Hello everyone!!We're finally talking about one of the big ones for our special Halloween collab with Horror Vanguard, it's Berserk!Focusing on the Golden Age Arc, we talk about how this manga so effectively depicts despair and hope, how it can have ultraviolence and still have one emotional gutpunch after another. And, of course, about fighting fascism in all its forms.Enjoy!And check out Horror Vanguard wherever you get your podcasts!https://soundcloud.com/user-317910500https://www.patreon.com/c/horrorvanguard/postsIf you can and are interested in early episodes and the Here Be Extras, check our Patreon!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Also! If you're not there already, feel free to join our Discord, as we have been more talkative than usual, and plan to do so more and more!https://discord.gg/J2wgG3yrPNIntro Music: Ultralounge · Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Outro Music: Don't Leave! · El-Funoun Palestinian Popular Dance Troupe. From the Album: Zareef ℗ 2006 El-Funoun Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hello everyone!!We're back talking about vampires and abuse, but with a twist! It's far more elaborate and engaging this time, as we discuss the indie game El Paso: Elsewhere!How do we deal with the holes of violence? With the abyss of abuse that seems to swallow and destroy us whole? In this Max Payne-inspired game (1 and 2, not 3, not at all) we find several ways to not destroy ourselves in such a pit, and find a way to understand ourselves better, even if we don't know what's on the other side.This was an excellent game that kept surprising us not only by being good, but by presenting an emotional story with sparse elements but not less impact.Enjoy!If you can and are interested in early episodes and the Here Be Extras, check our Patreon!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Also! If you're not there already, feel free to join our Discord, as we have been more talkative than usual, and plan to do so more and more!https://discord.gg/J2wgG3yrPNIntro Music: I Would Never Have To Know - Samurai Drive. From the Album: Samurai Drive ℗ 2020 Daniel RiederauerOutro Music: Don't Leave! · El-Funoun Palestinian Popular Dance Troupe. From the Album: Zareef ℗ 2006 El-Funoun Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hello everyone!!We're talking about another classic today, but for sci-fi, it's the 1995 anime film of Ghost in the Shell!Time to talk about one of the most iconic cyberpunk objects there are, and for good reason. Quite a lot to go over when thinking of bodily relations and representation, identity, the urban landscape and, of course, a whole heap of gender. And it's great!It's a phenomenal film, and we're finally spending some time on it.Enjoy!For reference, the Major's wiki page, as we mentioned it: https://ghostintheshell.fandom.com/wiki/Motoko_KusanagiIf you can and are interested in early episodes and the Here Be Extras, check our Patreon!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Also! If you're not there already, feel free to join our Discord, as we have been more talkative than usual, and plan to do so more and more!https://discord.gg/J2wgG3yrPNIntro Music: Home, by Karl Casey @ White Bat AudioOutro Music: Leve Palestina, Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hello everyone!!We finalize another series! James S. A. Corey's The Expanse! Returning for the last three novels, Persepolis Rising, Tiamat's Wrath, and Leviathan Falls.Discussing how these books represent fascism and cannot conceive of any other kind of enemy, we also reexamine the series as a whole. Pointing out its merits in materialism and political relationships... up to the point where it slips up, falling back into usual liberalism that cannot break out from its original chains of dreamlessness and end of history.Still, an important read, and an excellent one, without a doubt. So join us as we wrap it up, for now.Enjoy!If you can and are interested in early episodes and the Here Be Extras, check our Patreon!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Also! If you're not there already, feel free to join our Discord, as we have been more talkative than usual, and plan to do so more and more!https://discord.gg/J2wgG3yrPNIntro Credits: Ultralounge, Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Outro Credits: Leve Palestina, SpartacusBibliographical Bonus:BANKER, Bryan. “‘The Modality in Which Class is Lived’: Literalizing Race and Class in The Expanse.” In: The Genres of Genre: Form, Formats, and Cultural Formations. SPELL: Swiss Papers in English Language and Literature 38. Narr Francke Attempto Verlag GmbH: Tübingen, 2019. pp. 85-103.BELLAMY, Brent Ryan; O’Brien, Sean. “Solar Accumulation: The Worlds-Systems Theory of The Expanse.” Science Fiction Studies, vol. 45, no. 3, 2018, pp. 515–29. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.5621/sciefictstud.45.3.0515.FLEISCHHACK, Maria. “Against all Odds: Kinship and Collective Action in The Expanse.” In: Kinship and Collective Action: in Literature and Culture v. 6. Narr Francke Attempto Verlag GmbH: Tübingen, 2020. pp. 229-249.PERCOCO, Juan Ignacio; LABIANO, Virginia. “Memories of Future Empire: The Productive Effects of Imperial Imaginaries in Science Fiction – An Analysis of The Expanse”. Contexto Internacional, vol. 46, no. 3, Sep/Dec 2024. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0102-8529.20244603e20230058 ROYSTON, Edward. “Enclosing, Opening, and Redefining Modern Space in The Expanse.” In: American Science Fiction Television and Space: Productions and (Re)configurations (1987-2021). Palgrave Macmillan: Cham, 2023.SADRAI, Edward; DANDO, Michael; KISHIMOTO, Kyoko; BARTON, Matt; COGDILL, Sharon. “Welwala at the Borders: Language, Space, and Power in The Expanse.” In: American Science Fiction Television and Space: Productions and (Re)configurations (1987-2021). Palgrave Macmillan: Cham, 2023.SCODARI, Christine. “Unfamiliar Races in Untimely Places: Anti-Essentialism and the Science Fiction Television Series The Expanse”. The Journal of Popular Culture, vol. 55, no. 4, Aug 2022. https://doi-org.ez67.periodicos.capes.gov.br/10.1111/jpcu.13156 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hello everyone!!We're talking about one of 2025's biggest and best releases so far, and with our good friend André! It's Clair Obscur: Expedition 33!It's French, but we have to talk about it. Both how it creates a mechanically elaborate and successful game, and how it manages to incur in unfortunate psychological reductions and an... unfortunate bump into imperialism and colonialism. We have plenty good and plenty bad in it, so we had to talk about it, and its Frenchness.Enjoy!If you can and are interested in early episodes and the Here Be Extras, check our Patreon!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Also! If you're not there already, feel free to join our Discord, as we have been more talkative than usual, and plan to do so more and more!https://discord.gg/J2wgG3yrPNIntro Music: La ziguezon - La Bottine Souriante ℗ Les Productions Mille-PattesOutro Music: Tit galop pour Mamou · The Balfa Brothers ℗ 1990 Swallow Records Music Publisher: Flat Town Music Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hello everyone!!Joined by good friend Jon, of Horror Vanguard, as we talk about one of the books of all time, Moby Dick, or The Whale, by Herman Melville!Come along as we discover why this book is everything, how it fits into the larger body of American Literature, and how the threats and consequences of individualism are ever-present. Oh, and of course: how this is a phenomenally gay book indeed.Enjoy!Check out Horror Vanguard:https://soundcloud.com/user-317910500https://www.patreon.com/c/horrorvanguard/postsIf you can and are interested in early episodes and the Here Be Extras, check our Patreon!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Also! If you're not there already, feel free to join our Discord, as we have been more talkative than usual, and plan to do so more and more!https://discord.gg/J2wgG3yrPNIntro Credits: Ultralounge, Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Outro Credits: Leve Palestina, Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hello everyone!!Time for us to talk about one of the bigger and better releases of the year, and a kind of horror movie, no less, it's Sinners!Come along as we go into how the film represents music and culture, how it frames the ideas of religion and "sinning", and, obviously, the institutional practices of racism, colonialism and oppression. There's a LOT to talk about, and we certainly do!Enjoy!If you can and are interested in early episodes and the Here Be Extras, check our Patreon!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Also! If you're not there already, feel free to join our Discord, as we have been more talkative than usual, and plan to do so more and more!https://discord.gg/J2wgG3yrPNIntro Music: Home, by Karl Casey @ White Bat AudioOutro Music: Leve Palestina, Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hello everyone!!Time to wrap up the Witcher Saga proper!! As we go over this series in things we hadn't yet covered last time!We dive into the sense of History and Myth established, some other relationships and the fellowship functions themselves, and some of our general thoughts on the Witcher and the Saga! We mark it here for the books, we are (probably) finished!Enjoy!!If you can and are interested in early episodes and the Here Be Extras, check our Patreon!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Also! If you're not there already, feel free to join our Discord, as we have been more talkative than usual, and plan to do so more and more!https://discord.gg/J2wgG3yrPNIntro Credits: Ultralounge, Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Outro Credits: Leve Palestina, Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hello everyone!!We are back with some more Star Wars, and of the best kind, with the second season of Andor!There's been a lot of talk on Andor lately, and having done an episode for the first season, we were not going to let it pass us by.So join us, as we dive into what makes this such a compelling show (amidst flaws, as we talk about them too), critiquing a great deal of liberal hypocrisies, having a rather nuanced understanding of violence, all while never conceding that "maybe the fascists aren't so bad", no. With Andor, we can see a representation of antifascist struggle that goes leaps and bounds to critiquing empire and the horror of fascism throughout.Simply enough: what if pop culture was just good?Enjoy!And as we mentioned it, check out good friend Jon's text on Andor!https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/andor-shows-us-what-popular-culture-could-beIf you can and are interested in early episodes and the Here Be Extras, check our Patreon!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Also! If you're not there already, feel free to join our Discord, as we have been more talkative than usual, and plan to do so more and more!https://discord.gg/J2wgG3yrPNIntro Music: Home, by Karl Casey @ White Bat AudioOutro Music: Leve Palestina, Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
We found something else.Frank talks about the videogame SEASON: A Letter to the Future. It has problems when it talks about History. It's worth talking about.Thank you.For more, keep an eye out on:https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hello everyone!!The time has come!! Now that both of us have read the Witcher Saga books, it's time to finally return to this universe and talk about them!However, it being a rather involved story and universe, alongside comprising 5 books, we decided to make two episodes but discussing the whole Saga.In this first part we dive into some of the relationships of Ciri, Geralt and Yennefer, how the story's form has changed since the short story collections, we spend time talking about the villains, and some of the dynamics of power and mob violence depicted. And there's still lots more to come!Enjoy!If you can and are interested in early episodes and the Here Be Extras, check our Patreon!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Also! If you're not there already, feel free to join our Discord, as we have been more talkative than usual, and plan to do so more and more!https://discord.gg/J2wgG3yrPNIntro Credits: Ultralounge, Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Outro Credits: Leve Palestina, Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hello everyone.The time has come to face our enemy once more. Yuval Noah Harari wrote another book, so we dive into how it is, indeed, a torment of pain and horror.We try to fathom how Harari misunderstands History, historical practice, information, institutions, religion, power, science fiction, AI etc etc. There is very little accurate in this book, and yet, it seems to be rather successful in its nonsense.As we interweave some of the MANY ways this book misrepresents reality, we try to get into what Harari understands and believes, and how he's still terrible in it.We suffer, but for your enjoyment! Have fun!Check out Justin's stuff! Including his new show!http://librarypunk.gay/The Preacher and the SlaveIf you can and are interested in early episodes and the Here Be Extras, check our Patreon!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Also! If you're not there already, feel free to join our Discord, as we have been more talkative than usual, and plan to do so more and more!https://discord.gg/J2wgG3yrPNIntro Credits: Ultralounge, Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Outro Credits: Leve Palestina, Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hello everyone!!We have a special episode with a great guest! In order to talk about the magnificent show The Wire (2002-2008) we bring along Oli Mould, professor of Human Geography at Royal Holloway, University of London!In this episode we dive into this destructive institution that is the police, alongside a few others. All while understanding how the show interweaves its characters, environment and narrative that is always aware of the sociological, the psychological and the personal.There is nothing quite like The Wire, and we have to talk about how it is still relevant for understanding the militarization of the US and its police, and plenty plenty more.Enjoy!Check out the article we mentioned by Oli!https://tacity.co.uk/2024/12/16/american-tv-and-post-9-11-political-imaginaries-24-the-west-wing-and-the-wire/And Oli's TikTok & BlueSky!https://www.tiktok.com/@olimouldt=ZG-8wVtptq6hGb&r=1https://bsky.app/profile/olimould.bsky.socialIf you can and are interested in early episodes and the Here Be Extras, check our Patreon!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Also! If you're not there already, feel free to join our Discord, as we have been more talkative than usual, and plan to do so more and more!https://discord.gg/J2wgG3yrPNIntro Music: Home, by Karl Casey @ White Bat AudioOutro Music: Leve Palestina, Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Welcome one and all to the Left Page & Here Be Media Podcast! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hello everyone!!The time has come. We finish our first long-term game series! Dragon Age has come to an end as we understand it. Let's talk about The Veilguard, with good friend Holly!It is a sad time, as we go over some of the many failings of The Veilguard, its faults in production, writing, execution... And yet, all boiling down to a rather generic game (and failing even at that), that is quite unrecognizable from the Dragon Age series, even in its lowest points before.So come along for the ride, as we close the book and lay out our memorial service for this once rather unique, and damn right phenomenal, videogame series.Enjoy!If you can and are interested in early episodes and the Here Be Extras, check our Patreon!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Also! If you're not there already, feel free to join our Discord, as we have been more talkative than usual, and plan to do so more and more!https://discord.gg/J2wgG3yrPNIntro Music: Home, by Karl Casey @ White Bat AudioOutro Music: Leve Palestina, Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hello everyone!!For our late Left Page this month, we dive into an odd choice, but a fruitful one! Emperor Marcus Aurelius' Meditations, from 161 A.D.!In what we find to be one of the original inspirations for self-help books, we... certainly suffer through this one! Talking about how an Emperor can isolate himself from his society and keep himself above it, becoming "a perfect and invincible soul".And we tackle it in turn, with our own experiences, charging against his feeble attempts at "human nature", what he understands existance and history to be, and worst and scariest of all, the horror of men.Enjoy!And check out the Existential Comics Frank mentioned on Epictetus!https://existentialcomics.com/comic/264If you can and are interested in early episodes and the Here Be Extras, check our Patreon!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Also! If you're not there already, feel free to join our Discord, as we have been more talkative than usual, and plan to do so more and more!https://discord.gg/J2wgG3yrPNIntro Credits: Ultralounge, Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Outro Credits: Leve Palestina, Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hello everyone!!It's been a little while, but we're back with another Concept episode! This time trying to thing about what makes an RPG!In this new series we intend to understand a few of the several messy questions that surround this genre, including trying to define what is an RPG. In this first episode we tackle that initial question, with Leon putting forth a framework that might be the most useful way to understand not just the genre, but how games and their connection to us, can be broached.Enjoy!If you can and are interested in early episodes and the Here Be Extras, check our Patreon!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Also! If you're not there already, feel free to join our Discord, as we have been more talkative than usual, and plan to do so more and more!https://discord.gg/J2wgG3yrPNIntro Music: Home, by Karl Casey @ White Bat AudioOutro Music: Leve Palestina, Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
We found something.Leon brings up crucial ways to talk about History, and doing so responsibly.Video Referenced:https://youtu.be/AnySV4SZdqgThank you.For more, keep an eye out on:https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hello everyone!!In another collab with our good friend Jay, we finally decided to talk about Opera, in particular, Don Giovani!!Come along with us as we dissect this odd portrayal of the "Don Juan" image, his terrible deeds and punishment, and continually this articulation of sound, story and music that opera can create. While never forgetting several matters of class within opera, the notions of performance and lots more!Enjoy!And check out Jay's stuff elsewhere!Library PunkAnd if able, please support Library Punk's Fundraiser!If you can and are interested in early episodes and the Here Be Extras, check our Patreon!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Also! If you're not there already, feel free to join our Discord, as we have been more talkative than usual, and plan to do so more and more!https://discord.gg/J2wgG3yrPNIntro Music: Home, by Karl Casey @ White Bat AudioOutro Music: Leve Palestina, Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hello everyone!!Kicking off March, we're talking about religion, and the Catholic Church! With the Oscar-winning Conclave!As we finally dive deeper into how we engage with spirituality, organised religion, and the dreadful dynamics of power of the Catholic Church, we find an interesting film! Even if it does get beholden by its own liberal politics.A more personal episode than usual, perhaps, but no less engaging and rigorous!Enjoy!If you can and are interested in early episodes and the Here Be Extras, check our Patreon!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Also! If you're not there already, feel free to join our Discord, as we have been more talkative than usual, and plan to do so more and more!https://discord.gg/J2wgG3yrPNIntro Music: Home, by Karl Casey @ White Bat AudioOutro Music: Leve Palestina, Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.