A warning, this episode contains strong language and discussion of sexual, soft, and suicide.

Welcome to a very special weekend edition of NPR's pop culture happy hour.

Today, we're continuing our new documentary series, Screening Ourselves, created by our host Aisha Harris.

Hey Aisha! Hey Linda! Now, in case listeners are not aware last week, we presented the first

installment of Screening Ourselves, which looks back on controversial movies of the past and the

debates that they stirred at the time they were released. Yeah, so far we've covered the Godfather

and its complicated legacy within some Italian-American communities. That was a lot to bite off for

a first episode and I am excited to know what is the next film that you are bringing to us.

Well, today we're going to be diving into basic instinct, Paul Vera-Hovans 1992

erotic thriller. You've seen this, right Linda? I have, I sure have. Yeah, yeah, and I remember

watching it a long time ago too for the first time, but I didn't realize that it was actually kind

of controversial at the time. It came out for a few reasons. Notably, the way that it kind of

plays with these kind of icky stereotypes around the quote-unquote cycle lesbian trope or the mad woman

trope, right? And it also depicted queer characters at a time when they weren't really that visible on

screen and in a way that was frustrating to some queer people in the audience. It was such a point

of contention that it actually inspired a wave of protest movements that took place all throughout

the run of the film. So I'm excited to dig into this for everyone. Yeah, I'm excited to hear

about it. So take it away. So if there's one thing people remember about basic instinct,

it's that scene. You know the one. Where Sharon Stone's slinky character, Catherine Tramel,

is seated in what looks like a brightly lit war room. She's under interrogation by five

due detectives about the murder of one of her romantic partners, a rock star. Would you tell us

the nature of your relationship with Mr. Baws? I had sex with him for about a year and a half.

...