#poverty row classics

[ilovedamsels1962]

The Devil Bat (1940)

[schlock-luster-video]

On April 20, 1946, The Catman of Paris debuted in the United States.

Here's some new art inspired by the horror classic!

[popculturelib]

It's Crustacean Week at the BPCL, and we have another Crab Monster for you!

Roger Corman is a prolific director and producer known for his independent science fiction and horror films, among others. One of his earliest films was Attack of the Crab Monsters in 1957, which features a group of scientists who travel to an island in the Pacific to investigate why the previous scientists went missing. Turns out, they were killed by giant, telepathic crab monsters mutated by nuclear radiation. This two-page spread is from Roger Corman: King of the B Movie : Crab Monsters, Teenage Cavemen, and Candy Stripe Nurses (2013) by Chris Nashawaty and features a behind-the-scenes look at the film's production.

The Browne Popular Culture Library, founded in 1969, is the most comprehensive archive of its kind in the United States.  Our focus and mission is to acquire and preserve research materials on American Popular Culture (post 1876) for curricular and research use. Visit our website at https://www.bgsu.edu/library/pcl.html.

Transcription below the cut

Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957)

In 1957, Roger Corman directed nine movies. Shot on the cheap and usually cranked out in ten caffeinated days, Corman's output during that Eisenhower-era annus mirabilis included such drive-in diversions as Rock All Night, The Undead, and The Saga of the Viking Woman and Their Voyage to the Waters of the Great Sea Serpent. All of these films (well, most of them at least) have their merits. But there's one that stands out for its willingness to grapple with weightier questions than the fates of bobbysoxers and bargain-basement bogeymen -- the luridly titled Attack of the Crab Monsters. Distributed by Poverty Row studio Allied Artists, Crab Monsters was released on February 10, 1957, as part of a Corman sci-fi double bill alongside Not of This Earth. Taken together, these two cautionary tales form the backbone of Corman's early obsession with the apocalyptic power of the A-bomb and the hubris of well-meaning scientists who, a short decade earlier, had unleashed a new form of wrath on the world in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Written by Charles B. Griffith, who would go on to pen several other Corman classics line 1960's The Little Shop of Horrors and 1975's Death Race 2000, the $70,000 Crab Monsters kicks off with a crew of scientists arriving by seaplane on an unnamed deserted island in the South Pacific. They're there to find out what happened to a previous research team that went missing. Could it have something to do with the fact that the island is smack sab in the middle of a nuclear testing zone? Before they have a chance to find out, things go disastrously wrong: One of the seamen bringing them ashore by raft falls overboard, only to resurface missing his head. Then, as the seaplane lifts off to return to the mainland, it explodes in midair. The table is set.

The team of stranded brainiacs include Dale Drewer (Richard Garland in an ascot), Martha Hunter (Pamela Duncan wearing more makeup and tighter sweaters than one might expect in the jungle), and Hank Chapman (a pre-Gilligan's Island Russell Johnson). Soon, they discover a journal filled with ominous entries of distress and hear the mysterious disembodied voices of the dead summoning them to the island's caves, where they finally come face-to-face with...huge, radioactive, papier-mache crustaceans with claws operated by piano wire able to absorb the thoughts of any human brain they nosh on! At one point, a crab monster telepathically warns: "So, you have wounded me! I must grow a new claw, well and good! For I can do it in a day! But will you grow new legs when I have taken yours from you?"

As the victims of this atomic retribution start to pile up, Corman's chilling allegory of nuclear folly becomes a briskly paced meditation on our most destructive impulses. We've played God and now must pay for our sins. In more ways than one, Attack of the Crab Monsters is a B movie with a bite.

[image caption]

Above: Production shot from the set of Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957). Pamela Duncan practices running in terror, lest she become the next entrée in Corman's seafood smorgasbord.

[mymoviereviews]

The Boys in the Boat (2023)

Check out my review of THE BOYS IN THE BOAT (2023). Row, row, row your boat gently down the cliché stream.

The Boys in the Boat is a classic underdog story powered by the oars of a rowing team from Washington University during the Great Depression. They defy odds, poverty, and personal demons on their way to fight for Olympic gold in Hitler’s Berlin in 1936. George Clooney, as director, steers this true story with a very firm hand; however, while it does strike all the right thematic chords, it often…

[joshquagmire]

Apropos of our previous pix, here's another effort along a similar theme – a Tintype of Bronco Bunny & Kalamity Kitty filming a less than successful gun fight, while making the classic B–Western, "Shootout at Gower Gulch"... "Gower Gulch" or so I've been told, is the intersection of Sunset & Gower in Hollywood, far down in what was once the "poverty row" for small movie studios... Back in the 20s & 30s there was a li'l saloon on the corner, where ex-cowhands would hang out between jobs as riding extras – the Posse, the Outlaw gang, Indian raiders, or most any movie part that required riding a horse or driving a wagon or stagecoach... When a studio needed riders, they'd send someone down to hire whoever was there – eventually these riding extras became known as, "The Gower Gulch Gang"... They worked day to day with no security and no insurance, doing their own riding stunts... if they were injured on the job, the studios offered no help, it was just their tough luck... There's a fascinating book, "The Hollywood Posse" written by Diana Serra Cary, who's father was one of these ex-cowboy riding extras for many years, riding for Bronco Billy & Tom Mix, to Cecil B. DeMille's crusader epics...

[livefordrama]

Reviewing Drama’s I Have Watched Part 10

Finally made it to double digits! Once again, here is my rating system:  1- Did not like, 2- Enjoyed but probably wouldn’t watch again, 3- Enjoyed and would watch some episodes again/may watch again, 4- Enjoyed and would watch again, 5- Loved

Korean Drama

You Raise Me Up: 4

Trigger Warnings: Anxiety attacks, Suicide attempt, Blood, Gore, Talk of insecurities and hating self.

You raise me up is a romantic comedy about a man who is incredibly insecure due to his failing of the civil service exam many years in a row which causes him be unable to become aroused. He seeks out a urologist to aid in his issues, however to his horror, his urologist is his first love who just so happens to have been bragging about him to her ex. She becomes determined to return him to the man he once was in order to save her pride.

This show was actually pretty good despite it’s more awkward scenes that give you second-hand embarrassment. I had to pause and walk away a few times due it just being so painfully awkward but it was really funny and super cute. I think it’s a good comedy for those who enjoy some drama with lots of silly, inappropriate jokes, and some cute romance. 

Hotel Del Luna: 4

Trigger Warnings: Blood, Violence, Death, Suicide threats, Gore, Non-con themes, Jump scares, Murder. 

Hotel Del Luna is a dark retelling of Beauty and the Beast where the girl is the Beast. It follows a young woman who was cursed to run a hotel and help lost souls pass on to the afterlife to pay back for her sins while living. She has been unable to get over her grudge for thousands of years and thus cannot be reborn. One day, she finds a living man in her hotel for the dead stealing a flower from her tree. She goes to kill him but after he begs to be set free for his son, she instead makes a deal with him that when his son is of age, said son will come to the hotel to work with her. After he becomes of age, the son is indeed taken to work at the hotel but it’s she who begins to regret her own deal. The two may just be tied together in a way neither imagined.

I really enjoyed this movie, it was dark yet pretty, the soundtrack and overall aesthetic were perfect. The only reason I give it a four is because is started to drag and get kind of boring towards the end only to feel rushed in the last few episodes. I wish the pacing was a little better but other than that it was very good. I highly recommend to those who enjoy classic story retellings with a twist, as well as those who enjoy gothic romance vibes. 

The Sound of Magic: 5

Trigger Warnings: SA, Bullying, Death, Neglect, Assault, Suicide, Mental breakdowns, Murder, Panic attacks, Abuse. 

The Sound of Magic is a dark musical about a girl growing up in poverty having to raise her little sister after her parents both abandoned them, who lives her life only to make ends meet. She wanders into the nearby abandoned amusement park where rumors of a real magician are spreading. There she meets the magician who tries his best to convince her that magic is real and to not only believe but allow herself to have fun and not have to worry about anything even if it’s just for a moment. Her along with the top student at school, start to take lessons with the magician however not everything is as it seems when more rumors spread and more people start to go missing. 

I absolutely loved this musical, it’s my first Korean musical and it exceeded every expectation I had. It was delightfully dark and mysterious while also being enchanting and magical. The storyline, singing, acting, it was all perfect. I only wish it had a few more episodes to cover some questions I had but overall it was spectacular and I highly recommend. Make sure to stay for after the credits on the final episode though, trust me. 

Moonshine: 4

Trigger Warnings: Murder, Death, Violence, Drunkenness, Blood, PTSD, Anxiety Attack, Torture.

Moonshine is set during the alcohol prohibition in Joseon Era Korea. It follows low ranking noble who, after finding herself in debt, decides to secretly make and sell alcohol and an investigator who stubborn holds onto his beliefs. Due to circumstances the two end up living in the same home. They start off as enemies but as their paths begin to entangle, they find themselves working together, along with the mischievous prince and romantic daughter of the minister of war, to reveal the truth behind the prohibition and their pasts.

I really enjoyed this series, it has enemies to lovers, found family, mystery, tragedy, fun characterization, and great writing. I saw many say that this show is “just about alcohol” and that couldn’t be farther from the truth. This show is about the struggle of sticking to your beliefs and loving someone who has a different set of beliefs, how powerful people will manipulate and sacrifice whoever they can to become more powerful, and how nothing is truly as it seems. I ended up watching this whole series in three days and enjoyed every minute of it and it ended exactly as I had hoped which is a huge plus. 

The Best Hit (Hit The Top): 5

Trigger Warnings: Terminal Illness

The Best Hit is a Comedy about a 90′s kpop idol who after a special storm, is teleported 20 years into the future where he discovers not only has he been missing for 19 years, but his family and friends all hate him because of his actions during that missing year. He know has to keep his identity a secret while trying to figure out exactly what happened that missing year to cause him to go missing. However, the longer he stays in the future the more he finds himself hesitant to go back.

(Spoilers ahead) Now hear me out, I know this show is on the controversial side because of the love triangle, but I genuinely enjoyed it. I loved the main lead with the girl, to me they had the most chemistry and the cutest scenes. I know a lot of people hated it because his “son” also had a crush on her and the age gap, but those feelings were never returned in the slightest, and they were both consenting adults who were physically and mentally the same age through wibbly wobbly timey whimey stuff. Not to mention, the main lead never even knew the mother or the son in his timeline and is from a completely different timeline (as seen when he can go back and see himself as well as he can exist in the future without affecting it). Plus the immediate ick and subsequent termination of any support of the son being with the girl the moment he told her that her feelings didn’t matter and that he would pursue her romantically no matter what she said. That just is disgusting to me, I don’t care how long you waited to tell her your feelings, her feelings are just as valid and important as yours, accept that she only sees you as a friend and move on. I saw a ton of people calling the couple disgusting and wrong and I just don’t see why, I mean he has less of an age gap even without the time skip than most “immortal falls for reborn love” kdrama which I also love dearly, don’t get me wrong. I think the winning couple was the best option and the ending was super cute. I do wish the son got with the female idol though, that was such a cute dynamic. (Spoilers end)

Okay, small rant over this show was hilarious, sad, and adorable. I enjoyed every second of it and binged it in only a few days. It had me on the edge of my seat wanting to see what happened next. I loved watching the characters become a family again. The romantic scenes were super cute and the funny scenes were my type of humor. Yoon shi yoon’s singing is also really great, I wasn’t expecting that but the song got stuck in my head for days. It’s got a lot of episodes but they are only about 30 minutes long so it’s perfect or a quick watch. 

Your Honor: 4

Trigger Warnings: Kidnapping, Torture, SA, SH, Suicide, Abuse.

Your Honor is about two twins who lead very different lives; one is a cold, arrogant lawyer, the other is a criminal who loves too much. After the lawyer goes missing one night, the criminal takes the opportunity to make some money and change his life by pretending to be his twin. However, he soon begins to become too attached not only to his new identity but to the student lawyer under him. After his brother returns, he has to figure out how to lead his own life without falling back into his old lifestyle. 

I know, I know. Two Shi-Yoon shows in a row? To that I say absolutely, he always does such a good job and sometimes I just wanna marathon new shows he stars in as they are always so good. (Also, I watched You Raise Me Up when it was airing so that one doesn’t count.) This show was no different, I love the drama that comes with the twins dynamic as more of the backstory gets revealed. I will say the court scenes are not at all accurate to the point of being laughable but it is very interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed watching all the ups and downs the plot goes through as the story carries on. I will say, I did give it a four due to how rushed the ending felt. I’m not saying it needed a super happy ending, I love my fair share of bittersweet endings, but this one really felt incomplete. I wish the characters got more closure than they did and that we had a proper interaction between the twins. Other than that, it was amazing and I highly recommend to those who enjoy drama, romance, humor, and a long watch for it has many episodes. 

Clean with Passion for Now: 5

Trigger Warnings: OCD, Panic Attacks, Mysophobia, Self-harm, Suicide Attempt.

Clean with Passion for Now is a romantic comedy based off a webtoon of the same name. It is about Jang Sun-Gyeol, a man with mysophobia, and Gil O-Sol, a girl who is very messy. They start off disliking each other because of their views on cleanliness, but as they learn to understand each other and the struggles they both have to face, they begin to realize they gained feelings for each other. 

This show was super cute! It’s like a perfect mixture of “My Shy Boss” and “I Am Not A Robot” both of which I adore. I feel like I just really like the trope of “Quiet, misunderstood CEO falls in love with struggling girl who is the exact opposite of him.” bonus points if they start off not liking each other and through a traumatic incident, realize each others struggles. The storyline was super cute, if a little gross and cringy in some scenes, and the characters were lovable, especially towards the end. The romance had me both laughing and awing, sometimes at the same time. I honestly liked all the versions of the love triangle, every ship had the potential and chemistry. My favorite scenes with no context are definitely the umbrella scene and the drunk scene. I did have a issue with how long the conflict took to be solved in comparison to how quickly it was solved and wrapped up. I wish the conflict could have gotten solved earlier, so we could have seen more of the wrap-up without it feeling as rushed as it did. Despite this, I really enjoyed watching and loved how it ended. 

 WebDrama

Blue Birthday: 4

Trigger Warnings: Suicide, Blood, Mourning, Murder, Gore, Self-harm.

Blue Birthday is a drama about a girl who lost her best friend and crush in high school, after getting some film developed from his camera years later she finds she can travel back in time to the day of the picture. Now she tries everything she can to make sure he survives but is she willing to pay the price of saving a life?

This show was really sad and kept you thinking about what could possibly come next. It was filled with twists and turns and I really enjoyed every second of it. It is super sad and dark so be careful when watching in case you are sensitive to any of the above triggers as it is graphic. 

The Great Shaman Ga Doo Shim: 5

Trigger Warnings: Bullying, Suicide, SH, Murder, Demonic Possession. 

The Great Shaman Ga Doo Shim is about a young girl who comes from a long line of powerful shaman, however she never wants to become one herself after witnessing the dangers and alienation that comes form the job. Unfortunately, she doesn’t get much of a choice as her mother transfers her to a school where the bottom ranking student always dies of mysterious causes. Causes that could only be an evil spirit. Now she and the schools top student, who she gives shaman abilities after her grandmother possesses him, must figure out how to stop the slaughter of their fellow classmates before they all die. 

This webdrama was amazing! I loved every moment of it and binge watched it in less than a day. I adore the relationship between the characters and the way the shaman powers are shown both humorously and also dramatically so that you understand that it’s a burdensome power but without making the show too dark. I will say I was thrown for a loop when (slight spoiler) we find out that Woo-soo’s future vision ability is not a shaman ability at the very last episode and it never explains why he has such an ability. My personal headcanon is that he always had it and that’s why the grandmother chose him, cause she knew he would be a powerful shaman and aid as he already had powers of his own. (spoiler end) There is a cute little puppy love romance that is so satisfying and the friendships are all adorable though I wish they actually explained how the highest ranking and lowest ranking classmates became close friends. Like they are so protective over each other and they talk like there’s a story only to brush it off when asked and it’s never actually explained. I just wish there was more explanation in general but I guess that’s what you get when you watch a webdrama. They don’t have enough time to explain everything so you’re left with so many questions, or maybe I just over think. Anyway, I adore this show and recommend to those who love supernatural stuff, drama, puppy love romance, and some cool but subtle super powers. 

[docrotten]

BLUEBEARD (1944) – Episode 179 – Decades Of Horror: The Classic Era

“I don’t smoke. But I always have matches with me. I find they frequently come in handy.” You never know when you or someone you’re with might want to signal someone by lighting a match. Join this episode’s Grue-Crew – Daphne Monary-Ernsdorff and Jeff Mohr with guests Michael Zatz and Gregory Crosby – as they discuss Bluebeard (1944), a film far exceeding its poverty-row origin.

Decades of Horror: The Classic Era Episode 179 – Bluebeard (1944)

Join the Crew on the Gruesome Magazine YouTube channel! Subscribe today! And click the alert to get notified of new content! https://youtube.com/gruesomemagazine

ANNOUNCEMENT Decades of Horror The Classic Era is partnering with THE CLASSIC SCI-FI MOVIE CHANNEL, THE CLASSIC HORROR MOVIE CHANNEL, and WICKED HORROR TV CHANNEL Which all now include video episodes of The Classic Era! Available on Roku, AppleTV, Amazon FireTV, AndroidTV, Online Website. Across All OTT platforms, as well as mobile, tablet, and desktop. https://classicscifichannel.com/; https://classichorrorchannel.com/; https://wickedhorrortv.com/

  In Paris, an artist hires portrait models, and after he finishes their portraits, he strangles them.

Directed by: Edgar G. Ulmer

Writing Credits: Pierre Gendron (screenplay); Arnold Lipp (as Arnold Phillips) and Werner H. Furst (story)

Produced by: Leon Fromkess (producer); Martin Mooney (associate producer) 

Music by: Leo Erdody (as Erdody)

Cinematography by: Eugen Schüfftan (uncredited); Jockey Arthur Feindel (camera operator) (director of photography) (as Jockey A. Feindel) (credit only)

Production Design: Edgar G. Ulmer (uncredited)

Selected Cast:

John Carradine as Gaston Morel

Jean Parker as Lucille Lutien

Nils Asther as Inspector Jacques Lefevre

Ludwig Stössel as Jean Lamarte (as Ludwig Stossel)

George Pembroke as Inspector Renard

Teala Loring as Francine Lutien

Sonia Sorel as Renee Claremont

Henry Kolker as Deschamps

Emmett Lynn as Le Soldat

Iris Adrian as Mimi Robert

Patti McCarty as Babette

Carrie Devan as Constance

Anne Sterling as Jeanette Le Beau

Harry Cording as Policeman (uncredited)

Frank Darien as Inquiry Judge (uncredited)

Bess Flowers as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)

Mabel Forrest as Woman (uncredited) (unconfirmed)

Eddie Hall as Paul (uncredited)

John Maxwell Hayes as Man (uncredited) (unconfirmed)

George Irving as The Duke of Carineaux (uncredited)

Ethelreda Leopold as Laughing Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)

Jeff and Daphne are joined by guest hosts Gregory Crosby and Michael Zatz, for a John Carradine extravaganza. Director Edgar G. Ulmer, along with Carradine, an accomplished cast, and a ringer for a cinematographer spin an effective and atmospheric tale about the serial killer known as “Bluebeard” with style, class, and unexpected charm. While on the fringes of horror, Bluebeard should not be missed. Check out what the Grue-Crew has to say if you need more convincing.

At the time of this writing, Bluebeard is available to stream from the Classic Horror Movie Channel, Wicked Horror TV, Amazon Prime, MGM+, Screambox, Tubi, and PlutoTV. It is also available on physical media as the standard Blu-ray format 80th Anniversary Edition from Kino Lorber.

Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror: The Classic Era records a new episode every two weeks. Up next in their very flexible schedule, as chosen by Doc, is The Lost Continent (1968), the Hammer film that features blood beasts, torture pits, giant jaw-snapping mollusks, a floating death ship, crazed kelp monsters, and fiery destruction … at least, according to the poster. A couple of familiar faces will join the Classic Era Grue Crew: Bill Mulligan (Decades of Horror 1970s and 1980s) and Richard Klemensen, the publisher of The Little Shoppe of Horrors: The Journal of Classic British Horror Films and the voice you hear on the commentary for the Scream Factory Blu-ray of The Lost Continent.

Please let them know how they’re doing! They want to hear from you – the coolest, grooviest fans: leave them a message or leave a comment on the Gruesome Magazine YouTube channel, the site, or email the Decades of Horror: The Classic Era podcast hosts at feedback@gruesomemagazine.com

To each of you from each of them, “Thank you so much for watching and listening!”

Check out this episode!

[aboutanancientenquiry]

The Influence of Herodotus on the Political and Moral Philosophy of Aristotle (VI)

Dimka Gisheva-Gocheva (Sofia) “The influence of Herodotus on the practical philosophy of Aristotle” (Labyrinth, Vol. 18, No. 2, Winter 2016, available on https://www.academia.edu/37571279/DIMKA_GICHEVA_GOCHEVA_Sofia_The_Influence_of_Herodotus_on_the_Practical_Philosophy_of_Aristotle)  

“7. Conclusion

Herodotus is a true anthropologist, political and ethical thinker, and philosopher of history. He is not just a modest historiographer of chronicles, because in all the stories he looks for the real understanding of man and the causes of the events. His main concern always is the answer to the question "why did it happen", and not just "what and how did it happen". He is confident in the answers for the causes of the victory (VII 138-139): the Athenians saved the whole Hellas, because they were free. Earlier in the same book (VII102) he writes that in contrast to the enormous wealth and territory of the empire of the invaders10, poverty was always a neighbor to Hellas, but nevertheless the virtue of the Greeks was firm and invincible. However, the liberty of the majority of the Greek city-states, and the resistance to the despotic and authoritarian rules in the bigger part of them never was a source of anarchy, because the master which all of them 11 obeyed unconditionally was the law (104). The divided and competing city-states reached some form of unity not only because they were threatened by the mighty enemy, but also because of the underlying bonds between them. For the shaping out of the united Hellas VII (136), the engendering prerequisite was that all those formerly conflicting city-states were inhabited by people,who have the same blood, the same tongue, the same sanctuaries and temples devoted to the same gods; the same habits, rituals and traditions (VІІІ, 144; see also Fritz 1967, 243 and Jäger 1973, XV). However, his most important moral is: 

There was nothing they had so much at heart as the salvation of Greece, and they knew that, if they quarreled among themselves among the command, Greece wouldbe brought to ruin. (VІІІ, 3)12.

 Assoc. Prof.  Dr. Dimka Guicheva-Gocheva, Faculty of Philosophy,Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski, gichevagoc[at]phls.uni-sofia.bg

10 The number of the invaders is exactly 5 283 220 (VІІ, 186).

11 "Surely the heaven will soon be below, and the earth above, and men will henceforth live in the sea, and fish take their place upon the dry land, since you, Lacedaemonians, propose to put down free governments in the cities of Greece, and to set up tyrannies in their room. There is nothing in the whole world so unjust, nothing so bloody, as a tyranny" (V, 92). There are ‘small' exemplary stories (of some deeds) of more than 50 tyrants in more than 50 Greek polices in the History.

12 See also Christopher Pelling on Le Miroir d'Hérodote (Pelling 1988)

References

Aristotelis Ethica Nicomachea, Bywater, Ingram (transl.) Oxonii, 1890.

 Susemihl, Franciscus and Otto Appelt (ed.). Aristotelis Ethica Nicomachea,. Lipsiae: in aedibus B.G. Teubneri, 1903. 

Aristoteles. Die Nikomachische Ethik . Eingeleitet und Übertragen von Olof Gigon. Zürich: Artemis Verlag, 1951.

Dirlmeier, Franz (transl.). Aristoteles. Die Nikomachische Ethik . Übertragen von Franz Dirlmeier.Berlin: Reclam, 1979. 

Chase, Drummond Percy. The Nicomachean Ethics of Aristotle. Translated by D.P. Chase. London& Toronto: M. Dent & Sons Ltd. 1911, 1934.

Rackham, Harris (transl.). Aristotle.The Nicomachean Ethics. Wordsworth Classics of World Literature. Ware, Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions, 1996. 

Aristotle. The Nicomachean Ethics. Translated and edited by Roger Crisp. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000 Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics. Translation, Introduction and Commentary Sarah Broadie and Christopher Rowe. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.

Aristote. L'Ėthique à Nicomaque. Introduction, traduction et commentaire par R.A. Gauthier (op.p.) et Jean Yves Jolif  (op.p.).Louvain: Publications universitaires de Louvain, 1958.

Hérodote. Histoires. Texte établi et traduit par P. E. Legrand, 9 vol. Paris: Les Belles Lettres, 1:1932;2:1930; 3:1939; 4 (3rd edn.):1960; 5:1946; 6:1948; 7:1951; 8:1953; 9:1954 (repr. 1:1970; 2:1963;3:1967; 5:1968; 6:1963; 7:1963; 8:1964; 9:1968):

Crisp, Roger and Trevor J. Saunders. "Aristotle: Ethics and politics", in Furley, David (ed.) Routledge History of Philosophy. Vol. II. From Aristotle to Augustine. London: Routledge, 1997, 109-146.

Fritz, Kurt von. Die griechische Geschichtsschreibung. Band I :Von den Anfängen bis Thukydides. Berli:, De Gruyter, 1967.

Furley, David (ed.) Routledge History of Philosophy.Vol. II. From Aristotle to Augustine. London and New York: Routledge, 1997.

Herodotus. The Histories. Translated by George Rawlinson (1858) with an Introduction by Rosalind Thomas. London: David Campbell Publishers, 1997.

Jäger, Werner. PAIDEIA. The Ideals of Greek culture. Vol. I: Archaic Greece. The Mind of Athens . Oxford University Press, 1965.

Kraut, Richard. Aristotle. Political Philosophy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. 

Pelling, Christopher. The Mirror of Herodotus (1988) [online: http://www.dur.ac.uk/Classics/histos/1997/pelling.html] [A remark from me (aboutanancientenquiry): this text of Christopher Pelling has in fact as title ‘East is East and West is West-or are they? National stereotypes in Herodotus” and contains a criticism of the influential book of François Hartog ‘Le Miroir d’Hérodote” (”The Mirror of Herodotus”)]   

Platonis Dialogi secundum Thrasylli Tetralogias dispositi ex recognitione Caroli Friderici Hermanni.Vol. IV, Lipsiae, in aedibus B. G. Teubneri. MDCCCLXXXIII. 

Raaflaub, Kurt, A. Josiah Ober and Robert W. Wallace. Origins of Democracy in Ancient Greece. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2007.

Reinhardt, Karl." Herodots Persergeschichten, Gyges und sein Ring", in idem, Vermäechtnis der Antike. Gesammelte Essays zur Philosophie und Geschichtsschreibung. Göttingen: Vandenhoeckund Ruprecht, 1960,133 – 183.

Rowe, Christopher (ed.). The Cambridge History of Greek and Roman Political Thought, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000.

Wolf, Erik. Griechisches Rechtsdenken. Bd. I-IV, Frankfurt am Main: Vittorio Klostermann.1950-1970.”

[swampflix]

Podcast #179: A Detour into 1940s Noir

Welcome to Episode #179 of The Swampflix Podcast. For this episode, Brandon, James, Britnee, and Hanna discuss a grab bag of 1940s noir classics, starting with Edgar G. Ulmer’s Poverty Row cheapie Detour (1945). 00:00 Welcome 01:04 Infinity Pool (2023)06:12 Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story (1995)08:53 The Big Chill (1983)13:51 Deep End (1970)19:10 The 4th Man (1983) 26:23 Detour (1945)46:44 The…

[mariacallous]

oh, hello professor stuart...

What are you reading now?

FS: For the last decade or so, I’ve developed the habit of keeping two books on my bedside table at any given time, reading a bit of both each night as I wind down. The first is typically a newly published ethnography, which helps me stay current in my field. Right now, it’s Policing the Racial Divide: Urban Growth Politics and the Remaking of Segregation, by Daanika Gordon. The book takes us throughout daily life in Rust Belt city via police ride-alongs, community meetings, and other public events. Gordon weaves a fresh analysis of how police departments do more than merely respond to the racialized issues emanating from histories of segregation; rather, they are key, active authors in creating and reproducing the urban color line. As urban sociologists, geographers, and political economists continue to take policing more seriously, this book feels like the first of a new era of much-needed scholarship.

The second book in my bedside rotation is always a fantasy novel. My obsession with the genre is something I’ve kept very quiet around colleagues, until now, I suppose. I’m currently wrapping up the fifth and final book of Brent Weeks’s Lightbringer series. It follows a young orphan challenging an empire ruled by religious authoritarianism, palace intrigue, and, yes, a healthy dose of magic. Weeks’ series is deeply ethnographic, with complex worldbuilding that stretches between the multiple thousand-page books. I’m especially fond of the detailed maps on the first few pages, which let me follow the protagonist’s journey across mountain ranges and oceans. In my first book, Down, Out, and Under Arrest, which documents policing’s ripple effects across everyday life in LA’s Skid Row, I designed and included a map of the neighborhood as a kind of homage to my favorite fantasy writers. I also find myself dog-earing pages of fantasy novels when I spot literary tricks and grammatical moves I hope to try out in my own prose.          

What book has had the most impact on your career?

FS: Without a doubt, the book that has had the biggest impact on my career is Mitchell Duneier’s masterful 1999 book, Sidewalk. It’s an ethnography of Black, precariously housed magazine vendors who set up shop on Sixth Avenue in New York’s Greenwich Village. Through Duneier’s fieldwork, we see how the vendors become “eyes on the street” to enhance safety for vulnerable populations, provide mentorship to young Black men in the local service economy, and act as key “nodes” that link residents across racial, class, and generational lines. Throughout his analysis, Duneier “zooms out,” tracing how structural forces, like deindustrialization and zero-tolerance policing, have aligned to bring the vendors to this location and hound their continued existence. He also “zooms in” to the interactional level using conversation analysis (CA), measuring split second pauses and turn-taking to show how vendors’ seemingly innocuous chatter with passersby constitutes a form of “interactional vandalism” that intimidates women and reinforcing stereotypes about Black men. Stylistically, Sidewalk often reads more like a novel, with flowing dialogue punctuated with beautiful black and white photos from the Chicago Tribune’s Ovie Carter.

A few years after its release, Sidewalk was also the subject of arguably the most famous book review symposium in sociology, generating a heated back-and-forth between Duneier and Berkeley’s Loïc Wacquant on the issues of transparency, representation, and the role of urban ethnography in the fetishization of poverty. I return to the debate every time I start a new project.  

What is your favorite book to teach?

FS: In just about every class I teach, I look for new ways to put Mary Pattillo’s now-classic Black Picket Fences: Privilege and Peril among the Black Middle Class on the syllabus. I start by showing students how Pattillo uses the opening “setting” section—often a perfunctory, forgettable part of a book—to set up a wonderful empirical puzzle. Walking the reader through a tour of the “Groveland” neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side, Pattillo paints a scene where, because of intergenerational segregation, middle class Black residents, banks, and churches share walls and sidewalks with low-income Black residents, subsidized housing, and check cashing outlets. How, Pattillo leads us to ask, does this unique cross-class proximity structure everyday life and social organization for the Black middle class? In answering, Pattillo deploys several analytical strategies that I pass on to my students. She shows the underestimated power of creating typologies, finding variation among Groveland residents (for example, whether they internalize or merely perform “street culture”), and then showing how variation along these lines leads to differing outcomes. She also leverages the power of “deviant” cases to show how certain people blur the boundaries of ideal types, forcing us to rethink and refine many of our taken-for-granted theoretical categories. The book is simultaneously a lesson on how to write about participants and their communities, especially those who occupy marginalized social positions. Pattillo’s empathy and respect shine through on every page, from the pseudonyms she chooses to the biographical details she shares (and doesn’t share) with the reader.

Do you have a favorite moment as a researcher, maybe an encounter that unexpectedly changed your way of thinking or the direction of a project?

FS: I’m proud of the fact that I’ve had quite a few occasions where an experience radically reshaped my prior assumptions and the direction of the entire project, usually for the better. One that I won’t ever forget came in the early stages of my research for my second book, Ballad of the Bullet. The book follows a group of young Black men on Chicago’s South Side as they strive for popularity—and an income—in the digital economy. They spent their days recording and uploading a homemade genre of gangsta rap, sometimes referred to as “drill music” to YouTube. Then, they turn to their multiple social media platforms to try to authenticate the hardened criminal personas they crafted in their songs. A music video about committing a drive-by shooting might be accompanied on Twitter with talk of potential victims and Instagram photos holding a gun out of a car window. When done well, it’s easy to start believing that young men in the drill scene might actually do the deeds they rap about. That’s their intention, after all—to lure in voyeuristic, middle-class audiences looking for a glimpse into ghetto life.

I’m embarrassed to admit that I had bought into quite a few of their performances of “badness.” Of course, I knew that they weren’t nearly as violent as they wanted their typical audiences to believe. But when I really got to know them, I learned that the vast majority of their posts weren’t just exaggerations, they were utter fabrications. Some of the men known as the most violent had never actually fired a gun, and even avoided conflict. Focusing instead on these young men’s inauthenticity, and their strategies of performance, let me highlight their savvy creativity amid some incredible structural obstacles.

What is the best career advice you ever received?

FS: When I was in grad school at UCLA, Elijah Anderson gave a talk in our department. At one point in the question-and-answer portion he made an off-the-cuff comment that the best sociology is sometimes just documenting how “regular” people—as in, non-sociologists—do sociology in their day to day lives. Whether at work, at home, at church, or on a date, people run into recurring dilemmas and vexing situations. Just like us “licensed” sociologists, they try to figure these things out, collecting data, forming hypotheses, testing hunches, assessing their findings, and implementing the lessons learned. It’s our job, then, to figure out how different people walk though these common phases. This idea really stuck with me and colors how I approach research, writing, and teaching. Maybe the thing I love most is that it encourages us to move from deficit-based approaches to asset-based ones that rethink even the most marginalized groups as creative problem solvers.

If you could have dinner with two sociologists, living or passed, who would they be and why?

FS: Karl Marx and Erving Goffman. These are the two sociologists that have influenced me the most intellectually and personally. These are, in my opinion, the two most brilliant thinkers in history. But I’ve always felt a tension between the core premises of their work, especially around what explains social life and outcomes. For Marx, the key explanations rest at the macro level of political economy, in the structural relationships between classes. Marx seems hardly concerned with what goes on during micro-level interactions between people. For Goffman, it’s mostly the opposite, privileging interactions and bounded situations while paying much less attention to macro level forces. And yet, when we look out at the world, there’s plenty of evidence that both are “right.” I’d love to pour the two of them a few stiff cocktails and see if we can find the common threads running through their thinking.

[schlock-luster-video]

On August 17, 1948, The Mad Monster debuted on television in New York City.

[ekho-ekho-ekho]

like, look, maybe I ask you "Why does Ron DeSantis think all babies are gifts from God?" and maybe you say, "Because he's a fascist who wants to roll back abortion rights, subjugate women, and in so doing perpetuate the cycle of poverty for generations to come?"

and yeah, all those things are true, but it's mostly because Ron DeSantis has never had sex, not even once, not even ever, and his wife had to explain their three kids somehow. zing! ya ge it? see, the joke is that his wife cucked him and then claimed immaculate conception. and then he fell for it. three times in a row. classic!

to which you might reply that, hmm, well, actually, there's nothing wrong with being a virgin. so I shouldn't insult Ronboy by suggesting he's a virgin because that implies there's something wrong and shameful about virgins. and also there's nothing wrong with non-monogamous partnerships so actually I'm perpetuating purity culture AND slut-shaming at the same time, which is super problematic, and--

and you have already missed the point. the point isn't "haha virgins are lame and sex is dirty," the point is that Ron does think those things and Ron keeps making it other peoples' problem so Ron can suck my dick.

see, when I talk shit about somebody, and maybe this is just me, but I like to say stuff that I think would actually hurt their feelings if they heard me. fascists aren't ashamed of being fascists, but they are afraid to have their masculinity called into question. and, well, if a flagrantly evil man walks around with a target on his back and the words "SEXUAL INSECURITY" painted across the bullseye . . . yeah, no, I'm taking the shot.

unpopular opinion maybe, but not every insult represents the tip of an Unfortunate Implications Iceberg. sometimes the point of an insult is simply to piss off that guy you hate.

[screamscenepodcast]

74 years after his death, your deadicated hosts review Rondo Hatton's last film THE BRUTE MAN (1946)! It's the most famous of Hatton's Creeper films, co-starring Jane Adams, Tom Neal, and Jan Wiley, and directed by Jean Yarbrough.

Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 23:53; Discussion 31:48; Ranking 55:00

[ilovedamsels1962]

1944

[chaptertwo-thepacnw]

[docrotten]

CURSE OF THE CRIMSON ALTAR (1968, THE CRIMSON CULT) – Episode 178 – Decades Of Horror: The Classic Era

“You both know the rules. No painting below the belt.” Is this a half-bodypainting party? Join this episode’s Grue-Crew – Chad Hunt and Jeff Mohr along with guest hosts Michael Zatz and Joseph Perry – as they discuss the horror icon-studded Curse of the Crimson Altar (1968) from Tigon.

Decades of Horror: The Classic Era Episode 178 – Curse of the Crimson Altar (1968)

Join the Crew on the Gruesome Magazine YouTube channel! Subscribe today! And click the alert to get notified of new content! https://youtube.com/gruesomemagazine

ANNOUNCEMENT Decades of Horror The Classic Era is partnering with THE CLASSIC SCI-FI MOVIE CHANNEL, THE CLASSIC HORROR MOVIE CHANNEL, and WICKED HORROR TV CHANNEL Which all now include video episodes of The Classic Era! Available on Roku, AppleTV, Amazon FireTV, AndroidTV, Online Website. Across All OTT platforms, as well as mobile, tablet, and desktop. https://classicscifichannel.com/; https://classichorrorchannel.com/; https://wickedhorrortv.com/

When his brother Peter disappears, Robert Manning visits the remote country house from where his brother was last heard. While his host seems outwardly friendly and his niece more demonstrably so, Manning detects a feeling of menace in the air with the legend of Lavinia Morley, the Black Witch of Greymarsh, hanging over everything.

  Directed by: Vernon Sewell

Writing Credits: Mervyn Haisman & Henry Lincoln (screenplay); Jerry Sohl (story); Louis M. Heyward & Gerry Levy (uncredited); H.P. Lovecraft (story “The Dreams in the Witch House”) (uncredited)

Selected Cast:

Boris Karloff as Professor John Marsh

Christopher Lee as Morley

Mark Eden as Robert Manning

Barbara Steele as Lavinia Morley

Michael Gough as Elder

Virginia Wetherell as Eve Morley

Rosemarie Reede as Esther

Rupert Davies as The Vicarr

Derek Tansley as Judge

Michael Warren as Chauffeur

Ron Pember as Petrol Attendant

Denys Peek as Peter Manning

Nicholas Head as Blacksmith

Nita Lorraine as Woman with whip

Lita Scott as Girl with Cockerel

Boris Karloff, Christopher Lee, Michael Gough, and Barbara freakin’ Steele all in one groovy pic?! Sign us up! Join Jeff and Chad with returning co-host Joseph Perry and guest host Mikey Z for Curse of the Crimson Altar, aka The Crimson Cult. While horror fans and monster kids may enjoy seeing these great horror stars together, Christopher Lee, unfortunately, regarded the film as one of the worst in his entire career. Ouch. Say it isn’t so. Regardless, the Grue-Crew revisits this film, discussing the uncut UK version versus the US AIP cut version, the actors and crew… and – did we mention – Barbara Steele.

At the time of this writing, The Curse of the Crimson Altar is available to stream from the Classic Horror Movie Channel, Wicked Horror TV, Tubi, and several PPV options.

Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror: The Classic Era records a new episode every two weeks. Up next in their very flexible schedule, as chosen by Jeff, is Bluebeard (1944), a poverty row picture directed by Edgar G. Ulmer starring John Carradine in what might be his best role.

Please let them know how they’re doing! They want to hear from you – the coolest, grooviest fans: leave them a message or leave a comment on the Gruesome Magazine YouTube channel, the site, or email the Decades of Horror: The Classic Era podcast hosts at feedback@gruesomemagazine.com

To each of you from each of them, “Thank you so much for watching and listening!”

Check out this episode!