Parallax Views w/ J.G. Michael

On this edition of Parallax Views, our coverage of Israel/Palestine and the bombing of Gaza by Israel in retaliation for the October 7th Hamas attack. Investigative journalist and attorney Charlotte Dennett, the daughter of American master spy Daniel Dennet and author of Follow the Pipelines: Uncovering the Mystery of a Lost Spy and the Deadly Politics of the Great Game for Oil (as well as the co-author, with her husband Gerard Colby, of the classic Thy Will Be Done: The Conquest of the Amazon: Nelson Rockefeller and Evangelism in the Age of Oil), joins the show to discuss the recent turmoil in the Middle East, specifically in Gaza and Israel, in relation to what has been called "The Great Game for Oil". We discuss oil pipelines, her father Daniel Dennett and Saudi Arabia, oil war history dating back to WWI and WWII, Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu, the city of Haifa, geopolitics, the Iraq War, and much, much more. You may find looking at the cover of Charlotte's book as well as the map in this episode description useful while listening to this episode.

On this edition of Parallax Views, a short but hopefully informative conversation with Emmaia Gemma, author of the 2019 Boston Review article "The Anti-Defamation League Is Not What It Seems" and an upcoming book on the history of the ADL. Among the topics discussed in this history is the ADL's track record on Civil Rights and its policing of black Civil Rights groups for being "too radical", the ADL spy Roy Bollock, the ADL's history of targeting Arab-Americans dating back to the 1950's, the ADL using "dual loyalty" accusations against Arab Americans,  Director of the ADL Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL vetting social media like Youtube and Facebook, and more!

On this edition of Parallax Views, investigative journalist Ali Winston, co-author of The Riders Come Out at Night: Brutality, Corruption, and Cover-up in Oakland, returns to discuss recent news about the NYPD using surveillance drones against pro-Palestinian protesters (See: "NYPD used drones for arrests in pro-Palestine protests in NYC" - The New York Post). Additionally, Ali and I will discuss the state of New York's connections, through various non-profits and LLCs, to the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian West Bank. We also discuss the wider problems of NY police corruption dating back to the days of Frank Serpico, NYC Mayor Eric Adams and former NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio, the possibility of the current Levant War (Israel-Hamas War, Gaza War, etc.) turning into a dangerous regional war, Peter Thiel's Palantir, Chinese surveillance technology being used in the U.S., how the War on Terror came home (ie: the surveillance state), and much, much more. Article referenced in this conversation: "The New Brothels: How Shady Landlords Play a Key Role in the Sex Trade" - New York Times, 11/14/18 "The Prostitution Empire and the Former N.Y.P.D. Detective, Always One Step Ahead of the Law" - New York Times, 9/21/18 "New York Police Say They Will Deploy 14 Drones" - New York Times, 12/4/18 "N.Y.P.D. Will Use Drones to Monitor Labor Day Celebrations" - New York Times, 9/1/23 "New York’s Ties to Israel Bring the Gaza War Home" - New York Focus, 10/19/23 "NYPD used drones for arrests in pro-Palestine protests in NYC" - New York Post, 10/28/23

On this spooky season edition of Parallax Views, Chris Alexander of Full Moon Presents Delirium Magazine returns to discuss his new TOMBS OF THE BLIND DEAD homage movie SCREAM OF THE BLIND DEAD, the Euro-horror of Jess Franco and Jean Rollin, and his two new Headpress books ART! TRASH! TERROR!: ADVENTURES IN STRANGE CINEMA and CORMAN/POE: INTERVIEWS AND ESSAYS EXPLORING THE MAKING OF ROGER CORMAN'S EDGAR ALLEN POE FILMS 1960-1964. We also discuss new horror movie fare like the "revenge-o-matic" SAW X and the Australian demonic possession movie TALK TO ME. At the end we try to figure out a movie that slipped my tongue, I found out after the show that I was thinking of was Full Moon's THE PRIMEVALS. We talk the making of the Roger Corman Edgar Allen Poe movies, the use of Freudian image in Corman's Poe films, THE HAUNTED PALACE, THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM, THE HOUSE OF USHER, THE TOMB OF LIGEIA, the Corman/Poe horror-comedy THE RAVEN, the impetus behind casting Vincent Price in the Poe films, Roger Corman's dabbling in the counterculture and his LSD trip (as well as his counterculture movies like THE TRIP, BLOODY MAMA, and GA-S-S-S-S -OR- IT BECAME NECESSARY TO DESTROY THE WORLD IN ORDER TO SAVE IT), Corman's early years at American International Pictures (AIP) and how his relationship with AIP evolved over time (and where it fell apart), Roger Corman's wife Julie Corman and her contributions to the Corman movie machine, the Vatican's attempts to censor Corman's THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH, and much, much more!

On this edition of Parallax Views, legendary faneditor LastSurvivor joins the show to discuss the horror movie fan edits he's made over the years and the art of the horror edit. Some of LastSurvivor's fanedits include: THE NIGHT OF SAMHAIN - An ambitious fanedit that combines HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH and HALLOWEEN: THE CURSE OF MICHAEL MYERS into one movie in a very unique way! HALLOWEEN: THE NIGHT OF THE BOOGEYMAN - An attempt to edit John Carpenter's HALLOWEEN and HALLOWEEN II into one movie, BUT with around a 90 minute running time common for many movies and slasher films of the 80s. JAW II: THE AMITY HORROR - An edit that attempts to bring out the more slasher-esque elements of JAWS II; the shark is a lot like Jason Voorhees in JAWS II with the setting being the ocean rather than the woods JAWS III: MONSTER - An ambitious edit of JAW III that amps up the B-movie disaster movie element of JAWS III and, amazingly, adds in a new monster to fight Jaws in the finale: Jaws vs. Octopus! FRIDAY THE 13TH PART V: JASON'S LEGACY - An edit of FRIDAY THE 13TH PART V that, through color regrading and trimming of scenes, brings the movie more in line with Joseph Zito's much beloved entry in the cult franchise, FRIDAY THE 13TH PART IV: THE FINAL CHAPTER. HALLOWEEN 5: THE SHAPE OF RAGE and HALLOWEEN HOMECOMING - Two fanfix fanedits that attempt to address the problems of HALLOWEEN 5: THE REVENGE OF MICHAEL MYERS and HALLOWEEN: RESURRECTION to make both movies a better viewing experience for fans of the Michael Myers saga! We also discuss the wild JAWS: THE SHARKSPLOITATION edit that faneditor TheManBehindTheMask did (it's literally a grindhouse version of Jaws with an insane twist at the end), David Gordon Green's Halloween trilogy, editing Rob Zombie's HALLOWEEN and HALLOWEEN II, the character of Tina in Halloween 5, color regrading and color correction in fanedits, the opening credits of HALLOWEEN 4: THE RETURN OF MICHAEL MYERS, Halloween's Thorn trilogy and similarties with the Druid cult storyline in HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH, the role of pacing in edits, and much, much more!

On this edition of Parallax Views, it's spooky season and we're getting into the Halloween spirit! Cecil Laird of the Youtube channel The Horror Show joins the show to tell us about his fan film, DYLAN'S NEW NIGHTMARE. A sequel to the surprisingly innovative 1994 meta-horror NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET entry WES CRAVEN'S NEW NIGHTMARE, DYLAN'S NEW NIGHTMARE isn't your average fan film. In addition to being made with a rather professional crew and having a slick, pro look, the movie also features a starring turn from Miko Hughes aka Heather Langenkamp's son Dylan in WES CRAVEN'S NEW NIGHTMARE (and also horror royalty due to his childhood turn as the killer toddler Gage in Mary Lambert's adaptation of Stephen King's PET SEMATARY). It tells the story of Dylan's trauma and struggles 30 years after being haunted by The Entity that took the form of horror icon Freddy Krueger in WES CRAVEN'S NEW NIGHTMARE. Dylan is trying to make a career in acting, but The Entity is returning in the form of Freddy Krueger slowly but surely to haunt him. Cecil and I discuss DYLAN'S NEW NIGHTMARE, the possibility of a sequel, our favorite NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET movies, and much, much more! Watch DYLAN'S NEW NIGHTMARE here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51JPiePa5dc

On this edition of Parallax Views, in 2016 a little regional horror movie called The Barn became and underground hit. Set on Halloween, the movie told the story of a group of teenage pranksters and their encounter with a trio of local legend monsters known as The Boogeyman, Hollow Jack, and the Candy Corn Scarecrow. Featuring guest starring roles from horror icons Linnea Quigley (Return of the Living Dead, Night of the Demons) and Ari Lehman (the first Jason from Friday the 13th), the movie evoked the nostalgia of the old Goosebumps TV series and direct-to-video horror movies you would see in mom 'n' pop video stores in the halcyon days of the early/mid 1990's. Director Justin M. Seaman ended up getting a sequel off the ground that was released in 2022 called The Barn Part II that amped up the gore quotient and featured guest appearances by Doug Bradley (Pinhead from the Hellraiser movie franchise), TV horror host Joe Bob Briggs, Diana Prince (Darcy the Mail Girl from The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs), Troma's Lloyd Kaufman, and returning performances from "Scream Queen" Linnea Quigley and "First Jason" Ari Lehman. Together, these two movie make for the perfect Halloween double feature this spooky season and Parallax Views is joined by director Justin Seaman and cinematographer Zane Hershberger to discuss this spook-tacular double feature! THE BARN duology has it all: chainsaws, blood, zombies, curses, 90s nostalgia, creepy monsters, practical special effects, Halloween season atmosphere, and much, much more! You can watch THE BARN and THE BARN PART II via a trial subscription to Screambox

On this edition of Parallax Views, Richard Silverstein of Tikun Olam, a blog featuring breaking news the Israeli national security state, returns for a Parallax Views exclusive: Richard relays how an Israeli Security source has told him that the Israeli Security Cabinet has given orders to assassinate not only Hamas leaders like Muhammad Deif and Yahya Sinwar but also their families. We'll also discuss the geostrategic implications of the unfolding Levant War and what it means for Israel/Palestine, Iran, Turkey, Syria, Qatar, the Houthis in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia. Moreover, Richard discusses the U.S.-China rivalry moving into the Middle East theater (and the way it brings to mind the Cold War between the U.S. and Soviet Union), the possibility of broader regional war breaking out in the Middle East, and much, much more.

On this edition of Parallax Views, Prof. James L. Gelvin, noted scholar of Middle East history at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and author of The Israel-Palestine Conflict: A History, joins the show to discuss the October 7th, 2023 Hamas attack and Israel's retaliatory bombing of Gaza, but also the broader history of the Israel/Palestine issue/situation/question/conflict. The conversation begins with Prof. Gelvin's analysis of the Israel/Palestine issue and its origins which he argues is about clashing nationalisms rather than religious war or a dispute going back to biblical times. From there he gives his insights into conditions on the ground in Gaza, the question of whether or not U.S. foreign polciy has "kicked the can down the road" on pursuing a diplomatic political solution to Israel/Palestine, the one-state solution vs. the two-state solution, the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, the Oslo Accords, the legitimacy of national identities and their mythologies, the increasingly common argument that the PLO's Yasser Arafat is responsible for the current crisis for "walking away" from a "generous offer" at the 2000 Camp David Summit, the motivations of Hamas, Israel-Saudi normalization, the criticisms right-wing figures like David Horowitz have made of Gelvin's scholarship and his response to those criticisms, Obama and the Asia pivot, the West Bank and Israeli settlements, and much, much more.

On this edition of Parallax Views, WhoWhatWhy's William Dowell, a former TIME Magazine correspondent in Cairo who has also covered such pivotal events as the Vietnam War, the Iranian Revolution, Operation Desert Storm, Afghanistan, and the Civil War in Beirut, join us to discuss his articles "Hiding in the Rubble of Israel and Palestine: Opportunity" and "Biden’s Visit May Have Kept Gaza From Boiling Over". He will also discuss his experiences as a journalist who has interacted with such figures as Yasser Arafat. Moreover, William and I discuss the figure of Hamas military leader Mohammed Masri aka Mohammed Deif, William's analysis of Biden's diplomatic moves in response to the October 7th attack in Israeli and Israel's bombing of Gaza, Hamas as having set "a trap" for Israel that could lead to an Israeli quagmire in Gaza, the possibility of divisions/fissures within Hamas (particularly between its military wing and its political wing), Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu's right-wing government, and much, much more.