Episode 12: The Dark Eye: On the Films of Rodney Ascher

Weird Studies

Phil Ford and J. F. Martel

Society & Culture, Arts, Philosophy

4.8 • 688 Ratings

🗓️ 2 May 2018

⏱️ 89 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

American filmmaker Rodney Ascher is a master of the weird documentary. Whether he be exploring wild interpretations of a classic horror film in Room 237, bracketing the phenomenon of sleep paralysis in The Nightmare, studying the uncanny power of the moving image in "Primal Screen," or considering the sinister power of a kitschy logo in "The S from Hell," Ascher confronts his viewers with realities that resist final explanations and facile reduction. In this episode, Phil and JF follow Ascher's films into the living labyrinth of a strange universe that isn't just unknown, but radically unknowable. REFERENCES American filmmaker Rodney Ascher, director of "The S from Hell", Room 237, The Nightmare, and "Primal Screen" James Hillman, The Dream and the Underworld The Duffer Brothers (directors), Stranger Things (web TV series) Alan Landsburg (creator), In Search Of... with Leonard Nimoy (American TV series) Errol Morris (director), The Thin Blue Line Ann and Jeff Vandermeer (editors), The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories British speculative writer Michael Moorcock Lord Dunsany, The Gods of Pegana Arthur Conan Doyle, The Hound of the Baskervilles Stanley Kubrick (writer-director), The Shining Richard Attenborough (director), Magic Sandor Stern (writer-director), Pin Freud, "The Uncanny" Freud, Beyond the Pleasure Principle David Lynch (writer-director), Lost Highway French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan Duncan Barford, Occult Experiments in the Home: Personal Explorations of Magick and the Paranormal JF Martel, "Ramble on the Real" Phil Ford, "Birth of the Weird" American astronomer Carl Sagan Charles Taylor, Sources of the Self: The Making of the Modern Identity René Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Specter Vision Radio.
0:03.3	Welcome to Weird Studies, an art and philosophy podcast with hosts Phil Ford and J.F. Martel.
0:21.8	For more episodes and to support the podcast, go to Weird Studies.com. Hi, this is Phil.
0:51.0	When JF and I record these shows, we usually chat about this or that
0:55.8	until we warm to the day's topic. That way we can sneak up on it, on its blind side,
1:01.4	and take it by surprise. So our edited down conversations often begin in Medias Ress, for
1:08.0	example in this episode. So here are three things you need to know in advance.
1:13.6	Number one, Rodney Asher is a documentarian who has filmed two features. The first was Room
1:20.8	237, which is a documentary about strange and obsessive fan theories of that strange and obsessive film, The Shining.
1:30.3	Asher's next feature, The Nightmare, is about the terrifying phenomenon of sleep paralysis.
1:36.3	Number two.
1:37.3	The title of this episode is The Dark Eye on the films of Rodney Asher.
1:42.3	That title comes from a line in James Hill hillman's the dream and the underworld quote essential for working with what is unknown is an attitude of unknowing this leaves room for the phenomenon itself to speak it alone may keep us from delusions
1:59.2	hence my stress upon two things the dark eye that makes our
2:03.5	brightness unsure, and careful precision to what is actually there." End quote. This passage gives
2:11.9	you the key note of the conversation you were about to hear. Finally, number three. the Eric you hear J.F. Mention is Eric Davis, who appears in our fourth
2:23.3	episode.
2:24.6	We hope you enjoy our conversation. Did you watch the films?
2:40.0	Yeah, I did. I did. I've, Did you watch the films?
2:53.3	Oh, I did?
2:54.2	Yeah, I did.
2:54.8	I've been on a Rodney Asher marathon.
	...

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