Category Archives: Uncategorized

Mar 24 2022
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Episodes, Uncategorized

Episode 105. Doom Scroll: Pulse (2001) and Suicide Club (2001)

 
In this episode, Andrea and Alex explore two different yet eerily similar films that came out of Japan in 2001. The conversation covers where history, humanity and community end, exploring what is left in its wake and the new limitations of imagining the future.
 
CW: Suicide. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones: 1-800-273-8255. 

 

REQUIRED READING

Pulse. Dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 2001.
Suicide Club. Dir. Sion Sono, 2001.
 

EXTRA CREDIT

Haunted by Leo Braudy. A wide ranging examination of horror and its tropes.
 
Apocalyptic Dead by Kirsten Moana Thompson. A deep dive into films at the turn of the 21st century and our fear of the future.
 
Too Lonely to Die Alone: Internet Suicide Pacts and Existential Suffering in Japan. Chikako Ozawa-de Silva looks at the troubling phenomenon in Japan in the early 2000s.
 
 
What You’re Feeling Isn’t a Vibe Shift. It’s Permanent Change. Elamin Abdelmahmoud’s piece for Buzzfeed on our shifting reality.
 
The End of History by Francis Fukuyama. The much cited piece about humanity’s (possible) end of ideology.

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Feb 24 2022
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Episodes, Uncategorized

Episode 104. Dark Ages: Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) and Relic (2020)

 
Whether you call them Hagsploitation, Psycho-Biddy or just plain Elder Horror, growing old is a scary prospect and horror has mined those depths to great effect. Andrea and Alex dive into the murky waters of gender and aging, the burden of care and whether the cycle can be broken.
 
 

REQUIRED READING

Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? Dir. Robert Aldrich, 1962.
Relic. Dir. Natalie Erika James, 2020.
 

EXTRA CREDIT

Grande Dame Guignol Cinema: a History of Hag Horror from Baby Jane to Mother, by Peter Shelley (1962).|

You Must Remember This, Episode 91. Karina Longworth’s deep-dive into the production and reception history of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?

A Framework for Understanding Old-Age Vulnerabilities. A paper that lays out the multiple challenges facing families and an aging population.

The Costly, Painful, Lonely Burden of Care. From the New York Times: a look at the cost of invisible care.

The Double Standard of Aging, by Susan Sontag. “Aging means a humiliating process of gradual sexual disqualification.”

“Must the Players Keep Young?”: Early Hollywood’s Cult of Youth by Heather Addison. The origin story of Hollywood’s obsession with youth.

“Facing the horror – becoming an old maid,” from the book A Table for One: a Critical Reading of Singlehood, Gender and Time, by Kinneret Lahad.

Bitch media: Aging as the ultimate cinematic horror by Alana Prochuk.

The Alzheimer’s Society: an informative resource – consider donating!

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Dec 21 2021
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Uncategorized

Episode 102. Rule Breaker: Scream (1996)

Do you like scary movies? Because Wes Craven’s Scream sure does! In this episode, Andrea and Alex tackle the game-changing film, discussing its origins, impact and legacy.
 
 
 

REQUIRED READING

Scream. Dir. Wes Craven, 1996.
 

EXTRA CREDIT

The 1990s Teen Horror Cycle: Final Girls and a New Hollywood Formula. Alex’s book on ’90s horror with a feminist gaze.
 
Men, Women and Chain Saws. Carol Clover’s treatise on gender in modern horror that coined the term Final Girl.
 
Columbine. Dave Cullen’s in-depth account of the Columbine shootings.
 
The Banality of Skeevil. Jude Ellison S. Doyle’s medium article on Skeet Ulrich’s particular brand of ’90s toxic masculinity.
 
Dead Blondes and Bad Mothers. Jude Ellison S. Doyle’s book on power and monstrosity.
 
Seventeen Magazine May 1999. Featuring Jewel on the cover, this issue contains the findings of Seventeen x Ladies Home Journal’s survey and the article, “No! 12 Ways to Make That Little Word Heard.”
 
Cine-limbo: The Millennial/New Age Virtual Afterlife Thriller by Linda Badley. Did Millennial teens grew up on a diet of death-denying media?
 

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Oct 22 2021
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Episodes, Uncategorized

Episode 100. American Nightmare: The Crazies (1973)

Live from Salem Horror Fest, our 100th episode on George A. Romero’s The Crazies sees us tackling small-town life, biology, the Vietnam War, health care and our own podcasting mortality. Plus, a very special Cameo!
 
 
 

REQUIRED READING

The Crazies. Dir. George A. Romero, 1973.
 

EXTRA CREDIT

The Crazies. Dir. Breck Eisner, 2010. 
 
Robin Wood on the Horror Film. A collection of Wood’s seminal essays.
 
Hearts and Minds. The 1974 Oscar-winning documentary about the Vietnam War.
 
New Pandemics, Old Politics: Two Hundred Years of War on Disease and its Alternatives. Alex De Waal’s new book on modernity’s need for narratives and biology’s refusal of them.
 
The Birth of Biopolitics. Foucault’s lectures that introduce his theories of biopower and biopolitics.
 
The American Idea: The Best of the Atlantic Monthly. A large collection of essays that reflected and shaped America.
 
The Washington Post: “If we want people to take the coronavirus vaccine, we need to treat them like consumers” by Jennifer Reich. Has our history with DTCAs made us treat healthcare like businesses?
 

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