Episode 51 travels back to the late-1980s to look closely at Beetlejuice (Tim Burton, 1988), a film that uses stop-motion, practical effects, prosthetics, make-up and bluescreen to complete its fantasy story of netherworlds, outsiderdom and life after death. Joining Chris and Alex is special guest Jingan Young, playwright, screenwriter, journalist and academic who is the editor of ‘Foreign Goods’ (the first collection of British Chinese plays published in the UK) and a regular contributor to The Guardian and Hong Kong Free Press, who has recently completed a PhD in Film Studies at King’s College London. Listen as they discuss the tonally abrasive qualities of Tim Burton’s film and its shifts into haunted house horror; narratives of conquest, and how this connects to Beetlejuice’s take on white privilege and U.S. national identity; Michael Keaton’s performance and the figure of the trickster; the racialised use of music and questions of neo-minstrelsy; and how the film’s satirical-political edge gives the animated fantasy a bit of extra bite.
Hugo (2011) (with Eric Smoodin)
Watchmen (2009) (with Drew Morton)
Pan's Labyrinth (2006) (with Deborah Shaw)
Persepolis (2007)
Princess Mononoke (1997) (with Rayna Denison)
(Bonus) Q&A with Graham Humphreys (Live from Portsmouth Bookfest)
Waterworld (1995) (with Simon Brew)
Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)
Aladdin (2019) (with Myles Robey)
Hercules (1997) (with Edith Hall)
The Emperor's New Groove (2000) (with Astrid Goldsmith)
Dungeons & Dragons (1983-1985)
Wizards (1977) (Live @ Cinema Museum)
Brazil (1985) (with Hope Dickson Leach)
BoJack Horseman (2014-2020)
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001) (with Frances Pheasant-Kelly)
The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926) (with Caroline Ruddell - Live @ Cinema Museum)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) (with Becca Harrison)
The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) (with Meredith Braun)
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