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Apr 17 2014

How Burlesque Works

48 min 16 movies discussed
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What's old is new again as far as burlesque is concerned. Come explore what was an old-timey outlet for empowering women that later gave rise to the striptease once men started running the show. Now, women have reclaimed the art and it is benefiting.

AI Summary

Josh and Chuck dive into the surprisingly rich history of burlesque, tracing its evolution from 1840s British satirical theater to today's neo-burlesque revival. They explore how this art form began as women-produced comedy that lampooned the upper classes, transformed through various eras of American entertainment, and eventually influenced everything from vaudeville to modern sitcoms. The hosts discuss famous performers like Gypsy Rose Lee and Sally Rand, examine the ongoing debate about feminism and empowerment in burlesque, and reveal how the genre has reinvented itself in the modern era with performance art elements and contemporary cultural commentary.


Movies Discussed

All in the Family
All in the Family
1971
★ 7.8
"you're all in the family — Josh uses it as an example of working-class sitcoms that follow the burlesque tradition" — Josh
Blaze
Blaze
1989 1h 57m
★ 6.1
"have you ever seen that movie Blaise with Paul Newman — Chuck mentions the movie about burlesque star Blaze Starr" — Chuck
Diff'rent Strokes
Diff'rent Strokes
1978
★ 7.1
"Different strokes was rich people. But they pointed out the foibles a little bit too — Josh acknowledges it was about rich people but argues it still mocked upper class foibles" — Josh
Grease
Grease
1978 1h 50m
★ 7.4
"Remember the greaser thing with grease? — Josh uses it as an example of 1970s nostalgia for 1950s culture" — Josh
Gypsy
Gypsy
1962 2h 23m
★ 6.3
"I wanna see Gypsy, have you ever seen that movie? — Josh expresses interest in seeing the movie about burlesque star Gypsy Rose Lee" — Josh
Happy Days
Happy Days
1974
★ 7.6
"Like happy days and shana now, that wasn't. Happy days. That wasn't in the 50s — Josh explains how Happy Days was made in the 1970s but set in the 1950s as part of a nostalgia trend" — Josh
M*A*S*H
M*A*S*H
1972
★ 7.9
"Mashed. Those were working class doctors — Josh explains how MASH took upper-class doctors and put them in working-class battlefield conditions" — Josh
Silver Spoons
Silver Spoons
1982
★ 6.3
"I don't remember silver spoons being mocky — Chuck mentions it as a rare sitcom about rich people that didn't mock them" — Chuck
Splash
Splash
1984 1h 50m
★ 6.3
"So Splash was actually factually incorrect. The movie Splash? — Josh argues the movie got New York's topless laws wrong when Daryl Hannah's character was arrested" — Josh
Star Wars
Star Wars
1977 2h 1m
★ 8.2
"I saw one by the Devil's Playground Troop. They do a Star Wars Burlesque — Josh describes a neo-burlesque troupe that performs Star Wars-themed shows" — Josh
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
1990
★ 7.9
"Not everything's the Fresh Prince of Bel Air — Josh mentions it as an exception to the rule that most sitcoms are about working class people" — Josh
The Jeffersons
The Jeffersons
1975
★ 7.3
"Jefferson's, they were all sort of middle class to working class — Josh lists it as another example of working-class focused sitcoms" — Josh
The King of Queens
The King of Queens
1998
★ 7.1
"King of Queens — Josh lists it as an example of working-class sitcoms that mock upper class society" — Josh
The Night They Raided Minsky's
The Night They Raided Minsky's
1968 1h 39m
★ 5.5
"they wrote a book and made a movie about it. But it was a call. The night they raided Minsky's — Josh mentions the movie about a famous burlesque raid by the Minsky brothers" — Josh
The Simpsons
The Simpsons
1989
★ 8.0
"I thought you were talking about The Simpsons for a second — Chuck mentioned character names that Josh initially confused with The Simpsons characters" — Josh
The Stripper
The Stripper
1963 1h 35m
★ 4.4
"He also did the Little House and the Prairie thing — Josh mentions that David Rose, who composed 'The Stripper' song, also did music for Little House on the Prairie" — Josh

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