Episode 50: Demogorgon: On 'Stranger Things'

Episode 50: Demogorgon: On 'Stranger Things'

Author: SpectreVision Radio July 3, 2019 Duration: 1:36:31
The Duffer Brothers' hit series Stranger Things is many things: an exemplary piece of entertainment in the summer blockbuster mold, a fresh take on the "kids on bikes" subgenre of science fiction, a loving pastiche of 1980s Hollywood cinema. And as Phil and JF attempt to show in this episode, Stranger Things is also a deep investigation into the metaphysical assumptions of our times, and a bold statement on the ontology of the analog real. This, at least, was the thesis of JF's three-part essay "Reality is Analog: Philosophizing with Stranger Things," which appeared on Metapsychosis after the first season dropped in 2016. Here, Phil and JF revisit that essay in order to expand on its arguments and discuss how it hoilds up in light of the series continued unfolding. The conversation touches on Apple's famous 1984 ad for the first Macintosh, the 2016 election of Donald Trump, the otherworldliness of airports, the ensorcelments of consumerism, and much more. REFERENCES Stranger Things "Reality is Analog: Philosophizing with Stranger Things" available at Metapsychosis or in ebook format Samuel Delaney, Dhalgren 1984 Apple commercial for Macintosh Wild Wild Country, Netflix documentary series Tom Frank, “Why Johnny Can’t Dissent” Phil Ford, Dig: Sound and Music in Hip Culture Arcade Fire, “We Used to Wait” William S. Burroughs, Naked Lunch Jack Kerouac, Visions of Cody William James, A Pluralistic Universe Marc Augé, Non-Places: An Introduction to Supermodernity Weird Studies, episode 2: Garmonbozia Homer, Odyssey Matt Cardin, Dark Awakenings The Wachowskis, The Matrix Jonathan Haight and Greg Lukianoff, The Coddling of the American Mind Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At the heart of Weird Studies, a podcast from SpectreVision Radio, you’ll find long-form conversations between Professor Phil Ford and writer J. F. Martel. Their discussions aren’t simple reviews or straightforward analyses; instead, they wander through the tangled undergrowth where art and philosophy meet, giving generous time to concepts that resist easy understanding and to creative works that fracture our ordinary sense of the world. This podcast deliberately lingers in that ambiguous space, treating the “weird” not as a genre but as a particular mode of experience-one that reveals the cracks in what we comfortably assume is real. Each episode feels like joining a deep, meandering dialogue between two friends who are both deeply knowledgeable and endlessly curious, covering a vast terrain that includes literature, film, music, and esoteric thought. It’s a show for anyone who suspects that the most profound truths are often found in the shadows, the anomalies, and the strangely beautiful. As part of the SpectreVision Radio network, which specializes in content that explores the uncanny edges of creativity, Weird Studies builds a unique community of listeners who are eager to think differently. You won’t find pat answers here, but you will encounter compelling questions and a shared sense of exploration that makes each installment a distinctive journey.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 230

Weird Studies
Podcast Episodes
Episode 85: On 'The Wicker Man' [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:17:40
Since its release in 1973, Robin Hardy's The Wicker Man has exerted a profound influence on the development of horror cinema, a rich vein of folk music, and the modern pagan revival more generally. Anthony Shaffer's inge…
Episode 83: On David Lynch's  'Lost Highway' [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:19:08
David Lynch's Lost Highway was released in 1997, five years after Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me elicited a fusillade of boos and hisses at Cannes. The Twin Peaks prequel's poor reception allegedly sent its American auteu…
Episode 82: On The I Ching [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:30:16
The Book of Changes, or I Ching, is more than an ancient text. It's a metaphysical guide, a fun game, and -- to your hosts at least -- a lifelong, steadfast friend. The I Ching has come up more than once on the show, and…
Episode 79: Love, Death, and the Dream Life [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:08
In this episode of Weird Studies, an improvised analysis of two pop songs -- Nina Simone's version of James Shelton's "Lilac Wine" and Ghostface Killah's visionary "Underwater" -- becomes the occasion for a deep dive to…
Episode 78: On John Keel's 'The Mothman Prophecies' [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:14:18
At the time The Mothman Prophecies' was released in 1975, and again when he penned an afterword for the 2001 edition, John Keel appeared to have made up his mind about the "ultraterrestrials" that he had tracked and hunt…
Episode 77: What a Fool Believes: On the Unnumbered Card in the Tarot [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:09:04
"What a fool believes he sees, no wise man can reason away." This line from a Doobie Brothers song is probably one of the most profound in the history of rock-'n'-roll. It is profound for all the reasons (or unreasons) e…
Episode 76: Below the Abyss: On Bergson's Metaphysics [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:19:01
According to the French philosopher Henri Bergson, there are two ways of knowing the world: through analysis or through intuition. Analysis is our normal mode of apprehension. It involves knowing what's out there through…