The Watchers

• The Watchers Watch William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet

  A show where two from Jersey’s distant endswatch goonies, girls, class presidents unglued.From clueless cliques to matricidal friends,now 90s Romeo comes neon-hued.We trace the plot through fish tank, fire, and storm,sing praises for our queen, Mercutio,who dances on the screen in perfect form.No man more grave than Harold Perrineau.Our tragic teens, Danes and DiCaprio,a letter meant to save Claire, left unsent,breaks the heart of blonde and brooding Romeoand ends the so-called Life of JulietNext week? A dour boy who drives a hearse.Now? Say Harold and Maude to end this verse.If you're reading this, that means you've probably got your podcatcher of choice open right now. It would be SO helpful if you gave our little show a follow. If you like what you hear, you could even leave us a review.Follow:The Watchers on Instagram (@WatchersPodNJ)Andrea on Instagram (@AQAndreaQ)Jodie on Instagram (@jodie_mim)Thanks to Kitzy (@heykitzy) for the use of our theme song, "No Book Club."

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• The Watchers Watch But I'm a Cheerleader

  This week on The Watchers, we’re heading to True Directions and diving deep into the 1999 cult classic But I’m a Cheerleader. We talk about Jamie Babbit’s queer filmmaking roots, RuPaul out of drag, and the Barbie dreamscape of repression and resistance. Plus: what But I'm a Cheerleader can teach us about camp, queer longing, and the limits of satire.Don’t miss next week’s episode on Baz Luhrmann's William Shakespeare's Romeo + JulietIf you're reading this, that means you've probably got your podcatcher of choice open right now. It would be SO helpful if you gave our little show a follow. If you like what you hear, you could even leave us a review.Follow:The Watchers on Instagram (@WatchersPodNJ)Andrea on Instagram (@AQAndreaQ)Jodie on Instagram (@jodie_mim)Thanks to Kitzy (@heykitzy) for the use of our theme song, "No Book Club."

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• The Watchers Watch Election

  This week on The Watchers, Jodie and Andrea revisit Election, Alexander Payne’s dark, hilarious, and deeply cynical take on high school democracy. We get into the film’s multiple narrators, shifting POVs, and why it still feels so sharp 25 years later. From Tracy Flick’s overachieving rage to Jim McAllister’s petty unraveling, we trace how the film breaks down ambition, morality, and why, in 2025, people are still getting Tracy Flick wrong.Next week, we’re watching But I’m a Cheerleader, Jamie Babbit’s bold, surreal, and very pink satire about queerness, conformity, and finding love at gay rehab.If you're reading this, that means you've probably got your podcatcher of choice open right now. It would be SO helpful if you gave our little show a follow. If you like what you hear, you could even leave us a review.Recommended Reading:The Movie Election 25 Years On - Scott DetrowWhat America Gets Wrong About Tracy Flick - A.O. ScottFollow:The Watchers on Instagram (@WatchersPodNJ)Andrea on Instagram (@AQAndreaQ)Jodie on Instagram (@jodie_mim)Thanks to Kitzy (@heykitzy) for the use of our theme song, "No Book Club."

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• The Watchers Watch Mean Girls

  This week on The Watchers, Jodie and Andrea are heading to North Shore High to take on Mean Girls, a defining entry in the canon of girlhood, but one we both struggled with more than expected. We get into what makes the movie mean, what it gets wrong that Clueless gets so right, and how it lands in 2025, when girlhood is messier, more public, and more scrutinized than ever.Next week, we’re revisiting Election, Alexander Payne’s razor‑sharp satire of ambition, repression, and suburban malaise.Recommended Reading:“Mean Girls”: A Time Capsule of Casual Bigotry - Glenda Brown”Fey Grateful That Film Seems to ‘Stick With People’” - Ashley SpencerI Adore “Mean Girls,” But Let's Stop Acting Like Teen Girls Are Mean" - Amanda ScherkerIf you're reading this, that means you've probably got your podcatcher of choice open right now. It would be SO helpful if you gave our little show a follow. If you like what you hear, you could even leave us a review.Follow:The Watchers on Instagram (@WatchersPodNJ)Andrea on Instagram (@AQAndreaQ)Jodie on Instagram (@jodie_mim)Thanks to Kitzy (@heykitzy) for the use of our theme song, "No Book Club."

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• The Watchers Watch Clueless

  This week, Jodie and Andrea are covering Amy Heckerling’s 1995 teen rom-com, Clueless. It’s the hyperstylized, deceptively smart, deeply girly ’90s take on Emma that shaped a generation. We get into makeover culture, some casual narratology, teen magazine aesthetics, ska music, why Cher’s makeover actually fails, and how Wallace Shawn is honestly perfect. Plus, Andrea gives a breakdown of the elusive PC game, Jodie goes JSTOR mode, and we consider whether or not it really is a proto-feminist masterpiece.Next week on The Watchers, we’re covering Mean Girls. Tina Fey’s sharp-tongued, early-2000s take on high school hierarchy, it’s a film with a massive pop culture footprint and a defining entry in the girlhood canon.Recommended Reading: Playthrough - Clueless (CD-ROM, 1997) “‘Just a Girl’ Should Have Been a Hit From Clueless, and Other Behind-the-Scenes Secrets from the Soundtrack” by Jillian Mapes“Clueless at 20: Revisiting the Soundtrack With a Classic Track-by-Track Review” by Kenneth Partridge“Furiously Franchised: Clueless, Convergence Culture, and the Female-Focused Franchise”, Cinema Journal, Kyra HuntingBoth articles listed below can be found in ReFocus: The Films of Amy Heckerling edited by Frances Smith and Timothy Shary“Can I Please Give You Some Advice?: Clueless and the Teen Makeover” by Alice Leppert“Cher and Dionne BFFs: Female Friendship, Genre, and Medium Specificity in the Film and Television Versions of Amy Heckerling’s Clueless” by Susan Berridge

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