Political Fictions: political drama on screen and on the page

Mark and Cory are joined by Elinor Taylor for our first book! It is Ellen Wilkinson’s The Division Bell Mystery, a political thriller disguised as a golden age detective story. It is written by one of the country's first female MPs and is full of convincing and vivid political detail about what it is like being a bag carrier for an important minister. The plot's setting is accurate right down to some key architectural detail on which it all hinges. But is it also a good murder mystery? Find out as they discuss ridiculous murder plots, why politicians should beware of the weekend, and what this novel tells us about class, sex and empire.

You can find The Division Bell Mystery on Goodreads here.

Next time, we're watching the first episode of First Among Equals. Watch it on YouTube here.

Cory’s email newsletter is Paperback Rioter and Mark has a family of email newsletters.

Subscribe to our newsletter for some additional bonus content and to get alerted whenever a new episode comes out.

Our theme tune is “Monkeys Spinning Monkeys” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) and licensed under the Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Aidan Byrne joins Mark and Cory to watch the classic Mr Smith Goes to Washington. It's a film full of shameless emotional manipulation, especially from some of the children in it. They marvel at the performances of Jimmy Stewart, Claude Rains and especially Jean Arthur, wonder if this film has an anti-FDR message, and Mark takes handwriting experts to task.

You can find Aidan on Blue Sky as Plashing Vole.

Next time, we're reading Ellen Wilkinson's The Division Bell Mystery.

You can view the IMDb page for Mr Smith Goes To Washington here.

Cory’s email newsletter is Paperback Rioter and Mark has a family of email newsletters.

Subscribe to our newsletter for some additional bonus content and to get alerted whenever a new episode comes out.

Our theme tune is “Monkeys Spinning Monkeys” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) and licensed under the Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

To coincide with the men's football World Cup, Mark and Cory talk about the 2006 Iranian film Offside, about a group of Iranian women who disguise themselves as men to sneak into a stadium. Mark gets to deploy some football knowledge, they discuss how the film isn't a great advert for national service and ponder the symbolism of Iranian toilet graffiti.

You can view Offside on IMDb here.

Next time, we're watching the classic Mr Smith Goes To Washington.

Cory’s email newsletter is Paperback Rioter and Mark has a family of email newsletters.

Our theme tune is “Monkeys Spinning Monkeys” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) and licensed under the Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

To mark ten years since the Brexit referendum, Cory and Mark talk about James Graham's TV movie starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Brexit: The Uncivil War. They talk about the ability of Mark Gatiss to chew scenery without actually being on screen, how the story the film tells of how Leave won has aged rather badly, and Cory has a rant about the most shambolic doorknocking encounter he's ever seen. 

You can view Brexit: The Uncivil War on IMDb here.

Next time, we're watching the 2006 Iranian film Offside.

Cory’s email newsletter is Paperback Rioter and Mark has a family of email newsletters.

Our theme tune is “Monkeys Spinning Monkeys” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) and licensed under the Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Mark and Cory talk about the O.G. of British Political Sitcoms: Yes, Minister. They marvel at the genial Machiavellian genius that is Jim Hacker exploiting the British sausage to win a leadership contest, explain why this episode is a good guide for would-be leadership contenders, and lay it on a bit thick with their marmalade discussion.

If you're in the UK then you can watch this on BBC iPlayer.

Next time, we're watching Brexit: The Uncivil War.

Cory’s email newsletter is Paperback Rioter and Mark has a family of email newsletters.

Our theme tune is “Monkeys Spinning Monkeys” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) and licensed under the Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).