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The Problematic Gaze
THE GAZETTE: Confessions 2, MAGA meltdowns & please stop Carrying On!!
Season 3, Ep. 125
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We’re back in the Problematic Gazette saddle — no plan, no structure, just vibes (and mild chaos). This week, we kick off by comparing ailments like it’s an Olympic sport: one of us is fresh off a greatest hits run of gastroenteritis, a colitis flare, and recent COVID (thriving!), while the other is living vicariously through a husband who’s just attended a very hush-hush celebrity wedding 👀
From there, we spiral — naturally — into TV chat. We debrief the The Apprentice UK final, confess our soft spot for Race Across the World, and get genuinely giddy over Madonna teasing Confessions 2 (Coachella rumors! a possible sample! we’re unwell).
There’s also pre-holiday anxiety as we eye our upcoming Dubrovnik trip while nervously refreshing headlines about a looming jet fuel shortage — what could possibly go wrong?
On the telly front, we’re dipping into Things You Should Have Done, celebrating the return of Taskmaster, checking in on Rivals season two, and gently mourning Only Murders in the Building losing its way a bit.
Elsewhere, we get unexpectedly academic about the decline of late-era Carry On films, name-drop the diaries of Kenneth Williams, and issue a heartfelt apology for out lost episode (Riverside, we will never forgive you).
We round things off with a quick dip into the exhausting whirlpool of MAGA/Donald Trump-adjacent chaos, reflect on our collective doomscrolling fatigue and — as ever — plug where you can find us next.
Come for the chat, stay for the spirals.
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39:05||Season 3, Ep. 133In this episode, we revisit Porky’s (1981), the hugely successful teen sex comedy set in 1954 Florida, to ask the important question: was this ever actually funny, and could it possibly be made today? Alongside the film, we take a trip through 1981 in our Culture Corner, covering everything from Charles and Diana’s wedding and the UK inner-city riots to the Scarman Report, the devastating tornado outbreak, and a year packed with cultural milestones including “Ghost Town,” “Don’t You Want Me,” Bucks Fizz, Cats, Only Fools and Horses, Brideshead Revisited, Chariots of Fire, and the first London Marathon. We break down the Porky's obsession with sex, voyeurism, revenge plots, and locker-room humour while unpacking its male gaze, racism, antisemitic subplot, fat jokes, and deeply juvenile tone—ultimately finding it far duller, and strangely tamer, than its scandalous reputation suggests.To watch Porkies on YouTube Click Here132. THE GAZETTE: Eurovision, Passport Warnings & AI Panic at the Disco
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56:40||Season 3, Ep. 131In the second week of our Sex Season, we pull on our nylon overalls and climb the ladders of 1970s British cinema to revisit Confessions of a Window Cleaner — the cheeky box-office phenomenon that somehow became the biggest British hit of 1974. We unpack Timmy Lea’s endlessly episodic adventures in window cleaning, accidental voyeurism, and improbable seduction while asking: what exactly made these “saucy” comedies so wildly popular before home video and internet porn?Along the way we discuss Robin Askwith, censorship, class aspiration, sexism, consent, the male gaze, and why the film is simultaneously tame, uncomfortable, ridiculous, and fascinating as a cultural time capsule. In Culture Corner: the three-day week, Lord Lucan’s disappearance, IRA bombings, ABBA winning Eurovision, Britain’s biggest singles, children’s TV landmarks, Tom Baker becoming Doctor Who, Princess Anne’s kidnapping attempt, publishing highlights, and the Miss World scandal that shook the crown.To watch Confessions Of A Window Cleaner on YouTube: Click Here130. Alfie (1966): Sex, Swagger, and the Swinging Sixties
01:01:59||Season 3, Ep. 130We kick off Sex Month on The Problematic Gaze by diving headfirst into Alfie, the swaggering, unsettling snapshot of 1960s masculinity that still raises eyebrows today. We explore how Michael Caine’s charismatic performance—paired with that infamous fourth-wall-breaking narration—pulls us into Alfie’s world, even as his misogyny and emotional detachment push us away. We unpack the film’s origins in Bill Naughton’s play and Lewis Gilbert’s direction, while confronting its most jarring elements: the casual disposability of women, the cutting language, and the harrowing illegal abortion sequence that still lands with force.But we don’t stop at the screen. We place Alfie squarely in the contradictions of 1966 Britain—Swinging London’s promise of liberation colliding with the realities of Harold Wilson’s Britain, economic uncertainty, the shadow of the Aberfan disaster, and the ongoing shifts of decolonization. Against a backdrop of chart-topping music and cultural change, we ask whether Alfie reflects this moment in time—or critiques it.By the end, we’re left wrestling with a film that is as compelling as it is uncomfortable: bold, bleak, and still deeply problematic.You can watch Alfie on YouTube. Click hereGAZER HOMEWORK: Next week we turn our lens to 1974's sec comedy 'Confessions Of A Window Cleaner'. Click here to watch on YouTube129. THE GAZETTE: Sex Season Prep, Shark Jumps & Streaming Picks
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52:38||Season 3, Ep. 128For the first time ever, we visit 1991 on The Problematic Gaze to focus on class comedy caper Keeping Up Appearances. Hyacinth’s number is mistaken for a Chinese takeaway, she prepares for a church concert, Richard fears early retirement, Rose considers becoming a nun, and the farce culminates with Hyacinth fainting after discovering Rose and the vicar in a cupboard.We place the sitcom within its wider historical and cultural moment, reflecting on 1991’s defining events—from the Gulf War and recession to rising unemployment, the death of Freddie Mercury, an IRA mortar attack on Downing Street, the birth of the World Wide Web, early steps toward the Premier League, the Maxwell scandal, and the launch of The Big Issue, alongside charts and TV ratings of the time.Our discussion centers on British class anxiety, accents, and aspiration, exploring how the show both mocks and reinforces class stereotypes. We also highlight the standout performance of Patricia Routledge as Hyacinth and delve into trivia surrounding the rest of the cast too!Watch our chosen episode of Keeping Up Appearances on YoutubeGAZER HOMEWORK: Next week we kick off our SEX season with Alfie from 1966127. THE GAZETTE: Haircuts, Hookups & Pop Culture Chaos
29:51||Season 3, Ep. 127In this episode of The Gazette, we banter about a new haircut and Vin Diesel’s twin brother before one of us shares a story about accidentally "having tea and scones" with both members of an identical twin pair—who, thanks to different hair and facial hair, didn’t look identical at all. We get into how Sweet Transvestite has become a full-blown earworm, and talk through generational gaps and Madonna at Coachella, where audiences seem more focused on filming than watching.That spirals into a broader chat about “two-screen” viewing and whether streaming TV is being simplified for increasingly distracted audiences. We also put out a call for your ideas and messages ahead of our 100th main episode and second birthday, and catch up on Hacks season five.Elsewhere, we touch on a new Netflix gender-role comedy, the questionable quality of Carry On Emmanuelle, a Daily Mail piece about “tacky” watches, and our outrage that Karen Carpenter’s 1979–80 solo album was shelved—with the cost unfairly deducted from her royalties.126. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975): Dammit Janet: Queerness and Controversy
57:08||Season 3, Ep. 126In this episode, we return—after a battle with some truly on-brand technical “gremlins”—to tackle The Rocky Horror Picture Show, separating the film from its 1973 stage origins and digging into what makes it endure. We share our own very different relationships with Rocky Horror, unpack its production history, and explore how it evolved into a midnight-movie phenomenon with a fiercely devoted cult following, eventually earning preservation in the National Film Registry.We walk through the plot—from Brad and Janet’s ill-fated car trouble to their surreal encounter with Dr. Frank-N-Furterand the unforgettable Time Warp—while placing the film in the context of early-1970s UK theatre, glam rock aesthetics, and a moment of shifting queer visibility. Along the way, we touch on 1975’s pop landscape and how it intersects with the film’s sound and sensibility.We also grapple with the more complicated aspects of Rocky Horror: questions of language, consent, and the “queer villain” trope, balancing critique with an appreciation of its lasting impact. Ultimately, we explore why this strange, campy, audience-participation spectacle continues to resonate as a story about freedom, identity, and the joy of not fitting neatly into any category.GAZER HOMEWORK: Next week we cast our Gaze on the classic UK TV sitcom Keeping Up Appearances. Click here to watch our chosen episode on YouTube