Episode 48: HEEERE’S SHINING SECRETS with Pixar’s Lee Unkrich

Episode 48: HEEERE’S SHINING SECRETS with Pixar’s Lee Unkrich

 

Oscar-winning filmmaker Lee Unkrich discusses his upcoming book on The Shining, deleted scenes, and reveals the actor who was supposed to play Lloyd.

 

Download the file here: Shining Episode 48

 

 

The ax scene in Sjöström’s The Phantom Carriage (1921)

 

The ax scene in D.W. Griffith’s Broken Blossoms (1919) is from 1:17:00 until 1:18:05

 

 

Mental Floss’s Nine The Shining References Buried in Pixar Films

 

SlashFilm’s Pixar’s Coco is filled with The Shining References

 

Lee Unkrich’s amazing website The Overlook Hotel    [EDIT: NOW TAKEN DOWN]

 

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Episode 47: MURDER BACKWARDS with Joe Dator from The New Yorker

Episode 47: MURDER BACKWARDS with Joe Dator from The New Yorker

 

The New Yorker‘s Joe Dator is back to discuss movie prequel The Overlook, other unmade Kubrick scripts, Pogo the Clown, and the regenerative properties of kids.

 

Download the file here: Shining Episode 47

 

 

Stanley Kubrick operating the camera for the first ax scene, outside the caretaker’s apartment.

 

Script for Napoleon

 

Script for The German Lieutenant

 

Script for Lunatic at Large

 

A cartoon from The New Yorker by our guest, Joe Dator.

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Episode 46: STANLEY SEMITIC with author Nathan Abrams

Episode 46: STANLEY SEMITIC with author Nathan Abrams

 

Jewish film scholar Nathan Abrams discusses the Jewishness of Kubrick, his Nazi family connections, and the lost script Burning Secret.

 

Download the file here: Shining Episode 46

 

 

Guest Nathan Abrams’ article in The Forward about the Jewishness of 2001: A Space Odyssey

 

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Episode 45: UNLOCKING JACK with horror director Vincenzo Natali

Episode 45: UNLOCKING JACK with horror director Vincenzo Natali

 

Director Vincenzo Natali discusses the surprising Canadian-ness of The Shining, the business of horror, and his own King adaptation.

 

Download the file here: Shining Episode 45

 

Alex Colville painting, Horse and Train, found in the Torrance’s Boulder apartment

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Alex Colville painting, Woman and Terrier, found in the Torrance’s Boulder apartment

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Alex Colville painting, Moon and Cow, found on the stairway as Wendy climbs near the end of the film

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Alex Colville painting, Dog, Boy and St. John River, found in room 237

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Article about Canadian artist Alex Colville in Unwinnable

 

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Episode 44: SHINING VIRGINS with Gaylord Fields from WFMU

Episode 44: SHINING VIRGINS with Gaylord Fields from WFMU

 

Gaylord Fields watches The Shining for the first time and discusses his aversion to horror, the Magical Black Man, and the alarming lack of winter coats at The Overlook.

 

Download the file here: Shining Episode 44

 

 

Gaylord’s legendary talk on fake Beatles

 

Trailer for Matinee (1993)

 

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Episode 43: HURTING REAL BAD with cinephile Megan Dooley

Episode 43: HURTING REAL BAD with cinephile Megan Dooley

 

Megan Dooley is back to discuss Stanley vs. Winkle, old-timey cinema, and personal horror stories, including a monster sarcoma.

 

Download the file here: Shining Episode 43

 

 

Photos from my visit to The Cinema Museum, London

 

Possibly the oldest of Willis O’Brien’s animations (1915).

 

Armature of one of the ape puppets from King Kong (1933)

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Blood Freak (1972)

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Episode 42: GIVING HIM THE BAT with Kubrick historian Howard Berry

Episode 42: GIVING HIM THE BAT with Kubrick historian Howard Berry

 

Elstree historian Howard Berry discusses secrets from the Archive, fantasy films at Elstree, and that Kubrick cameo in Eyes Wide Shut.

 

Download the file here: Shining Episode 42

 

 

A tour of Elstree and Kubrick’s old neighborhood with Howie Berry.

 

Filming from one angle of the famous stairs scene.

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Howie’s Elstree Project YouTube page:

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Episode 41: ALL WORK AND NO SCREENPLAY with Kubrick scholar Catriona McAvoy

Episode 41: ALL WORK AND NO SCREENPLAY with Kubrick scholar Catriona McAvoy

 

Kubrick scholar Catriona McAvoy discusses meeting Diane Johnson, amazing ideas that were tossed, and sex in The Shining.

 

Download the file here: Shining Episode 41

 

 

Some of Catriona’s work can be found at Discovering Kubrickism.

 

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Episode 40: NO TV AND NO BEER with Pete the Retailer and Alex Robinson from Star Wars Minute

Episode 40:  NO TV AND NO BEER with Pete the Retailer and Alex Robinson from Star Wars Minute

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The guys from Star Wars Minute drop by to ponder alternate Jacks, alternate typewritten sentences, and the horror in Star Wars.

 

Download the file here: Shining Episode 40

 

 

The Wrong Reel episode about Creepy Kids

The original 1973 made-for-TV version of the movie that scared the bejeezus out of Alex

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Parody episode with Kevin Maher and Joe Dator

 

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Episode 39: KUBRICK’S COYOTE with Justin Bozung of “The Shining: Studies in the Horror Film”

Episode 39: KUBRICK’S COYOTE with Justin Bozung of “The Shining: Studies in the Horror Film”

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Kubrick expert Justin Bozung discusses some of the 70-something Kubrick-oriented interviews he’s conducted, as well the true meaning of coyotes and roadrunners.

 

Download the file here: Shining Episode 39

 

 

The book chock full of Justin’s interviews:

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Still searching for an identification for this album, found on Durkin’s desk at the auto body shop!

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Episode 38: THE STANLEY HOTEL with Joe Dator + Eric Nash & Travis Bow from Watchmen Minute

Episode 38: THE STANLEY HOTEL with Joe Dator + Eric Nash & Travis Bow from Watchmen Minute

 

Recorded in the lobby of The Stanley Hotel, the inspiration for King’s novel and set of the infamous 1997 miniseries!

 

Download the file here: Shining Episode 38

 

 

Our visit to The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, CO.

 

More clips from the 1997 miniseries, including Sam Raimi’s cameo, can be found here.

 

Album cover on Durkin’s desk.

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Close-up of album.

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The MOVIES BY MINUTES website.

 

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Episode 37: A PODCAST EXORCISM with Father David Mowry

Episode 37: A PODCAST EXORCISM with Father David Mowry

 

Father David Mowry is here to cast the demons from this podcast and discuss the intimate and inevitable ties between horror and Catholicism, in both reality and fantasy.

 

Download the file here: Shining Episode 37

 

 

Norval Morrisseau “The Great Mother”

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The Continental Airlines “meatball” design by Saul Bass

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The United Airlines “tulip” design, also by Bass.

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Saul Bass’s poster for “The Shining” plus some of the rejected sketches, of which he made (purportedly) hundreds.

 

St. Lucy

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St. Agatha

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St. Bartholomew draped in his own skin

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Episode 36: DANNY’S GONE AWAY with Joe Dator from The New Yorker

Episode 36: DANNY’S GONE AWAY with Joe Dator from The New Yorker

 

Joe Dator is back to discuss the adorable Vivian, scary kid shows, and Tony’s spooky voice.

 

Download the file here: Shining Episode 36

 

 

New lost footage of Elstree Studios, including a Kubrick interview!

 

Interviewer Junichi Yaoi doing his UFO thing.

 

Trailer for Piers Haggard’s “Venom” (1981)

 

SCREENPLAY FOR NAPOLEON, BY STANLEY KUBRICK

 

Shelley Duvall’s “Mother Goose Rock n’ Rhyme” (1990)

 

Boohbah

 

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Episode 35: POLITICALLY INCOR-R-RECT with Adam Howard from Full Frontal and Never Seen It

Episode 35: POLITICALLY INCOR-R-RECT with Adam Howard from Full Frontal and Never Seen It

 

Adam Howard from Full Frontal with Sam Bee and the Never Seen It podcast discusses the N-word, the odd story arc of Mr. Hallorann, and the awkwardness of the men’s room.

 

Download the file here: Shining Episode 35

 

 

One of Adam Howard’s depictions of The Shining.

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Episode 33: SPILLING THE ADVOCAAT with Mike White from The Projection Booth podcast

Episode 33: SPILLING THE ADVOCAAT with Mike White from The Projection Booth podcast

 

Mike White from The Projection Booth podcast joins us for an actual Advocaat while discussing the lure of horror movies.

 

Download the file here: Shining Episode 33

 

 

The ghost of Grady.

 

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Episode 32: SMOKING IN THE BALLROOM with Jon Solomon from WPRB and Patreon Brian Dupre

Episode 32: SMOKING IN THE BALLROOM with Jon Solomon from WPRB and Patreon Brian Dupre

 

Jon Solomon from WPRB and Brian Dupre discuss the denizens of the ballroom, Ewan McGregor playing Danny Torrance, and we review Hereditary.

 

Download the file here: Shining Episode 31

 

 

Click here for my essay on the Kubrick movie vs. the miniseries.

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Jon’s side-by-side Cheers comparison.

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(Patreon no longer available!)

Jack-sticker

 

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Episode 31: SHELLEY TALES with writer Molly Lambert from the Night Call podcast

Episode 31: SHELLEY TALES with writer Molly Lambert from the Night Call podcast

 

Writer and podcaster Molly Lambert from the Night Call and Molly’s Sleazy Friends discusses everything Shelley, including her magical fairie tale kingdom on cable, as we watch Jack shifts into Scary Dad mode.

 

Download the file here: Shining Episode 31

 

 

 

The very first Shelley Duvall’s Fairie Tale Theatre episode, with Robin Williams and Terri Garr.

 

Paul Reubens as Pinocchio

 

The horrifying Popples

 

Punk rock Popples

 

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Episode 30: KING THINGS with Gena Radcliffe of the Kill by Kill podcast and cinephile Megan Dooley

Episode 30: KING THINGS with Gena Radcliffe of the Kill by Kill podcast and cinephile Megan Dooley

 

Gena Radcliffe from the Kill by Kill podcast and Megan Dooley stop by discuss the bathtub lady, an embarrassing fan theory about Jack, and King’s other big movies.

 

Download the file here: Shining Episode 30

 

 

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Episode 29: MRS. MASSEY with Dan McCoy from The Flop House

Episode 29: MRS. MASSEY with Dan McCoy from The Flop House

 

Dan McCoy from The Flop House podcast stops by to discuss geriatric nudity, the physicality of soup, and the Stanley’s secret stash.

 

Download the file here: Shining Episode 29

 

 

Lia Beldam in her modeling days.

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And today, still gorgeous.

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Episode 28: STUCK IN THE MIDDLE with New Yorker cartoonist Joe Dator and cinephile Megan Dooley

Episode 28: STUCK IN THE MIDDLE with New Yorker cartoonist Joe Dator and cinephile Megan Dooley

 

We zoom from a bachelor pad in Florida to a bathroom in Colorado, hitting the midpoint of the movie on the way there. We ponder paintings and Peter Sellers, and Jack is finally terrified…until he’s not.

 

Download the file here: Shining Episode 28

 

 

Peter Sellers “A Hard Day’s Night”

 

Peter Sellers “Can’t Buy Me Love”

 

Peter Sellers “She Loves You”

 

Peter Sellers and Sophia Loren “Goodness Gracious Me”

 

Showgirls photographed by Stanley Kubrick for Look Magazine

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BEST OF THE FIRST HALF! A sampling of bits from the first half of the podcast series

BEST OF THE FIRST HALF! A sampling of bits from the first half of the podcast series

 

We are at the halfway point in the podcast series, so it seems a fine time to put together a sampler of funny, interesting and philosophical bits from the podcast. Enjoy! And please pass it around!

 

Guests from the first half include:

 

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Episode 27: AN APARTMENT IN FLORIDA with writer & activist Jonny Coleman

Episode 27: AN APARTMENT IN FLORIDA with writer & activist Jonny Coleman

 

Jonny Coleman stops by to set Jack on his way to that room, and we visit another colorful bedroom in Florida, where we will discover a nod to Peter Sellers, a podcast exclusive!

 

Download the file here: Shining Episode 27

 

 

“Supernatural Dreams” poster featuring Azizi Johari.

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Screenshot of the album at the foot of Hallorann’s bed.

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The album cover for Steeley Span’s “Commoners Crown”

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Here’ s the other album stack at the foot of Hallorann’s bed. Can you name the album?

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The Caretaker’s first album, ‘”Selected Memories from the Haunted Ballroom” (1999)

 

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Episode 26: THE PORTLANDS with Marcus Pinn of Pinnland Empire and New Yorker cartoonist Joe Dator

Episode 26: THE PORTLANDS with Marcus Pinn of Pinnland Empire and New Yorker cartoonist Joe Dator

 

Marcus Pinn from Pinnland Empire and Zebras in America and The New Yorker’s Joe Dator discuss the Portlands, the white man’s burden, and we ponder if any other actor could have played Jack.

 

Download the file here: Shining Episode 26

 

 

Joe being interviewed.

 

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Episode 25: WHAT’LL IT BE? with Tasha Robinson from Next Picture Show & The Verge and Bob Koester from Immunities

Episode 25: WHAT’LL IT BE? with Tasha Robinson from Next Picture Show & The Verge and Bob Koester from Immunities

 

Tasha Robinson and Bob Koester step up to Lloyd’s bar and talk about the wonderful Mr. Turkel, how he and Jack messed with Stanley, and why Jack owes Joe from waaaaaay back.

 

Download the file here: Shining Episode 25

 

 

On the set, with Joe, Jack and Stanley.

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Episode 24: SCARY LADIES with Heidi Bennett from Cabin Minute Cast and cinephile Megan Dooley

Episode 24: SCARY LADIES with Heidi Bennett from Cabin Minute Cast and cinephile Megan Dooley

 

Cabin in the Woods “Cabin Minute Cast” host Heidi Bennett joins with Megan Dooley to talk female roles in horror films, authenticity in The Shining, and the debut of Dummy Danny.

 

Download the file here: Shining Episode 24

 

 

Trailer for Suspiria (1977) [NB: Graphic!]

 

Trailer for The Love Witch (2016)

 

Trailer for Raw (2016)

 

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Episode 23: THE MOON ROOM with New Yorker cartoonist Joe Dator

Episode 23: THE MOON ROOM with New Yorker cartoonist Joe Dator

 

Joe Dator is back to discuss the (obviously) fake moon landing, Jack’s moment of clarity, and The Shining cameo in Ready Player One.

 

Download the file here: Shining Episode 23

 

Launchpad 39A, from which the Apollo 11 was launched.

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Fake confession from fake Stanley Kubrick on the fake moon landing.

 

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Episode 22: WORLD’S GREATEST DAD with James Hancock from the Wrong Reel podcast

Episode 22: WORLD’S GREATEST DAD with James Hancock from the Wrong Reel podcast

 

James Hancock from Wrong Reel reflects on Nicholson’s fatherly performance, Kubrick’s meticulousness, and that goddamn pink tennis ball.

 

Download the file here: Shining Episode 22

 

 

Wrong Reel’s amazing episode on Full Metal Jacket can be found here.

My Kevin Geeks Out talk on The Shining miniseries can be found here.

 

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Episode 21: PUNK KUBRICK with Jon Solomon from WPRB and Comedy Minus One

Episode 21: PUNK KUBRICK with Jon Solomon from WPRB and Comedy Minus One

 

Jon Solomon from WPRB connects the Butthole Surfers with Jack Torrance, ponders the punk-rockness of this movie, and throws in a Spinal Tap reference for good measure.

 

Download the file here: Shining Episode 21

 

 

From Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, all monitors in this clip were screens with moving images projected onto them from projectors off-screen.

 

Butthole Surfers “Sweat Loaf” (1987)

 

Viv Savage, from This is Spinal Tap (1984)

 

Johnny Ramone from The Ramones in a Mickey shirt.

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Episode 20: HULLO DANNY with The New Yorker cartoonist Joe Dator

Episode 20: HULLO DANNY with The New Yorker cartoonist Joe Dator

 

Joe Dator from The New Yorker discusses one of the most iconic scenes in movie history, along with an exploration of scary Brits and inappropriate television.

 

Download the file here: Shining Episode 20

 

 

Scene from The Innocents (1961) with Deborah Kerr, directed by Jack Clayton.

 

The New Yorker cartoonist Paul Noth’s twins cartoon

picking teams

 

Wendy and Danny’s entertainment for the afternoon.

 

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Episode 19: THE RED BOOK with listener Brian Dupre and cinephile Megan Dooley

Episode 19: THE RED BOOK with listener Brian Dupre and cinephile Megan Dooley

 

Listener and Patreon subscriber Brian Dupre, along with Megan Dooley, discusses Wendy in yellow, a mysterious red book, and a couple of gals in blue.

 

Download the file here: Shining Episode 19

 

 

A book on Stuart Ullman’s desk at the beginning of The Shining, clearly titled Red Book. Is it possible this was meant to be Carl Jung’s mysterious “Red Book”?

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Pages from Carl Jung’s “The Red Book,” also known as “Liber Novus.”

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Illustrations from Carl Jung’s “The Red Book”

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My Crazy 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY Feminist Essay

My Crazy 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY Feminist Essay

PRELUDE [“Thus Spake Zarathustra”]

My last essay for this site was about Lolita and was critical of Kubrick’s take on it—an unequivocally feminist essay. And while there are clear reasons to fold issues of sexism into discussions of Kubrick and his movies, especially in this year loaded with revelations about the film industry, I don’t want that to be the constant theme of my podcasts or this site. That being said, I do want to toss into the ring the not-so-obvious connections between the concepts of feminism and the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. So, let’s give that a whirl.

Let me also add as prelude that any talk about sexism and the patriarchy includes generalizations about the genders. I think we are in an age in which we are teetering into a trend toward demonizing all white males, and that is just plain wrong. Just as racism, sexism and xenophobia—any form of prejudice— is about demonizing or minimizing every person within a category of humanity, portraying every white male as “bad” is a form of spreading hatred—the last thing we need. White men supported women in our fight to gain the right to vote, white men died in the Civil War to abolish slavery, white men are directing movies with strong female and minority roles and are treating all categories of humans with respect. Many are trying hard to turn things around. That men have evolved in their philosophies about women and human equality is essential to progress, and we need to keep that trend growing. When we speak of sexism and white male privilege, we are talking about the overwhelming trend of inequality over the course of history, and about the still-existing destructive trends in today’s society. We are talking about overarching problems and, yes, about millions of men who are still participating in this toxic patriarchy. Most men reading this and listening to my podcast are not part of the problem. But we are talking about a sizeable and influential force, millions among the other millions. This force has caused enormous grief and destruction on this planet. Those are the men we are talking about.

And I promise, folks, my next essay will be about horror in cinema.

Okay, that said…

THE SPAWN OF MAN [sound of wind blowing and crickets]

There is a logical connection between a discussion of patriarchy and a discussion of the movie 2001 in that the 1968 masterpiece is clearly Kubrick’s reaction to his own previous movie, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. And Strangelove is a movie about maleness, through and through. It’s about the male obsession with sex and power. (We see this in the characters’ names, we see it in the props, we see it in the vignettes and visuals.) It directly connects those obsessions with war and the destruction of the planet. There is only one female in the entire movie, and she’s a scantily clad minor character—an intentional sex object. The film is a skewering of maleness, easy to consume because of its humor and symbolism. The movie ends with the destruction of the planet via atomic bombs, a chain of events set off by a man worried about his “loss of essence” (semen) and moved forward by the inability of men to work cooperatively.

It’s a funny, depressing film. It is also a film meant to reflect reality.

MISSION TO EARTH [“The Blue Danube”]

Kubrick meant for 2001 to be an antidote to the dismal outcome of Strangelove. In fact, at some point the working title for 2001 was “Son of Strangelove.” According to Arthur C. Clarke, co-writer of the screenplay and writer of the 2001 novel, the sci-fi movie was meant “as an extension of Kubrick’s previous film and intended to emphasize terrestrial themes in which nuclear bombs orbited the Earth only to be detonated by the Star Child in an act of cosmic purification.”  Early in the planning of Strangelove, Kubrick wanted to have the voice of an alien narrating, as if it were observing and commenting on the actions in the film. If Kubrick had preserved that, as well as the original 2001 final sequence of the Earth’s nuclear war devices being detonated by the Star Child (which is in the book), these films would be clear mirrors of each other; an inseparable dyad. Part one: Aliens pity our self-destruction. Part two: Aliens save us from our self-destruction.

2001-feminist-artThe aliens in 2001, who have existed far longer than Earth humans, not only save us from extinction millions of years ago but save us from extinguishing ourselves in the present. In the Dawn of Man segment of 2001, a drought has brought the pre-hominids close to dying out. The monolith teaches the pre-hominids how to kill for food, saving their lives. In the sequences taking place in the year 2001 (only 35 years from the film’s release date, so basically in the present) the aliens allow for a further evolution of human beings. The movie and book portray this evolution abstractly, but the take-away is that it is what will save humanity from its own destructive technology and masochistic hubris.

Kubrick’s 2001 was meant to be a message of hope, a jolt to the audience’s brain brought on by the concept that we are simply a small part of a larger universe. We are likely not alone, and if we could just look up from our Earth-bound navel-gazing we would see that the need to dominate politically (and sexually and person-to-person) is as barbaric as an ape figuring out how to slay a tapir, then turning in excitement and whacking to death everything that moves. When the alien revolution comes, we will look back at our current behavior and think it sad and quaint.

But this message of hope relies on a hard-to-conceive notion: Higher forms of life from other worlds are needed to save humanity from itself. The implication is that we do not possess the tools to move forward and prevent our own eradication.

Observing the world’s progress from 1968 to 2018, it’s hard to argue against this.

The war machine chugs on, the worldwide murder rate remains astronomic, rape is rampant, child sexual abuse is ubiquitous, and some stats suggests there is more slavery right now than in the history of the world. Our world leaders include Putin, who has poisoned journalists, Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte who executes without trial, sometimes by his own hand, North Korea’s nation-starving Kim Jong Un, Iran’s radical dictator Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and even Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu, whose crimes are coming to the fore. And oh, yes, we have a pussy-grabbing president here in the States. Vast swaths of humanity are gravely oppressed in India, the Middle East, China, Africa, and the bad guys in drug cartels are winning in much of South America.

So, the only logical way out of this misery-spiral is outside intervention, right? Because we simply don’t have the tools to make any of this better, yes? If we did, we’d use them, wouldn’t we?

If there was an alien species out there capable of running a better world—one of peace, prosperity, environmental turn-around, and technological progress—and we knew that for a fact, would we collectively choose to replace each of our world leaders with one of their kind in order to save ourselves? In a world-wide democratic vote, all 7.6 billion Earthilings voting, yes, of course we would.

So, Kubrick’s concept is based in some realism. In fact, he was so invested in the idea, he was intending to have an opening segment in 2001 featuring real scientists explaining the scientific thinking around alien intelligent life and its possible contact with Earth. His message was: If this is a real possibility, this would be a good thing. We should welcome this scenario in a realistic way.

MISSION TO HERTH or MISSION TO JUPIT-HER (your pick) [“Gayane Ballet Suite (Adagio)”]

This leads us to another concept that is almost as hard to swallow as aliens intervening in our world: The idea of a matriarchy, or the concept of women making up the majority of leadership roles. This is not an idea that would have probably occurred to someone like Kubrick and so many other big thinkers from the last century. But it is interesting to think about why this would not have occurred to them as a possible solution. In Kubrick’s case, he practically set himself up for this idea as a response to the maleness of Strangelove.

Obviously, a matriarchy is not going to happen any time soon. If the idea of a worldwide matriarchy were proposed, whoever proposed it would be laughed out of the room and probably trolled into a life of hiding.

And yet, if you really think about it, a matriarchy is just as reasonable a solution to our planet’s problems as alien intervention, and way more practical. We have everything we need right here, all around us.

For balance, let’s be sure to note that there are terrible women. There are females who murder, abuse, corrupt, swindle, and oppress. But there are way, way, way, way less of them. (Check out murder stats, gang stats, rape states, robbery stats.) And when given power, generally, they don’t develop the tendency to do those things. (Check out genocide stats, dictator stats, corporate corruption stats.)

We’ve recently seen what happens when women are no longer oppressed and are able to pursue the same ambitions that men have for centuries. Women have become great artists, writers, and musicians. Women are doing better in college than men, and they are flourishing in fields of science and medicine. They become excellent plumbers, comedians, athletes, and university professors. Given another century of not being oppressed, there will likely emerge female Beethovens, Hemingways, Einsteins, and Edisons. Oh, and Kubricks.

And most importantly to this thesis, women have been found to be incredibly good politicians. Study after study shows that when women are given power, the community does better. The education level rises, the nutrition of constituents is improved, and the economy improves. And as far as everything going kablooey: Women in power are far more likely to maintain peace.

Some quick summaries to back this up:

  • A study by Stanford and the University of Chicago shows that congressional districts served by female legislators do better, get more spending, sponsor more bills.
  • In 2014 the average female senator ran 96 bills, the average male only 70, and with women there were more co-sponsorships.
  • Research confirms that both Republican and Democratic women are more likely than their male counterparts to initiate and fight for bills that champion social justice, protect the environment, advocate for families, and promote nonviolent conflict resolution.
  • A cross-national quantitative analysis found that higher levels of female participation in parliament (or congress) reduce the risks of civil war.
  • A study using data on international crises over four decades found that as the percentage of women in parliament (or congress) increases by five percent, a state is five times less likely to use violence when faced with an international crisis.
  • Statistical analysis of data from most countries in the world during the period 1977–1996 showed that the higher the proportion of women in parliament (or congress), the lower the likelihood that the state carried out human rights abuses such as political imprisonments, torture, killings, and disappearances.
  • A study of 40 peace processes in 35 countries over the last three decades showed that when women’s groups were able to effectively influence a peace process, an agreement was almost always reached—only one case presented an exception. When women did not participate, the rate of reaching an agreement was much lower. Once an agreement was reached, the influence of women’s groups was also associated with much higher rates of implementation.
  • A study of 58 conflict-affected states between 1980 and 2003 found that when no women are represented in the legislature, the risk of relapse increases over time, but when 35 per cent of the legislature is female, this relationship virtually disappears, and the risk of relapse is near zero.

Nobel prize economics laureate Amartya Sen (who is male) has said that “nothing, arguably, is as important in the political economy of development as an adequate recognition of political, economic and social participation and leadership of women.”

There are, more and more, real-world examples of societal transformations resulting Rwanda-parliament-770x433from female leadership. Outstanding is Rwanda. After a tribal-feud genocidal massacre in 1994 that left 800,000 dead, the country was mostly populated by females. (Only 2.3 percent of the 100,000 jailed for the genocide were women.) Because of the population shift, laws that oppressed women, such as property ownership and polygamy laws, were overturned. Women were allowed to serve on the supreme court, presidential cabinet, senior police, and on major commissions. As an act of recovery, the constitution was amended to guarantee that 30 percent of seats in parliament would go to females. The Rwandan parliament is now more than 60 percent female, and by all accounts it is safe to say that genocide is no longer a danger. Women in Rwanda still have to fight for their rights against the growingly oppressive male president—he had a female presidential candidate opponent disqualified and circulated fake nude photos of her—but females are given the credit for having rebuilt Rwanda. The country now has one of the fastest growing economies in all of Africa, is considered one of the “greenest” countries, and has averaged a GDP growth of eight percent over the last decade. These benefits were not even dreamed of before 1994.

REBIRTH [“Thus Spake Zarathustra”]

What’s interesting about the concept of a matriarchy saving the planet instead of alien monoliths is that it is simply not thought to be a viable option.

Scientists from Neil de Grasse Tyson to (the late) Carl Sagan, Stephen Hawking to Brian Greene, do believe there is intelligent life out there. They say that considering the billions of sun-like stars, the billions of planets orbiting those suns, and the fact that life was sparked here with the same ingredients that are floating around everywhere in the universe, it is pretty much inevitable. And these guys generally talk about it as a positive. The day contact is made will be a good day for Earth.

But no one would dare, in the year 2018, propose the concept of a matriarchy, despite all evidence of its benefits.

There is a reason for this: Our ultimate goal as Good Guys on Planet Earth is for total equality for all humans, no matter gender, race or characteristic. A matriarchy implies that females would have power over males. This is not something that anybody who is fair and reasonable would want, because fair and reasonable people don’t want to simply flip the power structure. They want to neutralize it.

This writer agrees with that. But still, I have to ask: What would happen if right now, this very minute, we magically replaced every male world leader with a female? Randomly. Pluck average women all around the globe out of their lives and put them into the chairs of Trump, Putin, Duterte, and all around Asia, South America, Africa, and across Europe. Would the world be a better place? Would we be a few steps closer to world peace and prosperity?

Is this idea too nuts to even talk about?

Is it so outlandish that we’d best hope for the little green men with monoliths?

monolith-feminist-art

 



Episode 18: FEMALE HORROR with horror writer/director & actor in “Eyes Wide Shut” Stewart Thorndike

Episode 18: FEMALE HORROR with horror writer/director & actor in “Eyes Wide Shut” Stewart Thorndike

 

Stewart Thorndike, who played Nuala in Eyes Wide Shut and is a horror movie writer and director (Lyle), discusses Wendy’s problematic situation, what’s missing in horror films, and what it was like to act for Kubrick.

 

Download the file here: Shining Episode 18

 

 

Part one of Rob Ager’s essay about the possible gold standard theme in The Shining

 

Trailer for Lyle (2015) written and directed by our guest, Stewart Thorndike

 

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Episode 17: THE CHAIR DEBATE with Off-Kilter Compositions & Alien Minute’s John Ingle, plus Joe Dator

Episode 17: THE CHAIR DEBATE with Off-Kilter Compositions & Alien Minute’s John Ingle, plus Joe Dator

 

Alien Minute’s John Ingle is joined by The New Yorker cartoonist Joe Dator as we discuss subliminal advertising, a confusing dress, and the disappearing chair.

 

Download the file here: Shining Episode 17

 

 

The classic book from 1974

SUBLIMINAL-SEDUCTION-WILSON-BRYAN-KEY-FIRST-PRINTING-1974

 

Sex written in the ice cubes? Maaaaaaybe.

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2001 ROUNDTABLE EXCERPT with Bruce Handy of Vanity Fair, science journalist Corey Powell and Christopher Funderburg of The Pink Smoke

2001 ROUNDTABLE EXCERPT with Bruce Handy of Vanity Fair, science journalist Corey Powell and Christopher Funderburg of The Pink Smoke

 

An excerpt from a Patreon-only discussion of Kubrick’s sci-fi masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey.  This was an extremely fun roundtable, where we covered behind-the-scenes facts, the meaning of the movie, and debated its place in movie history.

 

Bruce Handy from Vanity Fair, who has an article in the current issue titled “2001: A Film Odyssey,” science journalist Corey Powell from Discover, American Scientist and Bill Nye, and film critic Christopher Funderburg from The Pink Smoke dig into what some consider the greatest movie ever made. A lively discussion with insider facts from the Kubrick Archive, fascinating science background info, and much debate over this movie’s place in the history of cinema.

 

The entire episode (1 hour and 50 minutes) is available for a $3.50 subscription to this podcast’s Patreon account, [EDIT: NO LONGER ACTIVE] which includes at least two bonus-content episodes per month. For a few dollars more, you will receive a new exclusive sticker every month.

This will be the only free excerpt available.

 

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