British movie podcast of the week: School Of Movies

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Our weekly slot where we showcase quality independent UK movie podcasts: this week. it’s School Of Movies.

Alex Shaw began podcasting in 2007 with a multimedia show called Digital Cowboys. After 219 episodes of what became a deep dive, roundtable format mostly focused on video games, that team went their separate ways with Alex starting a solo podcast focused on movies called Digital Gonzo. Alex’s wife Sharon came on board as permanent co-host in 2014 and the name changed to School of Movies in 2015; a name befitting of their want to do exactly what their podcast says; to educate and inform others about movies.

Sharon is a qualified counsellor and movie therapist in-training, who is passionate about the subtextual framing of healthy and unhealthy behaviour in movie characters and the symbolism behind the details. Alex is an independently published novelist and audio drama producer, who uses what he continues to learn about story structure and characterisation to pour into his own work. The show is funded through a loyal Patreon community, they also do periodic listener-sponsored commission seasons, and regularly invite guests to contribute to episodes.

School of Movies aim is to inform and intrigue with in-depth discussions on everything and anything you can think of; from independent film to massive blockbuster franchises. Each episode is an exploration rather than a review; a painstakingly composed blend of discussion, monologue and carefully chosen music, searching for psychological readings and personal emotional connection, often in unexpected places. They pride themselves on being inclusive and progressive, with a listener base to match. School of Movies is particularly welcoming of women, people of colour and the LGBTQ community, as these are often notably underrepresented in blockbuster cinema.

Their main School of Movies feed is comprehensive and immersive. They also have an extensive archive (School of Movies Archive) which contains pre-2017 episodes and contains an impressive and immense back catalogue. They have a fierce passion for the art of movie making, and especially love to cover movies that were less well-received at the box office. Their aim is to get their listeners to ask retrospective questions, especially about movies mostly dismissed as popcorn fodder. They also occasionally cover TV, video games and comic books, and these are put out on the same feed, subtitled School of Everything Else.

Consistently producing a vast array of outstanding material, School of Movies truly is a class act.

Recommended episode: The Lego Movie 2 (22 February 2019) – http://bit.ly/schoolofmovieslego

School of Movies can be found at http://schoolofmovies.podbean.com/

Twitter https://twitter.com/SchoolOfMovies

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/user/GonzoPlanet

The School of Movies archive can be found at http://schoolofmoviesarchive.podbean.com/

The School of Everything Else archive can be found at http://schoolofeverythingelsearchive.podbean.com/

All episodes of School of Movies are available to download from Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Podbean or via your chosen podcast app.

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