))
The Pointless Century is a podcast of informal discussions about literature and film seeking to understand 20th century history and illuminate 21st century politics. Professor Frank Fucile and research assistants Anna Wendorff and Rachel Hamele work their way through comparative studies of canonical works, examples from pop culture, and some cult classics while reflecting on subjects like technology, art, class, race, gender, sexuality, the environment, (as always) war, and (inevitably) fascism.
…
continue reading
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 …
…
continue reading
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 ta…
…
continue reading
1
S4E1 - Vladimir Mayakovsky (pt. 1/3)
1:21:31
1:21:31
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:21:31
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 Un…
…
continue reading
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 C…
…
continue reading
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 Shar…
…
continue reading
1
S3E5 - Battleship Potemkin / Man with Movie Camera
1:18:07
1:18:07
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:18:07
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…
…
continue reading
1
S3E4 - Johnny Got His Gun / Pale Horse, Pale Rider
1:31:37
1:31:37
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:31:37
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 no…
…
continue reading
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 Norringto…
…
continue reading
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 w…
…
continue reading
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 hi…
…
continue reading
