The History on Film Podcast

Ross and Ryan are joined by award-winning actor/director/musician/writer/impressionist Stephen Sorrentino! We talk about his newest project, Amends of the Father, and so much more. Hear about what goes into running a film festival, the current state of independent moviemaking, Mr. Sorrentino's incredible life in the film industry, and so much more.

NOTE: There are spoilers for Amends of the Father in the second half of the episode, but there is a clear warning before we get into them. Make sure to watch the movie and then come back to hear us talk all about it!

FURTHER WATCHING:

Amends of the Father

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Ross and Ryan are joined by film and media scholar Paul Klein to discuss the 1936 classic, Modern Times. They talk about Chaplin and his politics, the ways in which the film reflects America during the Great Depression, and why the film itself is as relevant as ever.

Further Reading:

Voltaire. Candide, or Optimism.

Eyman, Scott. Charlie Chaplin vs. America: When Art, Sex, and Politics Collided.

Further Watching:

The Great Dictator (1940)

Chaplin (1992)

Make sure to check out Ross and Ryan's guest appearance on the Pop Culture Basement podcast! Available wherever you're listening to this!

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Ross and Ryan talk with Dr. William Tsutsui, historian, author, and leading expert on all things Godzilla. From the original film's anti-nuclear message to modern classics like "Godzilla Minus One", we cover everything from head to toes about the king of the monsters. Like literally, we talk about why Godzilla's toes are important to the tone of the films.

FURTHER READING:

Tsutsui, William. Godzilla on my Mind.

Tsutsui and Ito, eds. In Godzilla's Footsteps.

Tsutsui, William. Japanese Popular Culture and Globalization.

FURTHER WATCHING:

Bill's Picks: Gojira (1954), Godzilla Minus One, Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)

Ross's Picks: Gojira (1954), King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962), Destroy All Monsters (1968)

Ryan's Picks: Godzilla vs. King Gidorah (1991), Godzilla vs. Megalon (1971) Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)

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Ross and Ryan talk about Saturday Night Live with their guests, Stephen Tropiano and Steven Ginsberg, the authors of The SNL Companion. They cover the show's history, their favorite sketches, the importance of the Muppets in popular culture, and much more!

FURTHER READING:

Tropiano, Stephen and Steven Ginsberg. The SNL Companion: An Unofficial Guide to the Seasons, Sketches, and Stars of Saturday Night Live.

FURTHER WATCHING:

Saturday Night (2024)

We mention a LOT of Sketches in this episode, so go check out an old favorite or one that you haven't seen before. :)

~

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Ross and Ryan are joined by Dr. Robert Houghton to talk about his new book The Middle Ages in Computer Games. They discuss the ways in which game design and mechanics reinforce historical inaccuracy, the dynamics of the church and religion in gaming, and the value of debating who would win in a fight between historical figures.

FURTHER READING:

Houghton, Robert. The Middle Ages in Computer Games.

FURTHER PLAYING:

Reigns

Baldur's Gate 3

Crusader Kings 3

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Ross and Ryan are joined by David Schroeder, military aviation historian and host of the YouTube channel "The Cold War". They look at four movies to trace the history of aerial combat in the twentieth century, as well as the increasing involvement of the military in filmmaking.

FURTHER READING:

de Seversky, Alexander. Victory Through Air Power. 1942.

Meilinger, Phillip. Bomber: The Formation and Early Years of Strategic Air Command. 2012.

FURTHER WATCHING:

Watch The Cold War on YouTube! @TheColdWarTV

WATCH TODAY'S MOVIES:

Victory Through Air Power (1943)

Strategic Air Command (1955)

The Starfighters (1964)

The Starfighters (MST3k version)

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Ross and Ryan are joined by Matt Alt, author of Pure Invention: How Japan's Pop Culture Conquered the World. They pick up where the Akira episode ended, and discuss the impact and influence of anime in America in the 1990s and early 2000s. Ross and Ryan close with a dramatic reading.

FURTHER READING:

Alt, Matt. Pure Invention: How Japan's Pop Culture Conquered the World.

FURTHER WATCHING:

We talk about a lot of different anime in this episode, all of them are good!

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Ross and Ryan speak with Dr. Alyssa Goldstein Sepinwall about her book, Slave Revolt on Screen: the Haitian Revolution in Film and Video Games. The examine why the Haitian Revolution isn't often depicted in media, the ways in which America and France depict it differently than Haitians, and how historical video games differ from film.

FURTHER READING:

Sepinwall, Alyssa Goldstein. Slave Revolt on Screen: The Haitian Revolution in Film and Video Games.

FURTHER WATCHING:

Liberty in a Soup (2015)

Top Five (2014)

Exterminate all the Brutes (2021)

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Ross and Ryan bring you all the news, scores, and highlights from around the National Football League ahead of Sunday's big game. They also correct the record on some previous episodes, talk about what's coming up, and answer a fun mailbag question.

FURTHER READING:

Mark Dyreson (2017) The Super Bowl as a Television Spectacle: Global

Designs, Glocal Niches, and Parochial Patterns, The International Journal of the History of

Sport, 34:1-2, 139-156, DOI: 10.1080/09523367.2017.1349115

https://doi.org/10.1080/09523367.2017.1349115

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Ross and Ryan speak with some of the editors of the new International Journal of Disney Studies. They discuss the range of diversity in Disney Studies as a field, the process of starting an academic journal, theme park rides, and much more!

FURTHER READING:

Davis, Amy M. Good Girls & Wicked Witches: Women in Disney's Feature Animation. Indiana University Press, 2007.

Davis, Amy M. Handsome Heroes & Vile Villains: Men in Disney's Feature Animation. Indiana University Press, 2014.

Davis, Amy M., editor. Discussing Disney. Indiana University Press, 2019.

Davis, Amy M., and Helen Haswell, editors. "100 Years of Disney." Special issue of Alphaville, no. 27, 2024, https://www.alphavillejournal.com/ContentsIndex.html.

Bryan, Peter Cullen. Creation, Translation, and Adaptation in Donald Duck Comics: The Dream of Three Lifetimes. Springer Nature, 2021.

Bryan, Peter Cullen, and Sabrina Mittermeier, editors. "Reflections on the Walt Disney Company at 100." Special issue of The Journal of American Culture, vol. 47, no. 2, 2024, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/1542734x/2024/47/2.

Muir, Robyn, Rebecca Rowe, Hannah Helm, and Emily Aguilo-Perez, editors. The Cultural Legacy of Disney: A Century of Magic. Lexington, 2024.

Mittermeier, Sabrina. A cultural history of the Disneyland theme parks: Middle class kingdoms. Intellect, 2020.

Mittermeier, Sabrina, ed. Fan Phenomena: Disney. Intellect Books, 2022.

The International Journal of Disney Studies

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Ross and Ryan speak with documentary filmmaker Christopher Jason Bell, creator of the documentary series "Miss Me Yet". They discuss the George W. Bush administration, opposition movements, the changing structure of media in the 2000s, pop-punk, "24", and much more.

Further Reading:

Gore, Al. The Assault on Reason.

Scott, Peter Dale. The Road to 9/11: Wealth, Empire, and the Future of America.

Further Watching:

"Miss Me Yet" on MeansTV.

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Ross and Ryan speak with Drs. Matt Foy and Christopher Olson about their new book, Mystery Science Theater 3000: a Cultural History. The discuss how MST3k has mirrored the evolution of media production and consumption, fandom studies, and more. Join us, won't you?

Further Reading:

Foy, Matt and Christopher Olson. Mystery Science Theater 3000: A Cultural History.

Further Watching (with links!):

S3E2: Pod People (Chris's pick)

S6E19: Red Zone Cuba (Matt's pick)

S8E19: Invasion of the Neptune Men (Ryan's pick)

S6E10: The Violent Years (Ross's pick)

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Ross and Ryan are joined by 3-time returning guest and official "Friend of the Show" Dr. David Morton to speak with acclaimed historian Dr. Robert Rosenstone- author of several books on how to approach film as a historical document and consultant on the 1981 film "Reds". The discussion looks at how historians approach film, ways to approach historical films and documentaries, and Dr. Rosenstone's time working with Warren Beatty. And if you haven't already, go back and listen to our episode on David's book (Episode 3, "The Florida on Film Podcast")!

FURTHER READING:

Rosenstone, Robert. History on Film, Film on History.

Morton, David. Motion Picture Paradise: A History of Florida's Film and Television Industry.

FURTHER WATCHING:

"Reds" (1981)

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Ross and Ryan take a look at one really bad film starring one really good actor- the 1982 TV movie "Mazes & Monsters" with Tom Hanks. Were role-playing games really turning America's youth into Satanists? "60 Minutes" sure seemed to think so! Also, Ross shares his prediction for the end of "Stranger Things". This is a deeply unserious episode about a deeply stupid movie.

REFERENCES:

BADD Manual provided to law enforcement (Courtesy of The Escapist)

60 Minutes segment on D&D

FURTHER READING:

Starnheimer, Karen. Pop Culture Panics: How Moral Crusaders Construct Meanings of Deviance and Delinquency.

FURTHER WATCHING:

"Dark Dungeons" (2014)

"Reign of Fire" (2002)

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Ross and Ryan take a break from the hustle and bustle of podcasting to share some of their favorite (and least favorite) holiday films, as well as some of their favorite books, shows, and movies from 2024. They talk about the state of the podcast and where things are headed in the upcoming year, and close with a very bizarre Christmas movie trivia game.

FURTHER READING:

Dunstan, Simon and Gerrard Williams. Grey Wolf: The Escape of Adolf Hitler.

Jacobsen, Annie. Nuclear War: A Scenario.

Koontz, Stephanie. The Way we Never Were.

Vann, Michael and Liz Clarke. The Great Hanoi Rat Hunt.

FURTHER WATCHING:

"Interior Chinatown"

"La Brea"

"Wicked" (2024)

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Ross talks with Dr. Dustin Abnet about his book The American Robot: A Cultural History, and what our depictions of human-like machines tells us about ourselves. America's fascination with artificial people goes back to the founding of the country, and provides insights to understandings of race, gender, labor, and more.

FURTHER READING:

Abnet, Dustin. The American Robot: A Cultural History.

FURTHER WATCHING:

"Westworld"

"Futurama"

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Ross and Ryan welcome Jane, Mauricio, and Ray from Fabulous Fleischer Cartoons Restored and returning champion Dr. David Morton to talk about the works of Max Fleischer and Fleischer Studios. Among his many achievements, his studio was the first to animate both Popeye and Superman — and he created the legendary Betty Boop, who remains an icon of American culture to this day. Fleischer Studios also relocated from New York to Miami in the 1930s, becoming one of the most high-profile production studios in Florida at that time.

No homework this week! Go watch cartoons!

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Ross talks to Dr. Frederick Wasser about his book Veni, Vidi, Video, and how the invention of home video and the VCR reshaped the film industry. Learn about why VHS beat out Beta, how home video saved Disney, and much more. They end the conversation by connecting the industry changes and consolidation in the VCR era to the streaming environment of today.

FURTHER READING:

Wasser, Frederick. Veni, Vidi, Video: The Hollywood Empire and the VCR.

FURTHER WATCHING:

"Be Kind, Rewind" (2008)

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Dr. Mel Stanfill comes on to talk about fandom studies- what it is, why it's important, and how it can get ugly. Their new book, Fandom is Ugly, looks at how fandom studies can help explain contemporary political movements, online toxicity and harassment campaigns, and more.

FURTHER READING:

Stanfill, Mel. Fandom is Ugly: Networked Harrassment in Participatory Culture.

FURTHER WATCHING:

"Galaxy Quest" (1999)

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Ross and Ryan speak with Eric White, the M*A*S*H historian. They talk about how the stories of the 4077th reflected the real experiences of the Korean War, the politics of the TV series, and much more.

FURTHER READING:

Alda, Arlene and Alan. The Last Days of M*A*S*H.

Diffrient, David. M*A*S*H. Part of the series "Contemporary Approaches to Film and Television Series".

Green, Doyle. Politics and the American Television Comedy: A Critical Survey from I Love Lucy through South Park.

White, W.L. Back Down the Ridge.

FURTHER WATCHING:

"M*A*S*H" S2 E1: "Divided We Stand"

"M*A*S*H" S5 E8: "Dear Sigmund"

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