The Problematic Gaze

Welcome to The Problematic Gaze! We're Dave and Dr Lee. Find out more about who we are and what we're about. If you love TV and Film and want to find out more about what life was like when they were released, then we're the podcast for you! A blend of critique, history and culture. We're lighthearted, fun, and never take ourselves too seriously! We hope you enjoy our show!
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Don't forget to hit that FOLLOW button to get every episode of The Problematic Gaze downloaded and ready to listen!

Please leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts. They really help to spread the word of The Problematic Gaze.

And if our fellow Gazers want to comment on what they've heard in our episodes, or to suggest future topics, please email us at [email protected]. We love hearing from you!
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This week on The Problematic Gaze, we bravely press play on 'The Word ', a UK live youth magazine show from Friday 19th November 1993 — a time when TV was live, loud, and deeply unconcerned with tomorrow’s headlines. Featuring a young Dave Chapelle, Reeves and Mortimer, the death of River Phoenix and Pulp.
Once hailed as edgy, anarchic brilliance, The Word promised that anything could happen… and frequently did. Watching it now is a mix of nostalgia, disbelief, and the strong urge to say “they really let this go out live?” From laddish banter to awkward moments everyone pretends were ironic, we revisit the chaos with fresh eyes and a healthy sense of humour.
Was it shocking? Yes. Ground-breaking? Sometimes. Comfortable viewing in 2026? Absolutely not. Join us as we laugh, cringe, and gently interrogate one of 90s TV’s most infamous Friday nights — because nothing says “youth culture” like a format that feels like a social experiment gone slightly wrong.

Click here to watch the episode of 'The Word' discussed in this podcast.
Click here to follow us on all our socials

Don't forget to hit that FOLLOW button to get every episode of The Problematic Gaze downloaded and ready to listen!

Please leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts. They really help to spread the word of The Problematic Gaze.

And if our fellow Gazers want to comment on what they've heard in our episodes, or to suggest future topics, please email us at [email protected]. We love hearing from you!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to The Problematic Gazette, a bonus addition to our main show. Our Dave and Dr Lee chew the fat, read out Gazer comments and discuss things we've seen, read and heard this week.
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Don't forget to hit that FOLLOW button to get every episode of The Problematic Gaze downloaded and ready to listen!

Please leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts. They really help to spread the word of The Problematic Gaze.

And if our fellow Gazers want to comment on what they've heard in our episodes, or to suggest future topics, please email us at [email protected]. We love hearing from you!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dirty Dancing (1987) is remembered as a feminist awakening, a sexual coming-of-age story, and one of the most beloved romances in pop culture history—but how does it hold up when we really look at it? In this episode of The Problematic Gaze, we revisit the summer of ’63 through an ’87 lens, unpacking age gaps, power dynamics, class politics, reproductive rights, and the film’s complicated ideas about masculinity and desire. Is Dirty Dancing quietly radical, deeply troubling, or somehow both at once? Nobody puts this rewatch in a corner.
Click here to follow us on all our socials

Don't forget to hit that FOLLOW button to get every episode of The Problematic Gaze downloaded and ready to listen!

Please leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts. They really help to spread the word of The Problematic Gaze.

And if our fellow Gazers want to comment on what they've heard in our episodes, or to suggest future topics, please email us at [email protected]. We love hearing from you!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr Lee and Dave are having the week off! Before our next week's episode on 'Dirty Dancing', here's an episode from last year for our Gazers new and old to enjoy!
Greetings from PG Towers! Join social historian Dr Lee Arnott and TV Producer Dave Moor for a lighthearted look at the world of TV,  Film and Popular Culture from yesteryear that has since been considered problematic. This week we cast our Gaze over high school musical 'Grease' from 1978. The Travolta phenomenon steps up a gear and Olivia Newton John hops aboard. Many a teen girls and gays favourite. Euphoric, innocent fun? Or perhaps a darker representation of teens, cultural morals and gender roles.

Also, Dr Lee bursts Dave's 'fake it till you make it bubble'. And just who is the Sandra Dee, and who is the Rizzo in this friendship.

You can watch Grease on many media formats in the UK and across the globe!

Click here to follow us on all our socials

Please leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts. They really help to spread the word of The Problematic Gaze.

And if our fellow Gazers want to comment on what they've heard in our episodes, or to suggest future topics, please email us at [email protected]. We love hearing from you!
Click here to follow us on all our socials

Don't forget to hit that FOLLOW button to get every episode of The Problematic Gaze downloaded and ready to listen!

Please leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts. They really help to spread the word of The Problematic Gaze.

And if our fellow Gazers want to comment on what they've heard in our episodes, or to suggest future topics, please email us at [email protected]. We love hearing from you!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.