Tue, 28 January 2025
Is there a culture of plutocratic classism in the USA? I'm inspired by Trump's America and how people think that people like Elon Musk and him are above the law because they're rich, while conversely the lowest rank in society are the homeless and the poor. But what do I mean by “Plutocratic classism”? A plutocracy is a society where people's position is determined by their wealth, classism is our tendency to discriminate based on social class, put that together and you have people determining social value by how much money a person seems to have. Gunwallace joins us for this Quackcast, replacing Banes while he has a sabbatical, he along with Tantz Aerine and myself examine this idea from an outsider's perspective. Gunwallace like me comes from an extremely egalitarian society where the idea of obvious classism is frowned upon. Australia and New Zealand were countries created by people leaving the classist aristocratic society of Great Brittain so that they could make something of themselves outside of that rigid system where class was determined by family name, accent, where you grew up, where you went to school etc. In our countries any sort of obvious classism is seen as extremely vulgar and worthy of social attack. Of course aspects of it still exist but it's bellow the surface. Tantz Aerine's Greece has been through a number of changes, coming from aristocratic origins as well as modern communist influences. It means we all have an external view on this subject Plutocratic classism is a vision of the world that shows up all over American media, classically with something like Trading Places with Dan Akroyd and Eddy Murphy, even another Eddy Murphy film, Coming to America, Illustrates that beautifully. In the former a homeless black person and a wealthy white stock trader and made to switch places in society (mainly their level of wealth swaps), and they're subsequently treated extremely differently. In Coming to America an African prince comes to the USA and disguises himself as a poor person, the way he's treated changes dramatically. As the story progresses he meets various people at different social economic levels: the well-off middle-class small business owner father of his girlfriend in particular, as well as her rich ex, and all these people are treated as being on different rungs of the social class ladder depending on heir wealth. It's seen in very common tropes like the “dead hooker” jokes, the way homeless people are constantly shown as expendable trash, and the way people who live in trailer parks are looked down upon in American media, it's pure plutocratic classism. This shows up in American pop-culture media constantly. While the wealthy are seen as ersatz aristocracy and their children are viewed as scions, princes and princesses. Have you noticed this trend in American pop-culture media? Do you agree that it exists both in fiction and reality or is this all just communist bulsh1t that I'm blathering on about? Gunwallace was kind enough to give us a theme inspired by Ghats - A hypnotically relaxing track that builds up the pizzazz level with a synth trumpet band. From a quiet spa retreat to a full on Vegas show! Get a lot of those sexy showgirls!
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Featured music: Special thanks to: VIDEO exclusive! Join us on Discord - https://discordapp.com/invite/7NpJ8GS
Direct download: Quackcast_724_-_Americas_Plutocratic_classism.mp3
Category:Webcomics -- posted at: 12:00am PST
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Tue, 21 January 2025
We're talking about how technology and design changes so much over the years and how that can change things with plot in story and it can also help pinpoint the date of something sometimes better than other things like fashion. The biggest one we talked about were phones, which have changed so much over the last few decades. Universally connected smartphones mean huge story changes- characters can all look up whatever they need at any time, communicate with people instantly, entertain themselves, take photos and videos etc. That can massively affect plots! But the look as well as the use is very distinct too. Early phones were the famous candlestick design with the separate speaking tube and you couldn't dial directly, you needed to ask an operator to connect you. Eventually we got rotary telephones with a heavy symmetrical hand-piece on a cradle, they started off with a rotary dial but later versions had buttons, they also featured the classic curly cord between the hand-piece and the unit. The next big change were phones that didn't have a cord, they were connected to the base unit by radio, those were very popular in the 90s and are still in use today, although much sleeker and smaller. Then came mobile phones, handys or cellphones… The early versions had to be large units because there were almost no phone towers so their batteries and radios had to be very powerful and large to compensate, so initially they were only in cars and a sign of wealth because they were very expensive. They shrunk down but you still needed to carry around a large “brick” with a handle to boost their power due to limited tower infrastructure. When we got more towers that allowed for much smaller phones, although still pretty large, but they could fit on a belt. The next big change was smaller phones with digital screens for texting and they could actually fit inside your pocket! This was dominated by the famous Nokia phones from Finland. Then came along folding “flip-phones” that could be smaller and status and wealth was shown by how small your phone was, Motorola and Samsung dominated there. We got phones with cameras, this required larger coloured screens and phones increased in size again. The all metal Motorola Razar flip-phone was one of the stand-out designs, but there were many form factors and brands. After that the next big change were the first smartphones, which were dominated by Palm and Blackberry. People could use the internet and full email on them and they were a status symbol for celebs and businesspeople. After that of course the touchscreen smartphones came along, Prada had a famous model but it was the iphone by Apple that kicked off the trend and democratised smartphones for everyone. Google followed with the Android operating system and democratised the concept even further, becoming the “Windows” of phones, with Android being on phones from many makers and creating phones of different price-points and capabilities from basic cheap models to incredibly high end creations. Things are still changing but the next big change were big size smartphones, lead by Samsung and their “phablet” Note phones that even included Wacom stylus tech, making them mini portable Cintiq tablets. That was initially laughed at by Apple and others but of course everyone eventually followed the new trend. Now we have folding phones with flexible screens, smart watches, smart-rings etc, but none are really taking off yet. “AI” seems to be the next big change but no one really knows what to do with it besides photo editing and writing phone messages for us. I didn't cover beepers, pagers, tablets, computers and so on but they're significant as well. All this tech has changed a lot, changed us and changes how stories are made. When I did my first big trip over to the USA in 2010 I got my first smartphone, an HTC Desire, the best Android phone at the time, because I didn't like Apple and Android allowed me more freedom. I got a local sim when I went to the states and it was an essential device to me. I justified the purchase because I knew I could have my music on there, it would be my camera, computer, email device, phone, map, newspaper, and everything else I needed. I've had many smartphones since but remember it fondly. How has tech changed things for you, in your stories, or reality? Does it help you date stuff you watch and read?
This week we're doing another Best-off! Gunwallace did these themes inspired by Bottomless Waitress a few years ago. He was So inspired he gave us TWO! 490 - Bottomless Waitress II - Part two of the BW cannon! Revenge of the banjo! We start off with a tractor roaring into life and a banjo opening us up to the sounds of rural Midwest America- wide open corn fields, golden wheat, grain silos, quiet back-roads, haystacks, big red barns, and a kinky little diner where the coffee is bottomless and so are the staff! Ava’s diner is a welcoming place for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Buttered buns, glazed donuts, and creamy desserts are a house speciality! So swing on by. No entry at the rear, we prefer you to come in by the front door.
Links Featured comic: Featured music: Special thanks to:
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Direct download: Quackcast_723_-_Changing_tech_and_design.mp3
Category:Webcomics -- posted at: 12:00am PST
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Tue, 14 January 2025
Main characters with main character syndrome? What is main character syndrome? Well the way we're dealing with it here it's normally a snide criticism you level and someone who seems to think the world revolves around them, like social media “influencers”, selfish self centred people, that sort of thing. Popular figures like Elon Musk and Donald Trump are great examples: they imagine the world should bend to their whim, and normal rules don't apply, like a main character in a fictional story. The funny thing is that not many main characters think or act like that. Some do but they're the exceptions. Generally it's comic-relief side characters, villains, or antagonists who have main character syndrome. It's especially true for villains because behaving that way is easily seen as a negative and being selfish like that harms other characters in their world, being a great example of “evil”. Other characters typically notable for it include Queen bees in a highschool setting, also dominant “jocks”, and the love interests in harem anime- each of them think they're the main character, while the actual main character is a characterless blob. Main character syndrome isn't always a negative thing though! It can be fun or funny, or it can make you more invested in the world. Exceptions where main characters have MCS are the protagonists of noir detective stories. Every main character in Seinfeld had MCS, not initially but that's how the show developed. Cher in Clueless starts off that way but graduates out of it. In superhero comics MCS is definitely something you often see, I think Batman can have it depending on the writer, Deadpool is a good candidate… A fave example of mine is TankGirl, she has it 100% and it works in her favour, she moulds her world to her will. Do you have a fave example of a fictional character with Main Character Syndrome? Gunwallace was busy this week so we have a reissue of Gamma Blue Smoldering of Creel - Heavy rocking fire. This is a hammer forging red hot steel on an anvil, rhythmically pounding it into shape, slamming into it with thunderous blows, drawing out the metal into a brutal sword of pure rock!
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Direct download: Quackcast_722_-_Main_characters_with_main_character_syndrome.mp3
Category:Webcomics -- posted at: 12:00am PST
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Tue, 7 January 2025
A standard thing in stories is to have multiple plot lines. In short stories or when you're just starting out as a writer you tend to have a single line, the A plot, but as soon as you get a bit more experience and write longer stories you'll find the plots tend to branch and multiply, even if you don't always fully intend it. The usual is to have the A and B plots: the A is the main one that drives the story and the B is where you put other interesting junk like character development, villain stuff, comic relief, love interests etc. But it can get a LOT more advanced than that and you can have far more than simply A and B. The genesis of this cast was that I was moaning and groaning about long-form TV series that are intended for binge watching these days. Instead of being reasonably contained episodes you're actually watching a 16 hour long movie and I find that fatiguing and stressful because with those plot structures you feel compelled to watch and finish it (not all in one sitting, but finish it regardless). My complaint was that these things tend to have the A plot as the overarching story plot that connects all the episodes while the B and C plots etc are reserved for the episode itself, and that is NOT how it should be done, at least in my opinion. When series started this trend it would be a C or D line that connected the episodes, just minor developments and a continuing lore. Then it moved up to a B, major story stuff but the main storyline was still episodic, but now it's the A line and that is not cool.. according to me. In the Quackcast we chatted about interesting structures and variations, like twin A plots that complete for attention. One of my personal faves are the A and B plot lines that constantly switch: An A shifts down to be the B and vice versa over and over so you're not sure which is the main line. That's very organic and keeps you on your toes. One of the most boring versions are strict A and B plot structures where it's all pure formula and things just don't break out of that so you know that one line is always less important to the other and things become too predictable. Do you play with A, B, C, D etc storylines or just not bother and let things develop into that on their own, or do you just stick with only an A? And what do you LIKE in stories you consume?
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The QuackCast features Ozoneocean, Banes, Tantz Aerine, and Pitface, talking about writing, movies, webcomics, art, politics, philosophy, sexuality, and everything else! We're the hosts of the oldest webcomic host on the net, Drunkduck.com, aka theduckwebcomics. 20 years this year!
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