Pop Culture Happy Hour: “Wuthering Heights” and What’s Making Us Happy

Date: February 13, 2026
Host: NPR
Panelists: Linda Holmes, Glen Weldon, Barry Hardiman, Soraya Nadia McDonald

Main Theme and Purpose

This episode of Pop Culture Happy Hour dives into Emerald Fennell’s bold new film adaptation of Emily Brontë’s classic Wuthering Heights, starring Margot Robbie as Kathy and Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff. The panel discusses Fennell’s stylistic choices, the adaptation’s strengths and weaknesses, how it relates to previous versions and the original novel, and broader themes of lust, rage, and aesthetic provocation. The show also rounds out with the popular “What’s Making Us Happy” segment, where the hosts share recent pop culture joys.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Emerald Fennell's Stylistic Approach

• Going for Feeling Over Message:
  • Linda Holmes notes that Fennell aims to evoke the intense emotions she felt reading the book as a teenager, prioritizing grandiosity and extravagant visuals.
    • “She’s going for a feeling. ...I want you to feel the kinds of passionate feelings that I had when I first read this book.” — Linda Holmes [02:20]
• Visual Extravagance:
  • Fennell's choices—use of red, diaphanous and “not really period” materials, “strange rooms”—bring a lush, fever-dream quality to the film.
• Taboo and Grossness:
  • Soraya Nadia McDonald admires Fennell’s commitment to incorporating taboo, filth, and physicality into her work.
    • “Her fascination with dirt and filth and grossness. The things that are taboo, like her willingness to put things on screen that make your jaw drop.” — Soraya Nadia McDonald [04:19]

2. The Panel’s Spectrum of Opinions

• Linda Holmes: Enjoyed the emotional and stylistic rollercoaster, embracing the film’s evolution from romantic to deranged.
• Soraya Nadia McDonald: Finds Fennell’s “vibe cinema” compelling, likening the romance to something out of the Marquis de Sade, full of wild, taboo energy.
• Barry Hardiman: While appreciating some visual choices, felt the film didn’t connect emotionally or develop Heathcliff’s humanity enough.
  • “For me, it was a series of images that were connected by some speeches that I recognized from a book and very little else. ...It only gave me that and didn't pull out enough for me to see his humanity, which I think is important and the reason the book has lasted for so long.” — Barry Hardiman [06:29]

3. The "Camp," Gothic, and Cinematic Elements

• Glen Weldon:
  • Praises the feverish, febrile (“I don’t get to use that word much”) intensity, but wanted the film to be even more “bonkers” and campy.
  • Compares aspects to Tim Burton and Guillermo del Toro’s “Crimson Peak.”
    • “If you don’t got those adjectives, do you even got Wuthering Heights? ...Them heights, they gotta be Wutherin’.” — Glen Weldon [07:00]
• Isabella’s Character:
  • Welcomed as a highlight, she brings energy aligning with the film’s potential for melodrama and camp.
    • “Isabella is vibrating at precisely the frequency I wanted this whole movie to be vibrating at, which is embracing the ridiculousness.” — Glen Weldon [15:50]

4. Provocation: Lust, Disgust, and Taboos

• Style Over Social Commentary:
  • The group debates whether Fennell’s films are best viewed as works of style versus social commentary. Linda notes similarities with Tarantino’s stylized, referential approach.
  • “She’s provoking the gut. ...She’s provoking the body lower than the gut in some cases.” — Linda Holmes [14:27]
• Body Horror & Eroticism:
  • The film is packed with moments of squishy aspic, raw eggs, and a fascination with bodily sensations — a hallmark of Fennell.
    • “You get Kathy sticking her finger into an aspic, which is so squishy. ...It's all, to me, about provoking your yuck response or your lust response.” — Linda Holmes [14:57]

5. Adaptation Choices & Critique

• Changing the Narrative:
  • The adaptation modernizes and alters characters—particularly by making Isabella’s relationship with Heathcliff more consensual, muting some of the original’s transgressions.
    • “Heathcliff is friggin’ terrible. He is a stalker and a horrifying man. ...By making Isabella kinda into his particular form of abuse and making it, you know, sort of a consensual thing, you’ve backed away from the point.” — Barry Hardiman [16:13]
• Loss of Class & Racial Complexity:
  • The discussion addresses how the casting of Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff and changes in his backstory flatten his outsider status and erase opportunities to explore deeper themes.
• Are These People In Love or Traumatized?
  • Panelists question the authenticity of Cathy and Heathcliff's love, seeing it more as a trauma bond.
    • “Do these people even really know what love is? ...I think this is just a trauma bond.” — Soraya Nadia McDonald [20:47]

6. Chemistry, Wetness & Melodrama

• Margot Robbie & Jacob Elordi:
  • Discussion of their onscreen chemistry – is it real or a product of perpetual “wetness” (literally, in the rain)?
    • “Did you guys ever wonder watching this movie if Robbie and Elordi actually had chemistry or if they were just wet?” — Glen Weldon [21:00]
    • “I could totally see someone making a TikTok edit and just calling it Pneumonia Corps.” — Soraya Nadia McDonald [21:44]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “It starts with the public hang that drives the crowd into sexual ecstasy. So she's linking sex and death from the jump. It's not subtle.” — Glen Weldon [07:30]
• “This feels like Flowers in the Attic. ...It feels like a kind of taboo.” — Barry Hardiman [11:47]
• “I actually think this movie is arguably restrained for her. ...For her it is.” — Linda Holmes & Soraya Nadia McDonald [14:55]
• “If you are a person who watched Moll Flanders on PBS and yet also maybe had crushes on like Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Andrew Keegan... This movie will make sense to your 13 year old self completely.” — Soraya Nadia McDonald [11:25]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Emerald Fennell’s Adaptation Approach: 02:17–04:17
• Panelist Initial Impressions: 05:11–06:46
• Granular Design/Campiness: 07:00–09:13
• Comparison to Tarantino/Del Toro/Style vs. Substance: 09:30–14:57
• Adaptation Choices & Character Changes: 15:28–19:03
• Discussion of Class and Otherness: 20:05–20:47
• Chemistry & ‘Wetness’ Jokes: 21:00–21:52

What’s Making Us Happy This Week (24:00–end)

Barry Hardiman ([24:06])

• All Creatures Great and Small: Cozy PBS drama about a country veterinarian. Comforting and family-friendly.

Soraya Nadia McDonald ([25:04])

• Selena’s music: Inspired by Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance, she revisited Selena’s joyful Tejano hits.

Linda Holmes ([25:45])

• “For Human Use” by Sarah G. Pierce: Satiric, strange novel where people “adopt” dead bodies, a commentary on modern loneliness and connection.

Glen Weldon ([27:37])

• “A Place Both Wonderful and Strange” by Scott Meslo: New book on Twin Peaks, offering rich reporting and analysis for fans and pop culture scholars.

Tone & Atmosphere

The episode was lively, playful, and irreverent—marked by the panel’s signature blend of serious analysis, personal tastes, cultural references, and sharp wit. Much like the film they’re discussing, the review is feverish at times, with a generous awareness of camp, style, and pop culture tradition.

Takeaway

Pop Culture Happy Hour’s take on Wuthering Heights celebrates the value of bold artistic choices—even if the panel lands on a full spectrum of enjoyment. The discussion explores the tension between style and substance in adaptation, what it means to provoke audiences, and how canon can be playfully and provocatively reimagined. The episode closes with the panel sharing what’s currently delighting them in pop culture, always inviting listeners to expand their own happy hours.

Useful For

• Readers curious about Emerald Fennell’s adaptation choices
• Fans of both the original novel and modern Gothic melodrama
• Anyone interested in where style, camp, and provocation intersect in contemporary film
• Listeners looking for warm, witty, pop culture banter and recommendations