I am thelitcritguy, a youtube essayist, horror writer, and co-host of the leftist film podcast, Horror Vanguard., here for a spooky season AMA!
I am currently working on two books, one on the Utopian philosophy of Ernst Bloch and the other is a book on Gothic Marxism called "Capitalism: A Horror Story"
You can find me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheLitCritGuy Listen to Horror Vanguard: https://soundcloud.com/user-317910500
EDIT: Thank you folks -- that's it from me, but please do get in touch if there is anything else you would like to ask.
As someone from the North of England who is also a Marxist, it's gotta be Friedreich Engels
Hi OP! Welcome! Could you please DM me with proof / verification that you’re who you say you are? Posting a link to this thread from your twitter account also works
:fidel-salute-big:
Perfect! Will check that, should have done so first. Thanks again for scheduling so many cool AMAs.
:gold-antifa:
Thank you for the Resident Evil episodes of Horror Vanguard, they were a massive nostalgia trip!
When do you think we might get a Silent Hill deep dive? :D
Yeah the RE episodes were a great way to re-experience the series without having to rewatch them myself. Loved them as a teen but don't know that I can get through them now
Hey, no question, just wanted to let you know I've been binging your show these last few weeks and it's been very enjoyable. :rat-salute-2:
Oh sweet it’s you! Thanks for picking this site to host the AMA.
For HV, do you expect listeners to have seen the movies you’re discussing?
I find the most enjoyable episodes are the ones where I’ve seen the film, but I never have the willpower to go and watch one just to listen to an episode.
I think that's a fair point, but the hope is that even if you haven't seen the film you should be able to enjoy listening. And I get it that you might not watch a film directly because of an episode but maybe you might stumble across something down the road, and appreciate it a little more because you've already listened to an episode of the pod
That dovetails nicely into a follow up question: what are your personal views on spoilers? Do you find they detract from your enjoyment? Enhance it?
I think there's a diversity of reasons why people might seek out spoilers -- there might be things that would be traumatic for people to have dropped on them unexpectedly for example. I don't think spoilers ruin something because the joy of art is not necessarily in what is done, but in how it is presented and communicated.
Wow! So glad you could be here.
What’s your favourite creepypasta? Also, what do you think of backrooms?
Oh too many good ones to choose from but I have a soft spot for a good lost episode creepypasta. For it's hilarious anti-Soviet ideology, the Russian Sleep Experiment is fascinating too.
I wanna thank you for curating yet another successful Spooktober book club selection. I have been impressed by modern horror literature. Who or what other books have left an impression?
Some recent favorites: Christopher Buehlman, "Between Two Fires", Eric LaRocca, "Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke And Other Misfortunes", Gretchen Felker-Martin "Manhunt" and Cassandra Khaw "Nothing But Blackened Teeth"
If I remember right you are in academia, or at least your co-host is. Since I started going to university I perceived it as pretty monolithically in it's liberal ideology (with very few exceptions) . Does being a communist cause any problems for you in academia? Where I live I think it might actually be illegal to be a member of a communist group and be working in public education, how is it for you?
I like researching stuff, but I don't like the feeling that being an open (and especially organized) communist would likely cause big problems for me.
My interest in Marxism was not just political but intellectual as well -- those two were inseparable. It didn't cause me problems on a day-to-day apart from when the university management tried to alter my conditions of employment! I think in some ways I was very fortunate but the liberal ideology you write about is very much a real thing that has to be constantly interrogated. As for organizations, my IRL comrades in the trade union were essential but I think it is vitally important to not place oneself in a position where you are at legal risk (if organizations are illegal I would be cautious as whatever organizations exist are almost certainly monitored or infiltrated) but the internet can be a great resource. I also think a certain degree of intellectual independence is not the worst thing in the world as all too often organizational fidelity can come at the cost of your own thinking.
Thanks for the answers. Yeah, the orgs are all being observed and everyone knows that as well. Being a communist is not illegal(which is good, I am not good at hiding what I think) , but marxist philosophy has been ruled as unconstitutional and as such all orgs that are marxist(actually just anyone left of center) are also unconstitutional and all their members barred from working for the goverment. And most education is still public.
Have you seen the new Interview With The Vampire series and is it any good?
No, but it better be gay as hell if it wants to come close to the Neil Jordan movie.
Also somewhat related to Gothic Marxism check out this essay if you haven't seen it: Marx On Capital As A Real God
Capitalism as cosmic horror is something I have thought about a lot over the last few years.
Yeah, Ian's work absolutely slaps -- I find his writing super interesting even if I take a slightly different perspective in my upcoming book
I just decided to start watching that new series and I can confirm it is gay as hell. Enjoying it so far.
While writing your book did you ever stop and think "more like Ernst COCK :sicko-yes: "
- Don't listen to gatekeepers who spout things like "you aren't a real fan unless you've done xyz" and don't feel like you have to watch a certain kind of horror if you don't like it -- there's plenty of horror films I've never watched
- Watch and read widely, follow whatever interest you might have, and don't be afraid to like stuff because some people have said it's not good
- Horror history is fascinating and well worth getting into. In film, the early Universal and Hammer films often get neglected and that's a real shame. ]
- Recommendations are generally good and horror fans are pretty great at sharing films and books with people
Thank you. I'm fairly familiar with horror, but i've always had issues getting new people into the genre. I've never been truly able to articulate why, but this list definitely helps me to get people into more stuff than just what you get in theatres.
Peter Straub's "Ghost Story" (it might be obvious but it is SO good) -- I'm also a fan of Mrs. God too by Straub. As for Campbell The Darkest Part of the Woods is really good and in terms of short story collections, check out Told by the Dead too.
Guy Endore’s The Werewolf of Paris?
Along with Glen Duncan's "The Last Werewolf", this is my favorite modern werewolf novel and I rarely see it talked about online
Not a question, but I just wanted to say that I really like your show, especially episodes like Boss Baby, or the It deep dive.
Any episode with laborkyle is a good one :))) and thank you so so much for listening
Wisecrack got there first https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9SZOQ7R4M4&ab_channel=Wisecrack :(
