Pop Xulture Newsletter # 26
Collection Machine: Halloween 2024. 10/31/24
Xurrent News
Welcome to a not-so-spooky newsletter and happy Halloween! I’m not a big horror fan but dressing up can be fun and I like eating candy. I’m changing up this Newsletter’s format (more below) and to prove I’m not a liar, take this first ever poll:
Alright, we’re off to a chaotic start, so to regain a semblance of order, here are the projects I’m working on.
I just finished a draft on Apple +’s Tetris for Mere Orthodoxy. Hoping it will get greenlit – more to come. And I’m 95% done with a piece for Christ and Pop Culture on Saturday Night. The film is about the final hours leading up to Saturday Night Live’s debut. Although quirky and not for everyone, I enjoyed another Reitman/Kenan offering set in 1975.
Xollection Machine: Halloween 2024
When I first designed this newsletter, I assumed readers would want what I like: Infrequent emails packed with original content. But I’m going to try changing the model to shorter, more frequent publishing. I’ll bring you interesting stuff I find and the pop culture and spiritual content I’m consuming (hence “Collection Machine”). And I still plan on giving you exclusive articles and unpublished pieces, just interspersed with shorter curation newsletters.
Full transparency, this site’s subscription rate has been stagnant for months and in many ways that’s my fault, as I haven’t published much on here over the last year. A big punk rawk part of me loves being small-time, but the part of me that wants to legitimately publish books knows the industry requires I build an audience. I placate myself saying as long as it’s good content then the numbers game doesn’t matter. In short, telling your friends to subscribe to ChrisFogle.com would help me greatly!
Alright, enough of that, here’s the good stuff:
1. Some Recently Viewed Horror Films
As previously mentioned, I’m not a horror fan but during spooky season I indulge my wonderful wife. Here’s the thriller media I’ve watched recently:
-Evil Dead (which came out in 1981…and 1982…and 1983). There’s a reason this became the cult classic, launched Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi, and sparked a franchise…but it truly is unsettling.
-Silence of the Lambs (1991). Every time I watch SotL, I find another reason to appreciate it. This time it was that Foster, Hopkins and Levine have space to shine independently and together; despite not sharing much screen time, they are incredibly interconnected.
-The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023). An interesting telling of Dracula and, although I’m being lazy, I agree with Matt Donato’s review, via IGN.
-Woman of the Hour (2024). Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut about real life serial killer Rodney Alcala who was a bachelor on The Dating Game. I also thought it was eerie that this was one of three 2024 films about ’70s North American television (including Late Night with the Devil and Saturday Night) all of which I happened to see (that was the eerie part).
-Hysteria! (2024). I’ve only seen the first two episodes but the show’s weird take on the Satanic Panic is fun thus far. While it could be compared to Stranger Things and Totally Killer (also starring Julie Bowen) that’s probably only due to the ’80s setting. I especially love that the creators clearly love heavy metal (all episode titles are metal songs). We close the list as we began, with a Bruce bookend (…Campbell).
(UPDATE: I forgot I also watched Tucker and Dale vs. Evil [2010]. A fantastic homage to the horror genre, but with a hysterical and creative spin).
2. The Internet Archive was Cyberattacked…Do You Even Know What it is?
This month the Internet Archive was attacked and although this has nothing to do with Halloween (I won’t make a “hackers are scary” joke), I found the story fascinating. Brewster Kahle created the Internet Archive and its archival service, the Wayback Machine (a name I’ve always absolutely loved!), which hold records of 916 billion web pages.
Now that the internet’s been around for forty years, many pages and sites have died and the Internet Archive preserves “the web as it was.” But there are also images, software, and films (for example see 1931’s Dracula [colorized]). It’s encouraging that Mr. Kahle views the attack as an opportunity to improve security (“we have gotten the message”). You can listen to the 4 minute interview and/or read the full transcript here.
3. G. K. Chesterton’s Orthodoxy
I haven’t read much Chesterton, but Orthodoxy is equally fantastic and brain-pain. He can be hilarious, while poignant about society and religion. Here is a quote befitting a Halloween theme.
Bemoaning the fight between those who help others above themselves (altruists), and people motivated by self-interest (egoists), Chesterton says,
They have torn the soul of Christ into silly strips, labeled egoism and altruism, and they are equally puzzled by His insane magnificence and His insane meekness. They have parted His garments among them, and for His vesture they have cast lots; though the coat was without seam woven from the top throughout.(Orthodoxy, 1908, p. 26).
4. Looking Back
Last year at this time I wrote about Tim Burton’s-now-synonymous-with-Halloween film in the article: “1993 Film Favorites, Part 5: Finding Contentment in The Nightmare Before Christmas.”
Xoncluding Thoughts
That’s it for now. I hope you enjoyed the new Collection Machine (yes, clearly, it’s an homage to the Wayback Machine) format. Have a safe Halloween!
Thanks, in Him,
-Chris (the Bearded Wonder) Fogle