Nathan Koob

A couple weeks ago, Mav learned that they were making a sequel to a movie that he loves, Spring Breakers. The thing is, that’s an indy film that basically no normal people have ever seen and probably no one is looking for a sequel to. Even more curiously, none of the original cast, writer, or director are returning. And since it’s a movie about teenagers, some 15 years later… how is it a sequel exactly? And for that matter, what even is a sequel?

In today’s nostalgia driven, franchise driven, pop culture world sequels are obviously big business. But what do we do when sequels become too boring (and we can’t get the original cast of a film back)? Prequels are obviously the answer. But why? Is there any value to prequels or are they nothing more than shameless cash grabs. And in that respect, are the any different than sequels or any other franchise driven IP?

If one of the the primary functions of books and movies is to help us escape from the adversity of day to day life, then why do we have so many of them that are basically about what if our modern problems became not only inescapable, but became the absolute worst case scenario of themselves and threatened to destroy the world? In this episode Mav, Katya, and Hannah are joined by new guest film professor Nathan Koob to dive into the world of disaster movies and books.