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Episode Notes S4E3: Mayakovsky (pt. 3/3): The Epics TW   TW: Suicide / Alexander Billet joins us to discuss the Soviet Futurist-Communist poet Vladimir Mayakovsky (1893 Baghdati – 1930 Moscow).  Finally we get to the good stuff.  Two speculative war epics, two wild elegies, messages to the future, and assorted screams into the void.  The zoomers are all meetinged out.  Alex dreams of a world without borders.  Frank talks about the Constructicons and tears like a wolf at bureaucracy.   This episode focuses on: 150,000,000 / THE FLYING PROLETARIAN / ALL MEETINGED OUT / VLADIMIR ILYICH LENIN / TO SERGEI YESSENIN / CONVERSATION WITH A TAXMAN ABOUT POETRY / MY SOVIET PASSPORT / AT THE TOP OF MY VOICE / PAST 1 O’CLOCK   For more on the Russian Revolutions and Civil War, see: Duncan, Mike. Revolutions, Season 10.   For our thoughts on Johnny Got His Gun and Pale Horse, Pale Rider, see S3E4.   The Pointless Crew: Frank Fucile (he/him/his) @thtopofmyvoice – Lit & Theory, Film & Media, Genre, Enviro & Tech Studies // Alexander Billet (he/him/his) @UbuPamplemousse – Poetry, Music, Cultural Criticism, Marxist Theory & History // Rachel Hamele (she/they/her/their/hers/theirs) – History, Humanities, Queer Studies, Fandoms // Anna Wendorff (she/her/hers) – Communications, Rhetorics of Sci & Tech, Feminism // Madalyn McCabe (she/her/hers) – Co-Producer, Sound Editing, European Studies   // Troll us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PointlessCent // T-shirts are now available: http://www.teepublic.com/users/the-pointless-century // Watch us on Instagram: @thePointlessCentury // Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ThePointlessCentury   Shout out to Locust Review: https://www.locustreview.com/ https://twitter.com/locustreview     Bibliography:   Brown, Edward J. Mayakovsky: A Poet in the Revolution, Princeton UP, 1973.   Mayakovsky, Vladimir. The Bedbug and Selected Poetry. Translated by Max Hayward and George Reavey, edited by Patricia Blake, Indiana UP, 1960.   Mayakovsky, Vladimir. Mayakovsky. Translated and edited by Herbert Marshall, Hill and Wang, 1965.   Mayakovsky, Vladimir. Poems. Translated by Dorian Rottenberg, USSR, 1972.   Mayakovsky, Vladimir. Selected Poems. Translated by James H. McGavran III, Northwestern UP, 2013.   Mayakovsky, Vladimir. Volodya: Selected Works. Edited by Rosy Carrick, Enitharmon, 2015.   Morton, Timothy. Humankind: Solidarity with Non-Human People. Verso, 2017.   Schick, Christine Suzanne. Russian Constructivist Theory and Practice in the Visual and Verbal Forms of Pro Eto. Doctoral Dissertation, UC Berkeley, 2011. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3949b3fr   MUSIC:   FUGAZI – “Ex-Spectator” from The Argument (Dischord, 2001) and “Public Witness Program” from In on the Kill Taker (Dischord, 1993)   THE CLASH – “Ivan Meets GI Joe” from SANDINISTA! (Epic, 1980)   ART: Vladimir Mayakovsky with young poets at retrospective exhibition, 1930

Episode Notes S4E2: Mayakovsky (pt. 2/3): The Shitposts Alexander Billet joins us to discuss the Soviet Futurist-Communist poet Vladimir Mayakovsky (1893 Baghdati – 1930 Moscow). We consider a couple of his pre-revolutionary futurist poems, and some of his key works from the revolutionary period of February 1917 to February 1923. Anna and Rachel talk shit on his love life and puzzle over his imagery. Frank makes some bad jokes and talks about photos you can see if you follow on Insta and Twitter. We barely scratch the surface of Pro Eto (“About That” AKA “About This” AKA “That’s What” AKA “It”), a dizzying montage of personal and political impressions. The final episode will continue with this, several longer poems of the revolutionary era, and a few remaining Communist faves. This episode focuses on: GREAT BIG HELL OF A CITY / LISTEN! / ORDER No. 1 TO THE ARMY OF ARTS / ORDER No. 2 TO THE ARMY OF ARTS / PRO ETO “ABOUT THAT" (alternate English titles in paragraph above) For more on ProletCult and Alexander Bogdanov, see: Guerrilla History, “Art and the Working Class w/Taylor Genovese,” 20 Jan. 2022. https://guerrillahistory.libsyn.com/art-and-the-working-class-w-taylor-genovese For more on the Russian Revolutions of 1917, see: Duncan, Mike. Revolutions, Season 10. The Pointless Crew: Frank Fucile (he/him/his) @thtopofmyvoice – Lit & Theory, Film & Media, Genre, Enviro & Tech Studies // Alexander Billet (he/him/his) @UbuPamplemousse – Poetry, Music, Cultural Criticism, Marxist Theory & History // Rachel Hamele (she/they/her/their/hers/theirs) – History, Humanities, Queer Studies, Fandoms // Anna Wendorff (she/her/hers) – Communications, Rhetorics of Sci & Tech, Feminism // Madalyn McCabe (she/her/hers) – Co-Producer, Sound Editing, European Studies // Troll us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PointlessCent // T-shirts are now available: http://www.teepublic.com/users/the-pointless-century // Watch us on Instagram: @thePointlessCentury // Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ThePointlessCentury Shout out to Locust Review: https://www.locustreview.com/ https://twitter.com/locustreview Bibliography: Brown, Edward J. Mayakovsky: A Poet in the Revolution, Princeton UP, 1973. Mayakovsky, Vladimir. The Bedbug and Selected Poetry. Translated by Max Hayward and George Reavey, edited by Patricia Blake, Indiana UP, 1960. Mayakovsky, Vladimir. Mayakovsky. Translated and edited by Herbert Marshall, Hill and Wang, 1965. Mayakovsky, Vladimir. Poems. Translated by Dorian Rottenberg, USSR, 1972. Mayakovsky, Vladimir. Selected Poems. Translated by James H. McGavran III, Northwestern UP, 2013. Mayakovsky, Vladimir. Volodya: Selected Works. Edited by Rosy Carrick, Enitharmon, 2015. Schick, Christine Suzanne. Russian Constructivist Theory and Practice in the Visual and Verbal Forms of Pro Eto. Doctoral Dissertation, UC Berkeley, 2011. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3949b3fr MUSIC: FUGAZI – “Epic Problem” and “Ex-Spectator” from The Argument (Dischord, 2001) ART: Vladimir Mayakovsky with Red Army soldiers in 1929 (unknown photographer)

Episode Notes S4 E1: Mayakovsky (pt. 1/3): The Overshares Alexander Billet joins us to discuss the Soviet Futurist-Communist poet Vladimir Mayakovsky (1893 Baghdati – 1930 Moscow). We consider Mayakovsky’s unique status among both modernists and poets; we begin to sketch the cultural milieu of the Russian Empire, Provisional Republic, and Soviet Union in the first three decades of the twentieth century; comparisons to other modernists, futurists, and the present day highlight the political, personal, and aesthetic elements of Mayakovsky’s work. This episode mainly deals with the poet’s pre-revolutionary life and work. Anna and Rachel talk shit on his love life. Frank laments walking waist-deep into his own sprawling, self-indulgent, biographical-political poetic epic. We all agree that Mayakovsky’s work is impressive, complex, and worthy of serious contemplation, but we also rightfully slag him as the self-important gloom coomer he advertised himself to be. This episode begins by assessing Mayakovsky's significance historically to the USSR and personally to us. We then give a brief overview of Mayakovsky's early life and discuss: A CLOUD IN PANTS / THE BACKBONE FLUTE / I LOVE Find visual materials here: https://twitter.com/PointlessCent/status/1478395638693998604 Shout out to Locust Review: https://www.locustreview.com/ -- https://twitter.com/locustreview The Pointless Crew: Frank Fucile (he/him/his) @thtopofmyvoice – Lit & Theory, Film & Media, Genre, Enviro & Tech Studies // Alexander Billet (he/him/his) @UbuPamplemousse – Poetry, Music, Cultural Criticism, Marxist Theory & History // Rachel Hamele (she/they/her/their/hers/theirs) – History, Humanities, Queer Studies, Fandoms // Anna Wendorff (she/her/hers) – Communications, Rhetorics of Sci & Tech, Feminism // Madalyn McCabe (she/her/hers) – Co-Producer, Sound Editing, European Studies // Troll us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PointlessCent // T-shirts are now available: http://www.teepublic.com/users/the-pointless-century // Watch us on Instagram: @thePointlessCentury // Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ThePointlessCentury Bibliography: Brown, Edward J. Mayakovsky: A Poet in the Revolution, Princeton UP, 1973. Mayakovsky, Vladimir. The Bedbug and Selected Poetry. Translated by Max Hayward and George Reavey, edited by Patricia Blake, Indiana UP, 1960. Mayakovsky, Vladimir. Mayakovsky. Translated and edited by Herbert Marshall, Hill and Wang, 1965. Mayakovsky, Vladimir. Poems. Translated by Dorian Rottenberg, USSR, 1972. Mayakovsky, Vladimir. Selected Poems. Translated by James H. McGavran III, Northwestern UP, 2013. Mayakovsky, Vladimir. Volodya: Selected Works. Edited by Rosy Carrick, Enitharmon, 2015. MUSIC: Rites of Spring – “For Want Of” from Rites of Spring (Dischord, 1985) FUGAZI – “Epic Problem” from The Argument (Dischord, 2001) ART: Portrait of Vladimir Mayakovsky in 1910 (unknown photographer)

Episode Notes Bonus Episode: Magickal Realist Horror   Happy Halloween! Anna and Madalyn gush about Ari Aster; Will talks about Brecht; Frank explains some creepy things he read on the internet; we all love these movies, but there’s reason to be disturbed by the culture that produced them. That’s horror.   Hereditary. Dir./Writ. Ari Aster. Perf. Toni Collette, Alex Wolff, Milly Shapiro. A24, 2018.   Midsommar. Dir./Writ. Ari Aster. Perf. Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, William Jackson Harper. A24, 2019.   Rosemary’s Baby. Dir./Writ. Roman Polanski. Perf. Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon, Sidney Blackmer. Paramount, 1968.   The VVitch: A New England Fable. Dir./Writ. Robert Eggers. Perf. Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie. A24, 2015.   The Pointless Crew: Anna Wendorff (she/her/hers) – Communications, Rhetorics of Sci & Tech, Feminism // Frank Fucile (he/him/his) – Lit & Theory, Film & Media, Genre, Enviro & Tech Studies // Will O’Brien (he/him/his) – Lit & Theory, Modernism, Ecocriticism, Drama // Madalyn McCabe (she/they) – Co-Producer, European Studies   // Troll us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PointlessCent // T-shirts are now available: http://www.teepublic.com/users/the-pointless-century // Watch us on Instagram: @thePointlessCentury // Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ThePointlessCentury   MUSIC: Fantômas – Rosemary’s Baby (written by Krzysztof Komeda)   ART: Still from The Witch, dir. Robert Eggers, feat. Anya Taylor Joy (A24, 2015)

Episode Notes S3 E6: Doctor Zhivago Anna attempts to remember a book she read last summer; Rachel laments film adaptations again; Frank offers some ideas for propaganda; we all agree that this 1965 anti-Soviet film is a disappointment, but we still find things we can learn from it. Doctor Zhivago. Dir. David Lean. Writ. Robert Bolt. Perf. Omar Sharif, Julie Christie, Alec Guinness, Rod Steiger, Tom Cortenay, Geraldine Chaplin, Rita Tushingham, Klaus Kinski. MGM, 1965. Pasternak, Boris. Doctor Zhivago. Pantheon, 1958. The Pointless Crew: Anna Wendorff (she/her/hers) – Communications, Rhetorics of Sci & Tech, Feminism // Frank Fucile (he/him/his) – Lit & Theory, Film & Media, Genre, Enviro & Tech Studies // Rachel Hamele (she/her/hers) – History, Humanities, Queer Studies, Fandoms // Madalyn McCabe (she/her/hers) – Co-Producer, European Studies // Troll us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PointlessCent // T-shirts are now available: http://www.teepublic.com/user/the-pointless-century // Watch us on Instagram: @thePointlessCentury // Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ThePointlessCentury ART: Still from Doctor Zhivago (MGM, 1965)

Episode Notes S3 E5: Battleship Potemkin / Man with Movie Camera Rachel gets angry about the dramatization of an event from 116 years ago; Anna thinks really hard about shot selection and sequence; Frank swears he isn’t a tankie then recklessly glosses over the birth pangs of the most 20th-century of nations; we all agree that these films are great feats of cinema, but we have somewhat different attitudes toward the meaning and value of propaganda. For more detailed explanations of historical context than Frank gives here, please consult the podcasts in the notes below. Battleship Potemkin. Dir. Sergei Eisenstein. Writ. Nina Agadzhanova, Sergei Eisenstein, & Grigoriy Aleksandrov. Perf. Aleksandr Antonov, Vladimir Barskiy, Grigoriy Aleksandrov, Nina Poltavtseva, Prokhorenko, A. Glauberman. Mosfilm, 1925. Man with Movie Camera. Dir. Dziga Vertov. Writ. Dziga Vertov. Perf. Mikhail Kaufman, Elizaveta Svilova. VUFKU, 1929. FURTHER READING & LISTENING: Duncan, Mike. Revolutions. Season 10: May, 2019-present. Eisenstein, Sergei. Film Form & The Film Sense. Translated and edited by Jay Leyda. Meridian, 1964. Painter, Mark. The History of the Twentieth Century. Ep. 31-235 (May 2016-Apr. 2021). [This huge range of episodes obviously deals with much more than Russian history, but listening to selected episodes in this span will cover the period from the Russo-Japanese War to Stalin’s first Five-Year Plan and thus will explain everything from the events that inspired Battleship Potemkin to the era in which it was produced.] Vertov, Dziga. Kino-Eye: The Writings of Dziga Vertov. Edited by Annette Michelson. Translated by Kevin O’Brien. University of California Press, 1995. The Pointless Crew: Frank Fucile (he/him/his) – Lit & Theory, Film & Media, Genre, Enviro & Tech Studies // Rachel Hamele (she/her/hers) – History, Humanities, Queer Studies, Fandoms // Anna Wendorff (she/her/hers) – Communications, Rhetorics of Sci & Tech, Feminism // Madalyn McCabe (she/her/hers) – Sound Editing, European Studies // Troll us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PointlessCent // T-shirts are now available: http://www.teepublic.com/user/the-pointless-century // Watch us on Instagram: @thePointlessCentury // Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ThePointlessCentury MUSIC: REFUSED – “Tannhaüser / Dérive” (Burning Heart, 1998) SLEEP – “The Sciences” (3rd Man, 2018) ART: Screen shot from Battleship Potemkin, Blu-Ray edition (with colorization), dir. Sergei Eisenstein (Mosfilm, 1925 / Kino Lorber, 2010)

Episode Notes S3 E4: Johnny Got His Gun / Pale Horse, Pale Rider *TW: Discussion of severe war wounds and suicide Anna shares her expertise in heavy metal; Rachel describes a book as “peace-y”; Frank complains about Dalton Trumbo’s unwillingness to insert actual communist propaganda into his most explicitly political movie; we all think the 1939 novel version of Johnny Got His Gun is a landmark work, but splitting hairs on the value of other examples of the disjunctive post/modernist form is more difficult. Watch Frank’s video giving an eco-materialist approach to these novels for ASLE 2021 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-23807y9lQ8 WORKS CITED: Johnny Got His Gun. Dir. Dalton Trumbo. Writ. Dalton Trumbo & Louis Buñuel. Perf. Timothy Bottoms, Kathy Fields, Marsha Hunt, Jason Robards, Donald Sutherland, Diane Varsi. World Entertainment, 1971. Metalallica. “One.” 1989. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iT6vqeL-ysI Porter, Katherine Anne. Pale Horse, Pale Rider. Modern Library, 1939. Trumbo, Dalton. Johnny Got His Gun Lippincott, 1939. Bantam, 1989. Further Reading & Listening: Morton, Timothy. Humankind: Solidarity with Nonhuman People. Verso, 2017. Outka, Elizabeth. Viral Modernism: The Influenza Pandemic and Interwar Literature. Columbia UP, 2020. Painter, Mark. The History of the Twentieth Century. Ep. 171-172: “Pale Horse, Pale Rider.” Oct. 2019. https://historyofthetwentiethcentury.com/2019/10/ The Pointless Crew: Frank Fucile (he/him/his) – Lit & Theory, Film & Media, Genre, Enviro & Tech Studies // Rachel Hamele (she/her/hers) – History, Humanities, Queer Studies, Fandoms // Anna Wendorff (she/her/hers) – Communications, Rhetorics of Sci & Tech, Feminism // Madalyn McCabe (she/her/hers) – Sound Editing, European Studies // Troll us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PointlessCent // T-shirts are now available: http://www.teepublic.com/user/the-pointless-century // Watch us on Instagram: @thePointlessCentury // Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ThePointlessCentury MUSIC: Bad Brains – “F.V.K.” Metalallica – “One” ART: Still from Johnny Got His Gun, feat. Timothy Bottoms & Diane Varsi, dir. Dalton Trumbo (World, 1971)

Episode Notes S3 E3: Blade / Black Panther Rachel claps while talking about representation; Anna suffers through two more superhero movies; Frank says “critique” far too many times; Leah tolerates us once again; we all appreciate aspects of these films, but Anna and Frank are sure to spend some time raining on parades. Blade. Dir. Stephen Norrington. Writ. David S. Goyer. Perf. Wesley Snipes, Stephen Dorff, Kris Kristofferson, N’Bushe Wright. Amen Ra / Marvel / New Line, 1998. Black Panther. Dir. Ryan Coogler. Writ. Ryan Coogler, Joe Robert Cole, Stan Lee. Perf. Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya. Marvel / Disney, 2018. Further Reading: Horkheimer, Max & Theodor Adorno. The Dialectic of Enlightenment, ed. Gunzelin Schmid Noerr, trans. Edmund Jephcott. Stanford, 2002. Womack, Ytasha L. Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy Culture. Lawrence Hill, 2013. The Pointless Crew: Frank Fucile (he/him/his) – Lit & Theory, Film & Media, Genre, Enviro & Tech Studies // Rachel Hamele (she/her/hers) – History, Humanities, Queer Studies, Fandoms // Anna Wendorff (she/her/hers) – Communications, Rhetorics of Sci & Tech, Feminism // Leah Woodward (she/her/hers) – Science Fiction, Ecocriticism // Madalyn McCabe (she/her/hers) – Sound Editing, US Civil Rights Hist, European Studies // Troll us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PointlessCent // T-shirts are now available: http://www.teepublic.com/user/the-pointless-century // Watch us on Instagram: @thePointlessCentury // Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ThePointlessCentury MUSIC: Bad Brains – “F.V.K.” (ROIR, 1982) The Dirtbombs – “Jaguar” written by Banks, Mitchell, & Rocha (In the Red, 2011) ART: Paul Nash, We Are Making a New World. Oil on canvas, 1918. Imperial War Museum. Still from Black Panther (Disney, 2018) Find out more at https://the-pointless-century.pinecast.co

Episode Notes S3 E2: Nova (1968) by Samuel R. “Chip” Delany Frank forces everyone to read a favorite SF novel of his. Leah joins for her first guest appearance. Correction/clarification: Delany is meticulous about in noting when his novels were written at the end of each manuscript, but Frank is not quite as careful in his discussion of them. Nova was written between 1966-67; Hogg was written between 1969-73, overlapping with Dhalgren; Trouble on Triton was written between 1973-74. Works Cited: Delany, Samuel R. Nova. Random House, 1968. Delany, Samuel R. Hogg. FC2, 1995. Delany, Samuel R. Times Square Red, Times Square Blue. NYU, 1999. Heinlein, Robert. Starship Troopers. Putnam, 1959. Vonnegut, Kurt. Player Piano. Random House, 1952. Vonnegut, Kurt. Slaughterhouse-Five. Random House, 1969. The Pointless Crew: Frank Fucile (he/him/his) – Lit & Theory, Film & Media, Genre, Enviro & Tech Studies // Rachel Hamele (she/her/hers) – History, Humanities, Queer Studies, Fandoms // Anna Wendorff (she/her/hers) – Communications, Rhetorics of Sci & Tech, Feminism // Leah Woodward (she/her/hers) – Science Fiction, Ecocriticism // Madalyn McCabe (she/her/hers) – Sound Editing, US Civil Rights Hist, European Studies // T-shirts are now available: http://www.teepublic.com/user/the-pointless-century // Watch us on Instagram: @thePointlessCentury // Troll us on Twitter: @PointlessCent // Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ThePointlessCentury MUSIC: Bad Brains – “F.V.K.” (ROIR, 1982) Hot Snakes – “10th Planet” (Swami, 2000) ART: Paul Nash, We Are Making a New World. Oil on canvas, 1918. Imperial War Museum. S. Brunier, The Pleiades (European Southern Observatory, 3 Dec. 2009) Find out more at https://the-pointless-century.pinecast.co

Episode Notes S3 E1: Juneteenth Movies Rachel reminds us to include conversations about both Juneteenth and the Tulsa Massacre; Madalyn tells us about her pilgrimage through the South; Anna derides a long, open-mouthed nap; Frank harps on the limitations of individualism; we all agree that these films add something to Americans’ understanding of history, but each of them has their limitations. Jasper the tailless cat contributes some meowing and collar noises. Amistad. Dir. Stephen Spielberg. Writ. David Franzoni. Perf. Djimon Honsou, Matthew McConaughey, Anthony Hopkins, Morgan Freeman, Pete Postlethwaite. Dreamworks / HBO / Amblin, 1997. 12 Years a Slave. Dir. Steve McQueen. Writ. John Ridley, Solomon Northup. Perf. Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Kenneth Williams, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Brad Pitt. New Regency / River Road / Plan B, 2013. Selma. Dir. Ava Duvernay. Writ. Paul Webb. Perf. David Oyelowo, Carmen Ejogo, Oprah Winfrey. Pathé / Harpo / Plan B, 2014. Harriet. Dir. Kasi Lemmons. Writ. Gregory Allen Howard, Kasi Lemmons. Perf. Cynthia Erivo, Janelle Monáe, Leslie Odom Jr. Martin Chase / New Balloon / Perfect World, 2019. The Pointless Crew: Frank Fucile (he/him/his) – Lit & Theory, Film & Media, Genre, Enviro & Tech Studies // Madalyn McCabe (she/her/hers) – Co-Producer, US Civil Rights Hist, European Studies // Rachel Hamele (she/her/hers) – History, Humanities, Queer Studies, Fandoms // Anna Wendorff (she/her/hers) – Communications, Rhetorics of Sci & Tech, Feminism // T-shirts are now available: http://www.teepublic.com/user/the-pointless-century // Watch us on Instagram: @thePointlessCentury // Troll us on Twitter: @PointlessCent // Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ThePointlessCentury MUSIC: Bad Brains – “F.V.K.” (ROIR, 1982) Gil Scott-Heron – “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” (RCA, 1971) ART: Paul Nash, We Are Making a New World. Oil on canvas, 1918. Imperial War Museum. Film still from Harriet feat. Cynthia Erivo (Perfect World, 2019) Find out more at https://the-pointless-century.pinecast.co

Episode Notes S2 E8: Under Fire (1916) / J’Accuse! (1919) Rachel considers lib idpol a century ago and an ocean away; Anna continues to prefer novels over movies; Madalyn waxes nostalgic on Franco-Prussian beef; Frank delivers a sermon on water; we all are awed by these works of art but continue to wonder what might be missing. Barbusse, Henri. Under Fire: The Story of a Squad. 1916. Translated by W. Fitzwater Wray. Project Gutenberg, 2003. www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/4380 J’Accuse! Dir. Abel Gance. Writ. Abel Gance. Perf. Romuald Joubé, Maxime Desjardins, Séverin-Mars, Maryse Dauvray. Pathé, 1919. United Artists, 1920. Flicker Alley, 2008. http://flickeralley.vhx.tv/products/j-accuse-1919-1 //Note for UWEC students: The digital restoration of this original cut of the film will be available through McIntyre Library via Kanopy until October 1, 2021: https://uwec.kanopy.com/video/jaccuse Additional Reading / Listening: Painter, Mark. The History of the Twentieth Century. Ep. 7-8: “La Belle Époque” / “J’Accuse…!” Oct.-Nov. 2015. https://historyofthetwentiethcentury.com/007-la-belle-epoque/ & https://historyofthetwentiethcentury.com/121/ Painter, Mark. The History of the Twentieth Century. Ep. 121-122: “England’s Best Sword Knocked from Her Hand” / “They Shall Not Pass.” July 2018. https://historyofthetwentiethcentury.com/121-englands-best-sword-knocked-from-her-hand/ & https://historyofthetwentiethcentury.com/122-they-shall-not-pass/ Poole, W. Scott. Wasteland: The Great War and the Origins of Modern Horror. Counterpoint, 2019. The Pointless Crew: Frank Fucile (he/him/his) – Lit & Theory, Film & Media, Genre, Enviro & Tech Studies // Anna Wendorff (she/her/hers) – Communications, Rhetorics of Sci & Tech, Feminism // Rachel Hamele (she/her/hers) – History, Humanities, Queer Studies, Fandoms // Madalyn McCabe (she/her/hers) – Sound Editing, French, European Studies // T-shirts are now available: http://www.teepublic.com/user/the-pointless-century // Watch us on Instagram: @thePointlessCentury // Troll us on Twitter: @PointlessCent // Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ThePointlessCentury MUSIC: Refused – “Last Minute Pointer” from Songs to Fan the Flames of Discontent (Victory/Burning Heart, 1996) & “Our Silence” from This Just Might Be…The Truth (Startrec, 1994) / / WITH OUR SILENCE WE VOTE FOR CONTINUATION ART: Paul Nash, We Are Making a New World. Oil on canvas, 1918. Imperial War Museum. Film still from J’Accuse! (Pathé, 1919) Find out more at https://the-pointless-century.pinecast.co

Episode Notes S2 E7: Wilfred Owen vs. Siegfried Sassoon *TW: graphic descriptions of war incl. homicide, suicide, corpses, etc. Wilfred Owen – “Dulce et Decorum Est” https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46560/dulce-et-decorum-est Siegfried Sassoon – “ ‘Blighters’ ” https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/57215/blighters Wilfred Owen – “The Sentry” https://poets.org/poem/sentry Siegfried Sassoon – “Attack” https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/57323/attack-56d23aba391f5 Siegfried Sassoon – “Counter-Attack” https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/57220/counter-attack Wilfred Owen – “S.I.W.” https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/57346/s-i-w Siegfried Sassoon – “On Passing the New Menin Gate” https://allpoetry.com/On-Passing-The-New-Menin-Gate Wilfred Owen – “Insensibility” https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/57258/insensibility Siegfried Sassoon – “Repression of War Experience” https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/57267/repression-of-war-experience Wilfred Owen – “Disabled” https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/57285/disabled Our first deep dive into First World War poetry considers the need to bear witness, the evolution of realism, the uses and problems of symbolism, anger at civilians, portrayals of mental illness, class, gender, disability, and the development of modernism. Anna judges Owen’s craft; Rachel veges out with Sassoon’s moth; Frank manages to only briefly mention sunrises and seems more interested in talking about rain; we all agree on the significance of these works but refuse to take these men as martyrs or saints. CORRECTION: At one point, Frank uses the term "Edwardian" when he probably means to say "Georgian." As an Americanist, it's a bit tricky to keep track of artistic distinctions based on the names of British kings. REFERENCES and further reading: Caesar, Adrian. “The ‘Human Problem’ in Wilfred Owen’s Poetry.” Critical Quarterly, vol. 29, no. 2, June 1987, pp. 67-84. Fussell, Paul. The Great War and Modern Memory. Oxford, 1975. Hibberd, Dominic. Owen the Poet. U of Georgia, 1986. Hibberd, Dominic. Wilfred Owen: The Last Year (1917-1918). Constable, 1992. March, William. Company K. 1933. U of Alabama, 1989. Owen, Wilfred. The Poems of Wilfred Owen. Edited by Edmund Blunden, 1931. New Classics, 1949. Owen, Wilfred. The Poems of Wilfred Owen. Edited by Jon Stallworthy. Norton, 1986. Pope, Jessie. War Poems. Grant Richards, 1915. https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/jessie-popes-war-poems Sassoon, Siegfried. Counter-Attack and Other Poems. William Heinemann, 1918. https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/counter-attack-and-other-poems-by-siegfried-sassoon Sassoon, Siegfried. The Old Huntsman and Other Poems. William Heinemann, 1917. https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/the-old-huntsman-by-siegfried-sassoon The Pointless Crew: Frank Fucile (he/him/his) – Lit & Theory, Film & Media, Genre, Enviro & Tech Studies // Anna Wendorff (she/her/hers) – Communications, Rhetorics of Sci & Tech, Feminism // Rachel Hamele (she/her/hers) – History, Humanities, Queer Studies, Fandoms // Madalyn McCabe (she/her/hers) – Sound Editing, French, European Studies // T-shirts are now available: http://www.teepublic.com/user/the-pointless-century // Watch us on Instagram: @thePointlessCentury // Troll us on Twitter: @PointlessCent // Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ThePointlessCentury MUSIC: Refused – “Last Minute Pointer” & “The Slayer” from Songs to Fan the Flames of Discontent (Victory/Burning Heart, 1996) ART: Paul Nash, We Are Making a New World. Oil on canvas, 1918. Imperial War Museum. The Manchester Regiment at Serre, France, March 1917. Find out more at https://the-pointless-century.pinecast.co

Episode Notes M, film still feat. Gustaf Gründgens (Nero-Film, 1931) S2 E6: M (1931) / Psycho (1960) *TW: murder, implied sexual assault M. Dir. Fritz Lang. Writ. Fritz Lang, Thea von Harbou. Perf. Peter Lorre, Otto Wernicke, Gustaf Gründgens. Nero-Film, 1931. Ménilmontant. Dir. Dimitri Kirsanoff. Perf. Nadia Sibirskaïa, Yolande Beaulieu, Guy Belmont. 1926. Hereditary. Dir. Ari Aster. Perf. Toni Collette, Milly Shapiro, Gabriel Byrne. A24, 2018. Psycho. Dir. Alfred Hitchcock. Perf. Janet Leigh, Pat Hitchcock, Vera Miles, John Gavin, Martin Balsam, Anthony Perkins. Paramount, 1960. Matthew S. Wise talks about the evolution of the horror genre; we all agree that these great films productively question the usefulness of the police; but Frank then explains how one might be secretly or accidentally fascist. The Pointless Crew: Matthew S. Wise (he/him/his) – Author of the poetry collection Everything Is Ed Wood // Frank Fucile (he/him/his) – Lit & Theory, Film & Media, Genre, Enviro & Tech Studies // Anna Wendorff (she/her/hers) – Communications, Rhetorics of Sci & Tech, Feminism // Rachel Hamele (she/her/hers) – History, Humanities, Queer Studies, Fandoms // Madalyn McCabe (she/her/hers) – Sound Editing, French, European Studies CLARIFICATIONS: Frank and Anna refer obliquely to Hitchcock’s and Lang’s notorious treatment of their actors. See Robert Evans’s Behind the Bastards for two episodes dealing with Hitchcock’s pranks and his treatment of leading women specifically. Plenty of anecdotes about Lang are also accessible online, and his treatment of Brigitte Helm on the set of Metropolis was mentioned in S2E4. Frank suggests that Lang may have practiced some forms of non-vanilla sexuality, but other sources claim that Lang fled Nazi Germany because his mother was ethnically Jewish (though she had converted and raised him as a Catholic). // T-shirts are now available: http://www.teepublic.com/user/the-pointless-century // Watch us on Instagram: @thePointlessCentury // Troll us on Twitter: @PointlessCent // Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ThePointlessCentury MUSIC: Refused – “Worms of the Senses / Faculties of the Skull” from The Shape of Punk to Come (Burning Heart, 1998) Cardiel – “Sheriff Hernandez” from Local Solo (La Roma, 2014) ART: Paul Nash, We Are Making a New World. Oil on canvas, 1918. Imperial War Museum. M, film still feat. Gustaf Gründgens (Nero-Film, 1931) Find out more at https://the-pointless-century.pinecast.co

Episode Notes S2 E5: Sylvia Plath vs. Allen Ginsberg *TW: suicide, self-harm, mental illness Rachel wrestles with long lines; Anna disses silly rhymes; Frank reflects on old times and somehow compares the 90s to the 50s; we all appreciate these lyric efforts to rise above the conformity of the era but find ourselves critiquing both form and philosophy. Sylvia Plath - “The Colossus” (1957) from The Colossus and Other Poems (Heinemann, 1960) https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/89119/the-colossus Sylvia Plath - “Lady Lazarus” (1960) from Ariel (Faber & Faber, 1965) https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/49000/lady-lazarus Sylvia Plath - “Daddy” (1960) from Ariel (Faber & Faber, 1965) https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48999/daddy-56d22aafa45b2 Allen Ginsberg - “America” (1956) from Howl and Other Poems (City Lights, 1956) https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/49305/america-56d22b41f119f Allen Ginsberg - “Howl” (1955-56) from Howl and Other Poems (City Lights, 1956) https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/49303/howl Allen Ginsberg - “Footnote to Howl” (1955) from Howl and Other Poems (City Lights, 1956) https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/54163/footnote-to-howl MINOR CORRECTIONS/NOTES: Frank refers to “the 1950s” in his intro, which he claims lasts from 1953-1964. Sylvia Plath committed suicide in 1963. Rachel keeps referring to Sylvia Plath’s family as “Austrian” in the recording. Plath’s father was born in Grabow, Germany – the name of which is from the Polabian language, hence the reference to its ambiguous origin in “Daddy.” Plath’s maternal grandparents were from Austria. Plath was born in Boston and lived most of her life there and in London, England. The Pointless Crew: Frank Fucile (he/him/his) – Lit & Theory, Film & Media, Genre, Enviro & Tech Studies // Anna Wendorff (she/her/hers) – Communications, Rhetorics of Sci & Tech, Feminism // Rachel Hamele (she/her/hers) – History, Humanities, Queer Studies, Fandoms // Madalyn McCabe (she/her/hers) – Sound Editing, French, European Studies // T-shirts are now available: http://www.teepublic.com/user/the-pointless-century // Watch us on Instagram: @thePointlessCentury // Troll us on Twitter: @PointlessCent MUSIC: Refused – “Worms of the Senses / Faculties of the Skull” from The Shape of Punk to Come (Burning Heart, 1998) Sleater-Kinney – “Call the Doctor” from Call the Doctor (Chainsaw, 1996) ART: Paul Nash, We Are Making a New World. Oil on canvas, 1918. Imperial War Museum. Metropolis, film still (UFA, 1927) Find out more at https://the-pointless-century.pinecast.co

Episode Notes S2 Extra Episode (Anna’s Choice): Wes Anderson In a slightly less depressing episode than usual, Anna tells us about a children’s movie she loves; Madalyn meditates on Steve Zissou; Frank explains how culture makes money sexy; we all agree Wes Anderson’s films are enjoyable, but we admit there aren’t many actual LOLs. Rachel was studying for an exam and will join us next time. // Buy t-shirts: http://www.teepublic.com/user/the-pointless-century // Watch us on Instagram: @thePointlessCentury // Troll us on Twitter: @PointlessCent The Pointless Crew: Anna Wendorff (she/her/hers) – Communications, Rhetorics of Sci & Tech, Feminism // Frank Fucile (he/him/his) – Lit & Theory, Film & Media, Genre, Enviro & Tech Studies // Madalyn McCabe (she/her/hers) – Sound Editing, French, European Studies Find out more at https://the-pointless-century.pinecast.co

Episode Notes S2 E4: The Monstrous 20s (pt. 2) The Phantom of the Opera. Dir. Rupert Julian. Writ. Gaston Leroux. Prod. Carl Laemmle. Perf. Lon Chaney, Mary Philbin. Universal, 1925. Metropolis. Dir. Fritz Lang. Writ. Thea von Harbou. Perf. Brigitte Helm, Alfred Abel, Gustav Fröhlich. UFA, 1927. The Man Who Laughs. Dir. Paul Leni. Writ. Victor Hugo, J. Grubb Alexander. Perf. Conrad Veidt, Mary Philbin. Universal, 1928. This late follow-up to our last episode of 2020, starts with some reflections on the Jan. 6 coup attempt; Frank then lectures on the Culture Industry; Rachel ponders the multiple versions of Phantom of the Opera; Anna rips on another cheesy ending; we all marvel at the work of Lon Chaney and Brigitte Helm but are left wondering why Conrad Veidt’s very restricted performance in The Man Who Laughs ended up being so influential. [Shout-outs to Robert Evans (@IwriteOK / @BastardsPod) and Scott Poole (@MonstersAmerica)] // T-shirts are now available: http://www.teepublic.com/user/the-pointless-century // Watch us on Instagram: @thePointlessCentury // Troll us on Twitter: @PointlessCent CORRECTION: Frank identifies the law enforcement officer who shot and killed an insurrectionist in the Capitol as a Secret Service agent, but that person was actually a Capitol Police officer. The Pointless Crew: Frank Fucile (he/him/his) – Lit & Theory, Film & Media, Genre, Enviro & Tech Studies // Anna Wendorff (she/her/hers) – Communications, Rhetorics of Sci & Tech, Feminism // Rachel Hamele (she/her/hers) – History, Humanities, Queer Studies, Fandoms // Madalyn McCabe (she/her/hers) – Sound Editing, French, European Studies REFERENCES: Elsaesser, Thomas. Weimar Cinema and After: Germany’s Historical Imaginary. Routledge, 2000. Horkheimer, Max & Theodor Adorno. The Dialectic of Enlightenment, ed. Gunzelin Schmid Noerr, trans. Edmund Jephcott. Stanford, 2002. Kracauer, Siegfried. From Caligari to Hitler: A Psychological History of the German Film. Princeton, 1947. Poole, W. Scott. Wasteland: The Great War and the Origins of Modern Horror. Counterpoint, 2019. MUSIC: The Melvins – “Vile” from Ozma (Boner, 1989) Fantômas – “Der Golem” (written by Karl Ernst Sasse) from The Director’s Cut (Ipecac, 2001) ART: Paul Nash, We Are Making a New World. Oil on canvas, 1918. Imperial War Museum. The Man Who Laughs, film still feat. Conrad Veidt (Universal, 1928) Find out more at https://the-pointless-century.pinecast.co

Episode Notes S2 E3: The Monstrous 20s (pt. 1) The Penalty. Dir. Wallace Worsley. Writ. Gouverneur Morris. Perf. Lon Chaney. Goldwyn, 1920. Nosferatu. Dir. F.W. Murnau. Perf. Max Schreck, Gustave von Wagenheim, Greta Schröder. JABJ, 1922. Waxworks. Dir. Paul Leni & Leo Birinsky. Writ. Henrik Galeen. Perf. Emil Jannings, Conrad Veidt, Werner Krauss, William Dieterle. Neptune, 1924. In the first installment of a two-part series, Rachel complains about pacing; Anna rants about the wrong movie; Frank compares Rambo to Charlie Kelly; and Madalyn does an excellent job of editing together a long and rambling set of conversations about power-mad tyrants, disfigured geniuses, subhuman predators, empty husks of human flesh, the invention of genre cinema, (as always) the First World War, & (inevitably) fascism. // T-shirts are now available: http://tee.pub/lic/1yd0lBadbP4 // Watch us on Instagram: @thePointlessCentury // Troll us on Twitter: @PointlessCent The Pointless Crew: Frank Fucile (he/him/his) – Lit & Theory, Film & Media, Genre, Enviro & Tech Studies // Anna Wendorff (she/her/hers) – Communications, Rhetorics of Sci & Tech, Feminism // Rachel Hamele (she/her/hers) – History, Humanities, Queer Studies, Fandoms // Madalyn McCabe (she/her/hers) – Sound Editing, French, European Studies REFERENCES: Elsaesser, Thomas. Weimar Cinema and After: Germany’s Historical Imaginary. Routledge, 2000. Fussell, Paul. Class: A Guide through the American Status System. Simon & Schuster, 1983. Horkheimer, Max & Theodor Adorno. The Dialectic of Enlightenment, ed. Gunzelin Schmid Noerr, trans. Edmund Jephcott. Stanford, 2002. Kracauer, Siegfried. From Caligari to Hitler: A Psychological History of the German Film. Princeton, 1947. Poole, W. Scott. Wasteland: The Great War and the Origins of Modern Horror. Counterpoint, 2019. MUSIC: The Melvins – “Vile” from Ozma (Boner, 1989) Fantômas – “Der Golem” (written by Karl Ernst Sasse) from The Director’s Cut (Ipecac, 2001) ART: Paul Nash, We Are Making a New World. Oil on canvas, 1918. Imperial War Museum. Albin Grau, promotional poster for Nosferatu, 1922. Find out more at https://the-pointless-century.pinecast.co

Episode Notes S2 E2: Paths of Glory / A Very Long Engagement In our second look at great films of the Great War, Anna enjoys vengeance; Rachel denounces injustice; Frank lectures even more than usual; we continue to ponder the concept of realism in genre film; and we all stare exhausted down the barrel of the gun that is the state. // Watch us on Instagram: @thePointlessCentury // Troll us on Twitter: @PointlessCent KEY FILMS REFERENCED: Fear and Desire. Dir. Stanley Kubrick. Perf. Frank Silvera, Kenneth Harp. Kubrick Family, 1953. Un long dimanche de fiançailles [A Very Long Engagement]. Dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Perf. Audrey Tautou, Gaspard Ulliel, Jodie Foster, Marion Cotillard. Warner Bros, 2004. Paths of Glory. Dir. Stanley Kubrick. Perf. Kirk Douglas, George Macready, Ralph Meeker, Joe Turkel, Adolphe Menjou. United Artists, 1957. The Pointless Crew: Frank Fucile (he/him/his) – Lit & Theory, Film & Media, Genre, Enviro & Tech Studies // Anna Wendorff (she/her/hers) – Communications, Rhetorics of Sci & Tech, Feminism // Rachel Hamele (she/her/hers) – History, Humanities, Queer Studies, Fandoms // Madalyn McCabe (she/her/hers) – Sound Editing, French, European Studies MUSIC: The Melvins – “Sacrifice” (written by Will Shatter) from Lysol (Boner, 1992) Refused – “Lick it Clean” (c. 1992) ART: Paul Nash, We Are Making a New World. Oil on canvas, 1918. Imperial War Museum. Paths of Glory, promotional poster feat. Kirk Douglas (UA, 1957). Find out more at https://the-pointless-century.pinecast.co

Episode Notes S2 E1: The Big Parade / 1917 Rachel dreams of reality; Anna wonders whether anti-war movies are really possible; Frank gives an extended description of 1920s special effects; we all agree that the common vernacular of film has changed immensely in 95 years but still manage to find common threads in the genres and narratives that have evolved over that time. // T-shirts are now available: http://tee.pub/lic/1yd0lBadbP4 // Watch us on Instagram: @thePointlessCentury // Troll us on Twitter: @PointlessCent 1917 . Dir. Sam Mendes, Perf. Dean-Charles Chapman, George MacKay, Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch. Dreamworks, 2019. The Big Parade. Dir. King Vidor, Writ. Lawrence Stallings, Perf. John Gilbert, Renée Adorée, Tom O’Brien, Karl Dane. MGM, 1925. March, William. Company K. (1933) U of Alabama, 1989. They Shall Not Grow Old. Dir. Peter Jackson. House / Imperial War Museum, 2018. The Pointless Crew: Frank Fucile (he/him/his) – Lit & Theory, Film & Media, Genre, Enviro & Tech Studies // Anna Wendorff (she/her/hers) – Communications, Rhetorics of Sci & Tech, Feminism // Rachel Hamele (she/her/hers) – History, Humanities, Queer Studies, Fandoms // Madalyn McCabe (she/her/hers) – Sound Editing, French, European Studies MUSIC: The (International) Noise Conspiracy – “Last Century Promise” from New Morning…Changing Weather (Burning Heart/Epitaph, 2001) Refused – “Servants of Death” from Freedom (Epitaph, 2015) ART: Gustave Moreau, Helen at the Scaen Gate, oil on canvas (Paris, 1880s) The Big Parade, film still feat. John Gilbert (MGM, 1925) Find out more at https://the-pointless-century.pinecast.co

Episode Notes Episode 8: Gustave Moreau vs. Cy Twombly In our season finale, Anna describes 19th century brushstrokes; Rachel gets angry at ten paintings; and Frank tells a story that takes 140 years; we all puzzle over these things people use to decorate museum walls and welcome Madalyn, our new editor and occasional pronunciation coach. Future episodes should be released on a more consistent, bi-weekly basis. BTW our Patreon still exists! // T-shirts are now available: http://tee.pub/lic/1yd0lBadbP4 The Pointless Crew: Anna Wendorff (she/her/hers) – Communications, Rhetorics of Sci & Tech, Feminism // Rachel Hamele (she/her/hers) – History, Humanities, Queer Studies, Fandoms // Frank Fucile (he/him/his) – Lit & Theory, Film & Media, Genre, Enviro & Tech Studies // Madalyn McCabe (she/her/hers) – Sound Editing, French, European Studies ART LINKS: Gustave Moreau, Helen at the Scaean Gate. Oil on canvas, c. 1885. Gustave Moreau Museum, Paris. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Helene_a_la_porte_scee_-gustave_moreau-_2.jpg Gustave Moreau, Helen on the Walls of Troy. Watercolor, c. 1885. https://www.wikiart.org/en/gustave-moreau/helen-on-the-walls-of-troy Cy Twombly, Fifty Days at Iliam. Oil, pencil, and wax crayon on canvas, 1977-78. Philadelphia Museum of Art. https://www.philamuseum.org/collections/permanent/85709.html?mulR=448111926|1 Cy Twombly, Nine Discourses on Commodus. Oil, pencil, and wax crayon on canvas, 1963. Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. https://www.guggenheim-bilbao.eus/en/the-collection/works/nine-discourses-on-commodus REFERENCES: Di Via, Richard. “Is Man, by Nature, a Violent Being? (A Philosophical Look at Cy Twombly’s 50 Days at Iliam).” The Art of Seeing—Explore Works from Philadelphia’s Museum of Art, posted by Meighan Maley, 11 Aug. 2019. https://meighanmaley.com/2019/08/11/is-man-by-nature-a-violent-being-a-philosophical-look-at-cy-twomblys-50-days-of-iliam/ Jones, Jonathan. “Cy Twombly Review – Blood-Soaked Coronation for a Misunderstood Master,” The Guardian, 30 Nov. 2016. https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/nov/30/cy-twombly-review-centre-pompidou-paris Mercer, Kevin. “The Most Important Paintings I’ve ever Seen.” 17 Sept. 2014. http://www.thelargemammal.com/blog/2014/9/17/the-most-important-paintings-ive-ever-seen MUSIC: The (International) Noise Conspiracy – “Last Century Promise” from New Morning…Changing Weather (Burning Heart/Epitaph, 2001) Refused – “Elektra” from Freedom (Epitaph, 2015) Sonic Youth – “Shaking Hell” from Kill Yr Idols (Zensor, 1983) Find out more at https://the-pointless-century.pinecast.co