Category: The Podcast That – All

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The Daily Derry 1st Edition

People Would Notice

Welcome to The Podcast That Floats Down Here’s Daily Derry! The Daily Derry focuses on topics discussed in the most recent episode of the show, which this week was 016 – IT Derry – The Second Interlude.

I want to start by admitting that I haven’t read this book (I’m sorry!). I saw the 1990 mini-series when I was a pre-teen. When the 2017 movie came out, it looked a lot scarier than the mini-series and I really dislike being scared, so I didn’t see it. However, for some reason, I’ve always been interested in this story, and I ended up reading a lot about the new movie. Long story short, I’m pretty familiar with the book even though I’ve never read it, and today I want to talk about something Ben, Luke. and Melissa discuss in this episode: social amnesia.
There’s no denying that weird stuff has been happening in Derry, Maine for a very long time. In this episode of the show, the hosts discuss the idea that the entire town is collectively forgetting the previous events.

Ben explains, “In real life, people do that. You find excuses to ignore what’s going on.”

“This is such an extreme, though, and it’s so consistent. People would notice [the weird occurances],” Luke counters.

Is Luke right? Would people notice? Let’s start by thinking about what social amnesia is. The concept is attributed to Russell Jacoby, and I’m such a scholar that I went into his work and found a quote!

In brief, society has lost its memory, and with it, its mind. The inability to think back takes its toll [on] the inability to think.

We’ve definitely seen this idea in It so far. The people of Derry tend to think of any reason to explain away and then forget about the weird occurances. Two children are missing, and the law enforcement claim one of them has run away to her abusive father who she hasn’t seen in three years, and the other has simply run away. And then they move on. Strange happenings are forgotten, and as Jacoby would say when the people of Derry are unable to remember, they are unable to think.

“Something is wrong here,” Luke says in this episode about Derry. Is it perhaps because something is so wrong here that people have to forget? The town has decided to forget about the weird things that happen there and move on, but because they’ve forgotten, nothing will ever be fixed.

But there is one person who might be trying to remember. Mike is the only member of the Losers to stay in Derry, working as a librarian. Libraries exist to preserve memory. Mike’s life and career in Derry are an attempt to counter the social amnesia of the town. He knows that if and when It comes back, he will need to be ready.

We see this idea of social amnesia a lot in movies and television. I’ve been rewatching Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Sunnydale is such an insane place for anyone to live. Kids and teenagers die all the time, and there are always monsters and vampires roaming around town. But the people of Sunnydale still live there. They even try to explain the appearance of and destruction by the monsters, blaming drugs or accidents.

But we do get a glimpse that the town is in on it. In season two, episode three, the principal and the police chief reference their usual cover-up, hinting to the audience that they actually are aware of the weird circumstances and are choosing to ignore and forget them.

Could the people of Derry be doing the same thing? Maybe people do notice, but choosing to ignore and forget the horrors of their town lets them continue their lives without facing the facts. And don’t we all do that sometimes?

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The Quibbler 1st Edition

Time-Turners Should Include Nap Time

Welcome to The Podcast That Must Not Be Named’s Quibbler! The Quibbler focuses on topics discussed in the most recent episode of the show, which this week was 3-22E Final Chaps Recap.

In this first edition, I have some burning questions from hosts and guests Luke, Riley, and, of course, Lorelei, all of which focus on the use of the Time Turner in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. We’ll start with Lorelei (who was on fire in this episode). Lorelei asked, “Why would Hermione want to take all those classes anyway?” An excellent question, Lorelei.

We know from the book itself that several of the classes held topics of interest to Hermione. Despite being a Muggleborn, she thought it’d be interesting to study the subject of Muggles from the wizards’ perspective. I totally agree. But why did Hermione even sign up for Divination? Is this a required subject for all students? That seems a little silly to me, since Hermione ends up dropping it anyway and it is arguably the least respected of the subjects studied at Hogwarts. It doesn’t surprise me that Hermione would want to make the most of her education, and it sounds like Hogwarts might have too many options of classes, really, since she has to take three during one class period.

But maybe a more important question off of Lorelei’s wonderful question: Why would McGonagall LET Hermione take all these classes? We can assume that the Hogwarts class schedule has been set for quite a long time and that no one ever used a Time-Turner to take multiple classes before, because that’s insane. Why make an exception for Hermione (besides, you know, the plot)? There is literally nothing stopping Hermione from using it for her own desires, and McGonagall just trusts that she won’t? Doesn’t seem like the McGonagall I know.

But since McGonagall did allow her to use the Time Turner, let’s look at Riley and Luke’s questions: How could she ever be tired? Couldn’t she get her own bedroom?

If Hermione had her own room, she could go back in time and take a nap while she was also studying. Problem solved. She wouldn’t have to worry about being spotted in two places at once. Also, the hosts pointed out that if she walked in on herself in the bedroom she wouldn’t be confused.

Which leads to my final question: WHY would a wizard in the past ever be confused by the appearance of their future self if they knew they had a Time-Turner in their possession? I understand not knowing what was happening if you didn’t know you had a Time Turner. You’d be a little confused. But Hermione knows she has one. If she saw her future self taking a nap, she’d say, “Ah yes, of course, a nap will be great later!” Perhaps wondering about when exactly she would go back to take a nap would be confusing? But if she believes that everything in the past has already happened, then she’d trust that she would go back to take her nap exactly when she was meant to.

Hopefully, in future editions of the Quibbler, I’ll be able to discuss things in more concrete terms, but I think we can all agree that time travel is confusing and Time-Turners are just insane. Until next time, stay imaginary!