Who doesn't want to be a Princess? We are jumping into exploring the 2001 film, "The Princess Diaries" starring Anne Hathaway in her breakout role of Mia Thermopolis, an awkward teenage girl that discovers that she is the heir to the throne of Genovia and her Grandmother, Queen Clarisse Renaldi, Played by Julie Andrews, has come to America to teach her how to be royal.

This film is definitely a kids show about a kid, for kids, but there are still some themes that you can pick out of the movie that adults can love too. Queen Clarisse has a journey that she goes on in this film too learning that its important to accept people for who they are and not what they do.

We have a discussion about what it actually means to be a friend and whether or not Lilly is a good friend to Mia.

We complain how Disney Movies frequently paint adults as bumbling oafs that create issues that would never happen in real life.

And we take a look at whether or not media is training children that they must be the chosen one and accomplish great things or else face the fact that they are failures and how to overcome that.

Next week we jump into some of the history, inspiration and a discussion about the books.

Be sure to visit FandomPodcast.com to sign up for our Weekly Fandom Briefings that for once will deliver an email that you want to your inbox with links to important news stories from across the fandomverse.

Stay tuned for more and until next time May the Fandom Be With You!

you know what I feel like they're the same movie.

but really they are the same movie.

It's just like a kid version and a grownup version of the same movie.

Apparently , the key to being a princess is to have a hair straightener.

That is what I learned about this movie.

This is fandom.

I am Branden Ushio.

Nik English.

And I'm Taylor Iverson.

This episode, we are talking about the princess diaries, which is a

movie about the life of Mia, Thermopolis, who I said that Like she's a real person.

She's not really, this not a true story, but the movie came out in 2001 and the

story revolves around a teenage girl who actually finds out that she's the heir

to the throne of Genovia and has to leave her life as an average teenager behind.

To become royalty.

So the film and the book was written by Meg Cabot and the film

was directed by Gary Marshall.

And there was a sequel to this the Royal engagement, which

also start Anne Hathaway.

So both these movies start Anne Hathaway her breakout role.

And she started the SQL as well.

The princess diaries is really an interesting story.

You've got queen Clarice Rinaldi and she's I'm going, I need to find my

air because my son has passed away.

So she goes to find her teenage grand daughter and let her know

that she is actually a princess.

of

Brandon who is queen Clarice.

I feel like you're leaving out something very important,

she's acted in a couple of films before.

I don't know how famous she is.

a little known.

Julie Andrews is something like that.

My gosh.

so this, this movie it's got a lot of people that

you're like, Oh my gosh, okay.

I know that person.

I know that person.

And it's bam, Julie Andrews.

It is definitely one of those shows that you can watch with your family and

it's, even though it came out in 2001, it surprisingly holds up pretty well.

Uh, okay.

We will talk about that because there are some, there are

problematic things about that,

I will admit that there are problematic things about this movie.

Nik , what did you see as the biggest theme from this movie?

The princess diaries is about everyone's fantasy slash hope that they

are something more than they really are and their problems can be solved.

Easily without problem, without any issue.

I don't know.

That's just what this entire show seems like . It's my

problems are going to be solved.

Oh, I wish that I was.

And then all of a sudden you are, it creates more problems, but in

the end it's like, who doesn't want to be princess the end.

That was a very concise summary of the movie

Who doesn't want to be a princess

all right, Taylor, what would you say this show is about?

I think it comes down to learning to like yourself and

who you are and figuring out who you are and being okay with that.

okay.

Similar to Nik, I saw this movie as a ode to money and royalty.

It really does solve everything.

You've got this little geeky invisible Terrified of giving public speeches,

Mia thermophilus who, she tries to blend in the background and then you throw a

Royal makeover on her and she becomes a stunning girl that everyone wants to date

can we, can we talk about, can we talk about that Royal?

Make-over because pretty much the only thing they did was tweezer eyebrows.

And so I think that this is why everyone got so obsessed with

tweezing, their eyebrows, like in

In this movie, her eyebrows before are like, what people want now.

Cause now big thick eyebrows are in.

Yeah.

Yeah.

That's like the

Groucho.

Marx

It's not like in the nineties and early two thousands

where literally you had a pencil,

Yeah.

like a line and everyone was like, yes, that is what

everyone's eyebrows should look like.

Okay.

So let's talk since we're talking about the makeover here, I have a feeling and

Taylor, I would like your opinion on this.

I think that Nik and I actually cannot appreciate exactly what that was all

about because to us, like I woke up this morning and I think I combed my

hair, I just threw some water on it and ran my hand through it and it was fine.

And it was fine.

And nobody said anything about it.

I might've gotten judged.

If I did that's fair, but it wasn't something that it was like, Oh,

look at Brandon with his messy hair.

It was just like, Oh, Brandon's there.

It's guys.

I think we have it a lot easier.

And so we

don't

I have four sisters and they have ingrained in me since I was very young,

that personal hygiene is very important.

And so once a week, and it's usually on a Saturday, So I will

just completely grew myself.

I feel really good about it.

Like a moisturizer.

I trim like I clean, but it's like that one weekend.

And it's usually just because I can't do it during the week because other things

going on, but like my Saturday or Sunday morning is when I can just, shave shampoo.

Pluck tweeze trim everything.

I shower every day and if

I don't, if I don't shower in the morning, like I literally can not function.

how long does it take you to do your hair?

Nik?

Just out of

Oh, right now, because of the pandemic, I don't have a haircut

that is needing of doing anything.

Because it was getting so long that I was getting headaches and horrible, like.

Yes.

It is for me when it starts getting really long, I get really bad migraines.

It is like clockwork.

I know when I have to get a haircut

Nicholas.

This is the most wild thing I've learned about you.

And I've learned some wild things about you.

So getting a haircut is very important to me

and it might just be in my mind, but it is a thing.

But when I was watching this, I was like, okay, so we have some classic

make-overs from like this era in 1998 or 99, 97, somewhere in there.

She's all that was like, Freddie Prinze Jr.

Rachel Lee cook, nerdy, ugly girl turns into smoking hot girl.

Is that something that like girls think is cool?

Here's what I think.

I think the make-over scene is one of the most problematic parts of the movie.

And I think it also watching it as a little girl is one of the biggest

wish fulfillments of a kid or of a teenager of being like, what if you had.

These people just come and make over and you look totally perfect and great.

And your hair was smooth you had makeup and you were weird and awkward

before, but suddenly they straightened your hair and everything was better.

So I think watching it back, yes, that's one of the ones, things that I

found most problematic was them the way they talked about Mia and her looks.

Literally to her face, the things that they said, I was like, I don't think

anyone should say that to a teenage girl, let alone her grandma is screaming.

But I also, I remember being a little kid watching this movie and thinking,

wow, I would love a make-over.

I'll do one for you.

I think that's past tonight.

I'm pretty comfortable.

I'm pretty comfortable who I

I kind of love that the dad, and she's all that also is in this show

and he's the guy giving the make-over.

No, he's not the dad.

And she's all that, he's the dad in

Oh, and 10 things I hate about you.

Sorry, I'm

but yes.

street.

Paolo.

He's one of my favorites and least when you were at simultaneously, it's amazing.

Yeah.

He was a very much a Stereotype in and of himself as well.

Overplayed

Yeah.

There's a lot of weird small parts in this movie that I'm like, like Brandon, I don't

know what you said earlier about so many weird people in this movie that you're

like, I know this person's in this movie.

Hector Elizondo.

I love Joe.

He's one of my favorite characters in this entire movie.

And that's one of, that's one of the people that I was just all I

know him from lots of things, but I.

Couldn't tell you exactly what I know him from.

He's it's okay.

Here's something interesting.

He was in Oh, what's the Julia Roberts one.

woman.

That's what I was just going to say.

He plays a kind of similar ish character in pretty woman where he's like the

concierge at the fancy hotel and basically like guides Julia Roberts

in that movie and is nice, very kind to her and teaches her to about this

world that she gets pulled into.

And yes, I see.

There's definitely some, very different princess hooker, but also we should

talk about pretty woman one day,

you know what I feel like they're the same movie.

but really they are the same movie.

It's just like a kid version and a grownup version of the same movie.

Yeah.

So right there, that is something that is okay, we don't want to

tell our kids about sex workers.

So we're going to make her a princess, apparently the princesses like

this, the key to being a princess is to have a hair straightener.

That is what I learned about this movie.

I remember wanting straight hair so bad growing up and wanting

to do anything to have straight hair.

And I also remember really wishing I had a nice grandma, too.

Okay.

Can we talk about the adults in this movie for just a minute?

Because these adults, okay.

I know that this is a kid's movie.

I know that this is a movie that is supposed to be a

twelve-year-olds fantasy, right?

Like I'm a princess.

And I didn't know it like all these awkward things about me can be solved

because I've got Royal lineage.

What I don't like about this movie, and this is true for so many Disney movies,

they make the parents look like doofuses.

And the grandparents come in and they saved the day, but

they still are problematic.

Like they still do things that is they're like, don't you think they

could have broken the news to add to Mia that she was a princess, a

A little bit

heavily

Oh mom, your mom knows that your grandma's in town.

Mom knows what that means.

And mom says, Oh your grandma's here.

The one that you've never met, you should go.

You should just go stop by

Yes, that seems ridiculous.

I think taking that specific choice outside of it, I actually found

watching it this time around me as mom.

Very cool.

I think I always read her as cool, but I just mean, like I thought she was

very mature and she was very kind and allowed me a lot of space to have like

her feelings and didn't pressure her to

Did she mother her though.

I don't know, but I th I was impressed, specifically, I'm just

thinking maybe I'm just having my perspective changed specifically by

that scene, after the beach party where she cries and she's really upset.

She's like you cry because you got hurt and that's okay.

It's okay to cry.

And then even just the scene where they are painting together with

the darts and the balloons and.

She's the cool mom.

That's for sure.

I do have to say low as a artist.

Like I would live in that house in a heartbeat

Oh,

would be one of my dream homes.

Um, if it was a light house, if it was a lighthouse, that's like my perfect house.

I don't know why I want a light house on the top of that, but like

that open floor and like having stairs that go up and like a little

Tubby that I can hide in at the top.

Yes.

I was up, I was obsessed with this house and I was obsessed with me, his

room and the fact that she had this tower, I thought it was absolutely the

she's in her princess tower.

Yeah.

That I like wanted.

It was like, I want to live in a repurposed firehouse in San Francisco.

Okay, so here's the next question did me, I never stopped to think

how her mother, an artist could afford

Absolutely not.

How old is she 15, right?

Yeah, no,

clearly it had to have been dad who was paying the

I

don't.

I don't think so.

Didn't they address it?

They

addressed it

they did.

They make a comment about.

Wait, when she's talking to Lily about he pays for me to go to school.

That's how he pays for my tuition at private school.

And she makes some comment like that.

but how does mom who paints by throwing darts at balloons?

what?

Artist's

objective.

Let's stop.

Let's

Okay.

No.

That's fine.

That's fine.

But you know that's you've got to either be like a world renowned artist,

which they did not play her out to be

no, but I always

a, she is selling a lot in Genova.

All right.

And they are rich.

I Oh, yeah.

I always read her as a mildly successful artists.

Like she's not yeah.

A world renowned, but she's probably pretty renowned in San Francisco.

And this time around, I also did notice in one of the scenes, there's a poster

in the kitchen or the living room that says like Helen Thermopolis like gallery

showing gallery show such and such date.

So I always read it as she.

Is, and their house is cool, but I wouldn't say it's

wow, this is really nice.

Or like really they're really well off the way that this is deck.

It just, it looks

It easily could have been that daddy bought it.

And so all she's doing is paying property taxes and on an artist you

could easily pay property taxes,

okay.

All right.

All right.

I'll give you

On a, on an artists, especially

paid or she's yeah, dad's paying some type of like

child support type Royal income.

At least it's not queen Elizabeth will just cut you off just completely.

If you decide not to be a Royal,

I mean, obviously.

The queen of Genovia is much more Regal and beautiful

know she's a jerk too.

She's not that jerky.

She at least came back.

Like she was, she, it wasn't out of necessity, but I think also she

like has a genuine love for her.

yes.

And I think she goes on her own personal journey.

And you think of someone who doesn't have any grandchildren

And had one son who died, I just think and grew up Royal or I guess

not grew up because she married into it, but has been in this Royal

life for the last, how many years?

I think.

Yes, that probably hardened her.

And so I think you watch, that's what I also enjoyed the grandma's journey

throughout the movie of her life, having to soften and her really loving her

granddaughter and at the end saying Hey.

You do what's right for you, and I'll still love you and support you.

And you're still a part of this family and that's up to you, you

need to figure that out on your own.

And I'm still here and letting her like expectations down and being

like, Hey, I don't like, even I really love that conversation.

She has with Joe where he like calls her out on her shit and is

that's why Joe is my favorite is she's the queen.

And he's

He's Hey that's your granddaughter?

Yes, that's the future princess, but that's also your granddaughter

and you need to like, watch what you say and be kind to her and be

empathetic to what she's going through.

And so I think everyone in this movie is flawed, but I also think that's life.

So I don't know.

I just don't think it'd be as appealing if it was just like, and then she had

a perfect mom and a perfect grandma who always said the right things.

It was funny too, because the entire time I was watching

this show, I kept thinking to myself, okay, I've seen this movie.

And it seems to me like, Joe is the bad guy and he's going to like, try to take

over the throne or something at the end.

And I could have sworn that was something that was in this movie.

And then I started thinking about it more.

And I think that it's from the Prince and me.

There is a number two.

There is like a character that is plotting to take over the throne.

Maybe you have seen number two

and is John Rhys-Davies

and

you, and you just don't

no, I'm pretty sure that it's the Prince and may that I'm thinking

I mean me, me and my boyfriend watched this, watch this together.

And at the end, I said, now we now can we watch number two?

And he just didn't seem as enthused about it.

So we didn't tell him it's part of my podcast homework.

So we have to watch Royal engagement with Chris pine.

Allina is not going to have any trouble or any problem with doing that.

Wasn't that one of his first movies too,

That was his breakout film.

And he credits Gary Marshall for his success in Hollywood.

I think

the hand Hathaway, this was her breakout role.

So this is a pivotal moment for our superhero community of

Catwoman and pretend low-key,

and kept no pretend.

What do you mean?

No, he was not pretend low-key

Damon.

I

yeah, he

wonder woman.

And wonder woman's boyfriend.

Trevor.

So Batman's girlfriend and wonder woman's boyfriend.

There we go.

There's gonna be a little triangle now.

everything comes back to superhero movies.

Um, but.

Brendan.

I was curious since you have watched it so recently, did you find

number two, like less problematic

Yes.

And no.

Yes and no.

They like, like they realized all of the problems that they had in the first one.

Like the first one definitely had some issues with sexism, right?

Thinking like here are these old ideals of what it means to be a princess.

And you have to conform to that if you want to be a princess.

And so they, they took some of that and they're like, we're going to twist

this and we're going to show it's not just about being a girly girl.

It's also about being a good person.

And then they just randomly out of nowhere gave her a black friend,

Which,

they probably should have, because this was a very white movie.

Oh, this was a very white movie.

Yes.

The none of the kids were that I noticed had any color to them.

The adults, there was like Sandro who was prominent.

And I don't know what the name like Hector Elizondo.

I feel like he's got to be Latin, but.

I think he is because I recently saw him in a different movie.

That's an older movie where

But it could be Spain.

He could be a Latin from Spain.

Yes.

And I thought he played a character from.

I don't even know if it was Spain or maybe it was Mexico.

I can't remember.

Honestly.

then the music teacher was black, but that, those were

like the only people of color that I really noticed in that entire film.

So when they gave out a what's her name, was it.

Raven Simone.

Thank you.

She just shows up at Hathaway was like, Oh, what's your name?

Like she obviously knows her.

They're acting like they're old friends because it's been

five years since the end of it.

And yeah, great.

She's made new friends, but it just felt very much see, she's got a black

friend, she's got a black friend,

Yes, and I and I think it also probably played a big part that like

in Disney channel timeframe, right then that was when Raven Simone was big.

Like she had that.

So Raven and so I think it was like, and this is a Disney movie and R yes.

It just very much felt like a Disney special, especially on the second

one where they're having the sleepover and Julie Andrews and Raven Simone

have the duet that they do together.

That was like, okay.

I see what you're doing here.

But Julie Andrews was singing rain and go sit down for a minute.

Julie Andrews is singing

Raven Simone was on a recent season of the mass singer and I had

no idea she could sing like that.

So she's a pretty dang good singer.

and that's fine, but it's julie Andrews.

You got to bring in the new generation with the old,

Can we talk about the romance between queen Clarice and Jo?

Because even as a child, I remember really loving that

well, as long as the queen is consensual, I'm fine with it.

I don't think any one makes queen Clarice do

anything she doesn't want to do.

although Joe gave her quite a bit of pressure.

Like not pressure, not I think it was not a

think he just knows when I think it's one of those things where

he just knows the right moment and he's we need to dance right now

because I know you're stressed and this is going to make you happy.

And I am the.

I'm going to use my, spend your suave

that was one of the things that I was like, I didn't know

what sexual attention was when I watched that movie, but I knew that

something was happening in that scene.

Julie Andrews is the queen of that though.

you've been wearing black too long.

I was like, I don't know what that means as a child, but I know that

it's sexy, but I don't even think I would say that word when I was a child

or even what that means, but I know it's sexy.

You think about her other roles like Julie Andrews has this image of being

so wholesome and pure, but like sound of music captain on trap and Julie Andrews.

telling you sexual tension for days in that movie.

I also, we're watching the movie as a child being like, I don't know what

this feeling is in my heart and in my gut, but I like when they dance

together and they look at each other.

Yeah.

Oh, queen Clarice Rinaldi.

So Joe and her relationship.

Okay.

Because I watched them basically back to back.

I'm trying to remember where it ends in the first one.

The first one is basically when Mia and Michael back away into the garden

and Joe makes some comment like, Oh, they're going out to the garden.

I guess there goes my idea.

He's got the gardens taken or whatever.

I was like, ah,

I

think, yeah, it just the, in the first movie just ends with them.

They have them like walking off and hold hands.

And then he like tells the like security person.

He's please, we get out of here, like motions for him to leave the room.

I was just trying to think of the other thing that, that Julie Andrews

creates like sexual tension with.

And I realized that it was bridge curtain.

She is the voice.

She's the person that reads the voice of lady whistle down or whatever.

And just hearing her voice and all of the stuff that's going on in that movie.

Oh my gosh.

It is so good.

I love her in this movie.

I love all of it.

How did you guys feel about the comedy in this movie?

Did you think this movie was funny?

so the scene where she slipped on the bleachers and fell,

which is an iconic scene in this movie

Is re real.

is real.

Like she actually

and Hathaway really slipped and fell.

And Gary Marshall said that is perfect.

We're using that scene.

I was curious because in that scene, but I think it's like they make a

cut and Joe, like coming over to check on her, like he rushes over in her direction.

And I was just curious if that was like, after the fact they edited

that in, or if that was also just like his natural response to,

Oh, that'd be interesting

I knew that since I don't know, I probably saw it on something like

Disney channel movie trivia thing.

But I remember knowing that for the longest time and this time,

so I watched that scene and I said the same thing to my boyfriend.

I'm like, did you know.

But that is actually, that really happened.

She really fell and the director like really liked it, so he kept it in.

So I was that annoying person.

But I did notice that in that scene also, Joe, like starts to run it.

Then once he sees that she's like laughing and she's fine.

He like goes back to dribbling the basketball in the background.

But I thought that was interesting.

I was like, I wonder if like they cut that in after they're like, Hey.

We're going to leave that in.

So hurry and run over there and make it look like you're checking on

That easily could have been.

Or if that was like, just him as an actor, as a person was like, Oh no.

And fell, go check on her.

a young girl in my presence fell.

I need to be a good person.

He, he broke character.

So that makes him a terrible actor.

but you thought that was funny.

Was that the only part

Yeah.

They played that up for like her awkwardness, right?

Like the other bits of humor, like the, okay.

So there are so many things in this movie that have become, they were cliches to

start with, but the foot popping thing, like calling out the popping thing that I

forgot that was called out in this movie.

I know it's been done in a lot of movies,

but yeah, her actually identifying it as I've always, I, in

movies where the girl's foot just pops and I look, yeah, I did laugh at that

scene where mum said I really hope you get your first foot pop in kiss.

Okay.

So here's comedy that I don't think was actually supposed to be comedy.

But the guy who was, I think he was like the prime minister

or something like that, but the

It was funny.

I was like, Oh man, they are committing to this fake country, bitch.

And I liked the guy.

I like the people that are supposed to take over and they keep talking

about how she won't get her facelift.

Now.

I thought that was funny.

I thought parts that I really enjoyed were things with Lily, her

best friend, where I left first.

The reason, yes.

I laughed really hard where she's You're not going to help you with my

spotted owl petition after school.

Seriously, we have to talk about Lily because she is not a good

friend in any way, shape or form.

No, like literally the entire time that she was there, I was like, this

girl does not deserve to be Anne Hathaway's friend and any way, because

she's just manipulating her and.

She's borderline sociopath.

We're just using the people around her for her own means.

And I'm not okay with that.

So

okay.

All right.

Okay.

But this is actually like a more serious plot line right there.

Okay.

When you are one of those invisible people, Nik you

were always popular and cool.

no, I

And so, so

I know you are always popular and cool.

You could say you weren't, but you were one of those cool kids

who would say they weren't.

Cool.

I was not popular

Okay.

All right.

Then you should understand this, your friends, you don't go walk into a room

and be like, you're a good person.

You're going to be my friend.

It's all of the leftovers that gets, that are sitting at the

lunch table all by themselves.

I'm not better.

Who have a, who have is these are the five kids that I eat lunch with.

And so these are now my friends.

And it's sometimes you don't get to pick and choose sometimes

a fate throws you together.

And

So you feel that those were the two most awkward people in the school.

And so that's why they ended up together.

It happens like my I've told the story before of my first day in seventh

grade had no friends and I bonded with a guy over the fact that we both read

the novelization of the Americanization of a Japanese anime called robo tech.

And he recognized that we could nerd out about it.

And

just, you just sunk your ship right from the very beginning.

If you didn't want to be the nerd in school.

Lily does have some really hard things to swallow

where she's not a good friend.

Like seriously, like she didn't even think about it when she didn't show up.

If she was a good friend, she would have been like, where's the Lila, I'm

going to go to her house and find her.

But no, she's just dulled to the nine standing there waiting for her to come.

And everyone's like, where's the princess.

Nobody knows where she is.

And she's just standing there huh?

Huh?

wait,

are you saying that me as a bad friend or that Lily's a bad

Lily is a bad friend because she should have called

when, like when Mia wasn't like

Here's the thing.

This movie came out in 2001 and

not that many

kids

could, You knew your best friend's freaking phone number.

Cause you had called them like every day.

Yes, but I also want to point out that both Lilly and Mia are 15 in this

movie and 15 year olds are stupid and.

I don't think I always know made the smartest decisions or was the nicest

person, or probably always made my friends feel great when I was 15.

I probably was jealous at certain points or wanted my own things.

But I also think I really enjoyed the conversation that they

have when they make up after.

And Lily brings up about saying Hey Being a princess, you

have the power to have your

voice heard and to change the world.

And even though it was very like cheesy in a lot of

Re her, relating that to her TV show and being like, I have all these things

that I want to do and which they let up throughout the week, like she has

the spotted owl petition and she's always, trying to do this protest or

get people to sign this petition or come on her show, shut up and listen.

Yeah, but

funny.

And so I think like her having that conversation of saying Hey, like I, and

admitting, like I was jealous and you were getting all this attention and you were

doing all this cool stuff and I'm sorry.

And I was a bad friend and but I'm proud of you.

And I want you to have this experience and

she wasn't.

But to me, when she was saying that she didn't, she wasn't relaying.

I'm proud of you for being a princess.

You should go do this.

It was still, Hey, you have the power to do what I can and you

should do it for my selfish means.

That's the way that I read it the whole time.

Like I did not read it like, Oh, these two friends are like being so happy.

It was like, the only thing that had led up to that point was that she was

trying to achieve a goal and she was still using me to achieve that goal.

And so I didn't have any I didn't feel in that moment.

Oh, it's so cute that they're making up.

It was like, she's still just yeah.

No.

No.

See, I read that as her, her saying, look, I'm sorry.

I was jealous because look, you have all of these awesome things

that you can do that I can't do.

And this is, I was envious of you and I wanted to be you.

And I was mad that I wasn't you.

And so don't give it up because you think, I think you're being, it'd

be dumb to be a princess because I think it would be really cool to

be a princess because that's the scene.

That's

maybe, yeah, maybe I just hate 15 year old girl logic.

I mean, maybe that's what it is, and like she doesn't show any

empathy for her at all, either.

your dad died two months ago.

Haven't you gotten over that yet?

That is a scene that will forever live in my mind.

Rent-free aren't you like over that?

Now?

That was like, what?

Two months ago?

She's.

Yeah, I don't know.

She just bothered me a lot.

And then it was like, it was like how people sometimes have a really

big problem with Darth Vader, getting redemption at the end.

I don't feel like her redemption was deserved.

I just feel like Lily is so much comedy to me.

I love that scene where she's chasing after Michael and Mia

and she's wait guys, wait.

And then she passes another two.

Like people just not you.

I don't know you.

Okay.

Tell me that they would not have made shut up and listen a podcast

if they were making that today.

Yeah.

great.

I'm Lily Moskovitz and this is shut up and listen, I want to make that podcast.

I have one more thing that I want to talk about with this.

And Nik touched on this in this era of movies, it just really seems to me

like every movie, the kid found out that they were actually the chosen one.

I I'm lost royalty.

I am the, I am amazing.

I am a secret prodigy.

Like they were the chosen one.

And now granted the movie would be.

God I'm yeah, I killed Voldemort.

I,

movie would be boring if it wasn't about somebody.

Cool.

So I get that.

I can agree with that.

But did we put in kids' heads from watching these movies, that

everybody is the chosen one?

You're really the chosen one.

You just haven't found it yet.

Everybody's special dash.

That just means no one is.

Are we like, are we, was that the era that caused everyone to think

that they were the best at everything?

I feel like it.

Are we old men, Nik?

Is that what I'm

I don't know.

And I am legitimately curious about this talking to a licensed therapist.

Is this a thing that like, I don't know, is this anything that

anyone's ever talked about you with?

Oh, wow.

Ha has talked to you about during your schooling or anything like

that, that like maybe media and.

Like the idea that everyone has chosen to has given so many people

expectations to the point where when they don't achieve those things,

that it causes severe depression.

It causes like I didn't fulfill my purpose in life.

I didn't become the best artist in the world.

My podcast was not number one.

I'm not the best therapist in the world.

I didn't get the job that I dreamed of that one out of a

billion people can get like, is.

Does this contribute to that problem and is that something that you would

have to deal with or is it common?

I don't know.

There's been some research or some talks about the generation

of kids who were in maybe like gifted classes or advanced classes

hang on.

Tread carefully here.

Tread carefully.

how much pressure was put on them of

yeah.

I was tough for me.

It is hard being me.

Yes.

Being the like having this expectation of yes, you're going to grow up and you're

going to be scientists and doctors and like video game developers or whatever it

is that your dream was and having these very high expectations and then yeah.

Going into the real world and realizing that not everybody,

gets to be the radio voice of the Utah jazz.

Yes.

Not everybody gets that and that's okay.

And that doesn't mean that there isn't success in that.

So I think there's definitely some relation to that.

I don't know if I ever remember in school as like addressing that

specifically to media, but obviously media and the stuff that we see and

hear, and we take in and we are going to develop ideas and internalize

certain things, even unknowingly.

About how and what we should be and how our lives should be.

And so I think, yeah,

do you think that's problematic or do you think that it's fine.

I, that's what I'm trying to think of if

Specifically, like I can think especially during the night, like

late night, like half of the night lab, the back half of the nineties

and the early two thousands.

And I just feel every single show that was geared towards kids and up to, 20

year olds, or even past that, every single one was like, you're the chosen one?

You're the person that's like going to change the world.

You're a Harry Potter, your Percy Jackson, your, the princess,

and I've thought a lot about it.

I don't know why.

And it wasn't, it was even, it wasn't even before this

moment, like I thought about it.

And I was just like, why?

Yeah, it's a fun trope and stuff.

But like me personally, I had to like, Think to myself

did that affect some of me?

And obviously it did, but did it affect me in a negative way?

Whereas if I didn't have every single thing that I was watching, that was,

I'll also, I grew up in a time where, what was on TV was what was on TV.

I didn't have Netflix, I didn't have those things.

And so I had.

10 channels didn't have cable.

And so that's what I got to watch.

And read comic books where, you're the special person that got chosen to

be the Green Lantern, or you are the last son of Krypton or, your Batman,

That said if you can you make, I want to know Nik, can

you make a entertaining kids show?

That is just about an everyday person that has nothing special about them.

Like

can't do it.

You can't tell a story.

That is just about a guy who goes to work comes home, goes to sleep,

wakes up, goes to work again.

There's always in the hero's journey.

There's always going to be that moment where you leave the normal world

behind and you are the chosen one.

I

think they're trying to do a better job of it though, in children's movies now.

And I'm specifically thinking about soul.

If you have seen soul in that movie, they specifically talk about

your spark is not your purpose.

A spark is just.

Wanting to live and they address it.

And I think that maybe that movie is what kind of brought it to

my, for the forefront of my mind,

And my kids love that show.

Like they love that show more than most of the shows that I want to show them.

And that guy is special because he has a passion about playing the piano.

But like he inherently is a guy just going through his life and it comes to

the end and he says, no, I don't want it.

I don't want to end.

So I do really do believe that you can if you want to.

But I also think that it's a lot easier to write a story about

a chosen child that is going to

well, and sometimes that can be more fun.

So I think there's a couple things here.

I think.

There's nothing wrong cause I think the sending the message to

kids that like you are special.

That is true.

Like you are inherently unique and special and inherently have value.

And so I think that's a great message for us to send kids and for them to

internalize of yes, like what you do does matter and has value and you are special

because you are you not because you're a princess or because you're a wizard.

But just because of who you are, And so I think like maybe that messaging I

think can be super helpful and healthy.

But then I think Nik you make an interesting point.

I think of the movie inside out.

And I think that movie isn't about anything, the main character,

there's nothing, seemingly unique or magical or chosen about her.

It's about a girl who moves to a new city.

And is really struggling and has a really hard time and

learns that it's okay to be sad.

See that's the story for the adults in there.

That's the story in needles?

The story for the kids is all about joy and sadness.

Yes.

And that there's this magical, but yeah, like you said, then

you look at that for the kids.

Yeah.

There's this magical land inside your head and you have emotions that have different

names and different colors and there's

So, so what they did right there in that is they made sadness.

They took her as the frumpy average everyday like person, who's not the most

popular person in the head like joy.

And they made her the chosen one because without her, without having some

sadness in their life, isn't as good.

So they made the average person.

The hero again, they didn't, it was not.

Yeah, they it's a trope that, that is played out because it works.

because and you think of something like Buffy the vampire Slayer and how like

that show very much is a lot about what it is like to grow up and be a teenager and

a young adult, but through the lens of but what if monsters were real and that like,

where that you still get some normal, everyday, like universal experiences

that you see, but through the lens of.

Okay.

Instead of your boyfriend is breaks up with you and is mean to you and

stops talking to you after you guys sleep together, it's your boyfriend's

a vampire and turns evil after you sleep together for the first time.

And so I think and which is maybe slightly more compelling, some might say so.

I

I like what you said about what we should teach is being you're you are

unique, you are special inherently, but.

It's not because of what you achieve, but it's because of who you are.

It's not because you're a princess, not because you're a Jedi, it's

not because you're a wizard.

It's because you are you and not what you achieve or what you think that

you need to achieve in your life.

It's not about what you do.

It's about who you are.

Exactly.

And that's what this movie is about.

And it gets there.

It really does where in the end, she's, she doesn't want to be a princess because

she doesn't think who that's, who she is.

But then, she has the aha moment and her friend helps her with

that, but, and then she shows up, all wet and talks to everyone.

And the media, like she has no issues at all.

It's like Percy Jackson, when all of a sudden he can just fight

because he's son of Poseidon,

no.

There's a theme here.

He can fight because he gets wet.

That's the real secret to life here.

Get

drenched in a rainstorm.

you can cut this out if we want to talk about it in a different

episode, but I'll at some point wanted to talk about the romance between

Michael

I would just like to talk at how truly weird he is

Yeah.

How he's just a goofy dude

he's just such a weird

just, I don't even, I don't know if he has picked up on.

Just like the weird things he does throughout the movie where he, like, when

she gives him the check for the car, he like, as he's walking out, he puts it in

his mouth and just like his physicality, like I just found like him and I just

He's 15.

That's what it is.

He's just 15.

but that's what I appreciated about it is that I'm like,

yes, that is a 15 year old boy.

I knew.

I don't know if it's in your boys.

And I like in some shows where it's and I'm perfect and suave, and I

know just what to say that makes the girls Swoon and no, I knew the

F like I knew the weird 15 year old boy who put an envelope in his

mouth and walked out of the room.

Oh, the romance in these movies is crazy like that

with Chris pine and with Michael,

let me watch the Chris Prine one.

Before we talk about romance,

because I actually want to have a little bit of a say in this,

Okay.

This has been just the tip of the iceberg on our discussion about,

the

Titanic.

I was about to say mean girls, this is

this, this is the first page, only the first page in the diary.

That is the princess diaries.

Yes, this is just the beginning of what we're talking about.

Next week, we will be talking about the history, some of the things

about the film, some things that inspired the film, some things that

the film inspired apparently Julie Andrews has a cursing problem.

We'll talk about that.

Yes.

know.

I

been to where Genovia is.

Genovia customs.

There's a whole Wiki on Genovia

We're actually going to travel to Genova and recorded an episode live there.

from Geneva.

Be sure to subscribe and if you know anyone who's a big princess diaries

fan, tell them about the show.

What I'm going to recommend is to go to fandom, podcast.com.

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With that, I guess all I have to say is until next time,

I can't do this.

I'm a girl.

What am I a duck?

Shut up and listen.