Fear is the Mind Killer
Introduced as usual by the stentorian intonations of Mr. Spock himself, this episode appropriately addresses all things science fiction, which our returning guest, Nikki Brake-Silla, loves wholeheartedly.
John would love the genre of science fiction also, if he did not hate the concept of “genre” more.
In this wide-ranging discussion of sci-fi in books, movie and television, the hosts and their guest discuss the differences between sci-fi and fantasy and whether superhero movies fit into either of those two categories. They talk about good sci-fi (The original Twilight Zone episode entitled “The Eye Of The Beholder” and bad sci-fi (2001: A Space Odyssey).
The oeuvre of Christopher Nolan is parsed and debated.
John invents new categories of entertainment, distinct from both sci-fi and fantasy, such as Buffoonery, to which he relegates the television series Lost.
Perhaps because they don’t include that particular characterization, John rails against Netflix for using genre classifications at all. He expresses genuine concern that the great mass of people are mindless sheep, primarily because he has not been chosen as the head shepherd.
In other news from the episode: Peggy is not so much a fan of science fiction as she is of David Tennant; Jim explains why he needs therapy; and Shelly can not remember the new name. These are the voyages of the podcast enterprise!
Recommendations from the episode are here.
Guest
NIKKI BRAKE-SILLÁ is a filmmaker whose art counters and confronts pre-conceived notions about voiceless populations. She conceptualizes work that opens the viewer’s mind to new ways of thinking about these societies, and the persisting stereotypes that mainstream media portrays.
Nikki’s credits include “Run Granny Run” (director, Marlo Poras; HBO Films), “UNFever” (director, Andrea Weiss), “Fast Times at West Philly High” (director, Debbie Morton; Frontline), for which she was the Associate Producer. Nikki penned her first feature film, “Silently Screaming,” a second round selection for the January 2017 Sundance Narrative Lab and a semi-finalist for Middlebury Script Lab.
Nikki received her M.F.A from the City College of New York. Her thesis film, “Open Wound” received funding from The Princess Grace Foundation, The National Board of Review, The Bert Saperstein Foundation, The Institute for Human Studies, and the Danielle & Larry Nyman Family and Public Media Foundation.
