The T-Cup Podcast Tanya Sampath Sharma

My brother, Siddharth Sharma, recently wrote a paper on Mad Men, exploring themes of masculinity and manliness on the show, specifically addressing Don Draper's character. In this episode, Siddharth and I trace this research to how masculinity is defined today. Having spent much of his teenage years surrounded by the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements, Siddharth chats with me about the changing definitions of masculinity through the years, paying special attention to gender, sexuality, generation, as compared to in the Madison Avenue 60s of Mad Men.

On today's episode, Mihika Miranda and I discuss our new favourite show – Schitt's Creek! We discovered this show a while back, a little before it blew up, and have marveled at the new attention the show has gotten (and deservedly so). Especially during quarantine, the show has resonated with people everywhere, young and old, gay and straight, and has set a sitcom standard of its own. We explore themes of isolation, acceptance, sexuality, recovery and family, and look at why Schitt's Creek has suddenly become such a household name!

This episode in no way is an academic analysis of the show, and contains BIG SPOILERS!

On today's episode, I'm talking to Amrita Menon – possibly my oldest friend? – about Greta Gerwig's Ladybird. We talk about themes of identity, relationships and explore what it means to have relatable art. As someone who hadn't watched the movie when recording this episode, it was wonderful to be able to talk to Amrita, who speaks about why this movie appealed to her more than most! (She may claim she is not a movie expert, but I swear she sounds like one)

This is not an academic analysis of the movie. We're just two ladies, fan-girling over Greta Gerwig.

On today's episode, I chat with Ishita Karra – my neighbour and favourite badminton partner – about the changing socio-economic trends as reflected in hindi cinema. We look at films from the 90s, 2000s and 2010s and analyze (maybe even overanalyze) the social and economic patterns. We explore briefly post-liberalization India and the advent of the new decade, and the effect these changes had on the hindi film industry.

(Disclaimer: this is not scholarly or academic in any way and has no basis other than our own personal interest in the topic!)