Get ready for one of the most bizarre and brazen films of a generation.

In this episode, Ariel and Morgan travel back to 1968’s sci-fi cult classic Barbarella — a movie where Jane Fonda strips out of a spacesuit in zero gravity and later defeats a villain using… an orgasm machine.

Yes. Really.

The hosts break down how the film uses erotic spectacle, camp, and absurdity to create scenes that are both wildly objectifying and oddly revolutionary for their time.

They get into it all:

• How the famous zero-gravity striptease opening uses choreography, framing, and floating credits to tease and shock the audience
• Why the “Excessive Machine” scene was extremely bold for mainstream cinema in 1968
• Fascinating power dynamics where the villain weaponizes pleasure and the hero literally sets the situation on fire.
• Why early Hollywood often treated sex as visual spectacle first and human experience second

It’s campy. It’s chaotic. And somehow still iconic.

Want to watch along? Our reaction covers the opening striptease (0:00:00) and the excessive machine scene (Time Code: ~1:15:00). We cut around the clips, so it won’t sync perfectly, but you’ll absolutely get the point.

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CREDITS — Barbarella
Director: Roger Vadim
Writers: Terry Southern; Roger Vadim; Claude Brulé; Vittorio Bonicelli
Source Material: Based on the comic Barbarella by Jean-Claude Forest
Producer: Dino De Laurentiis
Actors: Jane Fonda; Milo O’Shea
© 1968 Dino De Laurentiis Cinematografica / Paramount Pictures. All rights reserved.

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