High Low Brow
We’re carving out space in the airwaves for deep dives and thoughtful convos about our beloved pop culture that is often overlooked, laughed at, trashed, and brushed aside. Join us (and some of our internet pals!) for hot, juicy, maybe controversh opinions and a few rounds of games inspired by the stuff you watched when you were home sick with an anxiety-induced stomachache in your formative years.
High Low Brow
The Heartfelt Journey of Will & Harper
In our season finale episode, we're talking about the absurdity of all the baby oil found in Diddy's home to the contentious Twitter ban of journalist Ken Klippenstein for releasing the JD Vance dossier.
This week, we dive into the touching Netflix documentary, Will and Harper. In the 2 hour film, we follow the heartwarming journey of Will Ferrell and Harper Steele, who bravely came out as transgender during the pandemic. It's an emotional
road trip filled with personal growth, honest discussion, and memories that shape their bond. We’ll talk about our feelings about watching the documentary and why you need to get your parents to watch it.
This is our final episode of season four (or is it?) as we take a break to move. We'll be back in 2025 (unless we decide to drop a mini-episode once we settle into our new place).
Welcome to High Low Brow the show with highbrow takes on lowbrow culture. I'm your one host, amanda Scriber, and I'm on Grindr to be messy and look at loose hole. Lowbrow, the show with highbrow takes on lowbrow culture.
Speaker 2:I'm your one host, amanda scriber, and I'm on grinder to be messy and look at loose hole. Do you remember? That it was a very short-lived tiktok situation where it was just talking about somebody who's setting up a grinder as a woman to look for quote-unquote bisexual men, but actually it was just to be messy and look at loose hole.
Speaker 1:I mean kudos, mama, for spilling. We're here. We are here. It's our last episode.
Speaker 2:It's our last episode of. I don't know if it's like this season or if it's.
Speaker 1:I think we should just say for this season, and then yeah back in season five. Yeah, because you know, to be fair, we do have a we're like we're done, but we have talked about how we might have a little bonus after this.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:We don't want to say what it will be.
Speaker 2:Oh, I'm like I figured we'd talk about, like, what it could be, because we don't really know unless you've made your mind up okay, yeah, go for it I was like I thought we're talking about watching a jersey shore, or no, no, yeah, we are gonna do that yeah, I thought we were talking about what we're going to do for my birthday is it the potato chip?
Speaker 2:party no we are doing that though. Oh, my fucking god, we're doing, uh, we're going to see jacks and listen amma my mind is in so many places yes, we're going to see jacks and tom schwartz at a bar on king street, which sounds like actually my hell. But like the things we do for love and for the podcast, for the podcast so you know we're and it's my birthday and it's well. Yeah, I mean that's. That was the love component.
Speaker 1:Yeah, thank you yeah we are gonna do that and it is like in a week.
Speaker 2:So we were like we can't not report back yeah, we gotta, we gotta do, even if it's a shorter episode.
Speaker 1:Yeah we, we will report, we will. We need to tell the folks at home.
Speaker 2:We will be messy and look at loose hole.
Speaker 1:Yeah, obviously it will be fantastic. I can't think of any other way to bring in my 41st birthday 41st. Yes, I am that old.
Speaker 2:I mean yeah, but that's okay Old is the state of mind. Yeah, old is a state of mind. Speaking of states of mind, hey, Emma let's make your brain go burr this week.
Speaker 1:What is making my brain go burr this?
Speaker 2:week, is it still Mudeng?
Speaker 1:I mean, yeah, it is, but I feel like there is other things that have been happening. It's just that you know, between a genocide and the presidential election, that we have no well. I mean, we have a stake in being in Canada, but you know what I mean yeah, yeah, yeah. And so many of these other hard things in life. Sometimes it's like things come into my brain and then they go gone, but not so much making my brain go, okay, but making me go hmm making your brain go, hmm is everything that's happening with diddy oh my god, 10 was it 10 000 bottles of baby oil.
Speaker 1:There's a thousand bottles of baby oil. It was a thousand bottles of baby oil, clearly, I thought it was much more.
Speaker 2:I mean Emma a thousand bottles of baby oil is insane.
Speaker 1:Yeah, did you hear about how his lawyer said well, they bought in stock, they bought in bulk. Yeah, using the Costco.
Speaker 2:I also overheard that his lawyers may be dropping him because they also represent Gaga.
Speaker 1:Oh, I did not hear that there's so much shit going on. It's happening so fast.
Speaker 2:I mean it's all but confirmed that he put out the hit on Tupac and Biggie.
Speaker 1:That's been out there for years. For years, but nothing was ever done about it, anyways. Anyways years but nothing was ever done about it anyways.
Speaker 2:Anyways, there's just been so many like conspiracy theory-esque rabbit holes that I have gone down on tiktok being like you know, this person is connected to this person and this happened, and then that, and I'm just like I don't want to be on this timeline but also yikes I mean, like, is it really a conspiracy theory if, like, it's an active litigation and it's like no, no, like ceos are stepping down left, right and center and it's like one of those things where it's like it sounds like a conspiracy theory but it's a for real thing?
Speaker 1:yes like the music version of mk ultra yes also, and sorry, I like I don't have anything. And now I'm like and another thing. When I woke up this morning, there was a journalist who basically got banned from Twitter X, whatever we're calling it nowadays X formerly known as Twitter.
Speaker 1:Yeah, His name is Ken Klippenstein, okay, and he posted the entire JD Vance dossier, which was, apparently it was from hacked documents. I think Iran hacked the Trump campaign and found these documents and no mainstream media wanted to post it or put it like, put it out into the universe. And so this, this man, ken clippenstein. He posted it on twitter, they took it down, they banned him. Now, apparently, if you even try and link out to it on places like facebook or threads, they block it so that you can't read it so this sounds like slim, like julian assange, the WikiLeaks kind of deal 100%.
Speaker 2:What exactly is on the dossier?
Speaker 1:Basically, I went and found the summarization of it on Reddit and someone was like I fed it into ChatGPT and it gave me these three main points. The TLDR is that JD Vance is very wishy-washy. He wasn't really as right wing conservative clearly, because he was. He paid for his friend's like top surgery, right, yeah, and he's married to an indian woman yeah so and a lot of these like quote-unquote changes didn't happen until he was sort of backed by peter teal yeah, I mean that that for sure tracks yeah peter teal has change your ethics.
Speaker 1:Money yeah so there was that, and then I forget what the other two points were, but there's nothing overly shocking it's not like photographic evidence of him fucking a couch. It's not like no, although in the reddit threads there was like if you look on page 185, there's proof that he fucks couches, and I'm like there is not, but there's not, but that's.
Speaker 2:That's hillbilly elegy all over again.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, but I just, I thought that was very funny every everybody's been saying oh, the site that you know touts free speech.
Speaker 2:It doesn't actually no, it's, it's uh, touts free speech when it is backing musk yeah, or trump, or whomever, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:So that's those are the things. Oops, I had two. Yeah, what's? Making my brain go burr, you ask. I would love to know. Please tell me um it's a throwback but.
Speaker 2:I got fed a tiktok, okay, uh, and do you remember the crazy town, little john mashup, the? It's a piece of cake to bake pretty cake. Yes, that has been stuck in my head non-stop for the past week and it's really obnoxious well, how?
Speaker 1:how can we help you get it out?
Speaker 2:I don't think you can. I think it's just I gotta gotta crump it out crump it out yeah I gotta crump it out I also got a uh tiktok of marge simpson crumping which was in an episode it was. I'll cramp with you, sweetie.
Speaker 1:I don't know why that made me think of, and I know you were like I sent this to you and I was like no, I sent this to you, but the AI speaking in patois oh, the Jamaican patois, yeah, unreal, so good. This is like if this is the future, I do not want any part of it.
Speaker 2:They also had one in AAVE. I was like, oh my God, this is too much. The AAVE one was like that just sounded like that one white girl from Toronto yes, I'm like that. One needs some work. But the Patois, I was like, okay, I can kind of hear that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I can kind of hear that. Yeah, I also the the one of the gay guy that was like I'm speaking to another gay man.
Speaker 2:And whenever he said sis, it sounded like he was saying CIS, yes, sis.
Speaker 1:Hi sis, it's Christmas oh my god, let's.
Speaker 2:We live in a hellscape we do.
Speaker 1:I can't believe we are still living through all of this.
Speaker 2:It's wild. I I wish the times became more precedented it'd be like that sometimes all the time, all the time anyways what are we?
Speaker 1:talking about this week something that's a little, a little more uplifting than all the other shit that we just talked about. So we are talking about Will and Harper today it's a documentary. It just came out on Netflix. We tried to get tickets to go and see this at TIFF. It was sold out. It was sold out Every screening. We did not. We did not have any luck, but it's fine because it came out.
Speaker 2:It just came out on Netflix and like when you found out you it just came out on. Netflix and like when you found out. You're like actually I'm kind of glad we didn't get tickets because they were very expensive and it's going to be on Netflix in like literally a week after TIFF.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I mean, the benefit of going to see it at TIFF is we probably could have seen a conversation.
Speaker 2:I was going to say we probably would have seen both Will and Harper, because I know Will Ferrell was in town for it.
Speaker 1:Yes, seen both Will and Harper, because I know Will Ferrell was in town for it. Yes, so we probably would have been able to have a like, see a conversation with them, talk about the experience. Yeah, those those things that you can't get when you're just watching the film on Netflix. Yeah, the documentary, like we said, it just came out on Netflix. It's almost two hours long, just about yeah.
Speaker 2:It's about one of Will Ferrell's very close friends from like. They started at SNL at the same time and they were like I don't want to say best friends, but they're very close for a very long time. Like they followed him to Funny or Die and during the pandemic they were like hey, by the way, I'm transitioning- pandemic they were like hey by the way I'm transitioning.
Speaker 1:They sent a very lovely email, yeah, that sort of said look, I totally understand if this is like you're probably gonna have questions.
Speaker 2:I do too yeah and will ferrell was like okay, cool, so I wanna like do this road trip because, like before they transitioned, harper liked to road trip a lot and go into these dive bars and obviously, given the current state of the world, it's not super safe to do that anymore as a trans person.
Speaker 1:No, it's not super safe really at all for trans people, especially in certain states in the USA.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so it's just following them on a cross America drive.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and sort of their interactions with different people, the conversations that they have with one another.
Speaker 2:Finding out what their friendship looks like now.
Speaker 1:Harper, talking about you know them growing up, going back to some of the places where they grew up.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Revisiting those memories. That's like a high level take of the film. I want to hear from you, you know, since I am not trans what did you think? What was your?
Speaker 2:take. So it was very. It was very personal. Obviously it wasn't hilariously as personal as I saw the TV glow, but it was very. They talked a lot about like apparently pre-transition like Harper's always known, apparently pre-transition, like harper's always known. And but like seven years prior they were talking to their therapist and their therapist basically shut them down and was like no, that doesn't make any sense. Tell, describe to me how you're feeling. Your feelings are invalid. And I'm like whoa, I had that too, except it wasn't a therapist it was it was a girlfriend it was a romantic partner.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I I honestly couldn't tell you which is.
Speaker 1:I think, honestly, the therapist is worst if we're having, like you know, trauma olympics yeah, I think if you have a therapist and you're going into a safe space and sort of sharing these feelings with them, yeah you, I can speak from my own experience, having seen a therapist previously me bringing up some sort of like body image. It's not a one-to-one. I just want to say I'm not comparing my struggles to that your body move with trans body?
Speaker 1:yeah, yeah for sure, um, but I remember bringing it up to this therapist and they sort of like put it back on me saying well, that sounds like you have a problem. That sounds like, and I was like I mean, this sounds like I am perfectly content with who I am and my politics, and it sounds like there's more ish. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Oh, sounds like an issue.
Speaker 1:Not an ish me yeah.
Speaker 2:So that was the first and last time I saw that person that is so fair.
Speaker 1:Yeah, which is why, which actually led me to my current therapist and, like one of the, I remember that, yeah, one of the questions that I asked my current therapist was can you operate from like a fat positive or body neutral space? Like I don't need you to have the same politics as me, but I need you to support me in some way? Yeah, when I'm talking to you about these issues.
Speaker 2:I mean similar. When I was looking for my therapist, I was like you don't have to be trans. I can't be the first trans person that you're seeing, though and if I am, you got to be real, real upfront with what you don't know and be willing to learn, because I'm not going to like walk you through what. I will send you a link to, like the gender Bible, and then it's on you, man.
Speaker 1:Yeah, this is all on you, but yeah, yeah, I mean, it kind of reminds me when we saw a couple's therapist who was trans. I yeah continue I was just gonna say it did, it did not, it did not go well, I remember we were looking for a couple's therapist, because I mean everything was fine but it was before we got married and we were like, hey, let's like things are obviously good with us, otherwise we wouldn't be getting married.
Speaker 2:But, like one, we're spending a lot more time with each other during the pandemic and, two, our traumas feed into each other negatively.
Speaker 1:Yeah, like the way I react to certain things triggers me, yeah, and vice versa, yeah, it's, uh, it's a very complicated, really chose, we really chose a winning relationship yeah, so you know but when we were going in, we found this person and I was like I don't know if I want to see a trans therapist.
Speaker 2:You're like, why not? And I was like because I'm worried that they're going to take my side in an unconscious bias, because there's a lot of shared experiences and shared trauma that trans people share and that's really hard to overlook. And that's basically, and that's exactly what happened, yeah and I was just like I don't.
Speaker 1:I don't like what's happening no, no I think in one of the very first. Well, we only saw them twice, I think, in like the first session, they told me. Just so you know, people who are typically in relationships with partners that transition. They don't commonly stay together, so you should just keep that in mind and it was like technically true.
Speaker 1:yeah, I mean like that is technically true. Yeah, I mean like that is technically true If we go back to the film that we are talking about, like Harper talks about how her and their partner at the time got divorced. So, like yes, that is historically true, but having not met us or talked to us at all, I'm like I don't need you to like.
Speaker 2:It's the never tell me the odds situation. It's like come on, yeah, we get it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, do we get it. Yeah, for sure, but like Also, if we're coming here because we would like help, Don't start from a place of well.
Speaker 2:It might not be worth it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, why are you even here? You don't Like it's not gonna work anyways, we need to leave. So back to the film.
Speaker 2:enough about us, so yeah, that was a very, very resonant part for me. Uh, the other really intense part was when she was talking to the local trans activists who was like in their, who came out in their 50s in a similar situation and they talked about like what was so hard, especially transitioning later in life and, like you know, just dealing with like the struggles of voice and dealing, and I was like, oh man, this is so real yeah and like the whole, like I have to come to terms with what is for me and what's for other people, and that's like that was so real.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, as we were watching it, I remember halfway through it was like you should totally text your mom and tell your mom to watch this. Yeah, and I did. Yeah, you did. My biggest takeaway from it was that it feels like it's not a film that you're going to watch and be like now. I know everything about trans people.
Speaker 2:It's a very, very easy entry point to starting to have that conversation and starting to understand. So, like high recommendation, if you have, if you're not in the queer community and you have a friend or a family member who comes out, it's a very good crash course.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because I think it's in the questions that it's asking. In the conversations that Will and Harper are having together in the car, it feels like a lot of the time questions that people want to ask and feel very self-conscious and worried about asking because they're like, I don't think these are questions that I should be.
Speaker 2:Can I?
Speaker 1:ask this yeah, which is so valid and fair and I think, being able to watch that through two people who have a great friendship, who have known each other for so long, who are experiencing this firsthand together, like this transition, this change, like obviously Will's not going through change.
Speaker 2:Well, I mean relationship change.
Speaker 1:Yeah, their relationship is changing. They're going through this together and it's sort of you're getting to experience how that feels on that side as well.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I honestly really appreciated will's openness and like will want to learn and kind of figure it out, like the one scene where harper's like I want to go into this bar and I want to go in by myself can you just wait outside because like this is something that I love to do and I'll call you if I need you to come in and they like they had b-roll of him standing outside and I was expecting them to play it for a joke, but it's played completely straight and like you can tell that he's like a nervous brother yeah like it is, is a very endearing scene yeah, and this, this bar, is like they have a fuck bite.
Speaker 1:They had a confederate flag up. I was like oh no girl, you're in danger. All of the bars that they could have gone into, well, you.
Speaker 2:You pointed out, you're like this this is bikers welcome. That concerns me I'm like bikers at least have like a code of ethics. But yeah, that's. Uh, I'm like bikers at least have like a code of ethics. But yeah, that's, I'm also a little concerned about.
Speaker 1:Yeah, not all bikers are bad, however.
Speaker 2:Yeah, sending your child, a lost child, to a biker is probably safe. Sending your you know 61 year old, newly transitioned friend into A biker bar, maybe less safe?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I was like I less safe. Yeah, it was like I am scared. It was like terrifying I think that was the most terrifying. Yeah, I agree, like highest head pressure.
Speaker 2:They also dealt with. They didn't deal with a lot of active transphobia in the moment like they definitely. They went to texas, which that was a bad idea.
Speaker 1:Well, I think it's kind of like, if you've ever watched, we're here, which?
Speaker 2:I know we have.
Speaker 1:I think that's that's why they go to those places to, sort of like, make a statement, make a stand, show that, like trans, people exist here.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and Will Ferrell specifically, which is wild faced a bunch of backlash from it. Yeah.
Speaker 1:It's like. What Well, to be fair when you think about it, will Ferrell has also starred in all these like frat boy-esque comedy. Yeah, and like you think, about.
Speaker 2:His demo is definitely.
Speaker 1:I'm not saying his demo is all like MAGA Trump supporters.
Speaker 2:I love Teledagonites but, also I understand the Venn diagram. I'm somewhere in a weird section of that Venn diagram 100% Like.
Speaker 1:I love Anchorman, but also like I love. Lamp.
Speaker 2:I love Lamp we love Lamp, we love Lamp.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so you know, there's probably some moop in there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, for sure, I feel like the hardest scene to watch was when harper talked about the house that she bought yes, the one that was in california was it california?
Speaker 1:it was somewhere in california I know it was a.
Speaker 2:It was a it was in like a desert somewhere it was a shitty house that they bought for like ten thousand dollars and her intention was to move there and just live as a woman forever.
Speaker 2:And she did, and she was like I was so happy but also like that wasn't gonna be me, and I'm like, oh my god, this is so real remember remember that conversation where I was like, yeah, I'm trans, but don't worry, I'm not going to transition, and you, we were like you sure about that, you're sure about that, yeah, like how many years into our relationship?
Speaker 1:and I was like I mean, those things just don't go away your exact words were I don't think that's how it works.
Speaker 2:I am, and I remember that such a way with words. I remember that because like I always in therapy, point back to them like, yeah, that was a. That was really a turning point for me.
Speaker 1:Well, I remember when you officially started your transition, when you officially were like you know, I am going to transition.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we're making. When I was on my the beginning of my Gender journey, public gender journey yeah.
Speaker 1:And I remember like this is. This is not like news. No, but I was like this is difficult for me. It's hard, it was. It was not because I'm like transphobic in any way, but it was different and I didn't know if I could be there to support you in the way that you needed someone to be there to support you.
Speaker 2:It's a very, very challenging situation. It's. I understand the want to like date within own cultures for shared experiences now and I'm like, oh yeah, no, this makes total sense and like to your credit, you have own cultures for shared experiences now and I'm like, oh yeah, no, this makes total sense and, like to your credit, you have been nothing but incredibly supportive.
Speaker 1:but yeah, I, I have tried. I've I've read a few books read a couple books. Talk to your therapist, talk to my therapist. Got over my moop, yeah, which I think I also like. As we were going through it, it was like I think, just give me time yeah, I'm gonna to get there and also. I think one of the biggest things that I said to my therapist too was I love you, that doesn't change anything, and so why would it matter? And also, I wasn't straight. Well, there was that.
Speaker 2:So I think it was more of me sort of like I don't want to say rationalizing it, but sort of like coming I don't coming to terms like just sort of like realizing figuring out what your own relationship to the idea of transness was yeah, it's like I've never had to confront that no, which is hilarious, because how many of your exes are trans?
Speaker 1:yeah, it's more than two. It is more than two, it is almost all of my very serious relationships prior to river are all trans now I think one of them isn't and that's the only one I can think of.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and it's really funny, so you're a safe person. You put off. I. I keep thinking back to this comic, and it's two. They're like represented by animals and like it was like a turtle and like an alligator or something, and one of them was like I always wanted to date a bisexual woman, just in case. And then the other one's like just in case, what? Just in case, what?
Speaker 1:and I'm like that's real. Yeah, that is so real. The film is very good.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I was gonna say on our like uh, better than long legs scale, what would you give it an eight? Yeah, I think so too. I don't think it was like if you are already very well read in like queer theory, or if you have lived this experience, you're not going to gain anything new from it, but as like an entry point for people who are not familiar and need to be because they have a loved one who is. Or if you are like I don't understand transness, it makes me feel uncomfortable then it's like a very good introduction to it, because will ferrell does sort of facilitate that yeah, and you know will ferrell, he has a lot of funny weird dad jokes in it and through him you're kind of like oh yeah what was your favorite bit that he did?
Speaker 1:The bit about the boobs and Nordstrom rack. That's a good bit. When you watch it, you'll understand what that means.
Speaker 2:I can't decide whether mine was when he dressed up for dinner.
Speaker 1:Oh my yes or when he the Dunkin' Donuts bit. I am like he was losing him, for, like Ben Affleck, will Ferrell is coming for your Dunkin's check. He's like.
Speaker 2:I don't know why the fuck we're even going on this stupid road trip if we're not gonna go to Dunkin Donuts all we've done is talk to trans people. I, yeah, no very, very funny, very heartwarming. I think. Watch it with your parents if they're progressive leaning. Yeah, watch it with your parents if they like rule for rule and like are right leaning. Maybe it'll give them some insight. Maybe your dad will be your mom. Yeah, also, we're gonna talk about Harper's possibly trans child.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I was like when we there was a scene with will and harper just before they leave to on their road trip, and they're with harper's two kids yeah and like that one child is definitely non-binary art that I was like.
Speaker 2:Well, one of them is giving not straight and the other one is giving not cis.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:It's like we don't know the generational tie between transness and the genetic tie between transness, but like Well, I mean I think I've talked about this before I have on both sides of my family.
Speaker 1:So on my mother's side and my father's side, I both have cousins who are trans. Yeah, I was going to say that. But yeah, like so, and you've met my aunt. And yeah they're very not. The stereotypical butch, yeah, who is for some reason attracted to men yeah, so like I think me as all my genetic makeup, I come by whatever this is honestly yeah, you sure do I'm like I think we've talked about this before.
Speaker 1:I'm like I am definitely not, but I think I'm more on the non-Biden-Hurts scale of trans, yeah, and like that is okay. Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 2:I mean, you know you were clown gender for a little while.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, I still am. I still am pretty bright, Got that klissy. Yeah, I love a klissy. Is that where we should end it? Oh my God.
Speaker 2:We should tag Christian Divine and then we should end it he gets it, he gets it. I was gonna say that's it, but like one more episode.
Speaker 1:Maybe we don't want to commit.
Speaker 2:We don't want to.
Speaker 1:I mean you might see something you might see something. But like we're, moving.
Speaker 2:We're moving, so don't. We're both so fucking stressed. Our dog is so fucking stressed. She's like on top of me for this entire recording. Yeah, because she's like I need my emotional support animal yeah, so we may be here, we may not.
Speaker 1:Where can the people find us?
Speaker 2:you can find us on the internet at high, low brow pod, that's h-i-g-h-l-o BrowPod. You can find us on the World Wide Web. You can find us at Instagram Threads and TikTok. Oh yes, you got it.
Speaker 1:I did I did, I did.
Speaker 2:You can find us at.
Speaker 1:Anywhere. You can download a podcast, yes, and there you can also leave us a review. You can leave us a voicemail. You can do whatever you want. Hell, you can leave us a voicemail, you can do whatever you want, hell, you can tell us what you'd like to hear in the next season. Yeah, I think we'll leave it at that. Yeah, okay, bye.
