Books, Ballads, and B-Roll

Witches, Worship, and Woe

HVSPN — Sun, 16 Jun 2024 09:00:00 -0400

Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting Network

Books, Ballads, and B-Roll

Witches, Worship, and Woe

Episode #8

You are listening to Books, Ballads, and B-roll the podcast with your hosts Bee and Alastair.

In this episode, we’re going to discuss: connections between media related to witchcraft, religion, and persecution. Also, we have some special guests on this episode: our friends Fox and Tommy!

Trigger warning

Rape
Religious critique
Spoilers

Segment 1: Good Omens

The book Good Omens is a 1990 novel written collaboratively by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. It’s a comedy about the birth of the Antichrist and the coming of Armageddon that centers around a demon named Crowley and an angel named Aziraphale who become unlikely friends and ultimately team up to try to prevent the end of the world.

Fox discusses the magic system used in Good Omens, and how it relates to the powers of the different characters
Alastair discusses the connection to historical depictions of witches and differences from more modern ones
We talk about the comedic plotlines, religious commentary, and different characters in the novel
We compare the novel to the show adaptation

Segment 2: Her Ghost in the Fog

Her Ghost in the Fog was released in 2000 by Cradle of Filth, a metal band. The song tells a story from the perspective of a man whose love was killed and raped by a group of men while picking herbs. They excuse their actions by claiming she was a witch. When the narrator comes across his love, who is at this point barely alive, he is devastated. After they make a vow to each other and say their goodbyes, he burns down the church where the men have gone, killing them before then killing himself.

Tommy talks about the history of church burnings in response to the Christian erasure of Pagan religions, a phenomenon that may have inspired this song
Tommy discusses the emotion of the vocals and explains the appeal of black metal, a uniquely raw genre

Segment 3: WandaVision

WandaVision is a miniseries by Marvel featuring the characters Wanda Maximoff (aka the Scarlet Witch) and Vision. The show follows Wanda and Vision’s life together in the idyllic suburban town of Westview, New Jersey. As the episodes progress, it becomes clear that something is off. It seems that their life only exists inside a strange magical bubble, which is being observed from the outside by SWORD (Sentient Weapon Observation and Response Division) by being broadcasted to television as a fictional sitcom. It seems like Wanda is semi-intentionally, semi-unconsciously using her magic to create an alternate reality in which Vision survived the conflict with Thanos.

One thing that makes the show so fun is that each episode pays homage to a different decade in sitcom history, starting in the 1950’s and continuing until the present day
The show also incorporates the 1600s, as one of Wanda’s neighbors turns out to have been a witch during the Salem Witch Trials. This is an interesting contrast to the futuristic technology that frequently appears
WandaVision is more nuanced than some Marvel films where there’s a heavy emphasis on “good” vs. “evil”; Wanda is both the hero and villain

Music Credits:

Flowers and Weeds (Acoustic Guitar & Penny Whistle) by Axletree
Marty Gots a Plan by Kevin MacLeod

Connect with us on Social Media

@theHVSPN

Poetry, Perfidy, and Passion

HVSPN — Sun, 16 Jun 2024 09:00:00 -0400

Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting Network

Books, Ballads, and B-Roll

Poetry, Perfidy, and Passion

Episode #6

You are listening to Books, Ballads, and B-roll the podcast with your hosts Bee and Alastair.

In this episode, we will discuss three different media that incorporate poetry. Just a warning: this episode will deal with themes of suicide, mental health struggles, and violence, as well as events that may be upsetting or fraught.

Segment 1: The Dead Poets’ Society

Another warning: this discussion contains spoilers. If you haven’t seen the movie, we greatly recommend it, although it’s a heavy watch!!

The Dead Poets’ Society, directed by Peter Weir and written by Tom Shulman, came out in 1989, but the movie is set in 1959. It’s set at an all-male boarding school in Vermont called Welton Academy and centers around two students, Neil Perry and Todd Anderson, who have been assigned each other’s roommates. Neil is confident, outgoing, and charismatic, but hampered by an extremely strict father who seems more concerned with his son’s academic and financial success in life than his happiness and wellbeing. Todd is more shy and has trouble speaking in front of groups, but he starts coming out of his shell with the help of Neil’s firm friendship and the encouragement of their new English teacher, John Keating (played by the renowned Robin Williams). Keating surprises the class with unorthodox teaching methods that prioritize creativity and independent thinking over memorization of facts, and he instills a new appreciation for poetry in them that prompts Neil and several of his friends to found a group called the Dead Poets’ Society. Under the cover of night, the friends meet in a secluded cave in the woods beside the Welton campus, and read poems aloud. Keating and the club encourage them all to live their lives on their own terms. Todd starts writing poetry of his own, and Neil discovers his love of acting and successfully auditions for the role of Puck in a local production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. However, things take a turn for the worse when Neil is confronted by his father’s disapproval of his participation in the play, wanting him to prioritize the career in medicine already planned out for him. Mr. Keating advises Neil to convince his father how important acting is to him, and he successfully persuades his father to let him stay in the play. However, his father unexpectedly shows up to watch the performance and disapproves of it even more as a result; immediately after, he angrily tells Neil he’ll be disenrolled from Welton and put in a military academy, and will no longer be permitted to act. Neil is devastated, unable to express his feelings to his father, and receiving no support from his mother. That night, feeling extremely trapped and distraught, he ends up taking his life.

We talk about societal constraints and hierarchies, how they often crush the individuality of those they claim to uplift, and how this relates to the current meritocratic education system
We discuss how poetry and other creative forms of self-expression are made in response to and pose a threat to authority and oppressive social constructs
We explore the plausibility of a romantic interpretation of Neil and Todd’s relationship and discuss the role of heteronormativity in this movie

Segment 2: Ivy

Ivy is a song by Taylor Swift from her album, Evermore, which was released during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We really like the ambiguous nature of this song, and there are many really interesting and in-depth theories on what it’s about. To us, it seems like it’s from the perspective of a woman, probably around the 1800s. It’s likely set in some time period where marriage was mostly seen as a business transaction, so the woman in the song feels imprisoned in a marriage she’s unhappy with. When she sings “And the old widow goes to the stone every day/but I don’t, I just sit here and wait/grieving for the living” it seems like she’s comparing herself to other women who grieve for their husbands after they die. She should feel lucky to not be in their situation, but some guilty part of her envies them, and she wishes she had some easy way to escape the marriage. Her situation is worsened because she’s in love with a woman. She compares this woman to ivy growing around her “house of stone”. The house in this situation may refer to her heart. For so long, she’s felt like there was a problem with her or that she was cold because she wasn’t able to give her husband the love other women could, and she blamed herself. This song is a love song, but it also overflows with an overwhelming sense of anxiety. Her urgency builds throughout the song. She is terrified of what her husband’s reaction will be if he finds out. She plans to run away with her lover, and she urges her to “Tell me to run/or dare to sit and watch what will become/and drink my husband’s wine”.

The reason why we selected this song for our poetry episode is that many people have theorized it to be about the secret relationship between Emily Dickinson and her brother’s wife, Sue. We examine some of the compelling evidence for this theory
Bee gushes over the poeticism of this song’s lyrics
We draw connections between the gay subtext and oppressive environment in this song and The Dead Poet’s Society

Segment 3: Fck Your Lecture on Craft, My People Are Dying*

This poem was written by Palestinian-American poet, Noor Hindi. It was written in 2020 and was a response to how overwhelmed she felt by a lot of different events, including the killing of George Floyd, the pandemic, and Israel threatening to evict families in Sheikh Jarrah.

The Poem:

Colonizers write about flowers.

I tell you about children throwing rocks at Israeli tanks seconds before becoming daisies.

I want to be like those poets who care about the moon.

Palestinians don't see the moon from jail cells and prisons.

It's so beautiful, the moon.

They're so beautiful, the flowers.

I pick flowers for my dead father when I'm sad.

He watches Al Jazeera all day.

I wish Jessica would stop texting me Happy Ramadan.

I know I'm American because when I walk into a room something dies.

Metaphors about death are for poets who think ghosts care about sound.

When I die, I promise to haunt you forever.

One day, I'll write about the flowers like we own them.

We feel that this poem is always quite relevant, but we thought it was especially important that we share it now because as we’re here watching movies and discussing poetry, Gaza is currently being bombarded, whole families are being wiped out, and buried under the rubble of their own homes, unable to hear the birds or see the flowers. Poets and writers are being killed and their voices are lost forever. But the poem is also a reminder that Palestinians have experienced violence and oppression for a long time before what we’ve been seeing in the news the past couple of months.

Alastair discusses the way some of the transcendentalist poetry referenced in The Dead Poets’ Society, and in Ivy and other Taylor Swift songs, often comes from a place of privilege because the people writing it can afford to talk about the beauty of nature without worrying about destruction and suffering that others might be experiencing.
Bee suggests that all poetry is a political statement (for example, how in The Dead Poets’ Society comparatively idyllic subjects of poems are used to subvert the standards of conformity imposed by Wellton) and that writing and art are often created in response to people feeling powerless.

Music Credits:

Flowers and Weeds (Acoustic Guitar & Penny Whistle) by Axletree
Marty Gots a Plan by Kevin MacLeod

Connect with us on Social Media

@theHVSPN

Winter, Wonders, and Whimsy

HVSPN — Fri, 22 Dec 2023 09:00:00 -0400

Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting Network

Books, Ballads, and B-Roll

Winter, Wonders, and Whimsy

Episode #7

You are listening to Books, Ballads, and B-roll the podcast with your hosts Bee and Alastair.

In this episode of Books, Ballads, and B-Roll the Podcast, we share our favorite winter-holiday-themed media!

Segment 1: Alastair’s Top 5 Winter/Holiday Books/Movies

Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy - Karen Foxlee
Spinning Silver - Naomi Novik
Girls Made of Snow and Glass - Melissa Bashardoust
The Nightmare Before Christmas - directed by Henry Selick and produced by Tim Burton
It’s a Wonderful Life - Produced by Frank Capra
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, the Muppets version

Segment 2: Bee’s Top 5 Winter/Holiday Books/Movies

Jingle All the Way - animated film (2011) directed by Chel White and written by Allan Neuwirth
Breadcrumbs - written by Anne Ursu
The Littlest Christmas Tree - by R.A. Herman and illustrated by Jacqueline Rogers
Rudolph The Rednosed Reindeer - 1964 film directed by Larry Roemer and Kizo Nagashima
The Little Drummer Boy - 1968 version directed by Arthur Rankin and Jules Bass
Also the Little Drummer Mouse - by Mercer Mayer

Segment 3: Winter/Holiday Playlist!

The Spotify playlist can be found here! It includes:

Let it Go - Frozen
Into the Unknown - Frozen
Hark! The Harold Angels Sing - Choir of King’s College, Cambridge
tis’ the damn season - Taylor Swift
Christmas Tree Farm (Old Timey Version) - Taylor Swift
The Christians and the Pagans - Dar Williams
All I Want for Christmas Is You - Mariah Carey
Christmases When You Were Mine - Taylor Swift
White Winter Hymnal - Fleet Foxes
Winter Song - Sara Bareilles
ALL the Nightmare before Christmas soundtrack
Basque Carol - Heavenly Angelic Light Orchestra
Basque Carol - Transcendental Light Orchestra
Ivy - Taylor Swift
Do You Hear What I Hear - Perry Como
The Little Drummer Boy - 1965 version; Harry Simeone Chorale
Carol of the Bells
Nutcracker soundtrack
Swan Lake soundtrack

Music Credits:

Flowers and Weeds (Acoustic Guitar & Penny Whistle) by Axletree
Marty Gots a Plan by Kevin MacLeod

Connect with us on Social Media

@theHVSPN

Remembrance, Regrets, and Recovery

HVSPN — Thu, 30 Nov 2023 09:00:00 -0400

Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting Network

Books, Ballads, and B-Roll

Remembrance, Regrets, and Recovery

Episode #5

You are listening to Books, Ballads, and B-roll the podcast with your hosts Bee and Alastair.

In this episode of Books, Ballads, and B-Roll the Podcast we discuss media related to themes of remembering, recovering from, and dealing with the past.

Segment 1: Behind You

In this fairly short yet incredibly touching book, a Black teenager named Jeremiah (or Miah) is shot by police in a case of mistaken identity. This happens in the first chapter, and the following chapters alternate between perspectives of different characters who were impacted. For example, his mother, a famous author, and his father, who left her for another woman, comb through memories of their son and the family they used to have. His friend Carlton, who struggles to come to terms with the death of the one person he felt understood him, ends up becoming friends with Ellie, Miah’s girlfriend whose house he had just left before he was killed. They form a deep bond due to their connection to Miah as well as a mutual feeling of being judged and misinterpreted. Ellie feels that her white parents never accepted her relationship with Miah or the depth of her sorrow. They continuously urge her to recover and move on, and don’t approve of her spending time with Miah’s friends and family, claiming this is a hindrance to her mental health. Carlton is just coming to terms with being gay and fears rejection of his father and certain friends, especially now that Miah is gone. Ultimately, a lot of the people whom Miah left behind form unexpected relationships with each other due to their shared grief and a desire to hold onto his memory.

What we found the most interesting is that some of the chapters are from the perspective of Miah’s ghost. In the afterlife, he spends his time with his dead grandmother, who encourages him to let go of the living world. But Miah was taken too soon, and he is not ready to let go, at least not until he knows his loved ones are going to be okay.

This book is by Jacqueline Woodson, author of Brown Girl Dreaming. This book is less well known, and it’s actually, we just realized, a sequel to the book If You Come Softly, which is about Ellie and Miah’s relationship, which starts when they meet at a private school in Manhattan, and the scrutiny they face from friends and family. We really wish we had read this book first since it would have given us a lot of context, but we had no idea Behind You was a sequel!

Segment 2: The Secret of Kells

The Secret of Kells is a movie by the same animation studio as a movie we included in an earlier episode, Song of the Sea. It is a fictional tale but based on real events, as it involves the story behind the creation of the Book of Kells, a 9th-century illuminated manuscript from Ireland. It’s set in the Abbey of Kells during the age of Viking expansion, and centers around a boy named Brendan whose uncle is the abbott. Brendan is curious, animated, and cheerful, and is fascinated by the process of writing and illuminating books; apprenticed in the scriptorium, he wants to help finish the Book of Kells, which has been left unfinished there for many years. He also wants to explore the world beyond the abbey walls, but his uncle, named Cellach, is determined to keep him inside out of fear of viking attacks. Brendan ends up sneaking out into the forest outside the walls, encountering a fairy named Aisling who becomes his friend. His uncle repeatedly locks him in, only for him to escape again. However, Cellach’s efforts are ultimately not enough to protect Brendan or anyone else in the abbey. When a Viking raid does come, it knocks down the abbey gate and causes terrible death and destruction; Cellach is gravely injured, and Brendan only barely escapes.

While the majority of the movie actually occurs before the Viking raid, we chose The Secret of Kells for our theme of dealing with the past because of the profound nature of what Brendan goes through after fleeing the abbey. Despite being attacked while running through the forest, he is able to survive with Aisling’s help, and ultimately finds safety and shelter. Many years pass before he is able to return to the abbey, but during this time, he grows up and finally finishes the Book of Kells. When he finally does come back, he is amazed to discover that his uncle is still alive despite his injury. Cellach is filled with guilt at having restricted his nephew so much, and still ultimately having failed to protect him, but Brendan does not blame his uncle at all and is just happy he’s recovered. Their relationship was previously fraught with tension, but upon reuniting they both finish their recovery from physical and mental scars, and mend their relationship.

Segment 3: Daughter of the Highlands

Daughter of the Highlands is a song by a band called the Old Crow Medicine Show. It seems to be narrated by the ghost of a man who had to leave to fight in a war and died in battle, leaving behind his love, Hannah. Throughout the song, the narrator sings about and sometimes directly to this woman, assuring both her and himself that they will laugh and cry and dance together again.

However, in a sad moment of realization, he reflects on the passage of time. Hannah is no longer the young woman he left, meaning she’s lived much of her life without him. While he remains forever frozen at the age he left, she has changed and grown and moved on. Still, he seems to hope that someday, he’ll “get to town” and see Hannah again—possibly referring to when she dies and joins him in his conception of the afterlife? Or, it may just be he’s not willing to truly acknowledge he’s dead? Somewhat unclear.

Music Credits:

Flowers and Weeds (Acoustic Guitar & Penny Whistle) by Axletree
Marty Gots a Plan by Kevin MacLeod

Connect with us on Social Media

@theHVSPN

Convertibles, Castles, and Cars

HVSPN — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 09:00:00 -0400

Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting Network

Books, Ballads, and B-Roll

Convertibles, Castles, and Cars

Episode #4

You are listening to Books, Ballads, and B-roll the podcast with your hosts Bee and Alastair.

In this episode of Books, Ballads, and B-Roll the podcast we discuss the role of transportation in different media.

Segment 1: The Red Convertible

The Red Convertible is a short story from Love Medicine, by Louis Erdrich. It’s narrated by a boy named Lyman and it revolves around his relationship with his older brother, Henry. The two are very close and bond over their shared red convertible, but when Henry returns from the Vietnam War, he is traumatized and closed off, something Lyman really struggles to understand.

Bee suggests that the changing setting at the beginning of the story creates a freeing and adventurous feeling, which contrasts with the limited and claustrophobic setting after Henry returns from war. This movement from a setting that is a literal blur to a setting that is extremely limited is one way in which transportation, particularly the red convertible, is central to the story.
Bee and Alastair discuss how the red convertible may represent the brothers’ relationship with one another or perhaps Henry himself.
Bee and Alastair examine the symbolism of the red convertible’s fate.

Segment 2: Howl’s Moving Castle

Howl’s Moving Castle is, like in our previous episode, a movie by Studio Ghibli. Are we going to apologize for our perhaps over-heavy focus on Miyasaki films? No, no we are not. We will shamelessly defend Studio Ghibli’s status as one of the best animation studios out there. Although, actually, this movie is based on a book of the same name by renowned fantasy author Diana Wynne Jones—which we strongly recommend as well. The movie changes some aspects or focuses on different things from the book, but I think this is what allows it to be equally as good even though it’s not an original story. The book is almost always better than the movie in my opinion, but this may be an exception.

But anyway, the protagonist of Howl’s Moving Castle is Sophie, the eldest of three sisters and heiress to a hat shop. She feels resigned to a life of quiet drudgery and loneliness there, but then the feared Witch of the Waste comes to her shop in disguise. Sophie unknowingly stands up to the witch when the latter disapproves of her shop, and the witch casts a spell that turns her into an old lady. Sophie must leave home in search of a cure for the spell.

She somewhat accidentally finds herself taking shelter in the castle of a notorious wizard named Howl, who supposedly eats young women’s hearts. (There are a lot of supposedly scary witches and wizards in this movie. Most of them turn out less scary than they originally seem though!). In fact, Howl seems rather welcoming. The thing about his castle, though, is that it can walk! Powered by a fire demon, the gargantuan and rather impossibly proportioned structure walks around the landscape on thin metal legs. And not only that, but the castle is also magically split between four different locations, so while it’s walking around the prairie, it also occupies stationery shops in nearby towns.

Alastair comments on the significance of the moving castle, especially in the context of war, as a way to shield the characters from various threats.
Alastair acknowledges that the castle can also limit the characters and its ability to protect them from the outside world becomes a detriment.
Alastair and Bee point out the various strange modes of transportation in this movie. Aside from the castle, each of the characters has a unique way of moving through the world–Turnip Head bounces, Howl can fly, Sophie must adjust to movement in her new elderly body, and Calcifer is unable to move on his own and has to be lifted.

Segment 3: Fast Car

Fast Car is a song by Tracy Chapman and I think it’s probably her best-known song in America. Fast Car is basically about a young couple and they both come from difficult backgrounds, or at least the narrator does. The narrator takes care of an alcoholic father after her mother leaves them, and also works a job as a checkout girl. The narrator dreams of escaping this environment in her lover’s fast car for a better life in the suburbs, but when this dream is finally achieved it’s also shattered. She creates a better life for both of them where she makes enough money to pay the bills, but the person she’s singing about ends up spending most of their time at the bar and neglecting the family they’ve built.

Bee questions who the song might be about and notes possible factors in Tracy Chapman’s life that may have inspired her writing.
Bee notes the sense of longing and nostalgia this song evokes and suggests the car represents hope of escaping cycles of poverty. It also symbolizes the illusion of the American dream, similar to the car in The Great Gatsby.
Alastair draws a connection between Fast Car and the other transportation-themed media, noting how methods of transportation are used as a means of freedom and escape, which prove to be ultimately unsuccessful.
Bee offers a personal anecdote about her mom’s love for this song, and a sweet memory with her cousins she always associates with it.

Music Credits:

Flowers and Weeds (Acoustic Guitar & Penny Whistle) by Axletree
Marty Gots a Plan by Kevin MacLeod

Connect with us on Social Media

@theHVSPN

Skeletons, Spirits, and Surreal Sights

HVSPN — Fri, 03 Nov 2023 09:00:00 -0400

Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting Network

Books, Ballads, and B-Roll

Skeletons, Spirits, and Surreal Sights

Episode #3

You are listening to Books, Ballads, and B-roll the podcast with your hosts Bee and Alastair.

In this spooky scary special episode of Books, Ballads, and B-Roll the Podcast, we discuss connections between halloween-themed media.

Segment 1: Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

This book is one that we were both quite excited to read. It takes place on another planet and is centered around Gideon, a skilled swordsman, and her sworn enemy--and later her lover--Harrowhark. Harrowhark is a necromancer, an expert at summoning the dead to do her bidding. Gideon’s initial hatred towards Harrowhark is fueled by the mistreatment she endured from Harrow’s parents and her harsh life of indentured servitude. Harrowhark’s hatred seems to stem from immense pressure she feels as a necromancer, and the fact that she blames Gideon for her parents’ suicides. In the solar system of Gideon the Ninth, there are nine planets, which each have a powerful House of necromancy. All of these Houses answer to the all-powerful Emperor. Now, much to Gideon’s dismay, she and Harrowhark end up being forced together when the Emperor summons a necromancer of each House, along with a swordsman, in order to compete for role of Lyctor, extremely powerful and immortal necromancers. Much later, as they struggle to figure out why people are being mysteriously murdered on the Emperor’s planet, they discover that the creation of a Lyctor is a very sinister process, which requires the spirit of the swordsman and necromancer to become intertwined.

Our thoughts on the book:

The blurb is really bad and does NOT do it justice
The writing style is really interesting—not at all like modern pulp fiction
There’s modern humor and dialects, but also an ancient vibe
It includes a substantial amount of graphic depictions of injuries and pain—very appropriate to halloween
Necromancers animating bone constructs causes them to break out in “blood sweat”
Duels between cavaliers result in painful injuries
Mysterious murders and other deaths occur in hideous ways
We love Gideon
She’s a bit dramatic which is relatable
We enjoy the development of Gideon’s and Harrow’s relationship
Originally they both appear to be very tough and a bit ruthless, but you watch them start to let their guards down around each other and their relationship feels very delicate at first, but then their bond in the end becomes unbreakable
We wonder if they ever would have bonded and become so close and overcome their very serious differences if they hadn’t been put in this hostile universe where everything was unfamiliar and uncertain
We do have some criticisms of the worldbuilding
We both feel like there were a lot of confusing references the reader is supposed to understand later early on in the book, it’s a little confusing and it wasn’t until more than halfway through the book that I started to get into it
The allure of the book sort of counts on the characters’ backstories and certain plot twists to explain everything, which is okay but the book feels flat until these things are revealed
There could have been more information provided on the other planets and this solar system

Segment 2: Spirited Away by Hayao Miyazaki

Spirited Away is an animated movie by Studio Ghibli in which a ten-year-old girl, Chihiro, accidentally stumbles into the spirit world. After her parents mistakenly eat spirit food and are turned into pigs, Chihiro realizes they are trapped there. In order to prevent herself from being discovered as a human in the spirit world, she finds a job at the spirit bathhouse, where she meets many different strange spirit creatures, and the imposing witch Yubaba, who runs the bathhouse. She spends the rest of the movie trying to figure out how to free them from Yubaba’s magic and return to the real world.

Our thoughts on the movie:

The animation is so cool
The characters are very complex, and as in all Studio Ghibli movies, the animation and dialogue contributes to our understanding of this complexity
No-Face, one of the spirits Chihiro meets, seems benevolent at first. However, he quickly becomes greedy, producing fake gold to lure other spirits and then eating them, turning into a giant monster. However, it becomes clear that what he was really hungry for was companionship, as he was very lonely, and once he’s offered genuine friendship, he becomes gentle and again
Even Yubaba, the main antagonist of the story, has some redeeming qualities, such as her extreme devotion to her baby, named Boh

Connections:

Involves the main character traveling away from their home to a strange, different, and frightening place
Although it could be argued this is a pretty common part of the “hero’s journey”
In the new place, they discover some characters who are benevolent, some who are evil, and some who are complex and conflicted
This reminds me of a quote from Ethel Cain!! One of her greatest fears is “this idea where you have to leave your comfort zone and often your comfort zone is not your comfort zone and that’s why you have to leave. It’s not comforting, but it’s what you know”
More haunting when you’re in an alien world surrounded by these strange creatures and, in her words, “you can’t reduce this thing to a simple antagonist trying to hurt you because it doesn’t even care about you being there and suddenly you feel very small. You no longer possess the importance of being something that should be hurt. You become nothing. They become just as important as you are”
“You are surrounded by other creatures but you’re very much alone”

Segment 3: Join Us for a Bite by JT music and Andrea Storm Kaden

Join Us for a Bite is a song inspired by the popular video game Five Nights at Freddy’s. Released in 2016, it celebrates the release of the fifth game in the series, Sister Location, centered around the animatronic antagonist known as Circus Baby. In the song, she is attempting to convince the player to come to her restaurant, but the creepy lyrics clearly indicate that something dreadful awaits them if they do.

Our thoughts on the song:

It’s quite a bop!
We really like the vocals; the tone is animated but haunting
Full disclosure: neither of us have played Five Nights at Freddy’s. At all. Which might make you wonder: why did we choose this song?
We have both been recommended to play the game, and been told it’s very good
Bee’s brother is very into FNAF
Alastair is hesitant to play because of the horror aspect, not really enjoying visual horror experiences—but he does enjoy horror books like Gideon the Ninth, so maybe should give it a try!

Connections:

Similar to the other two media, Five Nights at Freddy’s involves entering a creepy fantasy scenario in which scary creatures come to life
Animatronics are reminiscent of bone constructs in Gideon the Ninth
The idea of forcibly controlling another form is common to all three media
In Spirited Away, a boy named Haku—who turns out to be a river spirit whose true form is that of a dragon—is bound to serve Ubaba by a contract
Both Haku and Chihiro lose their original names—Chihiro’s is changed to Sen—when they’re contracted to serve Ubaba
This kind of semi-unwilling service is similar to Gideon’s position as Harrow’s cavalier, although Gideon comes to accept and enjoy their relationship, while Haku and Chihiro ultimately escape Yubaba

Music Credits:

Flowers and Weeds (Acoustic Guitar & Penny Whistle) by Axletree
Marty Gots a Plan by Kevin MacLeod

Connect with us on Social Media

@theHVSPN

Controversy, Communism, and Creative Control

HVSPN — Wed, 25 Oct 2023 09:00:00 -0400

Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting Network

Books, Ballads, and B-Roll

Controversy, Communism, and Creative Control

Episode #2

You are listening to Books, Ballads, and B-roll the podcast with your hosts Bee and Alastair.

In this episode of Books, Ballads, and B-Roll the Podcast we discuss: media that are controversial or that we might have some controversial opinions on. Specifically, we’re going to talk about George Orwell’s Animal Farm, the three Star Wars Prequels, and Taylor Swift’s song Better than Revenge.

Segment 1: Animal Farm

George Orwell’s 1945 novella is a satirical allegory critiquing the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the Stalinist era of the Soviet Union that followed. It involves anthropomorphic animals who rebel against human farmers, in hopes of creating a farm where they can live in freedom, equality, and happiness. However, the rebellion degrades as it is taken over by autocratic pigs, first Snowball and then Napoleon, who mislead the other animals and ultimately bring the farm to a similar state as it was when under human control. The story overtly criticizes the Russian Revolution as failing to live up to its ideals, and its leaders as having become the same as the rulers the revolution tried to escape.

Our opinions on the novella:

The Russian Revolution symbolism is very obvious. Farmer Jones represents Tsar Nicholas II; Snowball is Trotsky; Napoleon is Stalin; and Old Major likely represents Karl Marx, though some say he represents Lenin.
We agree more with the Marx interpretation of Old Major, because he was painted in a more positive light, and wasn’t interested in ruling himself, unlike Lenin.
However, Orwell’s intent is somewhat unclear.
The book read more like a commentary on authoritarianism than an accurate critique of communism, and it seemed like it was only directly applicable to specifically the Russian Revolution.
Because of the positive portrayals of the animals’ initial dreams for their farm, maybe Orwell’s intent isn’t to say that communism is inherently bad.
However, there definitely is some anti-communist agenda behind the book.
Orwell gave the rights to his work to the Information Research Bureau, a British anti-communist propaganda organization.
He makes the animals seem foolish, incapable, easily manipulated, and overly idealistic, pointing to a possible critique of communism as maybe a good idea in theory, but impossible in practice.
We both agree that even though it was written as an allegory for a very specific time period and series of events, Animal Farm has many applications throughout history and even to modern day.

Segment 2: Star Wars, the prequels

The prequels follow the childhood and younger years of Luke Skywalker’s father, Darth Vader, or as he’s known throughout these films, Anakin. While he begins as a sweet little boy and sympathetic character, tragic events and turmoil in his teens culminate in a rise to the dark side. Along with Anakin’s transformation, the trilogy also follows the decline of the Galactic Republic and the order of Jedi masters, and the rise of the Empire that figures as the prominent force of evil in the main three movies.

Our opinions on the prequels:

Bee has a positive opinion of the movies. She enjoyed the more intense light saber battles, felt that Anakin was a more complex and interesting character than Luke, found the view of the Jedi in the prequels more nuanced than in the original three, and approves of the shift to more advanced CGI compared to the prequels.
Alastair has somewhat the opposite opinion, feeling the combination of gratuitous violence and strained humor makes the movies feel awkward and somewhat grotesque, finding the CGI to be over-the-top and create an “uncanny valley” effect, and disliking the fact that some of the alien characters seem like they might be racist caricatures of certain ethnic groups.
However, we both agree that the political commentary related to the Jedi is interesting, and that—similar to Animal Farm—it is still very applicable today.

Segment 3: Better Than Revenge

This is a song from Taylor Swift’s album, Speak Now, which she wrote in her late teens. And basically this is a very vengeful and angry song where she takes many swings at this girl who she thinks stole her boyfriend. Now, Taylor has been rerecording most of her albums as she didn’t have ownership of her work due to a deal she signed at 15. This guy, Scooter Braun, bought the masters to her first six albums and, according to Taylor, manipulated and bullied her. To Taylor Swift, owning her artwork is really important since she writes all her own songs and cares very deeply about her work. Recently, she rerecorded Speak Now and the new version of Better Than Revenge is missing the controversial lyric that was in the first one. In the original, she sings “she’s better known for the things that she does on the mattress” which many swifties said was misogynistic. So in the newer version, she sings “he was a moth to the flame she was holding the matches” instead.

Our opinions on the song:

Bee, as a hardcore swiftie, appreciates the original lyric as reflective of where Taylor Swift was at the time and as an honest part of her progression through many different phases. While it may have been a bit misogynistic, so is the rest of the song, as it’s literally all tearing down another woman.
It could even be viewed as a feminist song, however, because the boyfriend is called “a toy on the playground” while the whole song is dedicated to the girl!
Bee acknowledges that she may just be biased because she really likes Taylor Swift, regardless of some controversial lyrics she might put in her songs.
Alastair, who is less knowledgeable about Taylor Swift songs, doesn’t have a very strong opinion on which version is better but agrees that changing one lyric doesn’t really change the meaning of the rest of the song. While Taylor Swift might not write the same lyric at the point in her life she’s at now, she wrote it then, and trying to cover that up seems slightly dishonest while also potentially devaluing the original version.

Music Credits:

Flowers and Weeds (Acoustic Guitar & Penny Whistle) by Axletree
Marty Gots a Plan by Kevin MacLeod

Connect with us on Social Media

@theHVSPN

Loss, Love, and Lamentation

HVSPN — Mon, 16 Oct 2023 09:00:00 -0400

Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting Network

Books, Ballads, and B-Roll

Loss, Love, and Lamentation

Episode #1

You are listening to Books, Ballads, and B-roll, the podcast, with your hosts, Bee and Alastair.

In this episode, we discuss: the theme of loss in relation to the book The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green; the movie The Song of the Sea, directed by Tom Moore; and the Song The Ghost of Virginia, by Justin Townes Earle.

Segment 1: The Fault in Our Stars

In John Green’s famous novel, two teenagers, Hazel Grace and Augustus Waters (aka “Gus”), meet through a cancer support group and fall in love. Their relationship is complicated by the fact that Hazel’s disease is terminal, and the characters grapple with ideas of death and oblivion and what this means for their legacy.

Our opinions on the novel:

Bee sympathizes with Hazel and Gus but does not feel their relationship works well—she finds them to be pretentious, finds Gus to be overly direct, and finds the speed at which they fell in love unrealistic.
Alastair somewhat disagrees, feeling that Gus and Hazel’s direct demeanor and the way they fell in love were a realistic result of the fact that they both know they have limited time, and want to make the most of it while they’re alive.
Bee thinks Hazel’s character is somewhat flat, not noticing substantial character growth over the course of the novel.
Alastair agrees that Hazel could have changed more as a character, but disagrees that she did not grow; she realized throughout the book that loving someone is worthwhile even if your time with them is severely limited, and goes from thinking of herself as a “grenade” that other people shouldn’t get too close to, to accepting that other people are happy with their choice to love her even though it may result in grief.

Segment 2: The Song of the Sea; Comparisons and Connections

In this beautiful animated film, a young boy named Ben navigates a complex relationship with his younger sister, Saoirse, and his father who’s been distant ever since the loss of his wife. It’s kind of unclear what happened to Ben’s mother, Bronagh. She began having pains when Saoirse was about to be born and had to go out to sea to give birth. Saoirse was washed up on the shore and returned to her father safely, but Bronagh never returned. It seems like she may have died during childbirth, but there is a heart wrenching scene in the end where she comes back and says goodbye to her family once more, before returning to sea forever. As it turns out, Bronagh is a selkie and Saoirse is part selkie.

Our opinions on the movie:

The animation is amazing! The watercolor-style art is beautiful, and the way the characters are drawn and portrayed gives them vivid personalities.
The mythology aspect is really interesting, and the music, voice acting, and art combine to bring it to life.

Comparisons and connections with The Fault in our Stars

Bee finds the characters to be more endearing than those in The Fault in our Stars, seeing them as having more things that make you want to root for them even if they are flawed.
Alastair agrees that the characters are very endearing, but feels that Gus and Hazel also have personalities that make you want to root for them.
The movie is full of hidden meaning and wonder—lots of “metaphorical resonances,” as Gus likes to point out in The Fault in Our Stars!

Segment 3: The Ghost of Virginia; More Comparisons and Connections

This eerie song explores the idea of becoming obsolete to society through the metaphor of a ghost train.

Our opinions of the song:

Bee often listened to it when she was younger, as her dad is a big Justin Townes Earle fan, and was both scared of and entranced by it.
Alastair was initially surprised by the depth of the song, having mostly experienced a more mainstream type of country music involving southern men singing about trucks.
Bee agrees that a lot of stereotypes around country music aren’t actually accurate, and even songs about trucks can be meaningful and carry deep emotions.
We both agree that it’s a very interesting take on loss.
The theme of obsolescence introduces loss on a societal level—the loss of a technology that, while seemingly less efficient, might have actually been better for us.

Comparisons and connections between The Ghost of Virginia and The Fault in our Stars:

In addition to the song, the novel also deals with the idea of obsolescence: Gus and Hazel both have moments when they feel, because of their illnesses, that they aren’t of any use to society or the world. However, they both learn that, while it’s tragic their lives are so restricted, it doesn’t mean they won’t leave any mark on the world. Their memory will live on in the minds of others, and the relationships and love they’ve given and received are enough to make their lives worthwhile.

Music Credits:

Flowers and Weeds (Acoustic Guitar & Penny Whistle) by Axletree
Marty Gots a Plan by Kevin MacLeod

Connect with us on Social Media

@theHVSPN

Books, Ballads, and B-Roll

HVSPN — Tue, 10 Oct 2023 09:00:00 -0400

Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting Network

Show Name: Books, Ballads, and B-Roll

Episode Title: Introduction

Episode #0

You are listening to Books, Ballads, and B-roll the podcast with your host(s) Bee and Alastair.

In this episode of Books, Ballads, and B-Roll the Podcast we discuss: the topic of our podcast, why we wanted to create it, and what listeners can expect for the rest of the series.

Segment 1: Introduction

Bee:

Hi I’m Bee!

Alastair:

And I’m Alastair!

Bee:

We’re high school students and art enthusiasts. If you hear this, you have been lucky enough to stumble upon our podcast, Books, Ballads, and B-roll. Keep listening if you enjoy hearing about literature, music, and movies! Or we’ll just sadly ramble on by ourselves.

Alastair:

So, basically, we’re hoping that each episode of this podcast will tackle a book/movie/music trio that have some kind of intriguing resonance with each other, whether in theme, aesthetic, philosophy, references, or some other quality.

Hopefully, putting these different media in conversation with each other will help to open up both your and our curiosity and encourage expansive thinking and connection-making.

Bee:

Or, for example, maybe you really enjoy watching movies about troubled dads but struggle to find a book to read with your beloved troubled-dad-trope. Or you’re considering reading a big book set in the roaring 20s, and you need the perfect song to get you in the spirit for such an undertaking. Hopefully we can be of some use here.

You can expect ten episodes, one published approximately every other week!

Segment 2: Explanation

Alastair:

I feel as though books, movies, and music are some of the most useful and interesting tools for understanding people and society. I love how they encourage creativity and give me inspiration for my art or to get through a hard day. They can be a welcome distraction, at times, and can also enrich relationships. I enjoy bonding with people about books. Even media I don’t particularly like enriches my life and teaches me more about myself and forces me to ask myself what about this thing gets under my skin and why.

You may now be wondering what makes us, two random teenagers, so qualified to share our thoughts on various works of human expression. Are we ourselves published authors or award-winning directors or actors or musical prodigies?

Bee:

Alas, we are none of these, although I have played the role of a dazzling knight with about two lines, which I forgot to memorize before showing up on set, in a production my friend made in freshman year. Does that count?? And it may not be published, but when I was about 5-years-old, I wrote a series of extremely useful books for my younger brother, explaining to him why he ought not to eat bugs or engage in other such misadventures! Many qualifications aside, I concede that all statements I make on this podcast are simply my own biased opinions and I respect that others may see something completely differently from me.

Alastair:

Me too!

Bee:

In fact, we’d love to hear from you if you have a different opinion as it may help us to look at things from a new angle. Like everyone else, we both have our own biases and limited world views!

Segment 3: Conclusion

Alastair:

Ultimately, there are so many books, movies, and songs that we’re in awe of that we feel would completely change peoples’ lives if only they weren’t so obscure. And there are also many things we love that are more mainstream, that we have some unusual takes on. So we’re really excited to start this exploration with you guys! Farewhale!!

Music Credits: List the artist and song name

Flowers and Weeds (Acoustic Guitar & Penny Whistle) by Axletree
Marty Gots a Plan by Kevin MacLeod

Connect with us on Social Media

@theHVSPN

Books, Ballads, and B-Roll

Witches, Worship, and Woe

Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting Network

Books, Ballads, and B-Roll

Witches, Worship, and Woe

Episode #8

Segment 1: Good Omens

Segment 2: Her Ghost in the Fog

Segment 3: WandaVision

Music Credits:

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Poetry, Perfidy, and Passion

Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting Network

Books, Ballads, and B-Roll

Poetry, Perfidy, and Passion

Episode #6

Segment 1: The Dead Poets’ Society

Segment 2: Ivy

Segment 3: F*ck Your Lecture on Craft, My People Are Dying

Music Credits:

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Winter, Wonders, and Whimsy

Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting Network

Books, Ballads, and B-Roll

Winter, Wonders, and Whimsy

Episode #7

Segment 1: Alastair’s Top 5 Winter/Holiday Books/Movies

Segment 2: Bee’s Top 5 Winter/Holiday Books/Movies

Segment 3: Winter/Holiday Playlist!

Music Credits:

Connect with us on Social Media

Remembrance, Regrets, and Recovery

Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting Network

Books, Ballads, and B-Roll

Remembrance, Regrets, and Recovery

Episode #5

Segment 1: Behind You

Segment 2: The Secret of Kells

Segment 3: Daughter of the Highlands

Music Credits:

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Convertibles, Castles, and Cars

Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting Network

Books, Ballads, and B-Roll

Convertibles, Castles, and Cars

Episode #4

Segment 1: The Red Convertible

Segment 2: Howl’s Moving Castle

Segment 3: Fast Car

Music Credits:

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Skeletons, Spirits, and Surreal Sights

Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting Network

Books, Ballads, and B-Roll

Skeletons, Spirits, and Surreal Sights

Episode #3

Segment 1: Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Segment 2: Spirited Away by Hayao Miyazaki

Segment 3: Join Us for a Bite by JT music and Andrea Storm Kaden

Music Credits:

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Controversy, Communism, and Creative Control

Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting Network

Books, Ballads, and B-Roll

Controversy, Communism, and Creative Control

Episode #2

Segment 1: Animal Farm

Segment 2: Star Wars, the prequels

Segment 3: Better Than Revenge

Music Credits:

Connect with us on Social Media

Loss, Love, and Lamentation

Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting Network

Books, Ballads, and B-Roll

Loss, Love, and Lamentation

Episode #1

Segment 1: The Fault in Our Stars

Segment 2: The Song of the Sea; Comparisons and Connections

Segment 3: The Ghost of Virginia; More Comparisons and Connections

Music Credits:

Segment 3: Fck Your Lecture on Craft, My People Are Dying*