alt.culture

alt.culture episode 7: History of Hong Kong Cinema Part 1- Kungfu

Hong Kong movies have played a giant role in shaping the pop culture of the world.  We'll take a look at the history of Hong Kong and its movies through the lenses of its most popular genres. In the first of this four part series, we'll take an overall look at the formation of Hong Kong, the growth of the movie industry. The focus will be on the Kungfu genre. We'll look at the legends of the genre. We'll explore the history behind the martial arts and their schools, and how Kungfu took the world by storm. Movies cited: The Big Boss, 1971 Fists of Fury, 1972 Way of the Dragon, 1972 Enter the Dragon, 1973 Five Fingers of Death, 1972 Master of the Flying Guillotine, 1976 The Thirty Sixth Chambers of Shaolin, 1978 Drunken Master, 1978 Mystery of Chess Boxing, 1979 Return to the 36th Chamber, 1980 Once Upon A Time in China series, 1991-1997 Ip Man series, 2008-2019 Some great resources: Accented Cinema: https://www.youtube.com/@AccentedCinema The 37th Chamber: https://www.youtube.com/@the37thchamber93 Cool History Bros: https://www.youtube.com/@CoolHistoryBros Never Grow Up, by Jackie Chan Bruce Lee: A Life, by Matthew Polly Chinese Martial Arts: From Antiquity to the 21st Century, Peter A. Lorge The Cinema of Hong Kong: History, Arts, Identity Martial Arts Cinema and Hong Kong Modernity: Aesthetics, Representation, Circulation, Yip Man-Fung

alt.culture episode 6: The Grand Guignol and the Birth of Modern Horror

Madness and Terror! Do you dare listen, to subject your ears to awful tales of murder and brutality? If the whispers lure you in,  you will discover in the dark labyrinth of the mind such fearsome figures as: - The most murdered woman in the world. - The mad psychologist who used his knowledge of the human psyche to inflict horror. - The dark master of the art of infernal public attractions. - The sinister former chapel where a secret cabal of the depraved enjoy nightly delights.  You are about to listen to a story of a simple theater. A simple theater whose carnival of blood has driven mad the creative arts, whose long tentacles slowly, silently, creep with sinister intent all over the soul of cinema. Only the bravest will remain unscathed, for the wise have long left for safer places.  Disclaimer: This podcast is not responsible for any fainting that occurs while listening to this episode. Further Reading: Grand Guignol: The French Theatre of Horror; Michael Wilson, Richard J Hand Theatre of Fear and Horror; Mel Gordon The Most Murdered Woman In The World  https://crimereads.com/the-most-murdered-woman-in-the-world/ The Many Deaths of Paula Maxa https://gingernutsofhorror.com/features/the-many-deaths-of-paula-maxa-the-blood-princess-of-paris-by-gg-graham

alt.culture episode 5: The Life and Afterlife of City Pop

A genre popular in Japan once upon a time suddenly gains worldwide notoriety decades after it's been forgotten. Music and technology, cultural shifts, the nature of nostalgia- and more! Notes: Haruomi Hosono Red Bull Musical Academy Interview  https://www.redbullmusicacademy.com/lectures/haruomi-hosono/ Taeko Onuki Red Bull Muiscal Academy Interview  https://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2017/12/taeko-onuki-interview Yamashita Tatsuro Interview  http://kumomi.org/2021/09/28/yamashita-tatsuro-interview-2016/ Chocomusic History of City Pop:  https://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2017/12/taeko-onuki-interview Japanese City Pop and the Rise of Future Funk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Althvag63pw VisualPolitik How Did Japan's Great Financial Bubble Develop and Burst?  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUu2qmOXYnI

alt.culture episode 4: History of Soviet Cinema Part 4

“A naked woman sits before a portrait of Stalin and smokes marijuana.” This was how one critic described the movies of the late 80s. Obviously something drastic has happened. The state of cinema shifted dramatically in such a few short years. We'll see the seismic changes that rocked the last few years of the Soviet Union, and its impact on film and the film industries.  Find out how anti-war film, Mikhail Romm's students, the search for Tarkovsky's heir, "dark" movies, rock music and corpses informed the movies of the late Soviet era, perestroika. Movies discussed: Come and See, 1985 Repentance, 1986 Kin Dza Dza, 1986 Letters from a Dead Man, 1986 Courier, 1986 Forgotten Melody for a Flute, 1987 Dear Elena Sergeyevna, 1988 Assa, 1988 Little Vera, 1988 Black Rose is an Emblem of Sorrow, Red Rose is an Emblem of Love, 1989 Fountain, 1989 Is Stalin With Us?, 1989 Asthenic Syndrome, 1990 Soviet Elegy, 1990 House Under the Starry Sky, 1991

alt.culture episode 3: History of Soviet Cinema Part 3

After the death of Stalin, the Union went through a dramatic series of transformations. This was felt in the movie industry as well. This episode will deal with the rollercoaster rise and falls of the 30 years after.  In this episode you'll find out: - How youth became central to the movie industry. - How comedies got sad. - The movie that reduced the Party leadership to tears. - The film that inspired music videos - Attempts to challenge and dismantle all previous theories on cinema. And we'll meet perhaps the most well-known director of the era. Movies discussed The Forty-First, 1956 Carnival Nights, 1956 The Cranes Are Flying, 1957 Ivan's Childhood, 1962 I Walk Around Moscow/Walking the Streets of Moscow, 1964 I Am Twenty, 1965 Operation Y and Other Adventures of Shurik, 1965 Shadows of Our Forgotten Ancestors, 1965 Wings, 1966 Andrei Rublev, 1966 Kidnapping Caucasian Style, 1967 The Color of Pomegranetes, 1969 You and Me, 1971 Solaris, 1972 Ivan Vasilievich Changes Professions/Ivan Vasilievich Back to the Future, 1973 Irony of Fate or Enjoy Your Bath, 1975 Office Romance, 1977 The Ascent, 1977 Stalker, 1979 Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears, 1980 Nostalgia, 1984