The Atlantic staff writer and Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves author Sophie Gilbert joins Amy to talk about All's Fair. The new Ryan Murphy show starring Kim Kardashian has received uniformly dire reviews — yet has triumphed in the face of its badness with pretty respectable ratings. Is this the end of competency in culture? Did All's Fair's creators intend for this show to be so terrible? Plus what Kardashian's captivating blankness, on unflinching view in All's Fair, says about the state of culture today.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction: All's Fair and its reception
02:27 The show's themes and stars
05:02 Why the Kardashians took off as reality stars
06:53 All's Fair's depictions of plastic surgery and the Kardashian-Jenner influence on plastic surgery more broadly
11:54 Kris Jenner's 70th birthday party and depictions of extreme wealth in popular culture
20:02 Are we reaching the end of competence in culture, as we are in politics?
24:15 Why girlbossing is back
29:07 Comparing All's Fair's fashion to And Just Like That's
32:32 What does Ryan Murphy really think of women?
37:21 How Kim Kardashian is handling the show's scathing reviews
41:16 Sophie on the most surprising thing she found when researching her book 'Girl on Girl'
46:49 Sophie's thoughts on Lily Allen's astonishing new album about the dissolution of her marriage
Links and resources:
Get Sophie's book: Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves
Read Sophie's All's Fair review in The Atlantic.
Read Sophie's essay about how money is ruining television in The Atlantic.
Read Jill Filipovic's essay, "The End of Competence."
Read Amy's All's Fair fashion review or listen to it as a podcast in Spotify or Apple.
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