The Problematic Gaze

In this episode of The Problematic Gaze, we’re diving headfirst into the messy, hilarious, and sometimes uncomfortable world of early 2000s pop culture.

This time, we head back to 2003 to unpack Bo’ Selecta! (Series 2, Episode 2), a chaotic snapshot of pre-social media celebrity culture. From exaggerated caricatures to shock-value humour, we explore how this episode acts as a time capsule of what audiences once laughed at—and what might not fly today.

We watched this episode of Bo Selecta from 2003 : Check It Out here!

In our Culture Corner, we set the scene: the era of Tony Blair and the Iraq War protests, the rise of early platforms like MySpace and Bebo, low-rise fashion, and the explosion of UK TV hits like Little Britain, Peep Show, and Pop Idol. We also revisit the sound of the year—from Girls Aloud to Dizzee Rascal and The Darkness.
We break down the episode’s sketches and get into the bigger conversation around its humour—looking at how it leans on “punching down,” sexism, homophobic jokes, and racial caricature, including the controversial portrayal of Craig David. We also reflect on how the show was later removed by Channel 4 in 2020, and the apology from creator Leigh Francis.

Funny, reflective, and at times uncomfortable, we ask:
was this just the humour of its time—or something we should have questioned all along?
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In this edition of our bonus episode, we dive into listener emails, TV comebacks, midlife mishaps, and the relentless pace of modern life. Picking up from last week’s Fight Club debate, we unpack Louis Theroux: The Manosphere and the rise of influencer culture—asking whether it’s all just a phone-fuelled grift.

New listener Fiona writes in with a recommendation for Deadloch and a nudge toward Star Trek—so we ask: where should we even start?

We celebrate the reopening of Camden’s iconic LGBTQ+ venue The Black Cap (now with a Lily Savage tribute), swap our own “getting older” injury stories, and talk honestly about exercising after 50.

Along the way, we take aim at absurd headlines, reflect on how news used to travel slower, and discuss what social media and endless scrolling are doing to all of us. Plus: TV chat on The Comeback, Last One Laughing, and The Apprentice—including one painfully awkward shopping task.

Got thoughts on your own scrolling habits? We’d love to hear from you.

GAZER HOMEWORK: Next week we dissect comedy sketch show Bo Selecta from 2003 : Check It Out here!
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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!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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This week on The Problematic Gaze we revisit Fight Club (1999)—soap, anarchy, and all. We unpack the plot, cast, and reception, and take on the enduring question: is this a razor-sharp critique of toxic masculinity, or a film that accidentally glamorises it?
We place Fight Club back in its late-’90s moment, with a detour through 1999 Britain—Y2K jitters, New Labour optimism, Cool Britannia swagger, Spice Girls-era pop, club culture, and the early days of dial-up and brick-like mobile phones. It’s a “lads, lads, lads” landscape shaped by football and magazines like Loaded and FHM, and we explore how that cultural backdrop speaks to the film’s anxieties.
From male malaise and the lure of support groups to violence as a search for meaning, we dig into Project Mayhem’s cult logic and, yes, that twist. We also consider the film’s afterlife—how Fight Club has been reinterpreted (and often misinterpreted) online, especially within incel and manosphere spaces.

GAZER HOMEWORK: Next week we dissect comedy sketch show Bo Selecta from 2003 : Check It Out here!
Click here to follow us on all our socials

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!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Check out our YouTube Channel

This week on The Problematic Gazette, we’re back for a chaotic spring equinox catch-up—sharing garden mishaps, recovery updates, and what’s next after our Psycho episode.

We get into what we’ve been watching, from the return of This Life on iPlayer to Channel 4’s A Woman of Substance, a twisty ITVX thriller with David Morrissey and Eve Myles, and Last One Laughing season two on Prime.

Listener messages take us everywhere—from The Two Ronnies nostalgia to pushback on a Daily Mail hair-length article. We chat about post-COVID work-from-home life, the UK coal industry now employing around 350 people, forgotten phrases like “carbon copy,” and the removal of Torchwood’s Ianto shrine.

And yes… we end on a genuinely graphic story involving a dog and a rabbit—before teasing next week’s Fight Clubepisode.
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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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We’re checking into the Bates Motel this week on The Problematic Gaze Podcast as we dive deep into Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960)—the horror classic that changed movie history one shocking shower scene at a time.

First up, our Culture Corner spins the dial back to Britain in 1960—a world of lingering post-war austerity, buttoned-up social conservatism, emerging youth culture, and a time when homosexuality was still illegal. We set the scene with the films, music, and social climate of the era before turning our gaze to Hitchcock’s most infamous thriller.

We unpack the production history of Psycho, its box-office smash success, awards buzz, and how it pushed the boundaries of screen violence, laying the groundwork for the modern slasher genre. Then we walk through the film itself—from Marion Crane’s desperate theft and flight, to the eerie roadside stop at the Bates Motel, to the unforgettable shower murder, and the investigation by Lila Crane and Sam Loomis that leads to one of cinema’s most legendary twists: Norman Bates and Mother.

Along the way we debate Hitchcock’s reputation, the film’s portrayal of mental illness, and the complicated ways Psycho has been interpreted through gender and trans-adjacent readings.

GAZER HOMEWORK: Next week get out toxic masculinity heads on and take a look at Fight Club (1999).
Click here to follow us on all our socials

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!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.