Comics Are Trying to Break Your Heart #75: A Different Kind of Horror

17 Wednesday Jun 2020

Posted by thedrunkenodyssey in Comics Are Trying to Break Your Heart

Comics Are Trying to Break Your Heart #75 by Drew Barth

A Different Kind of Horror

Some old buildings emit a sense of what happened in that building decades prior, echoes of the people who called that building home. What was familiar and known morphs into something sinister. A work like BTTM FDRS by Ezra Claytan Daniels and Ben Passmore is a slow, creeping work that drips with the horror of gentrification and how a building can become something otherworldly.

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BTTM FDRS centers on two friends, Darla and Cynthia, as the former begins her move to a cheap studio apartment in the South Chicago neighborhood where she grew up, the Bottomyards. At the beginning of the story, the building itself, an old manufacturing complex, attempting to eat an electrician looking at some of its outside wiring. From here, everything else unfolds. We have Gene, the creepy landlord who’s converted the building into apartments; Katherine, the woman whose home the building had been since the 70s; Charles, Katherine’s shy son who explored every tunnel and vent when he was younger; and Julio, the rapper known as Plymouth Rock. Even though some characters only get a few panels, the small bits they interact with Darla and Cynthia cement how well rendered they all become through the story.

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Daniels and Passmore weave the nightmare of gentrification throughout the story in small ways—from Katherine being priced out of the home she’s been in since the 70s to Cynthia taking advantage of the credibility Darla’s new apartment gives her despite Cynthia not living there. When the apartment complex’s secret organism bursts through the walls and destroys the building, where can the tenants go now? What is left for them?

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Much like last week, BTTM FDRS is the kind of story that we need right now and Daniels and Passmore are the creators we need to tell that story. Gentrification looks benign to a white audience. Comics have the power to show us the ills of our world much more viscerally than other mediums and Daniels and Passmore show us to the point where we can no longer look away. It’s why now is the time to get active—with time, money, energy—to the organizations that need our attention the most.

Get angry. Get active. Get involved. Get reading.

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Drew Barth (Episode 331) is a writer residing in Winter Park, FL. He received his MFA from the University of Central Florida. Right now, he’s worrying about his cat.

The Diaries of a Sozzled Scribbler #11

15 Monday Jun 2020

Posted by thedrunkenodyssey in Sozzled Scribbler

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The Diaries of a Sozzled Scribbler #11

Transcribed by DMETRI KAKMI

15 June 2020

Further to my highly influential interviews with world leaders (which have become the talk of the planet), this month I peek into the mind of Jacinta Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand and all round goody two shoes. We met at the base of the White Island volcano where she lives in a luxury cave, overseen by four burly Maori bodyguards.

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S.S: Jazlyn, did you you just throw a baby in the volcano?

J.A: It’s Jacinta. And no, I did not throw a baby in the volcano.

S.S: That’s a shame. We might need to toss in a couple of toddlers to appease Ruamoko. Or just for fun.

J.A: I think we’re okay.

S.S: Are you a witch from Mordor? Is that why earthquakes follow you around?

J.A: I am not a witch and I do not cause earthquakes.

S.S: What about the devastating earthquake that happened a few weeks ago while you sat smiling in a radio studio?

J.A: A geological fault line runs almost through the entire length of New Zealand. Earthquakes happen all the time.

S.S: Ruamoko is punishing you.

J.A: I don’t think so.

S.S: It’s a well known fact that New Zealand belonged to hobbits before white people arrived from England. How many hobbits did the imperialist colonialists kill during the genocide?

J.A: There is not such thing as a hobbit. Aotearoa was occupied by the proud Maori peoples, and they are still here.

Photo by Bence Kondor on Pexels.com

S.S: What about Hobbiton? It’s deserted, forlorn, after the mass slaughter of its entire population of teeny weeny little men with big hairy feet. You can’t hide behind your white privilege, madam.

J.A: Hobbiton was a movie set created by Peter Jackson for his film. It’s now a tourist attraction. No one lives there.

S.S: I think we can add cultural appropriation to accusations of genocide. Your track record is not looking good. You might be the Aung San Suu Kyi of the southern hemisphere.

J.A: I’m a decent human being who cares about other people, no matter who they are and where they come from.

S.S: Oh, please, stop. I’m going to vomit. Quick bring a bucket. Everyone knows you’re tough as nails. You were trained by Xena, warrior princess.

J.A: Another fiction.

S.S: Tell that to Lucy Lawless. She lives down the road. Are you a lesbian?

J.A: What? No. Lucy Lawless is an actress who played Xena. She is not a lesbian. And neither am I.

S.S: A closeted homophobe as well as a genocidal maniac who appropriates cultures. Oh, dear, your halo is beginning to slip Janelle. I’m sure the world will be shocked when they find out who you really are under that nice mask.

J.A: Listen, I’m better than the arseholes that run Australia any day.

S.S: Need I remind you that New Zealand is an Australian state. We let you think you’re an independent country for our amusement.

J.A: In that case you can take the refugees that are coming to New Zealand from your concentration camps.

S.S: Don’t get angry, Jonquil. You may need anger management classes. Now, back to my hard-hitting questions. You are this country’s 40th prime minister and the first woman to occupy the position—

J.A: Who does your research? Helen Clark was prime minister in 1999. And before her there was Jenny—

S.S: Yes, but Helen Clark was rather mannish. I think she may have been one of those transgender person things, whatever they’re called. So we can safely ignore them. Jenny Shipley had very short hair, you will recall, and you know what they say about women with short hair. Xena types, if you know what I mean. You’re at least somewhat attractive, except for your teeth, which could do with a bit of work, by the way. Do something with your hair too, while you’re at it. It’s a bit limp and lifeless…

J.A: Are you a beautician or a journalist? I’m busy, you know.

S.S: Doing what exactly? Vacuuming the house, cooking for your children, annihilating Bilbo Baggins…?

J.A: Has anyone ever told you you are sexist?

S.S: Sexy? Me? Yes, I hear it all the time. Why just the other day a big movie producer said to me—

J.A: Sexist. As in sexist pig.

S.S: I heard you the first time, dear girl. I was indeed blessed with looks far beyond those of mere mortals. But I should tell you flattery does not work on me. I remain always dedicated to a higher truth!

J.A: What, truth for sexist pigs?

S.S: Now, now, Jamila, you can’t eat pig when you’re a Muslim.

J. A: It’s Jacinta!!!!

S.S: Oh, dear, she used multiple exclamation marks. It’s tres tres vulgaire.

J.A: And I’m not Muslim.

S.S: Why, what’s wrong with Muslims?

J.A: Nothing’s wrong with Muslims. I’m just saying I’m not one.

S.S: Then why did you cover your head and hug a Muslim woman in a mosque?

J.A: Because a dickhead from Australia shot ‘em up, that’s why, you mad man.

S.S: Oh, dear, she’s having a hissy fit. I hate to tell you this, Jodrele, but the newspaper headlines aren’t looking good for you. ‘NZ PM Blows Top and Causes Yet Another Massive Earthquake.’

J.A: [Stomps off.] Bodyguards, throw this idiot in the volcano.

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S.S: [Running from guards.] Help, I’m innocent. I was just doing my job. Thank you for your time, Jaylah. See, I’m being nice to your boss. Leave me alone.

‘Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!’ he screamed as he plummeted into the volcano. But at least he used only one exclamation mark.

Until next we meet. Cheerio!

people-2570596_1920 Sozzled

The Sozzled Scribbler was born in the shadow of the Erechtheion in Athens, Greece, to an Egyptian street walker (his father) and a Greek bear wrestler (his mother). He has lived in Istanbul, Rome, London, New Orleans and is currently stateless. He partakes of four bottles of Bombay gin and nine packets of Gauloises cigarettes a day.

Dmetri Kakmi, is a writer and editor. His first book Mother Land was shortlisted for the New South Wales Premier’s Literary Awards in Australia, and his new book The Door will be released in September 2020.

Episode 424: Ronan Ryan!

13 Saturday Jun 2020

Posted by thedrunkenodyssey in Blog Post, Episode, Irish Literature, James Joyce

≈ 1 Comment

Episode 424 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on Apple podcasts, stitcher, spotify, or click here to stream (right click to download, if that’s your thing).

Photo by David Whitaker.

In this week’s show, I talk to novelist Ronan Ryan about the dramatic uses of gallows humor, how loss teaches us about our priorities, how elusive reality is, and how to match style to story.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

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NOTES

This episode is sponsored by the excellent people at Scribophile.

TDO Listeners can get 20% of a premium subscription to Scribophile. After using the above link to register for a basic account, go here while still logged in to upgrade the account with the discount.

Consider donating to City Lights Books to sustain it and/or buying a book online from Powells.

Check out my literary adventure novel, Guy Psycho and the Ziggurat of Shame.

The Curator of Schlock #323: Antrum

12 Friday Jun 2020

Posted by thedrunkenodyssey in Film, Horror, The Curator of Schlock

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The Curator of Schlock #323 by Jeff Shuster

Antrum

The Deadliest Film Ever Made?

My car broke down on my way back to Orlando from the Florida Everglades. I guess leaving it parked in the middle of the woods and not driving it for a couple of months wasn’t the best idea. Famished, hungry, and lost, I came upon on old Antebellum mansion. I was greeted by a gaunt butler named Jervis who offered me a fine meal and a room for the night. He says the former master of the estate had a rule about always showing kindness to strangers. I did a toast to my charitable host and Jervis informed me that I could stay as long as I wish. The Wi-Fi is great here, but these old portraits of southern ladies and gentlemen creep me out. I feel like their eyes are following me.

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Tonight’s movie is 2018’s Antrum: The Deadliest Film Ever Made from directors David Amito and Michael Laicini. Why is it called the deadliest movie ever made? Because everyone who saw Antrum died a horrible death soon after watching it. The documentary passes out some fascinating tidbits about this Bulgarian production from 1979, how when it was screened at a theater in Budapest, the whole place caught fire and the audience was burned alive. Other stories involved a man getting stung by a poisonous fish one day after viewing Antrum and dying on the spot.

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Another one involves a rare screening of Antrum in San Francisco that caused the audience to storm the exits only to find them locked. The crowd then begins viciously attacking each other due to the LSD laced popcorn they were given before the start of the movie. That concessions clerk is now serving time on multiple counts of manslaughter. What a sick degenerate! The documentary reveals that Antrum also featured weird audio cues and still shots of vile scenes cut into the movie so your subconscious would register the image. Around this point, I’m kind of glad that movie was lost to the ages, but then the documentary reveals that a print of Antrum in its entirety has been discovered and purchased at an estate auction in Connecticut. The movie will begin in ten-seconds. Yikes! I now get to watch this cursed movie!

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Antrum centers on a boy named Nathan (Rowan Smith) and his older sister, Oralee (Nicole Tompkins). We begin with Nathan’s mother, Amber, putting his dog, Maxine, to sleep. That’s an odd name for a dog, but Oralee is an odd name for a human, so whatever. During a car ride, Nathan asks his mother if Maxine is in heaven like other dogs and she tells him, “No, Maxine isn’t in heaven because she was bad.” I would have taken a different approach to this question. I would have told Nathan, “It’s a stupid dog! Woof! Woof! A dog!”

I’m good with kids.

We cut to Nathan and Oralee in a tent at night. They’ve gone camping. Oralee has an elaborate scheme that she got out of some kind of forbidden tome to redeem Maxine’s soul. They travel to the forest where the devil landed after God cast him out of heaven. It is there that they will find the antrum, the gateway to hell. Oralee and Nathan uncover some brambles that cover the place they’re supposed to start digging. Oralee draws a pentagram on the ground and puts the star and crescent, the menorah, a statue of Jesus Christ, a statue of Vishnu, and a blood red statue of Buddha smiling menacingly. I guess that’s covering all the bases. The two begin to chant, “One by one we pray to thee, protect us from all we see. From all we’ll hear and touch and smell. From all the unknown dark in hell.”

Weird stuff starts happening after they dig through the first layer. A apoplectic squirrel appears that Oralee insists is a demon. She tells Nathan to use a magic stick to drive it away. They come across a Japanese man undressing down to his boxers about to commit seppuku, but Nathan screams. The guy mutters in Japanese and walks away, presumedly to another part of the forest where he can get some privacy. Oralee and Nathan continue to dig. Nathan discovers a loaded handgun buried in the pit. Nathan keeps seeing black figures staring at them through the woods.

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Before bed, Nathan comments on how Oralee’s feet stink and she orders him to brush his teeth because his breath is rank. Oralee tells him that the Cerberus will get him if he stinks too much. Nathan takes her warning to heart and brushes his teeth by the lake under the full moon. He sees what looks like a ferryman rowing a boat with a naked, deformed person in it. This movie is just plain freaky and I’m not liking it. Plus, I keep getting flash frames of devils, occult symbols, and photos from somebody’s sick torture porn fantasy. I haven’t even gotten to the part with the two Bulgarian rednecks and the fact that one of them is committing what I’ll describe as “animal husbandry” to a dead animal! This is a sick, sick movie, but movies don’t kill people.

I got to go.

Jervis is knocking on my door asking if I’d like a hot water bottle.

Photo by Leslie Salas.

Jeff Shuster (episode 47, episode 102, episode 124, episode 131, and episode 284) is an MFA graduate from the University of Central Florida.

Comics Are Trying to Break Your Heart #74: Return to the City Enduring

10 Wednesday Jun 2020

Posted by thedrunkenodyssey in Comic Books, Comics Are Trying to Break Your Heart, politics

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Comics Are Trying to Break Your Heart #74 by Drew Barth

Return to the City Enduring

Things are getting back to normal—for comic publishing. Series are coming out once again and the month’s schedules are filling out with series returns and delayed beginnings.

But things aren’t normal, not anymore. Every day we have to contend with who we are as a nation and who we are as readers. We make a choice with how we speak and how we act and whose voices we can uplift with whatever platform we have available. It’s one of the main reasons I wanted to return to N.K. Jemisin and Jamal Campbell’s Far Sector. I wrote about the first issue seven months, or twenty years, ago and I didn’t know what kind of impact the story would have now.

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Jemisin herself is already one of the most important writers of the 21^stcentury. Other works, like the recently released The City We Became, deal with the survival of a massive city in much in the same way Far Sector does. But here in the comics things are slightly different. The recently appointed Green Lantern Sojourner “Jo” Mullein must investigate the City Enduring and its first murder in five hundred years. This city has maintained its facade of peace for so long due to a genetic modification that has suppressed the emotions of every citizen—at least until the drug Switchoff allows them to turn that modification off completely. And this leads to the murder. And this murder leads to a protest. And this protest leads to an egregious display of murderous police force against the protesters.

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The issue the above page come from released in late February and feels prophetic. Jemisin is able to recognize what has happened in the past and how it will inevitably come to our future. As a moment in the story, it’s devastating, but not surprising—much like the militarized police we see on the news nearly every evening and their own show of force. But in Far Sector, we have a mediator—we have someone with the power to stand up and the power ring up back them up. These moments are what good comics do best—they’re a mirror to the world’s horrors with a tangible, individual light of hope that we believe can save the day.

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Far Sector is the kind of comic that we need right now and Jemisin and Campbell are the creators we need on that comic. Comics have always been political, but mainstream monthly comics have a problem with inclusivity. More than ever, we need BIPOC voices and BIPOC stories, we need BIPOC editors and publishers to bring these stories and creators into our comic shops and our lives. Comics as a medium have the potential to reach a massive audience and so it must have voices that reflect that audience. And comics need to reflect the world they exist in, they’re not in a vacuum and neither is this column. It’s why now is the time to donate—time, money, energy—to the organizations that need it the most. Comics are a community that needs to remember that Black Lives Matter and that we must do our part.

Get angry. Get involved. Get active. Get reading.

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Drew Barth (Episode 331) is a writer residing in Winter Park, FL. He received his MFA from the University of Central Florida. Right now, he’s worrying about his cat.

Episode 423: Protests!

06 Saturday Jun 2020

Posted by thedrunkenodyssey in Episode, Philosophy, politics

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Episode 423 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on Apple podcasts, stitcher, spotify, or click here to stream (right click to download, if that’s your thing).

This week, my intern, Alexander Pate, and I discuss the Salisbury, NC protests that he has participated in, and discuss this point in history.

Heavy activity around a confederate statue with an angel.

NOTES

This episode is sponsored by the excellent people at Scribophile.

TDO Listeners can get 20% of a premium subscription to Scribophile. After using the above link to register for a basic account, go here while still logged in to upgrade the account with the discount.

Consider donating to City Lights Books to sustain it and/or buying a book online from Powells.

Check out my literary adventure novel, Guy Psycho and the Ziggurat of Shame.

Comics Are Trying to Break Your Heart #73

03 Wednesday Jun 2020

Posted by thedrunkenodyssey in Comic Books, Comics Are Trying to Break Your Heart

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Comics Are Trying to Break Your Heart #73 by Drew Barth

Family Stories

Many of our best stories come from our families—I always break out the one about my great-grandparents bottling liquor for Capone during Prohibition—and those are the stories that stay with us the longest. They’re the stories that are told through our childhoods and at every reunion. We can get sick of them but we always remember hearing them. Those stories give us a familiar warmth like our favorite blanket. Emei Burell has invited us to experience those stories with all of the warmth that they were told to her. We Served the People: My Mother’s Storiesis the kind of book that makes you want to relive those stories your parents told you while balancing you on their knee—and even if you can’t, this is still the next best thing.

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We Served the People centers on Burell’s mother, Yuan, after the beginning of China’s Cultural Revolution in 1966. These are the stories of Yuan being fourteen in Beijing and being made to work in Yunnan as a part of the Down to the Countryside Movement for ten years, many of them as the only female truck driver. This is her story along with thousands of other Rusticated Youth who were not given the choice of having a full childhood and had to catch up to the rest of the country at the end of the Cultural Revolution in 1977. This is also Yuan’s defiance in the face of bureaucracy and bullying and how through years of studying and testing she was able to leave to get her degree in Sweden. So much of this is the formative years of Yuan’s life and at all times we are kept attentive to her words. Burell says it herself that her mother is a great storyteller.

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A memoir typically keeps the readers focused on the moment and wants them to be fully immersed in what is happening. But Burell always brings us back to her mother telling the story. So much of We Served the People’s sense of intimacy comes from these few panels. We’re no longer attempting to relive Yuan’s past as we’re now next to Emei and her brother, laying on the rug in front of their mother as she tells them her stories. That effect is what makes this such an engrossing story—Burell’s illustrations and panels let us seep directly into the stories in that same way her mother had done with her words.

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We Served the Peopleis one of the greatest graphic novels of the year so far. It is a story that resonates across decades with Yuan’s words and Burell’s illustrations. Emei Burell has crafted a graphic memoir that needs to be read. It creates so much that we can hang onto as readers—the hope and resilience that feel essential in these past few months—and does so with such care and openness that you can’t help but feel the affection flowing through the page.

Get excited. Get your family stories.

Drew Barth (Episode 331) is a writer residing in Winter Park, FL. He received his MFA from the University of Central Florida. Right now, he’s worrying about his cat.

The Diaries of a Sozzled Scribbler #10

01 Monday Jun 2020

Posted by thedrunkenodyssey in Sozzled Scribbler

≈ 3 Comments

The Diaries of a Sozzled Scribbler #10

Transcribed by DMETRI KAKMI

1 June 2020

Drastic times call for drastic measures. A cliche but true. It’s more important now than ever before to know what world leaders think. That is why I follow last month’s interview with Papa (Do-As-I Tell-You-Or-I-Will-Shoot-You) Xi of China with perhaps the most talked-about figure of our times, Donald Trump, President of the United States of America.

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The discussion took place under strict quarantine conditions and social distancing in the Oval Office over cups of disinfectant and biscuits laced with hydroxychloroquine to ward off COVID-19. I wore a mask, Trump did not.

S.S: Thank you for the interview, Mr President. I know how busy you are, playing golf.

D.T: Are you a Muslim lady are you going to blow me up?

S.S: I beg your pardon?

D.T: The mask the mask why is your face covered over like a terrorist bomber in the west we believe every beautiful woman is equal her face should be seen and admired I say this to many many people all the time I am big on female libations let me see your beautiful face only the ugly ones should cover up.

S.S: It’s a face mask, Mr President. I was told to wear it by your staff. It’s for your protection.

D.T: Take it off take it all off yeah.

S.S: [removes mask] If you wish.

D.T: Oh god it’s an ugly old man put it back on I don’t want to see your mug.

S.S: [puts mask on again] It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr President.

D.T: You will never meet anybody more immune than me more pleasant than me I don’t get it I don’t understand you know why everywhere we go in the whole wide world the people everywhere in small towns and the biggest most cosmopolitan cities they all love me so much you know they understand me they know who I am admired everywhere we go I can be more presidential than anybody I would say more presidential and I’ve said this a couple of times more presidential than Obama.

S.S: These are challenging times. How are you coping?

D.T: No problem no problem at all nobody knows the system better than me inside out nobody knows politicians better than me nobody burns bridges more than me nobody knows more about trade than me this is why the people everywhere know we are good nobody knows about taxes more than me in the whole history of the world we will come out of this on top the biggest power the earth has ever known which is very small you know compared to the biggest universes out there you may not know this but I understand all the sciences more than anybody else I have studied the China deal in great detail greater by far than anyone else and I know how to handle them that’s why I said to the Australian head honcho over there whatsis name nice man but not as smart as me nobody is as smart as me drop nukiller bombshells on the greatest enemy the planet has ever faced more than the ones in Mars Attacks my favorite documentary of all time.

S.S: You are seen as a divisive figure—

D.T: I am the leader America deserves who is there there’s nobody out there no body but me America is all by itself and I am the only one who knows what is going on the only one who understands the Bible more than me try and find them you won’t find anybody and we find ourselves in at this very moment in like an apocalypse I am the chosen one Israel has been waiting for almost like a million years who will save this whole planet from the brink of falling over as I’ve said before many many times before falling over and not being able to stand up like an old man who is spastic this is why we need to get rid of the windmills—

S.S: Windmills?

D.T: Those big things that know-nothing planet savers say generate electricity out of the sun’s energy—

S.S: Oh, you mean wind turbines.

D.T: … maybe it’s a big lie more fake news I don’t know but they are made by Nazis and Communists who eat dead birds I’ve said this before and I have observed it many time more than any other scientific expedition in history they eat dead birds when they are still living with their skulls off I never understood wind you know I know windmills very much they’re noisy they kill the big birds with clogs you want to see a bird graveyard go under a windmill someday you’ll see more birds than you’ve ever seen in the Playboy mansion and I am very concerned about this because there is no greater environmentalist than me for the planet to be safe for my daughter you know the very smart the very intelligent and very very beautiful Tifanny is more smarter than Merkel except maybe Ivanka any old day.

S.S: Are you trying to start a trade war with China, Mr President?

D.T: The members of our armed forces I and you understand that very well the members of our armed forcer have always lived by the word of Douglas McGraw in war there is no substitute for Victoria’s secrets I’m not hearing bad stories I’m hearing all good stories but the fake news will go out and they’ll find somebody in the system they’ll find somebody they’ll find somebody in this giant medical system the largest system in the world by far they’re going to find somebody that wasn’t treated perfectly I don’t know and he’ll be on the top of the fake news tonight we have breaking news the US is at war with China when nobody has done more to stop that from happening by far.

S.S: China recently said Australia is the lapdog of the US. Do you agree?

D.T: When I say jump Australia says how high.

S.S: I see…

S.S: When China says jump Australia says how much?

S.S: I believe I understand.

D.T: I’m glad you do because I have no idea what I just said.

S.S: What do you want to say to the American people in the lead up to the next election?

D.T: Today I’m calling upon all 59 states to immediately waive all state taxes as well from now on no American will have to pay big taxes to Hollywood lefties or the so called World Health Organisation which is like a Mafia run by pretty boy over there in France Trudeau who was a male prostitute getting pissed on you know during world war three but things change there has to be flexibility let me give you an example President Xi we have a like a really great relationship for a German or me to call him a crazy manipulator and then say by the way I’d like you to solve the North Korean problem doesn’t work so Merkel spoke to him because you know she and he are on the same chair and I really like Merkel we get on very well together she and I being German chancellors from way back you have to have a certain flexibility number one number two from the time I took office till now you know it’s a very exact science you have to know what you’re doing it’s not like generalities do you want a disinfectant or anything?

S.S: Mr President, thank you. It’s been enlightening. All the best.

D. T: Well the one thing I would say and I say this to people I never realized how big it was everything’s so like you know the orders are so massive I was talking to—

S.S: Until next we meet. Cheerio!

people-2570596_1920 Sozzled

Episode 422: Michael Merriam!

30 Saturday May 2020

Posted by thedrunkenodyssey in Anime, Episode, Film, Video Games

≈ Leave a comment

Episode 422 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on Apple podcasts, stitcher, spotify, or click here to stream (right click to download, if that’s your thing).

Michael Merriam

This week, Michael Merriam and I discuss the 2010 cult film, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, and in this conversation we address the classic structure of film; the importance of the perfect flaw for a protagonist and antagonist; Joseph Campbell (naturally); the Bible; why Reality Bites bites; video games and the psychological logic of true boss fights; the abundance of super hero actors in this film; comic book adaptations; tropes in anime; and how comedies can house tales with deeply serious content, for those who can look past the jokes.

TEXT DISCUSSED

Scott Pilgrm poster

NOTES on the film

The Fights

Matthew Patel (Easy fight)
Lucas Lee (Has to get Lucas to defeat himself skating)
Todd Ingram/Envy Adams (Tricks Todd into drinking milk)
Roxy Richter (Ramona uses Scott as a fight puppet)
Kyle and Ken Katayanagi (Sex Bob-omb creates a more powerful music avatar)
Gideon (Scott dies, is resurrected)
Gideon II (Scott heals his relationships with Kim, Knives, and Ramona, and Scott and Knives enact a 2-player fight to beat Gideon)

The Turning Point Choices (film structure)

Scott thanks Ramona for letting him sleep in her bed.
Scott breaks up with Knives
Scott agrees to help Sex Bob-Omb open for The Clash at Demonhead (a gig shared with Scott’s ex-girlfriend).
Scott shows up to fight Gideon for Ramona, even though she isn’t his girlfriend anymore.
Scott chooses to fight Gideon, for himself (to prove he no longer has Gideon’s flaws)

The Superhero Actors

Lucas Lee is played by Chris Evans (Johnny Storm before SP, and Captain America after SP)
Envy Adams is played by Brie Larson (Captain Marvel after SP)
Todd Ingram is played by Brandon Routh (who played Superman before SP)
The Vegan Police Executioner is played by Thomas Jane (who played The Punisher before SP)

The Hero’s Journey

Departure

1 The Call to Adventure—The Dream of the Girl (Ironically, not an idealized girl)

2 Refusal of the Call—Deleting Matthew Pattel’s Email (Bo-ring.)

3 Meeting the Mentor—Wallace makes him break up with Knives, and tells him to fight! Comeau (who knows everybody) also assists in giving Scott intel on Ramona

4 Crossing the First Threshold—Julie tells Scott not to hit on Ramona.

5 Belly of the Whale—facing Lucas Lee and his doubles. (Scott faces setbacks, loses Ramona.)

Initiation

1 The Road of Trials— opening for The Clash at Demonhead, fighting Todd.

2 The Meeting with the Goddess—Dealing with Envy Adams, Roxy Richter, and Ramona—outgrows Envy.

3 The Woman As Temptress—Scott acts like such a jerk that Ramona breaks up with him (Scott wants a simple woman).

4 Atonement with the Father/Abyss—Faces Gideon, who holds all the power.

5 Apotheosis—Scott dies, but gains new understanding, and is resurrected (uses extra life).

6 The Ultimate Boon—Sword of self-respect, reconciliation between Knives and Ramona, he is empowered to defeat Gideon

Return

1 Refusal of the Return

2 The Magic Flight—Scott must face off with NegaScott (The equivalent of an angry god.)

3 Rescue from Without

4 The Crossing of the Return Threshold—Knives helps him understand his new place in the world.

5 Master of Two Worlds—Scott lets Ramona go, and accepts Knives’ forgiveness and friendship

6 Freedom to Live—Scott tries again with Ramona, but living in the moment instead of trying to recreate the dream.

NOTES

This episode is sponsored by the excellent people at Scribophile.

TDO Listeners can get 20% of a premium subscription to Scribophile. After using the above link to register for a basic account, go here while still logged in to upgrade the account with the discount.

Consider donating to City Lights Books to sustain it and/or buying a book online from Powells.

Check out my literary adventure novel, Guy Psycho and the Ziggurat of Shame.

The Curator of Schlock #322: Rec 4

29 Friday May 2020

Posted by thedrunkenodyssey in Blog Post, Film, Horror, The Curator of Schlock

≈ Leave a comment

The Curator of Schlock #322 by Jeff Shuster

Rec 4: Apocalypse

Do not watch movies about quarantine during quarantine!

It’s time. The Florida government has given the okay for museums to open up as long as they keep to fifty percent capacity. Or is it twenty-five percent capacity? I’m not going to worry about the little details. You were taking a health risk coming into The Museum of Schlock even before COVID-19. I’m out of beans, the cabin is getting flooded, and there’s a gator giving me the evil eye. It’s time to go home.

Rec4a

Tonight’s movie is 2014’s Rec 4: Apocalypse from Jaume Balagueró. Naturally, we begin right where Rec 2 left off. We get another group of commandos going inside the apartment complex to retrieve Ángela Vidal (Manuela Velasco) and also to set some charges because demonically possessed zombie maniacs got no reason to live. Ángela escapes with the two surviving commandos, Lucas (Críspulo Cabezas) and Guzmán (Paco Manzanedo). These are two burly Spanish men distinguishable by the fact that Lucas has a beard and Guzmán is clean shaven. Also, Guzmán was determined to rescue Ángela while Lucas just wanted to set the charges and run.

Rec4b

The three of them wake up on a ship in the middle of the ocean. It seems that the government decided to quarantine the three of them off shore while they ran some tests, checking for signs of the virus. Oh, and there’s a surviving member of the wedding from part 3, the mother of the groom who had too much to drink at the reception and woke up on the ship. She keeps asking about her family and no one has the heart to tell her that they’re all dead. In addition to the doctors, we’ve got a ship’s captain, a chef, an engineer, and host of assorted commandos. Oh, and there’s no way off the ship and there’s no way to contact the outside world. Did I mention that the ship is heading toward a nasty storm? I’m feeling uneasy.

Rec4c

We also have a pervy IT guy named Nic (Ismael Fritschi) who’s trying to reassemble the footage taken by the news camera in the first Rec movie. He has to do it frame by frame so it may take awhile. That’s okay. The quarantine people and the crew will soon be busy with another demonically possessed zombie maniac outbreak. The doctors decided to infect a monkey with the virus and wouldn’t you know, the critter gets loose and attacks the ship’s cook who in turn infects the dinner he serves to the crew. Maybe infecting a monkey with a demonically possessed virus wasn’t such a good idea, but what do I know? I ain’t no scientist.

Rec4d

Around this time, pervy Nic reassembles the footage and the doctors get to see the demonic parasite crawling down Ángela’s throat. They determine that she’s the host and that the demonic parasite has to be surgically removed. Ángela insists that it isn’t inside her anymore and that it found a stronger host. You get a few more twists and turns, a return of the rabid monkey, and a self-destruct sequence. Boy, am I glad that’s over with. It wasn’t such a good idea to watch four movies about quarantine while the world is quarantined. It messes with your head a little.