Episode 33: The Ring Franchise with Dr. Jaime Hartless

Jul 21, 2023

On this month's episode of The Sociologist's Dojo Podcast, Dr. Jaime Hartless returns to talk about The Ring Franchise. 'Dr. Horror' takes us through the long and convoluted journey of this multi-media property through its books, original films and the cavalcade of remakes. Then, we talk about what makes a classic film, our own "funeral films", the gender swapping and gender violence in the films, along with the Intersexed nature of Japanese ghosts. Enjoy!

  Production Notes:

 

Intro: 0:00-8:11

• Update on Dr. Hartless's research
• Queer Ghost Hunters 

Basics of The Ring Franchise (8:12-38:28) 

• Started as Books (1991)
• Japanese original films 
• Korean Remakes
• American Remakes 
• Books vs Movies 
• Trivia and Tangents 

Historical Context: (39:09-95:24)

• Dr. Hartless's 'Ring' Journey (Content Analysis)
• Origin and Folklore 
• Technological Changes 
• Film's Cultural and Historical Context 
• Criteria for a Classic 
• Funeral Films and the loss of physical media 

Social Analysis 96:20-135:13

• Gender Swaping of Characters and Violence 
• Projections of Masculinity and Femininity 
• "Have it all Sexism"
• Intersexed Definition and The Ring 
• Rings  and Academic mistrepresentation in film 

Outtro: 135:14-136:41

• Plugs 
• Dr. Hartless on Twitter
• The Sociologist's Dojo Blog  

All Clips were used under Fair use