Happy Spooky Season, y'all! On our previous episode with Josh Larsen we teased that we'd likely be covering one of the films we mentioned in our discussion of the theology of horror movies, and it's that time! We're excited to kick things off this October by covering the underseen horror classic Cat People from 1942 (congrats to the folks who guessed it correctly!).
The description on The Criterion Collection's website for the film, in part, reads: "The first of the horror films producer Val Lewton made for RKO Pictures redefined the genre by leaving its most frightening terrors to its audience’s imagination. Simone Simon stars as a Serbian émigré in Manhattan who believes that, because of an ancient curse, any physical intimacy with the man she loves (Kent Smith) will turn her into a feline predator." In its brisk 73-minute runtime, the film is in turn scary, thought-provoking, and incredibly impressive as a artistic work made with such little money and under significant time constraints.
We are also excited to have the perfect guest for this tale of sexual repression & religious fundamentalism, artist and author Stephanie Stalvey. Stephanie writes and draws comics and is most widely known for her graphic memoir "Pure," currently being released on her website with a published collection on its way when it's finished. She writes about her own experiences with fundamentalism and purity culture and a few of her short stories were so thematically similar to the story portrayed in the film (links below), that we had to reach out. The result was a fantastic conversation that we hope encourages and edifies you as much as it did us. And who know, we just may have her back for a Curse of the Cat People bonus for Patreon supporters sometime!
If you enjoy the show, please consider messaging it to a friend who would like it and giving us a rating/review on your platform of choice so others can get in on the conversation as well!
Links:
Fear Not! by Josh Larsen (Filmspotting)
Watch Cat People free on the Internet Archive
Substantive Cinema Letterboxd List
Stephanie IG short 1
Stephanie IG short 2
Shoutouts:
Mad Men (series)
Bluey (series)
Fun Home
Are You My Mother?
Follow Stephanie:
IG Art Page
Website
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Email: thesubstancepod@gmail.com
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--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thesubstancepod/support155: Phillip Holmes Replay (Ep. 70)
154: Felicia Wu Song Replay (Ep. 89)
153: Bradly Mason Replay (Ep. 56)
152: Deconstruction, Healing, and Found Family feat. Margaret Bronson
151: Birding, Grief, and the Beauty of Nature feat. Courtney Ellis
150: Un-Substantive Cinema | Hot Shots! Part Deux feat. Dale_A
149: Substantive Cinema | The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance feat. Elliot Coen
148: Militarism, Civil Rights & Inspiring the Next Wave of Revolutionaries feat. Nate Powell
147: TTU w/Trevor Akin | “Biblical” Tagline, Masculinity Crisis & Election Year Faithfulness
146: Substantive Cinema | Lucky (2017) feat. John Carroll Lynch
145: Art, Commerce, and the Kindness of St. Valentine feat. Ned Bustard
144: Grief, Lament, and Hope feat. Terra McDaniel
143: Substantive Cinema | The Curse of Cat People feat. Stephanie Stalvey
142: Movies Across the Seriousness Spectrum feat. The Winterstein Bros (Saints & Cinema)
141: Interview | Justice, Law, and Love of Neighbor feat. Matt Martens
140: Bonus | Becoming Alien feat. Sarah Welch-Larson
139: Interview | Preparing For Christmas feat. Emily Hunter McGowin
138: Substantive Cinema | Alien (1979) feat. Sarah Welch-Larson
137: Interview | Josh Nadeau (Sword & Pencil) on Goodness, Truth, and Beauty
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