Shows
FrameformLOCATION SCOUT: Black BoxesMost theater-goers are familiar with black boxes. We’re not talking about literal boxes that are black but in a way it’s not totally off the mark. Walking inside a black box theater, it’s pretty bare and minimal – empty space, a place for an audience to sit, and maybe a few studio lights for dramatic lighting. These spaces may not have that grand sparkling feeling when you walk into a 200+ capacity, red curtain adorned proscenium, but it serves very much the same purpose: possibility in creativity.In this location scout round table discussion we’ll be spotlig...2024-04-2443 min
(E)STRANGE(D)The Lack TeaserHere is a teaser of the first episode of Helen's new podcast The Lack, which you can find in full here: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-lack/id1561070699?i=10005152519632021-04-0234 min
(E)STRANGE(D)53 - 'The Ego Is a Mournful Being Constituted by Lack' (ft. Carlos Padrón) - 'Border'Psychoanalyst Carlos Padrón joins Helen to discuss 'Border' (Ali Abbasi) and the dialectics of identity.2021-03-041h 33(E)STRANGE(D)52 - A Shepherdess in a Fantasy Landscape (ft. Benjamin Studebaker) - 'Trumbo'Our most loyal guest, political theorist Benjamin Studebaker, returns to talk to Helen about cancellation, market contortions and AOC.2021-02-141h 20(E)STRANGE(D)51 - What Lies Beneath (ft. Grafton Tanner) - 'The Social Dilemma', 'Videodrome'A conversation with author, academic and musician Grafton Tanner on the why the tale of the perils of Tech is a tale that is as old as time.2021-02-0554 min(E)STRANGE(D)50 - Roomination (ft. Nina Power) - 'Theorem'In which philosopher, translator and cultural critic Nina Power joins Helen to talk about Pasolini's 'Thereom' (1968), touching on subjective destitution, nettle-eating witches and conceiving of the gender wars as a sibling rivalry.2021-01-271h 01(E)STRANGE(D)49 - Super-weird Zombie Bear & a Freaky Slenderman Thing (ft. Elliott Morgan) - The Movie Movie GameElliott Morgan of the Valleyfolk talks to Helen about their new (and incredibly addictive) Movie Movie Game.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thevalleyfolk/movie-movie-game-02021-01-141h 16
(E)STRANGE(D)48 - The Living Dead (ft. Jay Bakker) - 'Star Wars'Punk pastor Jay Bakker joins Helen to discuss 'Star Wars' (George Lucas et al.), family ties, contradiction, the problematic Camus and the political power of Grace.2020-12-311h 15(E)STRANGE(D)47 - Cali-Complication (ft. Barry Taylor) - 'The Filth and the Fury'Theologian, musician and cultural theorist Barry Taylor joins us for a conversation about California, contradiction and counterculturalism in relation to Julien Temple's 'The Filth and the Fury'.2020-12-231h 03(E)STRANGE(D)46 - Big Feet ... Large Shoes (ft. Bessie Rollins) - 'Notting Hill', 'Pretty Woman'Helen is joined by her sister Bessie for a discussion inspired by a chapter from Todd McGowan's 2016 book 'Capitalism and Desire'. We use his insight that 'Notting Hill' (Roger Michell) is a film about love and that 'Pretty Woman' (Garry Marshall) is a film about romance as our jumping off point.2020-12-111h 16
(E)STRANGE(D)45 - 'So What You're Saying Is...' (ft. Benjamin Studebaker)- 'Barbarians', 'Industry'Parsing out truth and ideology, cause and effect, narrative shapes and emancipatory story forms with political theorist Benjamin Studebaker, in relation to 'Barbarians' (Netflix) and 'Industry' (HBO).2020-12-041h 35(E)STRANGE(D)44 - The Prison of Your Mind (ft. Aaron Hickland) - 'The Shawshank Redemption'Actor Aaron Hickland joins Helen to discuss 'The Shawshank Redemption' (Frank Darabont) in relation to hope, lack and capitalism.2020-11-271h 04(E)STRANGE(D)43 - Love Robots (special Q& A episode)Sex, alienation, capital. Helen answers your questions about Punk, 'A Ghost Story' (David Lowery), Cottage Core, 'political' art, 'The Vow' (Jehane Noujaim, Karim Amer), 'Blade Runner 2049' (Denis Villeneuve), the best countries at making movies and what awaits us after Covid.2020-11-201h 14
(E)STRANGE(D)47 - Not In Freud's Name! ('Visual Pleasure' analysis part 2)We get way too worked up about the second half of the essay ('Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema' by Laura Mulvey), which can be found here:
https://www.asu.edu/courses/fms504/total-readings/mulvey-visualpleasure.pdf2020-11-031h 18(E)STRANGE(D)46 - Misleading Light (Laura Mulvey essay part 1)Adrian and Helen read and analyze a canonical essay in so-called 'Lacanian' film theory - one that ushered in an oppositional, identity-based ethos to both how films are made and how they are talked about - showing that this 'theory' isn't Lacanian at all.2020-10-271h 28(E)STRANGE(D)42 - 'Cancelling Comedians while the World Burns' (ft. Ben Burgis) - 'Sticks and Stones'Philosopher and author Ben Burgis joins us to discuss his latest text with Zer0 Books ('Cancelling Comedians while the World Burns'), which is due to be released in the spring of 2021. We analyze Dave Chapelle's 2019 comedy special 'Sticks and Stones'.2020-10-211h 21(E)STRANGE(D)41 - The Hunt Squared - 'The Hunt', 'The Hunt'In this belated episode (recorded last month at the time of the presidential debate), we talk about 'The Hunt' (Craig Zobel), 'The Hunt' (Thomas Vinterberg) and Trump's enviable curves...2020-10-201h 26(E)STRANGE(D)40 - What is War? (ft. James Greer) - 'White Tiger', 'Come and See'Writer, academic and veteran James Greer joins the podcast to discuss war and the human subject in relation to 'White Tiger' (Karen Shakhnazarov) and 'Come and See' (Elem Klimov).2020-09-181h 14
(E)STRANGE(D)39 - Witness The Shitness - 'The 13th Floor'Everything that's wrong with 'identity'.2020-09-141h 15
(E)STRANGE(D)Seminar Announcement - 13th, 15th October 2020The seminar will take place online on 13th, 15th October 2020 6-7:30pm Dublin time. You can sign up for the seminar here:
https://gcas-eschool.ie/film-seminar-fall-20202020-08-3102 min(E)STRANGE(D)38 - 'What the f*** is Happiness?' (ft. Creston Davis) - 'Sorry We Missed You'Creston Davis (founder and CEO of the Global Center for Advanced Studies) joins Helen to discuss education, financialization, the rise of tech and the possibility for something new, all in relation to Ken Loach's latest film 'Sorry We Missed You'.2020-08-2150 min
(E)STRANGE(D)37 - When the Future Comes First (ft. Todd McGowan) - Todd's top film of each decadeFilm and political theorist Todd McGowan joins us to discuss his favorite film from each decade of cinema history. Todd's most recent book, 'Universality and Identity Politics' has just been released. Previous works include 'Capitalism and Desire,' 'Enjoying What We Don't Have: The Project of Psychoanalysis' and numerous works on film theory.2020-08-021h 32(E)STRANGE(D)36 - Circumcisionality - 'The Devil, Probably', 'Two Days, One Night'Adrian and Helen talk about 'The Devil, Probably' (Robert Bresson) and 'Two Days, One Night' (the Dardennes brothers), as well as solidarity, quilting points and 'intersectionality'.2020-07-291h 09(E)STRANGE(D)35 - The Tentacles of Capital - 'Athlete A', 'Irresistible'Apologies for the subpar audio quality. This is from our live recording on Instagram. We discuss 'Athlete A' (Bonni Cohen, Jon Shenk) and 'Irresistible' (Jon Stewart). The recording cuts out very abruptly at the end. We intend to record once a month from now on on Instragram. Join us next time if you missed it.2020-07-1459 min(E)STRANGE(D)Instagram Live Announcement - July 11th 7pm UK/ 1pm Central/ 11am PST.Quick announcement that we will be recording an episode live on Instagram tomorrow July 10th 7pm UK/ 1pm Central/ 11am PST. We'll be discussing 'Irresistible' (Jon Stewart) and 'Athlete A' (Bonni Cohen, Jon Shenk). @errorspell @helen.v.rollins2020-07-1001 min(E)STRANGE(D)34 - Whores and Revolution (ft. Peter Rollins) - 'The Balcony'Peter Rollins returns to talk about the brothel as church and the move from community to communion in relation to Joseph’s Strick’s 1963 dramatization of Genet’s ‘The Balcony’.2020-06-241h 05(E)STRANGE(D)33 - A Renaissance of the DialecticAdrian and Helen are depressed, but not surprised, by the rush to capitalize on legitimate political protest.2020-06-1157 min(E)STRANGE(D)35 - The ABCs of Estranged Part 2The second installment of Encyclopedia Estranged.2020-06-081h 15(E)STRANGE(D)34 - The ABCs of Estranged Part 1An alphabetical attempt at clarity, rendering, perhaps, the podcast more obscure.2020-06-061h 02(E)STRANGE(D)32 - Hate the Sin, not the Sinner (ft. Benjamin Studebaker) - 'The Florida Project'Political theorist Benjamin Studebaker returns to talk work, structure, meritocracy and legitimation mechanisms as we discuss Sean Baker's wonderful film 'The Florida Project'.2020-05-061h 19(E)STRANGE(D)31 - Zoom Meeting (ft. Trace Bell) - 'Reds', 'The Shape of Water'Adrian and Helen try to keep up with the kids by analyzing 'Reds' (Warren Beatty) and 'The Shape of Water' (Guillermo del Toro) with member of the younger generation, Trace Bell.2020-04-291h 07(E)STRANGE(D)30 - Vitamin C (ft. Peter Rollins) - 'Allone'Peter Rollins returns with a podcast about loss, lack, ‘absolute knowledge’ and ‘Allone’ (made by us).2020-04-191h 16(E)STRANGE(D)29 - Flight of Fantasy (ft. Benjamin Studebaker) - 'Captain Fantastic'The Cambridge-based political theorist Benjamin Studebaker joins the podcast to discuss society and escape, structures and markets, illusion and disillusion, all in relation to 'Captain Fantastic' (Matt Ross).2020-04-111h 19(E)STRANGE(D)28 - Adaptation, Accusation, Apocalypse (ft. Victoria Lagrange) - 'An Officer and a Spy'Adrian and Helen talk with special guest Victoria Lagrange about Polanski, controversy and 'J'accuse'.2020-04-0557 min(E)STRANGE(D)27 - His & Hers - 'Her'A podcast about incels and 'Her' (Spike Jonze).2020-03-1756 min(E)STRANGE(D)26 - Feeling Old and Out of Touch (special Q&A episode part 2)'Long-awaited' Q&A part 2, in which we discuss Punk, Billie Eilish, feeling old, woke culture, indie arts, comedy...2020-03-171h 04(E)STRANGE(D)25 - Don't F**k With Cats (special Q&A episode part 1)In which Adrian and Helen address your most burning questions about royalty, nostalgia, fashion, technology and not being able to be criticized.2020-02-151h 10(E)STRANGE(D)24 - We Don't Wanna Be Royals (or How to Be a Class Traitor) - 'Parasite', 'Midsommar'Parasite, Midsommar, Marx, Freud, Girard, Debord.2020-02-151h 04
(E)STRANGE(D)23 - Bad Infinity and Beyond - 'Limitless'In this episode, Adrian and Helen talk about elliptical infinity in relation to 'Limitless' (Neil Burger).2020-01-0947 min
(E)STRANGE(D)23 - The Male Gayz - 'The Greatest Showman'Adrian and Helen resist the intoxicating artifice of singularity when listening to the track 'This is Me' from 'The Greatest Showman'.2019-12-311h 07
(E)STRANGE(D)22 - Mummy (Nature) Loves You - The work of Terrence MalickAdrian and Helen ask, 'is Terrence Malick a Christian?'2019-12-271h 04
(E)STRANGE(D)21 - Drugalectics - 'Enter the Void'In which Adrian and Helen investigate a dialectical, atheistic approach to transcendence in relation to 'Enter the Void' (Gaspard Noé).2019-12-1050 min
(E)STRANGE(D)20 - Agent of Decay - 'The Master'Adrian and Helen talk about self-sabotage, scientology and 'The Master' (Paul Thomas Anderson).2019-12-061h 16
(E)STRANGE(D)19 - A Temporary Placeholder for the Void - 'Joker'Adrian and Helen look at 'Joker' (Todd Phillips) and talk about why Arthur Fleck is the symptom par excellence - the contingent gristle of the real.2019-12-061h 11
(E)STRANGE(D)18 - Queen Of Hearts - 'The Green Ray'In this discussion about Éric Rohmer's 'The Green Ray', Adrian and Helen talk about meaningless signs, journeys without a destination and the healing power of the universal lack.2019-09-081h 06
(E)STRANGE(D)17 - A Boat Called Tomorrow - 'Children of Men'Adrian and Helen talk about the aestheticisation of 'politics', the struggle of a rowing boat and how oneness equals death, all in relation to 'Children of Men' by Alfonso Cuarón.2019-08-2859 min
(E)STRANGE(D)16 - 'You don't f*ck, you're f*cked' - 'Phantom Thread'Adrian and Helen talk about sensuality, sadomasochism and mushrooms in relation to 'Phantom Thread' by Paul Thomas Anderson.2019-08-111h 04
(E)STRANGE(D)15 - Caught In Someone Else's Fantasy - 'Eyes Wide Shut'Adrian and Helen talk about lizard people, the non-existant Big Other and the horror of subjectivising someone else's fantasy in relation to Kubrick's masterpiece 'Eyes Wide Shut'.2019-08-081h 11
(E)STRANGE(D)14 - Work Sucks! (ft. Tad DeLay) - 'Alien'Special guest Tad Delay - author of 'God is Unconscious', 'The Cynic and the Fool' and 'Against' - talks with Helen about work, exploitation and the end of the world in relation to Ridley Scott's 'Alien'.2019-07-241h 00
(E)STRANGE(D)13 - 'The (Anti-)Villain Makes the Picture' (ft. Peter Rollins) - 'Quantum of Solace'In this Bond-themed episode, special guest Peter Rollins joins Adrian and Helen to talk about goodies and baddies, pleasure and enjoyment, commodities and fetishes, all in relation to 'Quantum of Solace' by Marc Forster.2019-06-271h 02
(E)STRANGE(D)12 - Barbed Wire and Apples - 'First Reformed'Adrian and Helen talk about eco-terrorists, non-believing believers and 'honest' diary-keeping in relation to the film 'First Reformed' by Paul Schrader.2019-06-211h 00
(E)STRANGE(D)11 - Your Own Personal Jesus - 'Incendies'Adrian and Helen disagree then agree about the biblical story of the Prodigal Son, defend tradition (sort of) and talk about why you can't intellectualise the 'cure', all in relation to Denis Villeuneuve's 'Incendies'.2019-06-2156 min
(E)STRANGE(D)10 - As Below, So Above - 'Blue Velvet'Adrian and Helen talk about the non-topological real in relation to David Lynch's 'Blue Velvet'.
NB - we recorded this episode a few months ago. Helen ended up being very wrong about the cancellation of the Žižek-Peterson debate. She apologises!
Here is a link to the Žižek-interpretative-dance 'debate': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7l615jJTau82019-06-0252 min
(E)STRANGE(D)9 - Hystericize Me! (ft. Jamieson Webster and Marcus Coelen) - 'A Woman Under the Influence'With psychoanalysts Jamieson Webster and Marcus Coelen (co-authors of the forthcoming 'The Cambridge Introduction to Jacques Lacan'), we talk (very tangentially) about Cassavetes' film 'A Woman Under the Influence' and what it shows us about hysteria.2019-05-261h 02
(E)STRANGE(D)8 - The Joi Of Sex - 'Blade Runner 2049'Adrian wanted to call this episode 'the g(litch) spot'; Helen was too much of a coward. In this episode, we use 'Blade Runner 2049' to talk about the holographic nature of sex and why we should save the future from its 'slow cancellation'.2019-05-1759 min
(E)STRANGE(D)6 - O Daddy, Where Art Thou? - 'Archipelago'Through 'Archipelago' by Joanna Hogg, Adrian and Helen talk about posh people, repressions and why nobody wants to have sex with the lights on.2019-05-1343 min
(E)STRANGE(D)6 - The Universe's Tics And Grimaces (ft. Todd McGowan) - 'Annihilation'With special guest Todd McGowan, we talk about how 'Annihilation' shows that human's aren't 'natural'; they constitute (in Zupančič's terms) 'the tics and grimaces' of the universe.2019-05-0754 min
(E)STRANGE(D)5 - An Idiot's Guide To Marx - The Žižek-Peterson debateSpecial non-movie episode: Adrian and Helen give their luke warm takes on the Žižek-Peterson debate.2019-05-061h 15
(E)STRANGE(D)4 - Hail King Paimon! - 'Hereditary'Adrian and Helen talk about how 'Hereditary' shows that you don't have to believe in ghosts to be afraid of them.2019-04-071h 01
(E)STRANGE(D)3 - 'I dream of how he used to f***' - 'Carne Trémula' ('Live Flesh')Adrian and Helen talk about 'Live Flesh' ('Carne Trémula'), Jordan Peterson and love pentagons.2019-03-3151 min
(E)STRANGE(D)2 - Deliver your Child unto Death - 'Arrival'Adrian and Helen talk about language, life and death in relation to 'Arrival'.2019-03-3159 min
(E)STRANGE(D)1 - What Does Mia Want? - 'La La Land'Adrian and Helen talk about 'La La Land' as an expression of contemporary Western ideology.2019-03-3156 min