Cud & Tith’s Death and Dismemberment Thursday Movie: Surreal nightmarish silent film Begotten (1989) at 6:30PM Eastern US Time

Just one movie tonight as I have become a busy busy bee!  It’s only 72 minutes long.  We will will start P R O M P T L Y at 6:30PM Eastern US time.

A note: timezones hard, feel free to use https://www.worldtimebuddy.com/ or something similar to do timezone conversions to your local time

We will be using Blorptube tonight: https://blorp.bot.nu/o/visual_cuisine. IMPORTANT NOTE: please use a good VPN whenever visiting Blorptube due to how peering works.

 Begotten (1989)

“Begotten is an experimental 1989 American film written and directed by E. Elias Merhige. It stars the largely unknown actors Brian Salzburg, Donna Dempsey, Stephen Charles Barry and members of Merhige's theatre company Theatreofmaterial. Its unconventional narrative depicts the suicide of a godlike figure and the births of Mother Earth and the Son of Earth, who undertake a journey across a dying world. Merhige directed two short film sequels: 2006's Din of Celestial Birds and 2022's Polia & Blastema: A Cosmic Opera.

Merhige conceived the film as a dance piece for experimental theatre. Inspired by documentary footage of the aftermath of the bombing of Hiroshima, he decided on a full-length film. Begotten has a gritty visual style, intended to give the impression of damaged film stock which has been degraded through time and wear. As with the Hiroshima footage, Begotten is silent. After completion, Merhige spent two years trying to find a distributor. It debuted at the Montreal World Film Festival and later screened at the San Francisco International Film Festival, with the film critics Tom Luddy and Peter Scarlet in attendance. The two brought it to the attention of the critic Susan Sontag, whose enthusiastic praise was instrumental to its eventual release. It was ignored by most mainstream critics and the few reviews were polarized.

Begotten is infused with multiple mystic and religious themes. Critics have debated if it reflects popular attitudes towards the origins of life and religion at the time of its production and portrays creation through the mythic and religious traditions. Some writers have interpreted the film as an examination of the cycle of life and mankind's relationship with nature. Other themes include the Nietzschean view of order and chaos, societal norms and the perception of reality.

I couldn’t find the sequels so while they are short, we won’t be watching them.

More from Wikipedia: “Begotten is shot in a dark, grungy and visceral style. Distorted perspectives and degraded image quality were used to evoke an ancient and otherworldly atmosphere.[38][39] The film has been described as "a cinematic Rorschach test of grotesque, imagery" and "a feature-length fever dream".[40][41] Merhige was interested in crafting imagery through analog format[14] and sought a decayed look that the footage had been damaged through time and wear.[42] He said:

   I wanted Begotten to look, not as if it were from the twenties, not even as if it were from the nineteenth century, but as if it were from the time of Christ, as if it were a cinematic Dead Sea Scroll that had been buried in the sands, a remnant of a culture with customs and rites that no longer apply to this culture, yet are somewhere underneath it, under the surface of what we call "reality."[43][44]”

Tith mentioned this one looks like the synthesis of both our Death and Dismemberment styles — Gory (me) and spiritually unsettling (her).  I think (hope) we’re in for a treat, and my apologies in advance if the film fails to deliver and double apologies if it does!

The imagery looked spooky and haunting which is what got my attention.  The images looked very unsettling, frightening, and disturbing to behold.  I’m expecting this one to be gnarly.

Content Warnings for Begotten (1989)

Violence and gore: Severe

• Graphic suicide on screen at the beginning.
• Disembowelment
• Gore
• Torture

Sexual violence: Severe

-removed on screen. The filter is going to remove that so that should be interpreted as “sexual assault on screen”

Other:

• "Extremely disturbing visuals and subject matter”

Doesthedogdie: https://www.doesthedogdie.com/media/15807

UnconsentingMedia: https://www.unconsentingmedia.org/items/2058

IMDB Parental Guide: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101420/parentalguide/

TankieTube link to movie:  https://tankie.tube/w/28Bvg91dmbPh4BXK1httxB

This is from Smiling Friends S01E01. I think the character's name is Allan. I think this would go well with beanis-on-the-cross.

CW for show if you are curious

Major CWs for suicidality if you do watch it. Someone recommended it to me without any CWs and I was a little shook but also it was a funny episode.

Cud & Tith’s Death and Dismemberment Thursday Movie: Halloween Counteroffensive against Christmas Edition, at 4PM Eastern US Time  (Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness)

The timeline is going to be very tight so in order to not cut into the evening time I will try to be actually very punctual and regimented.  We’ll only have time for Erika’s brilliant pee break song (https://tankie.tube/w/1GEpTVKWpxrzsmpui2pXEg) in between the movies

A note: timezones hard, feel free to use https://www.worldtimebuddy.com/ or something similar to do timezone conversions to your local time

We will be using Blorptube tonight: https://blorp.bot.nu/o/visual_cuisine. IMPORTANT NOTE: please use a good VPN whenever visiting Blorptube due to how peering works.

That’s right, we’re doing horror comedy instead of Christmas, because I can’t show my favorite Christmas movie (In Bruges) again so soon.

First up is Evil Dead II (1987) at 4:00PM Eastern Standard US Time.  It is a remake of Evil Dead and is considered much better.  It is 1h24m minutes long.  I have been assured this is a comedy, which is cool because I find the poster for it very unsettling and creepy.

Second will be the sequel, Army of Darkness (1992) at about 5:48PM Eastern US Time.  This is the director’s cut, and is 1h36m long. This gives us a total of 3 hours and 5 minutes (the 5 minutes for piss break), ending at 8:05PM Eastern US Time.

 Evil Dead II (1987)

“A man vacations with his girlfriend to a remote cabin in the woods. He discovers an audio tape of recitations from a book of ancient texts, and when the recording is played, it unleashes a number of demons which possess and torment him. “

Content Warnings for Evil Dead II (1987)

Violence and gore: Severe

• Very over the top gory, but it is all slapstick

sexual violence: Severe

• Attemptedremoved: trees grab someone, tear off her clothes, and attempt to penetrate her.

Other:

• “There is an entire scene where extremely loud sounds play such as ghostly screaming and moaning.” — unfortunately, no timestamp was provided with this so basically be prepared to rapidly lower the volume.

• brutalization of women

Doesthedogdie: https://www.doesthedogdie.com/media/9524

UnconsentingMedia: https://www.unconsentingmedia.org/items/4168

IMDB Parental Guide: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092991/parentalguide/

TankieTube link to movie: https://tankie.tube/w/6ametnVrS2SXbqLpa3y1Sk

Army of Darkness (1922)

The sequel to Evil Dead II: “it follows Ash Williams (Campbell) as he is trapped in the Middle Ages and battles the undead in his quest to return to the present.”

Content Warnings for Army of Darkness (1922)

Violence and gore: Moderate

• action film violence, much less gory than Evil Dead II

sexual violence: Moderate

• "Towards the end of the film, all the women of a village get captured by an army of skeletons. Several of them are shown with their trops ripped off: their kidnappers forcefully kiss them. It is implied that they areremovedd and transformed into demons. “ — Unconsenting Media
• A woman's dress is ripped off by a character, then said woman is forcibly kissed by the same character a few seconds later.” — DTDD

Doesthedogdie: https://www.doesthedogdie.com/media/14542

UnconsentingMedia: https://www.unconsentingmedia.org/items/1335

IMDB Parental Guide: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106308/parentalguide/

TankieTube link to movie:  https://tankie.tube/w/wS5KE9zPhR81sfksmPm3qA

New feature to these posts: sneak preview of 2 weeks hence:

Either Kwaidan (Japanese art horror film that looks amazing) or some wintery Toei Studio movies (Swan Lake and The Wild Swans) depending on how I feel.

These fuckers brutally abducted some dude who was just going out to get food, wouldn't even let him show his ID proving he was a citizen til after they'd taken him in for processing, and then when he asked for a ride home because they were the ones who'd fucked up, they told him to walk home in the snow.

Guy's been in the US since he was 1 year old.

ICE needs to burn -- not melt, burn -- in Hell or something.

https://sahanjournal.com/immigration/ice-arrest-cedar-riverside-minneapolis-somali-man/

Soy hates my intestines, gluten as well, but I saw some new meat alternatives at a fancy grocery store so I am once again attempting to wean down from animals.

I found some pumpkin seed tofu and some fava bean tofu at the fancy grocery store. Cooking experiment, procedure done with both kinds of tofu:

Tofus were frozen, but I thawed them in the fridge for a day before cooking. Cut them into bite sized cubes

Put pan on stove with spices and oil. Turn burner on to mid heat. When hot, put tofu in. Wait a while. Take tongs and use them to flip the tofu cubes..

The pumpkin tofu cooked fine. Stayed intact, got to a food safe internal temp. In contrast, the fava bean tofu kept sticking to the pan and leaving a layer behind when I flipped it, and that layer burned. Meanwhile, it never reached 165 degrees F. I think it was wetter as the pumpkin tofu was prepressed

Eventually in frustration I just macerated the fava bean tofu into crumbles, left it on high and covered for a bit to make sure it hit the food safe temp, called it done and scraped what wasn't ash out of the pan. I've been adding the crumbs to daal to make them palatable/tolerable. Based on this experience I think I should stick with pumpkin, but I need as much variety as I can get in my already limited diet so I'd like to make the fava bean tofu work too. It also did not seem to really take the spices I put in as well and was overall more bland.

This has to just be a skill issue. What did I do wrong? I was basically trying to cook these as if they were meat; was that conceptually the wrong approach? Seems to have been because they're more delicate.

Neither of these tofus have tried to claw their way out from inside my body, so at least if I can figure out how to cook them they could be viable.

lorem ipsem dolor (I posted in the wrong comm)

Is there any reason NOT to switch to ProtonVPN from Mullvad?

Use cases: privacy, torrenting without getting a DMCA letter.

OSs: Linux, Mac.

I know there was a reason I didn't pick up Proton years ago when PIA got bought by Kape but I don't remember what it was. I'd read something on /r/VPNTorrents but that place has since been banned so I can't refer to it again.

Subtitle: Let the Right Oldsferatu In

A note: timezone shit has gotten weird lately with the end of daylight saving time in the US.  Please refer to https://www.worldtimebuddy.com/ or something similar to do timezone conversions to your local time

IMPORTANT NOTE: please use a good VPN whenever visiting Blorptube, or anywhere else on the internet, for that matter.  Protect your privacy.

We will be using Blorptube tonight: https://blorp.bot.nu/o/visual_cuisine.  It is still recommended to use a VPN for peertube.

The theme for tonight is dark bleakness because the weather finally matches my mood, and these vampire films make heavy use of darkness.

First up is Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (1922) at 4:30 Eastern Standard US Time.  It is 1h29m minutes long.

Second will be Låt Den Rätte Komma In (Let the Right One in) (2008) (1h55m) at about 6:00 PM Eastern US Time.

Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (1922)

A classic silent film inspired by Dracula.  The vibes are immaculate and I actually like it more than the original Dracula book it’s inspired by.  This film was ordered to be destroyed on copyright-infringement grounds!  “Even with several details altered, Stoker's widow Florence sued over the adaptation's copyright violation, and a court ruling ordered all copies of the film to be destroyed.”  Luckily, some copies survived.  This movie was also allegedly banned in Sweden until 1972 for “excessive horror”

Content Warnings for Nosferatu: Symphony of Horror (1922)

Mild across the board.  Some less than great depictions of a mental institution, and Count Orlock has been noted as based on antisemitic caricatures.

Doesthedogdie: https://www.doesthedogdie.com/media/236790

UnconsentingMedia: https://www.unconsentingmedia.org/items/2125

IMDB Parental Guide: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0013442/parentalguide/

TankieTube link to movie: https://tankie.tube/w/1Xa9E8no42PTKvhMBiY9Ss

Låt Den Rätte Komma In (Let the Right One in) (2008)

This is billed as a “romantic horror film”.  I have my opinions on the matter and welcome discussion in the comments of this post about what you think of that label!  The film tells the story of a bullied 12-year-old boy who develops a friendship with a strange child in Blackeberg, a suburb of Stockholm.  Oops!  Turns out she’s a vampire!  A mix of horror and sweetness ensues.  Set against the bleak backdrop of the frigid North as Sweden is plunged into invernal darkness

Content Warnings for Låt Den Rätte Komma In (Let the Right One in) (2008):

Violence and gore: Severe

• Depiction of graphic facial disfigurement from acid

• Someone is burned alive.

• Lots of blood

• Someone’s neck is snapped on screen

• Brief depiction of the aftereffects of genital trauma

sexual violence: Mild (text) to severe (subtext)

• None depicted explicitly, however some aspects of the relationships between the characters are inextricable from considerations of child abuse

Other:

• Some playing around with gender in ways that could be upsetting depending on how they're viewed.  The book was worse about it apparently, and the author reworked it to be much better for the film

• ending that is supposed to be ambiguous or bittersweet.  I personally believe it is just bleak.

Doesthedogdie: not linking because it’s wrong.

UnconsentingMedia: Not linking because it’s wrong.

IMDB Parental Guide: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1139797/parentalguide/

TankieTube link to movie: https://tankie.tube/w/4bgWzWSrGLbDF2epXLhRaZ

New feature to these posts: sneak preview of 2 weeks hence:

Next time I have this slot I am hoping to do the 2024 Nosferatu, aka Newsferatu, because I missed it when it came out, and the Nic Cage film Vampire’s Kiss (1988).  We’ll have to start half an hour earlier as they’re both longer.

Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBd8ptCTHVk Emotes:

This song is so catchy. Shel's singing voice is kind of strange.

It is with regret that I feel I must publicly object to a certain subset of jokes about Islam on the grounds that they are tasteless.

Where I’m coming from: ex-Muslim with a complicated relationship to the faith, but this means I’ve had real-world training in how to spot a problematic Islamophobia and how to differentiate between good-natured fun, fair criticisms, and just gross behavior.  My opinion should be taken as my personal opinion on the matter and not speaking for anyone else.

The format of the joke and specific examples:

• “Alhamdulillah, Dick Cheney said the Shahada and embraced the Light of Islam on his deathbed!”

or as I just saw and which inspired me to write this,

• “[these Israelis whoremovedd Palestinian hostages] need to seek the light of Allah!”

BTW I'm definitely not saying "thou art cancelled" if you've made this joke, it's just a little course correction and community education as we all teach each other things

The Problems With This Joke:

1.  Accepting the premise, the idea people who are responsible for torturing and murdering thousands to millions of Muslims get to suddenly escape punishment for all the misery they’ve wrought is disgusting.  Celebrating that they would escape that is disgusting.

Now maybe some Muslims are so devout and peace-loving that they would celebrate such a converion and deathbed redemption.  But I never was even when I was religious.  My childhood prayers would be fedposts if I wrote them out.  I don’t want to imagine Dick Cheney going to Heaven, I want him to suffer in Hell.  The torment he inflicted upon his (surviving) victims will not end as long as they live.  The scars of torture last a lifetime, as do the emotional scars of seeing your family and friends be murdered over some imperialist nonsense.  If you want to dunk on Dick Cheney religiously, a simple and “burn in Hell” is way more solidaristic than pretending Dick Cheney got to co-opt the religion of most of his victims and escape justice for all the evil he did in life.

If you’re struggling with this concept, it may help to practice the reasoning in a different context.  You may ask yourself this: would you find it funny to joke about and celebrate the idea of Hitler converting to Judaism and coming out as gay and discovering he was part Roma and deciding that actually he supported Communism right before ridding the world of himself?

2.  It’s treating Islam as a punchline, something that’s inherently silly and funny, rather than something that is important to a quarter of the world’s population and a source of solace and strength for people resisting an active genocide.  A tool to be used to dunk on the conservatives, nothing more.  It feels like a more clever version of the liberalism of democrats saying shit like “lololol, D(R)umpf is gay for Putler” where the joke is just that they’re gay, because being gay is bad and worthy of ridicule.  What’s funny, that these bastards did something which their communities would view as heretical? No, then it wouldn’t be so specific.  The joke here is just that being Muslim is embarrassing, and that encodes Islamophobic thought.

People often use humor to cope with the uncomfortable.  I’ve done it too.  But I think this particular format, in light of SO MUCH horrific bloodshed specifically of people in this religious group, sometimes (often) even using their religion as the excuse to target them, has problems and we should be more aware of how we approach the topic.

That’s all.  There could be more to write, but I’ve got things to do and have covered everything that was easy to articulate.  Basically all the other jokes and seriousness that I’ve seen here — alhamdulillahs, mashallahs, inshallahs, others I haven’t written down — all seem supportive and inclusive.  There’s a bit of “trigger the War on Terror racists who freak out whenever they hear a bit of Arabic” coupled with “heartfelt solidarity with the victims of imperialism” to those that makes them wholesome in a way that the joke format I’m criticizing is not.