The Take
This is the Take. It's where you come to understand more about your favorite movies, shows and culture. Our video essays make the story worlds you enter richer and deeper. Think: Endings Explained, Character Studies, Hidden Messages and Symbols Revealed, Actor and Director Profiles, and more.
We want to share our love of visual culture with the world. So here's our Take.
476
The Office - In Defense of Toby
Since The Office ended, theories on Toby have proliferated, with many even finding a bunch of clues that he’s the true Scranton Strangler. But Toby doesn’t deserve the hate, so why is he such a punching bag?
19 min
477
Legally Blonde and the History of the “Dumb Blo...
A key mission of Legally Blonde's Elle Woods is fighting the bias against blondes -- in particular, the "dumb blonde" stereotype. But where does this stereotype come from? Let's all dig into the roots of the assumptions about blondes and find out what's really behind them.
17 min
478
Forrest Gump: The Myth of America
The story of Forrest Gump is a myth of 20th-century America. Like any good myth, it filters historical facts through allegory, creating a symbolic journey that helps us make sense of a complicated era. So, what does Forrest Gump has to say about us -- and our national identity?
24 min
479
The Good Girl Trope - Why Women Can't Win
The good girl of film and tv plays by the rules. She's nice, polite, and probably a straight A student. Yet this perfect-seeming facade can mask her darker struggles, even from herself.
19 min
480
Pete Davidson, Heartthrob - Why the “Hotness Ga...
Media coverage of Pete Davidson suggests a society that’s still as obsessed as ever with conventional female beauty and a “hotness gap” between the men and women in celebrity couples. But Pete's attractiveness is actually pretty obvious, and the coverage of his relationships needs to calm down and catch up with the times.
14 min
481
The "Mean Girl" Trio - Three Types of Bad Femal...
Variations on the terrible trio, like The Plastics and the Unholy Trinity, have long dominated cinema’s and TV’s fictional high school hallways. So what is it about this rule of three and these particular recurring character types that add up to the perfect recipe for high-school popularity and oppression?
16 min
482
The Dragon Lady Trope - Reclaiming Her Power
East Asian women onscreen have long been haunted by the figure of the Dragon Lady: a violent seductress who will do anything to achieve her goals. At the same time, the dragon lady is unapologetically driven, ultra-assertive, and has agency.
21 min
483
The Weird Girl Trope, Explained
She's a Weird Girl, the black sheep of all female character tropes. Why do people misunderstand her, or are even scared of her? What secret powers does the weird girl have?
20 min
484
The Office's Andy - Privilege Can't Buy Happiness
Privileged and miserably insecure Andy Bernard is The Office's cautionary tale about the limits of what wealth can (or rather can't) do for you. Many Office fans found Andy’s arc disappointing, but his choices eventually proved how many who grow up in toxic, status-obsessed environments often don’t transcend their learned behaviors.
18 min
485
The Housewife Onscreen, Start Valuing Her More
In capitalist terms, housewives as a group are highly influential, shaping everything from department-store stock to global politics. But whether she’s framed as an object of envy or pity, the housewife figure is routinely disrespected in our culture.
22 min
486
How I Met Your Mother's Controversial Ending, E...
How I Met Your Mother's ending has never sat right with fans. Why is this conclusion regarded with such infamy? Should Ted and Robin have gotten together? Did the Mother live up to your expectations? Let's take a look at what doesn't work about the How I Met Your Mother series finale.
17 min
487
All the Metaphors in The Matrix, Explained
The evolving discussion over symbolism in The Matrix is a testament to how much meaning the film holds for audiences. So which interpretations offer the most insight, and what does the Matrix teach us about the fundamental nature of art?
22 min
488
Stop Talking About If Female Characters Are “Li...
Why are we still talking about whether or not female characters are likable? Historically, female characters have been over-defined by how much a male viewpoint character likes, or indeed, doesn’t like them -- creating a gendered bias of likability.
22 min
489
The “Victim” Onscreen and How She’s Been Misrep...
The female victim-survivor binary of film & tv has produced both hapless "victim" characters and unrealistic "survivor" heroes -- so it's time we truly listen as the person who lived through hell tells her complicated story herself.
21 min
490
The Nice Guy Trope, Explained
He's not like the other guys. He's a NICE guy -- but wait, is he really that nice? What's behind his sweet, romantic act? In this episode, we take on the Nice Guy archetype and figure out what he represents in our world today.
22 min
491
The Devil Wears Prada: Miranda Priestly - A Def...
Is Miranda Priestly actually "the devil" in The Devil Wears Prada? Her pursuit of excellence actually makes her a role model for working women, and we can all use a touch of Miranda in our professional lives -- that is, of course, if you’re willing to pay the price of perfectionism.
22 min
492
Clickbait’s Crazy Ending, Explained - The Click...
Netflix's Clickbait uses the same kinds of techniques as internet clickbait to keep us pressing “next episode”: focusing on sensational, violent spectacle; raising tantalizing questions that it delays answering, and ending episodes with cliffhangers that tease a big reveal, only to send us down a lot of false paths.
21 min
493
The Antihero’s Wife - Home Is Where The Crime Is
The anti hero’s wife enables him to self-identify as a ‘family man,’ but they also serve to highlight that -- however much these men claim that their wrongdoing is separate from their pure family home -- it’s impossible to cleanly close the door on dirty business and retreat into the realm of pure domesticity.
19 min
494
The Office: Why Michael Scott is Actually the W...
The mug speaks the truth: The Office’s Michael Scott (Steve Carell) IS the world’s best boss.
17 min
495
The "Quirky Black Character" - How Black Creato...
More than ever today, the Quirky Black Character is becoming a well-rounded protagonist in a Black-created story -- expressed not just as a personality, but through an individual or downright weird worldview that shapes the whole texture of the narrative.
19 min
496
Mean Girls: Regina George, The Psychology of a ...
Did you know Regina George (Rachel McAdams) actually tells us a lot about how dictatorships work? Listen to our take and find out more about this iconic character and her North Shore High “regime.”
19 min
497
Ted Lasso on Today's Toxic Positivity - Season ...
Ted Lasso’s relentless optimism won us all over in season one. But by season two, Ted’s refusal to look anywhere but on the sunny side of things is looking less and less healthy. So what really went wrong with Nate, and how can you achieve a “Light Side” that’s based on a genuine, rock-solid foundation?
21 min
498
The Cool Girl Trope, Explained
She’s not like other girls. She’s a COOL girl. But does this fun, junk food-loving hottie actually exist? And what’s behind this myth? In this episode, we take on how the Cool Girl has evolved onscreen and what she represents in our culture.
19 min