DNA Podcast 116 – Leadership in Popular Culture

In this episode, Don and Rob are back exploring how movies and television took martial arts from being weird and forbidden arts practiced by a select few to the McDojos of the 1990s. Along the way, they discuss how the Shaw Brothers changed everything, how Bruce Lee never dies, and why American Ninja ruled the 80s. All this, and Don and Rob's "Martial Arts Top 10s!" are waiting for you in this action-packed episode of The Department of Nerdly Affairs.

Closing Music: Ode to Joy performed by Oliver Eckelt

Show Notes:

These Fists Break Bricks Get Tough! by Major Fairbairn The Manchurian Candidate The Shaw Brothers The One-Armed Swordsman Wuxia Bonnie and Clyde The Legend of Billy Jack Kung Fu TV Series The Five Fingers of Death (aka King Boxer) Enter the Dragon Golden Harvest Mystics in Bali Drunken Master Encounters of the Spooky Kind The Bodyguards Sonny Chiba The Many Clones of Bruce Lee The Karate Kid American Ninja Black Belt Theatre TV Package Pat Morita Ralph Macchio Chuck Norris Kill Bill The Street Fighter Theme Song

Our Top 10 Lists:

Rob 10) The Karate Kid 9) Zatoichi series 8) Once Upon a Time in China series 7) Master of the Flying Guillotine (1976) 6) Police Story (Jackie Chan) 5) The Street Fighter (Sonny Chiba) 4) Kung Fu Cult Master 3) The 36th Chamber of Shaolin 2) Iron Monkey 1) Five Fingers of Death + Enter the Dragon

Don 10) The Death Master (1972) 9) Hai Karate Aftershave 8) D&D Monk Character Class (original) 7) They Call Me Bruce 6) Gymkata 5) Street Fighter II (game) 4) Miami Connection (watch MST3K live version!) 3) Hokuto no Ken (Fist of the North Star) 2) Kung Fu Hustle 1) Count Dante and the Black Dragon Society

In this episode, Rob, Don and Jack Ward take a trip back to the 1970s and 1980s, when a floundering Marvel Comics was saved by barbarians, vampires, giant robots and toys soldiers. It's the story of product tie-ins brought life back to the dying comics company, and in the process reinvented the comics industry for the time. All that, and two of the greatest Marvel comics you've never read, is waiting for you in this episode of The Department of Nerdly Affairs.

Closing Music: Ode to Joy performed by Oliver Eckelt

Things Discussed:

Roger Corman Fantastic Four Oswald the Rabbit The Reluctant Dragon Willow: The Series Dell Comics Disney Tie-Ins Gold Key Star Trek Marvel's Conan Roy Thomas Kull the Conqueror Comic Marvel Tomb of Dracula Dracula Sovereign of the Damned Anime Movie Doc Savage Master of Kung Fu/Deadly Hands of Kung Fu Planet of the Apes Comics Logan's Run Wizard of Oz DC/Marvel Superman vs. Muhammad Ali Marvel Star Wars Marvel Hanna Barbera Comics Marvel Godzilla Comic Battle Fever J The Human Fly Comic 1977 Bill Mantlo Herb Trimpe KISS Marvel Comics The Micronauts Comic Peter B. Gillis The Shogun Warriors Comic Force Five Voltron Jimmy Woo ROM: Space Knight Dazzler Dreadstar GI JOE Marvel Comic Starstruck Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld Crystar the Crystal Warrior Comic Team America U.S. ONE Comic Transformers Marvel Comic Simon Furman Questprobe Questprobe Afro STAR Comics Elfquest The Congress (Movie, Robin Wright)

In this episode, Rob and Don revisit their childhoods as they talk about the time when capitalism and animation joined together to create one of the greatest marketing forces known to mankind - the half-hour animated toy commercials of the 1980s! Strawberry Shortcake! HE-MAN and the Masters of the Universe! GI JOE! The Transformers! JEM! It was a brief and truly outrageous time in North American animation history. But what forces led to this rise of these marketing behemoths? And, why did they die out almost as quickly as they appeared? Find out this, and what shows had the best theme songs, in this episode of The Department of Nerdly Affairs!

Closing Music: Ode to Joy performed by Oliver Eckelt

Things Discussed:

GoBots Gobots: Challenge of the Rock Lords Popeye Action for Children's Television Romper Room Mister Rogers Polka Dot Door Hot Wheels Cartoon Planet of the Apes Cartoon Miss Twitch Bunnicula ABC Weekend Special (Anthology) The Micronauts Micronauts Marvel Comic Strawberry Shortcake Those Characters From Cleveland ROM Space Knight Comic The REAL Ghostbusters SUNBOW Entertainment Secret Galaxy YouTube Chanel Todd (McFarlane) Toys Daigata Defenders Egg-Fu (character) Microman Toys Gaiking Combatter V Blackstar The Bionic Six The Inhumanoids Jace and the Wheeled Warriors The Galaxy Rangers C.O.P.S.

In this episode, Don and Rob do their best Vin Diesel impressions and spend the whole episode talking about family. They talk about what family really is, its place in society over time, and most importantly, its place in drama up until today. All this, and why "Punch and Judy" was the original socially destabilizing family comedy, is waiting for you in this episode of The Department of Nerdly Affairs.

Closing Music: Ode to Joy performed by Oliver Eckelt

Things Discussed:

Dan Carlin: Suffer the Children Aristotle's "Poetics" Punch and Judy Bringing Up Father The Gumps Lil Abner Blondie I Love Lucy Leave it to Beaver Bewitched I Dream of Jeannie One Day at a Time The Brady Bunch Family Ties The Cosby Show Cousin Oliver Married with Children Roseanne or maybe.... Friends Big Bang Theory

In this episode, Rob and Don look back at the past of humanity's relationship with Artificial Intelligence and ponder where it will be going in the future. The duo discuss recent innovations in AI, how people's concept of what AI is has changed over the years, and why AI might not want to wipe us out after all. All this, and why sexbots may herald humanity's doom, is waiting for you in this episode of The Department of Nerdly Affairs.

Closing Music: Ode to Joy performed by Oliver Eckelt

Things Discussed:

Artificial Intelligence Google Engineer Claims Google AI is Sentient BF Skinner ChatbotGPT Dr. Susan Calvin (Robopsychologist from Issas Asimov stories) Queensryche- The Warning (Album) GREY (manga) The Turing Test Understanding Comics Cognitive Dissonance The Singularity The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Is the Internet Conscious? If It Were, How Would We Know? Colossus: The Forbin Project Electric Dreams (movie) Lawnmower Man (movie) Cyberpunk Max Headroom Gamma World Tay Microsoft Chatbot Korean Mukbang Videos

In this episode, Rob and Don are joined by Jack Ward to discuss the 20th century versions of the iconic staple of U.K. science fiction - Doctor Who. The trio discuss how they first met The Doctor, the various incarnations and evolutions of the series, and how it affected their lives. All this, and which Doctor is Don's favorite, is waiting for you in this episode of The Department of Nerdly Affairs.

Closing Music: Ode to Joy performed by Oliver Eckelt

Things Discussed:

Doctor Who The Sonic Society Magic Shadows Documentary "Couch Jumping" Professor Quatermass ITV Space: 1999 Professor Kitzel Trickster God Sixties Spy Craze The Master FASA DR.WHO RPG Abslom Daak: Dalek Killer Interview with Tom Baker from 1981 Hammer Horror X-Men: Days of Future Past Genesis of the Daleks

In this episode, Don and Rob discuss the thorny issue of why people break up with their media darlings. The two delve into the reasons why people and the properties they love might go their separate ways, and explore whether that's a good or bad thing. Along the way, the duo discuss heavy metal, isekai, and manga, but everything they talk about can be applied to anything that brings joy to peoples' hearts. All this, and a healthy dose of nerd rage, is coming to you in this episode of The Department of Nerdly Affairs.

Closing Music: Ode to Joy performed by Oliver Eckelt

Things Discussed:

Marie Kondo The Phantom Ghostbusters- Afterlife A Headbanger's Journey The KISS Army Venom (Band) Kylie Jenner Diet Pepsi Commercial Isekai Truck-kun Hikkomori Being an Influencer is Soul Crushing Sentai Samurai TV DNA Episode SLAM DUNK! MASHLE SPRIGGAN MAZINGER DEVILMAN All-Star Squadron The Desert Peach The Streisand Effect

Don's Four Ways Fans Break up with a Property -(fans) Age Out -(fans) Reach Saturation (with a property) -Style Drift (of the media property) -Hardcore Nerd Rage (because fans don't get what they want from it anymore)

Rob's Fifth: -Fans are driven away by toxic fandom even though they still like the property.

In this episode, Rob asks for Don's help in brainstorming the setting for a story about caravan guards - the unspoken heroes of the fantasy world whose job it is to keep the goods flowing despite attacks by monster, bandits, and rats. Lots of rats. Along the way, the duo discuss real caravan guards in history, the importance of trade, and the tactics caravan guards would use to get their cargo to where it's going. All this, and the importance of ox poop, is waiting for you in this episode of The Department of Nerdly Affairs.

Closing Music: Ode to Joy performed by Oliver Eckelt

Things Discussed:

Caravans Where There's a Whip There's a Way (from the Rankin Bass Return of the King) Chinese Armed Escort Agencies High Arctic Haulers Vampire Hunter D Merchant Marines Azumi Manga Hideyoshi's Invasion of Korea Alexander the Great and the Logistics of the Macedonian Army, 1978, Donald W. Engels The Dragon, the Hero and the Courier Manga Discworld Sutler - definition Earthshaker! D&D Module Murder Hobos DNA Episode Aubrey-Maturin Novels (Master and Commander) Paid GMs Empire of the Petal Throne Talislanta Prof. M.A.R. Barker

In this episode, Don and Rob head to the mall to discuss capitalism and the place of malls in popular culture for the past hundred years. Along the way, the duo discuss the history of shopping, the origins of malls, and how malls reshaped capitalism. All this, and why the 80s were the peak of mall culture, is waiting for you in this episode of The Department of Nerdly Affairs.

Closing Music: Ode to Joy performed by Oliver Eckelt

Things Discussed:

Jesus and the Moneylenders Shopping Centers Wikipedia A History of Malls The Medicis Yoshiwara ["Prostitute Island"] Shopping District Sears 80s Mall TV Commercials Arcology Post WWII American Prosperity The Golden Mile White Flight Dawn of the Dead (1978) Tiffany (singer) 7 Totally Radical 1980s Mall Events Fast Times in Ridgemont High Masonville Mall, London ON Chopping Mall movie American FLAGG

In this episode, Don and Rob discuss the psychology of comic books. The two delve deep into the unconscious desires of comic book readers, discuss why Manga failed to find an audience in 1980s America, and probe how comics are linked to human needs. All this, and why British girls comics are the anti-manga, is waiting for you in this episode of The Department of Nerdly Affairs.

Closing Music: Ode to Joy performed by Oliver Eckelt

Things Discussed:

Martin Scorsese on Marvel Movies Seduction of the Innocent Cap's Kooky Quartet Eagle Comics Golgo 13 Fist of the North Star Albedo Omaha the Cat Dancer Condorito Cypher (X-men character) The Man With No Name Trilogy Maslow's Hierarchy of Human Needs DNA History of Manga Podcast (Part 1 / Part 2) Highlights Magazine City Hunter Super Doctor K Manga (Scalpel of the North Star!) Slam Dunk! Manga Prince of Tennis Shonen Jump Online The Japanese Bubble Economy Blacksad Rock Lee (Naruto Character) Stupid Comics - British Girls Comics Welcome to Webcomics (YouTube Video)

Japanese manga fulfils 12 basics human needs: 1. Sexuality (Physiological) 2. To feel safe or secure? (Safety) 3. To belong group to a group (Love and Belonging) 4. Being loved (Love and Belonging) 5. Being picked/needed (Esteem) 6. Being admired/respected (Esteem) 7. Being praised (Esteem) 8. Being useful (Esteem) 9. To be praised for effort (Esteem) 10. To feel clever or smart (Self-Actualization) 11. To feel special/powerful (Self-Actualization) 12. To be a hero or at least the leader (Self- Actualization)