S6.3: Shelley Stamp: Cinema Preservation, Access and Renegotiating Women’s Representation in Silent Film

While this episode was recorded over a year ago, it is just as relevant now (if not moreso). I am honored to welcome the brilliant and wonderful Professor Shelley Stamp to Archivist’s Alley. A former professor of mine at UC Santa Cruz, she has been a major inspiration and she remains one of my mentors. Please join us as we discuss the intricacies of silent film restoration, the history of women in film, media access and much more!

As usual, bio is below the podcast link. Links to various subjects from our conversation are embedded in the bio so be sure to click on those and check’em out!!

Shelley Stamp is author of the award-winning books Lois Weber in Early
Hollywood
and Movie Struck Girls, and curator of the award-winning disc set Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers.  She is Founding Editor of the journal Feminist Media Histories and editor of the Feminist Media Histories book series published by the University of California Press. Stamp is Professor of Film + Digital Media at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she has twice won the Excellence in Teaching Award and currently holds the Presidential Chair.

S6.2: Raphael Rashid: Human Rights Journalism, Twitter Activism & “Agendas”

My friend Raphael is remarkable.

It’s hard for me to properly describe what he does except to say that he writes wonderfully about all the truly problematic areas in Korea.

You should just listen to the episode. It’s a really great conversation.

Do I love Korea and living in Korea? Sure. There’s a lot to love. But no country is without its problems. And what I know is that what Raphael is doing is critical to my survival here. He keeps me updated and informed.

I know that I’m not alone in this. While (as we discussed) some (a “vocal minority”) may think that his twitter feed has an “agenda,” his only agenda is providing real, honest journalism. It’s mostly human rights-related information but his work spans all kinds of topics in Korea and that’s why reading him is really great.

No one is doing what Raphael Rashid is doing and I feel so lucky to know him.

Please enjoy our conversation and follow him on Twitter. And if you don’t have Twitter, just go there every so often to see his posts!!!

And if you read Korean….he’s got a new book out!! Let’s hope that it gets translated into English *crosses fingers*

As usual, links and bio under the episode….

Bio: Raphael Rashid is a freelance journalist in Seoul and has been based in South Korea for over a decade. His writings have appeared in publications including The Guardian, The New York Times, and Nikkei Asia, with a focus on societal issues. He is the author of a recently published book examining conformity and unhappiness within South Korean society.

Raphael’s recent book can be found here: http://kyobo.link/vaZR

AND HIS AMAZING TWITTER CAN BE LOCATED HERE: https://twitter.com/koryodynasty

Episode 12: T.J. Tallie- Claiming Space, Archives on Their Own Terms & Weaponized Fashion

I got very lucky when I met T.J. and I have never taken our relationship for granted.

I learned some incredible lessons from T.J. about respect, listening and boundaries. I hope that everyone in their life can have a T.J. Seriously.

An excellent teacher, a brilliant human being, and an impeccable dresser. So that’s my spiel. But his bio and and the links below really say more than I ever could because I will just gush about his lovely laugh, warmth & sparkle. And the fact that I never knew what a clafoutis was until he posted pix of the ones he made. THEY LOOKED DELICIOUS, BTW.
I hope you enjoy this episode and this GLORIOUS WONDERFUL human!!!

T.J. Tallie is currently Assistant Professor of African History at Washington and Lee University.  This fall he will begin as an Assistant Professor of History at the University of San Diego.  He received his PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  He is the author of the forthcoming book, Unsettling Natal: Race, Gender, and Colonial Logics in Southern Africa, 1850-1910, which examines the creation of the nineteenth-century settler colony of Natal and ideas of race, gender, and sexuality in the British Empire. His recent publications include “Sartorial Settlement: the Mission Field and Transformation in Colonial Natal, 1850-1897,” in Journal of World History, 27, no. 3 (2016): 389-410; “Queering Natal: Settler Logics and the Disruptive Challenge of Zulu Polygamy,” InGLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies 19, no. 2 (2013): 167-189.  He is an Aries, an ENFJ, and an unapologetic Gryffindor with Ravenclaw tendencies.

Enjoy his ridiculous fashion blog, Clockwork Black (http://clockworkblackblog.wordpress.com)

Archives y’all should visit and show love to:

Killie Campbell Africana Library

Pietermaritzburg Archives Repository

National Archives, Kew

National Archives of New Zealand

Things to read, based on this podcast:

Cathy Cohen, “Punks, Bulldaggers, and Welfare Queens: The Radical Potential of Queer Politics?” GLQ, May 1997 3(4): 437-465

Ifi Amadiume, Male Daughters, Female Husbands

Tsitsi Dengaremba, Nervous Conditions

Mariama Bâ, So Long A Letter

Kopano Matlwa, Coconut: A Novel

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Americanah

Sara Ahmed, Queer Phenomenology: Orientations, Objects, Others

Michael Twitty, The Cooking Gene

Aimé Césaire. Discourse on Colonialism.

Maria Lugones, Heterosexualism and the Colonial / Modern Gender System, Hypatia,Volume 22, Number 1, Winter 2007, p. 186-209

Zackie Achmat, “‘Apostles of civilised vice’: ‘Immoral practices’ and ‘unnatural vice’ in South African prisons and compounds, 1890–1920,” Social Dynamics, 1993 19(2): 92-110.

E. Patrick Johnson, “‘Quare’ Studies, Or (Almost) Everything I know about Queer Studies I Learned From My Grandmother,” and Marlon B. Ross, “Beyond the Closet as Raceless Paradigm” in Queer Black Studies, p. 124-189.

Episode 7: Millie De Chirico- Comin’ Up With That Weird Stuff! Exhibition as access, women in programming spaces, & the joy of TCMFF

This week is TCMFF, which in laymen’s terms means Turner Classic Movie Film Fest.

IT’S THE HAPPIEST TIME OF THE YEAR. LIKE FOR REELZ.

Well, at least it’s my happiest time. It’s what I affectionately call “Classic Film Summer Camp.” Even if it doesn’t happen during the summer time.

So in order to celebrate this wonderful and exciting event, I got one of the women that I love and admire in a massive way to be on this week’s episode.

Her name is Millie De Chirico and she continues to be one of the most amazing and dynamic forces at TCM.

This is her bio:

Millie De Chirico is 14-year member of the programming department at Turner Classic Movies. She co-created TCM Underground, the channel’s late night cult movie franchise and now lends her programming expertise to FilmStruck, the new streaming service created by TCM and the Criterion Collection. In her spare time she co-hosts a podcast with comedian April Richardson called Sordid Details (sordidpodcast.com).

TCM Underground, if you are not aware, is a masterpiece and an accomplishment unto itself, let alone the gazillions of other things that Millie does daily.

One of the big myths in the film world is that “the ladies” can’t stomach grindhouse films or that we just don’t like that sexploitation/exploitation morally messy media. It goes without saying that there is a certain unspoken idea that most fans of the genre would not be queer or POC either. But we exist. Millie’s dedication to TCM Underground and her passion for this landscape is important on many levels. If you listen to our conversation we discuss this.  This has led to her programming the midnight movies at the TCMFF which is nothing but brilliant.

I CANNOT WAIT FOR THIS YEAR’S FESTIVAL!

We talk about a lot of things in this episode. One of the things that we get super Real Deal about is the state of film exhibition and the theater scene. The last few years has seen some upheaval but it’s gotten a little quiet.  Like everyone thinks what happened at Cinefamily, Fantastic Fest, etc, was a one-off and that we can all go forward as things were, la la la la.
But we (being marginalized folx) weren’t happy before the Dude-programmer-pocalpyse and we certainly aren’t pleased now. And the situation is pretty easy to fix. Really. It is. We talk about that here too.

I’m not gonna lie: this is a GREAT EPISODE. But it was great because Millie is a damn ROCKSTAR. 

So here’s the million dollar answer, of course. You want to know what Millie’s top pics for TCMFF are and (maybe) mine. So, look below! They do not disappoint. And if you’re going to TCMFF, hope to see you there. Say hello!

Millie De Chirico’s 2018 TCMFF Recommendations

WORLD’S GREATEST SINNER (1962, d. Timothy Carey, 82m, Digital) (duh!)
A STAR IS BORN (1937, d. William A. Wellman, 35mm) on nitrate
FINISHING SCHOOL (1934, d. George Nichols, Jr. and Wanda Tuchock, 35 mm)**Preserved by the Library of Congress.
OUTRAGE (1950, d. Ida Lupino, 35mm) Ida!
WILL SUCCESS SPOIL ROCK HUNTER (1957, d. Frank Tashlin, Digital) Jayne!

My list is a little different. These are some of the films that I will probably end up going to. But these are also ones that I am VERY EXCITED ABOUT!!

In no particular order….

FINISHING SCHOOL (1934, d. George Nichols, Jr. and Wanda Tuchock, 35 mm) **Preserved by the Library of Congress.
WORLD’S GREATEST SINNER (1962, d. Timothy Carey, 82m, Digital)
STAGE DOOR (1937, d. Gregory La Cava, 35mm) nitrate & has a Bill Morrison short called The Letter playing before it!!!! YES!!
HATFUL OF RAIN (1957, d. Fred Zinnemann, Digital)
A LETTER TO THREE WIVES (1949, d. Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Digital)
WHEN YOU READ THIS LETTER (1953, d. Jean-Pierre Melville, Digital)
Panel Discussion- Through a Lens of Color: Black Representation in Film featuring: Gil Robertson IV, of the African American Film Critics Association, Professor Jacqueline Stewart, filmmaker Mario Van Peebles and moderated by Donald Bogle.
GIRLS ABOUT TOWN (1931, d. George Cukor, 35mm)
Hollywood Home Movies: Treasures from the Academy Archive
The Academy Film Archive shares gems from its collection with specially-selected home movies from Hollywood’s Golden Age, Presented by Randy Haberkamp, Managing Director of Preservation and Foundation Programs for AMPAS, and Lynne Kirste, Special Collections Curator at the Archive.
WOMAN OF THE YEAR (1942, d. George Stevens, Digital)

Episode 1: Siobhan Hagan and MARMIA

Welcome to the first episode of Archivist’s Alley!

Please enjoy this conversation with one of my dearest companions in moving image archiving and preservation. Siobhan Hagan is a SUPERSTAR in the field and a women that I continue to be inspired by.

Her continued work on MARMIA is truly astounding and I hope that you all love listening to her talk about it as much as I enjoyed talking to her about it!

 Fall in love with MARMIA & donate some funds to support this important women-led institution!

Here is MARMIA’s website: https://marmia.org/

Here is MARMIA’s channel on the Internet Archive:  https://archive.org/details/marmia

And click here to donate some monies to this badass place!

 

Here is a little background on Siobhan:

Siobhan was born and raised in Maryland and holds her M.A. in Moving Image Archiving and Preservation (MIAP) from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. She has worked in a variety of collecting organizations throughout her career, including the UCLA Library and the National Aquarium. She is currently contracting at the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art and is also active in the Association of Moving Image Archivists (AMIA): she is a co-chair of the Regional Audio-Visual Archives Committee and a co-chair of the Local TV Task Force, and was an AMIA Director of the Board from 2015-2017.

Here are a few of the clips that we talked about in the podcast:

Investigative report on blockbusting:

https://archive.org/details/WJZ-QUAD-01

 

One of Oprah’s first acting gigs: https://archive.org/details/WJZ-PAT-001-006