ACFmovie podcast

Titus & John Presnall complete their trilogy on liberalism in the age of total surveillance with De Palma's Blow Out, which puts together image & sound, Antonioni's Blow-Up & Coppola's The Conversation, turning these theoretical studies of art & technology into a practical matter--where does art stand to corrupt politics in our world.

Titus & John Presnall continue their trilogy on liberalism in the age of total surveillance with Coppola's The Conversation. We go through the plot, what it means to want to hear the ugly truth, what it might mean to fear anyone learning your secrets, & how the invasion of secrecy was shamelessly advertised in American corporate capitalism. Listen to our conversation & be ready fora shock!

Titus & Pete Spiliakos discuss Harold Ramis's attack on institutional authority in his 80s comedies: Caddyshack, Back To School, & Ghostbusters. Pete calls Ramis a prophet of Trump: A comic writer whose reprehensible protagonists nevertheless triumph over hypocritical & complacent elites.

Titus & Paul Cantor discuss Frankenstein on its 200th an.--the novel, its history on the stage in the 19th c., & various movie adaptations in the 20th c. We talk about the genius of Mary Shelley & the rarity of a new myth being created by a single person under the historical spotlight! We talk about Enlightenment, Romantic poetry, & how new technologies of communication provoke nostalgic storytelling.

Titus & Joseph Bottum do the Christmas podcast--caroling, Dickens's A Christmas carol, reflections on the neediness & joy of being human, the modern American Christmas, & the childhood that prepares us for Christmas. We start & end with two of Jody's carols!

Titus & Flagg Taylor talk about Brooklyn, a beautiful work of selective nostalgia on the America of the 50s, from the point of view of an Irish immigrant played by the lovely, talented Saoirse Ronan. The story dramatizes the promises & perils of American freedom & the institutions needed to guide people to a decent happiness in America.

Titus & Scott Beauchamp turn from the Catholic horror The Exorcist to the scientific/atheist horror The Thing. We talk about the powers of science & the daring of facing the cold, inhospitable cosmos; about facing the horror of life as mere, but deadly self-reproduction; & the collapse of a community faced with this threat into paranoia. Listen & share!

Titus & Scott Beauchamp discuss William Friedkin's The Exorcist as a Catholic horror, where the confrontation with evil is part of man's supernatural destiny. Horror both issues from the revelations of our modern scientific powers & also investigates their limits. It makes the case for faith in our humanity at the same time it opens up the possibility that being human isn't special. Body horror especially makes us ask ourselves whether being human really is special.

Titus & Pete Spiliakos discuss Rocky & its many sequels. Why did it shoot to fame? Because its a Frank Capra movie! Because Rocky's a boy scout. Because it's very realistic about the suffering of the lower classes & the way it complicates patriotism. Rocky is a boxing movie with very little boxing; it's a feel good-movie where the protagonist loses. It's a marvel of middlebrow art.

Titus & Terry Teachout talk about the pluperfect noir: Double Indemnity, written by Billy Wilder & Raymond Chandler. Every element of the all-American tragedy is present here, for the first time. We talk about the conflict between love & law, the different claims of eroticism & friendship, & also where insurance stands to the all-American future.