Hot Takes Symposium Recap: Horror Films, Survival Shows, And Whales (Oh My!)

Do you have a strong opinion that’s a little bit ... spicy?

Maybe you believe bananas and cheese belong together, or perhaps you’ve spent hours extolling the virtue of 2019’s Cats to friends and family. On September 25, 2021, MoPOP provided just the place for strong opinions loosely held. The museum's second-ever Hot Takes Symposium, a virtual program where fans can convene to discuss and defend their strangest points of view to an indifferent moderator, featured discussion around three unique topics:

• POPx — Whale, Actually — Jane Don't presents Whale, Actually, a provocative and scandalous exploration of whales and their insidious strangehold on popular culture. Have you ever marveled at the exquisite beauty of whales on an episode of Plante Earth? Do you know every line of Free Willy? Then you have fallen prey to one of the greatest cover-ups in modern history: the popularization of enormous (potential) killing machines. Whale, Actually illuminates the dark corners of whales' vast propaganda effort and will definitely prove that Willy NEVER should've been freed.

• Debate Club — Who Would Survive: The Winner of Alone or Survivor? — Which survival reality show better preps its winner for survival? Hosted by Andrew Orvedahl, Eliza Skinner, Troy Walker and Janine Brito, we’ll be putting the rigor of reality tv shows Survivor and Alone to the test to see which one produces survivalists, and which one leaves contestants without a paddle.

• PowerPoint Party — Survival of the Kasi: Is She Final Girl, or First Kill? — MoPOPs Public Engagement Producer, Kasi Gaarenstroom will be taking a look at some of her favorite slasher films and pondering how she would fare in them. Would she survive a night with Freddy Kreuger? What about camp at Crystal Lake? Tune in to find out if she’s Final Girl or First Kill material.

If you missed the live event, fear not! We're here with a recap. Embedded below, check out each video segment in full!

POPx — Whale, Actually

Debate Club — Who Would Survive: The Winner of Alone or Survivor?

PowerPoint Party — Survival of the Kasi: Is She Final Girl, or First Kill?

Learn more about MoPOP's Hot Takes Symposium + for contests, the latest news, and behind-the-scenes content, be sure to follow us on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

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