The Nature of Fame in Mirrorball

The Light of Stardom in Clara Bow

We are taking it back to the 1920s (and then the 1970s) today with Clara Bow from The Tortured Poets Department. Uncle Jerry talks all about the early film industry, Stevie Nicks, the violence of beauty and fame for women, and so much more.  Works Cited: Clara Bow [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001966/] The Jazz Singer (1927) [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0018037/] Greta Garbo [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greta_Garbo] Douglas Fairbanks [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Fairbanks] John Gilbert [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gilbert_(actor)] Michael Curtiz [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Curtiz] Casablanca (1942) [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034583/] The Lodger (1947) [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0017075/] World’s Columbian Exposition (1893) [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World%27s_Columbian_Exposition] The Birth of a Nation (1915) [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0004972/] It (1927) [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0018033/] It – Elinor Glyn – Aff Link [https://bookshop.org/a/113665/9781592115501] Caesura [https://www.poetryfoundation.org/education/glossary/caesura] Horatio Alger [https://www.britannica.com/biography/Horatio-Alger] Death of a Salesman – Arthur Miller [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_a_Salesman] A Cool Million – Nathanael West – Aff Link [https://amzn.to/4vr4KRr] The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus – Christopher Marlowe [https://www.gutenberg.org/files/779/779-h/779-h.htm] To an Athlete Dying Young – A. E. Housman [https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46452/to-an-athlete-dying-young] Idle Fame – John Clare [https://allpoetry.com/Idle-Fame] The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson – Aff Link [https://amzn.to/3RHw1k5] Fame is a fickle food (1659) – Emily Dickinson [https://poets.org/poem/fame-fickle-food-1659] Fame is a bee. (1788) – Emily Dickinson [https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/52139/fame-is-a-bee-1788] Mirrorball/Clara Bow Mash-up [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyqPjlgOKLg] The Swiftie and The Scholar Grading Matrix [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fnP9Eoffzj1LWvQWstsaL5K1Q2eXiSoJUvNRaqcUpEY/edit?usp=sharing] Follow Us: Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheSwiftieandTheScholar] ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ [https://www.youtube.com/@swiftieandscholarpod] ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠ [https://www.tiktok.com/@swiftieandscholarpod] ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/swiftieandscholarpod/] Threads [https://www.threads.com/@swiftieandscholarpod] ⁠Angela’s Instagram⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/angelawyattmcdow] Uncle Jerry’s Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/drunclejerry/]

The Nature of Fame in Mirrorball

We’re back in our folklore era with mirrorball today! Uncle Jerry had some extra time with this one and doesn’t even know where to start the discussion. We get into the uses of mirrors in folklore, how this was made during the pandemic, and discuss the many facets of celebrity. Make sure you come back next week for another song discussing the nature of fame. Works Cited: The Philosophy of Reflection: Mirrors as Symbols Across Cultures [https://merithome.co.uk/the-philosophy-of-reflection-mirrors-as-symbols-across-cultures/?srsltid=AfmBOoqpnd2GlLVVfNa374FAdKZpMeGHRTWH2FVxkYJh0jb9zpGVMbec] Catoptromancy [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catoptromancy] Through the Looking Glass – Lewis Carroll – Aff Link [https://amzn.to/4ujBQlr] Perseus and Medusa [https://www.theoi.com/articles/the-myth-of-perseus-and-medusa-explained/] A Discovery of Witches (2018) [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2177461/] 'Spirit mirror' used by 16th-century occultist John Dee came from the Aztec Empire [https://www.livescience.com/john-dee-spirit-mirror-aztec] Conceit [https://www.poetryfoundation.org/education/glossary/conceit] Anaphora [https://www.poetryfoundation.org/education/glossary/anaphora] Inclusio [https://www.gotquestions.org/what-is-an-inclusio.html] Ouroboros [https://www.feelnopain.it/en/blog/the-ouroboros-history-meaning-and-symbolism/?srsltid=AfmBOooY8npWccHjE4fezbhN0ssDX-JQVmuObcrIby2SFKgziHSGhm_k] Albertus Magnus and the Magic Mirror [https://occult-world.com/mirrors-witchcraft/] Loafing Him was Bread T-Shirt  [https://go.shopmy.us/p-60959200] The House of Fame – Geoffrey Chaucer [https://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/English/Fame.php] The Temple of Fame – Alexander Pope [https://allpoetry.com/The-Temple-of-Fame] The Swiftie and The Scholar Grading Matrix [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fnP9Eoffzj1LWvQWstsaL5K1Q2eXiSoJUvNRaqcUpEY/edit?usp=sharing] Follow Us: Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheSwiftieandTheScholar] ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ [https://www.youtube.com/@swiftieandscholarpod] ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠ [https://www.tiktok.com/@swiftieandscholarpod] ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/swiftieandscholarpod/] Threads [https://www.threads.com/@swiftieandscholarpod] ⁠Angela’s Instagram⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/angelawyattmcdow] Uncle Jerry’s Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/drunclejerry/]

The Inquisitive Human Nature in How Did It End?

FIXED AUDIO! Call all your friends and cousins, we’re finally covering How Did It End? from The Tortured Poets Department. Uncle Jerry finds tons of beautiful poetics and dark humor in this one, and Angela discusses its connections to both The Prophecy and But Daddy I Love Him. If you want to vote for a specific song for June, join us on Patreon to play along! [https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheSwiftieandTheScholar] Works Cited: General Reference Pronoun [https://www.thoughtco.com/reference-grammar-1692032] Autofiction as a Doorway Into Truth [https://writers.com/feature/autofiction] Conceit – Literary term [https://www.poetryfoundation.org/education/glossary/conceit] Come One, Come All – All Time Low [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNAL7iAjFW8&list=RDZNAL7iAjFW8&start_radio=1] Slant Rhyme [https://www.litcharts.com/literary-devices-and-terms/slant-rhyme] "Now give three cheers" – HMS Pinafore [https://gsarchive.net/pinafore/web_opera/pin08.html] The Telephone Hour – Bye Bye Birdie [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bNq_L1jMow] The Raven – Edgar Allan Poe [https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48860/the-raven] Annabel Lee – Edgar Allan Poe [https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44885/annabel-lee] To -- -- --. Ulalume: A Ballad – Edgar Allan Poe [https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44889/to-ulalume-a-ballad] Hyperion – John Keats [https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44473/hyperion] Ode to a Nightingale – John Keats [https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44479/ode-to-a-nightingale] A Rose for Emily – William Faulkner [https://facultyweb.wcjc.edu/users/jonl/documents/RoseforEmily.pdf] The Swiftie and The Scholar Grading Matrix [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fnP9Eoffzj1LWvQWstsaL5K1Q2eXiSoJUvNRaqcUpEY/edit?usp=sharing] Follow Us: Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheSwiftieandTheScholar] ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ [https://www.youtube.com/@swiftieandscholarpod] ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠ [https://www.tiktok.com/@swiftieandscholarpod] ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/swiftieandscholarpod/] Threads [https://www.threads.com/@swiftieandscholarpod] ⁠Angela’s Instagram⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/angelawyattmcdow] Uncle Jerry’s Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/drunclejerry/]

The Christian Tendrils of But Daddy I Love Him

Buckle up for a long one! We are flooring it through the fences today with But Daddy I Love Him from Taylor Swift’s 2024 album, The Tortured Poets Department. We discuss common movie tropes, conservative small towns, and the lyrics Angela wants to have tattooed from this song. Works Cited: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell – Susanna Clarke – Aff Link [https://amzn.to/4n2F6iO] East of Eden – John Steinbeck – Aff Link [https://amzn.to/4t93joY] Rebel With a Cause (1955) [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048545/] The Notebook (2004) [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0332280] Inside Daisy Clover (1965) [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059314/] How The West Was Won (1962) [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056085/] Anaphora [https://www.poetryfoundation.org/education/glossary/anaphora] Epiphora (or epistrophe) [https://www.thoughtco.com/epiphora-rhetoric-term-1690663] the Cambridge ladies who live in furnished souls – e.e. cummings [https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47245/the-cambridge-ladies-who-live-in-furnished-souls] Footloose (1984) [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087277/] The Swiftie and The Scholar Grading Matrix [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fnP9Eoffzj1LWvQWstsaL5K1Q2eXiSoJUvNRaqcUpEY/edit?usp=sharing] Follow Us: Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheSwiftieandTheScholar] ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ [https://www.youtube.com/@swiftieandscholarpod] ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠ [https://www.tiktok.com/@swiftieandscholarpod] ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/swiftieandscholarpod/] Threads [https://www.threads.com/@swiftieandscholarpod] ⁠Angela’s Instagram⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/angelawyattmcdow] Uncle Jerry’s Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/drunclejerry/]

The Sentimentalism of Marjorie

In this episode, we are tackling marjorie, a track from Taylor Swift’s evermore album from 2020. Uncle Jerry teaches us about sentimentalism in literature, and Angela blows his mind by telling him the real life Marjorie’s backstory.  Works Cited: Aphorism [https://www.litcharts.com/literary-devices-and-terms/aphorism] David Hume [https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/hume/] Immanuel Kant [https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant/] Sentimentalism [https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/culture-magazines/sentimentalism] Sentimental Novels in Early American Fiction [https://literariness.org/2025/04/30/sentimental-novels-in-early-american-fiction/] The Man of Feeling – Henry Mackenzie – Aff Link [https://amzn.to/4t6cGpw] Pamela: Or Virtue Rewarded – Samuel Richardson – Aff Link [https://amzn.to/4ubJrTk] Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen – Aff Link [https://amzn.to/425JOTn] A Treatise of Human Nature Paperback – David Hume – Aff Link [https://amzn.to/424zLOA] The Swiftie and The Scholar Grading Matrix [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fnP9Eoffzj1LWvQWstsaL5K1Q2eXiSoJUvNRaqcUpEY/edit?usp=sharing] Follow Us: Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheSwiftieandTheScholar] ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ [https://www.youtube.com/@swiftieandscholarpod] ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠ [https://www.tiktok.com/@swiftieandscholarpod] ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/swiftieandscholarpod/] Threads [https://www.threads.com/@swiftieandscholarpod] ⁠Angela’s Instagram⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/angelawyattmcdow] Uncle Jerry’s Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/drunclejerry/]