PBS Idea Channel - Season 2
Season 2
Network
DatesMar 20, 2013 - Mar 12, 2014
Episodes
Season 2Episode 1
Is Piracy Helping Game of Thrones?
Here's an idea: Game Of Thrones owes its success to piracy. If you're like us, you LOVE Game of Thrones. But if you're also like us, you may not, technically, have... cable. So how are we seeing this amazing show on HBO, which is stuck behind a pay wall? A huge amount of viewers (not us of course, no no no) are downloading the show illegally.
Mar 20, 2013
Season 2Episode 2
Will Kickstarter Replace Hollywood?
You may have heard about the recent overwhelming success of the Veronica Mars movie Kickstarter, or you might be a "Marshmallow" yourself and have contributed. This is a big moment for fan communities, with Kickstarter giving them the opportunity to challenge the closed gates of the Hollywood system. Although it's funding is nowhere NEAR the amount Hollywood invests in moviemaking each year, crowdfunding is a way better indicator of what the audience wants to see, the one area Hollywood has failed in time and time again.
Mar 27, 2013
Season 2Episode 3
Is Community a Postermodern Masterpiece?
Here's an idea: Community is a postmodern masterpiece. Though the TV show Community has never achieved huge ratings, it has a passionate cult following, including us here at Idea Channel. The show plays with genre and narrative in such a creative way that it brings to mind the cultural and artistic theory of Postmodernism. Previous TV series have been self-referential and culturally reflective, but none so successfully as Community. The show flips traditional expectations so consistently that it questions their importance in the first place. And it has brought the word "meta" into the cultural vernacular, to boot.
Apr 3, 2013
Season 2Episode 4
Is Buying Call of Duty a Moral Choice?
If you play video games, you've shot a gun. And those guns are REALISTIC. So real that many are actually LICENSED by IRL arms dealers. Which means that when you buy a video game, you're also putting money in the pockets of those gun manufacturers. That's fine and dandy if you're a fan of guns, but if you are someone who considers themselves anti-gun, this creates quite the moral quandary.
Apr 10, 2013
Season 2Episode 5
Is a Tagged Instagram More Than Just a Photo?
Here's an idea: a tagged Instagram is more than just a photo. Sure, Instagram is pretty awesome, but it's even more #INTERESTING than you think! The hashtag, so simple and ubiquitous, raises the image from mere photo to a new complex entity. An extension of the social media aspect of the Instagram app, the hashtag enhances searchability and allows connection to a variety of communities.
Apr 24, 2013
Season 2Episode 6
Is a DOS Attack a Weapon?
Here's an idea: a DOS attack is a weapon. Denial of Service (DOS) or Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) attacks take down servers by distracting them with meaningless traffic until basically they can't take it any more. Scientology, Westboro Baptist Church, and others like them have been hit, and if you look at the coverage of these events, the descriptive words "attacks," "violent," and "weapons" are telling. The way we talk about the result of a software program reflects the way we view "online", and the value we place on its content, be it the FBI homepage or cat videos on YouTube.
May 1, 2013
Season 2Episode 7
Is Sad Music Actually Sad?
Be it Elliott Smith or Queen, classical or dub step, there's usually a clear understanding that some songs are sad, and some songs are happy. But what is it about the music that makes us feel these feelings we're feeling? You might think it has something to do with the notes or how our brain's natural response to these sounds, but you're wrong. Or at the very least incomplete in your thinking. We've just been culturally trained to respond to music in certain ways because if you ignore the lyrics, music itself doesn't actually contain any emotion at all.
May 8, 2013
Season 2Episode 8
Is Developing Artificial Intelligence (AI) Ethical?
If you're even the slightest bit familiar with pop culture from the past 50 years, you know that we've been anxiously awaiting robots to become a part of our daily lives. From R2-D2 to the Jetsons, our future robot companions promise to be helpful and handy! But many people have their concerns: will the development of artificial intelligence end up REPLACING humans in the work force, pushing already high unemployment through the roof?!?! These new laborers will likely do not just undesirable jobs (janitorial, coal mining, etc), but also the high paying premium jobs, like surgeons and lawyers.
May 29, 2013
Season 2Episode 9
Is Math a Feature of the Universe or a Feature of Human Creation?
Math is invisible. Unlike physics, chemistry, and biology we can't see it, smell it, or even directly observe it in the universe. And so that has made a lot of really smart people ask, does it actually even EXIST?!?! Similar to the tree falling in the forest, there are people who believe that if no person existed to count, math wouldn't be around . .at ALL!!!! But is this true? Do we live in a mathless universe? Or if math is a real entity that exists, are there formulas and mathematical concepts out there in the universe that are undiscovered? Or is it all fiction? Whew!! So many questions, so many theories...
Jun 3, 2013
Season 2Episode 10
Is the Universe a Computer?
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is about everything. Life, the Universe, everything. If you've read these amazing books, you know the answer is 42, but what's the question? To find out what the question was, they built a giant computer we call Earth. And though it seems silly, perhaps Douglas Adams was correct, and that not just earth, but the WHOLE UNIVERSE is an incredibility complex computational system, processing the answer to some unknown question. The universe IS made up of information, similar to a computer, and physics (you know, the basis of the universe) certainly is based on computational principles.
Jun 12, 2013
Season 2Episode 11
Why Do We Love Zombies?
Zombies are EVERYWHERE!! Wait, don't panic- we mean in pop culture, not outside your window. But why is that? Bad guys and monsters seem to go through phases: one decade there's a dozen movies about aliens, ten years later it's vampires. And right now, it's zombies. And monsters don't pop up for no reason at all. There must be something that makes us fixate on one antagonist trope; some qualities they hold that echo a deeper cultural fear... So what are we afraid of now? It might just be technology.
Jun 19, 2013
Season 2Episode 12
Can Video Games Become the Next Great Spectator Sport?
As our South Korean friends can confirm, video games can most definitely be a spectator sport. But will they ever catch on in a huge way in the good ol' U.S. of A? Well, pro leagues already exist, but to know if they'll ever reach the levels of March Madness and Superbowl Sunday, we need to take a closer look at traditional sports spectatorship to figure out the REAL reason we watch. It's more than just winning and losing: there are characters, rivalries, histories, and a host of other background information that coalesce into an AMAZING story, and we're dying to know the ending.
Jun 26, 2013
Season 2Episode 13
Is the Discovery of Global Warming Our Greatest Scientific Achievement?
Global warming exists! But how do we know that? It may seem like a simple process of just looking at the temperature from year to year, but it is SO MUCH MORE than that! Our understanding of the global climate comes from a compendium of data including measured and tracked temperature, humidity, wind speed, and barometric pressure, spanning over 100 years of observation!! To study this massive amount of information and be able to surmise that the increasingly extreme and bizarre weather patterns are a result of human influence... it's truly an incredible accomplishment. So everyone who says during a blizzard "so much for global warming"... shut up. You're wrong.
Jul 3, 2013
Season 2Episode 14
Does Animal Crossing Promote Otaku Citizenship?
Like us, you may not have initially realized the significance of Animal Crossing. Sure it's a simple game for kids, with cute animals and bright colors. But could it be true that it inspires otaku citizenship?! Otaku, if you don't know, means obsessive interest and collection, usually associated with Japanese culture, but it can apply to ANYTHING. In Animal Crossing, as mayor of your town, success is defined by maintaining friendships with your townspeople and collecting natural resources to cultivate the perfect town.
Jul 10, 2013
Season 2Episode 15
Is BMO From Adventure Time Expressive of Feminism?
Yes he's a video game system, but she is so much more than that!! BMO from the fantastic show Adventure Time identifies as both male and female, and because of that expresses the ideals of Third Wave Feminism!! Third Wave Feminism questions if gender is actually binary, tied to our biological sex. Is our understanding of masculinity and femininity fair, or even ACCURATE? Of course, BMO has no biological gender, so there's no cultural expectations that anchors her (him?) down. But it all seems a non-issue in the Adventure Time world.
Jul 17, 2013
Season 2Episode 16
How Does Glitchy Art Show Us Broken is Beautiful?
We all love broken things. WAIT WHAT?! Yes, you read that correctly. You may have noticed this thing called "glitch", where people purposely push machines to malfunction, creating fascinating "mistakes".
Jul 24, 2013
Season 2Episode 17
How is Jurassic Park a Commentary on Capitalism?
They spared no expense!! It doesn't matter if it was intended or not, the film Jurassic Park (and book it's based on) accurately illustrate investment and risk, money as motivation, negligent management of capital, and profit as the ultimate end goal. But can anything in our culture avoid this metaphor of capitalism? By stepping back and looking at all media in our culture, we can see echoes of the capitalism theme everywhere.
Jul 31, 2013
Season 2Episode 18
Does it Matter What Evangelion's Creator Says?
Hideaki Anno says Neon Genesis Evangelion is meaningless. For #GeekWeek we ask if we should listen to him. Neon Genesis Evangelion may be the MOST ultimate work of anime ever! More than just Mecha, NGE is dark and emotional, taking on serious topics such as depression, free will and a host of other intense stuff. But the creator, Hideaki Anno, says that we're all reading way too much into it.
Aug 5, 2013
Season 2Episode 19
Is the Internet Cats?
We can all agree that the Internet has an intense, borderline obsessive, appreciation for cats. With felines as its spirit animal, the internet can even seem cat-like in personality. Where does all this kitteh love come from? Humans made the internet, and humans have had an affinity for cats for centuries.
Aug 14, 2013
Season 2Episode 20
Is Google Knowledge?
"Google it" seems to be the quick and easy answer for every question we could possibly ask, but is finding facts the same thing as KNOWING? Having billions of facts at the tips of your typing fingertips may not necessarily be making us any smarter. Some people even think it's making us more stupid and lazy.
Aug 21, 2013
Season 2Episode 21
Are There TWO Nikola Teslas?
Unless you're new to the internet, you probably know that Tesla was an incredibly popular scientist and inventor who was WAY ahead of his time. But was he really the valiant underdog against the Goliath of Edison that we've come to know and understand? Despite what you may think, there are actually TWO Teslas - the meat and bones Tesla, who was born in 1856 and died in 1943, and then there's the culturally created Tesla.
Sep 11, 2013
Season 2Episode 22
Are the Titans from Attack on Titan Evil?
The titans, from the anime series Attack on Titan, are most definitely the bad guys. But can we call them EVIL? If you're unfamiliar, the titans are huge beings that devour humans, but their motivation is a little unclear. Is it just hunger? Do they hate humans? Are they just dumb? And with all this doubt, what's the use in the label of EVIL anyway? Nietzsche, Kant, and Jung all weigh in.
Sep 18, 2013
Season 2Episode 23
How Does Night Vale Confront Us With the Unknown?
Night Vale's masterful balance of mystery, humor, and horror has made it the #1 podcast in America. Night Vale employs the techniques of H.P. Lovecraft, specifically his masterful manipulation of THE UNKNOWN, but the medium chosen makes it literally impossible to visually depict its universe. And it is questionable, in our hyper visual culture, whether we are truly able to cope with the mysteries of Night Vale.
Sep 25, 2013
Season 2Episode 24
Is There An Introvert Craze Because of Technology?
Oct 2, 2013
Season 2Episode 25
Can You Actually Enjoy Breaking Bad?
Oct 9, 2013
Season 2Episode 26
Did Horse_ebooks Show Us that SPAM is the Webs Native Artform
Oct 16, 2013
Season 2Episode 27
Controlling vs 'Being' Your Video Game Avatar
Oct 24, 2013
Season 2Episode 28
How is Slender Man Internet Folklore?
Oct 30, 2013
Season 2Episode 29
How is Seeing Ender's Game a Political Action?
Nov 6, 2013
Season 2Episode 30
Is Pop Music Holding You Hostage?
Nov 13, 2013
Season 2Episode 31
What Does The Doctor Mean to You?
Nov 20, 2013
Season 2Episode 32
Sandwiches, Modernity, and Lyrics: A Thanksgiving Episode
Nov 27, 2013
Season 2Episode 33
Your Questions Answered! (1)
Dec 4, 2013
Season 2Episode 34
Your Questions Answered! (2)
Dec 4, 2013
Season 2Episode 35
Do 'Digital Natives' Exist?
Dec 11, 2013
Season 2Episode 36
Can Bullet Hell Games Be Meditative?
Dec 18, 2013
Season 2Episode 37
Holiday Media Binge
Jan 2, 2014
Season 2Episode 38
How Powerful Are Algorithms?
Jan 8, 2014
Season 2Episode 39
Does Reality TV Affect Our View On Surveillance?
Jan 15, 2014
Season 2Episode 40
The Experience of Being Trolled
Jan 22, 2014
Season 2Episode 41
Is Avatar: The Last Airbender Anime?
Jan 29, 2014
Season 2Episode 42
Why Do We Hate Selfies?
Feb 5, 2014
Season 2Episode 43
What's the Deal With Unboxing Videos?
Feb 12, 2014
Season 2Episode 44
What is Fiction? (ft. War of the Worlds)
Feb 19, 2014
Season 2Episode 45
Does Fiction Exist? (ft. Harry Potter)
Feb 26, 2014
Season 2Episode 46
Does Twitch Plays Pokemon Give You Hope for Humanity?
Mar 5, 2014
Season 2Episode 47
When Do Memes Stop Being Funny?
Mar 12, 2014
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