272. German Language SF at LonCon3 w/ Martin Stricker, Ju Honisch, Oliver Plaschka, Volker Tanger, and Stefanie Zurek
http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFEpisode272GermanLanguageSFAtLonCon3/SandF%20–%20Episode%20272%20–%20German%20Language%20SF%20at%20LonCon3.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSAchtung, deutsche Science-Fiction im Haus! In our last recording from LonCon3, we present the panel on German Language SF featuring Martin Stricker, Ju Honisch, Oliver Plaschka, Volker Tanger, and Stefanie Zurek! Here is the panel description: Recent years have seen several major German SF novels appear in English, including Wolfgang Jeschke’s “The Cusanus Game”, Frank Schatzing’s “The Swarm”, and Julie Zeh’s “The Method”. Are these representative of the contemporary German field? Which other writers (and film-makers, and TV shows) are defining contemporary German SF? 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 272 — Download (MP3) Show Notes:
Metropolis (1927), Feminism, and Influence
Since there seems to be so much noise these days about the Golden Age of SF, I decided to begin rewatching (or in some cases, watching) classic genre films in order to get a more sound foundation in my chosen genre. If I do this with novels, why not films? In this case, I’m glad that I did. One of my graphic design professors had us watch Metropolis in class. I’d vaguely remembered it as stylish — it’s a fine example of Art Deco design — and only a little coherent. At the time, I wondered why anyone would sit through the whole thing. It made no sense. The professor didn’t mention that the film had been censored. I’m not sure she was aware of how much it’d gotten cut as she didn’t mention it in the introduction. When I looked for it on Netflix, I found two versions. The first claimed to have restored footage and an 80s soundtrack. The second also had restored footage. What I failed to notice was that the first print was one hour and fifteen minutes long. The second? Two hours and fifteen minutes. I recall the version I saw in class was less than an hour. Wow.
Indy Genre: Holy Motors (2012)
Over the past several years, I’ve come to the conclusion that independent film is the place to search for the weird, fantastic, and creative. You know: the stuff of our genre. This is where labors of love and concepts a little too off beat to soothe conservative investors end up, where storytelling gets pushed to its limits… at times unsuccessfully. And with generally smaller budgets, if these films succeed, it’s not because they’ve leaned on visual spectacle and slow-motion pyrotechnics as a distraction from the fact that it’s really just a story about a white dude’s biceps and the director’s inescapable misogyny. Since this year’s Skiffy and Fanty theme is World SF, that dovetails perfectly with the hunt for smaller genre films. I hope you’re ready for subtitles. I promise, they won’t hurt a bit. We’re taking a ride on Holy Motors.
