouraged about the adult industry ~8-10 years ago.
We love voicemail! Call us at 678.389.9441. Add Rusty as a Twitter friend here, and me here. E-mail us at info@gapodcastnetwork.com.
To clarify: I said, "take a piss between two SUVs."
Posted on June 15, 2008 - 9:22pm
Regarding the ad in Xcitement Magazine, it first appeared on Jay Leno. See here.
Posted on June 15, 2008 - 9:43pm
That one is way better; the ad in Xcitement did not have a photo!
If I had known that the ad had history, I would've read this one instead: (from the same page)
On the other hand, maybe that's more effective typed out. (All typos original.)
Posted on June 15, 2008 - 9:49pm
Just listened to the podcast - enjoyed it as usual! Just have a few comments...
I think you guys are being way too harsh on Swingtown. First off, it's important to remember that this is just a soapy drama on network television. You're looking for a realistic portrayal of swinger-culture as it exists today, but that's not the story the show's creator is trying to tell. From some of the articles I've read, I think he's trying to tell a broader story about the 70s as a breaking point in our culture. Large groups of people in that era were questioning tradition and more open to exploring new ways of living their lives than people had been before or since. These explorations involved drug use (including quaaludes), "swinging" sex parties, and even Tab. Obviously not everyone in the 70s did these things, but the ones the producer is focusing on (he based the characters on his parents and people his parents knew) did.
About the drug use, the pushiness of the neighbor couple, and the fact that the noob-couple didn't talk about opening their marriage up ahead of time -- none of that seems all that unrealistic to me. There are plenty of couples around today who can't talk about their sex lives (or even have sex) without being intoxicated. I also think that one of the weird things about the 70s was that the culture was opening up, but the feminist movement was still just picking up steam at that point. All of this experimentation was going on, but there were still some seriously old-fashioned ideas about roles of men and women that were only then being addressed. Things in that regard aren't great now, but they were worse then. I think that complicates the ideals of consent and equality and openness that one would probably like to see before entering into these open marriage arrangements in the 70s.
And I know you guys both think the 70s-nostalgia is over the top in that show - but B.J. and I (who are a little older than you) love it. We can watch the show and say stuff like, "Oh, I remember that" or "My dad had one of those" or "I used to wear the same kind of pants!" It's part of the fun. Also, the costumes and sets in the show don't look all that different from the family pictures I have from that era. I'll have to show you guys my mom and dad's wedding photo sometime.
For more on this era, and what will probably end up being a more sex-positive view of the 70s, I suggest you watch some of the "Tales of the City" miniseries' that were done in the 90s on PBS & Showtime. Yes,quaaludes are taken in the course of that show too, but then... it was the 70s.
Posted on June 16, 2008 - 8:38am
Oh absolutely! Which is why decisions made about sex - especially changing the accepted boundaries of sexual activity w/ other partners within a relationship - while under the influence of drugs or alcohol are bound to end badly. I think if you need drugs or alcohol in order to do a certain thing, you shouldn't be doing it!
What I was saying was, not that people aren't like that now - they definitely are, and maybe moreso in some cases! But in my experience people who are into experiences of sexuality that are "outside the norm" (for want of a better term at this hour) tend to be better at communicating about sex in general. There was a discussion about this recently at Ren's, here and here.
As for Swingtown, I think we've probably gotten sucked in... just like how I was peeved by Grey's Anatomy on many levels when it first came out and yet still got sucked into watching every episode for the first two seasons (lost interest after that). Not-so-guilty pleasures!
Posted on June 16, 2008 - 8:54am
Oh and one other thing:
Heh, they don't look that different from my family photos, either - even into the early 80s. That in itself was not a complaint of mine... I think it's GOOD for them to get that stuff right, instead of just going the Dirty Dancing* route of saying, "It's the 60s!" but not even TRYING to make it seem realistic. (Every time my mom watches that movie, she spends the entire time complaining about how no one wore their hair like Baby in the 60s.) I just think with SOME things they were laying it on a little thick, and it wasn't necessary because the well-done set, etc. had already done a good job of establishing the time period.
* One of the best movies of all time, nevertheless.
Posted on June 16, 2008 - 8:57am
Hey Joseph,
Thanks for listening, and yeah, I've been trying to curb my expectations since 1) it's schlocky TV drama, and 2) there have only been two episodes so far. I guess I didn't get around to mentioning that in the podcast.
In particular, I figure the gratuitous 70s culture references that we found annoying will die down after a few episodes.
And that's a good point that the old-fashioned ideas of the roles of men and women add a layer of complexity to the questions of consent, equality, openness, etc. A whole podcast could probably center around that thought (and very well might!).
We're definitely going to try to check out "Tales of the City."
Posted on June 16, 2008 - 9:16am
Agreed, and unfortunately, within "swinger culture" (such as it is), a lot of that still persists. It's something that's annoyed me for a long time about the whole swinger thing, as opposed to polyamory, or non-monogamy, or just doing your own thing w/ no label at all. I keep meaning to blog about it but instead just end up ranting in comments (like right here!) or via IM conversations or what-have-you.
But yeah, it annoys me that w/ a lot of swingers, the women are basically expected to "play" with each other, but there's like this visceral, over-the-top reaction to even the mere thought of any of the men doing anything together. That of course 1) replicates prescriptive ideas of sexuality where it's okay for women to fool around as long as the guy's are watching; 2) double standard; 3) stigma on bisexual or pansexual men who want to play w/ other men expressing what they want; 4) homophobia and heteronormativity, anyone?
And I say this as a totally straight girl!
It's just that the very IDEA of it is apparently so repulsive as to not even be considered that makes me reject calling myself a "swinger" or identifying with "the scene" to any degree. Whenever people have to suppress aspects of their sexuality, that's a turn-off for me.
Posted on June 16, 2008 - 9:23am
I think Swingtown is good, christian entertainment. Those people just do not exist, but we wish they did. Pure archetypes like "Trina the oversexed liberated woman" and "Mr. Airline pilot, the mustachioed soul of the 70s" are easy for the audience to understand and seem fun to be around.
It's a crude instrument they are using to make thier point, but hopefully they are able to make it: human sexuality is a lot more complex than most people think.
Posted on August 19, 2008 - 6:25pm