There Is Something Wrong With My Television

The way I see it television needs, among other things, the following:

1. Science Fiction/Thriller/Horror Channel

A short form/short film channel showcasing those genres. Independent producers, writers, creators could submit work to be aired. It wouldn’t have to be, nor should it be at the Sundance level of professionalism delivered on DigiBeta and starring Cameron Diaz doing a favor for the filmmaker because it’s her friend’s cousin, either.

We don’t want that. There’s plenty of that kind of venue and they turn down 99% of the stuff submitted anyway, mainly because it’s not the work of someone’s friend’s cousin. So forget that right away. It has to be underground, guerilla, shoestring and, most important, good. Very good. Damn good. But not expensive. How can you do that, you say? 

With writing.   (more…)

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Tags: 80s, acting, alfred hitchcock presents, animation, channel
Posted Sep 3rd 2009 at 4:21 pm in Culture, Film | 214402132 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/smann/2009/09/03/there-is-something-wrong-with-my-television/There+Is+Something+Wrong+With+My+Television2009-09-03+23%3A21%3A25Schizoid+Mann

Zombie Culture and the March of Socialism

Yes, vampires are still a hot media commodity, but zombies are vying to knock them off the cultural pedestal, with the rise of zombie movies as a cultural force and numerous books about zombies hitting the stores, capped by the spoof novel Pride and Prejudice and Zombies having recently reached the top of the bestseller list. An article in the Chicago Tribune documents the phenomenon and suggests some reasons for it.

First the author suggests audience identification as the main factor: we are interested in zombies because according to the mythology, we could become them ourselves (should we die after being bitten by one):

“There’s a sadness,” said S.G. Browne. “They used to be us. But they’re tragic and comical and they want to be friends, but we run. Vampires are Brad Pitts. Zombies are more like the Steve Buscemis. We can relate.”

That natural sense of sympathy, however, conflicts with an even more fundamental urge: the drive to stay alive, as the latter absolutely requires that we kill every zombie we can find. That’s a rather poignant situation, and I think it does indeed account for some of the power of zombie stories. (more…)

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Tags: Fear, fear-mongering, horror, socialism, zombies
Posted May 9th 2009 at 10:22 am in Entertainment, Media Criticism | 1300783 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/stkarnick/2009/05/09/zombie-culture-and-the-march-of-socialism/Zombie+Culture+and+the+March+of+Socialism2009-05-09+17%3A22%3A42S.T.+Karnick

‘Last House on the Left’ Presents Rape as Entertainment

The explicit portrayal of rape in Last House on the Left (2009) is repugnant and coarsening and wrong. Director Dennis Iliadis dwells on the act long past the moment in which we get the point; long past when we have been emotionally affected. The scene quickly becomes exploitation.

This poison goes down smooth because Last House is creepy, frightening, and well-executed, as horror movies go. The movie looks as good as any other mid- to big-budget Hollywood picture. The acting is above-average for this kind of thing, the villains are creepy (though made oddly sympathetic at times), and the updates to the original story make the plot far more believable than it was in the amateurish, junk-pile original from 1972. (more…)

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Tags: 1972, Dennis Iliadis, horror, last house on the left, rape
Posted Apr 1st 2009 at 10:41 am in Politics, Reviews | 9288213 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/mlong/2009/04/01/review-last-house-on-the-left-presents-rape-as-entertainment/%27Last+House+on+the+Left%27+Presents+Rape+as+Entertainment2009-04-01+17%3A41%3A46Mike+Long