So I’ve Started a Podcast…
Long story short: after struggling to continue the Avatar/Korra retrospective and failing for the second time, I figured that, in order to go forward, a radical change in my process was necessary. The solution: switch from writing about it to talking about it in audio format. The switch would also give me a chance to finally talk about animation in general, something I’d been promising to do in blog form, but which may work better this way.
I haven’t worked out all the bugs yet, and will listen to any and all feedback on how to improve as I go along. Still, I have a feeling this may just be the change I needed moving forward with this endeavor, which, as of last Friday I believe, marks the sixth year anniversary of this blog. Can you believe it?
Apologies to you all for yet another unannounced hiatus (that really has to stop now), and thank you all who stuck around for your patience once again. Let’s see where we go from here!
Marshall Turner's Avatar: the Last Airbender Reviews 
Congrats to your sixth blog anniversary, and I cannot wait to hear more of the podcast. Do you think at some point you’ll touch upon that new Fleischer-esque game Cuphead?
November 30, 2017 at 4:06 pm
Glad to have you back Marshall! You can really tell you’re not comfortable yet in this podcast, however, I have no doubt that in time you’ll sound way more relaxed and composed. It just takes some getting used to 🙂
I really enjoy the touches of music at the beginning and end, really allows some of your personality to show through it.
I would suggest writing down points you can discuss that are interesting to you. Not as a strict guideline, but just so that if you feel like your running out of things to say on one point you can simply jump to another without having to pull it from your memory.
10 to 15 minutes I think is a good start, but honestly don’t worry about it if you end up going over. This is a podcast after all and I think most people just listen to them while they are doing something else so a longer one doesn’t really detract from anything.
The only thing in animation I really want you to talk about is Frozen. I would love a podcast episode where you just rant about your problems with the film. You seemed really into the idea of making a huge essay about it some years ago. Would love to know your thoughts!
Either way, can’t wait to see what you have in store. Happy 6th Anniversary, and have a wonderful day!
November 30, 2017 at 6:34 pm
Will this be out every week, also thanks for keeping us updated and your right about korra it also changed my attitude towards ATLA especially when I was following korra’s production and discovered the retarded fan base and Tumblr which I thought was cool at first until I seen what it really was.
I really wish korra was never made than I wouldn’t have discovered all that horrible shit like fanfiction and fanart and worst of all cosplayers. It’s a sick race the human race is.
December 2, 2017 at 2:48 pm
Glad to see you back Marshall.
I’ll have to listen to other people’s podcasts before I can give you any constructive criticism as I have a very small sampling of them.
Surprised you didn’t do what Extra Credits did and animate some episodes or animate parodies and/or satires about the show.
As for the academia barbs, I wouldn’t be surprised if I look in a university library one day and see your dissertation(s) about “Avatar”. You seem on track for that. I can even imagine looking at the references and seeing citations to Tumblr articles. Those will have been carefully archived on your own site to prevent their disappearance.
No worries if you need to go another direction because “Avatar” has been idea depleted. From what I understand; people, organizations, etc… need to be able to move to survive.
For something I’ve wondered about recently, are there any stories you’re hoping to tell?
December 3, 2017 at 9:30 pm
In light of your upcoming Frozen episode, I wanted to share with you this video:
It’s a great piece, particularly at the end when he compares older films to newer ones, the lack of music synchronization with the animation and Disney films today overemphasizing their unsubtle ‘subversion’ messages (like having characters tell each other how they cannot just marry the first guy they meet or sit back & wait for their prince to come) over simply conveying them through the visuals. Which is why I cannot stand Frozen, The Princess and the Frog, or the meta-jokes in Moana. I would ask writers who keep putting out these kinds of stories: Why call attention to the fact that you are progressive when you can just BE progressive? This is also why I get annoyed whenever male writers on kids’ shows will have their female character spout: “I’m no damsel in distress.” Seems a bit arrogant for going above such a low threshold.
Reminds me of one particularly cringeworthy piece of dialogue from Judy’s dad back in Zootopia, about how he and her mother “settled” instead of following their dreams and tried to pass it off as their moral to their daughter, casting them as mouthpieces/symbols of the ‘evil establishment’ or ‘the mediocrity of domesticity’ that Judy has to fight against instead of real parents.
December 13, 2017 at 5:06 pm