The Hip Pocket #406 - The Hard Episode

Have you ever read Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

It is, of course, famous as the source material for Blade Runner, but I love the book as its own thing, a beautiful culmination of many of the ideas that he’d been exploring in his fiction for years. Understanding empathy and what happens when there is a lack of it was a key part of why Dick wrote, and he saw it as the essential question of our time. One of the elements I love in the novel is the Penfield Mood Organ, a sort of chemical keyboard on which you can dial up your emotional state for the day. Deckard pre-programs his emotional weather, making sure he’s ready for each day’s schedule. His wife Iran treats her own programming more like jazz, and she’s not afraid to dial up some negative emotions for herself. She likes the way it makes her feel, even if it causes them to fight. She likes exploring despair, and feels like it is important to put the world around them in context.

Movies work for me like the Penfield Mood Organ. If I am feeling surly or unsettled, there are films I can watch that will recenter me. If I want, though, I can program films that will upset me, push me into dark, reflective places. I like being challenged by art, because that is the safest way to confront these things. Great art can make you forget that there is a screen between you and whatever it is you’re watching, and on some level, our central nervous system doesn’t know the difference between watching a movie about something traumatic and actually experiencing that trauma. It can be exhilarating to sit in that dark room and to let something terrible happen. It’s not my preference all the time, but I want to feel beaten up by a movie, I have a list of favorites that I know will get the job done.

We recently did a Soft Episode, full of bunnies and kitties and warm hugs and comfy blankets, and we knew at that point that we were going to do the opposite. We knew we were going to do The Hard Episode, but I have to admit, I was nervous going in. Knowing it’s coming and actually watching the films are two different things, though, and this was indeed a punishing episode to prepare for. Aundria, Craig and I all picked movies that feel like they were designed to fuck you up. Three of those together is a lot, but hopefully you’ll respond to these films even if they are a brutal emotional sit.

Recording this episode this past summer, we realized the conversation wasn’t just going to be about these three films but the entire idea of why we watch movies that mess us up. The world right now is so chaotic and difficult that it feels almost masochistic to watch certain things, but we still do it. We still seek this kind of thing out. There are ideas that we avoid, certainly, and we all have different boundaries about what we will or won’t watch. I really liked seeing how each of us defined this particular assignment, and I hope you feel the same when you listen.

Aundria was up first with Possession, the 1981 French film that features two of the most astonishing performances I have ever seen. Craig’s pick was the very small, very upsetting film about the aftermath of nuclear war, Threads. I wrapped things up with an American film in every possible way, Michael Ritchie’s jet-black crime film Prime Cut, with Lee Marvin and Gene Hackman. These are genuinely ugly movies in many ways, and they say things that are uncomfortable and disturbing and often outright mean. They all also open up tons of avenues of conversation, and taken together, this is one of the heavier episodes of the show so far.

I’d like to record Hip Pocket episodes for the rest of my life. I love this format because it allows for so many different conversations about so many different things. In order for that to happen, we need you to tell people about the show. If you’re enjoying it, please rate and review the show wherever you listen to podcasts. Word of mouth is the most valuable tool we have for recruiting new listeners.

If you want to sponsor The Hip Pocket, we are looking for advertisers now. We want a good fit, though, so reach out to us and let’s see what we can do.

Support The Hip Pocket on BlueSky!

Drop us an email at itsthehippocket@gmail.com if you’d like! We’d love to hear about your favorite Hip Pocket films!

The Hip Pocket is hosted by Drew McWeeny and Aundria Parker.

Craig Ceravolo is the show’s bandleader and producer.

It is a Formerly Dangerous Production.

100% HUMAN-MADE © 2026 by Matt Kindt, LLC is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0