Parallax Views w/ J.G. Michael

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews The Parallax Views holiday series concludes with an exploration of Santa Claus's dark counterpart, Krampus. Although the figure of Krampus has become embedded in the popular consciousness in the last decade, especially since the release of the Hollywood horror-comedy Krampus, the folklore of the Krampus reaches much farther back and into the most isolated part of the European Alps. Joining us to unravel this history, and explain how remote parts of Europe still celebrate the winter season with rituals related to St. Nicholas and his dark companion Krampus, is Al Ridenour, a former member of the avant-provocateur Cacophony Society and author of The Krampus and the Old Dark Christmas: Roots and Rebirth of the Folkloric Devil (Feral House; 2016). We begin by discussing Al's involvement in the Cacophony Society, which once boasted the involvement of transgressive author extraordinaire Chuck Palahniuk, and it's most famous avant-garde provocation: SantaCon. From there we delve into how the winter season has always had a dark side within the popular imagination and discuss the popularity of Christmas horror movies with Al recommending 1980's unusual Christmas Evil and discussing Michael Dougherty's Krampus and whether it is true to the folklore. We then take a deep dive into the history of the lore around Krampus and how the figure is used in festive rituals during the month of December in the Alps of Europe like Gastein in Austria. What is the function of the Krampus? His relationship to St. Nicholas? Do these rituals have an erotic and courtship element? Is there subversive, anarchic element beyond to the Krampus beyond his being used to scare children into following social norms and rules? Who are the people behind the Krampus troupes and how do they approach these events? What's the connection the the gore theatre of the Grand Guignol and these Krampus events (known as a Krampus Run or Krampuslauf)? And what can we learn from it all? All that and more on this edition of Parallax Views.

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews On this edition of Parallax Views we continue our holiday series by speaking with an actress from a Christmas movie classic. Well, maybe not a Christmas movie classic in the traditional sense but in a more unorthodox one. No, I'm not talking about Bonnie Bedelia from Die Hard. Instead I'm talking about Lynne Griffin, the Canadian actress who played the iconic-if-short-lived role of the doomed Claire in Bob Clarke's 1974 horror chiller Black Christmas. Since it's release all those decades ago, Black Christmas has inspired two remakes/reimaginings and a high-profile fan film called It's Me Billy from noted voice actor David McRae. It's also a movie that really predates and arguably helped insprie elements of later horror movies like Halloween and the lesser slasher films that would follow. With a few plot elements reminiscent to When a Stranger Calls, Black Christmas centers on a sorority house being menaced by an obscene phone caller who eventually takes to picking off each of the girls one by one. In addition to Lynne Griffin, the movie also featured the talents of Romeo and Juliet's Olivia Hussey, Superman's Margot Kidder, 2001: A Space Odyssey's Keir Dullea, and the veteran rugged character actor John Saxon (A Nightmare on Elm Street, Enter the Dragon) as Police Lt. Ken Fuller. The film's director, Bob Clarke, would go on to make a more traditional holiday classic in the form of A Christmas Story as well as helming such features Porky's, Murder by Decree, and Turk 182 among others. Lynne joins us to talk not only about Black Christmas but also some of her other acting credits including the Rick Moranis comedy Strange Brew, the cult classic horror obscurity Curtains (which feels particularly relevant in the age of the MeToo movement), and April Mullen's criminally underrated 88 starring Katherine Isabelle (Ginger Snaps, Freddy Vs. Jason, American Mary) and Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Addams Family Values). All that and more on this edition of Parallax Views

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews We begin the Christmas week run of Parallax Views with by bringing back the original Parallax Views theme as a gift to long-time listeners and then talking with filmmaker Stefanie Davis, director and writer of the unorthodox holiday-themed mumblecore movie The Christmas Ride. For the uninitiated mumblecore is a genre of independent film popularized by filmmakers like Joe Swanberg (Drinking Buddies, Happy Christmas, Kissing on the Mouth), Mark and Jay Duplass (The Puffy Chair, Cyrus, Baghead) and Andre Bujalski that generally empashizes low-budget, dialogue over plot, naturalistic acting, and heavy use of improvisation over scripting. Filmed with an outline of scenarios rather than a traditional script and featuring performance that were improvised and directed by the use of color psychology through color palettes meant to guide the actors in terms of what emotions they'd be displaying in the scene, The Christmas Ride isn't you're traditional Hollywood blockbuster for the holidays season. However, while The Christmas Ride may not be the Tim Allen-starring The Santa Clause movies or in A Miracle on 34th Street in terms of it's mumblecore characteristics or micro-budget, it does a sincere meditation on holiday hardships and what the Christmas spirit is really all about where Hollywood's holiday blockbuster sometimes manage to miss the mark. The synopsis, courtesy Stefanie Davis herself, is as follows: Georgia is a hard working young woman. On Christmas Day, she decides to spend the day driving to make some extra cash. As she takes on various riders, she finds that not everyone has a very merry Christmas. Many are not with their families, experiencing loss, and just not in the spirit. As a self-aware woman, she takes on the hardship of her riders and tries her best to overcome the energy surrounding her. Strangers have a tendency to open up to her. Will the magic of Christmas be enough to keep Georgia's spirit alive? Stefanie joins us on this edition of the show to discuss how The Christmas Ride, now available for streaming on Amazon Prime, about as well as providing details on the highly improvisational approach she took while making it including the use of color psychology and scenario outlines rather than detailed scripts in order to create a more naturalistic tone. We also delve into Stefanie's relationship to Georgia, the film's protagonist who serves as the symbolic embodiment of the Christmas spirit and experiences a crisis of faith in regards to her own holiday cheer. We also delve into the theme of active listening and empathy that pervades the film and why it is so important in this year of the COVID pandemic and political. Moreover we discuss the film's exploration of expressing vulnerability in interpersonal relationships and why we made need to apply that in our real lives much more often. All that and more on this edition of Parallax Views.

On this edition of Parallax Views, Silicon Valley is often hailed as pushing the world towards a better, more prosperous future through a model creative destruction and brave technological innovation. Economics professor Rob Larson, however, offers a competing viewpoint to this rose-colored narrative of darlings of the tech world like Microsoft, Apple, and Google in his new book Bit Tyrants: The Political Economy of Silicon Valley (Haymarket Books, 2020). In many ways picking up where his previous book, Capitalism vs Freedom: The Toll Road to Serfdom (Zero Books, 2018), left off, Rob launches a scathing but thoughtful critique on libertarian-style techno utopianism and reveals the often ignored aspect that the public sector has played in important technological innovations. Additionally, Rob details the less savory elements of the Silicon Valley story and how historically the Silicon Valley's current position of power and the effect it has on society bears a resemblance to the Gilded Age. Rob joins us to give an overview of this fascinating new book and fills us in on how it connects to his previous book Capitalism vs Freedom: The Toll Road to Serfdom in the course of this fascinating conversation. All that and more on this edition of Parallax Views. SUPPORT PARALLAX VIEWS ON PATREON! FOR BONUS CONTENT AND ARCHIVED EPISODES!

On this edition of Parallax Views, legendary writer and filmmaker John Sayles joins us to discus his new novel Yellow Earth and other assorted topics of interest. For the uninitiated, John Sayles is an Academy Award-nominated screenwriter and Golden Globe-nominated filmmaker whose social conscious cinematic credits include 1980's highly influential Return of the Secaucus 7, the critically-acclaimed 1987 coal miner union drama Matewan, 1991's City of Hope, 1992's award-winning Passion Fish, the star-studded 1996 neo-western mystery Lone Star, 1997's Men With Guns, and 2010's Philippine-American War period dram Amigo among others. Additionally, John is an accomplished short story writer and novelist whose books include Pride of the Bimbos (1975), Union Dues (1977), The Anarchists' Convention (1979), Los Gusanos (1991), and A Moment in the Sun (2011). John joins us on this edition of Parallax Views to discuss his latest novel Yellow Earth (2020; Haymarket Books), which details the volatile social changes that occur in a small town in the aftermath of a shale oil boom. A timely novel that deals with the subject of fracking, John tells us the basic plot of Yellow Earth as well giving some details on the issues that arise from fracking and the economic impacts of boom-and-bust cycles that effect people in his story as well as real life. John and I then discuss some biographical details of his life, including being raised in Schenectady, New York. We then talk about John's thoughts on film school and how gaining experiences outside of the film world is invaluable. Additionally John and I talk a little about his coal mine union drama Matewan, his involvement in the subversive world of Roger Corman "B-Movies", the monster movie he wrote called Alligator (1980), the Ayn Rand-inspired character in Yellow Earth and why Rand's philosophy of Objectivism is so attractive to some people, what keeps him from giving into cynicism, working with the legendary cinematographer Haskell Wexler, and much more. SUPPORT PARALLAX VIEWS ON PATREON! FOR BONUS CONTENT AND ARCHIVED EPISODES! AND CHECK OUT OUR SPONSOR: FAILED STATE UPDATE A NEW PODCAST FROM JOURNALIST JOSEPH FLATLEY

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews On this edition of Parallax Views, a listener recently requested that I interview Jasun Horsley, a writer who has been involved in parapolitical and alternative perceptions subculture for some time now. It turns out he has a new book out, 16 Maps of Hell: The Unraveling Superculture, so I thought this would be a good time to fulfill that request. In 16 Maps of Hell Jasun explores his obsessions with Hollywood over the years and his eventual disenchantment with it over the years. He also deals with ideas of cultural engineering and conspiracy in Hollywood. This leads him to examining the history of Hollywood and its dark side with a particular focus on Roman Polanski, the Manson Family, the Tate-LaBianca murders, the mobbed up lawyer Sidney Korhsak, Jeffrey Epstein, and other sordid goings on in tinsel town that he believes may relate to cultural psyops. We discuss the nature of this thesis, how Jasun questioned it after writing the book, Jasun's cinematic obsessions (including his love of Sam Peckinpah), conspiracy theories and scapegoating, Nikolas Schreck's work on the Charles Manson case, writing as therapy or psychodrama, and much, much more in this fascinating conversation. 16 Maps of Hell by Jasun Horsley Available Here

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews On this edition of Parallax Views, legendary poet, playwright, novelist, activist, social critic, and all-around iconoclast Ishmael Reed joins us to discuss his amazing life and times as well as his thoughts on a wide variety of different topics. In particular we focus on his experiences in the literary and media worlds and how the "sausage is made" so to speak in those worlds by a corporate Establishment. In particular Ishmael helps us focus in on controversies like Gary Webb and the Iran/Contra affair's connection to the LA crack epidemic (which he wrote about in the Washington Post op-ed "The Word on the Vine"), tokenism and patronage in the literary and media worlds, the weaponization of the black men as scapegoats through the black boogeyman trope, antisemitism, the the musical Hamilton (which Reed critiqued in his recent play The Haunting of Lin-Manuel Miranda), Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam, Louis Farrakhan, black feminism, diversity and the lack of diversity, academic language and the elitism of academic cliques that operate on langue games and lingo, the great filmmaker Bill Gunn who made the classic black vampire film GANJA AND HESS, gatekeeping and cultural glass ceilings, Charles Murray's The Bell Curve and media promotion of it as well as the financing of infamous Murray book, the Scotch-Irish and the betrayal of one's heritage in the name of assimilation, conspiracy theories, and much, much more.

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews On this edition of Parallax Views, how did we get to this moment of social uprisings and the repressive states, represented by ICE immigration detention centers and rising authoritarianism around the globe, that color the present? Sociologist William I. Robinson provides a theoretical framework for understanding how 21st century tumult came to be in his new book The Global Police State. Robinson argues that we are living in a world in which rapidly accelerating economic inequality have led the transnational capitalist class to create systems of control and repression that will quell dissent. Additionally, he argues that this unstable situation, in which the masses are angry and the power elites divided, has led to an encroaching, creeping, 21st century fascism that threatens to engulf the world. He joins us on this edition of the program to lay out what The Global Police State is, the green zones and gray zones that separate the "haves" from the "have nots", the three factions of the global power elite and how the third factions (reformists) can be pressured by the masses, how Trump and the movement of Trumpism is not a populist movement and is in fact backed by elements of the transnational capitalist class, technologies of repression and the modern surveillance society, the Black Lives Matter Movement (BLM) and why the transnational capitalist class are directly threatened by anti-police sentiments, the cooptation of social movements by the transnational capitalist class, the militarization of policing and security organizations, the capitalist and corporate elements that benefit from private military firms (ie: mercenary) and private policing, the major difference between the 20th century and 21st century crises (hint: there is no longer a strong left/labor movement), and much, much more!

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews On this edition of Parallax Views, allegations of U.S. germ warfare (or biological warfare) being used on populations in the Korean War have long been dismissed as a conspiracy theory hatched by the Soviet Union as a disinformation campaign on America. Dr. Jeffrey Kaye, author of Cover-Up at Guantanamo Bay: THE NCIS Investigation into the "Suicides" of Mohammad Al Hanashi and Abdul Rahman Al Amri, however, has been pouring over documents from the CIA's "Baptism by Fire" files on the Korean War that may lend credence to the claims of U.S. biowarfare being used in the conflict. In this conversation Dr. Kaye and I discuss his prior work on Guantanamo Bay and then take a deep dive into the history of biowarfare from Japan's Unit 731, a WWII program led by Gen. Shiro Ishii, to the claims of U.S. biowarfare in the Korean War. In regards to Unit 731, where grotesque war crimes and experiments took place, we discuss Gen. Shiro Ishii's involvement with the U.S. in the post-war period and the amnesty that was granted to Unit 731 after the war by the U.S.. We also make mention of the Tuskegee Institute Syphilis study. Biowarfare experiments of the past involved anthrax, live human dissections, cholera, plague infested fleas, dysentery, and more. From there we discuss the accusation that claims of biological warfare used by the U.S. in the Korean War are merely Soviet propaganda and hoax. Dr. Kaye makes the case that this isn't necessarily true and offers evidence to the contrary. In making this case Dr. Kaye specifically refers to the "Baptism by Fire" documents that were recently declassified by the CIA. Dr. Kaye explains in details the claims of CIA biological warfare in this time period and why the "Baptism by Fire" documents are such an important revelation.  

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews On this edition of Parallax Views, over the course of this program's history J.G. Michael has been fairly open about his politics leaning to the leftward, sometimes called progressive, end of the political compass. Past guests of Parallax Views, like Noam Chomsky and Bill Ayers, have reflected J.G.'s own orientation. However, J.G. doesn't want himself or his listeners to live in a bubble. As such he recently reached out to the often controversial and stylish conservative commentator Kevin D. Williamson, the roving correspondent for the National Review and author of the new book Big White Ghetto: Dead Broke, Stone-Cold Stupid, and High on Rage in the Dank Woolly Wilds of the "Real America", with an invite to appear on Parallax Views. Kevin accepted and this conversation is the result. Those expecting a debate will likely be disappointed. This is a frank conversation, co-hosted by Nathan Myers of the unfortunately defunct Clash podcast, in which J.G. and Kevin cover a wide range of topics and clarify some of Kevin's views, which, depending on what you've heard about him, may surprise you. Among the subjects we discuss and the lines of inquiry we pursue are: - How Kevin became involved in journalism and his literary influences which include the arch-conservative William F. Buckley as well as, believe it or not, the counterculture gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson and Tom Wolfe of The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test fame; J.G. draws a parallel between Thompson's work on the Hell's Angels, specifically in regards to what Thompson called "the ethic of total retaliation, and some of the themes in Kevin's new book Big White Ghetto; the attitude of James Dean-style teenage rebellion in the 60s and its relevance today; social anxiety about masculinity in a world where traditional masculinity (ie: violence, physical labor, etc.) is not as high in value as it used to be and how this ties into both the rebellions of the Hell's Angels and the cultural moment of Trumpism; why Kevin writes the way he does and his dislike for what he sees as "performative empathy" - Kevin's work covering the alt right which led him to interviewing figures like the white nationalist Richard Spencer; the sense of "disappointment", driven by social and moral entitlement, that Kevin believes drove the alt right and associated movement; the "Cowboys and Indians" nature of Trumpism and Kevin's description of Trumpism as less of an ideology than an enemy's list; what William F. Buckley thought of Trump and speculating as to what Buckley would think of Trumpism - Why Trumpism has been a tough nut to crack for many commentators and why it appeals to many people that think of themselves as conservative despite it not being, in Kevin's view, conservative in nature; Kevin's thoughts on Tucker Carlson and journalists in the Trump World who are from wealthy backgrounds that have appointed themselves as voices for the white working class, the rustbelt, and the forgotten areas of American society; the disconnect between those who know poverty and those who haven't experienced poverty; Kevin's criticisms of figures like Laura Ingraham and Sean Hannity within the conservative media - Politics as aesthetics and social affiliation; Kevin's article entitled "Acting White"; professionals pretending to be rednecks and what Kevin calls the "white minstrel show"; why Kevin included the phrase "The Real America" in the subtitle of his book; Ted Cruz and social posturing/affectation; careerism in conservative media and shifting values within said media; the ascent of the professional conservative; the different worlds that exist within conservative media; how Sean Hannity and others are terrified of there own audiences due to what Kevin calls the right-wing version of "Cancel Culture"; the problem of subservience to political power amongst journalists; Kevin's view of libertarianism; the financial pressures of AM right-wing radio and the freedom Kevin is afforded by working for the National Review rather than working in the radio-sphere. - Kevin's thoughts on paleoconservatives like Pat Buchanan as well as his thoughts on the libertarian thinker Murray Rothbard; Rothbard's idea of a pan-radical movement of antiwar activists and figures like David Duke against the Establishment; how conspiracy theories and the conspiratorial mindset of organizations like the John Birch Society rose in relation to the intellectual side of the conservative movement; the content of Rothbard being abandoned in favor of the style and rhetoric; the prevalence of a theater of "Us and Them" elites-betraying-we-the-people story-telling in the right-wing today; is paleoconservatism even conservative in an American context; conservatism in the American context as being tied to liberalism whereas conservatism in Europe is more tied to blood-and-soil, throne-and-altar nationalism; anti-liberal elements that vote for the Republican Party for non-ideological reasons; tribalism as driving current political fights rather than policy - Cultural politics as a substitute for real politics and policy discussion; the changing of cultural politics in both the Democratic Party and Republican Party since the 1980s; cultural politics as snobbery; the rebranding of Democrats as the party of professionals and the Republicans as the party of the working class and poor; snobbery on both sides of the political spectrum; people wanting to argue and debate with the caricature of what they perceive a person's politics and culture to be rather than the actual person; post-politics and Andy Warhol's idea of fame as hell on earth; celebrity-seeking behavior and social media; life as performance rather than "just living" in an age of being constantly watched through social media; Kevin's lack of presence on social media; the removal of connected and traditional means of social meaning and belonging leading to the current morality plays that occur on social media - Does Kevin hate poor rural whites or is that a misrepresentation; growing up in a poor family but having an advantage in regards to social capital due to living in the college town of Lubbock, Texas; the great mistake of America's policy discussion and the way in which policy discussions are dominated by the well-heeled, educated classes and reflective of their interests; - Kevin's infamous debate with Michael Brendan Dougherty and his controversial comments declaring that broken communities in rural America should be allowed to die; Kevin's belief that, on the individual level, should leave those communities to form a better life; policy being erronesouly based on places rather than people; Boonville, Kentucky and other places that Kevin has written about that don't, in the current moment, seem to have much of an economic future - Kevin's essay "I Am Cancer"; readers ascribing what they want to Kevin's writing regardless of what Kevin actually believes; the story of Kevin's experience evicting a family from a house he inherited; the theme in "I Am Cancer" of a lack of recognition in regards to how bad things don't just happen overnight; the terribly sad and depressing nature of Kevin's experience with eviction court and how he turned the experience into an essay; the subjectless-ness of the stories Kevin heard during his experience in eviction court; how "I Am Cancer" gets to the heart of Kevin's debate with Michael Brendan Doughtery; Kevin's policy suggestion of relocation benefits and other social welfare programs to help people in these communities. - Nathan asks about Kevin's essay, from which the book gets it's title, "The Big White Ghetto"; the problems of poverty not having obvious solutions due to factors like mental health issues, drug dependency, etc.; how soda was used as a form of currency in that story; the importance of talking to people, from drug dealers to police, in covering these stories and the mistake journalists make by only talking to figures from institutions - Nathan asks Kevin why there's a refusal to acknowledge the nature of the crisis in forgotten communities and Kevin's response involving the "Two Santa Clauses" theory; the "Get a Job" cartoon version of conservatism and what Kevin sees as the kernel of truth in that advice when it comes to communities that are economically dying; JD Vance's Hillbilly Elegy; Kevin's thoughts on anti-immigrant attitudes; moving out of these communities, or dispersion, as the only way out of the destitution of these communities and why Kevin believes that saying this is the only option needs to be said; "performative empathy" as a disservice to bettering people's lives - How Kevin's writing on the subject covered in Big White Ghetto are similar to those written about by the true crime author and conservative commentator Theodore Dalrymple; both Dalrymple and Williamson write about what has been described as the situation of an overlooked "permanent underclass"; how Dalrymple's writing deals with people in prisons whereas Kevin deals with populations that are less concentrated; the passive voice in the stories of the poor that both Dalrymple and Willamson - Ending on a note of levity with a story involving Kevin babysitting, the adult video game Leisure Suit Larry, and Watergate burglar G. Gordon Liddy