Does anything good realllllyyy happen on the internet? This week, we trace the history of online communication from the wide-eyed early days of dial-up with YOU’VE GOT MAIL (1998) to the modern day reality of being constantly plugged into a technology that’s probably out to get us, let’s be honest – it’s UNFRIENDED (2014).
Sure, YOU’VE GOT MAIL stars rom-com royalty Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks, but it’s basically the origin story of modern day emotional cheating and he spends more than half the movie catfishing her. Fast forward nearly 20 years to UNFRIENDED, where the entire movie takes place online – and that unknown screen name just might be a vengeful spirit and not Tom Hanks doing subpar impressions from “The Godfather.”
As we all hunker down and self-isolate for the greater good, the internet is more important than ever to staying connected. But when it comes to meeting strangers online, is it ever really a good idea? Sure, our dating lives would be nonexistent, but maybe that’s for the best. So fire up your floppy disk for 5 free hours of AOL and join us as we head to the dark side of the world wide web.
Episode Notes:
The Verge article on Unfriended
Theme song: Written by Tara Clune, Amanda Festa and Ryan Hirsh; Performed by Brooke Parker and Ryan Hirsh.