Welcome to One Person’s Trash Is Our Treasure, where we believe that media doesn’t have to be famous, nominated for an award, or critically acclaimed to provoke smart conversations.
A lot of the time, people feel inclined to defend their interests as guilty pleasures, but we’re here to say that you’re allowed to like media that someone else might consider garbage, and you don’t have to offer excuses.
Here’s what we do:
We pick a movie/book/TV show/etc. (sometimes more than one!), and we dig beneath the surface to find interesting themes, motifs, and perspectives to explore.
We aren’t interested in rating things, or trying to convince you if something is good or bad
We aren’t reviewers!
There are lots of people out there who do a great job at reviewing books and movies, and can list off the reasons why something is good or bad. Our mission is a little different.
We believe all media is art.
To us, art is anything created with intent by a person that elicits a reaction in others.
That reaction can be anything from sadness to happiness to pure indifference. Either way, you’re experiencing something when you consume art, and by that logic, media.
We want to get across the idea that ALL media matters and has a perspective that influences the way we take in the information being presented—which ultimately affects the way we feel about it.
There’s ALWAYS something to analyze beneath surface of the text, and that’s what we like to do.
In particular, we focus on the types of media that people might normally consider lacking in substance, quality, or even just recognition, to prove that every book, TV show, radio drama, graphic novel, and online series has something worth talking about. If it didn’t, why would we bother?
Our Origin Story
Jen and Rachel have been friends for a long time. A long time. And they’ve kind of fallen into a natural rapport with one another. It just so happens that that rapport includes a lot of in-depth analysis of movies. And TV shows. And books. The list goes on. They have a lot of conversations about this stuff.
Usually, this happens in a car, at night.
So, one day, a high-and-mighty college professor asked during one of Rachel’s classes, “Do any of you ever actually have thoughtful, intellectual discussions outside the classroom?” Rachel raised her hand and said, “I do. My friends and I talk about books and TV a lot.” He laughed at Rachel.
Skipping ahead to a year or two later, and Rachel signed up for a fantasy literature class. The syllabus included fantasy classics and beloved books like J.R.R. Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings and Neil Gaiman’s Stardust. It was a dream come true. Getting to read Neil Gaiman for college credit? Yes, please. And when the class discussions started, Rachel realized that the conversations the professor was starting about these books were a lot like those she had with Jen, back home. And they were smart.
As Rachel’s fantasy literature professor stated:
“JUST BECAUSE WE’RE NOT READING DICKENS OR HEMMINGWAY DOESN’T MEAN THERE IS NOTHING TO TALK ABOUT IN THESE BOOKS.”
That idea stuck with Rachel for a few years. Then, she and Jen started talking about potentially recording their conversations.
Now we’re here.
Don’t get us wrong. We love ALL types of media.
We like Oscar Nominees, Newbery Book Award nominees, arthouse cinema, the latest gritty cable dramas, and New York times best-sellers just as much as the next guy. But those things get enough attention elsewhere.
If you’re looking for diamonds in the rough, though, you’re in the right place!