The Problematic Gaze

IN A CHANGE TO OUR ADVERTISED SCHEDULE (The Day Jobs Have Swamped Us This Week! Tune in next week for our take take on 1960's Psycho!) HERE'S ANOTHER CHANCE TO HEAR OUR MOTHER'S DAY TAKE ON 'MOMMIE DEAREST' FROM LAST YEAR. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!

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. This week we cast our Gaze over the 1981 film 'Mommie Dearest' starring Faye Dunaway. Much derided by critics and viewers alike upon its release, it has since become a cult camp classic, deeply embedded in gay culture. But do the harrowing scenes of abuse lie easily alongside the fantastically colourful scenes of Hollywood glamour? Just how true is this story? And why you would NEVER want to get into a fight, scripted or not, with Faye Dunaway.
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Please leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts. They really help to spread the word of The Problematic Gaze.

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In this relaxed Saturday chat, we talk about Britain’s obsession with the weather and the struggle of “wrong jacket season,” before drifting into existential reflections on old student films and Dr Lee’s memories of watching — and later working with — the legendary Siân Phillips.

Dave brings up Dubai influencers facing government crackdowns over missile-related posts, which leads to memories of Bahrain during the 1990 Gulf crisis and a discussion about the limits of influencer freedom.

Along the way we note Shakin’ Stevens turning 78, discover Disney dating site Mouse Mingle, laugh about a long-misheard lyric in “One Way Ticket to the Blues,” and react to Richard Osman leaving House of Games. We also plug our socials and preview Tuesday’s Mother’s Day episode on Psycho.
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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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In celebration of International Women’s Day, we begin by digging into gender inequality statistics before turning to one of British television’s strangest dystopias: The Worm That Turned, the 1980 eight-part serial from The Two Ronnies.

Set in a nightmare vision of 2012 Britain, the serial imagines a world where women rule, men are domesticated and forced into women’s clothing, and law and order is enforced by a PVC-clad female Gestapo led by screen siren Diana Dors. We follow the unlikely heroes Janet and Betty (Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett) as they flee the regime, seek out the resistance, and attempt to escape to Wales.

We place the serial in the political and cultural context of 1980 Britain — early Thatcherism, unrest, and rapidly shifting TV and music trends — and ask whether the comedy is mocking women’s power or exposing male fear of it. Along the way, we note the male-gaze elements and fascist aesthetics, but also the moments that highlight just how “shit” women’s lives are under patriarchy.

Click here to watch 'The Worm That Turned' on YouTube

GAZER HOMEWORK: Next week for Mother's Day we focus on the Hitchcock classic: PSYCHO from 1960.
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Welcome back to The Problematic Gazette — The Saturday spin off to our main show - The Problematic Gaze- the queer pop culture podcast where nothing is off limits.
This week:
🏋️ Why we’re suddenly obsessed with Gladiators (and yes… it’s homoerotic)
📺 The reckoning of America’s Next Top Model and toxic 2000s reality TV culture
🎭 Celebrating Kenneth Williams at 100 and the genius of the Carry On era
📱 TikTok conspiracy rabbit holes — can social media rewrite history?
🐩 A poodle haircut that channels Auntie Peggy
💌 Listener emails & Pride Month film planning
From noughties body-shaming to modern media literacy, from gladiatorial thighs to archive-based history, we cover it all — with laughs, nostalgia, and just a touch of feverish delirium.
If you love:
✔️ Queer cinema
✔️ British comedy history
✔️ 80s & 90s TV nostalgia
✔️ Reality TV deep dives
✔️ Smart cultural debate with chaos energy
You’re in the right place.
🎧 New episodes every Tuesday & Saturday
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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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Watch The Problematic Gaze on YouTube

In this episode of The Problematic Gaze, we revisit Russ Meyer’s cult classic Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965) and ask: could it get away with it today?
We explore its violent, quotable tale of three go-go dancers tearing through the California desert—drag racing, fighting, kidnapping, and flipping gender roles on their head. Is it pure exploitation, accidental feminism, or both?
In our Culture Corner, we set the film against 1965 Britain: post-austerity optimism, Swinging London, strict gender expectations, censorship, racism, and a society on the brink of change. We look at what life was really like for women at the time—limited rights, rigid roles, and growing feminist unrest.
We unpack the film’s kinky boots, hyper-feminine styling, and female rage; Russ Meyer’s provocative worldview; and the movie’s journey from box-office flop to cult touchstone. Along the way, we consider its influence on everyone from Quentin Tarantino to riot grrrl culture and pop icons like Madonna and Beyoncé.
Can a film objectify women while also celebrating their power? We debate, we rate it, and we leave you to decide.

Watch Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! on YouTube

GAZER HOMEWORK: Next week we watch The Worm That Turned from The Two Ronnies. Watch it here on YouTube
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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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