Tag Archives: George A. Romero

Oct 22 2021
1 Comment
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?
 

LISTEN

Right click or option-click here and choose “Save Target As”

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Tagged , , ,
Oct 31 2017
6 Comments
Episodes, Uncategorized

Episode 54. Undead Walking: Night of the Living Dead (1968), Dawn of the Dead (1978) and Day of the Dead (1985)

Alex and Andrea go back to the zombie’s origins with George A. Romero’s original Dead trilogy. From their social roots in Haiti to their ties to the New Hollywood movement, these films make delicious brain food.

REQUIRED READING

Night of the Living Dead. Dir. George A. Romero, 1968.
Dawn of the Dead. Dir. George A. Romero, 1978.
Day of the Dead. Dir. George A. Romero, 1985.

EXTRA CREDIT

When There’s No More Room in Hell: The Sociology of the Living Dead. Andrea’s book on Romero’s early Dead films.

Passage of Darkness: the Ethnobiology of the Haitian Zombie by Wade Davis. An interdisciplinary study on Haitian political life and folklore.

Marxism and Literature by Raymond Williams. Marxist concepts applied to literature that provided the bedrock for Williams’ theory of cultural materialism that Andrea holds dear.

The Reduction of Urban Vulnerability: Revisiting 1950s American Suburbanization as Civil Defence. Kathleen Tobin’s article on the military’s involvement in the rise of the suburbs.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Tagged , , ,
Oct 20 2016
14 Comments
Episodes, Uncategorized

Episode 43. Compendium of Fear: Creepshow (1982) and Trick ‘r Treat (2007)

trickrtreat

The possibilities are endless when it comes to a good scare. The horror anthology is a rarity in the genre but when executed successfully they are beloved. Andrea and Alex do a deep dive into two infamous cult classics which deal in a variety of stories taking place around everyone’s favourite holiday.

REQUIRED READING

Creepshow. Dir George A Romero, 1982.
Trick ‘r Treat. Dir Michael Dougherty, 2007.

EXTRA CREDIT

Trick ‘r Treat: Season’s Greetings – The short that started it all.

History of Halloween. An extensive overview on how the holiday came to be.

Faculty of Horror’s 31 Days of Halloween – Take a look at Alex and Andrea‘s list of horror movies to watch in the spookiest month.

Stephen King’s Reign of Terror. We team up with our friends at Movies Ruined My Life for a three hour episode all about King.

COURSE NOTES

 Intro song: Nail Ballet from Nightmare Picture Theatre, courtesy of James Zirco Fisher.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Tagged , , , ,