My Superpower: Djibril al-Ayad (Ten Years of The Future Fire)
My Superpower is a regular guest column on the Skiffy and Fanty blog where authors and creators tell us about one weird skill, neat trick, highly specialized cybernetic upgrade, or other superpower they have, and how it helped (or hindered!) their creative process as they built their project. Today, we welcome Djibril al-Ayad to talk about how the power of invisibility relates to Ten Years of The Future Fire. If I were to choose my own superpower, it would probably be flight — not the most useful ability in this day and age, but I bet the most fun! Even in dreams I can only fly a few inches off the ground, and then only with increasing, agonising concentration after a few seconds. It enables me to cross a wide street while only stepping on the kerbs, but not much else. I guess we don’t get to choose our own superpower.
#37. Ex Machina (2015) — A Shoot the WISB Subcast
http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/ShootTheWISB37ExMachina/ShootTheWisb37–ExMachina.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSThe Turing test, eccentric billionaires, and the singularity, oh my! In this special edition of Shoot the WISB, Alex takes Shaun and Paul on a journey through Alex Garland’s directorial debut, Ex Machina. We explore the film’s treatment of AI, its themes, its women, and much more! We hope you enjoy the episode! Note: If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show! Spoiler Alert: the following podcast contains spoilers for the film being reviewed; if you wish to see the film without having it ruined for you, download this podcast and save it for later.
277. So You Want to Start a Podcast (Live at CONvergence w/ Clayton Faits, Jeff Adams, Jeffrey Gardner, and Michael Damian Thomas)
http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFEpisode277SoYouWantToStartAPodcastAtCONvergence/SandF%20–%20Episode%20277%20–%20So%20You%20Want%20to%20Start%20a%20Podcast%20at%20CONvergence.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSMics, audio flukes, and giggly hosts, oh my! Are you interested in starting a podcast? Well, a few weeks ago, we recorded a panel on podcasting at CONvergence with a whole bunch of awesome podcasting people! We didn’t cover everything we could, so feel free to send an email if you have any questions. We hope you enjoy the episode! Note: If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show! Here’s the episode (show notes are below): Episode 277 — Download (MP3) Show Notes:
276. Live at CONvergence! Space and Its Discontents (On Contact and Gravity)
http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFEpisode276ContactAndGravitySpaceAndItsDiscontentsLiveAtCONvergence/Sandf–Episode276–ContactAndGravitySpaceAndItsDiscontentsLiveAtConvergence.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSAlien messages, space debris, and space women, oh my! The Robogoblins descend upon CONvergence to discuss Gravity and Contact. We tackle how each film addresses religion, science, trauma, and female characters, and we explore the optimism of Contact versus the pessimism of Gravity. We hope you enjoy the episode! Note: If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show! Here’s the episode (show notes are below): Episode 276 — Download (MP3) Show Notes:
274. Cat Rambo (a.k.a. Ms. Furry) — Beasts of Tabat (An Interview)
http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFEpisode274InterviewWCatRambo/SandF%20–%20Episode%20274%20–%20Interview%20w%20Cat%20Rambo.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSGladiator groundhogs, pulp heroes, and shapeshifters, oh my! Cat Rambo returns to the show to discuss her newest novel, Beasts of Tabat, her fiction writing courses, and short fiction. We discuss Cat’s treatment of slavery and sexuality, and we explore the magic and creatures of Tabat! We hope you enjoy the episode! Note: If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show! Here’s the episode (show notes are below): Episode 274 — Download (MP3) Show Notes:
Mad Max: Beyond Patriarchy — On Fury Road’s (2015) Visual Rhetoric and Apocalyptic Social Rebirth
If you haven’t seen Mad Max: Fury Road (2015; dir. George Miller) yet, I highly recommend it. Unexpectedly, it turned out to be a film I didn’t know I wanted. There are a lot of things worth discussing here, but in particular, I want to explore two elements of the film that I think make it a significant work of cinema. Visual Rhetoric and Mad Max (in Brief) In my review of The City of Lost Children (1995), I argued that Mad Max : Fury Road is primarily interested in storytelling as visual versus a story funneled to us through narrative proper. The point I want to make about the visual qualities of Mad Max — an idea that also applies to The City of Lost Children, albeit mobilized for different purposes — is that there is so little in this film that is told to us as a narrative (i.e., in exposition, dialogue, or in literal narration) that it compels us to focus not on the narrative (the plot), but on the conveyance of meaning within its visual landscape, both in the straight symbolic sense and in the characters-doing-things sense.
